Manchester United’s laboured Champions League win over Otelul Galati won’t live long in the memory for many but one recurring theme which may come out of the evening was the sight of Wayne Rooney bounding round an orthodox central midfield position.
It was Rooney’s second start in the middle of the park in successive games after being thrust into the thick of it upon his return to the combustible Goodison Park last Saturday, and although Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested the move has been largely enforced by the absence of others, Rooney’s accomplishment in the role could pave the way for a new day job.
After only a couple of games it seems premature to be retreating one of the world’s finest strikers back from his natural habitat, but the fledgling showings do raise the possibility that less is more for Ferguson’s side, and that indeed letting Rooney run things from deep could be the blueprint of yet another Red revolution.
Against Galati, Rooney demonstrated what Rooney does. Dovetailing with Anderson as part of a central two, the 26-year-old naturally offered the sort of natural vitality that could only be tapered if you stuck him in net, but he combined this with the ball playing maturity of an ageing anchor man on his last legs.
The quality of opposition left a lot to be desired and even his own team-mates added gloss to a cultured performance of intuitive prompting and probing using his innate footballing brain. Throughout an otherwise stale United offering, Rooney was a hive of activity dropping deep to find the ball off his defenders before linking play across the breadth and width of the pitch.
His touch was assured as ever, allowing him to receive under duress which thus afforded Rooney the time and space to orchestrate much of United’s play. Aside from knitting things together neatly, Rooney’s range of passing is arguably more complete than any of United’s current midfield stock. and he also has the priceless gift of being able to unlock defences with the type of delivery that few can spot, let alone execute.
His all-round attacking repertoire means there is little doubt that offensively Rooney could give his side a different dimension by withdrawing from a central attacking berth, and even by limiting his goal-scoring effectiveness, the team could benefit from their star-man assuming a midfield slot.
If Fergie persists in using Rooney in midfield he needs to buy a top class centre forward for without Rooney up front we are toothless