When Roy Hodgson
continues to finalise his plans for this summer’s European Championships, the
dilemma of both if and where to play. Wayne Rooney is a debate that continues to rumble
on. But following his return to the Manchester United first team, Louis van Gaal may have
provided the England boss with the answers
he needs regarding his captain.
Following the fine
form of Marcus Rashford and the continued development of Anthony Martial,
Rooney has arguably returned to the United fold as Van Gaal’s third-choice
striker. The Dutch coach – like Hodgson – only ever plays one central forward,
and the time may finally have come for Rooney to revaluate his role at both
club level and internationally.
Harry Kane and Jamie
Vardy have shown enough over the past year that they can replicate their
Premier League form for the Three Lions, and though there is no doubt that
Rooney will be on the plane to France in June, there are many commentators who
have claimed he should not be offered a starting role ahead of the English
top-flight’s two top goalscorers.
Against Crystal Palace , however, Rooney
showcased enough in a midfield role to suggest that he could make the
transition to a deeper role in the near future. It has been suggested on a
number of occasions that the former Everton man should look to move back in a
bid to extend his career at the top level, and the time for such an alteration
is now.
Deployed on the
left-hand side of a midfield three, Rooney was given an element of freedom to
join in United’s attacks as Morgan Schneiderlin sat in front of the back four,
but he showed enough in both directions to suggest he has the qualities to
succeed playing behind the strikers. On the few occasions he drove forward with
the ball he inevitably created opportunities while he got himself in positions
on the edge of the box to have attempts at goal himself.
"I use every
player because not every player has a fixed position," said Van Gaal of
his redeployment of Rooney. "I use each player where they can give a high
contribution in a particular game. It was a midfield role because of the way Palace played. I like the
way Rashford has been playing so we had to find a different position for
him."
Rashford, Martial and
Jesse Lingard all offer pacier options for Van Gaal up front, and playing the
youngsters as a trio with Rooney and Juan Mata playing through-balls from
midfield could be the first step in free-flowing attacking play returning to
Old Trafford. Only a number of fine Julien Speroni saves denied the three
strikers from getting on the scoresheet and making the result far more
comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
Rooney will come up
against far superior midfields for both United and England than this Palace
side. Alan Pardew made seven changes to the team that drew with Arsenal as he
prepared for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final with Watford , and having all but
secured their Premier League safety for another season the Eagles offered very
little but the standing ovation Rooney received as he was replaced by Marouane
Fellaini late on was no less deserved. As a captain he looked far more
comfortable being able to marshal his troops from a central role while his
performance level, though not at its absolute best, is far greater than much of
what he showed in the first half of the campaign.
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