Manchester United: Evaluating the Downward Career Path of Wayne Rooney

After England defeated Estonia 1-0 on Sunday, everything seemed to be just fine on the surface.

England had earned a deserved three points, via an impressive free-kick strike from their captain Wayne Rooney no less. It was his 43rd goal in 99 international appearances, and one of many times he grabbed the headlines after playing for his country.

But for those who watched the game, or looked a little bit deeper, something was painfully obvious: The Wayne Rooney of old looked to be long gone.

Not only was it startling that he scored once from eight attempts, often after the hard work of Jack Wilshere to put him in a good position. It was the lack of his spark and dynamism that brought him to the forefront of world football.

Throughout the match he was able to get into good positions, yet seemed unable able to capitalize them, far too often pulling the ball back rather than trying to beat people on the run. 

Perhaps he is not the paciest, but after all—he is a center-forward. Yet, with his disposition to constantly slow down play, and seeming more content to have the ball at his feet than make runs, he quite frankly looks far more like a holding midfielder than a striker a lot of the time.

The struggle with criticizing Rooney is that the Englishman has produced very well statistically, and continues to do so. Last season he produced a robust 17 goals and 10 assists (WhoScored.com), making him the first player in EPL history to record double-digit goals and assists in five separate seasons. 

Yet, despite his ability to post good statistics, it seems that Rooney's form has dropped, or at least stagnated in recent years.

Currently, he is probably one of the 50-best players in the world, yet that ranking seems highly disappointing for a player who scored a hat-trick on his United debut, and posted 26 goals in an EPL season as a 23-year-old. 

At a young age, it was clear that Rooney had fairly little development left to do. Rather, he had to find a way to keep up his scintillating form form for the majority of his career, which it seems he has been unable to do.

Rooney was an extremely precocious talent, and now, that former precociousness is keeping our expectations for him at a level that is perhaps too high for him to keep up.

At this point in his career, Rooney is very good, but not quite great, begging the question if he is good enough to be a title-winning side's best player, and drawing an interesting comparison to Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks.

Despite winning many trophies at United, he was often surrounded by talented players, as Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie helped him achieve domestic glory.

But with an aged back line of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, and Nemanja Vidic, and a hobbled Robin Van Persie, Rooney was the leader of last year's United side, putting up big numbers—but ultimately watching his side come seventh.

Like Rooney, Anthony has the ability to put up numbers, as he averaged 27.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game last season. Yet, like Rooney, his team sputtered to a disappointing finish, with a 37-45 record.

'Melo and Rooney are supremely talented and popular, but many wonder whether either player is truly good enough to lead a team to a championship as its most skilled player.

Jessica Hill/Associated Press

With Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria sharing the pitch with Rooney, it is possible we will never the answer to that question in terms of United's captain.

His diminishing pace, finishing and overall ability, however, point more towards the negative than the affirmative.

Stats and info via ESPN, ESPNFC, and WhoScored.com