Ryan: Rooney's goals will come

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Wayne Rooney missed some good chances for Manchester United against Newcastle, but Sir Alex Ferguson is not worried. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP

Sir Alex Ferguson is confident it will only take one goal for Wayne Rooney to rediscover his finishing touch.

It is now 13 games for club and country since Rooney last scored – in the opening minute of the Champions League quarter-final first-leg against Bayern Munich on 30 March. After a disappointing World Cup, Rooney failed to score in any of United's pre-season games or the Community Shield and seemed to be showing his anxiety on Monday as he missed a couple of simple chances against Newcastle.

"Strikers live by their goals," said Ferguson. "It is quite straightforward. When they are not scoring they think they will never come. When they come they think they are never going to finish. He is no different to any other striker."

There is no question in Ferguson's mind about Rooney's overall contribution ahead of Sunday's trip to Fulham. However, the United manager admits to being impressed with the form of Dimitar Berbatov, who has scored twice already this season.

"Dimitar had the game time he needed in America during pre-season, so his fitness is assured," said Ferguson. "There was no problem with that and he was excellent on Monday.

"He could have scored three or four goals in what was a very good performance."

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It's typical Rooney, his form is always either burning hot or freezing cold.

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form is temporary, class is permanent. he may not be as skilful as ronaldo, ronaldino or messi, but he is the best england player for a long time, since the likes of John Barnes.

he came back too soon after the first bayern game in the CL, got injured in the return leg. on hindsight, fergie should not have rushed him too fast back from his injuries and the rest of the season onwards, he struggled with form, injuries and fitness. this affected his world cup performance, as he is not match fit since the game in March in Munich.

but I believe he will score his goals soon and he will regain his confidence. every striker went thru a bad patch and I hope this doesnt affect his confidence too much.

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Ryan Giggs believes that Wayne Rooney’s goal drought will end “sooner rather than later” purely because United create an abundance of scoring chances, and he is a brilliant player.

Rooney hit his best ever tally of 34 goals last term, but his last goal came against Bayern Munich in March. He’s not scored in his last 13 games since for club and country, which includes England’s failed World Cup campaign - naturally attracting media attention. But Giggs isn’t concerned. In fact, he has been impressed with Rooney’s movement and positioning in the games against Chelsea and Newcastle this season.

Giggs got his tally going with a sweet volley to cap off last Monday’s 3-0 win over Newcastle and has now scored in every Premier League season, and all of his 21 seasons as a professional for United. It’s that kind of experience that Ryan draws on when he advises Rooney just to keep plugging away.

“I thought Wayne’s performance was good against Newcastle,” Ryan told ManUtd.com. “His movement was excellent and he was creating chances. But as a goalscorer, especially after scoring so many goals last year, he wants to get off the mark, and I’m sure he’ll do that sooner rather than later.”

The Welshman doesn’t believe Rooney is suffering from any World Cup hangover, only that the Reds no.10 is honing his match sharpness. “The World Cup is gone now. He’s at United, he played well at Wembley against Chelsea, and he’s just a brilliant player. So, with the chances that we create, the goals will come.

“It’s always nice to start the season in form. But you’re going to get dips in the season going through good form and bad form. You just try and prepare in pre-season and to give yourself that bit of confidence. No matter who you are, you need that confidence. I think on Monday there were a lot of positive individual performances.”

Giggs’ wisdom is an integral component of this United team, and it’s not just on individual advice that he excels in guiding his younger team-mates. The Reds were written off in the summer but now, after a good start, have been reinstalled as many pundits’ favourites for the title.

“That’s always been the case,” he says. “The most important thing is that the manager knows and the players know that you don’t need to get too carried away either way; if we start well, or – and it’s going to happen at some point in the season – when we’re a crisis club after losing or drawing a game. That kind of thing is something that you’ve just got to come to terms with.”

Starting well as a team is vital, even if some players – like United’s World Cup players – are still striving to achieve full sharpness. “That’s always the plan, you always try to get off to a good start, individually and collectively. On Monday, I felt we did that. We just need to carry that on now. You’re always going to get one or two players who perhaps don’t play to their maximum, but as long as seven or eight do – especially for us – you should be OK.

“There was a phase for us where we were notorious for not starting well and then after Christmas we’d catch everyone up. In the last five or six years – starting with Arsenal when they went through the season unbeaten and then with Chelsea – we realised that we had to get a good start. In the last few years, whoever has started well has normally gone on to win the league.”