As the season comes to a close Manchester United will look to finish it as strongly as they can in order to secure a Champions League place and give themselves a boost for next season. With a plethora of strikers, most of which are deemed as world-class, the question still remains which one should take a starting place in Louis van Gaal’s starting eleven.
The best place to start would be the current starting striker for Louis van Gaal and Manchester United’s captain, Wayne Rooney. At the start of the season van Gaal claimed Rooney had “special privileges” when it comes to playing as he is the captain, however this has not necessarily meant he has started as a striker. Rooney’s versatility comes at his own harm, with van Gaal often starting him in the midfield earlier in the season often playing on the right-side of the diamond formation. Whilst he has had some impressive performances in this position, most notably United’s home game against Newcastle United in which he netted twice following deep midfield runs, his midfield presence comes at the sacrifice of his finishing ability and his penalty-box prowess. Now whilst van Gaal has publicly stated that he “does not judge Wayne Rooney on goals” it is an obvious shame to put some one of his attacking power further back on the field in a space that Ander Herrera or even Juan Mata would have been better suited for.
Next is Robin van Persie who was United’s talisman in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last campaign and led United to their 20th league title scoring 26 goals. However since then, the Robin van Persie of that season that sent fans huge elation has only been seen in glimpses. Noticeably damaged by Ferguson’s departure and Moyes’ destructive reign, he has had an on-off season so far in this term. Despite suffering from injury and a visible “world cup hangover” he remains United’s second top-goal scorer, scoring 10 goals this campaign. Yet his performances have left fans with much to be desired, often criticised for slowing down build-up and for losing a yard of pace, thus not allowing him to make his trademark runs behind the defence at the level he used to. However, what must not be forgotten with van Persie is what he can do, he has the ability to score important goals like against Chelsea earlier in the season and score wonder-goals like against Hull and Spain in the World Cup. With United’s overall form improving and more emphasis on faster and more fluid football, van Persie’s place in the line-up cannot be ruled out as of yet.
If you had told me Radamel Falcao would score only four goals in his loan-spell at United, I would’ve laughed you off. Previously, being one of the most feared strikers in world football has been nullified by the Premier League – in other words, El Tigre has become El Kitty. No one can question Falcao’s desire and will to perform and prove himself to the United faithful, but there has been too many times he has failed to provide. His first-touch and ball control doesn’t compare to that of van Persie’s and whilst he is strong and can be lethal in aerial situation he is too often controlled by the defence as was apparent against Yeovil Town in the third round of the FA Cup. With Falcao’s loan coming to an end and a very unlikely permanent deal, there simply are better choices in the United attacking hierarchy to choose.
With Louis van Gaal’s new and “preferred” 4-3-3 system, there is only one space and the only worthy candidate to occupy this until the end of the season is Wayne Rooney. His determination, strength, distribution, finishing, leadership and energy along with his “special privileges” mean he is head and shoulders above Falcao and van Persie and it has been reflected in his performance this season. With the season coming to a close and United’s aspirations to finish second there is no time to sacrifice United’s best striker because of the past glories of others and it is Wayne Rooney who can guide United to more success by the end of the season.
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