Louis van Gaal Hits out at Wayne Rooney Questions After Manchester Derby

All discussion of club captain Wayne Rooney has been taken off the table by Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal after he said he's "sick" of talking about the striker's form following the 0-0 draw against Manchester City.

England frontman Rooney's threat was nullified by the Citizens' defence on Sunday, and he failed to threaten Joe Hart's goal with a single shot. However, Van Gaal is unwilling to discuss Rooney anymore, per the Press Association's Paul Hirst (via Daily Mail): "I have to talk every week about Rooney, why? You have your opinion—write it. I don't give any more answers about Wayne Rooney. I am sick of them."

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Sunday's stalemate came a day after Rooney celebrated his 30th birthday, and questions are being asked now more incessantly than ever as to the worth the attacker offers at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils couldn't break the deadlock against City, but Match of the Day 2 pundit Jermaine Jenas claimed summer signing Anthony Martial was the bigger threat and should lead United's line, per BBC Sport.

Breaking England's all-time goalscoring record in September served as a resounding high point of Rooney's 2015-16 season so far, but his club form has been poor, netting twice in nine Premier League outings.

It's almost a bitter cycle in that strikers need confidence to thrive, but with so much pressure to perform on his shoulders, Rooney's form is only likely to suffer more. Sky Sports' Peter Hall thinks we're witnessing the "sad" fall of a player who was once tipped for much bigger things:

One can hardly blame Van Gaal for wanting to avoid the topic, but it's inevitable questions will be asked of England's most recognisable player when he's failing to perform for arguably England's biggest club.

It therefore falls to the Dutchman's feet to get Rooney back to his best, and Bleacher Report's Sam Pilger has suggested there's a chance Van Gaal could cut ties with the player if his form continues on its current trajectory:

The difference between Rooney and the likes of ex-players such as Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, of course, is there's a certain pride in seeing to it that Rooney's United career doesn't end on a glum note.

The former Everton starlet has been at the club since he was a teenager, and accepting defeat on the destiny of England's £300,000-a-week poster child would be far from an easy fate for the Red Devils to accept.

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It seems as long as Rooney leads the line, we'll continue to see a trend of United performing well when their captain performs well, but supporters haven't had the chance to see that much of late.

The saying goes that fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself, and it seems Van Gaal hopes to revive Rooney's performances by making mention of the player a taboo subject at Old Trafford.