Wayne f*cking Rooney

redzerdrog

redzerdrog wrote: »

That doesn't even make sense

A pointless dig will be met with a dig, genuine discussion will be met with genuine discussion.

Do you really feel that Wayne Rooney has been under-appreciated by United fans because he didn't use a gimmick?

Do you really feel that Eric Cantona only got the admiration from the fans that he did because he wore his collar up?

I'm telling you now, no matter what goals he scored or how much of a United legend he is - If social media and fora were a thing back when he was plying his trade at United, Cantona would have been rightfully criticised in discussions at times by the club's own fans, similar to what happens with Rooney nowadays.

StringerBell

niallo27 wrote: »

It was often the big champions league games he didn't perform in though. Utd really should have won more in Europe.

Squad restrictions played a bigger part in that

Jayop

He's not worth keeping around

niallo27 wrote: »

It was often the big champions league games he didn't perform in though. Utd really should have won more in Europe.

That's a harsh assessment really.

94 - (before group format) Played 4 games, he scored in 2 of them. We went out on away goals. Our first time in it in years.
95 - We made a balls of this, went out in the group stages in a weak group.
96 - We didn't qualify for the CL and Cantona was banned for our UEFA cup games.
97 - We played 10 games, he scored in 3. We got put out by Dortmund in the semi-final.

So really the last one was the only one that you could say got away from us. We were completely green in 94, made a balls of 95, he was banned in 96 and in 1997 we got to the semi.

Dirty Dingus McGee

StringerBell wrote: »

Squad restrictions played a bigger part in that

There were only squad restrictions in the early years and it affected all teams , only winning 2 european cups in Ferguson's time was almost certainly an underachievement when you look at how much they dominated in england.

Jayop

He's not worth keeping around

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

There were only squad restrictions in the early years and it affected all teams , only winning 2 european cups in Ferguson's time was almost certainly an underachievement when you look at how much they dominated in england.

He's only referring to the early years, ie. the 4 years that Cantona played in the Champions League. We were restricted in that by the foreign players rules.

Clearly we underachieved in Europe, made a few balls ups and met a few wonderful teams in the later stages and finals. 4 finals and 2 wins along with a cup winners cup (a great competition that should never have been removed) isn't enough for such a dominant team in that era.

Ah well.

StringerBell

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

There were only squad restrictions in the early years and it affected all teams , only winning 2 european cups in Ferguson's time was almost certainly an underachievement when you look at how much they dominated in england.

Everything you have said there is accurate.

Not relevant to the post you quoted at all, but accurate all the same.

Billy86

bucketybuck wrote: »

While this may be true and a lot of valid best 11's may not include Cantona, I do think he is very much underrated at this point.

The narrative these days seems to be that he was a great catalyst for the club and a good player, but not a great player.

But that undersells him, he was a great player, a dominant player and in his pomp he was the best player in the Premier league. He dragged United to titles in a way Gerrard could only dream off and not in some vague, inspirational fashion, he did it by scoring goal after goal and winning games that should have been lost.

In terms of talent and ability Cantona was the real deal, people shouldn't forget that.

While he scored some very important goals to put it mildly, it does have to be mentioned that his best two league scoring seasons were 18 and 14 - 'goal after goal' is a bit hyperbolic. He very much was the real deal and there was a hell of a lot more than just goals to his game, but I think he is better described as one of the most important players in Man Utd and the Premier League's history as opposed to one of the best (if that makes sense? ). He was vital in helping the club get it's confidence back and getting the underachieving mentality out the door, and probably even more importantly he was absolutely crucial towards the class of 92, both on and off the pitch.

In terms of all time Premier League XI's he is a bit hamstrung just in terms of the number of great players to have played up front over the years.

Jayop

He's not worth keeping around

Billy86 wrote: »

While he scored some very important goals to put it mildly, it does have to be mentioned that his best two league scoring seasons were 18 and 14 - 'goal after goal' is a bit hyperbolic. He very much was the real deal and there was a hell of a lot more than just goals to his game, but I think he is better described as one of the most important players in Man Utd and the Premier League's history as opposed to one of the best (if that makes sense? ). He was vital in helping the club get it's confidence back and getting the underachieving mentality out the door, and probably even more importantly he was absolutely crucial towards the class of 92, both on and off the pitch.

In terms of all time Premier League XI's he is a bit hamstrung just in terms of the number of great players to have played up front over the years.

Goal after goal was a massive stretch. However of those 32 goals you mentioned I'd hazard a guess that at least half of them were the only goal in 1 nil wins.

bucketybuck

niallo27 wrote: »

It was often the big champions league games he didn't perform in though. Utd really should have won more in Europe.

Its already been said, but its not as simple as Cantona just not turning up for those games. There was a huge learning curve for all English clubs coming back into Europe in the early 90's and United took longer than they really should have to come to terms with certain things, not to mention there were some superb teams laying in wait in those days.

For all that United team was brilliant there was still a bit of an inferiority complex when we faced the likes of Hagi and Romarios Barca or Zidane and Boksic's Juve, add that fear to always losing some of our best players because of the foreigner rule, throw in some tactical naivety and you end up with underachievement.

Swap Cantona for Henry or Van Nistlerooy and things would have turned out no different.

Jayop

He's not worth keeping around

It was zero craic going to the likes of Turkey back then either!!

bucketybuck

Billy86 wrote: »

'goal after goal' is a bit hyperbolic.

It damn sure felt like it at the time.

Who can forget this run of results in the heat of an epic title battle with Keegans Newcastle!

4 March 1996 Newcastle United A 1–0 Cantona 52'
16 March 1996 Queens Park Rangers A 1–1 Cantona 90'
20 March 1996 Arsenal H 1–0 Cantona 65'
24 March 1996 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–0 Cantona 51'
6 April 1996 Manchester City A 3–2 Cantona 7' (pen.), Cole 42', Giggs 78'
8 April 1996 Coventry City H 1–0 Cantona 47'

And at the same time he scored in every round of the FA except the semi, including a rather famous winner in the final!

IncognitoMan

Jayop wrote: »

It's nothing to do with his collar being flicked up, and it's pretty childish to suggest so. I guess though in a week that one Liverpool fan on boards managed went on a two day wum mission calling Irish United fans glory hunters for doing the same things he does in supporting his team you have to accept that maybe the crappy run they're on since New Year has them lashing out al around to deflect from their general crappyness.

I didn't see the original posts but I knew exactly who it would be as soon as I seen this.

Jayop wrote: »

You're literally saying that United fans only hold Cantona in such high regard because he flicked his collar up and you're talking about childish nonsense.

Away and have a look at yourself sit. Between yourself and BMMachine you've made your fans look like right fools this week.

:pac: :pac:

Nalz

He's not worth keeping around

so is he off to China?

Maximus Alexander

He eats beans, sausage and chips for every meal.

And he killed my dog.

Agent Coulson

He's not worth keeping around

Confirmed that he is staying till the end of his contract.


https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/feb/23/wayne-rooney-manchester-united-china-legacy-done

Richard Hillman

A good option from the bench

Why is his agent in China then? It doesn't make much sense unless the reports of his agent are not true.

I think Guangzhou would be a decent fit. He can live in Hong Kong and commute via helicopter. It's only 100km or so. Most people speak English and there are plenty of wealthy British schools for the kids.

GavRedKing

Unless Utd dont want him and hes not looking for a huge payday, hes still well capable of playing for the majority of EPL sides but not on his current wages.

Richard Hillman

A good option from the bench

GavRedKing wrote: »

Unless Utd dont want him and hes not looking for a huge payday, hes still well capable of playing for the majority of EPL sides but not on his current wages.

I reckon he could play a role like Tugay did for Blackburn all those years ago or Karagounis, with a slow paced passing game. But it would have to be for a mid or lower table team.

He has the capability for a Matt Le Tissier or Denis Bergkamp role but is too concerned about running around too much.

Nalz

He's not worth keeping around

Ugh...

Billy86

Yeah but he scored a goal. Top, top performance.

Nalz

He's not worth keeping around

Ugh ugh ugggghhhhhhh

Iused2likebusts

Can't see him being up to it at Everton if he decides to go down that route.

Nalz

He's not worth keeping around

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Can't see him being up to it at Everton if he decides to go down that route.

USA, India, China or Australia

Or Boez

Going to unfollow this now just like Rooney its done