how would you setup rooney in a 4-1-2-2-1

[gav1979]

how would you setup rooney in a 4-1-2-2-1 winger tactic with him being the lone striker? i have 2 wingers both set to attack,one cutting in side and one moving in to the channels,crossing rare but through balls often,the wingers are set the same even though one is as i said above cutting inside and one moving in to channels.Tried setting him up as deep lying playmaker but did not seem to work then now advanced forward attacking.

As he is right footed,would i off set him over to the left side to allow him to shoot more comfortably with his right,if so then have the right winger cutting inside to support more,then the left side winger close to rooney what would you set him,(keep him moving in to channels)

Please any ideas

[Karnage94]

I have a similar issue only I play a wide 4-2-3-1, with Rooney as a Deep Lying Forward with the Support duty. He would go for maybe 5 games and get 8 goals, with an average rating in that time of over 8, then out of nowhere his form slumps horribly and gets ratings of 5.5 and less. I tweak my tactic depending on the opposition but nobody else has such varying form for me. He scores goals for me, 19 in the last 20 for in my game but in games where he doesn't score his rating is horrible. Anybody have an answer??

[ProZone]

I agree that Deep Lying Forward (Support) is a good starting point. If he's set to be the TM then make sure the supply is 'To Feet'.

However, if the opposition play a DMC then he will see very little of the ball and hence get low match ratings. I have found this problem many times. The space for him to use is no longer infront of the central defenders so the focus needs to shift to exploiting the space behind them. In this instance I change the striker's role to Target Man (Attack) with the TM supply set to Run Onto Ball, TM option doesn't necessarily have to be ticked though. Using the 'Pass Into Space' shout is a good one for creating chances this way by feeding the striker with through balls.

As for Rooney's ratings, I notice that he can become complacent after a good run of form so you should note down carefully what you say to him and how he responds, check your assistant's pre-match feedback also. I should imagine that after a while you will be saying "Expect a perfromance" to him plenty of times.

[Karnage94]

Thanks ProZone, Rooney does become complacent, I think my problem towards the end of the season was that I made a mistake in one of my press conferences and it angered Rooney and a few others, Rooney however is the only one to still be bitter about it. He has since found it hard to motivate himself to play for me due to personal issues with me. I will using the Target Man (Attack) setup and see how it works

[Flohrinho]

Are you in your first season with Manchester?

I often had the problem that when I started with United Rooney usually found it hard to motivate himself with an unproven manager like me in charge.

This usually goes away if you win your first title with the lads.

[Karnage94]

Second season, I'm pretty sure it was the fact I had only a single defeat in the league after 35 games, current unbeaten streak is 16 I think so combine that with saying the wrong thing in a press conference at 4 in the morning probably has made him a whiny moaner.

I won the title first season but no other trophies, this season I've got the title almost in the bag, Champions League semi final vs Real Madrid (3-1 down after the first leg but confident I can pull out a result at home) and won the Carling Cup 4-1 vs Arsenal.

[gav1979]

I have a similar issue only I play a wide 4-2-3-1, with Rooney as a Deep Lying Forward with the Support duty. He would go for maybe 5 games and get 8 goals, with an average rating in that time of over 8, then out of nowhere his form slumps horribly and gets ratings of 5.5 and less. I tweak my tactic depending on the opposition but nobody else has such varying form for me. He scores goals for me, 19 in the last 20 for in my game but in games where he doesn't score his rating is horrible. Anybody have an answer??

set him as advanced forward attack,scored 20 in 22 games in the league so going strong now,put my 2cm through balls often short passing and same as the wide men