Is it the WAY'ne out for Rooney

                It has been 3 weeks since the second leg of R16 between United and Real Madrid when Rooney was benched and the tongues have not stopped wagging about his possible departure from Old Trafford. With international break kicking in, I thought why not share my views on this speculation. He has been one of the finest talents the empire has ever produced and I guess that is a given. Revisiting the Madrid game, I tend to agree with the gaffer’s reason for not starting Wazza a tactical one and it proved damn right despite the contentious decision by the Turkish referee and the subsequent result.

                Rooney has been United’s talisman for quite a while now and his ego would have taken a dent for not starting this particular match. Now, this incident in isolation could not have triggered the rumours or for that matter this post would not have seen the light. We have seen a lot of star departures from Old Trafford for crossing the line with Fergie and Rooney has had few run ins of his own with 2010 drama still fresh in our memories.

Allegedly, Fergie is the one who doesn’t forget the troubles caused by a player in the past and rumoured to wield the axe when you don’t have a faintest of idea. Wazza has always been hot headed and never intimidated easily but you don’t show attitude to your manager. When Rooney handed in the transfer request in October 2010 claiming the club has shown no ambition to compete with big money spenders Chelsea and Manchester City, David Gill was taken in by surprise. And so was Fergie when Rooney followed up on his agent’s call that he wasn’t going to renegotiate for a new contract with the then contract expiring in 2012 summer. Though he made a U turn in a couple of days, he had scarred the faithful and I should say though he has clawed back some goodwill, not everybody has made peace with him for the stunt. Eventually United went on to win the league and lose out to all conquering Barcelona in the Champions League in Wembley.

Reverting to the topic under dissection, let us look at what the options are. Definitely as a player, he still has a lot to offer and the club will benefit with him in the roster. This season he has proved how versatile he is with playing in multiple positions – left and right wings, attacking midfield in a diamond formation apart from his striker role. But it has been made abundantly clear that he has his task cut out for a striker’s role to compete with RVP, Chicarito and Welbeck. However he brings a lot of energy in the field and can drop deep to link the midfield and the forwards which the above 3 cannot match. Further, he has demonstrated his defensive skills as well this season tracking back to cover Evra (suspectful at times) when deployed in the left wing. He is still in his twenties and could be a top player for the next 2-3 years at the least.

On the downside, selling him this summer could ease the burden on the club’s financials from a £ 250,000 on weekly wages. With RVP established as the main point man, he has to fight off a talented Welbeck and “Ole” in the making Chicarito for another berth if Fergie goes with 2 strikers. To operate behind a lone man, Kagawa advertises to be apt choice and thus shunning an automatic selection for Rooney. Does it augur well for the club then to have a utility player who commands a hefty wage?  The more disconcerting of all is how easily Rooney can gain extra pounds during off season/injury lay off given his unhindered diet programme. It gets trickier to get him get going post break as he needs 2 to 3 games to regain match fitness. With another rumour floating around on CR7’s possible return, it would serve purpose in United offloading Wazza if the above indeed happens as CR7 has license to wander anywhere in the field. J.

So far I have not mentioned if I want him to stay or leave but just listing the essential points to deliberate, discuss, argue and what else you may want to. From Rooney’s perspective, will he relish a role that is not a top billing? Will his ego give way to play second fiddle to Welbeck, Chicarito and Kagawa? During his transfer request fiasco, he cited the club’s inability to bring in top talents losing to the new rich clubs. Little did he know that it may pinch him later when Fergie shocked everybody by grabbing RVP from the Gunners and Kagawa from Borussia (Champions at that time). Taking stock at the moment, there was no settling down time if at all for RVP as he slotted perfectly within the team scoring 19 goals so far. Kagawa,  though failing to lit the league with fire is expected to come to terms with the physicality of the game here in England. Further, if he decides to leave, there aren’t many clubs that can match his current wage and a shot at trophies every season. Barcelona and Madrid, though in the same league as United in terms of grandeur, are not going to treat him as royalty. I could see only Chelsea or City being realistic destinations though he would be loathe to join the blue side of Manchester.

Personally I would like to see Rooney ply his trade here in United for 2 more years as a striker after which he can mould himself into a midfielder and dictate the games. But if all the talk of his future does arise in the summer and he ultimately decides to extend his contract (current contract ends in 2015), he may have to climb down from the high horse and the negotiation would be at Fergie’s terms with a pay cut. Seems to be the only course forward, again only if he decides to don the red jersey and heed the fans’ wish.