Manchester United Fan View: Jose Mourinho deserves credit for sticking to his guns over Wayne Rooney

If you were ever looking for a prime example of the beautiful game’s minute memory then the devolution of Wayne Rooney from has-been talisman to an after thought, via becoming both Manchester United’s record goal-scorer and a full-time benchwarmer, is as good as any that you’re likely to find.

The fact that Wayne Rooney has been injured for the last two games hides the fact that he’s not started a Premier League game since United’s 2-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on December 17, was unused against Watford, and has failed to really impact matches when he has actually been called upon, too.

In fairness to Rooney his stats for the season have actually been pretty good. In 29 appearances across all competitions he’s had a hand in 15 goals (5 goals and 10 assists), which is even more remarkable considering that he’s started just 8 Premier League games and then 10 more matches across the EFL Cup, FA Cup, Europa League, and Community Shield.

As is oft remarked, stats can very much be misleading, though. They fail to register mood, context, and the repeated flirtations of the Chinese Super League and its abyss of cash. Or how Henrikh Mkhitaryan has cosily settled into Manchester United’s number 10 position, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba are sharing the duties of the talisman, and that Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial give United a variety of different attacking options either from the wings of bench, all of which has left Rooney basically surplus to requirements.

The long mooted theory that Rooney would casually slot into Manchester United’s midfield for the twilight of his career, where he’d nestle into his rocking chair, pass the ball to his younger, impressionable teammates that looked upon his as an experienced stalwart, has proven to be the fallacy that anyone who has paid attention to his career knew it would be.

Rooney never had the temperament, patience, stamina, or short term passing game to excel in the position. But while both Roy Hodgson and Louis Van Gaal played out this fantasy, to Jose Mourinho’s eternal credit he nipped it in the bud as soon as he stepped through the Old Trafford door.

In his first press conference as Manchester United manager he remarked, “Maybe he is not a striker, not a No. 9 anymore, but for me he will never be a No 6, playing 50 metres from the goal. You can tell me his pass is amazing but my pass is also amazing without pressure. To be there and put the ball in the net is the most difficult thing. For me he will be a 9, a 10, a nine and a half, but never a 6 or an 8.”

Mourinho stuck to his promise, too. For the opening six games of the season across all competitions Rooney started in an attacking berth, but only returned one goal and two assists. It wasn’t enough for Mourinho, while Rooney’s nadir came away at Watford, where he played in midfield and put in a shocking display of ineptitude that was peppered with missed placed passes, constantly being a yard off the pace, and a complete lack of attacking intent.

Mourinho sensed that the mood had permanently changed, and while he has constantly defended Rooney, since then the Liverpudlian has started just three of the 13 Premier League games that he’s been available for. In this time he also finally leapt the final hurdle he needed to eclipse at Old Trafford to become the club’s record goal-scorer, meaning there’s nothing really left for him to do at the club. Despite this extended break, Rooney has also been injured for seven of these games, too, including three of the last four matches. Even in the other, away at Leicester, he was an unused substitute.

There’s a growing sense that Rooney’s time has now come. Especially because there will be no room for sentimentality next season, where the competition will be even more fierce after Jose Mourinho has another splurge. Even though Rooney’s experience and physicality is a nice alternative in games at the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, they no longer compensate for his increasing liabilities.

In a cruel way it’s Wayne Rooney’s recent injury travails that have convinced the final stragglers that he should depart. It’s provided the confirmation and realisation that the club no longer needs him or the oomph that he has occasionally provided from the bench, which usually immediately dissipates. The clincher will be if he’s still not fit for the EFL Cup final against Southampton on Sunday, United win, he doesn’t lift the trophy, and no one bats an eyelid.