Froggy

It's not even his goals that make him so important to us, that's what people are failing to see. The fact he scores so fucking many is just a testament to how brilliant he actually is.

That's true about his pelanties which are rubbish. Inclined to slightly agree. I wouldn't call his penalties rubbish but he has a tendency to smack important ones over the bar.

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Aye, that's my biggest issue with him. If he ever wants to have a sniff of a chance of the Ballon d'Or in the future then he needs to be consistent over a large period of time. I don't even know where you're getting that from like because it simply isn't the case. I can think of once, maybe twice since he's joined us (that's 8 and a half years now), that he's had a drought of ten games, and the time I remember he was playing on the left wing to facilitate Ronaldo.

Get fucked. We're a tiny wee country. We were delighted to even get there.

Thankfully he bursts out of that "shell" at club level. The main thing I'm debating here is how people are saying he isn't really dangerous anymore. Of course he's still dangerous as he's one of the most intelligent players around. He just no longer has the spark he once did and he's lost some pace. He's now a very refined footballer who is very efficient if inconsistent in front of goal. I don't think that it can be argued that he's not as good to watch as he once was. He no longer goes on marauding runs and beating people. I think he's been a victim of his own work-rate if you like due to him playing everywhere for the benefit of the team. If he was like Cantona he would've always been playing in the same position. What's happened to his long range shooting as well? It was one of the things he was famous for in his younger days yet he seems to have lost all of that ability to shoot from outside the box. Again, 50 in last 70 isn't inconsistent but I see your point in regards to the first paragraph. Rooney is almost always given a free role with us as well. It's his own determination that sees him track back and attempt to win the ball. He was only sacrificed in position when Ronaldo was the spearhead. As far as his long range efforts go, he's just a lot more composed and rarely strikes a ball for the sake of it (even though it worked a lot in the past; just smacking it in the general direction of the net.). If there's an opportunity for a shot now but there's a player out wide in a good position he'll go for the pass. He's refined that part of his game the same way Scholes did in the his latter years. He always used to bend the ball into the far corner when he was younger as well, whereas these days if he shoots from range he tries to catch the keeper out at the near post.

Thankfully he bursts out of that "shell" at club level. The main thing I'm debating here is how people are saying he isn't really dangerous anymore.

I just think the media put so much pressure on the squad that the entire team under-performed.

There's a fairly big gap between 'carrying a team to glory' and turning up at major tournaments unable to trap the ball. Rooney's last 2 tournament appearances have been astonishingly bad. 2010 is the prime example for how the media ruined the team. Rooney top scored for England in the qualifiers for the World Cup, then Engand played poorly and were booed off the pitch by their supporters. That destroyed the whole team, not just Rooney. Despite Lampards "goal", they were destroyed by Germany. I think it was harsh to say Rooney was poor in the 2012 Euros as well. He was banned for the first two group games, scored in the third, and then scored his penalty against the beaten finalists. Astonishingly bad? Not by any stretch of the imagination. ..... IMO.

Well he is like. There's a reason we don't look like the same team without him and tend to lose when he doesn't play or isn't fit, i.e. Norwich, Spurs. While RVP is world class and we are extremely lucky to have a player of his calibre, should he be injured or unfit we have a good replacement in Hernandez, who basically scores when he comes on the pitch. Nobody can do what Rooney does for us. The amount of pressure the English media puts on the International team is ridiculous, but on Rooney it's a whole other level. Just because he's your best player he's expected to carry an average side to glory every time there's a major tournament. Unless you can call Argentina of '86 an average side, no player in history has ever carried an average side to World Cup glory.

Seriously, reading through the last couple of pages of this thread. Some people are so frustrating when it comes to their opinion on Wayne Rooney. The only person who has got it spot on is Mole. In terms of Manchester United, people are saying he's playing second fiddle to the main man on the team, he's not. He is the main man on the team, make no mistake about that. It seems these days you need to have an abundance of flair and beat players to be considered a world class forward. He is our best and most effective player. His ability of dragging players out of position to create space for others is second to none. The most ludicrous thing is to say he isn't as dangerous as he was. Why? Because he doesn't run at players as much as he used to? He's scoring more and assisting more than he ever was and he's in a deeper role, providing a lot more cover and protection to the midfield than he ever did. He's far more dangerous than he used to be. It's like a new phone you get, and it's really exciting, and snazzy, you get it and it's better than everyone elses, does loads of things, then it becomes mr reliable for a few years and you get a bit sentimentally attached, then you look up one day and everyone elses phone is better, and yours is a bit battered, and can't take photos anymore. 50 goals in his last 70 games in a deep lying playmaker role. Yeah, upgrade please.

A lot of people from back then reckon he was/would be the best player in the World. I wish I had gotten the chance to see him.

55th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster today.

Was just a wild punt tbh The only one better I can think of was the sidefoot 25 yard volley v Villa. But I still enjoyed the one against you more. He just smacked the ball for that free kick in the 3-5 against us as well. Absolute luck it went in the top corner, could have gone anywhere. Most of Shearers strikes were lucky tbf, all power.

Class.

Exactly a year ago I traveled to Australia and at the same time we were playing Chelsea. 3-0 down at Stamford Bridge only to come back and score three times in the last half an hour to get a draw. Great game. Great day.

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Depends which country you are in.

I'm not one to point at the WC being some sort of massive black mark against him - but (assuming England aren't going to win it) I'd be pleased if Messi and Argentina win it. People will still try to come up with something against him, mind. It'll always be the Premier League thing with some people. I know people who say he wouldn't do it in Serie A either, since his goal-scoring record against Italian sides isn't good. There's always somebody.

The fuck happened to Tulisa? Did she get punched in the face as well?

It's just beyond ridiculous how good he is at this stage. Not sure how anybody can say someone else is better. I reckon he'll win the World Cup with Argentina as well.

Remember that player cam thing Sky used to do? I hated that. Did anyone actually use it?

Salary expected to be well over a million for the five months. Good lad Becks. Fergie put that side into him you know. Kicked a boot at him and wised him up.

Really fancy NUFC this weekend. $20 on you lot @ 3/1. Also stuck $10 on Reading/Sunderland BTS, over 2.5 in Wigan/Soton and a draw in West Ham/Swansea game. Returns just shy of $110. Also got $1 on Jelavic, Walcott, Lambert, Rooney and SAMBA to score at anytime in a daft accy. Returns $150 or something.