Manchester United

England and Man U have had the same problem with Rooney for years - for all his talent and experience, finding a role for him which complements the rest of the team is hard.

Is that on the app? If its 12 hours I think I'll stick with the Acestream..

I think you are wrong, but we will soon find out.

Excellent points

Gotta laugh at UTD stuck with that donkey Lukaku

I don't think Lukaku is a donkey......you don't score as much as he has by being a bit shark......but I am worried he's just a more expensive version of Louis Saha.

Not so worried that I don't get a good nights sleep, mind you....or suffer from ED.....

Barkley is having issues with the club so he may not even be there come the start of the season - let alone play ahead of Rooney. 

The reason Rooney got lost at United in the later years was because he didn't consistently have enough explosiveness, accuracy and pace when we had the ball. He went from being in a team that made 20 chances a game, and scoring from some of those, to being in a team that made 5 or 10 a game. That didn't suit him and it mean other, weaker parts of his game showed up. 

His defending has almost improved as he has been playing deeper and he has historically been pretty good at pressing as he always has energy and will put the work for the team. 

It will work out well for everyone, and Everton will need an experienced head to gel all the new players they have bought in. Also, its a world cup year and Rooney will want to go to that

Pretty good account. Certainly more accurate than other comments from people that probably only watched Rooney play a couple of times in the last few years.

Be interesting to see how Lukaku goes with you.

From memory the reason he didn't work out at Chelsea was along the lines of not wanting to fight for his spot with Drogba, wanting to be guaranteed a starting berth, and general attitude around training.

I'm guessing he's grown up a bit since then but interesting that Mou wants to work with him again.

He certainly knows how to score goals but there have been plenty of strikers who can score goals for mid table teams but haven't quite gone on to greater things for whatever reason. Kevin Phillips, James Beattie, Christian Benteke, Ricki Lambert come to mind off the top of my head.

Time will tell though. Be a good watch.

Louis Saha and Lukaku are in no way comparable players. 

To me Rooney looked done at ManU. Perhaps returning to his boyhood club with a bit of buzz around him is just what he needs. Motivation always seemed to be the biggest issue for him, so what better motivation than returning to your hometown club just when they've had a bit of a cash injection, to try and help them push on and challenge the top clubs.

See they've been linked with Benteke now as well. 

I wonder exactly how Koeman sees Rooney in this team? Will be very interesting.

Also, Lukaku is a pretty solid signing, totally different player to Saha, not sure how that comparison was made. He's got what Mourinho likes - a proven record at this level, and plenty of physicality. 

You're right - aside from the pace (Saha more so), power (Lukaku more so), being good in the air, both being left footed, both coming to OT with plenty of Prem experience, they have nothing in common.

Lukaku's first touch not as good as Saha's mind you.....

Apples and oranges, despite the fact that they're both big, quick and black, which you seem to be basing your comparison off.

Wow.

'and black'?

I'll put that to one side.

Saha had 4-5 years Prem experience before Man U, Lukaku maybe 5 or 6, depending on how you look at it.....so they're both similar PL experience, big, quick, left footed, good in the air.....Lukaku has a questionable first touch, but aside from that there isn't so much difference between them.

Yeah I dropped that to see how much thought you'd actually put in or whether your comparison was lazy.

There are certainly similarities, but I see Lukaku as a more advanced version. Better finisher and stronger. His touch certainly isn't great but he's a harder worker off the ball than Saha was, imo, and gets in better positions. Definitely more prolific as well.

I acknowledge that Rooney has never played in a team that actively presses the other - United play with a high tempo but that is usually in possession. Out of possession they have either pressed high and then played direct, or compactly defended and attacked with possession based football. 

He has only played for England and United since maturing as a footballer, so of course it will be interesting to see how he adapts. And yes, because it is Everton he should have that extra bit of motivation. 

Saha and Lukaku comparisons are not so irrelevant - but lets see where how Lukaku performs first

Essentially what to Everton have to loose. They have banked 75m quid on the deal and I would guess Rooneys wages are far from astronomical.

His experience alone will be worth having in a Young Everton squad

' He has only played for England and Utd since maturing as a footballer '

He certainly was not a mature footballer when he played for England-- he was 17 and only 18 when he went to Utd.

I understand your point, but he has played for England as a mature footballer. the same point was being made

Will Rooney ever be forgiven by Everton fans? I think not unless he scores 30+ goals inclung two hattricks against United.

I'm yet to see much hostility towards this move, other than people questioning whether he's up to the standard.

As per his recent interview, he admits not being able to feel that much pride lifting both trophies for League Cup and Europa League considering he was not part of the games (or most of it). Frustrations really led him to move.

Lukaku should be a starter. Saha struggled to make the first team IIRC. Saha played a game more comparable to the younger, faster forwards already at United.

Saha's path was blocked by RvN really - goal machine and ultimate selfish player

Lukaku will be the main man, so in theory wont have the same obstacles to overcome that Saha did/didn't

Of course, the real question here is should I sign Lukaku for my fantasy team? Leaning towards yes at the moment

Definitely

Does depend on how much he costs of course. I'm definitely going to have at least one of him or Kane, if not both

Can't find the Everton thread so I will use this one.

To all the haters-------- Rooney has just proved his class in Tanzania.

yes, Tanzania... that footballing powerhouse. they only concede to the finest of strikes. And for the wee boy Rooney who hasn't achieved much in his career to this point, to score such a stupendous goal on such a big stage, what a success story. His class will be legendary. 

or alternatively, Wayne hit a speculator in preseason and it went in.

(Sorry, i am assuming you are talking about his goal. If you aren't and he has done things outside of football which has changed the lives of the people of Tanzania for the better, then my deepest apologies. He's class.)

To all the haters------ Per Mertesacker has just proved his striking potential in Sydney.

p.s. his general performance was real bad.

Anything you have to say about football can be treated with a grain of salt. Your comments on here over the years have proved that. Koeman might know a bit more about the game and knows that Rooney does have class . He would hardly have signed him otherwise.

http://www.goal.com/en-za/news/4682/transfer-zone/...

Leggy, kwlap's comment does not suggest he doesn't have "class". He's implying Rooney is far greater than any strike in Tunisia will prove.

I know, but he was taking the piss.

It was Tanzania not Tunisia.

Manchester United vs. LA Galaxy live 2 pm Sunday on beIN Sports 2 in NZ

Man Utd vs. Real Salt Lake live 2 pm Tuesday beIN 2

See here for NZ viewing schedule for all pre-season friendlies on beIN Sport 2:

https://connect.beinsports.com/nz/tv-guide/

All the International Champions Cup games are live on beIN 2 in NZ:

Held in three countries: USA, China, Singapore.

USA tournament:  Man Utd joined by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juve, Man City, PSG, Roma and Spurs.

First USA tournament game 2 pm Thursday NZT Roma vs PSG

Man Utd vs. Man City is the next day.

USA Tournament website for schedule:

http://www.internationalchampionscup.com/territori...

China tournament website:

http://www.internationalchampionscup.com/territori...

China line-up: Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Dortmund, Bayern, Lyon

First game 11.10 pm Tuesday NZT AC Milan vs. Dortmund

Singapore line-up (end of July):

http://www.internationalchampionscup.com/territori...

Chelsea, Bayern, Inter Milan

Cool !

Have been missing my football fix.

Always fun to see the new signings debut & youngsters and squad players you don't normally see get a run in the pre-season games.

Plus all the transfer speculation from the commentators.

Thanks Pete.

Was pretty much all that United needed at this point in their pre season. Everyone got a run, the Galaxy were coming off their season so did not roll over lightly, and we scored some goals. 

On the down side, we scored from their mistakes more than creating chances ourselves, and the second half team was not as solid, probably because it featured some new players from last season (Lindelof, Pereira x2 and Lukaku). Not 100% sure why we played 3-5-2 but maybe that was just to give everyone a game.

Looking forward to bringing the new faces into the squad and if there are more to come, then thats great, but not sure if necessary. Depth will be key this season. 

Galaxy were appalling. United played training ground possession football and passing it around the back. Looking good at this stage.

To be fair every time we beat one of their players to create an opening they just grabbed a shirt. Probably four more goals without that.

I'm not sure about the new faces either. Maybe just Mou putting the pressure on the current lads. Will be a real shame if we we waste Rashford and Martial with short-term fixes. But who knows.

Mourinho said that the 3-5-2 was a one off for this game and will return to 4 at the back. Just getting game time in.