kayode OGUNDARE
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On Big League Soccer last Friday, I was asked by Qasim Elegbede, who anchored the programme, what the problem was with Man United after the team had gone three games without a goal and now, after Saturday’s win against West Brom, with just four goals in their last six games.

Without hesitation, I fingered the manager Louis van Gaal and his captain, Wayne Rooney for the team’s inability to score goals and generally do well. However, I held, and still hold, LvG more liable because he picks the team and can decide who and how they set up to play.

Many pundits, ex-players and media people almost in equal measure have criticized van Gaal and though you might feel some of the criticisms (see Box) have been overly unfair, you cannot take away the validity of some of those questions being asked.

These criticisms aptly echo my own views about LvG so I will let them suffice. His pedigree makes it difficult for us to question some of his actions but some of van Gaal’s decision-making can be confounding, even to a layman. One of such was the decision to put out the kind of team he line up against Arsenal last October where he was walloped 3-0 in a 20-minute blitz by the Gunners. A less-accomplished manager could have gotten the sack, or at the least, an earful from his employers but van Gaal got away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Another notable decision of LvG which continues to confound all and sundry is the stubborn insistence on playing Rooney at all cost even when his performance indicates that he doesn’t merit a place in the starting eleven.

By now, even the most ardent of Rooney’s fans (and I consider myself one of them) will admit that our blue-eyed boy has not been up to his normally excellent standard in years past, in terms of performance and goals return.

For the umpteenth time this season, Rooney lumbered heavily all over the pitch, placing one errant pass after another and, if not downright pathetic, was embarrassing to watch.

His goals return is six in eighteen games so far. In basic maths, that’s like a goal every 180minutes. That is abject in anybody’s language.

In the Popular Side edition of August 23, 2015 titled “WILL VAN GAAL HAVE THE COURAGE TO DROP ROONEY?”, I had written extensively on the Rooney situation and, amazingly, that was just FOUR weeks into the season. Now, another EIGHT weeks have gone bye yet the issues raised in that article is still very germane so I’ve decided to cull excerpts from it today.

I have produced below an abridged edition of that same piece due to space constraint and I hope it makes sense to you. Enjoy…

“For the records, Wayne Rooney is my second favourite Man United player behind Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez whom my son is named after so those who want to accuse me of ‘hating’ on Wazza can kindly sheathe their swords. Thank you.

As I was saying, Rooney as captain is the best placed to lead United’s charge to regain lost glory as the manager labours to fashion out a team resembling the great sides built by former manager, the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from being captain, Rooney is also the best paid player so he has double responsibility to the club and his teammates. When and where any other player is tired or lagging, he should be the catalyst to spark the team into life and back to winning ways.

Sadly, four games into the season, Rooney is not looking like someone ready to lead the team to glory. He has not scored in his last 10 games and, judging by his body language that does not appear to change anytime soon. Last week, against Villa, he was mostly ineffectual and on Saturday at Old Trafford, the situation was much worse, except for his disallowed goal.
According to Opta stats, that game (vs Newcastle) was only the second time in 2015 that Rooney would have more than ONE shot on target. Are you kidding me???

Of course there will be some people who would think I’m pressing the panic button too early, after just four games in a 42-game season (United actually have a minimum of 44 games to play this season) but a careful analysis of his records show that Rooney is usually quick off the marks at the beginning of the season.

In his previous 11 seasons at Man United, Rooney has scored in his first game in six of those seasons, including the memorable hat-trick on his debut against Fenerbahce, brace against Fulham in the opening game of 2006-07 and solid a run at the start of the 2011-12 campaign when he had 10 goals in six games for club and country by September 10. In two of the other five seasons, his slow start was injury-enforced and in 2007-08 he had to wait until his sixth game before scoring even though he had missed a month to injury. However, in none of those six games was he has sluggish and listless has he has appeared in recent times.

Rooney’s problem is not about desire. He has that in abundance. Neither is it about talent. I make bold to say he’s one of England’s best players of the last 50 years and his energy and work-rate is perpetually on over-drive.

Rooney is on 230 career goals for United, just 19 away from equaling the all-time record held by Sir Bobby Charlton and it is my sincere hope that he gets to that milestone as soon as possible, possibly this season. He needs 20 goals to become the all-time topscorer for the club but he’s only done that twice in his entire career so he would need the support of everyone of his teammates and manager to achieve the milestone and thus help the club to also succeed.

Like I said, he will need the help of his manager. And the first thing van Gaal needs to do is to give Rooney a long break away from football to recharge his batteries and become again the tiger we know him to be.

On the surface, it is hard to imagine Rooney on the bench. He’s captain of the team, for Pete’s sake. How do you sit your captain on the bench when he’s not injured or incapacitated in any way? But that is what LvG MUST do to help Rooney and thereby help himself.

Secondly, Rooney is the highest paid player in the club and the owners, from a purely business point of view, would object to paying about £300k a week in wages to a player who’s not playing. However, in the long run, the club will be the better for it.

Do not get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Rooney physically. He is an elite athlete with fitness levels that would probably shock you. But my guess is that he’s suffering mental torture and this is where a player’s decline usually starts. There comes a time when the motivation, mental sharpness and hunger to keep improving starts to diminish, and losing a few per cent points mentally here and there has a knock-on effect. I’m sure Rooney is nearing that epoch and the only way to avert a total and irreparable breakdown is to give him a break.

Nobody seems to understand the mind of van Gaal but Memphis Depay appears to be the man for the centre forward role with Rooney playing in an advanced role behind him. Depay’s performance against Club Brugge is indication of what he can do upfront and with Rooney in his favoured second-striker role, they can become a deadly duo although, admittedly, they’ll need time to work at the partnership.

It is not far-fetched to say United’s midfield have not offered the kind of service and support with which Rooney can thrive in front of goal but we cannot also deny the fact that Rooney has dropped a pace or two and is no longer the bustling all-action player he once was.

The manager found it easier to bring in Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger to bolster up the midfield but has not been able to find quality replacement for the departed Robin van Persie which would have taken some of the goalscoring burden off Rooney. This is a must, even as we enter the last week of the transfer window.

I’ve been asked severally which striker is available to buy who will have the quality lacking in the current United attack and I don’t hesitate to point at Zlatan Ibrahimovic who, going by media reports, is now on his way out of PSG and could therefore be available. True, he’ll be 34 in October so you cannot do any long-term planning with him but he can guarantee 20-goals in one season. Top quality, Zlatan has won titles in all the major European leagues and may not be averse to life in the Premier League. His temperament is another matter entirely but if there’s a manager who can handle the Swede, LvG is the man.

Whether Zlatan or any other player comes in is not even as important as having Rooney firing on all cylinder but the best way to do that appears to be the hardest which is to drop him from the team, send him on vacation and have him return brand new after a month.

But, pray, will van Gaal have the courage or guts to do this?

NOTE: This article was published before the deadline day capture of Anthony Martial. Yet, despite the fact that the French youngster has hit the ground running with goals and eye-catching performances which should merit the striking role, van Gaal has shunted him to the wings from where he has to navigate a lot of obstacles before getting sight of goal.

Whatever it is that LvG hopes to achieve by plying Martial from the wing, it is obviously not working so it is better to put him where he can have maximum impact.

Yes, even if that means dropping Rooney to the bench.

So, finally if you ask me, LvG is the man wholly responsible for Man United’s lukewarm performances and, fortunately he has the key to undo what he’s done. One, drop Rooney from the team and give him a three weeks holiday away from any form of footballing activities. A holiday break in the Caribbeans will do wonders for his self-confidence.

Secondly, unlock the attacking potentials of the team and stop inhibiting the players with any strictures of a ‘philosophy’ that’s obviously stripping the team of its identity.

Anything less than this and the troubles, I fear, will continue.