Man United – The transformation of Rooney and why he has not waned off

Wayne Rooney came from an era where everyone wanted to bend it like David Beckham, pass like Paul Scholes, have the lungs of Frank Lampard or shoot from a furlong afar like Steven Gerrard. Amongst these heavyweights, he carved himself out a name and went on to be described as arguably the finest English footballer of his generation. From being a 16-year-old, grabbing the world’s attention with a stunning goal against Arsenal for Everton in 2002, to setting Euro 2004 on fire as an 18-year-old, and thus becoming a household name in England, to becoming the country’s all-time record goal-scorer and a few goals shy of being Manchester United’s record top scorer. It can be easily concluded that Wayne Rooney has accomplished all – except maybe convincing everybody about his potential.

As one can see, Wayne Rooney was in a stellar scoring form till the end of 2011/12 season with an indifferent 2010/11 sandwiched in between, which was dominated by off-the-pitch problems. However, in the next three seasons, the goals seem to have dried up for him as he is yet to touch the figure 20 in all competitions, never mind the premier league. So what has exactly gone wrong for him? An inevitable decline or just an indifferent patch? We take a thorough analysis of it. SAF’S last season :Manchester United started their 2012/13 campaign by announcing the signing of Robin Van Persie from Arsenal, 3 days before their opening game against Everton. With the prospect of this partnership being mouth-watering, fans had to wait before they could see them starting together in a PL game due to Rooney’s early season injury. Their first outing together was a home game against Stoke City and this was the line-up Ferguson choose.

As one can see, Wayne Rooney started that game as an attacking midfielder and that would be the trend through-out the season. The number of starts in comparison to last season starting as a centre-forward in the league dropped down from 27 to an incredible 2, giving a testament on how the manager looked at his role for that season.

As seen in the heat map of that season, Rooney’s positions changed from the center to the wings, even before Mata’s arrivals. There is also an increase in the defensive side of the game from last season.

Rooney had the maximum number of shots in the 11/12 season with him being the sole striker, a total of 5 shots/game. It went down to 3.6 shots/game the next season and rose to 4 shots/game the following season. We can deduct that those numbers are impressive given attacking midfielders average 0.9 shots/per game.

Rooney ended the premier league that season as United’s top scorer and assist provider with 17 goals and 10 assists – 5 more goals and equal number of assists from last season. Certainly these don’t look like the numbers of player who is on a decline!

The Van Gaal way:Louis Van Gaal joined Manchester United after the sacking of David Moyes who oversaw United’s most turbulent season in recent times. With no champions league to offer, United and Rooney were expected to raise their standards in the new season. That season (2014-15), however, proved to be Rooney’s least productive in an United shirt, scoring just 12 league goals and 14 overall. United didn’t do much better offensively, scoring just 62 goals in 38 games, their 2nd worst tally in Premier league era.

Also, we understand that Rooney scored the majority of his 12 goals in the league i.e 8 from the midfield from where he made 19 appearances in the league and the rest 4 as a striker. The data gives a possible indication that Rooney’s long term future lies in the midfield.

To term Rooney has been in a decline is an overstatement as statistics show very much the otherwise. A highly not-so-noticeable contribution in the title-winning season and a very much of a noticeable contribution in a season Manchester United would certainly like to forget. His change from a striker to an attacking midfielder shows his versatility and his quality to adapt into positions where he has to sacrifice his natural game for the team, something which is extremely rare to find in the modern day market. We can all agree 2015 has not been a kind year to Wayne but he has started 2016 in a superb way, scoring 5 goals in 4 games with 3 of the goals being match winners. Things might not be that bleak after all!Wayne Rooney will soon touch 30, but he still has the fire in his belly to perform well week in week out, his un-questionable commitment whenever he steps on the field and the desire of that 18-year old, who single-handedly destroyed Fenerbahçe with a hat-trick on his United debut and made him the only scouser United fans ever loved unconditionally.

(Read: What Troubles Manchester United after Sir Alex’s retirement)