Most definitely sign him up. He has been amazing for us and the engine on him is second to none. He just never stops.

There appears to be a lot going on with the signing of new contracts, Evra, Tevez etc....As we can't see the bigger picture of what is in the pipeline (only Fergie really knows) we'll just have to wait and see.

I wonder if Fergie is waiting in the shadows to see what's going to happen about all this REAL business, maybe that's why a few other contracts are being stalled.

(no idea, just thinking out loud here)

Love to comment but I cannot stop laughing at the quotes from John Terry after the meaningless friendly last night. Hilarious, breakout comedy act of 2008.

No goal again last night for ONCE A BLUE ALWAYS A BLUE,in fact he looked fat,slow and stale but it never stopped him getting a yellow card.Eh couldn't score against a very poor USA side ha ha ha - OVER HYPED,OVERATED and OVER WEIGHT!!!! £1 BILLION hmmmmm

Our striking department definitely needs an upgrade. Rooney and Tevez should be contesting for the same position. It was okay to get through the past season but we all know that we barely made it. Ronaldo had to play out of position in key games because we did not have a lead striker.

Rooney needs to enjoy his summer. But he should also look at his craft in front of goal. Does he want to get his goal tally up next season or become a maestro creator?

Last night for England Defoe looked far sharper (if wasteful) in front of goal. And we have seen what Rooney can do in an England shirt albeit some 4 uears ago.

Tevez should be signed up immediately or we face the prospect of him leaving because he thinks he's not wanted. He has been marvellous this season not only with his industry, but he has also scored some vital goals at vital times. I agree that Rooney and Tevez are quite alike and we need an out an out goalscorer (Berbatov, Benzema, Fabiano). If we can secure a striker who can score 25-30 goals per season then the future is bright, because it will only add to an already great squad. As for Real having Ronaldo next season, the only time they'll see him on their pitch is if we draw them in the Champions League.

Completely agree with the comments about Rooney, sometimes I think he's not sure if he's a striker or a creative midfielder and along the way he's become half of both.

Definitely agree that he has to look at his own craft...

Damn...do you guys remember his hatrick all those years ago???

We do need an out and out striker MOST DEFINITELY!!!

sam davis, i agree with you mate. the partnership of roony&tevez will not get us anywere next season unless ronaldo keeps up with last his seasons form(which is asking a lot from him). neither of them proper strikers. what we really need is a top finisher to take the burden of ronaldo.i don't know what lyon want for benzema but he would worth every penny we spend him.

tedk

rooney is going into hospital for a hernia op an injury he picked up in blackburn game.

fortunatley next season it looks like saf will pair him up with a genuine strike partner and we will get to see the real rooney again. exactly why saf broke the bank to buy him in the first place.

the lad has scored 18 goals this season missed more than a third of the season. has played at times lw rw and up front as a lone striker. he has sacrificed himself for the sake of the team and should not take too much criticism.

remind me who the leading scorer was for the bitters please and how many he bagged. you would break the bank to have him at the council house not that he would evr consider joining you lot.

come on T&c need to know what you think about saf comments last week re rooneys playing position and the fact he needs to play as a second striker. something that several of us on here have been banging on about all season. nice to know that saf and capello are thinking along the same lines.

bobbydazzler, I posted my response on the Reds Focus on Transfer Targets thread but it seems that my post hasn't made it onto the board.

To summarise what I said, I thought you and Robbo were a bit blinkered in thinking that players should play just one role, in this case Rooney as second striker behind a big CF. Rooney's unique selling proposition is that he has never been tied to a specific role or position, even in his Everton days. He finds space and exploits it. Since then he has added far more of a team ethic and will do specific jobs when asked.

He has been very good this season with Tevez and in a three and, despite what some say, his scoring record is good considering his injuries. Without those, I think he'd have easily exceeded 25 goals this season.

Yes, we should have an option that allows him to play behind a more direct striker and we would have had that were it not for Saha's injuries. But for me, that is just one of a number of options to be used when appropriate, not a hard and fast best position.

A good proportion of what SAF was saying was meant for opposition defenders and managers. It was as much "I held Rooney back this season but just wait until next season" as it was SAF musing about best positions. Also, he actually said "We know what we are going to have to do with Wayne and what we are going to work on with him in terms of his right position because even now I'm not so sure what his right position is sometimes. He's fantastic when he's aggressive up front but when he drops in, he offers you so many options with his balance and working out situations quickly - he's brilliant at that." So it's not anywhere near as clear cut as you make out.

From what I see of the transfer market this summer, I'd be inclined to let Manucho and Welbeck have a chance and save up for Benzema next summer. I'm not a big fan of Berbatov because I don't think he adds very much to our current style. Whilst he's good in the air, I've not rated him as a 'target' man and his best position is nearer to that of second striker, which puts him into Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo territory. I don't see any other strikers who would be available who would improve the squad. Campbell should get another year on loan at Hull, imo.

Having said all of that, all of our forwards need to be more clinical next season, wherever they play and in whatever formation.

"One of the all time great partnerships a OT". Who writes this rubbish? Tevez is a decent player but we are sacrificing Rooney's natural game in order to accommodate him. I have always thought Tevez was not and is not the player we need. SAF is very misguided if we sign him permanently and especially for 20m+.

Bobby Dazzler

I think you'll find Ched Evans was the leading scorer last Season, albeit for Norwich in the Championship

Do you remember when United fans used to boast about their Academy?

Footnote for Mrs Fullaway's lodger.

Albeit is an abbreviation of although it be, but can also mean even though.

Just looked at the TV guide. What's the difference between a steamy thriller and an erotic thriller?

Hey Brian, I know you mean well but you're not exactly an expert are you? To say that Tevez is overated is simply idiotic.

I heard the interview and imo he clearly stated that rooney is best played in a deeper role aka tevez. our 3 amigos have done brilliantly this season but can we expect another wonder season from ronaldo? agree with you about berbatov i dont think he is what we need.

we need a 21 year old version of sahe to bring the best out of wayne. not seen agreat deal of benzema but liked what i saw in the lyon games.

we should have bought TORRES.

whaley bridge.

heres one for you how many ex city academy players are currently playing top level football?

now do the maths and you will find that united have far more.

all over the pl spl and europe we have ex reds plying their trade . we are a top side and a kid has to be very very very special to geyt into our squad.

understandably your lot have much lower expectations.

why just this season these ex academy players won a league and cl double.

scholes,giggs,brown,o shea pique fletcher.

I agree with wot every1 is saying Rooney isn't as good as he was infront of goal, he just needs 2 find his target agen.

But last nights friendly i have gotta say that Defoe was absolutely dier i mean Rooney missed alot but Defoe missed so many open chances i wouldn't have him up there. as for Rooney, once he finds his target he'll be buzzin agen...

But we do need another striker for United and for england, both striker rooms are empty

Bobby Dazzler

I bow to your better judgement on the quality of Scholes, Giggs and Neville etc, but that's my whole point.
As Scholes has already retired from International football I would suggest that he's hardly enjoying the first flush of youth.
I was referring to recent players. Pique is a bit tenuous, but i'll let you have him. OShea and Brown must be approaching thirty.
It'a a bit embarassing claiming Joey Barton, but Dickson Etuhu and Shaun Wright Phillips are playing top flight football. Micah Richards and Michael Johnson won't be at City this time next year, but i'll claim them, Nedum Onouha is underrated, Ishmael Miller will suprise a few people next year.
Oh and the mad Irishman with two grandmothers.
There a probably a few more, but my main point is that non of the big four will have any young academy players in two year time. It's the same with Gerrard and carragher at Liverpool or John Terry at Chelsea.
The only possible exception will be Walcott at Arsenal.

t&c, hold on there, tough guy! I can't speak for bobbydazzler but I'm certainly not advocating Rooney be restricted to one specific position (ie playing as a deeper second striker in a 4-4-2). I think tactical/positional flexibility is great and it's to Wazza's credit that, unlike most English players, he makes a genuine fist of adapting to unfamiliar roles. What I don't like, however, is seeing him stuck furthest up the pitch as a miserable-looking 'target man'. Let him drift from the left, interchange, whatever, just play him deeper.

bobbydazzler, those were the quotes from SAF. His next sentance was "So we have to try to make up our minds on that, but it would help me if we could get another main striker in which would help the situation - someone possibly with height. Wayne is a wonderful lad to have, but sometimes he's too much of a team player. He's not a selfish player, he's not a selfish boy. He's a committed winner - that's his problem so he makes a lot of sacrifices which doesn't reflect on his overall performance, but as a team player he's absolutely fantastic."

So, even there, he's not saying that he has decided the best position for Wayne, he's saying he's considering the option of a tall striker to see if that helps. Whether that's Manucho or someone else, I don't know but you wouldn't give height as Benzema's primary asset. As I've posted before, if he stays, I think Ronaldo may be the first choice central striker, with three attackers behind him.

Anyway, I see this as allowing Rooney to play in more roles, not less. It's the option that has been missing since Saha became an invalid. Nevertheless, it is only an option and not a reversion to a 4-4-2.

Clubs are already planning how to neutralize our R-T-R threat next season. It's important for MU to be able to present a different picture to throw them off balance. I am sure SAF is doing his best to sign Tevez, re-sign Evra and add another striker to strengthen the squad all at the same time. Give him time, he has already said it is not MU's habit to sell the players they don't want to. Tevez and Evra fall into that category. Go MU!

1hr 33min 50seconds in Moscow should be enough for any player to want to sign.

Everybody knows Rooneys best position, and its almost to his disadvantage that he can play a variety of positions well. I actually felt he played quite well for england the other night, especially in the 1st half where he looked hungry and energetic.

His goals record this season has been great, considering he was injured for a fair bit of it, the most important one being on the 1st game of the season, where for the 1st 40 minutes or so he looked amazingly fresh and i remember thinking 'he is gonna have hell of a season'.

We will bring in a striker over the summer, and then he will play his more favoured role - competing with Tevez for the number 10 role, which in my opinion doesnt mean he is gauranteed a start as tevez is just as good as him if not better.

It does frustrate me watching him play out wide, or as a target man, he clearly doesnt enjoy it and on his day he is the best in the business at what he does. As he gets older he will obviously get better, and now with the influence of 2 experienced managers who are thinking along the same lines the future looks good for Rooney.

Do we have the money to sign a 25m striker on top of paying 20m for Tevez?