I wrote this article in february 2008, in a dingy hotel/brothel in pondicherry in India, and i've always been proud of its prothesising qualities. its outdated to be sure, but I quite like it. feel free to agree or disagree.

For two years now, one Cristiano Ronaldo has soaked up the plaudits, for his scintillating and often superlative displays of pace, skill and flair. His individual brilliance has not only stamped his authority as one of footballs most precocious talents, but also brought the end product that ended Manchester United’s Premiership drought.
However, perhaps one of the biggest boons of Ronaldo’s headline making has been the shift of the spotlight from United’s other blisteringly hot tempered and sublimely gifted young star. In the midst of Ronaldo’s twists, turns, step-overs, rockets and runs; has been Wayne Rooney, whom if you speak to his manager, has been at the absolute heart of all United are striving to achieve.
Over the years Alex Ferguson’s teams have been renowned for their combination of quick decisive passing, with a genuine physical combativeness that leaves teams breathless. In Ronaldo and Rooney he has two players who embody this style of play. Able to weigh their considerable technical ability against their physical prowess, to both mesmerise and bully their opponents in equal measure.
The last twelve months have seen accolade after accolade fly Ronaldo’s way and rightly so, but the real superstar at United remains Wayne Rooney. Obviously when dealing with two such unerring talents to separate one above the other seems futile, but the selfless, often overzealous, determination of Wayne Rooney to utilise his talents in any way shape or form for the overall benefit of the team, is what sets him aside from his fellow genius.
Rooney is still a mere boy at 22 years of age, yet at such a tender age he has become the standard bearer for Manchester United. As they once did for Roy Keane, it is now Rooney’s war cry that the Red Devils rally to. Not only can Rooney bring a technical awareness to turn a game, but a desire and passion to infect and inspire his teammates. It is etched across his face each time he takes to the field, and his inability to contain this passion, on occasion, will assure him a tarnished disciplinary record until he retires, but this is a small price to pay.
It has often been said a player of Rooney’s calibre should weigh in with more goals, but to measure a player of Rooney’s type in goals is sheer folly. The true measurement of the man is the results united achieve with Rooney against those without. Manchester United has lost five competitive games this season with Wayne Rooney not playing any part in each. The most recent being a 2-1 home collapse against their fierce City rivals. Ryan Giggs was quoted after this performance as saying United must be prepared to “Win ugly”. Recognising they cannot produce their unique brand of firestorm football week in week out, and invariably the title will be decided in those games where you stumble and falter, and never quite put your best football together, yet still find a way to carve out three points. These are the games where you need a talismanic figure to carry you over the finish line. In the case of Manchester United, despite the impossible talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, that talisman is Wayne Rooney. Once again Sir Alex Ferguson (and David Moyes) has nurtured a fantastically raw talent into a brilliant cut diamond with that all important Champion mentality.