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Alex Ferguson is wrestling with a major dilemma as he juggles Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.
Fergie must decide between struggling star striker Rooney and the in-form Mexican nicknamed Chicharito to partner Dimitar Berbatov.
It’s a choice he won’t shirk, and he has shown he can be ruthless by hauling Rooney off in midweek at Blackpool and replacing him with Hernandez.
Ferguson’s gamble paid off big style - Hernandez netted United’s equaliser as they recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in a storming comeback.
Hernandez has *overshadowed Rooney with his goalscoring exploits in his rookie year at the club. He has netted 10 times, while the England striker has managed just one in open play and three in total.
United’s fightback at Bloomfield Road proved they can win matches without Rooney, yet Ferguson knows dropping him will dent his confidence further as he struggles to regain his old goalscoring touch.
The United manager defended Rooney’s poor showing at Blackpool, where he started him on the left in a three-pronged attack, and praised Hernandez.
“We tried to use Wayne as a wide player and although he has done that role well in the past, he was just not getting into the game in the first half,” said Ferguson.
“That was no fault of his. We then tried to put him through the middle, but when we were 2-0 down we had to do something; we had to gamble.
"Chicharito immediately went through and forced a terrific save from the keeper. And then he got the equaliser for us. He made a great impact for us. In fact, he could have scored four goals.”
United great Lou Macari claims Ferguson has to stick with Rooney and feels Hernandez is better used as an impact substitute, in the style of 1990s favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“It’s a big decision for the manager to even consider,” said Macari. “If he leaves Wayne out, it is then on the back pages for the next two weeks, so I don’t think he is going to go down that road.
“But putting the ball in the back of the net certainly is not happening for Wayne. It’s foolish for us to be talking about his scoring coming back, because it isn’t.
“With Hernandez, when he comes off the bench he seems a different player. He seems full of confidence, he’s got the pace for the ball over the top, he’s always on the end of things, and even if he doesn’t score he comes close.
“But that’s not the case when he starts games. He has not been so effective. It hasn’t really happened for him, but coming off the bench, he’s a super sub.”
Despite his goal at Blackpool, Hernandez was not satisfied with his display and the Little Pea claimed he should have scored more.
“I could have had a hat-trick,” he said. “But I always say the most important thing is that the team wins and we get the three points.
“It doesn’t matter who scores. We just want the championship.”
United’s players knew the significance of the result as they celebrated at the final whistle. They have opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The win has added to their brimming self-confidence and they will equal the club record run of 29 league games unbeaten if they avoid defeat against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Ferguson, who confirmed right-back Rafael will miss Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Southampton with concussion after a clash of heads with Marlon Harewood, knows how pivotal those last 18 minutes against Blackpool could be to their season.
“It’s a results industry and we got a really big result, which may have a big impact on the league at the end of the season,” he said.
“We’ve come from 2-0 down to win. Apart from anything, it showed everyone in the dressing room what can be achieve by producing our best, which they did in the second half.
"There was some great stuff and this team can achieve a lot.”
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Fergie should loan Rooney out to the LA Galaxy.Comment
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Henry-Rooney would be deadly.Comment
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Rooney should be starting not Hernandez. Rooney has far more experience, has better vision and passing abilities, he's much more comfortable with possessing the ball outside of the box than Hernandez is, not to mention Hernandez plays better has an impact sub, but that doesn't mean Hernandez could never be a week in week out starter for United in the future, like many seem to believe. He's still young and has only really started playing in first team pro footy since 07/08, and even considered quitting footy around 06/07 because he wasn't getting playing time, so it's too early to tell how he'll improve over time with a few Premier League seasons under his belt.Comment
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Rooney is a world-class player, leave him alone. He's better than Hernandez, he's just had personal problems and fitness issues this year. He'll be back to his best eventually.
However I do think that he's been over-rated slightly since last year scoring 30+ goals. Most of his goals were just tap-ins from 4 or 5 yards out. He hardly ever creates his own goals, he just relies on good service from wingers (Nani, Valencia and Giggs). That's why I think players like Torres, Drogba and Tevez are better, because they often produce moments of magic in order to score their goals.Comment
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Your only saying that for the approval of the english.Originally posted by Bateman View Post
Fucking sellout
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What's wrong with being a super sub anyway? Ole The Baby Faced Assassin made a legacy out of it.Comment
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