Aston Villa vs. Manchester United: Louis van Gaal Needs Wayne Rooney to Improve

Aston Villa vs. Manchester United is a fixture that has been kind to Wayne Rooney over the years. However, in order for Louis van Gaal's season to be a successful one, he will need much better from his star centre-forward than Rooney managed on Friday night.

In the simplest possible terms, Rooney had a terrible game.

There were the two unstable touches; there were the three incidents wherein he was dispossessed. There was the fact he was unable to get in a single shot at goal.

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He was caught offside three times in succession late in the game, as he noticeably tired.

As the BBC's rolling coverage pointed out with their 93rd-minute update, he did not get anything much in the way of service in the final third. The update reads "First touch in the area for Wayne Rooney...and he clears the ball out for a throw in."

That really was symbolic of his performance. Although he was short of service, that in part looked down to a lack of effective movement from Rooney—something that became more noticeable as the game wore on, hence the repeated offside decisions.

There was no significant defensive contribution to speak of that could have justified his lack of attacking output—one interception and one clearance was all he offered in that regard, in terms of statistical output.

His passing was wayward—he misplaced a little under a quarter of all his passes. He also passed the ball backward a lot. As his passing dashboard shows, per FourFourTwo StatsZone, there was little in the way of forward momentum coming from United's captain.

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That last part is not entirely his fault—there were occasions when the three creative players behind him did not get ahead of him. However, there were certainly moments when the game looked as if it were crying out for Rooney to turn and run at Villa's defence rather than knock the ball back to his midfield.

All this is not written by way of writing off Wayne Rooney. He is a player who has long given his side inconsistent performances. There is every chance he will improve as he beds into the campaign and finds his "mid-season form," to quote P.G. Wodehouse.

It is, however, written by way of saying that Van Gaal needs more—much more—from his captain if the season is to end as United fans want it to.

The system as it is currently employed relies on an effective No. 9 to stretch defences and create space. It needs a No. 9 who can both finish chances and contribute to their creation.

Rooney would not even have to be at his very best to achieve this, but he will have to play at a much higher level than he did against Villa.

It is also important to note that not all of United's attacking foibles against Villa were Rooney's fault. There are plenty of talented, effective players who can play as wide forwards and at No. 10 in the squad. So far, Van Gaal has not found the right balance to bring the best out of them.

After the game, the manager spoke to MUTV (h/t the club's official website), saying:

"

I like a second striker in that position more than a third midfielder.

That is why, for example, Herrera is not playing but is always coming in because he is more of a controlling midfielder there. 

"

His experimentation with Adnan Januzaj at No. 10 was surprising but ultimately effective given he scored the goal. Interestingly, the chance was created from a moment of brilliant No. 10 play from Juan Mata.

However, with Memphis coming to terms with a new league, Mata being used on the right wing and Januzaj drifting in and out of the game, Rooney had a lot to do to make an impact. While that mitigation is important, the captain was far from blameless for his own performance.

It is fortunate for Van Gaal that United's defensive solidity is so vastly improved over this time last season. Their full-backs were excellent against Villa as they had been against Tottenham Hotspur. Daley Blind, generally regarded as a potential liability against Villa's mobile and physical attack, was named man of the match by Gary Neville on Sky Sports.

The centre of their midfield is packed with options of the very highest quality.

Jon Super/Associated Press

All of that stability and defensive solidity, though, will be for naught without someone to score the goals. Hopefully, come November, this will all be forgotten and Rooney will be back to at least something like his best.

If that does not happen, Van Gaal will have some big decisions ahead of him.

All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com except where otherwise stated.