Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has declared that he feels that Red Devils’ skipper Wayne Rooney “does not look totally himself”. The Dutchman worked as an assistant to legendary United boss Sir Alex Ferguson from 2007 to 2013 during which time he helped the Manchester side win 10 major pieces of silverware.
Meulensteen is, therefore, one of the very few people who are in a position to criticize the United captain who has failed to live up to his previous goal scoring exploits. Speaking to Alan Brazil on Talksport’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, Meulensteen said, “You can’t throw it all at Wayne himself, it’s a combination of a few things. “
“Wayne is an adventurous player who likes to have freedom on the pitch, to roam around and get involved and find his own way to get into the game. I think at the moment he’s a little more restricted, he doesn’t always get the ball when he wants it and where he wants it.”
Meulensteen, who went on to have short stint as the boss of Fulham Football Club, then went on to say, “Wayne’s stats in the derby may have looked poor, but a lot of players’ stats also looked poor. But I do feel that he is not totally himself when I see him play at the moment.”
The Dutch coach saw Rooney go through his most successful scoring spell first hand during his days as part of Sir Alex’s backroom team so, this admission from someone who has so much insight on the player should be enough to leave United fans panicking.
