Prior to the goal against Sunderland, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney had gone 1000 minutes before he scored. The knives are out for the record English goal scorer as he hasn’t been able to provide a lot of firepower to Manchester United this season.
The English striker might be playing a more advanced role, at least more than he was when Louis van Gaal took over, but his performances have been below average to say the least. Strikers are expected to score goals or at least be a threat at the front and that is something that Rooney has not done this season.
Is it time to think of a Manchester United sans Rooney?
Rooney has hit the 30-year mark, an age which might just be a number for some people but in the world of football it has massive ramifications for a player’s career. Many players tail off at the age of 30 and expecting Rooney to continue playing and scoring like he has done his entire career would be asking too much from the English striker.
Wayne has always had a 100% or nothing attitude towards playing the game, he always gives it his all and that could be taking a toll on his body now. Wayne Rooney was never the most gifted athlete in terms of physical shape, sure he was well built but his game was built on his strength and dynamism, something that has gone down a little in the past few seasons.
Rooney did have talent and still does but playing him as the striker was expected to fix all the issues of him not performing for Manchester United, unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out like that this season. Even playing with someone like Anthony Martial, a youngster with lots of pace hasn’t unlocked the firepower of Rooney and that would be a problem for Wayne Rooney and Manchester United.
His time at the club might not be coming to an end but starting him every game cannot be the way to go if he continues playing in this fashion. Skeptics might bring forward the example of Andrea Pirlo, who still continued to shine even in his last season at Juventus or of Xavi at Barcelona, but these were midfielders whose games were not built on brute force and speed.
It would be extremely hard to find any striker who continues to shine in their 30’s, especially in this day and age of football. Even the legend that is Totti has to take a limited role at Roma, a club that he has always loved and never once thought of leaving. Wayne Rooney might be too big a player to leave Manchester United for any other club, unless a crazy transfer offer comes, he still can change games for United but can he play every game at the same level that he was playing say 3-4 years ago? Probably not but that is the reality of football. A Manchester United team with Rooney on the bench more than on the playing field is not that far away and the more we prepare for such inevitability, the better it would be for all.
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