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Some might think it sacrilege to consider this given the high hopes of the link-up with Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney, but Mark Payne of ESPNFC has some reasons why he thinks Rooney might have a difficult time finding a spot in the starting line-up at United.
Just last month we were celebrating the 10th anniversary of Wayne Rooney’s Premier League debut and England’s most talented footballer was given generous write-ups all round. It has been a remarkable decade. He has won a clutch of trophies and outscored all of his England-based contemporaries in that period. As we head toward his 11th Christmas though, there is a fly in the ointment. For the first time, his place in Manchester United’s starting eleven is genuinely under threat.
It is not his attitude or disciplinary problems that are threatening his starting berth. Nor is it the dalliance he had with Manchester City’s pots of gold in 2010. It is simply that his current team-mates are outperforming him.
Rooney’s campaign did not start with flying colours. He returned to pre-season a tad plumper than he left and immediately injured himself. His month on the sidelines saw new boy Robin van Persie remind everyone why he was last season’s player of the year and claim one of the forward spots, indisputably. Danny Welbeck’s habit for scoring athletic and spectacular goals also continued.
Rooney’s return to fitness, nonetheless, saw him return to the first eleven and start to build an understanding with van Persie. But this season, United have an abundance of riches up front they haven’t had for years, especially considering Javier Hernandez’s current resurgence in form. This has led to an evolution in United’s playing style and, recently, Rooney has found himself at the front of the midfield as often as not.
Continue reading the article at ESPNFC.
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