Wayne Rooney:
A brutal verdict from United's all-time leading goalscorer – one that has been modified slightly over time. His colleague Roy Keane believes it will be difficult for United to get rid of many players.
Concurrently with Sky SportsWhile covering the match against Newcastle, Wayne Rooney was shown a Manchester United squad list, and was supposed to make an assessment on who was worth betting on next.
-You have to build the team around Bruno. He is the only player who has the quality and the will to fight in it. So [ville jeg beholdt] Young players and then I guess as far as all the other players go… get rid of them.
“pardon?” The reply came from a Sky Sports broadcaster, so perhaps I wasn't expecting the full response So Brutal sentence.
– I think you have to keep the young players, Bruno, and then… I think there has to be a big cleaning process. It must be. Rooney explained that this will not happen within a year, but it will happen in the next two years.
Rooney was asked if Onana was good enough.
-I think it's improved. “He had a shaky start, but he has improved,” he said after a short break.
They have moved to defence, and that is where Rooney believes United need better players.
– Dalot did a good job in my opinion. Maguire has had a season in which he has been a handful on and off the field [av laget]. But…to compete in this league, you need better players [han snakket trolig her om helheten, og ikke om de to nevnte]. Don't get me wrong, these players are good Premier League players, but to compete with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, you have to have better players.
When asked about Marcus Rashford, Rooney said the following:
-We all know that Marcus has the skills and is capable of playing at the highest level. I'm just wondering if it's time for Marcus to go play somewhere else – I don't know. I think he needs to ask himself this question. I want him to stay – I hope he can set records at this club – but he has to get his head in the right place, work hard and get back to being the player we know he can be.
Kane believes it will be difficult to get rid of the players
When the rest of the Sky Sports panel were asked about Rooney's judgment on United's squad, Roy Keane pointed out that many of the players brought in, who United may now want to get rid of, are highly paid, and I'm not leaving. In addition, Kane mentioned injuries:
– There is also concern about those players who are constantly injured. If you're injured all the time, you won't be of any use to anyone. All clubs will have some injuries, but there are some players in that group who you think are 'always injured'. You can't rely on these players showing up week after week for Manchester United.
Then Rooney had something to say about one of his former teammates.
– Like Martial, for example. I played with him and he's a very nice guy, but where was he? I can't remember the last time I saw him play. What's wrong with him?
– At least his contract expires, pointed out Kane, who believes that getting rid of players whose contracts have not expired will be very difficult.
He believes United must give the manager time
Wayne Rooney also spoke about the managerial situation at the club.
He believes some United managers should be given time on the job.
The club has been going through a transitional phase for ten years. One cannot keep getting rid of managers and starting over. They need to give the manager time to rebuild the club so that it can compete for the biggest trophies again.
Of course, it may be the case that the new sporting structure will also help here, since the task of building the team will not be left to a single manager.
Erik ten Hag also received a good response from the stands (except for the Newcastle fans bowing) when he addressed the fans after the match.
Watch highlights of the 3-2 win:
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