Scholes: Pressure is on Rooney at Manchester United

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes Wayne Rooney is under a considerable amount of pressure following the draw at CSKA in the Champions League.

The United captain struggled to get involved against the Russian side, as the opposition took on a compact, defensive shape following their opening goal. Despite an attacking line loaded with talent in Anthony Martial, Ander Herrera, and Jesse Lingard, the midfielders were largely unable to get their main striker involved. CSKA thwarted any pass into Rooney with their organised defensive approach, forcing the play towards the wings.

There’s two opposing arguments to reason for Rooney’s lack of involvement. On one hand, he doesn’t have the pace or endurance that he once had, limiting his movement to get into open spaces. In direct contrast, the midfielders and team tactics are at fault for the slow developing play that allows the opposing team to recover defensively.

Rooney has been good against weaker teams, scoring a goal apiece against Everton and Sunderland in recent Premier League games, but he’s been poor against equal or better opponents. In the matches against CSKA, Arsenal, and Wolfsburg, he may as well not have been on the pitch. As such, it’s hard to continue defending him and blaming the build up play when there is a growing list of evidence to suggest the fault is his own.

Paul Scholes echoed that sentiment when talking to BT Sport, saying there is a lot of pressure on Rooney at Manchester United to perform, though it’s not entirely his fault:

"“When we were at our best we had four strikers who could come in and score 25-30 goals. This team now doesn’t have that. There is a lot of pressure on him [Rooney]. You look at the United team, there is no quality, no movement. People are not running. Is it the way they are told to play?”"

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"“It’s all safety playing across the pitch. I can’t remember a pass in to Wayne Rooney. There is no movement. You’ve got midfield players who can run — Ander Herrera, Jesse Lingaard, Anthony Martial — stick the ball into Rooney and run but there’s not one of them even thinking of running.”"

Having been a part of a Manchester United team that could break on the counter and score a goal in an instant, Scholes understands the importance of movement off the ball. While it’s undeniable that Rooney has lost pace as he’s aged, his teammates could do well to aid him when on the counter. In the match against Everton when United broke, it was the English international on his own, ultimately being chased down by Phil Jagielka.