10 Aug 2015 10:36:50
Lvg only interested in a striker or centre back if 'they are better than what we have ' well that is quite a large amount of players to choose from so why isn't anyone coming in. On the rooney comments I'm a big fan of rooney, he was crap on Saturday but no way should he be replaced, more like helped with a out and out number 9
10 Aug 2015 10:50:25
Rooney is better playing off someone and not as the lone or main striker. I don't have a problem with him in the team on that basis however would it limit or change the formation LVG wants to play just to accommodate him?
{Ed004's Note - This actually happens every year and I'm not accusing you Red Man. But wasn't everyone saying last year how Rooney isn't a number 10 and we need to see him as the main striker to get the best of him etc etc}
10 Aug 2015 11:05:04
I don't think I've ever seen a player on whom 'jack of all trades, master of none' applies more than rooney.
10 Aug 2015 11:07:19
Rooney is best as a main striker. He is one of the top five marksmen in the league for me and I would be happy for him to lead the line this season but if that's the case the manager has to modify the system to suit him. If not then throw Felliani up there as first choice as it would reap more reward in the current set up.
10 Aug 2015 11:10:25
Rooney isn't a true No.9 neither is he a true No.10.
He isn't disciplined enough to hold his position to play as a No.9.
But his passing and first touch aren't consistant enough to be a No.10 and the creative hub of the team.
Rooney will always be a player who give you 100%, but sometimes he will just fall short of producing the kind of performance the hype around him suggests he should be giving.
He needs to play just off the shoulder of a top striker, a supporting role. Not as a No.10 but more of a free role between the midfield and the forward line. That is when he has produced his best performances. For me his best games came alongside Louis Saha. He had good goalscoring seasons when played as a lone striker, but he also had a load of very average performance during those seasons. If you consider during the two seasons he played as the lone front man he scored 25-30 goals in 55+ games. Now a lot of those goals came together meaning he propbably didn't score in around 60-65% of our games during those seasons. That is only acceptable if there are a lot of goals coming from other areas on a regular and consisitant basis.
Rooney needs someone else to take up the goalscoring burden to allow him the freedom to play at his best.
Rooney for me works best in a 4411 formation as the one between the striker amd the midfield. There he will be involved in more of the game and be able to contirbute 15-20 goals with a main striker infront of him getting 20-30 goals and 15-20 goals coming from the wide players.
Rooney playing off the shoulder of someone like Lewandowski with say Pedro and Depay either side would get the best out of all the players.
But the question is can we bring in someone like Lewandowski?
10 Aug 2015 11:14:43
I think the main problem with playing Rooney as a main striker in this formation is that he isn't disciplined enough to stay in his position all too often he drops deep. This nullifies any space for the number 10. What I do find strange is how we hear from ex pro who have played under LVG that he likes his players to work in box or zone and not to be free to improvise or roam, hence players like Zlatan and ADM struggle under him yet Rooney seems to have license to go wherever he likes. I think Rooney could play up top but we need pace on wings which for me means young and Mata moved off the wings for Memphis and Pedro if he comes in.
10 Aug 2015 11:41:07
Typical
10 Aug 2015 11:45:20
Red man, what attributes of his, do you feel make him suitable to play behind a main striker? Close control? Nope. Short passing? Nope. Quick thinking? Nope. Vision? Nope. His main attribute,for me, is his ability to put the ball in the net. Now I am not his biggest fan, shocking I know, but I won't write him off as our main striker after our first league game. No one is firing on all cylinders, for the first few games of the season.
10 Aug 2015 12:00:37
Well said Edd. The aim for the team is to get playing like they did in the period of the tottenham game through to the man city game of last year. Rooney said last year how disciplined you have to be in that role pushing the defence back and creating space in behind between the opposition midfield and backline. The key will be what depay can do in there! LVG told rooney last year this is how bayern played in his time and the striker doesn't recieve many touches at all on the ball but he scored twice as many goals as rooney!
10 Aug 2015 12:25:07
Brendan
I think Shappy has given a good description of the issue. I would add that Rooney usually needs multiple chances to score , he is not clinical. I haven't formed an opinion based on one game but over a period of years watching him live and I was there at OT for his debut hat-trick. He is a conundrum because you can't fault his effort but he has always scored in bursts and in the quiet periods, which are often long periods , the team can suffer. We cannot afford that as a main striker
10 Aug 2015 12:30:26
Should of moved Rooney on. Lewandowski with Mata in behind. Rodney's movements poor, comes deep to offen, lost a yard of pace, dithers a lot as shown Saturday for the goal, and his first touch is woeful. Move him on and bring in a top number 9
10 Aug 2015 11:18:03
Ed004,
Yes, I think so, maybe Rooney is just 'good' everywhere but isn't the world class striker we all think we need. He will score plenty of goals if given the service as we know, Pedro may be a massive help.
{Ed004's Note - I don't think he will be upgraded this year but I expect by the end of the season we will have to sign a new striker}
10 Aug 2015 11:26:42
Hi Ed
I don't believe I have ever said he should be the main striker however he does polarise opinion somewhat. I was just talking to an Everton season ticket holder this morning and he said Rooney was not a focal main striker there either. Opinions vary and some rate him highly however whilst he is a willing worker his level of quality is not it should be. I watched close up last season as his first touch let him down and passes inaccurately given away and it concerns me if he is to be our main striker. Others will disagree yet SAF bought RVP instead of trusting Wayne. I was not comfy selling him to Chelsea two years ago but he hasn't gone to the level his promise showed in the early days. Probably his best period was with Ronaldo and Tevez and that is maybe how it could work now , yet he has to earn his place. If we are ambitious it needs someone better as the main striker unless we buy Bale and play like we did in 2008
{Ed004's Note - I wasn't accusing you of making the claim but it's commonly used on here and once he is moved into the number 10 position everyone will come back claiming he is a better striker etc}
10 Aug 2015 13:05:27
Redmond, I agree with the bursts, just hoping given a clean run as striker, he will be more consistent. If not, then their is no point him being here, as he isn't good enough to take another players place elsewhere. I think he should get a run up top, then we will know for sure.
10 Aug 2015 13:09:45
Here we go again shappy. I only get half an hour for my dinner break.
10 Aug 2015 13:29:24
Hi Ed
I know you weren't , I was just answering overall. Rooney elicits widely different opinions , a bit like Nani 3 years ago which heralded similar debates and see what happened to him!
10 Aug 2015 14:23:38
i think rooney at the very least deserves until January to play as the main striker to see if he can produce up there.
he's been so used to not having a midfield to back him up that he's now got to change his game back to how it was when he played as a solo striker, if he can that is of course.
this is the first season in how long we actually have a midfield capable of competing, so he should be able to stay further forward
10 Aug 2015 14:38:43
Douglas I just re-read my post in under 3 minutes. So the good news is you can read it 10 times during your lunch break if you want. Lol.
10 Aug 2015 18:33:59
Strebor
We could be out of it by January if Rooney is the main striker and has one of his "dry" patches.