[Dirtycheat]

Originally Posted by jp_international

GocartMozart all I want to know is if you consider him as a GREAT STRIKER.

Thats my question.

Im sorry but someone wid a strike rate less than 0.5 can not be a Great Striker

The real question is: Do you have to have a great strike rate to be a great striker?

I know it sounds stupid but statistics only say half the story about rooney. He isnt just about scoring goals. He assists a lot too and no statistic can do him favors because a lot of his assists take another touch on the way but if u watch him play, its obvious that most of united's attacks involve him in some way.

Personally i dont think he needs to score a lot of goals to be seen as a Legend. It obviously helps but i honestly think Rooney is just as important if not more important than Ronaldo.

[Prongs]

Well , i dont buy the topic starter's claim .
And its going to be bludy obvious if i type a 30 line essay to prove how rooney tirelessly work and do everything to keep the attack attack attack mentality on for all the 90 minutes , or prove that ronaldo is getting all those chances because of a well balanced team which works hard to play a dynamic , tough , but very dynamic style , which most of all the times start with rooney winning the ball or rooney making a turn , or rooney making a 30 yard run or rooney making a 60 yard cross ball .

We have a great team , absolutely great , well balanced , and perfect , every player giving out their best and it reminds me of fergie's short story in a video which i saw before few years , where he explains to kids that , it is group effort which wins the awards , one falls down as a single player but if he stands up to his team mates , they go to distance , and to be frank , this season is all about that . So there is ronaldo scoring 40 goals a season , it all comes down to the entire team for which rooney is the core part .

Rio - World's best defender . Reads the game like he is sitting in the manager box . ( i know a lot of us praise our players , but rio is the world's best even if i aint a manc ) .

Scholes - Reborn after his injury . brilliant !

Carrick - Form of his life with us . Majestic !

Vidic - We are gonna miss him , but he has been nothing short of SOLID !



Good day to you all

[TeKnIcIaN]

With all due respect jp, I'd have to say you're way off the mark with your comments on Rooney. You cannot simply quote some stats and judge whether or not someone is a good player or not - there are so many ways a player can affect a game that don't show up on any statistics. A goal is given to the scorer, and an assist to the last player to touch the ball beforehand. Rooney's running off the ball and finding space are one of his greatest assets and causes teams a mountian of headaches, thereby allowing other players to find space. Are there stats for that? I don't think so. Media hype or no, I wouldn't swap Rooney for anyone. And yes, he's a striker, not a midfielder.

As for Ronaldo being the difference between United now and United 5 years ago, he is not THE difference, but he certainly is a major difference. Another major difference is the back line, another one is the incredible array of midfielders we have. I can go on.

I will have to argue Randy's comment about Ronaldo being a selfish prick though. I figure if he is in the form he has been this season, he is entitled to take a whack at a shot from distance or to take on a defender. The majority of the time, it's working out for him to take those chances so I'm prepared to forgive him for the odd time it doesn't work out. My only complaint about Ronaldo is that he has a tendency to pout if he doesn't get a call when he thinks he's been fouled.

What was the point here? Oh yeah.... United's MVP. I'd have to say Ronaldo is currently our most valuable player, but that does not mean that all other players are mediocre. We have match-winners all over the pitch. Those who are not match-winners are match-savers (VDS, Rio, Vida, Evra, Neville, etc)

[USAManUtd13]

First off, I want to say that this is turning into an excellent thread, whether you agree with the OP or not (I don't).

Strike rates, shots on goal, etc, etc...they're all relatively meaningless to me. Ronaldo has been good this year, yes, he's the best footballer in the world right now, yes, but I don't think that status and those titles really amount to much when it comes to the importance to a team.

I'd disagree vehemently that Ronaldo is the provider of many goals for the rest of the team; he's far too selfish. I don't know what his assists for the season are, but I can assure you they are misleading. If you watch every kick of the ball this season you'll know that regardless of what statistics may say, Ronaldo is not the provider of goals in the very prolific way Rooney is.

Wayne Rooney may never break goal scoring records, but you need to open your eyes to the fact that his worth on the pitch may be beyond that of goals/game. His worth even transcends that of footballing skill; he provides a work rate and passion every game that Ronaldo has rarely provided - he inspipres. He is vital.

I've stated before that I'm not convinced that Ronaldo is amongst the top 3 important players to the TEAM (although, I think after looking back on this season I'd include him - replacing Giggs with Ronaldo). I believe that his antics demoralize the team and his selfish play, at times, slows down the attack. I also believe that, at times, United becomes a very predictable team. It's not good that when players get the ball at their feet, their first instinct a fixation towards the right wing, which happens.

I was actually discussing this elsewhere: There are times when I'd prefer Beckham on the wing to Ronaldo.

HOWEVER, it's obvious that Ronaldo is a vital asset to the team, and I don't disagree with that statement. I think he's an amazing footballer and an absoulte joy to watch. I also have high expectations that his maturity will continue to increase and that, insodoing, his worth to the team will also increase (after all, he's still only 23). I just don't agree with the love affair - at the expense of other United players - that certain United fans have with Ronaldo.

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Took me so long to type this that 3 others responded before...

Dirtycheat summarized it best: You don't have to have a great strike rate to be considered a great striker


....I'm going to have to take some time to add karma to nearly every post in this thread! Great stuff, fellas.