Rooney short of ability...wow what an odd thing to say. I'd agree he is short of confidence but in the majority of games we lost he did not play. His work rate and flair is amazing, yes he missed a lot of chances but still scored 18 goals in 43 apps which is not bad for a SS played out of position all season.
You misread what I said, clearly. I said at the end of the season he appeared short on not just confidence, but ability.
I'm sorry but three years ago he was hailed as the next messiah, yeah he is not THAT good but he is still the most naturally gifted English player around (apart from Scholes) and will become a great player.
The Rooney of 3 years ago was amazing. The player we have no isn't as good as the player we had then.
The Rooney of 3 years ago had real fire in him, he'd hit shots, burst past players and was an all-round angry man who the opposition feared.
They said Rooney would need to calm his temperament, the problem is, he also curbed what made him so good. Instead we've lost the fire in his game from a footballing side and instead, we've been left with a petulant little child who can't shut his mouth up and kicks out at players who take the ball off him easily.
We are the Champions domestically and of Europe, I don't understand why there is a need to be critical of players like Rooney.
Because we are always looking to improve and even before the CL final I pointed out, man for man, Rooney was the weakest member of that team.
Tevez does everything Rooney does, but he does it without losing his head and being mouthy and petulant. Tevez is also a craftier player with a lot more guile and far better movement off the ball.
Rooney's job is not only to create, but also to score, and the simple fact is that he misses FAR too many shots. People lynched Andy Cole on that 5 chances to score nonsense that was started (and was also very untrue), but Rooney certainly fits that mould and then some.
I used to have a love for Rooney and what he could do, it was amazing, he was a magician with a ball at his feet, but he's slower than he was, more injury prone, less potent in goal and doesn't go past players with the confidence (arrogance) and swagger he did. Rooney is still a very good player, but he's not as good as he was, and at Rooneys age (23 I believe), that really isn't a good position to be in.
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