Jose Mourinho is reportedly preparing to drop Wayne Rooney for Manchester United’s home match with Leicester City on Saturday.
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Rooney was slammed after a shambolic display during United’s 3-1 defeat to Watford on Sunday.
“I was completely aware that we were not flawless, with lots of players who are not end products and can make their own mistakes”.
His defensive contribution was also negligible, failing to make a single tackle and registering one block and one interception in a tetchy 90 minutes during which his main priority appeared to be engaging in a constant dialogue with referee Michael Oliver.
Sunday’s performance against Manchester United was easily the best performance I’ve ever seen from a Watford side in my time as a fan.
“Rooney’s form at the start of this season has come under fire and he could well be on his way if United’s poor form continues”, said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly.
In recent years, with his pace diminished, he has operated in an ever-deeper role. They have some players with top-flight experience, including midfielder Matt Taylor, while former United trainee Kenji Gorre has been a regular for the Cobblers since joining on loan from Swansea City in the close season. United have lacked pace, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not the sort of striker who will move in behind the defence and Rooney is no longer a No 10 who does that. either.
However, it is not just the short-term run of results that will be a concern for United fans. Wednesday’s EFL Cup third-round tie at Sixfields kicks off at 19:45 BST on Wednesday and will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.
But it will be in the more humble surroundings of Northampton’s Sixfields Stadium that Carrick could disprove a Fergie theory. In the modern game you don’t need tacklers the way you used to. Those losses have undoubtedly been disappointing but manager Jose Mourinho is refusing to overreact, just as he didn’t get carried away with his side’s four consecutive wins at the start of the campaign.
They lost nine of the 16 league games that the Portuguese took charge of in 2015-16 and sat in 16th place when he departed.
Yes – the match will be televised on Sky Sports in the UK.
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Manchester United are unlikely to throw themselves into the January transfer window despite midfield problems surfacing this month.
