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As he took charge of the red half of Manchester, the least of David Moyes’s problems must have been to put in place a winning strategy that matched the one of the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Honestly, no one expects Moyes or anyone else to have a trophy record as brilliant as SAF.
Of course the first problem awaiting him at Old Trafford was the conundrum over Wayne Rooney’s contract. The iconic no. 10 striker/play-maker who has been Manchester United’s talisman front-man for the last eight years or so, must be made to stay or must be allowed to leave. As the situation currently stands, neither player nor club, seem to have come to an amicable solution that is either symbiotic or at least a one-way, win-win situation.
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Many of the Manchester United faithful had already given up on Rooney in 2010, when the Liverpudlian held the club for ransom over a better contract. And it is unlikely that the Red Devils would grieve his departure or blame the new manager for that. But the main questions that remain unanswered are, what happened, why did it happen, and who would put an end to this player-club misery?
Did Sir Alex ruin Wayne Rooney?
In some ways, yes.
When Wayne Rooney scored that screamer against Arsenal in an Everton shirt, that moment was a beacon of things to come. Wayne Rooney was to become a household name in England and be a part of the Golden Generation boys that would bring some glory to the national team. Rooney had tasted stardom at a very young age. Every football fan wanted to be Wayne Rooney. He probably even made clean shaven heads, the new in-thing for many of his fans.
Rooney’s arrival at United coincided with that of Cristiano Ronaldo’s. Undoubtedly the Portuguese would go on to become the more favourite of the two. While Rooney was deemed as the supplier of the ball, Cristiano was the universal guy who would drift in from the wings to score goals and steal Rooney’s thunder. Though Sir Alex may have given equal opportunities to both, it was Cristiano who got more freedom up front and had the license to kill.
With this same haphazard strategy that saw Rooney being cast in a role akin to Zidane or Del Piero, Rooney was led to believe that he was the prominent centre-forward in the squad. While it developed him as a unique player known for his versatility, it prevented him from becoming a specialist, which many fans truly expected him to be. While some saw him as an out-and-out striker, many fancied Rooney as a successor to the legendary Paul Scholes. Type-casting in a particular role has often reduced the growth of players, but in Rooney’s case it would have helped him realize his role within the team.
Rooney’s demons
2010.
After the departures of Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, the gaffer brought in Antonio Valencia, who clearly seemed to be a poor man’s way of replacing Ronaldo, while the acquisition of Michael Owen, was a question no one would ever be able to answer. United were falling in terms of quality, and Rooney was probably right when he questioned that.
But as the strategy at United goes, no one player is bigger than the club and Rooney was successfully gagged soon with a new contract, though a major rift was created between the manager and his star son. That day on, Rooney was reduced from a star to a fringe utility at the club.
Ferguson once quoted that if Rooney could give a 100%, he would be one of the very best. But the promise that Rooney showed as a youngster never seemed to reach that required 100%. Outbursts with the manager, personal life splashed across the media, weight issues and the lack of a certain authority in his game, has truly hampered Rooney’s rise. While his statistics and contribution to United’s trophy haul in recent times may contradict my previous statement, any United supporter worth his salt would agree that Rooney was truly never the superstar he could have been.
Back-up boy
Even though David Moyes has been careful in handling the situation, so as to not hurt the player or even his fan base’s sentiments, his stand on Rooney’s position at the club is clear. Roo-man is just the club’s back up plan for now.
When Sir Alex Ferguson splashed nearly 50 million pounds to procure the signatures of Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie last season, he was clearly working on the long term. A play-maker and a seasoned goal-getter respectively.
While his first season may have not been as impressive, Kagawa will be expected to fit in more comfortably into the squad this season, especially into the number 10 role he is expected to make his own. At the same time, Robin van Persie will get better on all fronts and that sweet goal-scoring left foot of his means it is unlikely, that van Persie would find himself having any competition from Rooney.
This has led to Rooney being reduced to a mere shadow of his former self and much of this must come from within his mind. A player who should have risen to the challenge and fought for his place in the squad succumbed to his own ego, peevish attitude, and selfishness. As seen in the knock-out tie against Madrid last season and in Sir Alex’s final game at OT, where he was dropped in favour of Paul Scholes, the club’s hierarchy clearly deem him surplus to their needs and if the right offer does come knocking at their door’s, Rooney will leave.
Where will Wayne Rooney be playing next season?
The old-fashioned hero
While enough blame has been cast upon the Sir Alex’s mistake to deploy him in an asymmetrical role, there are certain things that Rooney must himself take notice of. The truth is that he cannot be deemed as a specialist. He could have been the ideal ‘trequartista’ in the 1990s but today he is simply a jammed cog in the modern flowing game.
While attacking midfielders like Juan Mata and David Silva of the Spanish armada, and Mario Gotze and Mesut Ozil of the German blitz added fluidity to their game essentially making it a trademark of the modern style of play, the days of the rigid trequartista were numbered. For this very reason the exiting United manager paid a hefty price to secure the services of a modern, specialist play-maker in Shinji Kagawa.
Rooney’s game continues to be fashioned on the style of the 1990s, where he is required to dominate possession, control the tempo of the game and change these at will. At 27, he should have easily adopted his style to suit the needs but a lack of dynamism has brought about his downfall. Though Rooney sees himself in that role, his game continues to belie his claim to it.
The reason why the likes of Francesco Totti and Alessandro del Piero continued to thrive past the age of 30 was, as they simply adapted to the modern game and continued to offer what they could in no matter what way possible. They evolved. But Rooney’s evolution has surprisingly stopped at 27 and this lack of dynamism affords him the title of the proverbial Jack, who learnt all the trades there were, but mastered none.
Where does he go?
While Jose Mourinho claims to have put in a audacious bid for Wayne Rooney and could actually afford his wages, it is unlikely that the northerners will sell their star to a club who are their direct rivals. For the same reason, Arsenal and Manchester City would not bother to lure Rooney with promises of assured playing time and more wages.
The only destination where Rooney could actually consider plying his trade now is in Spain or France. While Barcelona lay an emphasis on tactics and may consider bidding for Rooney after the exit of Thiago Alacantara, it is unlikely that the La Liga champions will splurge on yet another star name this window, after acquiring Neymar from Santos. Madrid on the other hand have always fancied the Englishman and with the future of Gonzalo Higuain looking more and more unsettled, a move to the Spanish capital could be on the cards for Wayne Rooney. And if not in Spain, the likes of AS Monaco and PSG will always have space for yet another star within their ranks.
Yet, if there is even a slight chance that United were to retain Rooney for more it would be up to him to impress the new boss. Rooney must cast aside his inhibitions and fully mature into that Scholes-like, play-maker role he so covets, as Kagawa’s future at United beyond 2014 would be just as much in the balance as his.
