RVP wrong to label Rooney space invader

Complaints that his strike partner is cramping his style prompted by growing evidence Dutchman is struggling to make his own luck

 

A throw-away moment amid Manchester United's pursuit of a late winner at Arsenal three weeks ago provided a less than flattering commentary on Robin van Persie's claim that his "fellow players" – namely Wayne Rooney – are occupying the spaces on the pitch where he wants to play.

"When I see that, it makes it difficult for me to come to those spaces as well," Van Persie said in the aftermath of the Champions League defeat to Olympiakos, which has shorn United of what little optimism they still possessed and left manager David Moyes delivering a desperate plea to fans for patience yesterday.
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But Van Persie had all the space in the world to run into when, 10 minutes from time at the Emirates, Rooney seized the ball on the halfway line and led the charge into Arsenal's half.
United's superior numbers – it was three on two, including Van Persie, who was level with Rooney when the break began – created a position Alex Ferguson's side would have expected to capitalise on.
Yet when Rooney looked up for a means of converting the attack into a goal Van Persie lagged 10 yards behind him, United ran into a wall of defenders and the game petered out into a goalless draw.
That pretty much sums up the way the 30-year-old Dutchman, for all his qualities, lacks two attributes which most Premier League strikers are thought to be most in need of: pace and the physical strength to wrestle off a knot of defenders in penalty-area hand-to-hand combat.
The Dutchman knows that and the subsequent frustration he has shown, rather than any fault in his strike partner, best explains why he criticised Rooney for stealing into his space.
You would have dismissed the notion of Van Persie being anything less than imperious as risible in that first season at United.
His work ethic and his fabulous finishing technique – when clear-cut chances presented themselves – enabled United to surpass even their own executives' expectations for the 2012-13 season – which, with the squad they had, was a third-placed finish.
But that was a United side in possession of Ferguson's old gambler's instinct, compelled by him to be ambitious and drive at teams until the death, creating chance after chance for Van Persie the supreme finisher.