What is world class? That term in itself is probably the most misunderstood or ill-defined in the game. There is no true definition. People talk about World XIs and stuff like that, but it doesn't really matter if someone is 'World Class' or not. Its about whether they work for that team and how they fit into that structure. Very few players could achieve at Man United what Rooney has achieved.
Agree it is an ambiguous term but for me world class is the very best in the world, Rooney is not in that bracket. Disagree that very few could achieve what he has at Man u.
Well only two players in history have scored more for Manchester United in history, so he is clearly in a very small bracket of capable players.
All of the other top strikers who have played for United (van Nistelrooy, van Persie, Andy Cole, Yorke etc) have never come close to getting near Rooney's record. Either because they weren't good enough at a young enough age like Rooney to get bought by United, or they just simply weren't able to sustain the goalscoring over long enough periods without having to move on.
That is why there are few that could achieve what Rooney has at United. Scoring 200+ goals at the top level for the top club in the country is not something that any decent striker can do if plugged into that position - you have to be something very special.
Well only two players in history have scored more for Manchester United in history, so he is clearly in a very small bracket of capable players.
All of the other top strikers who have played for United (van Nistelrooy, van Persie, Andy Cole, Yorke etc) have never come close to getting near Rooney's record. Either because they weren't good enough at a young enough age like Rooney to get bought by United, or they just simply weren't able to sustain the goalscoring over long enough periods without having to move on.
That is why there are few that could achieve what Rooney has at United. Scoring 200+ goals at the top level for the top club in the country is not something that any decent striker can do if plugged into that position - you have to be something very special.
And like I said I think he's an excellent player but the only reason he has so many goals is that he has played so many games. Van Nistelrooy has a better goals to games ratio. You can't just look at total goals to prove that someone is the best striker a team has had. For example would anyone say Klose is the best striker in World Cup history?
Well only two players in history have scored more for Manchester United in history, so he is clearly in a very small bracket of capable players.
All of the other top strikers who have played for United (van Nistelrooy, van Persie, Andy Cole, Yorke etc) have never come close to getting near Rooney's record. Either because they weren't good enough at a young enough age like Rooney to get bought by United, or they just simply weren't able to sustain the goalscoring over long enough periods without having to move on.
That is why there are few that could achieve what Rooney has at United. Scoring 200+ goals at the top level for the top club in the country is not something that any decent striker can do if plugged into that position - you have to be something very special.
And like I said I think he's an excellent player but the only reason he has so many goals is that he has played so many games. Van Nistelrooy has a better goals to games ratio. You can't just look at total goals to prove that someone is the best striker a team has had. For example would anyone say Klose is the best striker in World Cup history?
I wonder what Bobby Charlton and Lineker will really thing if he bangs in 4 or something tonight
Well only two players in history have scored more for Manchester United in history, so he is clearly in a very small bracket of capable players.
All of the other top strikers who have played for United (van Nistelrooy, van Persie, Andy Cole, Yorke etc) have never come close to getting near Rooney's record. Either because they weren't good enough at a young enough age like Rooney to get bought by United, or they just simply weren't able to sustain the goalscoring over long enough periods without having to move on.
That is why there are few that could achieve what Rooney has at United. Scoring 200+ goals at the top level for the top club in the country is not something that any decent striker can do if plugged into that position - you have to be something very special.
And like I said I think he's an excellent player but the only reason he has so many goals is that he has played so many games. Van Nistelrooy has a better goals to games ratio. You can't just look at total goals to prove that someone is the best striker a team has had. For example would anyone say Klose is the best striker in World Cup history?
peter crouch was our Miroslav Klose, not the best striker in the world but good hold up player but would also inexplicably score shedloads of goals at international level. But of course, we dropped him for the likes of rooney and defoe...
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All of the other top strikers who have played for United (van Nistelrooy, van Persie, Andy Cole, Yorke etc) have never come close to getting near Rooney's record. Either because they weren't good enough at a young enough age like Rooney to get bought by United, or they just simply weren't able to sustain the goalscoring over long enough periods without having to move on.
That is why there are few that could achieve what Rooney has at United. Scoring 200+ goals at the top level for the top club in the country is not something that any decent striker can do if plugged into that position - you have to be something very special.
Would Rooney be as decent at a Barca or Madrid?