Erm it's a tough one because i'm not keen on him and oddly i'd feel the same if he wasn't a dirty rag.
He's obviously a very good player. I'll try break it down...
Very good football intelligence
Good pace
Great strength
Good in the air
Good finisher
Normally very good work-rate
Good movement, normally
I don't think there is a great gulf between him and Tevez, but i think there is a fairly big gulf between him (and Tevez) and the best players on the planet (Messi, Tranny, Etc...)
He is technically good for an English player, but on the continent, there are lots of players with better technical ability. Rooney has the mental attributes to take him to that next level, that other good players lack, despite him being a gob-shite.
It's unfair to talk about his England form, given that Messi's and Tranny's international form is poor. For the rags, he's a very good player.
I hate the cunts but they have some very good players, some of which are criminally under-rated. I do think they will weaken over the next few years though. Scholes and Giggs are class acts, and impossible to replace. VDS only has 1 or 2 years left, Ferdinand hasn't been great in a while, and he's struggled with injuries.
The problem is, they have a way of playing which is effective and it means players of supposed lesser ability can come into the team and do a good job. United probably have that aura about them where most teams would be happy to take a point against them. But as they lose great players and replace them with merely good players, that aura will eventually disappear, and we'll be there to cash in when it does.<br /><br />-- Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:06 pm --<br /><br />
quiet_riot said:
Not World class.
A scorer of good goals (that beast against Newcastle a few years back was immense), but not a good goal scorer.
Last year was an extraordinary season, IMO, one which he will struggle to repeat.
The fact that the papers were raving over the fact that he scored a penalty against West Ham, "Rooney's back!" just shows how much they bum him.
I actually think that about Tevez aswell. I'd be shocked if he got anywhere near 29 this season. Same goes for Rooney. 15-20 for both i reckon.