Wayne Rooney in "A Different Type of Discipline"

Following Wayne Rooney’s red card at Fulham last month, he was justifiably criticized after his petulant reaction in the last minute earned him a dismissal.

Such a lack of discipline is not uncommon for the England forward, and he found himself suspended for Aston Villa’s visit to Old Trafford.

In a twist of fate, Rooney’s absence enabled a certain young Italian striker to take his place in the matchday squad and, well, we all know the rest.

Often seeming unable to control his aggressive nature and prevent lapses into extreme petulance, last night Rooney gave arguably the most disciplined performance of his career.

Asked to play on the right-hand side of midfield in order to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo as an out-and-out striker, Rooney displayed a huge amount of tactical discipline. He rarely squandered possession needlessly and was ever alert to his defensive responsibilities when tracking the dangerous Cissokho from left-back.

Rooney is not entirely new to playing out wide, especially away from home in Europe. Lat season he played there in the away ties against both Roma and Barcelona.

Against Sunderland at the weekend, he also operated mainly from the left-hand side of midfield as Tevez and Berbatov spearheaded the attack.

Sir Alex Ferguson was recently publicly critical of Ronaldo's apparent reluctance to track back after losing possession. United have conceded two goals from this situation in recent weeks, and this was obviously high on his priorities when deciding how his team would line up.

The tactical switch worked as Ronaldo’s wonder strike was scored from his central position, and Rooney showed tremendous appetite and determination to get up and down the right-hand side, offering protection to John O’Shea at right-back.

Not once was Rooney found out of position, and he showed his responsibility to his team and his role by not being caught ahead of the play, unable to get back.

His role and overall performance offered a great contrast to that which he gave against the same opponents at Old Trafford only a week earlier, when he was free to roam in his preferred position up front.

Indeed, his lack of defensive responsibilities on that night enabled him to take a gamble, drifting in behind the centre-back, allowing him to score United’s equaliser.

Contrast that with last night when he was never ahead of the ball and always between his man and his own goal.

All this while also only one booking away from suspension. He never once dived into a needless tackle which is so often a part of his game. Two great performances nonetheless, and undeniably key to his team’s success.

However, it does pose the question as to why Rooney can offer such supreme tactical discipline for his team, yet at the same time be so prone to losing his own personal discipline.

Sir Alex will hope this occasional role can aid that particular side to his game and Fabio Capello would no doubt have proved an interested spectator, hopeful that the "crazy man" will have a different impact on next year’s World Cup than he did last time in Germany.