Friday, June 12, 2009

Rooney more important than Ronaldo

Share

Wayne Rooney
The PFA believes Manchester United would have had more to fear if Wayne Rooney had left Old Trafford rather than Cristiano Ronaldo.

United have confirmed they had accepted a world record £80million bid from Real Madrid for Ronaldo yesterday, with the staggering transfer set to be concluded by June 30.

Most Red Devils supporters have reacted with a shrug, believing the deal is best for all parties given the massive sum of money involved, providing Sir Alex Ferguson gets it to spend on the team rather than it be used to pay off the Glazer family's huge debt.

And, while PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor accepts Ronaldo's departure leaves a big hole for Ferguson to fill, he would have been more concerned if Rooney had quit.

"It is an interesting question and a difficult decision but as an Englishman, if I was asked to make a choice between the two I would have Wayne Rooney," declared Taylor.

"Wayne has not been far away from being one of the best players in the world for a long time and certainly the way he finished off the season bodes well for Manchester United and England.

"Anyone would want a player of Cristiano Ronaldo's calibre in their team but I would certainly not view his departure as a backward step for Manchester United at all."

Rooney's outstanding form for England, where he had been used in his favoured position just behind a main striker suggests Ferguson might be thinking that way for the 23-year-old at United too.

Despite claiming 12 months ago he had not been fair to Rooney by playing him out wide, Ronaldo's ineffective defending meant Ferguson was forced to utilise him in that role again towards the end of the season.

Ronaldo's exit allows Ferguson to reshape his team slightly to make the most of Rooney's blossoming talent.

If the former Everton star could come up with an extra 10 goals a season, and a new winger, possibly Franck Ribery in addition to the expected arrival of Antonio Valencia, contribute another 10, United would be two-thirds of the way towards matching Ronaldo's contribution, given his astonishing 42-goal haul is unlikely to be repeated by anyone.

Ferguson would also reason that having someone slightly less selfish in his team might bring more out of others.

There were plenty of signs last season - quite apart from his disgraceful reaction to being substituted against Manchester City - that Ronaldo was more interested in himself than his club, posturing that will not be missed, even if his unique skills are a sad loss to the English game as a whole.

"Although he has become more of a team player there was still a significant individual element to the way Ronaldo played," said Taylor.

"Manchester United have always had a very strong team ethic, so it will be interesting to see how Ronaldo's style fits in to the pattern at Real Madrid."

Having made his bold decision, Ferguson will know what plan needs to be activated, even if the danger of paying over the odds for Ribery, and Carlos Tevez, who remains undecided about his own future, is acute.

Lyon's Karim Benzema is bound to come into the Scot's thinking, while there must also be a nagging fear stories about Nemanja Vidic's wife being unhappy in England may result in the Serbian becoming unsettled.

It adds up to an uncertain time for a club who only just failed to become the first to retain the Champions League and, in August, will bid to be the first side in English soccer history to win four titles on the trot.

Yet, as Taylor acknowledges, if anyone has the experience to guide the Red Devils through such choppy waters, it is Ferguson.

"Manchester United have lost top players before and continued to be successful, it is the nature of the game," he said.

"The money being offered was pretty big for a lad who kept saying he wanted to play for Real Madrid.

"Sir Alex has been through this kind of thing plenty of times before and I am sure he will use the money that is made available to strengthen a squad that is already the best in the world."

0 Comments:

World Of Currencies | Formula One RAcing