When Robin van Persie made his home début at the expense of Wayne Rooney on Saturday there was a media frenzy. Will these two super stars be able to play together? How can Sir Alex keep both of them happy? Can he find a formation to accommodate them both? The papers asked. Some even went as far as to suggest that the signing of RVP could signal the end of Rooney’s Manchester United career. Is it Just me or does this all seem a bit ridiculous?
Let’s pause for a minute and think about who we are dealing with here. First of all we have Sir Alex who, with ten premier league title to his name, is the most decorated manager in Premier league history. Are we really suggesting that this man who has dealt with more than his fair share of star strikers in his time; Van nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Andy Cole to name but a few, is somehow unable to manage both Rooney and RVP simultaneously? And as for the players themselves, they were the first and second top goal scorers in the league last year, clearly they both have the ability to work together. It’s almost insulting to suggest otherwise.
Mancheter United’s tactics also give no reason to suggest that it is a case of Rooney OR van Persie. Last season, for example, saw the emergence of Danny Welbeck, who started 23 premier league games, many along side Rooney. Indeed their form together in the second half of the season was instrumental in united maintaining a title challenge right up until the last. And even if, as against Fulham, Sir Alex opts to use a 4-2-3-1 formation who is to say Wayne Rooney will not occupy one of the deeper attacking roles. He is a proven playmaker as well as a brilliant out and out attacker and would certainly match Kagawa, Nani, Valencia and Co either through the middle or even out wide.
It is also important to consider how hectic the fixture schedule can be. Outside normal Premier league matches, United will no doubt be competing in the later stages of the Champions league, Fa cup and league cup. Rotation, as is often the case these days, will be the order of the day and don’t be surprised if players like Welbeck and Hernandez get a fair crack at the whip never mind Rooney and van Persie.
Rooney and RVP will get plenty of game time this season (injury permitting) and a lot of it will be together. Rather than the pairing being a potential issue they are more likely to be the missing ingredient that Fergie needs to win back the title. After all United only lost the title last year on goal difference after scoring 7 less goals than their city rivals. United’s treble winning team in 1999, the most successful United team in memory, was based around an unstoppable forward partnership of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. I for one won’t be surprised if RVP and Rooney followed in their footsteps.
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