WAYNE ROONEY 2008/2009!





























For some players because of the visible commitment, energy and love they have and drive towards the success of the club, they cannot be evaluated as having poor seasons. Wayne Rooney is one of those players. There is nothing I can write about hiss commitment that nobody knows and that is testament to hiss importance to Manchester United's cause.
The one are he has come under criticism is his temper but I must say he has improved on that this season.
The one time I was really irked by his temper was in Japan when he came on and wanted to take the ball off a Gamba Osaka player who was down and after a few seconds of fair battle to win the ball, he started literally kicking at the player in the name of winning the ball.
Anyhow, after promising to play Rooney in his favourite position upfront, Sir Alex found it necessary to have him play wide on the left for most of our season and you cannot say that it has not helped United. Towards the business end of the season, we were faced with games where we needed Rooney's energy both at the front and at the back and the left position was the only way Fergie would do it. Given that Ronaldo has a habit of 'forgetting' to track back, I think it was wise to throw the Portuguese upfront and leave Rooney on the left. I think that is what won us the games against Spurs in the league, FC Porto away and the one at the Emirates in the Champions League. Much as many think that Champions League final was handled poorly tactically, I think that we would all have been praising Sir Alex if we had won the game by an early goal to nil!
Anyhow, Rooney has had his second most successful season for us as far as goals are concerned (despite playing a lot on the left) and I think that's down to the fact that he has remained injury free for most of the campaign. His performance in the game against Spurs was top notch. His season individual milestone must have been netting his 100th goal in the Manchester Derby at Wastelands. His celebration must have equalled the amounts of watts needed to light up OT!
Now, having underlined his importance to us on the left this past season, I'd like him to play upfront next season. Fergie should sign up a left sided player in the window if he feels that we are lacking there. Wayne can clearly do for us a wonderful job at the front so he ought to be there more often. I think that is one of the reasons as to why the Dippers outscored us this season. If Nani and Park have not satisfied Fergie on the left, I think someone like Antonio Valencia could do the trick for us there. He has pace and has been at a club where tracking back is daily bread. He should not have problems adapting to our style of play as he is no 'mechanic'. Also he has this powerful shot that beats keepers before the ball reaches them.
The point is, if we can focus Rooney's energy upfront only next season, then we could be more than a force to reckon with next season!

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