The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rooney

  • Rooney: Scoring for Man Utd like playing underwater

    Rooney: Scoring for Man Utd like playing underwater

     

     

     

     

     

    Wayne Rooney says the feeling of scoring goals for Manchester United is like you are playing underwater.

    The 31-year-old became the club’s record goalscorer when he moved past Bobby Charlton to 250 strikes with a late equaliser in last week’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Stoke City.

    That goal came two weeks after Rooney had equalled Charlton’s then-club record with an FA Cup goal against Reading.

    In an interview to discuss becoming the outright holder of that united honour, Rooney was asked what it feels like to score for the Red Devils in the Premier League.

    “It is an amazing feeling,” he told BBC Sport.

    “When you score a goal the initial feeling is like you are playing football underwater and when you score the goal it is like you come up for air.

    “You hear the crowd, the atmosphere – for that four or five seconds it is a mad feeling.”

    Rooney was proud to share the record-breaking moment with Charlton and his young family.

    He said: “It was obviously a great moment for myself, a proud moment to get the record.

    “It was nice that Sir Bobby was there as he always is. He came into the dressing room after the game and congratulated me. That meant a lot.

    “It was a proud moment to be able to share that with my children. It is only my eldest lad who really understands at the moment. At home he was trying to re-enact it!”

  • Rooney inspires Man Utd to fifth place

    Rooney inspires Man Utd to fifth place

    Manchester United rounded off the 2015-16 Premier League season with a routine 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at Old Trafford to take fifth place.

    The Red Devils, needing only a point to seal an automatic berth into the Europa League, got the job done on home soil thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young.

    There will be no Champions League football for United, however, for just a second season in the last 25, as they failed to score the 18 goals required to usurp rivals Manchester City into fourth place.

    It was a positive way to end of their league campaign, at least, with Rooney in particular proving a real through by playing a part in all three of his side’s goals in the rearranged fixture.

    The closest the home side came to making a breakthrough prior to Rooney’s opener came 31 minutes in, when the skipper’s free kick landed awkwardly in front of Adam Federici.

    Bournemouth’s stand-in stopper made a routine enough stop in the end, but Michael Carrick so nearly got a telling touch to the ball following a very bland opening half-hour at the Theatre of Dreams.

    United’s lowest home league crowd for some time watched on as their side battled to make something happen, although it was proving to be an extremely frustrating evening in the final third of the field.

    It could have been even worse for those in attendance had Marc Pugh made the most of his half-chance 38 minutes in, only to send his shot straight into Antonio Valencia in front of goal after some positive play by Matt Ritchie down the right.

  • Rooney: Man United can live without Van Persie

    Rooney: Man United can live without Van Persie

    Will this weekend’s installment of the Manchester derby be more roller derby or “derby” derby? Join Anthony and former professional footballer turned current pundit Ian Fiveankles to find out!

    In the not-too-distant past, news of Robin van Persie’s return to fitness would be a moment worth celebrating for any club lucky enough to enjoy his services.

    Manchester United could welcome back their mercurial Dutch striker for the derby today, but really, there is no pressing need. Not when United are in this sort of form. Not when Wayne Rooney is in this sort of form. Last summer, the suspicion was that Van Persie’s close relationship to manager Louis van Gaal would make him the favoured forward. As the season draws to a close, it’s Rooney who is captain and who enjoys the VIP treatment. Van Persie is now rather vulnerable.

    Rooney has long been the sort of player who veers horribly from one extreme to another, playing for weeks as if he’s wearing clown shoes and then suddenly bursting into explosive form. This season has been a little bit different as he, like so many of United’s stars, started the season slowly.

    For most of the first half of the season, he had actually accumulated more goals for his country than for his club. Then he was unceremoniously shunted into midfield, and whatever Van Gaal said about balance and depth, it was hard to read the move as anything other than a slap in the face.

    Rooney had played in midfield under Sir Alex Ferguson, who often spoke about his qualities in the deeper position but whose coaches were reported to be dubious about his chances of success. Rooney himself grew disillusioned and cited the positional shift as being a reason he wanted to leave Old Trafford in 2013.

    This season, Rooney worked hard in the centre and toiled without complaint in a position that clearly did not suit his talents. He returned to the front line for February’s FA Cup tie against Preston North End and scored a late penalty

  • Rooney transfer would be risky business, warns Tony Adams

    Arsenal legend Tony Adams has warned his former club that Wayne Rooney may not be mentally equipped to deal with a move to London.

    The Manchester United striker has been linked with a move to Arsenal after Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Rooney wanted out of Old Trafford last season – a claim the 27-year-old denies.

    However, despite the Gunners’ reported interest in Rooney, Adams has aired his concerns over the impact the bright lights of the capital would have on the England international.

    ‘I’m not sure Wayne Rooney could handle London, to be completely honest. That would be a massive risk for me,’ Adams told talkSPORT.

    ‘I don’t think it’s a question of finances. I think it’s his temperament and mentality. London is a different animal. I think it takes a different type of player [to handle it].

    ‘I think Wayne is unquestionably a super player and I’d love to see him at the Arsenal. Technically he’s a fantastic player but I’m not sure about him mentally, off the pitch, and his professionalism.

    ‘I know Sir Alex Ferguson has dealt with Wayne brilliantly over the last few years and I’m sure Arsene could handle him, but I’m not sure. I wouldn’t like to spend my money on Wayne.’

  • Keshi: My strikers must copy Rooney

    Keshi: My strikers must copy Rooney

    • Wants them to fight for balls

    National team handler, Stephen Keshi, who is looking forward to an excellent outing at the African Cup of Nations which gets underway this weekend, has challenged his strikers to emulate the fighting spirit of Manchester United forward, Wayne Rooney

    SportingLife gathered from a close ally that Keshi is a die-hard fan of the England international.

    Some of Rooney’s qualities which the Eagles coach admires are the way he contests for balls and falls back to defend even as a striker.

    SportingLife’s source conveyed Keshi’s expectations from the team’s Faro camp in Portugal on Tuesday.

    ‘He wants them to fight for the balls and not just wait for passes to come their way. That is how Rooney does it with United,’ said the source.

    ‘This is the passion, Keshi believes strikers Emmanuel Emenike, Ikechukwu Uche and Victor Moses can display as long as the commitment is there.’

    Also, fond memories of the Nigeria side to the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations which they won were evoked.

    ‘Do you know why it will be difficult for Keshi to forget Daniel Amokachi so easily? It has to do with Dan’s tenacious spirit as a member of the team. Prior to a particular match, Keshi as captain laid the jerseys on the ground and challenged his colleagues who were ready to spill blood for the country to pick up the first shirt.

    ‘Amokachi was the first to pick up a shirt, while the late Rashidi Yekini and Emmanuel Amuneke followed suit. That is the spirit Keshi desires from his attackers. They must be everywhere on the pitch fighting for the ball,’ he added.

    Nigeria, who are expected to arrive in South Africa Thursday, tackle Burkina Faso in their opening match on January 21 in Nelspruit.

     

  • RVP hails Rooney partnership

    RVP hails Rooney partnership

    Robin van Persie’s partnership with Wayne Rooney at Manchester United is turning into the perfect combination.

    A combination of Van Persie’s lack of pre-season training and Rooney’s gashed thigh meant the pair did not start in the same team together until the Champions League trip to Cluj.

    Even then Rooney was in a deep-lying midfield role, as he was at Newcastle six days later.

    Something must have been going right though because United won both games, and they maintained that sequence at Old Trafford on Saturday when Rooney was pushed further forward against Stoke.

    Even better as far as Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned, Rooney and Van Persie both found the net.

    That the pair were also responsible for three of the four assists just proves what potential there is from United’s new strike force.

    “We are definitely getting more of an understanding,” Van Persie said.

    “We like to play together and work well together.

    “It is only the second or third time we have played in this formation but offensively and defensively, we help each other out.”

    The ability of both players to operate as the spearhead of United’s attack, or drop deep, or push out wide, provides a conundrum it will be difficult for any defence to solve.

    Danny Welbeck is also capable of making a significant contribution and with Javier Hernandez, Nani, Shinji Kagawa and Ashley Young also offering a threat, it is little wonder Ferguson currently views attack as the best form of defence.

    “We do look exciting going forward,” added the Dutchman.

    “We can score all sorts of goals from many different angles.

    “That is a good sign and should be a real weapon for us as the season goes on.”

    If that is true, then concerns about the defensive side of United’s game are also valid.

    The return of Chris Smalling clearly cannot come quickly enough to take some pressure off Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand, whose status at United is open to question following Saturday’s refusal to wear a t-shirt highlighting Kick It Out’s anti-racism campaign.

    It had been anticipated Smalling would be available to face Stoke, only for Ferguson to reveal on Friday the former Fulham man still was not quite right after recovering from a broken metatarsal.

    However, with Tuesday’s tricky Champions League encounter with Braga being followed by two games at Chelsea, one against Arsenal before the European return with the progressive Portuguese outfit, Smalling’s presence is required as United look for some solidity.

    Rooney’s own goal, the prelude to him reaching 200 club goals in the right net, meant United have now fallen behind in seven of their 11 matches so far this season.

    It is a run that has already cost them valuable points against Everton and Tottenham this term, and if it continues over the next fortnight, could have a significant impact on this season’s trophy quest.

    “It has happened too often,” said Van Persie.

    “We have to work on it because we can only do better.”

    Kagawa, Tom Cleverley and Ryan Giggs are among those who are pencilled in to face Braga, while a change in goal is also anticipated given Ferguson’s recent policy of rotating David de Gea and Anders Lindegaard.