To much of his own chagrin, Wayne Rooney had to painfully watch from the bench as his Manchester United teammates got knocked out of the FA Cup. Serving the final match of his unjustified two-match ban, Rooney missed the FA Cup Semifinal against Manchester City, but Sir Alex Ferguson will have the luxury of unleashing him against Newcastle United tonight, which will be the best possible news for the Reds.
Some of the supporters have yet to forgive Rooney for his unwarranted statements about the club back in October, however, nobody right now in their right mind can ignore the fact that he is in ripe form.
You do not need to be a rocket scientist to know that Rooney’s services were clearly missed against City, however, it was not his hot streak of goals or assists that were missed the most. When he is interested, Rooney has an unparalleled ability to inspire a killer instinct within his teammates, which was there for everyone to see as the Reds rattle off six of their seven straight wins with him leading leading the way.
Coincidentally, that same “ambitious” mentality that Rooney brought into question, is the same exact one that he can provide with his ability to lead by example. That foolish comment finally got a response out of Ferguson, but the United manager played it off by saying, “I don’t think he really meant that. I think he was prompted on that one. He probably thought he could make me angry.”
Since the beginning of February, Rooney has started to find the form that gained him the recognition as one of the world’s best players last season, and it could not have come at a better time. Like Sir Alex acknowledged with the return of Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park, Rooney finding that ruthless streak again is like having a new big-money signing, but the mindful-again forward knows what the club’s high standards and expectations are.
The United No. 10 has scored 10 goals and supplied three assists, but Rooney has also been more involved in the build-up play. That type of contribution does not fill any column on a stat sheet, but what it certainly does not go unnoticed with the supporters.
As noted before, Rooney has struck a decent understanding with Javier Hernandez, which is a welcomed sight for some United supporters seeing Dimitar Berbatov struggle against City. To be fair to the Premier League’s leading goal scorer, even Rooney would have struggled up front on his own against the Blues, because there was not a consistent supply from his supporting midfielder.
Berbatov helped steady the United ship when Rooney afforded the chance to get his head right, and now it will be his turn to return the favor and chip in with more crucial goals and assists. The classy Bulgarian knows that he should have really helped United into the final of the FA Cup, but he needs to make sure that those misses do not hinder his performances for the rest of the season.
Thankfully, United are not a one-man team, even though a lot rivals think that they are, so Ferguson is able to combat Berbatov’s downturn with Hernandez and/or Rooney in the attack, which should be leaving teams shaking.
Having said before that Wayne Rooney would be forgiven for his uncalled for claims about Manchester United’s ambitions, however, his on the field actions would help erase them from the memory.
Submitted by The United Religion
