Rooney is not a world class player yet...

[theater of dream]

Wayne Rooney still short of elite trio, says United's manager


Sir Alex Ferguson challenges the 23-year-old to match the world's top three players


Manchester United's English forward Wayne Rooney takes part in a training session



Five years to the week since Wayne Rooney announced his arrival at Manchester United with a Champions League hat-trick against Fenerbahce, the England international will make his 50th European appearance tonight, with Sir Alex Ferguson challenging him to show that he can reach the levels of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká and Lionel Messi.

Rooney has scored seven in nine games for United this season and has noticeably taken on more responsibility since the departure of Ronaldo but Ferguson, though generous in his praise, believes his striker still comes up short. "Kaká, Ronaldo and Messi are the best three at the moment and I think Wayne can get to that level if he keeps making progress," he said. "That's the challenge for him now. There are some great players there."

There are some United supporters who would argue that Rooney already deserves to be considered at that level but Ferguson is mindful of the fact that the 23-year-old has sometimes drifted out of matches. "Wayne has had some fantastic games in Europe and, to be honest, some disappointing games," he added. "European football is a challenge. These are the best teams and every player has to reach that challenge in the sense of [creating] their stature in the game. It's not an easy competition."

By that, Ferguson was highlighting the fact that Ronaldo, Messi and Kaká have flourished in the Champions League whereas Rooney has been more erratic. In total, he has scored 16 European goals going into the game at home to Wolfsburg, the German champions regarded by Ferguson as "probably the main danger to qualifying".

However, Ferguson also pointed out that Rooney is still not in his peak years. The United manager remembered Rooney's debut, in a 6-2 win, as a "remarkable feat", not least as the player had been injured and not played for 10 weeks. "His progress has at no point disappointed us," he said. "When we signed him as a kid we thought he would become a really top player and he is going in that direction, without question. He is blessed with certain ingredients that only great players have. He has that hunger and determination.

"Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce – we have had countless players with that great desire. These players want to win every match and every training session. Wayne is blessed with that and that will never change. He is blessed because these are wonderful things to take into a game these days. You sometimes wonder about the criticism about the money players get but then when you look at the amount of effort Wayne puts into his work then he is worth every penny. He plays as if he means it and it's a wonderful thing to have.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...nited-ferguson

Saya buat thread ini untuk mengetahui komentar teman2, mungkin banyak yang tidak setuju dengan artikel ini,
As the article says, he isn't in his peak, Elite Trio, Ronaldo, Kaka, Messi and Rooney isnt there yet...
However he is our best player and very important for us..
Apakah pernyataan SAF memang Objective atau sekedar pemacu semangat Rooney saja buat dia lebih tertantang?
Who knows....
Please give your factual opinion..........