One year ago I wrote a blog claiming that Wayne Rooney had not yet lived up to the unbelievable potential he had shown as a teenager.
I outlined many reasons for this, ranging from Rooney being forced to play the wrong position for Manchester United to the frequent suspensions the former Everton star gathered.
At this point, on the 11th March 2010, the England star is without the doubt, currently the best player on the planet.
Where would Manchester United be without him this season? In the same position as Liverpool or even lower I would suggest.
But the 24 year old is at Old Trafford, and even in second gear last night, he helped demolish an all-be-it poor Milan side with yet another expertly taken headed goal.
This is an area of the game we weren’t expecting Rooney to excel, but at this point of his career, the striker seems to be capable of anything. Nine of his last eleven goals have been headers and he has added yet another dimension to his already outstanding repertoire of skills.
The England front man now has 30 goals in 35 games this season and has a more than even chance of surpassing Christiano Ronaldo’s 42 goal total of two seasons ago.
But let’s get one thing straight here. Ronaldo, as good as he was (or is) didn’t carry United. As I commented a year ago, the Portuguese star had two excellent players – Rooney and Carlos Tevez - frequently doing his donkey work and creating the space he needed.
Rooney has no such luxuries week in week out. His usual strike partner, Dimitar Berbatov is anything but a work- horse, and United no longer possess the wonderful players they used to have in midfield.
Nani,on his day, can be a thrilling player, but not on a consistent basis.
Antonio Valencia, meanwhile, is a terrific crosser of the ball, but, is neither a work-horse, or indeed a Ronaldo.
Park Ji-Sung is a willing runner and certainly aids Rooney, when he plays. In the league, however, the Korean is not a frequent starter.
Most of the credit has to go to Rooney himself, and he has distinctly carried the team at times this season.
As England fans, we must hope that Rooney doesn’t suffer from burn out, and that he can show the same form for England this summer in South Africa.
His recent form in an England shirt certainly bodes well. He was the overall top scorer in the European World Cup qualifying pool with eight goals, and was outstanding. He was however, certainly aided by another work-horse - Emile Heskey, alongside him.
The Aston Villa striker is a crucial side kick for the United front man. He keeps defenders busy, and, as he so often did for Michael Owen before him, creates the platform for Rooney to excel.
Rooney has been a completely different player for England under Fabio Capello, and is now, without question, the main man for both club and country.
The Liverpool born forward has also improved his discipline and big game temperament. He already has four goals in the Champions League knock out stages, and has barely missed a game through suspension in the last year.
He also scored the winner in the League Cup final at Wembley and in all truth it is difficult to find any obvious flaws in his game.
For England however, it’s important that Rooney is given every chance to show his worth. In the recent friendly against Egypt he started alongside Jermaine Defoe, but this looked an un-balanced combination. Defoe is a good goal-scorer, but a selfish player who is not a particularly intelligent footballer.
The Tottenham striker is not always aware of the position of players around him and expects the team to play to his strengths.
But Rooney, not Defoe, is England’s key player. And, while Heskey may lack Defoe’s predatory instincts, the former Liverpool forward is a far more intelligent and team orientated individual.
In the Premiership his season, Wayne Rooney has 23 goals in 27 games. While this may surprise many, it doesn’t surprise me. He has always been a great finisher with supreme technique, he just needs to be playing as the furthest man forward to demonstrate this talent.
Capello has to be given much of the credit. He, and not Alex Ferguson installed this belief into Rooney, that he could play as the out and out front man.
Since the Italian has been England manager he has tried to revolve the team around Rooney and Steven Gerrard, two wonderfully gifted footballers who are also good friends away from the pitch. This is a simple, but very important master-stroke that seems to be paying dividends.
Rooney’s personal life may also be a factor in his greater consistency this season. He is now a father, and perhaps this increased responsibility off the field has helped make him a better role model on it. It certainly appears to be the case.
He is certainly the player of the season so far, both in Europe and domestically. And, just to add icing onto Rooney’s already delicious cake, Ronaldo’s Real Madrid team are out of the Champions League.
One major rival for World and European player of the year has surely left the reckoning by exiting the world’s premier club competition at such an early stage.
If ‘our Wayne’ can light up South Africa in June and July and perform to anything like his best, then surely global recognition beckons at the end of the year.
Let’s hope so….
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