Nairaland Forum

With Rooney in the sort of
touch where he can seemingly
win matches by his own will,
Ferguson is faced with the
dilemma - albeit a welcome
one - of whether to cash in
now or manage the
marksman's workload in the
pursuit of Premier League and
Champions League honours.
England fans, of course, will
also be hoping that Rooney
doesn't get burnt out - or
even worse, injured - for the
sake of their hopes at the
World Cup finals in June.
Rooney has been in
explosive form, following up
his Champions League double
against AC Milan with two
more goals in the midweek win
over West Ham. That took his
overall goal tally for the
season to 27, just 15 short
of the amazing number
Cristiano Ronaldo contributed
to Manchester United's 2008
Champions League-winning
campaign.
With a maximum of 17 games
left, Rooney has an obvious
target to aim at. However, as
he ponders a fixture list
which includes a return
meeting with Milan at Old
Trafford on March 10 and
vital Premier League games,
Ferguson claims he is giving
serious consideration to
leaving Rooney out of the
Wembley clash with Aston
Villa.
"It has to be a consideration
simply because we have
important games coming up,''
said the United boss. "The
problem is he is desperate to
play, he is always desperate
to play. Maybe it is his chance
to play right-back because he
keeps telling everyone he is
a great defender, centre-half
or sweeper.''
With silverware on the line,
Ferguson is still predicted to
give Rooney another start in
Sunday's showpiece but his
latest comments indicate he's
becoming increasingly wary
over the reliance his side
have on their talisman, and
the subsequent workload that
creates.
Hinting at giving Rooney a
rest this time might ease the
pain of sidelining the ever-
enthusiastic 24-year-old in
the near future. Ferguson is
also taking pressure off his
main man by sticking to his
now-conservative 30-goal
target, despite the inevitable
talk of Ronaldo's 42.
"We have 10 league games
after Sunday and hopefully
six European ties. That is 17
games in total,'' said
Ferguson. "A goal a game
would bring him to 44. There's
pressure for you. It is a
target and who wouldn't love
to get that kind of goal tally. It
is hard to think he could
reach it though. I don't think
he has got that kind of target
and I certainly haven't.
"He is in a great scoring
burst right now. He is popping
up in the right places at the
right time and his judgment in
the penalty box is improving.
That is a nice sign. But I have
said all along if he gets over
30 I will be delighted so let's
not be greedy.''
Should Ferguson opt to leave
Rooney out, it would at least
offer Dimitar Berbatov a
chance to play. The Bulgarian
could hardly have imagined
that, after spending a club
record £30.75million on him at
the start of last season,
Ferguson would leave him out
of so many key games.
Benched for last season's
Champions League final,
Berbatov was also among the
substitutes against AC Milan
in the San Siro. His response
has been admirable though,
scoring at Everton last
weekend before producing an
outstanding performance in a
creative capacity against
West Ham in midweek.
"Dimitar is consistent,'' said
Ferguson. "On Saturday he
looked like the only one who
could score and has
performed well in recent
games. We do have a
preference to play one
striker sometimes, but that
does not reflect on him in any
way, or Michael Owen for that
matter. It is just the choice we
make.''
As usual, Ferguson has more
contenders for his starting
line-up than places on offer.
Darren Fletcher would appear
a certainty and, on the basis
that he missed last year's win
over Tottenham through
injury, so too does Brazilian
full-back Rafael. The other
nine spots are up for grabs,
although Jonny Evans and
Darron Gibson are expected
to add an element of youth as
United look to win the
competition for a fourth time.
One of the other issues
surrounds the goalkeeping
slot, which appears to be
between Tomasz Kuszczak
and Edwin van der Sar who,
as he hinted last week, has
opted to remain at Old
Trafford for another season.
The new deal will take Van
der Sar beyond his 40th
birthday and also allows him
to thank Ferguson for the
compassion shown after his
wife Annemarie suffered a
stroke in Holland just before
Christmas.
"I still feel good and am
enjoying my football,'' he said.
"This is a great club and I
was shown a great deal of
compassion and support
during a difficult time in
December and January, for
which I am extremely
grateful.''