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Did Jose Mourinho deliberately set up Wayne Rooney for a fall?

Did Jose Mourinho deliberately set up Wayne Rooney for a fall?

With the sounding of the half-time whistle at Old Trafford on Saturday it’s little wonder a collective chuckle didn’t break out among the home fans. After all, there was a surreal element to the manner in which Manchester United built a 4-0 lead against the champions in their first Premier League match without Wayne Rooney. Jose Mourinho had been implored to drop his captain for weeks and by doing so he’d turned United into world beaters in the space of just 45 minutes. Even Rooney himself must have seen the funny side.

Or maybe not. With so many of Rooney’s critics proven right on Saturday the 30-year-old can no longer count on his place in the Man Utd team, even if the armband remains wrapped round his bicep. Quite simply, United are a much more effective, better balanced and generally better side without Rooney.

Some have taken this as something of a defeat for Mourinho. The Portuguese coach placed his faith in Rooney, staunchly defending the under-fire forward and even reshaping his team in a desperate last attempt to find a position for him. Ultimately he was forced into a U-turn, dropping Rooney for the weekend’s match against Leicester City.

But what if Mourinho planned it this way all along? What if Mourinho, recognising how powerful the striker had become at Old Trafford, deliberately set up Rooney for a fall? It’s the kind of move only an evil genius could pull off, but Mourinho is the Premier League’s evil genius in chief. He has the capacity to connive such a ploy.

Not many appreciate just how politically powerful Rooney is at Man Utd. The striker, or rather his representatives, are extremely skilled in the art of public relations, going some way to explaining why so many within the game are reluctant to criticise Rooney, even when he plays as poorly as he has done this season.

More than that, though, Rooney has become something of a king-maker at Old Trafford. He played a significant part in the demise of Louis Van Gaal at the club and there were signs last week, after three United defeats in the space of a week, that the striker was waging a campaign against Mourinho.

Dressing tales of unrest and disgruntlement at the Portuguese coach’s stewardship started to surface, with certain “senior players” complaining that Sir Alex Ferguson never treated them in such a way. Most senior players who played under Ferguson have since left United, besides one notable exception.

Mourinho, however, maintains that he has no issue with his captain. “There is not a problem with Wayne Rooney,” he insisted after the win over Leicester City. “My captain is my captain whether he is on the pitch or at home. We won the game so he is happy.” Why did the United boss decide to omit the striker from his starting lineup? “Because I know the rules of the game,” he replied. “You can only pick 11 men.

“If I leave out Rashford you ask me why. If I leave out Rooney you ask me why, but I cannot pick them all. I have a squad of players and I thought the best option against a quick-breaking side like Leicester was to play with two fast players out wide with Juan Mata in the middle.”

This is about more than just tactics, though. United are indeed a much better team with Rooney sat on the bench, but by eliminating the 30-year-old’s influence Mourinho has won the battle for the dressing room. Now he will be free to shape his side as he pleases without much in the way of opposition.

Saturday was the beginning of the end for Rooney at Old Trafford. He is still the club captain, but it’s not just that United are no better off for the striker being there, they would be better off if he wasn’t there at all. For the time being, though, Mourinho can sit back in satisfaction, deviously stroking his designer stubble. He has faced criticism for the way United have toiled this season, but perhaps this is exactly how he wanted - and needed - things to go.