Fergie: Rooney reckons his best position is in defence!
Published 16:31 03/11/11 By MirrorFootball
Manchester United 2-0 Otelul Galati: Rooney stars in midfield but Owen limps off
The Manchester United boss has often said Rooney would be happy to play in goal as long as it got him on the pitch and now Ferguson says the young striker thinks his best position is in central defence - not that he is ever likely to be played there.
"Wayne showed good discipline to play the [midfield] role," said Ferguson.
"He didn't belt off, running forward all the time. He held his position quite well.
"He mainly played as a natural central midfield player and provided a lot of forward passes to our game. That was good.
"You always think he may wander, that his instinct will be to get into the box. But his discipline was impressive. There were a lot of good plus signs in that way."
Indeed, as central midfield is an area Ferguson tried and failed to strengthen in the summer - with Samir Nasri, Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder all linked to United - there has been some conjecture Rooney may be asked to fulfil the role more often.
However, Ferguson has not lost sight of the fact his star forward has already contributed 12 goals to the United cause this season, and 158 overall in a United career now into its eighth year.
It is not a tally he can afford to abandon.
"Strongly is not the appropriate word," said Ferguson, when asked about the level of thought he was giving to turning Rooney into a permanent member of his midfield unit.
"It is conditional on the midfield players I have available.
"Tom Cleverley is injured. Michael Carrick just started training and wasn't available on Wednesday. I was limited in my choice.
"There was a thought we might play Phil Jones there but we decided on Wayne.
"He has the appetite for it. He has the energy levels and I thought he did that really well.
"But I am not putting any marker down for that position.
"When you have a player who has scored 12 goals so far, you want him to be in positions where he can get you more goals. That is where he normally plays.
"He says his best position is centre-half. I am not about to try that," he said.
The chances are Rooney will be in attack once more when Ferguson celebrates his 25th anniversary as manager in Saturday's Old Trafford encounter with a Sunderland side managed by former United title-winning skipper Steve Bruce.
In fact, the pair of headers Bruce scored against Sheffield Wednesday in April 1993 changed the course of Ferguson's career, given it turned a championship race that appeared to be slipping away back in United's favour, ending that 26-year wait for top spot.
It will not be much of an occasion for Michael Owen though given the former Liverpool striker suffered a thigh injury early in the Galati game that looks set to condemn the 31-year-old to another stint on the sidelines.
"He is having a scan done but he won't be available for Saturday," said Ferguson.
"Hopefully it is not too long but it is a killer because he has started the season very well. His performances in training have been terrific.
"We wouldn't have scored that goal if Michael had not made his run so it is a bit of a blow
Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-United-boss-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-Wayne-Rooney-says-his-best-position-is-in-defence-article826404.html#ixzz1cgaQrAFK
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