Wayne Rooney Sucks

Hello all. Throughout my experiences with Football Manager 2009, I have been plagued with a blight upon my beautiful teams. His name is Wayne Rooney.

No matter what I do with Rooney, he never ever performs consistently. He translates every single tactical instruction I give him to "take pot shots from miles away that balloon harmlessly over the bar". I've reduced his creative freedom, raised it, had long shots on rarely, had him dropping deep, had him play off the last defender, played him in a free role, holding up the ball, and both at the same time and I still cannot find a way to play him in which he plays consistently well. Sure, he'll get a goal now and then, but my other strikers are keeping him out of the team and I do not want this to be the case. Does anyone else have this problem with him? I feel it would be verging on blasphemy to sell him but I am fast running out of options.

At the moment I play an attacking 4-2-3-1 and am trying to find the best way of playing him so that he holds up the ball for players around him. I currently have him on mixed forward runs, mixed rwb, mixed/rarely long shots, often through balls and hold up ball ticked. He has fairly high creative freedom and closing down, a lower mentality than those of my wingers and am, and direct passing. If you have any idea as to the key of making Rooney play like anything other than a trebuchet on 90k a week, I would be eternally grateful.

Let him use his head. I'd play him in a free role position and have him playing off the defence rather than deep. Rooney can be a bit inconsistant but with a couple of games he should pick up form. And also he may not be the type of player who can play upfront on his own as he isn't too good in the air.

Sell the fat ****!

Sell the fat ****!

Or...he could like....not do that.

No point in selling one of the most talented forwards in the game, if he can get the tactics/instructions right, he could be better than anyone he would be replaced with after the sale.

Are you kidding? He is pretty much the most unfair player in the game. Always scores 30+ goals under AI control. He's not the problem, that's for sure.

Let him use his head. I'd play him in a free role position and have him playing off the defence rather than deep. Rooney can be a bit inconsistant but with a couple of games he should pick up form. And also he may not be the type of player who can play upfront on his own as he isn't too good in the air.

Tevez is very similar statistically and has no problem fitting in to the formation, so thats one that always confuses me. He occasionally hits a hot streak where he will score 3 or 4 in succession, and then will go missing again for months at a time. I have tried playing him as a fast striker in the past and find he rarely does the job there either, even with the team focused on him as an output. He is incredibly stubborn when it comes to playing crap.

Playing him upfront on his own would be limiting his abilities imo

Also, have a look around the tactics forum and/or the Man Utd thread in GPTG to see how others have managed to get him perform

Ok, I would hesitate from continually changing his instructions as you appear to be doing. I've started a Man Utd game and after 14 games he is 2nd top scorer in the Premiership, has 5 MOMs and a 7.25 average. I will admit he is a streaky kind of player who will be incredible for five games and then simply mediocre or even poor for a spell (much like in real life). Standard instructions I would have for him would be nothing too complicated - in a 442 it would be mentality normal, creative freedom much (maybe 3 notches from the highest point) forward runs rarely, run will ball often, long shots normal (do NOT make the mistake of always having this at rarely, if he's having a stinker of a game which you describe then maybe reduce but when he's on form he can score from range regularly), through balls mixed or often and free role ticked.

I am playing him as a lone striker to get the best out of my absurd talent on the wings. When you have Messi, Kaka and Ronaldo in the same team you want to utilise them and its working really well, the only problem is with Rooney. I figured if I have advanced wingers on a high mentality, they will act similar to Ronaldo plays in real life, as a sort of wide striker, and this is how they play. I try and get my attacking 4 to interplay well but unfortunately Rooney just doesnt seem to fit in like my other strikers. I realise he would probably work better in a 442 (although before this file that is what I usually played, and he was no superstar then either) but I don't think he is incapable of playing as a lone striker when he has so much support. All he has to do is hold up the ball and lay it off for the wingers, or else turn his man and have a shot for himself, but he seems to struggle with this, despite his stats being very suited to the role, with excellent movement, creativity, passing and strength. I just dont understand this game sometimes...

I am playing him as a lone striker to get the best out of my absurd talent on the wings. When you have Messi, Kaka and Ronaldo in the same team you want to utilise them and its working really well, the only problem is with Rooney. I figured if I have advanced wingers on a high mentality, they will act similar to Ronaldo plays in real life, as a sort of wide striker, and this is how they play. I try and get my attacking 4 to interplay well but unfortunately Rooney just doesnt seem to fit in like my other strikers. I realise he would probably work better in a 442 (although before this file that is what I usually played, and he was no superstar then either) but I don't think he is incapable of playing as a lone striker when he has so much support. All he has to do is hold up the ball and lay it off for the wingers, or else turn his man and have a shot for himself, but he seems to struggle with this, despite his stats being very suited to the role, with excellent movement, creativity, passing and strength. I just dont understand this game sometimes...

Try to play him in an AMC position. Whats the point of having wingers if they cross the ball in and rooney can't header? Try to find a drogba / adebayor upfront or just more of a target man. Rooney can be a legend with the ball at his feet.

Are you kidding? He is pretty much the most unfair player in the game. Always scores 30+ goals under AI control. He's not the problem, that's for sure.

Sure?? Rooney for me is one is the biggest disappointments in all my saves, I've never played with Man Utd or signed the fella, but he never comes in the top 10 scorers in the EPL. Having said that, not being a fan of either Utd or him I'm not complaining

As the England manager, I literally gave him no instructions except checking the "Free Role" box and setting him as a target man. 4 goals against Bulgaria. Ordinarily I would have dismissed it, since it is Bulgaria, but he scored through a header, a long shot, one of those ridiculously unrealistic bending shots, and another where he dribbled past 2 or 3 defenders. Try it?

One one of my saves he was rubbish but in others he's the man! Just depends on tactics..

I dont have my wingers set to cross the ball in all the time, at most I have them on mixed with through balls on often in the case of Messi and both on mixed for Ronaldo. They are more wide strikers than wingers, they cut inside and dribble past people and score all the time. I do have a target man in Huntelaar, but the purpose of the lone striker in the formation is to just hold the ball up so he can lay it off to my wingers or am. Both Tevez and Huntelaar manage this, but Rooney never does, he rarely gets assists or goals.

OK this is just stupid. I have played Rooney for the past 3 matches, and all he does, all he is seemingly capable of, it shooting as soon as he receives the ball. This is after I made him forget the shoots from distance ppm. He doesn't even take a touch to set himself, just blasts it, left footed, right footed, it doesnt matter. Dropping him deeper gets him more possession and time on the ball but he doesnt choose to use the time on the ball, just to take a crack from 30 yards. I dropped him to attacking midfield in the second half, and my possession went down because of it. Is there no way I can make him play well?!

u better to sell that fat guy

If it really doesnt work with the team I would consider selling...

Are you sure long shots isn't on often? I had that on with Essien for a few games on accident. Couldn't get why he kept shooting.

Yes I am very, VERY sure I havent set him to shoot on often. I think he is just hard coded to punt the ball from miles. He starts off with the PPMs shoot from distance and shoots with power. I got him to forget shoots from distance but he refuses to not shoot with power. Its crap.

Its your tactics!

Yes I am very, VERY sure I havent set him to shoot on often. I think he is just hard coded to punt the ball from miles. He starts off with the PPMs shoot from distance and shoots with power. I got him to forget shoots from distance but he refuses to not shoot with power. Its crap.

Can I ask you to post a screenshot of his profile in his current season with you? I think it would contribute to this thread to see exactly how bad he's been. No worries if you can't.

I rotated Rooney between AML and ST and they were his stats for his first season as a Barcelona player. Below his stats are the instructions I used for playing him in the two positions, I think if he didnt have shoots with power he would score a few more goals. I would say that he probably played 60 percent of his games upfront and the rest out wide and was very effective in either position. Any questions just ask.

Play him in a two upfront or behind two strikers, if you have no intention of doing this then sell him.

Another reason not to sell Rooney at United is because 25 percent of his next transfer fee goes to Everton :o

If he didn't shoot with power . . . would he be Wayne Rooney?

Dont build your system around one player, he isnt pele (despite what some silly people may think).

If he isnt working out for you or your formation, sell him and buy somebody better, there are better players in the game.

Buy a good target player and play 4-4-2. Set rooneys mentality to attacking and creative freedom (closing down as well) to high. Set the target players mentality & creative freedom to normal. Hold up ball ticked on the target player as well.

Voila?

Rooney is a tricky player to get right, but if you do he's immense. Last season he finshed with over 40 goals for my Sunderland team playing in a pretty basic 4-4-2.

He's now 31 though and I think as he gets older he gets better, that's what I've found anyway. He was about 26 when I first signed him and he was only decent for the first couple of seasons, but as he's got older he's improved and a lot more of his long shots fly in the net now.

I've done the first season as Man Utd manager 5 times now with 2 different formations. Rooney has been top goalscorer in the prem 3 times and europe 2 times. 1 season he broke his leg and scored 6 before being injured again. In the other season he came third in top scorers behind Ronaldo and tevez.

In the 3 when he's been prem top scorer he played upfront with berbatov in my first tactic which was a 4-4-2. In the other 2 season he played on both wings and kept switching with Nani in a 3-2-2-2-1 formation.

i'm england manager in my game. its 2013. Rooney has played 4 games so far this season. He has 3 hattricks and the other with 2 goals. Really, I don't think he's that bad...

It differs from save to save. I play 4-3-2-1 with a loan striker, started a save with England and he scored in every single qualifying match, including two hat tricks. I lost the save and started a new one, same tactics etc and he has scored two goals in 18 games

Dont build your system around one player, he isnt pele (despite what some silly people may think).

If he isnt working out for you or your formation, sell him and buy somebody better, there are better players in the game.

Exactly, fit your players in around your tactics. If your not used to using a free role then I wouldn't go fiddling too much as to improve Rooney you may weaken your formation elsewhere.

I find that although he is a class striker on the game he doesn't fit in to all tactics. For me a player like Ricardo Olivera is a far more productive than Rooney even though his stats would appear to be much worse.

My Rooney...Sigh...I've just ask him to limit his long shots, coz his long shots stats is not high but he always take them...And he always has a flip flop seasons...1 season he score 24 in the league, the next he scores 6..luckily i have aguero and tevez to compensate for the goals

heres proof that he can be actually the best player in the game with right tactics!! i had a brillant season with him when i managed utd but dont know how to put up screenshots or be bothered! heres one i found with Tactics

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=96488

In one of my saves, him and Tevez, are the top scorers most years (well in the top four as I play them less then I should and they always get beaten by Torres

I can name strikers who score more/are more productive/better

Vela

Bojan

Aguero

Oliveira

Saivet

Balotelli

Keirrison

Tevez

Aguero

Michael Owen

Torres

Eto'o

Vagner Love

And so on and so forth

I've done the first season as Man Utd manager 5 times now with 2 different formations. Rooney has been top goalscorer in the prem 3 times and europe 2 times. 1 season he broke his leg and scored 6 before being injured again. In the other season he came third in top scorers behind Ronaldo and tevez.

In the 3 when he's been prem top scorer he played upfront with berbatov in my first tactic which was a 4-4-2. In the other 2 season he played on both wings and kept switching with Nani in a 3-2-2-2-1 formation.

could you by any chance share with me your 4-4-2 tactics????

I have always been cautious to sign Rooney as in FM he doesn't perform week in, week out and that's not true in real life. For Man Utd he plays consistently not just scoring goals but running around the park dogging defenders, midfielders and so on. In the game that side of his games seems to be missing when it comes to stats for the 'in match' and is annoying.

I play him with Free role and as a striker partnering another striker but still find him a little inconsistent.

I dont have my wingers set to cross the ball in all the time, at most I have them on mixed with through balls on often in the case of Messi and both on mixed for Ronaldo. They are more wide strikers than wingers, they cut inside and dribble past people and score all the time.

My wingers never cut inside and when they do they never try to score.My wingers are Messi and Robinho.Can you tell me your instructions that you have set for them?

It might not neccesarily be a problem with your tactics but with your motivation. I had a similar problem with Torres, one season he scored 1 goal in the first half of the season and after trying heaps of different tactical changes i read a guide on motivation and then he went on to score a total of 14 goals in the epl that season as well as a handful in other competitions. He started really well the following season and came second in world player of the year and finished that season with a total of 34 goals across all competitons, 23 in the epl.

My wingers never cut inside and when they do they never try to score.My wingers are Messi and Robinho.Can you tell me your instructions that you have set for them?

Put them on the opposite side that their preferred foot is. Give them RWB often, FWR mixed/often, TB mixed, CB rarely, free role, attacking mentality, and high CF.

Its hard to get players right, took me about 2 seasons to figure out the best way to play Messi but was worth it in the end.. never been Man U myself so never tried Rooney

I remember someone on here saying that he makes a phenomenal central midfielder when retrained. Haven't tried it myself, as I never play ManU, but it might be worth investigating.

the problem may be his prefered moves he might like hitting long shots.