And so we found ourselves on the eve of another intoxicating Manchester derby. But unlike in derbies gone by, many reds found themselves as hopeless as Emile Heskey in front of goal. Where had the faith gone? The optimism fostered from a few good wins versus Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and Wigan Athletic disappeared faster than Andy Carroll’s strike rate upon joining Liverpool. I was one of the few reds who still believed in his team, who thought there was a path to victory against the noisy neighbours.
Amid more rumours about Rooney’s future with the club (doubtlessly unfounded and dismissed by the player, club and most importantly, agent) many doubted that United could win the day. Up stepped United’s dark knight, Wayne Rooney, to carry his team to victory once again against its most bitter rivals. Whether it was his immaculate header to open the scoring or his composed header to beat the City keeper after having his penalty saved, Rooney proved himself to be the hero for a club whose supporters may be as uncomfortable about having him as such as the citizens of Gotham to have Batman as theirs.
The match itself was a roller coaster full of twists and turns at the end of which United were fortunate to come out ahead. Whether it was Rooney’s header, the Kompany sending off, Scholes’ return to the squad and eventual substitute appearance, Lindegaard fumbling a shot into the path of Aguero or the uncalled potential handball on Jones at the end, the latest edition of the Manchester derby will live long in the collective memory of each fan base.
At the end of The Dark Knight Batman says “I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be” much in the same way Rooney is what United needs him to be. Whether it is a winger, central midfielder, supporting striker or central forward, Rooney has been everything to his manager during his time with United. And while United supporters may be uncomfortable still with the squad’s reliance upon the player who only last season doubted that the club matched his ambitions, we must come to terms with the fact that he is the hero we so desperately need in order to win a record-setting 20th league crown. He is the hero we need and the hero we deserve. Wayne Rooney is our dark knight. While we ought not waste our time on hero-worshipping him, we ought to better appreciate what he does for the thing we hold most dear, our beloved Manchester United.
Written by Charles for TheBusbyWay.com
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