Manchester United's Post-Wayne Rooney Era Begins with a Bang

It was the decision Manchester United fans were crying out for. After his lacklustre performance leading the line against Northampton Town, Wayne Rooney was finally dropped.

It was just the second time he was left out of the starting lineup in the Premier League for anything other than fitness reasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

A poll was run on former fanzine Red Issue's website during the week (h/t Manchester Evening News) and the results were astonishing. Ninety-nine per cent of respondents voted in favour of dropping him.

The club captain's performances had so obviously been part of the problem in recent weeks. He had been tried at No. 10, No. 9, in midfield in a 4-3-3 and as one of the wide-forwards in that system. Nothing had worked.

There was a goal and a couple of assists early in the season, but in truth, even in those games, United's general play fell foul of their captain's heavy touch or recently acquired tendency to look backward down field with the ball. The Hollywood cross-field balls out to the right flank were no longer enough.

His work rate and commitment were never in doubt, but the player who was once the very best of his generation has suffered, as all players do, from the passage of time.

David Moyes and Louis van Gaal both hitched their wagon to Rooney's star—not the only reason their teams failed, but certainly one of the reasons. For a brief time it seemed as if Jose Mourinho had done the same, but the former Real Madrid boss's reputation for ruthlessly dealing with a club's sacred cows proved well earned and the United and England captain was dropped.

Not rested as he had been against Feyenoord, but dropped. The results were almost instant.

The first half of football in the post-Rooney-as undroppable-talisman era yielded four goals. Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard—who had struggled so much against Manchester City in the derby—combined to form a fluid, dynamic attacking unit. Ibrahimovic led the line, but he and Rashford have struck up an understanding already.

There were plenty of positional interchanges, with each of Mata, Rashford and Lingard taking up positions on both flanks and through the middle. However, Rashford was more inclined to stick to the left, whereas Mata and Lingard truly alternated positions through the middle and wide on the right.

In midfield, Pogba was outstanding. He made three key passes, won three of the four defensive aerial duels, per WhoScored.com, in which he was involved and was rewarded for his all-round excellence with his first goal for the club.

Ander Herrera is a superb foil for Pogba when United are on top in games. He offers real quality on the ball, apparently boundless energy and a very high level of football intelligence. He can help break up counters by reacting quickly and using his tigerish tackling.

Herrera, a fine attack-minded midfielder himself, is also prepared to sacrifice his attacking instincts for the good of the side and played much deeper than his France international colleague. All of this meant his name was perhaps the one sung loudest by the Stretford End.

Of course, Leicester City were generous opponents, their defenders unable to cope with United's onslaught. But the Red Devils have played opposition in poor form plenty of times in the past three years and have very rarely been able to take such full advantage. The team was set up to attack, and attack they did.

As is so often the case in Jose Mourinho teams, the role of the full-backs was crucial. Both Daley Blind and Antonio Valencia were able to combine fine defending with adding real purpose to the attack. Valencia was always available on the overlap, crucial given no-one was really playing on the right-wing for the Red Devils.

Blind could be a little more measured given how much time Rashford spent on that flank. He was, though, available for the smart header into space the youngster nodded him in the first half during the passage of play. That led to the corner from which Chris Smalling scored United's second goal. Of course, Blind took that corner; one of his two assists in the game.

United's performance tailed off in the second half—understandable since the scoreline and the half-time substitutions of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy sent the signal that the game was over. However, the damage had clearly already been done, and done without the club captain.

"

Every role Rooney has tried in the last year (No. 9, No. 10, No. 6, No. 8) has been done better by someone else in just 45 mins without him.

— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) September 24, 2016"

There is often a fairly polarised conversation which takes place among United fans on the subject of Rooney. Some fans—and especially pundits—seem to believe he should remain untouchable, citing his capacity to make a difference in crucial moments, his work rate and leadership.

At the far opposite end of the spectrum are those who feel genuine antipathy for the player given his flirtation with a move to Manchester City in 2010, per Daniel Taylor of the Guardian.

Most, though, exist between the two stalls. It is possible to recognise Rooney's current on-pitch limitations without ignoring what he has done for the club in the past.

There has been a tendency among those commenting on United to suggest his past contributions should earn him leeway now. Arguing against this is what made "Keith from Wilmslow" a viral internet hit in the build up to the Leicester game. Keith argued with MUTV pundit Sammy McIlroy about whether Rooney's history at United should afford him special treatment (h/t Joe.co.uk).

Of course, Mourinho ultimately sided with the caller rather than the pundit and United were rewarded for it.

While the Red Issue poll and an even cursory glance at social media tells us that many fans were delighted not to see Rooney in the starting XI, there was nonetheless a tremendous and well-earned show of appreciation for him from the Stretford End.

As he warmed up along the touchline his name was chanted, and his song sung. He received a warm welcome when he came on as a late substitute as did Michael Carrick. It was a simple but effective demonstration that it is possible to simultaneously recognise Rooney's achievements and accept that the best part of his time with the club is over.

Though Carrick and Rooney are separated in age by a little over four years, in truth Rooney's top-flight career began so young that he has more miles on him than most players do by his age. There is no shame in him being a squad player at the club after 12 years and over 500 appearances, per Website of Dreams. 

It is, in fact, entirely logical, entirely sensible and entirely in keeping with the level of performance he has managed over the past few years.

Of course, one game does not really prove anything. Perhaps time will show that this was something of a false dawn for Mourinho, but it did not feel like it. The first half felt like a team finding its identity again. It felt like a team which got the best out of most of the best components in the squad.

No one seemed crowbarred in, or played out of position to accommodate Rooney, as has happened so often over the past couple of years. Mourinho was rewarded for his decision.

Maybe it is too soon to write off Rooney, as so many pundits would suggest. However, close analysis of the past few years suggest that is not the case. Time will tell if there will be a further major twist in this tale, but for now, the sense that we are entering the final chapter of Rooney's United career is hard to shake off. The four goals in the first 45 minutes of football without him will cast a long shadow.