Rooney vs Martial: A tale of two stars

Sometimes it is best to start with some numbers; this is one of those instances. Rooney’s barren spell in the league runs back to April 4. At 11 games (953 minutes) that is the longest goal drought of his career.

What is truly alarming is his away record. Against Southampton, Martial scored more away league goals than Rooney has managed since March 2014.

It looks very much like a tale of two stars: Martial is radiating energy on a rapid trajectory toward the stratosphere; Rooney is accumulating degenerate matter as he steadily fades away into nothingness.

Of course, this could all be premature. Martial may yet follow the path of Macheda and Rooney may play himself into form once again. Wayne has always been a streaky kind of player, enjoying pronounced purple patches before his form abruptly falls down a crevasse, when the cycle starts once again.

Worryingly though, there are currently no signs of hope. He doesn’t look like scoring anytime soon. He attempted zero shots at the weekend. He was in the number 10 position you might concede - scoring wasn’t his main role.

Well, he also created zero chances. He completed one dribble and won one header. You’d call him a passenger in the game but he was more of a road-block. United’s best moves now happen when Rooney isn’t involved.

Martial, however, looks to have the ability to turn a half chance into a goal at any moment – like the Rooney of yesteryear. He has displayed the composure in front of goal that Welbeck could only have dreamed of in a United shirt. Gary Neville stated on commentary that his body language when in on goal just said “I’m going to score.”

While Macheda enjoyed a similar start to life at Old Trafford, his work rate and attitude are believed to have let him down. Martial doesn’t seem to be cut from the same cloth, earning rave reviews for his mentality from his current translator at Old Trafford, Morgan Schneiderlin.

Anthony will inevitably suffer dips in form and struggles for consistency but he is worth persisting with. Van Gaal was pivotal in the rapid rise of a precocious talent in a teenage Patrick Kluivert and he was rewarded with a Champions League winning goal in his debut season for Ajax.

Kluivert credits him with being the biggest influence of his career as he “always trusted me to do well.” If the ‘trainer-coach who believes in youth’ can replicate anything like that level of success with Martial, then £36 million plus add ons may not look too bad after all.

However, Rooney may not be worth persisting with. If he wasn’t the recipient of the ‘special privileges’ that come with being the captain of a Van Gaal team then he surely would have been dropped by now.

Since Juan Mata joined the club, no player has been involved in more goals and consequently, he deserves a run in the team in his favoured number 10 role. Wayne deserves a place on the bench, indefinitely.