Why Rooney and Anderson are vital to Man Utd

In recent weeks, I have grown increasingly frustrated with Manchester United players showing their frustration with themselves and with their team mates whilst on the pitch. It is immature and childish. While it is one thing to be passionate and wanting to win, it is another thing altogether to gesticulate in a childish manner in front of thousands in the stadium and millions of fans around the world watching the match on TV.

Chief culprit of this is Dimitar Berbatov, but others have been guilty of this too and the frustration is easy to explain: Manchester United’s play in the final third has been dreadful for most of this season until last night’s demolition of Blackburn Rovers.

It is no coincidence that last night’s demolition coincided with the return of Anderson, as well as Rooney’s continuing return to form.

Without these two, United have had to rely on Nnai, who has been incredibly effective this season, but who also continues to frustrate. Wayne Rooney made no secret of his admiration and admiration of Antonio Valencia, for the the simple reason that Rooney could rely on him to deliver the ball where he wanted it. Both Rooney and Valencia knew what the other was going to do next and it worked a treat on many occasion last season.

With Nani on the right, it is a completely different proposition. Part of what makes Nani such a good player is his unpredictability, but it is a double-edged sword. It is difficult for both Rooney and Berba to time their runs and they never quite know if the ball is going to reach them or not. Sometimes, Nani will inexplicably pull a ball back, which the strikers thought would be swung in across goal and at other times, Nani will decide to take on three defenders even when his team mates are in a great position and a man up.

Another factor which has contributed to the frustration is the poor usage of the ball in the final third and the entire team’s difficulty to get the ball into the final third quick enough. Several players have been guilty of this throughout the season with some remarkably poor passing and decision-making., so it was nice to see a marked improvement last night against Blackburn.

Below an illustration of Fletcher’s passing vs Spurs and Evra vs Villa. Uninspiring.

Yesterday’s match was a great illustration of how vital both Anderson and Rooney can be when both players are on form. Rooney has a great footballing brain and is very instinctive when it comes to passing (but now always when it comes to finishing), so can play neat one-twos with team mates, as well as one-touch football which can open up defences.

Anderson is just about the only player United have who can play defence-splitting passes along the ground. Not only that, but he can also dribble his way out of trouble and carry the ball forward. Something which his other midfield colleagues are usually unwilling to do.

Anderson’s ability to carry the ball forward and release team mates quickly by playing through balls was really a breath of fresh air. Another thing I appreciate about Anderson is his ability to place the ball ahead of his team mates to run on to. So many passes from other United midfielders are directly to a team mates or behind the team mate, but Anderson has the ability to place his passes just ahead of their team mates which help play progress quickly and doesn’t disrupt the momentum of an attacking move.

Yesterday’s 5th and last goals were good illustrations of this:

Man Utd's 5th goal. Anderson receives a pass from Carrick and dispatches it immediately to Nani, who scores.

United's last goal. Anderson receives the ball and runs about 30 yards with it before releasing Dimitar berbatov into space who scores

Yesterday’s second goal was a good illustration of both Anderson and Rooney showing their value. Park passed the ball to Anderson and then headed forward. Ando carried the ball, evaded a challenge, before passing it back to Park, who then played a nice one-two with Rooney which saw Park break into the area and lift the ball above the on-rushing Paul Robinson

United's second goal featuring Park's neat one-two with Rooney.

The smile on the faces of the players and lack of frustrated gesticulations showed what difference good decision-making can result in and what a difference getting ball forward quickly can make. United have wasted a lot of time this season passing the ball in front of the opponents penalty area without being able to penetrate and making the wrong decisions in the final third of the pitch when breaking forward or counter-attacking.

The return to form and fitness of both Anderson and Rooney will address these issues and it is vital to Manchester United’s aspirations that they continue to do so.

End the frustration. Play good football.