Come on chaps, just how good IS Wayne Rooney?

Even at 75% fitness he was a million miles apart from all the players on the pitch for us against Ecuador.

Furthermore, just how good CAN he be???

£27 Mil, payed by United says he was never just gonna fade away.....

He could be the most complete player the world has ever seen, could be.......!!!!!

redrus

if he would loose some of that fat that was hanging out when his shirt was pulled up while he was sitting on the floor claiming a penalty, i'm sure he could be a good striker. but most of the time during the match he wasn't even noticed.

Another classic from Raymond......Kmart sucks..........

"Most of the time during the match he wasnt even noticed" ????

Were you watching the same game?

He was very very good, considering he was playing up there alone. Held the ball well while waiting for the likes of Lampard and Cole to join him, showed some neat touches, ran his arse off and while he didnt have many opportunities himself, he created a good few for other players.

Gotta agree with the comments about his weight though and in relation to the OP's question, I think this is a clincher for me. I suspect he will have a very short career; he just seems to have one of those bodies that will get fatter and fatter, regardless of how much training and exercise he does. I suspect he won't be playing much after he's 26/27/28.

Rainman is Swiss.... that explains all.

Ahhhhhh . .the great continental 'if it's english, it must be crap mentality'.

Now I understand. Thanks for clearing that up.

£27 Mil, payed by United says he was never just gonna fade away.....

He could be the most complete player the world has ever seen, could be.......!!!!!

redrus

EERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.........What about Ferdinand?

if he would loose some of that fat that was hanging out when his shirt was pulled up while he was sitting on the floor claiming a penalty, i'm sure he could be a good striker. but most of the time during the match he wasn't even noticed.

"he could be a good striker?"

Your posts generally seem well thought out and on the ball (no pun intended), but this just goes to show you either don't know what you're talking about or are a jealous little boy... possibly the latter?

Rainman is Swiss.... that explains all.

It does explain it. Strange bunch and deserving of little respect.

Wayne Rooney is outstanding

Got to agree. What the hel_l has happened to Ferdinand?

Best piece of business Leeds ever did. It almost makes up for the Cantona sale.

Almost.

I suspect he will have a very short career; he just seems to have one of those bodies that will get fatter and fatter, regardless of how much training and exercise he does. I suspect he won't be playing much after he's 26/27/28.

If his body gets fatter and fatter it will be because of the ale and the pies. If he does train and keep to a decent diet, fitness won't be a problem. People forget he's still so young and you have to look beyond the hype to see that he's still learning the game. 26/27/28 should be the peak of his career if he looks after himself and he could become a great player. He's not a prolific scorer though and I think England will be struggling if they keep him up front on his own.

Well, i hope you're right.

I recall seeing an article by a doctor who made my comments . . . . he believes Rooney has the body type to just expand and expand. He looks like one of those pudgy pugnacious Brits you see wandering around Pattaya . .all barrell chest and no neck, a 40 year old torso on a 28 year old guy.

I hope I'm wrong. He has a great attitude and tremendous skill, but i genuinely dont think he has a long career in front of him.

Well, i hope you're right.

I recall seeing an article by a doctor who made my comments . . . . he believes Rooney has the body type to just expand and expand. He looks like one of those pudgy pugnacious Brits you see wandering around Pattaya . .all barrell chest and no neck, a 40 year old torso on a 28 year old guy.

I hope I'm wrong. He has a great attitude and tremendous skill, but i genuinely dont think he has a long career in front of him.

another barrel chested footballer is Diego Maradonna, one of the greatest footballers ever.

Agreed, but compare pictures of him at 20/21 and those of Rooney today, and you'll see a significant difference.

glad to see you're open to opinions other than your own. to be honest, i really didn't see much action from rooney for the money he's supposed to be worth. and i didn't see much action from england until they scored the goal. you've got to admit that ecuador had the most chances and played much better football.

i have nothing against england, even my brother in law is english but i got to tell you the truth where its due, england played some of the worst football so far in these past 4 games. an own goal victory against paraguay, a last-minute 2-0 win against trinidad&tobago and a 2-2 draw against sweden where they sat back and tried to ride out the match every time they were in front. now against ecuador, i didn't see a good game until that free kick that ended up in the goal. i'll give you credit on that, but after that, they sat back again trying to defend it ..and that for the last what, 20 minutes? don't get me wrong, i do think england has one of the best star teams in the whole tournament, they just can't seem to use that to their advantage, though.

here's some post match comments from english players:

Joe COLE (ENG)

We should have got more goals in the second half. We can pack our bags tomorrow if we don’t pay attention and for me personally it was a tough match playing in this position.

Paul ROBINSON (ENG)

We were very pleased with the result. The victory was a struggle. I wouldn’t say we were particularly pleased with how we played.

you're slamming me for saying the team didn't play well? your own team is saying they didn't play well!

and you're saying i'm jealous of rooney? how could i be jealous of an overweight striker that really hasn't played well these past few games? come on, be honest

and you're saying i'm jealous of rooney? how could i be jealous of an overweight striker that really hasn't played well these past few games? come on, be honest

No, I'm saying you're jealous because Switzerland have such a piss poor and boring team that couldn't make a match look good even if they played to the best of their ability.

Getting through to the corner finals while only playing at 50% of their worth, England must be doing something right. If it all comes together they're unbeatable against any team that are at their best.

btw, Rooney ain't fat, he's big-boned.

name='rainman' date='2006-06-26 12:34:37' post='793890']

. you've got to admit that ecuador had the most chances and played much better football.

i

name='rainman' date='2006-06-26 12:34:37' post='793890']

. you've got to admit that ecuador had the most chances and played much better football.

i

isnt it equador?

No, I'm saying you're jealous because Switzerland have such a piss poor and boring team that couldn't make a match look good even if they played to the best of their ability.

everybody has their opinions. look at the statistics, that piss poor and boring team got them to the last 16 being the only team of the 32 in the world cup that have not received a single goal against them

isnt it equador?

don't think so

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador

name='rainman' date='2006-06-26 12:34:37' post='793890']

. you've got to admit that ecuador had the most chances and played much better football.

i

isnt it equador?

No, you're thinking of Equator, bronco.

When Rooney gets the ball, defenders genuinely sh*t themselves.

There aren't many strikers with that quality in the world and any side would die to have a player like that in their team......even Switzerland.

Ecuador played better and had the most chances?

Huh?

With all due respect, stick to making chocolate, cuckoo clocks and sitting on the fence when the s**t hits the fan.

Your reading of a game of football leave a bit to be desired.

Ecuador played better and had the most chances?

Huh?

With all due respect, stick to making chocolate, cuckoo clocks and sitting on the fence when the s**t hits the fan.

Your reading of a game of football leave a bit to be desired.

they did. its quite obvious after you've watched the game. even the fifa matchcast facts prove that. england had 8 shots, 5 corners and 49% ball possession. ecuador had 9 shots, 7 corners and 51% ball possession.

Can we keep this civil please?

No more name calling or generalisations about nationalities... Thanks!

(Consider this a warning guys)

Ecuador played better and had the most chances?

Huh?

With all due respect, stick to making chocolate, cuckoo clocks and sitting on the fence when the s**t hits the fan.

Your reading of a game of football leave a bit to be desired.

they did. its quite obvious after you've watched the game. even the fifa matchcast facts prove that. england had 8 shots, 5 corners and 49% ball possession. ecuador had 9 shots, 7 corners and 51% ball possession.

But England won 1-0 which f***s up even the best stats.

And isn't it FIFA that supplied the referees?

i never said england didn't win 1-0. but they just didn't play well and haven't so far in the tournament. they haven't had any real opponents yet and so far it has been a "free ride" to the quarter finals. when they start playing well and start beating good teams, i'll definitely give credit where its due. but so far all i've read is an average playing team being named world class and even world champions.

if you were brazilian i'd tell you exactly the same thing as for switzerland, they've managed a 0-0 against france which could have gone either way, 2-0 against togo which was a must and a 2-0 against korea which i thought was their best game so far. tonight against ukraine, i don't think they will beat them, which means they will go back to making chocolate and cuckoo clocks for another two years. i'm being honest here too. if they do beat ukraine, great. but i just dont see it.

Can we keep this civil please?

No more name calling or generalisations about nationalities... Thanks!

(Consider this a warning guys)

I assume that doesn't include the French.

* Edited by jayenram to remove reference to the Welsh.

And isn't it FIFA that supplied the referees?

now that you mention it, i think so..yes

As Lampard10 says, the only stat that counts is the scoreline.

Possesion and shots on/off target are all totally irrelevant if you can't score!