Last season Wayne Rooney played an integral part in keeping Manchester United’s title defence alive till the final game of the season. Rooney finally emerged from the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo and set the season alight with a brilliant display of incisive finishing, showing he can be a predator in front of goal. Rooney finally announced his arrival as one of the best forwards in the world and he did it in style!
Wayne scored an astounding 34 goals in 44 appearances for United. 26 of these were scored in 32 appearances in the Premiership, and 5 coming in 7 Champions league appearances too. The stats clearly showed how impressive Wayne was last season, as he seemed to never miss and put in a great performance almost every game he played. He took over where Cristiano Ronaldo had left off and did his best to ensure nobody would say ‘United Missed Ronaldo’.
The difference between the Rooney we saw last year and the Rooney two years back was plain to see. The new Wayne Rooney showed that he was able to control his temperament and keep calm when his more levelheaded teammates lost it on the pitch. We saw a Wayne who was smiling a lot more on the pitch, a man who wasn’t always showing his frustration when it wasn’t going his way. More importantly, we saw a Wayne who stood up and claimed the responsibility that Sir Alex gave him and most surely made everyone proud.
But the questions that many will be asking are whether last season was a fluke? And also after a horrid display in the World Cup, can Rooney do it again?
Well the answer for me is an emphatic YES!
Last season was a no mere fluke from Wayne; it was just him justifying his incredible talent. Rooney was always a great striker but he did lack consistency and with Ronaldo doing most of the scoring, he really did not have much to worry about in terms of the team’s result. But once Cristiano had gone it was time for someone to step in and carry on where Ronaldo had left off. By not buying anyone big in the transfer Market, Sir Alex showed that he had faith in Rooney and Rooney repaid his faith.
His miserable performance in the World cup was down to several factors but at the same time he wasn’t totally blameless, he did not perform well but neither did the rest of the team. The team selection by Capello looked wrong, the players never performed as a unit and nobody was really up to the task.
But at United this won’t be the case.
Wayne will also show everyone that the previous season was no miracle but really a display of what he’s capable of. With only a few weeks for the first game of the season, I’m looking forward to seeing Wayne get back to what he does best, scoring lots of Goals!
you must not forget that his switch into a more central attacking role was a large reason for his goals increase. everything went through him, rather than ronaldo.
He won’t repeat what happened last season because he has help this time around in the form of Hernandez.
Your right Chris, Ronaldo leaving was the key, as it allowed Rooney to be played upfront.
I can’t see it being a fluke. The season is the better part of a year and he was consistent throughout. Obviously his maturation and being moved centrally were the biggest reasons, but he also received great service from the midfield – Valencia in particular. Few of his goals involved trickery or fancy foot work, he simply knows where to be and can be counted on to bury the ball into the net.
That being said, if his goal tally drops a bit in favor of the coach involving more of his teamates in the attack ,than that would be fine with me and by no means a drop in form.
Rooney was being used up by SAF one week after he was injured in the Champions league match against Bayern,and he couldn’t play well in the World cup due to that ankle injury still paining him…i’m pesimistic on this point! i don’t think he’ll do it anew…he needs rest