Meulensteen: “Rooney is not himself”

Former Manchester United coach René Meulensteen believes that United captain Wayne Rooney is ‘not himself’ at the moment.

The 30-year old has been criticised by pundits and fans alike for his poor start to the season and has scored just twice in the Premier League (although he has eight goals in all competitions for club and country).

And Meulensteen, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s staff in two separate stints at Old Trafford, as well as coaching Rooney during his most prolific spell with the Reds between 2007 and 2013, insists that it is unfair to place all the blame fully on the United and England skipper.

Speaking to talkSPORT, he said:

You can’t throw it all at Wayne himself, it’s a combination of a few things. Wayne is an adventurous player who likes to have freedom on the pitch, to roam around and get involved and find his own way to get into the game.

I think at the moment he’s a little more restricted, he doesn’t always get the ball when he wants it and where he wants it.

Meulensteen also feels that United’s change of style under Louis van Gaal has had a considerable effect on Rooney’s performances:

Manchester United are going through a transformation from the style Sir Alex Ferguson liked to play.

He wanted to play with a lot of creativity, a lot of freedom, and at times, risk, but now under Louis van Gaal it’s much more calculated. It’s more about working your way up the pitch, it’s more laboured and more pedestrian.

Wayne’s stats in the derby may have looked poor, but a lot of players’ stats also looked poor.

But I do feel that he is not totally himself when I see him play at the moment.