Wayne Rooney: Should Star Striker Be Worried About Playing Time This Season?

When it was revealed that Robin van Persie would be signing for Manchester United this season, the biggest winner out of the deal was supposed to be Wayne Rooney.

The England international would finally have the second star striker to complement him, and with talented wingers in Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Nani as well as an explosive new midfielder named Shinji Kagawa, Rooney was supposed to spearhead one of the most dominant attacks in the entire English Premier League.

If not the entire continent.

The arrival of van Persie wasn't as much of a good thing for Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov—all of whom looked set to receive less minutes as a result of his arrival—but that wasn't supposed to affect Rooney.

Rooney would start with RVP alongside of him and that would be that.

Right?

Well, it was right until Manchester United played Fulham at Old Trafford in their second game of the Premier League. The Red Devils announced their lineup and shock horror, Rooney was on the bench as a substitute—replaced by van Persie and Kagawa in attack in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

What was worse was still yet to come.

Anyone who watched United play that day knows that the Red Devils looked much more fluid and dynamic in attack with van Persie and Kagawa than they did with van Persie and Rooney. As crazy as it seemed, United were better without Rooney than they were with Rooney.

Then came the injury, and as Bleacher Report's Will Tidey points out, took the focus off this positional problem. According to the Daily Mail, the England international would miss up to four weeks of Premier League competition due to a nasty gash in his leg.

United would cover more than fine without him; they were, after all, better without Rooney against Fulham than they were with him. They weren't due to play any of the Premier League heavyweights in the four-week period that he would be unavailable for, so United would be okay without Rooney.

And they will be. Sir Alex Ferguson has a strong, deep squad that will cover more than adequately the void left by Rooney in attack.

However, that is not the big question.

The question is not what will happen in the next four weeks for United; the question is what will happen in the four weeks after that for United.

Say that Kagawa and van Persie combine brilliantly in the four weeks that Rooney is out of action. Will United persevere with that combination and leave one of the most talented and creative strikers in world football sitting on the bench? 

Or would they be better off rushing Rooney back into the starting side? And what happens then if he doesn't gel with van Persie and their attack isn't as fluid as it was in his absence? What if they're not getting the wins that they were when he was gone?

Will United still persevere with Wayne Rooney?

This is the dilemma that the Red Devils will face in four weeks time—what to do with Rooney—and it seems it will only be made more complicated if van Persie and Kagawa shine in his absence. If the Fulham match is any indication, it seems they will.

That dilemma was then subtly picked up on by a report in The Sun, which captured a quote from Sir Alex Ferguson after the Fulham match—an interesting thought, particularly if he is indeed talking about the England international.

"I really respect players who clearly want to play for us. And it has always influenced me when it comes to deciding who we should go for.

"The reserve is equally true for me because if I hear that a player has fallen out of love for us and is looking elsewhere, I invariably help them out the door..."

So, should Wayne Rooney be worried about playing time at Old Trafford?

The reactionary response is to emphatically deny it, this is, after all, one of the best strikers in the English Premier League and one of the first men picked for England whenever they play in international competition.

He was United's main goal-scoring threat last season and for all the talk of van Persie single-handedly carrying Arsenal toward success, Rooney essentially did the exact same thing for the Red Devils. They were nine points down on Manchester City in the title race and were it not for Rooney's attacking prowess and goal-scoring feats, they would not have come as close to success as they did.

He is a menace for defenses around the world and one of the toughest strikers for a manager to come up against. He is a creator, a builder, but also a stellar point-man who can has one of the more blistering shots on the continent.

His reputation and record at Old Trafford speak for themselves.

The arrivals of van Persie and Kagawa do complement this, as we had thought it would at the very start of the season. It gives him new attacking options to feed off and create for, but it also gives defenses another option to focus on, freeing him up in attack to do what he does so well.

He is still the No. 1 striker at United, and he will be as long as he is scoring goals and performing at his world-class level for the club. As long as he is working well at United, he has a starting place at Old Trafford and in Sir Alex Ferguson's team.

But if that doesn't pick up, then yes, Wayne Rooney should be worried.

Ferguson will always do what is best for the team, and if that means keeping a star striker on the bench all season and giving him few opportunities to prove his place in the team, then that is what Ferguson will do.

Just ask Dimitar Berbatov.

The quality and depth of talent that Ferguson has at his disposal means that he can try different combinations and alternatives to find what is best for the Red Devils.

Even if that means resting Rooney, Fergie will do what is best for the team.

The veteran manager has already shown that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win back the English Premier League title from Manchester City this season. Heck, he even bought Robin van Persie from Arsenal for £24 million.

He will do whatever it takes to clinch another league trophy for United and establish the Red Devils as the true powerhouse of Manchester.

If that takes resting Rooney, then so be it.

There's a bigger picture at work.

So for me, Wayne Rooney shouldn't be too worried about playing time at United. He is one of the top strikers in the world and the best United have in their squad, meaning that he will feature more than prominently in their attack all season long.

But the arrivals of van Persie and Kagawa do present an interesting dilemma, and one that could see the England international moved slowly out of the equation if his performances are not up to the high standards that we have come to expect.

If he isn't good enough or isn't the best thing for the team, then Ferguson will have no hesitation to drop him from the starting side.

Winning the Premier League is what matters to Manchester Untied, and the Red Devils manager will clearly do whatever it takes to win that trophy back this season.

With or without Wayne Rooney.

Should Wayne Rooney be worried about playing time at United?

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