It's gotten quite ridiculous on here over the past few weeks with the Rooney loyalists accusing the people who don't mind Rooney leaving of being 'Rooney haters'.
As someone who spends a fair bit of time on here i've seen pretty much everyone's view on the matter and I can say with some certainty that no-one dislikes Rooney so much that they hate him and I can be 100% sure that if/when he's sold then pretty much everyone on here will wish him well and the good memories of his time at United will prevail.
The way I see it, Rooney wants to leave. United want Rooney to leave but both sides are wanting to come out of this looking as good as possible which is fair enough. Rooney will most likely have to hand in a transfer request to push this through (most probably in the next 48 hours) and again, fair enough.
Moyes has been making the right noises about Rooney not being for sale but this is just smart business. If he said that Rooney was for sale then his value drops massively.
As for the 'angry and confused' statement I guarantee you that Rooney is nothing of the sort. It's just a line from his P.R people to garner some sympathy for their client. There's zero chance he's injured either.
Rather than blame certain individuals for all of this, we should just accept that this is how football transfers sometimes operate at the highest level when image is everything. It's quite fascinating seeing how this chess match plays out.
I personally think Rooney will hand in his request and we'll reluctantly sell him to Chelsea for £30-35 million and go buy Fabregas or Modric.
But going back to the main point in the OP, Rooney 'loyalists' should accept that just because we don't mind Rooney leaving it doesn't mean that we hate the guy. It's just business.
The Rooney civil war.
posted on 18/7/13
But who are the players available of similar quality to Rooney? Falcoa, Cavani, Tevez, Lewandowski aren't going to Chelsea. I can't think of anyone in the world who's available who's in the same bracket as Rooney. Furthermore, Rooney is English, he'll need no settling in period, he's played in the Premier League all his life and has proved that if you stick him up top then he'll score goals.
His work rate and determination are two of his greatest qualities and it's these qualities which I think will not let him go the same way Torres has went. Torres is a shadow of his former self and seems to give up when the going gets tough. Rooney is just not built this way.
I'm not saying that Rooney going to Chelsea would hand Chelsea the League, but I will say that the chances are very very high that he'll be a success there and score a Hell of a lot of goals. For all these reasons I don't want United to sell to Chelsea, but if it comes down to it and Chelsea are the only realistic choice United have then United must make sure they pay big big money for him. As much as having a disruptive influence in the dressing room is harmful to us I feel having a proven world class striker in Wayne Rooney is paramount to Chelsea's title hopes next season. They are in dire need of someone of Rooney's caliber up front. So make them pay what he's worth.
posted on 18/7/13
Patriarch
I think Suarez would become a target if Rooney didn't go there.
Like I said on another post, what would be worse?
Us keeping an unhappy Rooney and Chelsea buying Suarez (or Higuian) while we lose out on vital transfer money of our own or us selling an unhappy Rooney, stopping Chelsea from buying IMO a better player in Suarez and us using that £35 million or so on a player that we need in CM?
I rate Rooney more than some people on this site but even then I feel that having been playing at the very highest level from the age of 16 his body is beginning to break down and I think that he will pick up more and more niggling injuries the older he gets.
He may go to Chelsea and miss little chunks of the season with the kind of nigglng injuries he missed for us last season.
posted on 18/7/13
People who keep harking on about Rooney at Chelsea won't be that good are living in la la land and will be MADE to eat their own words. The actual truth is, he'll be a revelation for them as a number 9 and also as a commercial asset to CFC as well.
Call yourself United fans? Since when did we become a club who sells it's best players to title rivals? I'm 28 and I don't remember us doing it anytime in the last 20 odd years.
*Tevez (before somebody brings it up) was out of our hands. We didn't own him in the first place.
posted on 18/7/13
Call yourself United fans? Since when did we become a club who sells it's best players to title rivals? I'm 28 and I don't remember us doing it anytime in the last 20 odd years.
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What does being a good or bad United fan have to do with United selling to a rival?
How bout calling Rooney a bad United player because he may end up at Chelsea?
I can't speak for all the other United supporters but this whole thing has a sense of inevitability about it. Rooney wants out, Chelsea seem to be the only team that wants him.
What else can we do? There's not a cats chance in hell that we'll let Rooney rot in the reserves for 2 years then lose him for free. That would cost us the good part of £55 million which is insane.
There comes a time when United and our fans need to trust that United with the squad they have now (minus Rooney but plus one or two big signings) will be better than Chelsea and Rooney.
If someone said 'call yourself United fans' i'd retort by asking why people are so scared to see Rooney at Chelsea when we have RVP and most likely a top new signing to join him once Rooney goes.
Having faith in your club, no matter who comes and goes is what really makes someone a great fan.
posted on 18/7/13
I agree that being ok with Rooney going to Chelsea or not doesn't really show if you're a true United fan or not. But I don't agree that Suarez is a better player than Rooney. Especially as a number nine and especially when you take into account all the trouble that comes with Suarez. Add to that the fact that Suarez wants to go to Madrid some time in his career.
And Rooney has had niggling injuries his whole career. This idea that his body is "breaking down" is just a theory without any substance to it bar your own meandering thought.
Finally, Suarez has made more noises about wanting to leave than Rooney has in the last few months. So if United don't want to risk having an unhappy player in their squad, Liverpool are in the same situation. Yet they seem happy to play hardball and hold out for £40m. Why The Hell would United not also play hardball.
Rooney going to Chelsea would infuriate me. But I wouldn't let him stew in the reserves either. Waste of time. But United must make sure they get big money for him.
posted on 18/7/13
Rooney going to Chelsea would infuriate me. But I wouldn't let him stew in the reserves either. Waste of time. But United must make sure they get big money for him.
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Fair enough. I guess what constitutes big money depends on how you see the situation.
If Rooney does hand in a transfer request, for me that knocks at least £5-10 million off the fee we could get because if United ask for too much and Rooney ends up staying we've got to find a way to have him co-exist in the squad with the players who actually want to be there.
posted on 18/7/13
Torres wanted to leave Liverpool and they still got £50m. United have got to think like that.
posted on 18/7/13
SE85
People who keep harking on about Rooney at Chelsea won't be that good are living in la la land and will be MADE to eat their own words. The actual truth is, he'll be a revelation for them as a number 9 and also as a commercial asset to CFC as well.
Call yourself United fans?
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We'll have better quality debates if we accept that discussing how players will perform in the future is a matter of opinion, not fact, and we therefore need to justify our opinions with reasonable arguments. Proclaiming your view as 'the truth' isn't sufficient.
As for 'Call yourself fans?', I have to say that's pretty pathetic.
posted on 18/7/13
I believe Rooney would be a massive success at Chelsea but I would rather not be proven right....
How about the ol' Carroll trick, we tell Chelsea they have to buy us Bale - £20M to get Rooney
posted on 18/7/13
Hi Robb.