14 Jul 2015 14:57:01
Barcelona - suarez
Madrid - benzema, ronaldo?
Bayern - Lewandowski, pizzaro (muller doesn't play striker, plays false 9)
Chelsea - costa, remy
Arsenal - giroud(considered not good enough), (looking for another forward)
My point being none of those teams have 2 high profile strikers. I am talking about out and out strikers and not someone who can play as a striker. Then if our coach's fav formation is the 4-3-3, which we can finally play now because of our mf additions, why are we going after a high profile striker(probably cavani) when we have rooney and wilson? Unless of course the coach doesn't trust rooney to be a great no 9.
If we do buy a big name striker then it will surely cause a problem as he won't want to be on the bench. So then,
a) rooney on the bench - not happening
b) new striker on the bench - probably not happening
c) rooney in the midfield - bad, bad idea not only because rooney is terrible there but also because one of our actual midfielders would be on the bench.
d) rooney as the number 10 - again mata is better there.
Solution - buy a striker who'd be happy to stay on the bench, either someone young or someone like sakho. Remember, if the midfield is good enough then teams like barca, madrid, bayern play brilliantly without even a striker but everytime we played with two strikers last year, we were awful.
14 Jul 2015 15:05:38
how often has rooney got 20+ goals a season? yeh that's why your after a new striker!
14 Jul 2015 15:06:26
Totally agree the answer is to sell rooney and get a new striker in and give Wilson a proper chance I got slated earlier for saying Charlie Austin as our third striker but the main point is we need a shake up in the striking department and the only way it's going to happen is to sell rooney
14 Jul 2015 15:17:29
This is certainly the conundrum we face with our attack, the solution, I don't know!
14 Jul 2015 15:20:25
Oh man, a sell Rooney debate. These always end well
14 Jul 2015 15:31:30
rooney will score more goals now we have a midfield, he won't have to go chasing the ball so much
14 Jul 2015 15:34:34
Tough scenario to be in. I wonder if LVG has the cajones to drop Rooney?
I'd be tempted to give Rooney this season as the out and out striker to see if he can score 20+ goals before going and spending big money on another name.
Possibly sell Di Maria and bring in a goalscoring winger to provide goals if Rooney isn't up to it and bring in somebody to do what Remy has done at Chelsea.
It'll sure be interesting whatever happens.
14 Jul 2015 15:48:59
In the premier league, while playing for manchester united, wayne rooney has averaged 15 goals a season in the league. Which considering he has not consistenly been played as an out and out striker in recent years and has instead been made to do more and more defensive work is a pretty impressive total. While this has been a pretty consistant complaint throughout Rooneys career when he has been played as an out and out striker he has got goals and with the current midfield i think he will have the support to do so. I think we have room for one new first team player which should obviously be a CB. Thus bring in austin this season, get rid of Rooney next season if he doesn't do the business.
14 Jul 2015 15:51:00
Boddey if you are talking league goals its twice. Shearer did it 7 times. Ruud did it 6 times, Henry did it 5 times.
14 Jul 2015 15:53:28
Where did i suggest that we should sell rooney?
14 Jul 2015 16:19:43
Lvg should buy a top striker and Rooney will have to raise his game and accept being part of a squad. No one should or likely will be guaranteed a place this season. LVG did say that about Rooney last season but that was last season when we had little leadership on the pitch. If Rooney is our main goal scoring option then it is unlikely we would win anything. Many times I have said Rooney has hot and cold patches and we can't rely on him. Buy the top striker look for goals from midfield whilst the defence worries about the striker and if Rooney can get in the team he will be hungrier than he has been for some time.
14 Jul 2015 15:55:39
the year rooney played as an out and out striker he scored 35 goals.
i think with the midfiled we have now, players like rooney, mata, di maria may flourish as they won't be need to come back as often.
14 Jul 2015 16:15:59
shearer did it 7 times, and that's with average players. Rooney has had the likes of scholes feeding him chances. He should of scored a lot more goals. If you do decide to sell him who would buy him?? he's on a huge wage at united and doesn't justify it in my opinion
14 Jul 2015 16:40:28
The transition will not be complete until we sell Rooney, but we're not likely to do that, so let's not get into that debate again - pretty please. Let's concentrate more on whether the original premise holds water.
What is LVG looking to try and do? He still clearly believes in possession style football, however he needs to construct a team that can deal with the EPL style - a sort of muscular tiki-taka. The purchases he's made certainly fit in with this concept.
I feel confident that whether or not we get another CB, our defence will concede fewer goals than last season, when dealing with the departures of Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra coupled with a host of injuries, and the virtual necessity of playing with 3 at the back, delayed the imposition of tactical assimilation. Now, we also have better cover in front of the defence. We also need to score possibly 15 more goals to contend for the title.
Possession style football is inherently less attractive. Without goals it's a frustrating drag, and it is worth noting we scored fewer goals last year with "stars" like Di Maria and Falcao in our team, than we did the year before. We will need to be more creative, exhibit better first touch, and be faster in thought and action in order to break through the packed defences our possession style football will no doubt force on less talented teams. So I say, beware LVG, the wrath of the Beast is omnipresent, awaiting the opportunity to wreak havoc on your smug philosophy.
14 Jul 2015 16:43:32
IMBS - quality post there's one thing having competition for places but then that can lead to people not getting a conistent run intheir favoured position which is what happened last year with rooney being shifted to all positions
I think what rooney needs is lvg to tell him he has this season to be the lead striker and he has to deliver otherwise well buy a striker next summer and his place in the team is in doubt
14 Jul 2015 17:10:34
Not sure he needs to tell him DSG. With this team behind him, if he doesn't score 20 goals, or alternatively, if the team doesn't score 75 because Rooney's work up front is creating space and opportunities for others, it should be obvious his days are numbered as our main attacker.
14 Jul 2015 17:24:52
I'm by no means Wayne's biggest fan (am I, Deeps) but I do believe as an out and out striker, with the midfield we have now, the guy will score a hatful.
I'd still like Cavani for his versatility, as we have (hopefully) a lot of games this season, and without Wayne we look really light up front - if we're serious about proper challenges this season.
I love Wilson, and I understand the argument for getting a lesser name as back up, but are you telling me a front line 3 out of Cavani/Rooney/Depay/ADM, doesn't sound delicious?
3 from 4? That's the manager's problem. Fergie managed it with the same conundrum. Let's leave LVG to sort it out.
14 Jul 2015 17:51:05
Noucamp, the thing is Fergie played 2 strikers. Lvg may, but isn't known for it.
14 Jul 2015 18:29:28
Another point of note is, where will Fellaini play? Certainly not in the heart of midfield with the purchases we have made. With a shift towards more technical possession football I see him struggling to get in as a no.10 with the likes of Mata, Herrera and Rooney who can play in that position. Will he be deployed as an emergency Striker when necessary? If we have have Rooney as first choice striker, Wilson as backup, Depay and Fellaini for emergencies - how many games does that leave for a new signing?
The decision on what striker to buy and subsequently what to do with Rooney - may well be the biggest challenge Lvg faces during his tenure as United manager. I'm interested to see what solution he thinks best.
14 Jul 2015 18:57:45
Sorry, IMBS. I was meaning Rooney up top, with Cavani and ADM/Depay either side of him, interchanging when needed, not a front two. I still don't think Depay will get loads of games this season, as the experts seem to think he'll need another season, so there's plenty of game time to go round.