da bwin： If you’re a Manchester United fan, it’s safe to say you probably have mixed feelings towards the new Premier League campaign.
da 888： A much needed 4-1 home win over Leicester City would have been an extremely welcome sight for United fans, with the team struggling to pull things together in the early parts of the season.
Jose Mourinho hasn’t quite had the rip-roaring impact some might have expected and the whole of this season seems to have been dominated by one man- Wayne Rooney.
The England international has been the subject of a real storm in terms of whether he should even be on the pitch these days. He’s been played as a makeshift centre midfielder on numerous occasions and many United fans and neutral alike don’t believe he’s been doing the best job there.
So with that in mind, are the Red Devils better off leaving the England international out of the side in the future?
Here are three reasons why Manchester United are better off without Rooney…
The Leicester result proved all
If there was a result that proved United don’t need Rooney in the middle of the park, it was the win over Leicester City. Rooney was left out until the 83rd minute but by then, United were home and dry.
A first half blitz saw the Red Devils take all three points and, in all honesty, they looked better without Rooney in the side. Juan Mata was superb and Paul Pogba bossed the midfield like expected when he was signed earlier this summer. It was all evidence that suggested United don’t actually need Rooney in their ranks.
There is more pace in the side without him
It seems that without Wayne Rooney, there is definitely more pace in this United side. The first 20 minutes against Leicester City were a little slow but once Smalling headed in Daley Blind’s corner, United came at the Premier League winners with pace that we haven’t seen from them this season.
They were creative, menacing and if anything, looked like they packed more of a punch without Rooney in their side. Their 4-0 lead at half-time more than justified Mourinho’s decision but now, it leaves the former Real Madrid man with a tough decision.
Does he continue to keep his captain out of the side of does he restrict him to the bench once again? Surely, this is a results business, so Mourinho needs to do what is best for the team and if that means leaving Rooney out, then so be it.
They have better strikers
This whole “play Rooney out of position just to get him in the side” really hasn’t washed with some supporters. At some point in any professional footballer’s career things are going to go downhill and other players are going to come into the first-team fold.
The signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the emergence of Marcus Rashford have really proved United have some real depth in their ranks this season, but unfortunately for Rooney it means he’s been pushed to the side just a tad. But in football, that’s life and happens pretty often.
Rashford has been fantastic since breaking onto the scene whilst Ibrahimovic has started well, too. There’s absolutely no need to start Rooney if he’s not doing the business on the pitch.