Wayne Rooney Should Have Been More Willing to Adapt to Midfield Role

Maybe somebody should explain to Wayne Rooney that just because he plays as a withdrawn striker/midfielder, he's not actually withdrawn from the team. One can see where that might cause confusion.

Rooney has come out and publicly decreed that he was upset that Manchester United asked him to play a midfield role (h/t The Guardian's Daniel Taylor):

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Everyone at the club knew where I wanted to play and I think that's why I was disappointed. I got told to play in midfield and I didn't want to. I just think there had to come a point when, for my own career, I had to be a bit selfish really.

I actually felt when I played in midfield I did OK, but I didn't want to play there. I've had no problem in the past playing out of position. But I felt I deserved the right to play in my position and that wasn't happening.

I think, naturally, I was a bit disappointed and maybe that affected some of the games I played. I know myself that last year wasn't my best season but there were times when I was playing in different positions. I didn't feel I got a consistent run of games up front. Sometimes when you're not playing in one position all the time it's difficult to adapt.

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This comes almost a year to the day that Rooney went to Twitter to proclaim that he was actually happy to be playing in the midfield.

On one hand, you have to take what he's saying on board. This is a world-class striker we're talking about. When he's at his best, few have the combination of playmaking and goalscoring attributes that Rooney possesses.

As a player, sometimes you have to look out for what's best for your career. You don't want to get thrown too far off your natural position, or it's going to hinder your potential, costing you money and affecting your standing with the national team.

Too often professional athletes are blamed for making the same kind decisions that millions of people in other occupations make every day.

With that said, you have to wonder why exactly Rooney was so averse to dropping deeper on the pitch. He pretty much plays that kind of position already. With United, he's been his best when playing off somebody like Dimitar Berbatov or Robin van Persie, who would sit close to the 18-yard box. Rooney would be closer to the halfway line and look to help set up the attack and run at the defense.

Playing as a central midfielder or especially a central attacking midfielder isn't that radical of a change. It's not as if David Moyes or Sir Alex Ferguson asked Rooney to sit in front of the back four and not leave his half for an entire game.

At some point, there has to come the sacrifice of self for the betterment of the club. When you're making a rumored £250,000 a week, as the Mirror believe, sometimes you have to settle on the fact that you'll play wherever the manager wants you to play.

Antonio Valencia has played at right-back, Michael Carrick has played at centre-back, Ryan Giggs has moved to just about every position in the midfield and Shinji Kagawa has gotten the majority of his playing time at United on the left wing. These are all players who have sacrificed because that's what the manager has asked them to do.

Were they happy about it? Perhaps not. But they didn't make their dissatisfaction public knowledge. They were professionals and did their jobs on the pitch.

Rooney has to be able to see the necessity of moving him into the midfield.

In terms of the striker position, United are set. Moyes has Robin van Persie—arguably the best in England—and Javier Hernandez, who always finds a way to score.

What the Red Devils don't really have is that dynamic presence in midfield, especially with the injury to Marouane Fellaini. United need that link to van Persie and Hernandez, and that's exactly what Rooney could be if he's up for it.

If Rooney is unswayed, he should perhaps take a look at Philipp Lahm, who is considered by many the best right-back in the world. That meant nothing to Pep Guardiola, who instead played Lahm in a defensive midfield position. While appearing far too radical, it's instead been a major success, with Lahm continuing to be a linchpin for Bayern Munich.

Nobody asked Rooney to stop being a striker altogether, rather just slot into midfield when the situation calls for it. With him, though, it seemed to be an all-or-nothing situation. It's either he's always going to be a striker, or he's out. You're familiar with the saying, "When the going gets tough, you get the heck out of there." At least I think that's it.

Modern football is extremely fluid, in that the idea of having one position and one position only has pretty much been outmoded. Managers are having trouble creating new formations, so they find new ways to use what they have.

Rooney should be able to see this and understand that both United and his own career would be better served by showing some versatility and accepting his role on the pitch, wherever it is.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first time an English footballer was accused of being behind the times.

Follow @JosephZucker on Twitter.