It’s been well documented that Wayne Rooney had a terrible derby day performance.His passing accuracy was a little over 50% and he failed to have a shot on target or create a chance for a teammate. Such stats destroy the argument that he’s a team player rather than out-and-out striker nowadays. The best description is to say he’s a liability, one that Louis van Gaal needs to remove from his side.Wednesday night in the League Cup only compounded Rooney’s misery. He came on at halftime, started up front, drifted back to midfield, and his only influence on the game was to drag everything to a pedestrian pace. He now moves around the park at the same speed used to walk grannies across the road.His penalty miss in the shootout hasn’t made the headlines because it’s shocking that a perceived world class forward failed to hit the net, instead it centres around lasers being shone at the England forward. The FA are right to launch an investigation and ensure the offender is punished but such is the apathy surrounding Rooney it’s barely been offered up as a reason for the misfire.
Louis van Gaal is between a rock and a hard place. He clearly wants to show support to his captain but at the same time the needs of the team have to come first. The current situation can’t continue unabated. Rooney’s gradual decline is growing in pace each week, hoping it magically stops while making no changes is tantamount to madness.
One thing van Gaal can be assured of is that Rooney does care. It’s as if the captain’s armband has put out the fire in his belly. As long as the situation remains the same Rooney’s passion will have a fire blanket thrown over it.
The only way to bring him back from the brink is to drop him to the bench for a few games. This will surely galvanise Rooney. The kid gloves will come off and he’ll be eager and angry to win his place back. It’s better to have a Rooney that runs the risk of a red card rather than the zombie currently on display.
It’s Halloween weekend and Wayne has become Plight of the Living Dead. Crystal Palace is not the sort of place to go when in need of some luck, it could be a game that further exploits his current flaws.
If he was dropped, the triumphant return of a reenergised captain would be priceless. Of course, he could struggle to rediscover anything like his best, but from United’s point of view at least they’ll have started work on the long term solution. Right now LVG looks as lost as Rooney.
The manager needs to show the sort of leadership he expects from his captain. It’d appear harsh but when a polarising figure like Rooney starts to receive sympathy instead of taunts it’s a clear sign to make a change.
Van Gaal needs to show tough love to kick-start Rooney’s season or together they’ll continue to flounder and cost the club the chance of success.
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