Player of the Season

Most of you will know how much it will pain me to write this.  But Rooney has been outstanding for United this year.  He might even have grown up a bit, I guess having a kid does that to a guy.


He may not be in a tile winning side (yet to be decided) but I've never been a big fan of that being a factor in winning the PFA award or the Football Writers award.  Sometimes a star can shine brighter than the others around it and that's what's happened this year.  Not that United have had a bad season, but Rooney has stood out above his team mates by a margin.  He's also stood out in a fascinating Premier League season that has so far seen the lead change 20 times, although sadly, Liverpool have not come close to matching last years promise and haven't been there once.

Rooney is currently out, but hopefully he'll be fit for the World Cup.  With him England have a chance, without him not a hope in hell.  If he can carry his goal scoring form into the tournament he really could light it up.

United were always going to miss Ronaldo this year.  That was inevitable.  But Rooney has stepped up, with a growing maturity, to fill that gap, after playing second fiddle to the swaggering arrogance of the Portuguese star for the last few years.

Whether they win the League or not, the season will be remembered for Rooney, not Chelsea's dull brand of football.  By moving him forward as the lone striker, Ferguson has allowed the rest of the team to play off of him and that has meant that, along with Arsenal, United remained one of the best sides in the world to watch.  When he's not been there they've looked a lot less impressive and I imagine Ferguson will be looking to buy in the summer to bring more players in to compliment him.  When he went off against Bayern injured, in the Champions League, United lost their focal point and their belief.  It says much for Rooney's development this year that his play can have such a dramatic effect on his team mates.  United's supporters use 'believe' as their mantra but without Rooney the team seem to believe that little bit less.  That says a lot about the season he's had at a club as full of quality as United.

The usual Monday night post from AT will return next week whilst we are away in London.