The 250 man- Wayne Rooney

Perhaps one of the most famous or infamous names among the fans in the Premier league, Wayne Mark Rooney is an ever-present household name for English football. Be it his goal scoring menaces, the team player attribute or his aggressive approach to the game, he certainly adds a very different dimension to the game. Ever since his debut for Everton, he has taken the premier league by storm. His first notable achievement will be that brilliant winning goal he scored against Arsenal for Everton. From that moment onward, he topped the wish lists of many big clubs in Europe.

In lieu of his tremendous performance at Everton, Sir Alex Ferguson made no delays signing him up for £25.6 million under the nose of other clubs. And he made an instant mark among the United fans in his debut game versus Fenerbahce where he scored a brilliant hat trick. These goals made him the youngest player in the Champions League history to score a hat trick.

 

From here on started a journey of super-stardom, success, controversies and most of all he became one of the major focal points for Manchester United in their glories. For Wayne Rooney the reason was very simple, it was his mad desire to win, that's all. He is a kind of player who loves to take the challenge to the opposition, relishes the tough physical battles with daunting opposition, loves getting bit of wear and tear but in the end of the day what fans really applaud is to see a player giving his all to win the game.

Not only in the Premier league, but also for the England national side, Rooney has been their main stay for almost 12 years now. He had a very good start to his England career netting four times in his debut tournament Euro 2004. Though the tournament ended in a disappointment for England, they found a new attacking talent in their ranks.

After that, Rooney's career was kick started where he became a regular both at the club and national level. He had all the skills and the talents to be the very best, but what sets him apart is his willingness to defend on top of his abilities to create and to score goals. He is the complete player whom every manger dreams of signing. His work rate on the field can be described as the engine of a turbine motor. He will keep on playing but also would keep pumping up his energy more and  more.

As the years progressed, Rooney achieved significant milestones both for his team and also as an individual. With Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier league five times, the UEFA champions league once, FIFA club world cup once, FA community shield four times, the Football league cup twice and the FA cup once. In September 2013, Rooney joined the elite group by scoring his 200th goal for the club.


Perhaps the most spectacular moment for him as a Manchester United player for which he will always be fondly remembered was that tremendous Bi-Cycle kick goal versus their fierce opponent Manchester City and as a result winning the match for United by 2-1.

In 2014 under Louise Van Gaal, Rooney took the arm band and became the club captain. The major trophies for United under his captaincy are the FA cup 2016 and the FA community shield 2016.

On January 21, 2016, Rooney surpassed the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton goals tally of 249 by scoring his 250th club goal against a Barclays Premier league game versus Stoke City. And the 250th goal could not have been more special that an spectacular side angled free kick and thus helping United to snatch a point from the jaws of defeat.

Rooney has now moved into the the twilight of his career at an age of 31 and in the recent times he has faced a lots of criticism due to his lack of goals in the games. But for me it will be very hard to omit someone like him from the game so easily. It seems as if he was born to have the football in his feet and it is such a treat when he performs at the top of his level. He is just unstoppable. And also for the fact that he has got the versatility to adapt his game in so many numerous position, very few players can say that for themselves.

Its is difficult to say if he will finish his career at Manchester United or anywhere, but one thing is for sure that United's 250man will always be an enigma around Old Trafford and he will and always be a true 'Red Devil'.

The unsung heores of the Premier league

The Premier league is blessed with so many stars with the likes of Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Aguero, Sanchez for whom the the managers, pundits and the fans will never stop throwing their praise.

But there are plenty of unsung heroes in the top flight who keep turning on consistent performance week after week but never able to grab much attention on the field. And more or less it is because there names come very rarely in the score sheets.

So who are those unsung heroes we are talking about here? I have picked out few names from the lot who for me do not always get the praise they deserve.

Michael Carrick (Manchester United)

He joined the Manchester United midfield contingent when the favorites were the likes of Scholes and Ryan Giggs. In the initial stages of his Manchester career his role was subdue, but gradually and gradually we can all feel that he has been one of the major focal point in the midfield area. So many good midfielders like Schweinsteiger, Herrera or Pogba are present in United's rank, but any manager would prefer to have a player with the abilities and the experience of Carrick. He can pass the ball, create chance, defend, almost everything which you are expecting from an ideal defensive midfielder.

James Milner(Liverpool)

 Everybody are in awe with the way Liverpool are playing their quick, attacking and fluidic football. Many of their stars like Coutinho, Henderson and Lallana are getting praises for their performance. But what about the veteran who has raised his games to such a standard that he seems to be controlling the game from the fullback position? Milner has been consistent and outstanding for Liverpool this season. He scores, he assists and more than anything else his performance level has never dropped. He might not get the spotlight compared to his teammates but without him it is difficult for Liverpool to maintain their momentum.

Cheikou Kouyate(West Ham)

A brilliant athlete and an industrious midfielder but he never gets the credits he deserves for West Ham. It might be due to the fact that West ham's recent success in the Premier league is down to Dimitri Payet's goals, but Kouyate is as important as anyone in the team.

Harry Arter(Bournemouth)

Another player who is enjoying similar success like Jamie Vardy from non-league football to Stardom. He is the adhesive that holds the midfield together for the team. On the field his energy is extraordinary and often chips in with a goal or two for the team in the crucial moments.

Phil Jones(Manchester United)

2016-17 season is proving to be the best season for the defender in his five and a half years of Manchester United career. Everyone knew how much talented the center back is when he first arrived but more often or not, his season was disrupted with untimely and unfortunate injuries and he would end up missing vital phases of the season. Under Sir Alex, we were able to see a glimpse of his versatility when he would play as a holding midfielder, full back and a center back. Mourinho brought him to the starting line up after both the first choice defenders(Smalling and Bailly) were injured and Jones re-payed his manager's faith in him by showing some stellar performance in the back this season.

Joe Allen(Stoke city)

He has proven to be a masterstroke signing for Stoke City after four seasons of disappointment at Liverpool. I just felt that he was lower in the pecking order for Liverpool and should have got more chances. He had a brilliant Euro 2016 for the Welsh and has continued his brilliant run in the premier league with four goals and two assists. His vision and his ability to create goal scoring chances in very tight situations are as good as any player in the league.

 

Memphis De-BYE

On 7th May 2015, Manchester United announced the signing of Memphis depay from PSV Eindhoven. It was on the back of a brilliant season  where he scored 22 goals for the club and guided them to be the champions of Eredevise.
By that time he had already drawn comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo. The most prominent names in Dutch football Van Gaal, Guus Hindink, Marco Van Basten and Ronald Koeman all stated to believe  that Depay would become ‘the best in the world’
He had a bright start to his Manchester United career scoring his first United goal against San-Jose Earthquakes in a friendly per-season game. He scored his first two goals for Manchester United against Club De brugge, where he also assisted Maroune Fellaini in 3-1 victory over the belgium club. He provided assist to the first of Rooney's first three goals in the second leg. He continued his scoring streak versus his former team PSV Eindhoven in a losing cause and then followed it up with his first goal in the premier league versus Sunderland. But his good form was not to be lasted for long, as he was dropped for four consecutive matches by the manager due to his inconsistency in form and fitness. And then started the beginning of a long road of difficulties and bumps for the player. There were few bright moments for the player in between specially on the Europa league second leg versus Midtjylland where his perfomance was lauded by then United manager Louis Van Gaal citing him as someone who can be the very best around.

But what was already evident to the fans that Depay was not performing to the level which was expected of him after his successful stint at PSV Eindhoven. Technically he was very much suited to the philosophy of how United play their game. Quick, pacey and a very good free kick taker. But little of those traits were seen from him whenever he took the field for the red devils. He continued to struggle with the pace and the physically demanding nature of the league which is obviously very less forgiving then the Dutch league. You play bad, you will get the stick and that can be sometimes very much demoralizing for a player who is pretty new in the English shores.
Constantly loosing possession, failure to link up with the team-mates at the crucial time and shooting to the stars will how the United faithful will remember his time at Manchester.


The video will show what potentials we are talking about.But it will also show the below par nature of the Dutch league where an attacking player can have it so easy.

Louise Van Gaal left his role at Old Trafford and on came Mourinho. But Depay's luck would not turn around as he struggled to get a place in the starting eleven as his place in the team was shadowed by like of Martial, Rashford,Lingard and the brilliant Mkhitaryan.

Memphis Depay has departed Manchester United for French side Lyon. He has made just 16 Premier League starts, scoring two goals, in what must be one of the worst cases of unrealized potential the Premier League has ever seen. Hopefully the French league will be more forgiving for him and we can all wish him the very best so that the world gets a chance to realize his potential.

Also do give a read on a small excerpt of Depay on his journey to Old Trafford. But before that, do read the blog and share your thoughts.

Why the Chinese Super League?

The Chinese Super league first came to the existence in 2004.At first it was just a normal low tier league which was trying to make its own mark in Asian football. It was trying to emulate the success and the standards set by the top European leagues. Initially it was started with the vision to allow more homegrown/local players play in the league with a motive to allow football in China to grow and recognize. While the motive and the ambition were very real, the success was hard to come as people were more interested in the already established top leagues. It also lead to lack of sponsors and commercial success for the clubs prying their trade in the league.

It was 2nd July,2011 when China really gave a demo of their financial prowess to the world when they signed Conca for a then world record fee of US$10m with Conca earning a salary of  US$10 and it saw him earning at par with Ronaldo and Messi. Now five and a half years later, Oscar and tevez are latest out of the lot of huge contingency of players moving to China for a sum that can really make one relate football to some freak reality show. Some of the top names to have made the switch in the valley of the Dragons include the likes of Drogba,Tevez, Carlos Martinez,Oscar,Hulk,Renato Augusto,Graziano pelle and to name a few.

While it is understandable for players like Drogba or Tevez as they are moving towards twilight of their careers, its really shocking for the other players who have quit some of the top clubs like Chelsea, Athletico Madrid etc when they were in the prime and playing their best game. Its really easy to understand how important money has become for the modern footballers for which they are giving up the chance to play in some of the premier football leagues and competitions like the Champions league or the Barclays Premier league.

Xi Jonping, the Chinese president has a vision to transform his nation to a football super-power with an ambition to qualify and win the world cup. A huge amount of money has been invested to the very primitive level with an aim to establish 50,000 football specialty school to grow and develop the home based. Without any doubt, all these development and the chance to share the field with some of the top international players will give the Chinese players a huge amount of exposure. But it is also very easy to make one thing that all these money and the fanfare are aimed at to bring about more and more commercial success of the league to the stakeholders and an opportunity for the players roped in from the other leagues/countries to earn more money and make a living for themselves. Though it is something that people will always debate on and really difficult to put a lid on it.

Looking at the future it can be only said that the interest in this league will only grow with time. Everyday in the tabloids or in the papers, we can see a host of big names linked with a move to China. Players like Wayne Rooney or Yaya Toure have been linked with big money moves and it will be not surprising to see one of them giving up to such vast riches on offer. And only recently there have been many stories which were linking Ronaldo with a US$317 million move to a Chinese club, which really really sounds insane considering such a huge preposterous amount involved. And if football transfer histories taught us anything, it is always better to expect something really big and out of imagination to happen.

In  a way it is really saddening to see players from all these top leagues moving to China and hence gradually shifting the power. As a traditional football fan, I still want the big grand daddy teams to really battle it out with their hearts and souls and keep up the spirit of this beautiful game which we all cherish.