Apparently, after twelve seasons with the Red Devils, the bell has finally rung for Wayne Rooney.
Every once in a while, we can still catch glimpses of the old Rooney, making a difference in critical moments of a close game for United. And yet, despite those few moments of genius, Rooney is plain and simply playing badly.
His start of the Premier League season was a flash of hope for United supporters as he scored in the opening game against Bournemouth and dished assists on the two subsequent outings.
Nevertheless, once he faced a decent defense, Rooney was picked apart.
Even during the Hull City match, where he provided an assist for the winning goal, Rooney might as not have been on the field. He missed passes, lost the ball and failed to support his fellow attackers during 89 of the 90 minutes.
The two latest games were even worse. Jose Mourinho received a sound wake up call in the Manchester derby as his squad was completely dominated by Manchester City. Rooney again failed to create anything for the Red Devils.
The last drop, however, came during the weekend as Watford routed Manchester United. A stinging 3-1 defeat that was followed by many of the club’s supporters calling for Rooney to be taken away from the starting lineup.
According to the Manchester Evening News, 99.08 percent of United fans voted for Rooney to be dropped in a Red Issue Sanctuary poll.
Mourinho has already made clear that he’s not opposed to the idea of playing without Rooney.
"I can take him out," the Portuguese manager said after United beat Hull. "It’s no problem for me to take him out, no problem for him to be out.”
And still, he insisted on keeping Rooney on the pitch even during his most woeful moments against City and Watford.
What makes this insistence with Rooney more puzzling is that fact that there is no shortage of options on the bench for Mourinho to test.
Youngster Marcus Rashford is itching for a starting role, while Juan Mata and Ander Herrera are both patiently waiting for their opportunities to break into the starting XI.
Still, the most puzzling snub here is Henrikh Mkhitaryan, for whom Mourinho splashed € 42m. If you’ve already spent that much money to bring a guy into your roster, why not give him a chance? Mkhitaryan has yet to play more than 45 minutes with a United jersey.
Mourinho is not known for his willingness to listen to anyone on how to run his team. Hence, we’ll have to wait and see if he’ll answer to the crowd or head on and try to prove them wrong.
