Source: Daily_Mail
Wayne's a pain but that's what makes him England's finest, says Keown
Known as 'The Rash' for his man-marking skills, MARTIN KEOWN reveals the dark arts of how to stop a superstar striker...[LNB]Wayne Rooney is worse than an annoying wasp. He just won't go away, buzzing all around the opposition's defence and penalty box. You'd kill a wasp, but you just can't get rid of Rooney.[LNB]What makes him so difficult to play against is that he is a very determined player, very strong and driven. You have to dominate him otherwise he'll embarrass you.[LNB] Come and get it: Martin Keown (back) sticks close to Wayne Rooney in his Everton days[LNB]Against someone like that, you have to mark them extremely tightly. You must be virtually in his boots when you are marking him. You have to force him away from the goal, stay as tight as you can and keep him going in the wrong direction. But it is very difficult to keep someone like that quiet for 90 minutes, especially when he has good options around him.[LNB]The first thing to do is keep him with his back to goal and force him in the other direction, away from that central area. Also, if the gap between the midfield and the defence becomes too big, then he is going to hurt you.[LNB]But if you set up your team to stop the ball coming into him and he has to come ever deeper to get the ball, then you have a chance because he has to come such a long distance to get something on target.[LNB]Having someone in that Claude Makelele role to break up the play has become crucial against him. Chelsea always police that area in front of the back two so it's difficult for him to get the ball in to feet. And as a defender, if you know there is a midfielder in that hole, you can drop off further and deal with the threat over the top. Rooney will then maybe have to drift to find space out wide, where he is less of a threat.[LNB]If he arrives in that little pocket between the defence and midfield, the opposition need to know whose responsibility he is.[LNB]It's always difficult dealing with that type of player. Dennis Bergkamp used to do it, Gianfranco Zola and Teddy Sheringham too. They just wander into that little area. There's then the element of surprise and a communication problem between the midfield and defence.[LNB]There are times when you are playing against a Zola or a Sheringham and you would love to go and pick him up but you have to let the midfielders do it.[LNB]My golden rule used to be that if I wasn't sure whether to go or not, I would just stand still. Manchester United had particularly good movement of players and I remember Paul Scholes making those runs from deep or Ryan Giggs coming in from wide into the hole that you leave.[LNB]Sometimes I think Rooney has been a victim of wanting to work too hard, so that element of surprise when drifting into the hole is lost.[LNB]Because he's buzzing around all over the place, he is very visible. Sheringham used to just walk into that area almost unnoticed. Sometimes by doing less, by standing still, you can be more effective. But Rooney can still do that and he is also quick enough to do what some of the others couldn't and get in behind defences.[LNB]He's like a street player - he can play anywhere - but I think you can stop him. You have to match his pace and power but there are a few defenders who can.[LNB]I think Sol Campbell at his best could. I remember Rooney saying Sol was one of his toughest opponents. But very often Rooney is going to get to the ball first and then that knockout punch comes and the ball is in the back of the net.[LNB]That's the other thing about him - he has great technical ability to go with the rest of the package. He is playing in a more central role now that Cristiano Ronaldo has gone, and the goals are coming. I think he wants to prove that he is as good as Ronaldo.[LNB]You can't just give him a couple of kicks to rile him, either. You won't get any change from him now there's been this tightening-up of his mentality. In the past he got sucked into things, whereas now he looks very focused.[LNB]I wasn't really into the talking side of things, trying to put people off. It wasn't our style. I always thought it was better to be a silent assassin. [LNB]I played against Wimbledon teams with the likes of Vinnie Jones and Mick Harford who tried that vocal stuff, but we just played good football.[LNB]Against United it was like a game of chess - they didn't get distracted by mind games. Rooney is the same. You could have ruffled him before and taken his attention off what he was supposed to be doing, but I think that is very difficult to do now.[LNB] MARTIN SAMUEL: Once a red always a red? It's not a sure thing for Wayne RooneyManchester Utd 4 Hull City 0: Wayne Rooney is just FOUR-midableReal deal! Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney on Madrid's radar MANCHESTER UNITED FC
