A lot has already been made of Wayne Rooney’s body language in Manchester United’s 4-1 win against Swansea over the weekend.
Source: b/r ... Manchester United FC
If Wayne Rooney was hoping David Moyes would use him as the primary striker at Old Trafford ahead of Robin van Persie then that hope has been demolished due to the impact the Dutchman had against the Swans over the weekend.
It was always going to be interesting to see how Rooney reacted to his first United performance of the season with Chelsea still trying to buy him and United not ready to let him leave.
So what can we assume and draw from his body language?
Dressing Room
His failure to celebrate with the rest of the team more than likely means that there is a little bit of awkwardness in the dressing room.
There have been reports that Rooney is being shunned in the dressing room by his teammates and his failure to celebrate could be proof of that rather than a direct sign of dissent that he wants to leave the club.
Confused
You can also read into his failure to celebrate that he’s possibly a little bit confused at the moment, more than likely getting mixed messages from a variety of different sources.
He could be confused because he’s made it clear he wants to play as a central striker, yet David Moyes used him to replace Ryan Giggs who was playing in an advanced midfield role against Swansea.
If he’s confused over the role he’s meant to be playing for United, weighed up against what he’s more than likely said in talks with the boss, it’s only natural that he may seem a bit disillusioned at the moment.
Professionalism
One of the ways he can improve that dressing room situation is through his professionalism on the pitch which was superb over the weekend.
Say what you like about Rooney’s attitude and intentions, when he’s asked to play a role in the Manchester United side, he will do it to the best of his ability and he will go all out for the side.
It’s the one aspect of his game which should help him win back a little bit of respect from his colleagues.
Fitness
His body language in connection with his physical game seems superb at the moment, which ties in with the point Moyes made earlier in the summer that he seems to be training very hard.
Rooney looked sharp and he looked fit against Swansea, which ties in with the point about his professionalism as a player.
Focus
Perhaps the most worrying thing to take from his body language last Saturday is that it could be proof he’s not entirely focused on everything to do with Manchester United.
When it comes down to a match situation, he’s quite clearly switched on but failure to celebrate and acknowledge teammates follow goals and passages of play, plus one example where he was caught horrendously offside, suggests he’s got half a mind on something else.
What do you think? What did you make of Rooney against the Swans?
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