Rooney to deliver against Wolfsburg

29 September 2009 11:28
FIVE years ago Wayne Rooney was the talk of Europe following his explosive debut hat-trick for United against Fenerbahce. He was a month short of his 19th birthday and his Champions League and Reds bow had Old Trafford salivating. Rooney had recovered from his broken foot picked up playing for England in Euro 2004 and tore the Turks apart. The £30m outlay for a teenager was a snip. Even Old Trafford legend Denis Law claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson's new boy would eventually go on to break his goalscoring records with the Reds. The Ruud van Nistelrooy-Rooney combo was the golden ticket that had the power and quality to scare Europe to death. Rooney tally It didn't quite work out that way with Rooney going on a long barren spell in the tournament that didn't see him score again until April 2007 when United beat Roma in Italy by which time his original Dutch partner had been bombed out of Old Trafford. Rooney's tally now reads 16 goals in 45 starts. He has, of course, developed into a more adaptable forward in the Champions League with Fergie employing him on numerous occasions as a disciplined left-sided midfielder. When it was a success, as against Arsenal at the Emirates last May in the semi-final, it was hailed as a Sir Alex masterstroke. When the tactic failed and Rooney was on the fringe of the action, as in the final in Rome just 22 days after that London hit, it was condemned as a waste of his qualities. Rooney has also been used in Europe as a lone striker. It was in that berth that he kicked off this season's European campaign against Besiktas in Turkey. But his Istanbul evening was a frustrating one that ended with him being substituted and the England striker threw his boots off in anger as he plonked his backside on the bench. To rub salt in the wounds, Fergie put two strikers - Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov - up front at that point and the game changed in their favour. A straw poll of United fans would almost certainly reveal that the supporters want to see Rooney in a traditional two-man forward line. Fergie will be contemplating whether he should restore that against German Champions Wolfsburg with Berbatov the leading candidate to partner him. It would definitely get all-round approval, none more so than from Rooney himself. The Reds boss will also have to decide whether to use his two ageless match winners Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs just days after they were United's stand-out performers at Stoke. Giggs didn't play in Turkey but his 90 minutes (and a little bit more!) in the derby was followed by 35 minutes at the Britannia Stadium while Scholes played 80 minutes. He has only started once with his two veterans this campaign at Spurs and may be inclined to rest one of them this evening though, in the form they are in, it might be a case of make hay while the sun shines. Anderson and Michael Carrick are refreshed and will be in Fergie's mind. Wolfsburg threat The main defensive objective of the Reds engine room will be to keep Zvjezdan Misimovic quiet. He is the heartbeat of Wolfsburg's side and set a new record for assists in the Bundesliga last term. The Reds are set to have their Rome final back four set up against Wolfsburg and they'll need to be on form against the German title holders. Last season the surprise Bundesliga winners boasted an attacking force of Grafite and Edin Dzeko that scored more than 20 goals apiece in the league (28 and 26 respectively). It was the first time a strike force had managed that stat in Bundesliga history. United were among many admirers of 23-year-old Bosnian Dzeko during the summer and the good money is on him departing the Volkswagen Arena next summer. Partner Grafite did a Wayne Rooney in the first match of Group B by scoring a hat-trick against CSKA Moscow. He joined the United striker as one of only six players who have achieved that feat on their Champions League debut. Fergie will no doubt be comforted by the fact that Rio Ferdinand looked much more like his old self against Stoke at the weekend after his poor display in the Manchester derby.

Source: Manchester_EveningNews