Mission Impossible 6: Finding Rooney's Best Position

2015 has produced a fantastic summer of sport. England winning the Ashes, Lewis Hamilton the British GP, Chris Froome the Tour de France, Britain beating France in the Davis Cup… they have all kept us hugely entertained in the last few months.

But let’s be honest we’re all glad the footy is back.

And the start to the football season wouldn’t be complete without Manchester United fans wondering how many burgers Wayne Rooney had during his summer break and where he should be playing in their team.

You're still discussing Rooney?!

Wait a minute I hear you say, as much as we enjoy this perennial discussion, hasn’t this already been finally settled?

The best pundit on our TV screens, Gary Neville made his opinion quite clear on the issue… and like you… I’m inclined to agree with most things he says and move on.

After constant calls for Rooney to be moved upfront last season he finally got his chance to spearhead United’s attack from late February onwards. This was helped by Robin van Persie’s injury problems and it becoming apparent that Radamel Falcao’s knee surgery meant he could no longer run very fast or kick a ball straight.

OMG I actually completed a pass!

On Monday Night Football, our man ‘G-Nev’ commented, “Wayne Rooney is proving that that is his best position… he’s proving that he’s Manchester United’s best striker and enjoying the role, scoring goals, it really has fallen into place”

England manager Roy Hodgson also seemed fairly clear when asked about the issue… “Well, he’s a goal-scorer, isn’t he? So one always likes to see one’s goal-scorers in positions where they can get into the box and in and around the box.”

Stupid question

And Rooney himself shared this opinion himself before the start of this season. “My best position, and I have always said it, is as a striker, getting into the box and scoring,' said Rooney. 'The two seasons I have really done that as a lone striker were my two best goal scoring seasons here… So hopefully if I play up there again this season then I can score the goals. It is where I like to play and I am sure it is where I will play. It is where the manager and myself see my best position.”

My philosophy - Kick the ball in that goal

And goal scoring is something Rooney certainly excels at – He is the Premier League’s 3rd highest ever goal scorer, and has Bobby Charlton’s Manchester United and England scoring records well within his sights.

Wayne, if the hair transplants stop working... wear this cap

It is generally considered an accepted fact that Rooney’s best season was 2009/10, the year after Ronaldo and Tevez left and before Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie arrived. Rooney mostly operated at the top of the attack with Dimitar Bebatov either behind him or on the bench in the bigger matches. In terms of goal scoring Rooney was prolific, netting 34 times before injuring his ankle against Bayern Munich in March. However, United fell short in both the Premier League and Champions League that season, with the team ultimately too dependent on Rooney’s contribution.

Ankle injury or shot by a sniper?

The other season Rooney played at the top of the attack was 2011/12, when again he scored a superb 34 goals and received plaudits for his personal contribution. But once again United came 2nd in the Premier League and didn’t progress beyond the group stages of the Champions League.

Rio Ferdinand in his book ‘2 sides’ was fairly clear of his opinion on where Rooney should be playing but Rooney’s response is even more interesting. "He was top scorer in 2012, scored a hatful of goals up front on his own, as the number nine, which I think is his best position," Rio wrote.

"The following year he says 'I want to play number ten. I prefer it. I'm better a number 10.' I said to him 'you've just had your best year statistically and in terms of adulation and the media loving you. Why do you want to play ten??”

You want to do what? Are you Merking me lad?!

It was a moment of clarity from Rooney. Yes he had the adulation of being the top goal scorer but really was it his best position after having so much individual and collective success previously as a 10? And was Rio really correct in stating that it was his best year statistically? Let’s look at his output in the Premier League since 2006…

In terms of pure goals he clearly was highly effective in that 2011/12 season, but even with some basic secondary school maths we can analyse Rio’s claim a bit closer.

Providing the finishing touch to goals is important, but equally so is creating them, so let’s consider both goals and assists. Next let’s remove penalties as they skew the numbers in years when Rooney wasn’t United’s penalty taker. And lastly, we need to adjust for minutes played to factor for missed games and give a true measure of effectiveness.

It’s clear to see that Rooney’s contribution to goals has actually been statistically very consistent, with a goal or assist every 100 or so minutes in all but the most recent season. In the 3 seasons where it appears his contribution appears slightly muted (2006/07, 2008/09 & 2010/11) United won the Premier League title and reached the Champions League final twice and the semi-final once – success in anyone’s eyes. 

What differentiated Rooney at his prime were his defensive contributions – those best appreciated when seeing a full game rather analysing statistics or watching the highlights on Match of the Day. Those who scoff at the suggestion that Rooney ranks among the World’s elite footballers, often overlook this side of his game. They prefer their attacking players to be midget sized magicians like Modric and Iniesta, an athletic Adonis like Bale, or possess the nonchalant flair of Neymar and Zlatan.

Fellaini, Rooney and Herrera 

(Messi and Ronaldo of course fit these descriptions, but not being from this planet, they can’t be compared to a mere mortal).

Rooney doesn’t fit this mould. He’s about as wide as he is tall; his barrel-chested physique makes him look like he lives on a diet of pies and chips, fish and chips, burgers and chips – really anything with chips. While his bubbling energy and fiery temper aren’t the hallmarks of a brooding artist.

But what Rooney gives you is a different type of No.10. Alongside his ability to use the ball and score goals he’s a player with the aggression, strength and desire to chase back and contest the midfield battle. For many years United seemed to be getting away without having a dominant ball winner in midfield and were able to make do with the likes of Carrick, Cleverly, and the aging Scholes and Giggs, due to Rooney’s effervescent and muscular contributions.

Thanks for doing our running lad...

Yes, he lacks the tactical discipline to provide the consistent shadowing presence required against a world-class deep-lying playmaker - like Busquets, Alonso or Pirlo. But contests of this nature are rare and his more instinctive force-of-nature approach is highly effective against the majority of opponents, especially in the less tactical, fast tempo matches seen on a Premier League weekend.

You can't touch this...

For all the praise showered on him for the goals he’s scored, it is in those seasons when he’s played deeper that he’s made his greatest contributions and United have won their trophies. 

Now this doesn’t mean Rooney can’t be a very effective lone striker if the team requires. However, Van Gaal’s current set-up doesn’t bring the best out of his captain in this position. When playing here under Ferguson his role was to make intelligent runs and feed off the supply from the natural crossers on the wings. He also sometimes played as a ‘false 9’ drawing centre backs out of position and creating space for the likes of Ronaldo and Tevez to exploit.

False what?

United currently have inverted wingers cutting in from the flanks - Memphis looking for shooting opportunities and Mata looking for through balls. If Ashley Young plays on the left, his whipped crosses to the back post are more suited to the late runs of and giant mop of Marouane Fellaini. Yes, he was shifted around the pitch a lot but his numbers are even since being moved upfront have been underwhelming, with no goals in his last 10 matches.

Rooney explained his role in Van Gaal’s system perfectly. "I was trying to stay high, trying to stretch the pitch and more leave the space for the midfield players… Which I think was being shown we were killing teams in midfield, in particular with Fellaini and Ashley Young.”

Wayne Rooney, the team’s best player and most clinical finisher, being used to create space for Fellaini and Young??

I carried you last season Wayne

Gary Neville on the aforementioned MNF after the Manchester City game lauded his performance, describing Rooney as ‘the silent dominator’. “If you look at the touches he had in the game, his average is 75-85 touches a game, he had 35 touches against City. It was his lowest in all his Premier League matches for United… But I think Louis van Gaal would have been happiest with him yesterday. The fact he held those two centre-backs central, kept those pockets open for Fellaini and Herrera”.

Definitely silent...

"He had a shot on target, so I am happy," Van Gaal said of Rooney’s contribution to United's 3-1 defeat of Club Brugge on Tuesday.

A shot on target? The highest paid player, England’s most talented player of his generation and the manager is happy because he managed a shot on target?

Any manager should be looking to get the best from his star player, not relegating him to the equivalent of a moving bollard. If Van Gaal wanted a striker who plays on the shoulder of the last defender waiting for intricate through balls then he should’ve kept the master of this art Robin van Persie. Success in such a role either requires the clever subtle movement that van Persie possesses or the pace and quick feet of someone like Sergio Aguero – at the moment Rooney seems to have neither.  

Aghhh my back!

There is no reason Rooney can’t adapt to the role over time, he’s a supremely talented footballer and his current malaise could be put down to early season rustiness. But, now that Van Gaal has signed some superb central midfielders and settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation that allows him to field a genuine no.10, Rooney should be moved back to the position of his shirt number.

Lads I think they've spelt my name wrong...

As ex-England boss Fabio Capello said, "Rooney is a versatile player but his best position is as a central striker, just behind the person who plays up front… That way he can play with his face to the goal rather than his back. You need someone more advanced but then the others can move around him.”

So while many United fans have been desperate for a new centre back it is really the striker position that Van Gaal needs to focus his efforts. If the likes of Lewandowski and Benzema are not available then he should still push hard for secondary targets, such as Cavani, Harry Kane or Romelu Lukaku. A midfield triumvirate of Bastian Scweinstiger, Morgan Schnedierlein and Rooney would give United the best central combination in the League and free their captain to be at the centre of the their attacking play. And crucially it would allow some rotation in the striking positions... currently it appears Rooney will have to shoulder the burden himself. 

Sch-pecial

As Paul Scholes said in his column in the Independent, “This is not an argument to say that Wayne is not a top striker. His record says that he is and in an ideal world, I would have two Waynes: one to hit those passes from deep and another to get on the end of them. He is the best passer in the team and he can play that role better than anyone.”

And Andy Cole, when discussing England’s options, added, "Wayne, of course, Wayne [is England's best striker]! He's a good striker, but he won't play that well as a number 9… He's not a good number 9 because he tends to explore the pitch, but he can still score goals.”

When Rooney's long-term credentials were questioned, Roy Keane simply said: ‘If you think Wayne Rooney’s gone, then you are sadly mistaken.'

And who’s going to argue with Keane… certainly not me.