With five Premier League titles to his name,
there's no question that Wayne Rooney has been
a principal character in Manchester United's
recent past. But how much of a role will he have
to play in Manchester United's future? New
manager Jose Mourinho has long been an
admirer of the England captain and tried to sign
him for Chelsea in 2013, but three years is an
eternity in modern football. Rooney's powers are
fading and it's no longer clear where exactly he
should be operating on the pitch.
Mourinho is quite clear where he shouldn't be
operating. Don't expect him to play in the midfield
this season, as he did for England this summer.
"For me, he will never be a No. 6, playing 50
metres from the goal," Mourinho said earlier this
month. "You can tell me his pass is amazing, but
my pass is also amazing without pressure. To be
there and put the ball in the net is the most
difficult thing. For me, he will be a 9, a 10, a 9.5,
but never a 6 or an 8."
And yet far from clarifying the situation, Mourinho
has only limited the possibilities to a more
manageable range of positions. The problem for
Rooney is that it's hard to argue that he's the
superior player in any of them.
Memories of his ill-fated adventures in France are
still raw. In what might have been the worst
England performance in living memory, Rooney
was breathtakingly awful. His first touch went
completely, his entire game collapsed and he was
withdrawn, too late, by a despairing Roy Hodgson.
He was far from the only player to capitulate
against Iceland, but as the captain, as the most
senior player, as the top goal scorer, his
culpability was all the more critical.
Up front, goals are few and far between for Rooney
now. Last season brought only eight in the
league, the first campaign in which Rooney has
failed to break double figures since he arrived at
Old Trafford in 2004. Only 12 were scored in the
preceding season. For this, there have been many
contributory factors. United weren't particularly
good under Louis van Gaal, playing slowly and
without any real potency. But Rooney hasn't
impressed, tending to look leaden-footed and
lethargic when he's in the final third. Mourinho
had plenty of time to watch United last season
and he would have drawn his own conclusions.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, four years older, but taller,
more adept and a scorer of 38 goals in 31 Ligue 1
games last season, is a far better bet. Marcus
Rashford will be an appealing option from the
bench and it's possible that Mourinho may give a
central role to Antony Martial too. Rooney, who
handed in a transfer request in 2010 citing a lack
of quality in the dressing room, may find it hard to
get a game up front in 2016.
Given that his pace and stamina are too low for a
role on the flanks, where Mourinho always insists
on his players offering as much to the team
defensively as they do offensively, that really only
leaves the slot behind the striker where speed is
less of an issue. But here again, there are
problems. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, recruited at great
expense from Borussia Dortmund, is an assist-
generator of the highest quality. No one in the
Bundesliga made more goals than him last
season, his 15 assists helping Thomas Tuchel's
team to stay on Bayern Munich's tail for as long
as possible. You don't buy a player like that and
then leave him on the bench.
Mkhitaryan has an engine. Fielded for the first half
of United's friendly against Wigan Athletic on
Saturday, he covered so much ground that it was
initially hard to tell if he was supposed to be
alongside Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera, or
causing trouble behind James Wilson. The
Armenian could perform both roles with a degree
of comfort. Rooney, as Mourinho pointed out with
surprising directness, is very good at pinging 40-
yard balls around against a deep-lying defence.
He's no longer the sort of player who can shuttle
up and down the middle all afternoon.
Rooney holds great value to United. As is the case
with England, he is said to be well liked and
respected in the dressing room. He also has great
marketing value, something of paramount
importance to senior management given the
club's enthusiastic embrace of recent Hollywood
campaigns. But on the pitch, his influence is
diminishing.
Mourinho is loyal to those he trusts and has been
effusive in his praise of Rooney, describing him
as, "England's best player for over a decade." But
the manager is also a pragmatist. He believes in
the importance of the team over the individual.
And, with his treatment of Iker Casillas at Real
Madrid, he has already proved that he is not
cowed by reputation. Rooney will need to impress
his new manager quickly, or he may find himself
increasingly on the fringe of this football team.
Posted Africa News Sports
Chapisha Maoni