Burning Issue: Is Wayne Rooney finished at Manchester United?

After being dropped by the club for their biggest game of the year, are Wayne Rooney’s days at Manchester United numbered. Two JOE’s argue each side.

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Conor Heneghan says... had it not been for a certain card and the incredibly caustic reaction it generated and continues to generate, there would have been far more focus on Wayne Rooney’s future at Manchester United today than there has been already, although the general consensus seems to be that his time at Old Trafford is up.

After all, if your biggest player is not going to start in probably your club’s biggest game in years, then surely, as Roy Keane put it last night, the writing is on the wall, right?

The harsh reality for Rooney, however, is that he is no longer Manchester United’s most important player and there is a certain irony to be found in the fact that while Rooney demanded that United sign a higher calibre of player when submitting his controversial transfer request in late 2010, it is the new arrivals, or at least one of them, that have superseded him in terms of importance at Old Trafford.

That’s not to say Rooney is finished at United; far from it. Although Danny Welbeck was always going to start after his performance in the first leg and his effective shutting down of Xabi Alonso and Nani offered a different dimension in terms of what he could offer from wider areas, I still feel Alex Ferguson should have fit him in his starting XI somewhere.

Rooney is and has always been incredibly flexible from a tactical point of view; he’s played on both flanks, in central midfield, in the hole behind the striker and as a lone striker in recent years, excelling in the latter two positions and doing a job when required in other areas with few complaints.

But he didn’t start him, so Rooney will either be (a) forced to contemplate his future at Old Trafford, or (b) be professional about the situation, take what must be pretty bitter medicine and get on with the task of trying to add two more medals to the quite ample collection he has built up at the club already.

Yes, it’s certainly true that Rooney’s relationship with Ferguson has changed since he handed in his transfer request but it’s not the first time that he’s been dropped for a big European game. He was left on the bench at the same stage away to Inter Milan in 2009 when Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov were still at the club, only coming on for Ji-Sung Park in the final few minutes.

Unless there actually has been a drastic deterioration in their relationship of late, Rooney will go straight back into the first team between now and the end of the season and if United’s challenge proves to be successful on two fronts – the league being of far greater significance, of course – and Rooney has a big role to play, then there’s a good chance this situation will all be forgotten about come the summer.

Besides, what teams out there can afford Rooney and of those who can, who really wants him?

He earns in excess of £200,000 a week and would still cost a packet considering his contract doesn’t run out for another two years.

There have been murmurs of a move to PSG and talk that City might become interested yet again, but with the likes of Falcao and Edinson Cavani linked with United’s bitter rivals, the Rooney ship may have sailed. Elsewhere, I can’t envisage a move to Barcelona, Real Madrid or Juventus and a move to one of the wealthy Russian clubs seems even less likely.

The England striker turns 28 later this year and without wanting to be too harsh on the lad, his body shape throughout his career doesn’t suggest that he’ll replicate the feats of Ryan Giggs and play into his late thirties.

Because his omission only happened yesterday, Rooney’s future at United is still a major talking point, but clearer judgement on his future should wait until the matter has settled down in a few weeks or months time, or until the manager or the player themselves have something definitive to say on the issue.

They mightn't be best buds or anything but Fergie knows well what Rooney brings to the table and will be willing to put any personal differences aside for the good of the cause.

Will Wayne Rooney be at Manchester United next season? In my opinion, yes.

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Sean Nolan says... looking at Fergie’s history in situations like this, the writing is on the wall for the England striker.

A bit like a medieval knight, you don’t cross Alex Ferguson and expect to get away with it. From Jim Leighton to Jaap Stam, Roy Keane to David Beckham, when the Glasgow man gets you in his sights, things are only going to end one way.

So while Wayne Rooney hasn’t done some of the things that led to others getting the door (a tell-all book, an angry MUTV interview) he has let his gaffer down in a number of little ways that seem to have combined into last night’s exclusion.

A must-win (or at least 0-0 draw) clash with Real Madrid, at home, in the Champions League, is the sort of game that a guy earning £250,000 a week is supposed to not only play in, but star in. The feeble excuse offered by Fergie was the usual one we hear about Rooney these days, needing a few games to play himself back into fitness.

As we all know, Rooney has played twice since a sinus issue kept him out so we know that he should be back in shape by now. When he entered the fray Rooney had one decent opportunity, which he fired over but the striker’s underlying fitness issues may be the straw that breaks Fergie’s back.

The manager grinned and bore it when Rooney’s gambling, private life and many other indiscretions hit the headlines. He even swallowed hard and took it when Rooney threatened to walk away before agreeing to a monster deal to keep him at Old Trafford.

But that was two-and-a-half years ago and with Rooney turning 28 next year, and with 10 years as a pro under his belt, perhaps Fergie thinks it is time to get a bit better value from his million-a-month man.

There is no doubt that Rooney is not a natural athlete. But there are lots of players who aren’t. The difference is the take better care of themselves, especially in the off-season or when injured, so that it doesn’t take them so long to get back to top speed.

With 14 goals in 29 games this year, there’s no doubt Rooney is still delivering in that respect. And his workrate, when pushed into less than ideal positions, is still up to scratch. But if his manager, the most respected manager in the game, doesn’t think he’s up to it in a game like last night’s one, then his future at the club has to be in question.

Unlike October 2010 when he made his last demand, Manchester City aren’t in the market to splash mega-bucks on Rooney but there should be no shortage of suitors if they fancy offloading him – we’re looking at you PSG.

In Robin van Persie, United have an out-and-out finisher and leader of the line. In Danny Welbeck they have a speedy workhorse who has grown this season into a really vital cog of the attack and in Chicharito they have as good a back up as anyone in Europe. If Rooney can be changed into a younger, hungrier, fitter striker, say Robert Lewandowski or Edinson Cavani, then Fergie would do it in a heartbeat. And he’d be right to do so too.