Wayne Rooney: The Devil in Disguise?

Jamie Shields — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:02:31 -0500

After the disappointment of the Manchester Derby, everyone was well within their rights to expect an "upset" at Old Trafford.

Manchester United, have been faltering in form with one win, one draw and one loss in the last three games while the Gunners were, pardon the pun, firing on all cylinders.

Arsenal opted to field a slighty "under strength" team, leaving out the big guns Adebyor, Flamini and Clichy.

This would be a highly contested tie and Arsene Wenger knew that. Although left out of the starting 11, they were included on the bench (except Clichy), in case things went wrong.

With this sort of quality on the bench, if United managed to nick a goal or two, Wenger could make a sub and bring the tie back round.

United also followed suit by leaving out Giggs, Hargreaves, Tevez and, most noticeably, Ronaldo, choosing to field a slighty weakend team with Darren Fletcher and Ji Sung Park starting.

This, of course, would be irrelevant as Manchester United against Arsenal matches are always tense, aggressive and played to win, win, win!!!!

In these types of matches, a certain player needs to come to the forefront and assert himself as a player whose determination, hunger, ability and class shine so everyone can see.

That man was Wayne Rooney. Rooney played like a man possessed, running at players, creating chances, scoring and tackling. He was the complete package! Fabio Capello looked pleased and even stood up and clapped Rooney when he left the field.

As for the match, the whole team played exceptionally well. From front to back, they were brilliant!

Even Carrick had a good afternoon, setting up two goals with inch-perfect passing to the front. Arsenal looked liked a shadow of its former self at 1-0 down.

Even with the substitutions on 70 minutes risking Adebyor's fitness, as well as Flamini's, and taking Fabergas off, who, on the whole, played poorly, Arsenal just couldn't cope, and a revival was just not in the cards.

Match Rating - 5/5

Ref Rating - 3/5 - Should have enforced punishment on Gallas, Flamini and Troare. Arsenal could of quite easily been down to nine men!

Team rating - Manchester United - 5/5

Van Der Sar - 7 - Very little to do, didn't have a shot to save all afternoon.

Wes Brown - 8 - Fantastic! Strong in the tackle and great in the air.

Nemajne Vidic - 8 - Another strong and reassured performance.

Rio Ferdinhand - 7 - Sometimes lets his mind wander, but a quiet afternoon.

Patric Evra - 8 - Superb! A constent threat running up and down the left wing.

Darren Flecther (Two Goals)- 8 -One goal and another dubious one for the panel. Tireless effort.

Anderson - 9 - Worked his socks off! Threatening, skillful, complete package!

Micheal Carrick - 8 - Fantastic display, set up two great goals. Needs to work on his shooting.

Nani - 9 (One Goal) - The next Ronaldo? Set a bench mark with that performance!

Wayne Rooney - 10 (One Goal ) - The rating says it all. Worked hard all afternoon. Scored a great goal, forced a couple of good saves from Lehmahn, showed true hunger, passion and desire for the game! OUTSTANDING!

Manchester Derby: Carlos Tevez Plays His Heart Out, United Still Denied

Jamie Shields — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:22:31 -0500

If you were to ask any Manchester United fan just what was so special about this past Sunday, the reply would be a resounding "Tribute to the Busby Babes!"

Now, if you asked a Manchester City fan the same question the list would be a bit longer: beating Man U at Trafford 2-1, completing a double for the first time since '73, reigning victorious on the historic day, the nice "free" new scarf…oh, and the fact that everyone was “united” for that moment of silence.

Honestly, there’s a lot for City to celebrate.

The real question is, with all the emotional magnitude of the day how did United let such a momentous occasion fall so dreadfully flat? Perhaps the day was overshadowed by the memorializing of the Munich Air Disaster. Perhaps it was the “new” strip. Or the fact that Old Trafford was actually rocking for a change. Was it Sven's tactics, or Benjani's "it was written in the stars" debut? Or United’s shambolic play?

The first goal was an absolute disgrace defensively. Rio, Vidic, Wes, and O'Shea were all to blame.

Edwin van der Sar made a great double save but then the lads went to sleep—of course, Rio prefers the cruise control method. City was presented with an easy opener, scored by Dariaus "Where's the Goal" Vassel. That wasn’t a good sign.

The second goal gave us much of the same. The lads nodded off, gifting Benjani his dream debut goal. You’re going to become an instant cult hero scoring the winner against United on an occasion like this.

But it's not like only the back four are responsible for Man U’s dismal play. Ronaldo was virtually nonexistent on field after Micah Richards ploughed through him in the 4th minute, throwing him off for the rest of the afternoon.

Nani was quiet.

Anderson tried valiantly, but had no avenue to release the ball.

And Giggs’ approach was just too light weight for such a physical game. In my opinion, he should have either started on the bench or been subbed off at 60 minutes to allow Hargreaves a chance to toughen up the midfield battle, which we were losing consistently.

Scholes just didn’t seem up for the fight, though he did work pretty hard and tirelessly.

All afternoon the only Man U player with an ounce of fight in him was Tevez. He fought tooth and nail for every scrap and tried to force a goal. If it hadn’t been for a great stop by Hart, Tevez would have made it to the score sheet.

Most likely Man U’s disappointing defeat was a result of it all: Fergie's failed tactics (Park on for Nani? What the heck?), players exhausted by international duty, Rooney’s absence, any number of things.

All I ask is (this booms over the loudspeakers) if it was you who stole United players’ passion Sunday, do you think you could return it please, a.s.a.p? See, we have a busy fall of fixtures coming up. Thanks.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Jamie Shields

Wayne Rooney: The Devil in Disguise?

Manchester Derby: Carlos Tevez Plays His Heart Out, United Still Denied