With all of transfer talk about Manchester United looking to find that evasive successor for Paul Scholes, Sir Alex Ferguson may look no further than Wayne Rooney.
Tottenham’s Luka Modric and Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder have been the two players that are closely related to Scholes’ style of play, but Ferguson could very well be holding out to see how Rooney would cope in this position.
If Ferguson were to do this, it would not be the first time that he has replaced a living United legend with someone that has been at and knows the club inside and out.
Over the last half of this preceding season, the United No. 10 was given a more free, creative role, which everyone saw the player of old come back out of his shell and lead the club to its 19th title.
A lot of people, this blog included, wrote Rooney off after his inconceivable notion that Manchester United lacked ambition, but his timely goals and never-say-die performances made those comments a thing of the past. Now, he could face a daunting task of being the inventive force behind the strikers to get the Reds back to the days of free-flowing football.
For most of us in the modern generation, Scholes laid the foundation of expectation for attack-minded midfielders with his clever runs, thunderous goals and perfectly placed passes. The bar might be set at an unrealistic level, but if anyone could reach that height it is Wayne.
As most players do, Rooney had a tough go, but during that nine month barren spell when he lost his bearings and could not find his form, he allowed outside interfernce detract him from contributing . It also did not help that someone, his agent Paul Stretford, was chirping in his ear about the amount of money he would make if he move across Manchester. But, nonetheless, the United talisman, with a little coaxing from Ferguson, eventually came to his senses and got back to what initially endeared himself to the Old Trafford faithful.
No matter what club one supports, they should all recognize Rooney as one of the most talented players, because of how good he is at playing a wide variety of positions on the pitch. Because of his abilities to find the target, which already ranks 12th with 147 goals in his 322 appearances, Wayne has always been seen as a center forward.
One of the major difficulties a manager has with a player like Rooney is where to play him in attempt to fully utilize all of his attributes. Up until this point, Rooney has, primarily, played up front with various partners or on his own.
Rooney, now 25, is close to entering the prime age of his career, so if he is going to make this shift now is the time to do it. He is one of the most multifaceted players in the Premier League, but he showed that he could shine on the European stage, as well. It would have been nice to see Rooney drop a little deeper against Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final, but for whatever reason, it just was not meant to happen.
There is no question that Rooney loves to be involved with the play, and it would be very smart to get your best player as many touches as possible, which this new role would do for him. Like with Scholes, one thing that Wazza would need to curb is his is over aggressive nature. This is not saying that he needs to eliminate his physical approach, but just not to let it get away from him.
By, even temporarily, pulling Wayne Rooney back next would allow Sir Alex Ferguson the time to let the next group of young center midfielders at Manchester United to show if they will have the wherewithal to cope at big club or not.
Submitted by The United Religion
