Wayne Rooney's form

Wayne Rooney has criticised the Football Association for the three-match ban he received at the start of the season, and well he should. The ban was ridiculously harsh, especially given Steven Gerrard and Neil Mellor's dismissals in the Amsterdam tournament three years ago - red cards that did not lead to domestic suspensions, arguably for more serious offences.

Since returning from his suspension, Rooney has seemed a different player, and I don't mean that in a positive way. His performance against Benfica was the worst I have ever seen him play - he visibly lacked confidence and sharpness, giving the ball away regularly with Fletcheresque panache. Despite the improvement in the weekend game against Newcastle, he was still relatively anonymous, especially in light of the efforts of Ronaldo (who by contrast has been absolutely outstanding this season), Saha, Scholes, Carrick and...Darren Fletcher. Naturally, in spite of a dip in form, his workrate hasn't dropped. He may in fact be trying harder than ever before, and the sight of Rooney harrying opposition forwards in front of the back four is becoming all too common for United fans.

The English press has been quick to cite a variety of reasons for his mysterious dip in form, mostly pertaining to lack of match fitness as a result of his suspension, as well as his long lay-off from injury prior to the World Cup. The article linked to at the beginning of the post implies as much:

Coupled with a two-match international suspension for his red card in the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal in the summer, Rooney has featured in just six competitive games so far this season and looks as though he is lacking in match sharpness.

To begin with, Rooney had a fantastic game against Fulham on the opening day of the season, so it didn't appear as if he lacked match sharpness then. Moreover, he hasn't missed games due to injury, as Gabriel Heinze did, and six competitive games is a fair amount when you consider that Manchester United have only played nine competitive games so far this season. Rooney has played more games than Gabriel Heinze - who has returned after a much longer layoff and appears to be showing no ill-effects - and the same number of games as Paul Scholes (who was also sent off and suspended in Amsterdam and has made a fantastic comeback since), yet it seems like the match fitness excuse is still doing the rounds. Lack of match fitness doesn't reduce one's first touch to that of a brick wall, nor does it transform a dynamic wonderkid into a confused young child hopelessly found out of position. The problem is clearly deeper than that. Henry Winter thinks he knows the reason behind the mess:

All those feverishly seeking answers to Wayne Rooney's current impression of a lost puppy should direct their questions to Ruud Bossen, Holland. Ever since the referee ridiculously dismissed the Manchester United striker in a pre-season tournament in Amsterdam, Rooney has been assailed by self-doubt.

The red card, brandished when Rooney challenged Porto's Pepe for an aerial ball, is at the root of Rooney's distracted nature. A creature of instinct, a footballer who learnt his game in rumbustious street kickabouts in Croxteth, now fears his naturally combative approach to football leads only to referees' bad books. The street footballer finds himself trapped in a cul-de-sac.

A classic tactic - if all else fails, blame the ref. Ruud Bossen may have been hasty in sending off Rooney and Scholes, and even hastier in filing a report on the incidents, but surely he isn't to blame for the former's poor form in subsequent months. Rooney's no stranger to being booked or sent off, and I doubt the incident would have, or should have had any effect on him. Winter's rather romanticised vision of Rooney leads one to believe that the boy is just a brainless wonder, when in fact he is a highly intelligent footballer who is capable of making his own decisions on the pitch, even if he does lose his temper on occasion. Moreover, it'll take more than a crash course in anger management (courtesy of an over-zealous ref) to calm the beast. Scholes also provides an interesting comparison to Rooney. Sent off in the same match, and forced to serve a similar ban (although it could be argued that his was more justified), he has returned to the team and made an immediate impact with his neat passing and intelligent runs off the ball. Like Rooney, he had a long layoff during last season, missing most of the campaign due to an eye problem. Unlike Rooney, however, he did not have the World Cup in which to regain match fitness, yet has had very few issues with slotting back into the team upon his return. That could be attributed to his greater experience, but is an interesting contrast nevertheless.

Isn't it entirely possible that Rooney is suffering an early-season dip in form, as most footballers do at some stage? He is barely 21 years old, and is bound to make errors. His return to the first team hasn't been helped by Ferguson's ever-changing tactics. It's common knowledge that Rooney's best position is as a withdrawn striker, yet in most games since his return, he has been deployed as a lone striker or a left winger in a bizarre 4-2-3-1. The only time he seemed anywhere near regaining his form was during the game against Newcastle, when United reverted to 4-4-2. The best remedy for the situation is to just let Rooney recover his form at his own pace, and the onus for this falls on the manager, who should ensure that two of his best players - Rooney and Ronaldo - are allowed to play in positions that favour their strengths. The constant media attention and questions regarding his fitness and/or ability will only serve to prolong Rooney's slump, although I suspect there are sections of the media who wouldn't mind seeing Manchester United's best player out of commission for a few more months.