Pundit Arena Because Sport Is Everything
Manchester United got out of jail somewhat on Saturday evening as Marcus Rashford finally found a way past a formidable Hull City defence to score a late winner.
The young England international and winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan changed the came when they came on towards the end of the second half, but once again one of the major talking points was the performance of Man United captain Wayne Rooney.
The 30-year-old has become accustomed to producing displays that leave many aghast as his very presence, only to pop up with a pivotal intervention at the right time.
In this evening’s game, he was the one who provided the assist fro Rashford after taking the ball pas Mohamed El Mohamady into the Hull penalty box.
However, this was not enough to placate those who had already sharpened their knives:
Kind of think Rooney is the problem again. He always seems to feature poorly in MUFC games with no pace. He’s just not what he was.
— Georgie Bingham (@georgiebingham) August 27, 2016
Rashford has been more dangerous in 15 minutes than Rooney has in 85.
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) August 27, 2016
What was Rooney doing here? pic.twitter.com/PSg7e0QaMr
— Matthew Stanger (@MatthewStanger) August 27, 2016
That run from Mkhitaryan is what a No.10 should do. Rooney can’t do that anymore.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) August 27, 2016
Rooney holding the team back once again… Needs to uo his game very very soon.
— ⚽ MourinhoLogic ⚽ (@MourinhoLogic) August 27, 2016
Jose needs to understand either rooney plays no.6 or he has to sit out!
— ️ (@ManLikeJYE) August 27, 2016
Sorry, but one decent cross after 92 minutes doesn’t justify Mourinho picking Rooney to start for United #MUFC #Rooney
— Zar (@unknownsock_zar) August 27, 2016
Worse thing to come from that game is Rooney justifying his place for another week with assist ??
— Dan Checketts (@Dan_Check8) August 27, 2016
Anyone who thinks the assist (terrible defending from Hull) redeems Rooney, you must be mad. Bench for the foreseeable.
— DreamChaser ✌ (@Iam_Qwesi) August 27, 2016
Of course, given the fact that he had such a big hand in the goal, many were quick to jump to the defence of their captain, though a defence of “Yes he played terribly, but…” doesn’t seem to be built on that solid a foundation…
Seen people hammering Rooney today. Agree he was poor for the most part, but he kept going, started to make things happen, set up goal
— Oliver Kay (@OliverKayTimes) August 27, 2016
So cruel on Hull but Rashford has been electric since he came on – and are we allowed to mention the brilliance from Rooney in the build-up?
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) August 27, 2016
I dont hear people talking about how Ibra could not hold up the ball all game today. But it’s now the fad to knock Rooney..
— Sam (@SamOlusegun) August 27, 2016
But Rooney played alright . He’s not really extraordinary no more but if it was Ibra or Pogba who made that assist y’all be hyped jeez
— Amirul (@amirul_maestro) August 27, 2016
@MagnifiqueEric I can make a compilation of beautiful passes from Rooney in this match. Fans just want him out. That’s it
— KW ♛ (@WazzaEdition) August 27, 2016
Not bad for a player slated all the time. Fact Is Rooney Is class. Twitter opinions don’t half amuse me. https://t.co/SinM7Qnatr
— OLDTRAFFORD1 (@ThaWOLVES1) August 27, 2016
Then there’s….whatever the hell this is…
Call me crazy but I’ll STILL take Wayne Roo as a Top 10 player on Earth right now…
— Anthony Ghazel (@AnthonyGhazel) August 27, 2016
The Premier League takes a break for two weeks while the World Cup qualifiers begin next weekend. Man United’s next game is the Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s Man City on September 10th – giving José Mourinho plenty of time to work out how to incorporate Mkhitaryan and Rashford into the starting lineup without dropping anyone else.
