Fergie: Rooney could be a bigger star than Ronaldo

omgukilledkenny SG

Wayne Rooney could yet outshine Cristiano Ronaldo as the biggest star in world football, insists Sir Alex Ferguson.

First the Old Trafford boss must determine what his best position is.

To those who believe Rooney has not fulfilled the potential that prompted United to pay Everton £27million for him, Ferguson said: "Sometimes he's too much of a team player, not a selfish player, not a selfish boy.

"He's a committed winner. That's his problem. So he does a lot of sacrifice which doesn't reflect on his overall performance but as a team player he's absolutely fantastic.

"He says to me sometimes 'I can play centre-half'. He's said that half a dozen times to me - 'I'll play centrehalf.

I played centre-half at school you know!' "Then I say to him, 'Yes Wayne, but we're playing against Drogba!' It's not a trouble or a problem with him, it's a fantastic asset he's got.

"Brian McClair was the same. You could ask him to go play right back and he'd just laugh, he was so nonchalant about it, so temperamentally capable of doing anything and so intelligent that he could do that."

Sienx SG

his good better than ronaldo seriously

dragg SG

he has certainly proved worthy of the 27 million pounds man u paid to sign him.

jonchao72 SG

wa dun like this leh.. later ronnie du lan then zao to RM....

Gackt247 SG

I'm seriously not impressed by rooney. juz my opinion.

zocoss SG

Rooney is a very important player to United... and without his unselfish ways, Ronny won't be as good as he is being seen currently... Without Rooney, Ronaldo somehow isn't as effective as with him together...

F.raon.I.R SG

rooney chalked up the most assists in the squad.

Sumone3 SG

Actually, I still find Rooney overrated. It's just that he plays for England and Man U, two very high profile teams. He is full of battling spirit and has a strong physique, but in terms of talent there are easily many better than him. I'm not saying he's not good or lousy, just overrated.

Players like Berbatov, Drogba or even Robbie Keane possess more skill than him. Their touch of the ball, tactical awareness, holding of the ball.

Rooney's attributes lie in his physical abilities and his battling mentality. He's more like a battering ram type of player to me. Given that he's young, he can improve in the above areas, but it would also involve dramatically changing his style of play. Rooney's also more about power than finishing, but this is the one aspect of his gaming that is more likely to change as he gets older.

4getmenot SG

hes still bugged with injuries.. and he travels back too deep to cover in the defence as well sometimes, however with the right cover in our back and fit next season, ..i have no doubt that hes capable of even outshining Ronaldo as what SAF says..

iceFatboy SG

Players like Berbatov, Drogba or even Robbie Keane possess more skill than him. Their touch of the ball, tactical awareness, holding of the ball.

haha... are you blind?

I consider Rooney to be even better than the names you dare put at rooney's feet...with a hip injury, Rooney was still able to score against the mighty cech..

Plauged with so many injures, it is no wonder he has a stop-start season and many atimes, he is asked to play like a team player. As you can see, neither of which can boost that characteristic..

Rooney may not have the flashy game like a ronaldo but his touch, tatical awareness are superb. many a times, his crosses, positionings, first touches & awareness are second to none.

don't cut the nose to spite the face..

iceFatboy SG

but I do believe SAF is trying to balance the limelight and not create a super player within MUFC but a cohensive team spirit..

Sumone3 SG

haha... are you blind?

Nope, not blind but just don't hold Rooney in the same regard as you.

I consider Rooney to be even better than the names you dare put at rooney's feet...

Like you said, you consider. You probably are not the only one, but still, it's because you consider.

with a hip injury, Rooney was still able to score against the mighty cech..

Yes, credit to him for that one goal. If you read properly, I did not say Rooney is not a good player, but I feel he is overated. Overated and lousy have different meanings, but being fiercely defensive of players of your favourite club and the kind of knee jerk reaction that happens in sgforums, I can understand your response.

The goal against Cech did not come about just because of Rooney's credit alone. Man U in itself is a good team, Rooney is also able to shine at times because of the supply to him. Also, when he scored that goal, Chelsea were pushing forward and left more space at the back than they sometimes do, still credit to him for taking his chances.

It's not like Rooney was the only player to beat Cech.

Plauged with so many injures, it is no wonder he has a stop-start season and many atimes, he is asked to play like a team player. As you can see, neither of which can boost that characteristic..

If you ask me, for a team to be strong and be able to win the Champions' League or Premiership, the players have to play for the team. Yes, being a team player is an attribute and a good quality to have, but is not unique to Rooney.

Rooney may not have the flashy game like a ronaldo but his touch, tatical awareness are superb. many a times, his crosses, positionings, first touches & awareness are second to none.

Second to none is really very extreme, but please note that I did not say he is a lousy player, just that he is overrated in my opinion. Among the truly word class I wouln't consider him among the top five and I believe I won't be the only one.

don't cut the nose to spite the face..

Chill, you're getting too tense over nothing. Just like another Man U fan I've spoken to before in sgforums.

Saltiga SG

IMHO, i would rate Ronney as high was what was put out in the media, he might not have scored as much goals as those that you guys stated but i don't agreed that he is just about battling spirit and strong physique, his passing, his tactical awareness is what that puts him in the league of some of the best players in EPL.. maybe its due to his willingness keeps covering back for his fellow team mates which IMHO is what he shouldn't be doing so often, and that's also why England can't get the most outta him, he needs to understand that being at the position aloccated to him in a team is very important during a high density match and that he must have more trust in his team mate and not trying to take everything into his strips.. if SAF can makes him play in the position he supposed to be best in without venturing everywhere around the field i would be able to see him fulfilling more to the hype that he rightly commands..

dinky1409 SG

i very de agree wit sumone3..

red_amoeba SG

tactic lah…SAF just want tell Ronaldo don’t get his head too big. Rooney is crucial to Man U, he is strong and difficult to take down and he score very exquisite goals – its just that Ronaldo for these 2 seasons stole the limelight but he depend a lot on Rooney, who is content to stay in the midfield to the dirty work while Ronaldo grab headlines by scoring.

Just like we wonder Ronaldo’s free kick against Portsmouth, last season, Rooney scored a wonder goal against David James too, when the match is tied, an exquisite chip….

purpledragon84 SG

i dun think there's a need to do any justification here.. he is worth the money..