Louis Van Gaal Must Keep Wayne Rooney Up Front at Man Utd After Sunderland Goals

OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER — The answer, it seems, was right under Louis van Gaal's nose the whole time.

Asked in his weekly press conference about the shortcomings of his strikers, Van Gaal was in no mood to beat around the bush. 

He bemoaned the fact that, in his opinion, he doesn't have a 20-goal a season striker, despite managing a squad that includes Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao.

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It's true that none of those three has found the net on a regular basis this season, but for Falcao and Van Persie, it's because they are short of form and confidence. Rooney, on the other hand, has spent much of this season in midfield.

It was something Van Gaal acknowledged as he talked to reporters at Carrington on Friday. 

"

It is true because I cannot deny it, Robin van Persie cannot deny it, Falcao cannot deny it and Rooney is not playing there much anymore, but we cannot deny that at this moment we don’t have a striker who scores 20 goals in the season.

This doesn’t tell anything about next year. They could be having an unlucky year and I have to take account with these aspects and I have to decide, with my staff, if it is these aspects or other aspects.

"

But with Rooney let off the leash against Sunderland at Old Trafford and pushed up front alongside Falcao, he scored the two goals that handed United a valuable victory.  

Rooney's goals meant he became the first player in Premier League history to score 10 or more goals in 11 consecutive seasons, as shared by OptaJoe. In those 11 seasons, he's scored 227 goals at an average of 20.6 goals a season. He's the very definition of a 20-goal a season striker.

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With Van Persie nursing an ankle injury and Falcao still looking a shadow of his former self, Van Gaal has no choice but to continue with Rooney as a striker. He might feel he's short in midfield, but there is a greater need up front.

It's goals that will get United into the top four. And, at the moment, Rooney looks the only one of Van Gaal's strikers capable of scoring any.

It makes you wonder what might have happened had Rooney spent the entire season in his natural position. Van Gaal has tried to squeeze Van Persie, Falcao and Rooney into the same XI too often. And it's impacted Rooney more than anyone else.

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Had Van Persie been fit to play Sunderland, Rooney might have found himself back in midfield. That the Dutch striker is set to be sidelined for the next two or three weeks might not be the big blow it appears to be.

If it allows Rooney to play in the position he prefers and score the goals to get United into the Champions League, then it will have been a blessing in disguise. The answer to Van Gaal's goalscoring problems might have been staring him in the face all along. That, or just playing in midfield.