The destiny of the title will already be clearer by the time the transfer window closes on September 3. The team that has Wayne Rooney in their line-up will most likely be champions in May.
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Transfer tussle: Wayne Rooney wants out
of Manchester United, but if he signs for Chelsea then the London club
will win the Premier League, says Alan Hansen Photo: PA
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That’s how significant I rate the current battle for his services, the
prospect of Rooney leaving Manchester
United for Chelsea
simply unthinkable if the title holders are to retain their crown.
For all the new signings, emerging stars and possible arrivals into the
Premier League in the next few weeks, it is Rooney who will have most
influence on proceedings over the next nine months.
If he joins Chelsea, they will win the league. I’m absolutely sure of that. If
he remains at Old Trafford, David Moyes has a much better chance of marking
his debut season with the title.
Should Rooney be sold to a foreign club, not ideal for Moyes, but probably
more acceptable if he is intent on leaving the club, then Manchester
City manager Manuel Pellegrini will be celebrating. It will open up
the possibility of City emerging victorious from what will be a three way
fight for top spot.
There’s a golden rule in football: you never sell to your biggest rivals.
Check the history books and see how often it has happened and what the
consequences where.
Arsenal did it last season with Robin van Persie and the impact was discussed
every week thereafter, the most meaningful transfer activity of last summer
effectively worth 12 to 15 more points to Manchester United. The story of
last season was how van Persie’s capture secured the league in August. We’ll
be in similar territory if Rooney joins Chelsea.
United can’t sanction a deal that makes Chelsea stronger and United weaker, no matter how much Jose Mourinho bids.
Mourinho is well aware of both the sporting and psychological impact of parading Rooney at Stamford Bridge, which is why he is so keen to make the deal happen. He knows what a coup it would be.
Although there has been plenty of discussion about Rooney’s form, I don’t think he was as poor last season as some suggest. His stats still stand up to scrutiny, even if he was not at his best.
What I still see is a player who covers every blade of grass, often sacrifices himself for the team by dropping into less favoured positions, and still scores with the kind of frequency that wins you trophies.
It doesn’t matter how great a player you are, nobody is sensational every season of their career. The class remains, however, and the ability to have influence at key moments will be there for many more years.
What you also get with Rooney is a winner. Someone you want sitting next to you in the dressing room before those season-defining games. A guy you know will give 100 per cent until the last whistle, determined to make a difference. He lives and breathes to play football and has the capacity to make the match-winning contribution from anywhere on the pitch, working as hard in defence as he does in attack.
Rooney would galvanise the Chelsea dressing room. One of the fundamental reasons for United’s success under Sir Alex Ferguson was the sense of togetherness he bred within his squad. They’ve always seemed such a tight group, their spirit and mentality crucial to so much they’ve achieved.
Even last season, I would argue both City and Chelsea had more technically gifted players in their squad, but were well behind United in terms of their team work, organisation and readiness to run that extra yard or make that extra tackle to win.
Rooney is an essential component of this at United and the swing in favour of Chelsea would be huge. Mourinho will recreate the siege mentality at Stamford Bridge, the feeling it’s "us against the world" he revelled in during his last spell at the club and which Ferguson nurtured throughout his reign.
He knows if Rooney was in a Chelsea shirt, feeling he had something to prove for the way it may have ended at United, he’d simply have to unleash him, sit back and watch the goals flow.
Clearly Moyes was left with an incredible challenge when he inherited the Rooney situation.
No matter what was said at the time, when Rooney was left on the bench for the Champions League tie against Real Madrid it sowed the seed for the disillusionment we have identified since the end of last season.
It’s a tough enough job for Moyes replacing Ferguson without having to deal with the prospect of losing such a pivotal player.
How he emerges from this first major challenge will have a defining impact on his debut season at Old Trafford. There can be compromise for United. Rooney has to stay.
Plus ça change...
For all the money flowing into the Premier League thanks to the new TV deal, it will be very much a case of "as you were" in terms of who fills the key positions this season.
The top three will consist of Manchester United, Chelsea and City, with Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool competing for the final Champions League positions. As with United and Rooney, it’s understandable why Tottenham and Liverpool are fighting so hard to keep Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez. Without their best players, I can’t see how they will finish in the top four.
It’s a ceaseless battle for survival for the newcomers to the Premier League, the gap between the cream at the top and everyone else far too wide to bridge.
This article has been taken from :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/10233302/Chelsea-target-Wayne-Rooney-will-decide-the-course-of-the-Premier-League-season.html
Please visit and like us on facebook for more news, views and rumors regarding CHELSEA FC on: www.facebook.com/CFCblueblood
United can’t sanction a deal that makes Chelsea stronger and United weaker, no matter how much Jose Mourinho bids.
Mourinho is well aware of both the sporting and psychological impact of parading Rooney at Stamford Bridge, which is why he is so keen to make the deal happen. He knows what a coup it would be.
Although there has been plenty of discussion about Rooney’s form, I don’t think he was as poor last season as some suggest. His stats still stand up to scrutiny, even if he was not at his best.
What I still see is a player who covers every blade of grass, often sacrifices himself for the team by dropping into less favoured positions, and still scores with the kind of frequency that wins you trophies.
It doesn’t matter how great a player you are, nobody is sensational every season of their career. The class remains, however, and the ability to have influence at key moments will be there for many more years.
What you also get with Rooney is a winner. Someone you want sitting next to you in the dressing room before those season-defining games. A guy you know will give 100 per cent until the last whistle, determined to make a difference. He lives and breathes to play football and has the capacity to make the match-winning contribution from anywhere on the pitch, working as hard in defence as he does in attack.
Rooney would galvanise the Chelsea dressing room. One of the fundamental reasons for United’s success under Sir Alex Ferguson was the sense of togetherness he bred within his squad. They’ve always seemed such a tight group, their spirit and mentality crucial to so much they’ve achieved.
Even last season, I would argue both City and Chelsea had more technically gifted players in their squad, but were well behind United in terms of their team work, organisation and readiness to run that extra yard or make that extra tackle to win.
Rooney is an essential component of this at United and the swing in favour of Chelsea would be huge. Mourinho will recreate the siege mentality at Stamford Bridge, the feeling it’s "us against the world" he revelled in during his last spell at the club and which Ferguson nurtured throughout his reign.
He knows if Rooney was in a Chelsea shirt, feeling he had something to prove for the way it may have ended at United, he’d simply have to unleash him, sit back and watch the goals flow.
Clearly Moyes was left with an incredible challenge when he inherited the Rooney situation.
No matter what was said at the time, when Rooney was left on the bench for the Champions League tie against Real Madrid it sowed the seed for the disillusionment we have identified since the end of last season.
It’s a tough enough job for Moyes replacing Ferguson without having to deal with the prospect of losing such a pivotal player.
How he emerges from this first major challenge will have a defining impact on his debut season at Old Trafford. There can be compromise for United. Rooney has to stay.
Plus ça change...
For all the money flowing into the Premier League thanks to the new TV deal, it will be very much a case of "as you were" in terms of who fills the key positions this season.
The top three will consist of Manchester United, Chelsea and City, with Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool competing for the final Champions League positions. As with United and Rooney, it’s understandable why Tottenham and Liverpool are fighting so hard to keep Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez. Without their best players, I can’t see how they will finish in the top four.
It’s a ceaseless battle for survival for the newcomers to the Premier League, the gap between the cream at the top and everyone else far too wide to bridge.
This article has been taken from :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/10233302/Chelsea-target-Wayne-Rooney-will-decide-the-course-of-the-Premier-League-season.html
Please visit and like us on facebook for more news, views and rumors regarding CHELSEA FC on: www.facebook.com/CFCblueblood
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