Rooney wants 14 million!

 So Rooney wanted 14 million pounds in salary...well well well. He clearly wanted to be the highest paid player, good for him - and earn more than former teammate Ronaldo.

Is he one of the worlds greatest players? Maybe. Off the cuff - Messi, Iniesta, Ronaldo, Mullerto to name a few are in a top 10 list. Rooney deserves to be in the conversation...whether because of his on field talent or the perception of his talent.

He is still young - 24. He single handily carried the Red Devils last season and his drop off in goals this season is one of the main reasons Man U is not closer to first place.

Is player greed a primary reason why Rooney seems to be heading elsewhere? Yes...in part I am sure the Man U financial problems hamper their ability to afford Rooney and his salary but also other big name players. this combination is the reason why the former golden child will be elsewhere as early as early as this winter.

Rooney soap opera - the tip of the iceberg for a Manchester United malaise?

After watching, and enjoying some schandenfreude, the Liverpool saga, I can only look to the Reds' historical rival - Manchester United - as a potential for a similar fall from grace. The Liverpool saga boils down to simple greed - Hicks and Gillett thought they could make a quick buck off a historical sports franchise. They purchased the club through heavy leverage and when the economy tanked and they could not service the debt they had to sell. They did not purchase the club because they were life long fans of the Reds or of football...now who knows what John Henry and his NESV group will do with Liverpool, but if what they have done with the Red Sox is any indication, they understand that the product on the pitch is what makes the value of the asset rise, not playing some financial shell games to make a buck. So how does this relate to Manchester United?

Happier days for SAF and Rooney

The Red Devils are in a very similar situation. They were purchased by the Glazers, another North American based ownership that acquired the asset not because of love of the game or the history of Manchester United, but because they identified what they thought was a good asset they could acquire...again via debt, and then leverage to line their own pockets but also keep the value high enough that when the need arose could be sold at a reasonable price - see profit. This financial structure has started to take its toll on the club. The sales of Ronaldo and Tevez over the past 2 seasons were the first signs that the financial burden the Glazer's have placed on the club were starting to take their tolls on the club. The latest from the Rooney saga only reinforces this brutal financial reality.  Why did Rooney not resign with Manchester United? Because he wants a big pay bump? Maybe. Because he wants out of Manchester United to escape the spotlights of the English tabloids? Um no where on this planet can get you away from that light...the reality it I think he has seen his mates like Ronaldo and Tevez leave with no one coming back in return. Rooney might need some lessons in maturity off the pitch, but his competitive desire and motivation to win on it cannot be questioned. Clearly he doubts the club's ability to compete in the transfer market and by extension on the pitch....so why should he look to stay?


Bottom line - the debt and business aspects of the club have started to catch up with Manchester United. Whether or not SAF or the Glazers want to admit it, the club no longer can look to go out and acquire top talent. Couple this with their city neighbors and their new bottomless pit of money as well as the Russian billions that are still in Stamford Bridge and one could envisage a similar situation that struck Liverpool happening at Old Trafford. Could SAF be close behind to Rooney?

More World Cup injury fears - Rooney out?

Anyone watching the weekend's match between Tottenham and Manchester United noticed that Rooney was watching the match from a luxury box and not on the pitch due to a lingering groin injury. Couple this with his lingering ankle injury and questions are beginning to creep that his place on the English plane to South Africa might be in jeopardy. With the tournament starting on June 12th for England which is 6 weeks away I think that there is plenty of time for the English striker to recover his health. Rooney has had a fantastic season and clearly is the key to England's ability to go far in South Africa this summer. This is not like a few years ago when he broke a bone in his foot, something that takes much longer to recover from.

I doubt Rooney will be left off Capello's list regardless of whether or not he is 100% healthy. However it should be a concern if Rooney is not 100% healthy for the tournament. Fortunately for England they have a group that should be easily won and could see Rooney being rested by the last group match. I think that England know they are playing their place in the first match versus the United States. If they get 3 points from that they should be clear leaders for first place in the group. This means Capello could look to have Rooney give it his all in the first match and then use him strategically for the following two matches assuming the proper result comes from the US game.

The injuries continue to mount for players...success might shine on the nation with the fewest injured stars!

Arsenal gets a spanking at the hands of Manchester United

What else can you say...Arsenal looked like completely outclassed today versus their hated rival - Manchester United. The 3-1 score line was actual kind to the Gunners - Manchester United could have scored 4 or even 5 goals. Arsenal looked completely helpless to stop the clinical counters from the Red Devils. Rooney was a monster up front and Nani showed why some had heralded him as the next Ronaldo. The goal he scored was absolutely astonishing piece of individual creativity:



It was considered an OG on Almunia but really it belongs to Nani. What was impressive was how Manchester United was able to defend even without their usual starting central defensive pairing and with Scholes once again dishing out his text book form of how not to tackle and defend - he is awful when it comes to trying to defend! The keys were Arsenal's complete inability to slow down or contain either Nani or Rooney. Both players seemed to move about at will and without any real fear of the Arsenal defense.

This loss is a huge blow to the Arsenal chances at the title. Granted the Gunners are only 5 points adrift from the leaders - Chelsea - who they will face next week. However they dropped both matches this year versus Manchester United and when they played the Blues earlier in the season were given a similar correction 3-0 at home. What this game exposed was Arsenal's lack of steel in the middle of the park - the old Arsenal with Vieira or Parlour would not have allowed Nani such a free reign and the old Arsenal with Keown would have been putting a few studs into Rooney.

Arsenal can still win the Premiership, but they will need some help. Next week's fixture against the Blues will be very telling, nothing short of a victory will do otherwise the title will come down to Chelsea and Manchester United. Too bad Wenger sacrificed a winnable FA cup fixture...looks like the Gunners might not be adding to their trophy case once again.