Fergie’s Rooney dilemma?

SIR Alex Ferguson would have a lot of things to consider had he watched Wayne Rooney grab a brace for England against Andorra last night.

The striker has now scored eight goals in his last seven games for England, while he only scored 12 in the entire Premier League season.

And England manager Fabio Capello’s secret to making Rooney tick? Just get in front of goal, he said.

That had been the problem for the Liverpudian’s United season so far. Fergie had been putting Rooney on the flanks regularly during their Championship-winning season due to his tenacity and willingness to drop back to defend.

Other than Park Ji-Sung, United lacked the kind of winger who is equally adept at crossing and shooting, as well as put in a good tackle.

With United pipping Liverpool to the title narrowly last season, and losing out to the Reds in terms of goal difference, Fergie must be wondering how he should tweak his team to get the best out of his players, especially Rooney, given how impressive he has been when he pulls on an England shirt?

If you were Fergie, what would you do to strengthen United, as well as get the best out of your players, Rooney in particular?

Is United’s unpredictability harming them instead?

IT SUDDENLY struck me as I was watching the Porto-United game early this morning, and trying to look at the game from a tactical point of view.

Is it me or is United’s front-line resembling more and more like a disorganised volleyball formation? Let me explain.

You know how volleyball player rotate positions clockwise after gaining a serve? Well, watching United these days is something like that, only that it is not as systematic as volleyball.

It used to be just Cristiano Ronaldo switching flanks with Ryan Giggs/Park Ji-Sung/Nani, but these days you would see CR7 as the targetman, while Dimitar Berbatov in a deeper playmaking midfield position, while Rooney literally has a free role on the field.

Sure, this free-flowing, fast-switching strategy is cool and could theoretically confuse opposing defenders into conceding more spaces and opportunities than more traditional rigid formations, but is this laissez faire form of attacking football confusing United players as well?

Are Man United “untouchable” this season?

MAN United extended its lead at the summit of the Premiership table early this morning, brushing Fulham aside easily with a 3-0 victory.

In the build-up to this game, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger has declared the Red Devils currently “untouchable”, and Sir Alex Ferguson has also said that the title race is now down to his United team and Liverpool, with Chelsea blowing their chances after sacking Luiz Felipe Scolari.

While some critics are saying that Man United are due for a bad patch soon, after a nine-game winning streak (the last time they failed to collect three points was against Spurs in December) and a 14-game unbeaten run.

Are Man United “untouchable” this season? Let’s play it by the numbers.

Was Fergie right in putting Giggs on the right?

MOST would gush about the wonderful winning goal Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs scored against West Ham last night, but if you look hard enough, that is just about the only contribution in the game, save for a defence-splitting pass to Cristiano Ronaldo towards the end of the game.

Which leaves me to the question: Did Fergie get it wrong by putting Giggsy on the right?

Any football fan – including non-United fans – worth their salt would know that the left-footed Giggs is a natural on the left flank, although now he is still effective in the centre of the park. He may switch flanks with Cristiano Ronaldo or Nani from time to time during a match, but it’s the left where Giggs is truly devastating.