United's Best Striker?

As Manchester United look to end their recent goal drought at Crystal Palace on Saturday Night Football, we assess the relative merits of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao. Who is the man to lead the line for United?

“I hope the week goes by quickly and we can reverse this bad streak of results,” said Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata following the club’s 1-0 defeat to West Brom at Old Trafford last weekend. After appearing to have turned a corner, this was their third loss in a row.

“It's the tendency of the last few weeks. We have more ball possession than our opponent and create chances but we aren't able to take them. We must focus on being effective because we haven't scored in the last few games and we can't afford it any longer.”

Mata isn’t one to court controversy but given that United have now gone almost five hours without scoring, it’s not unreasonable to conclude that much of the responsibility for the current difficulties can be laid at the door of the team’s strikers.

Chemistry

Robin van Persie, who missed a penalty against Albion, finished the game on the pitch alongside Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao so it’s not as if United are short of big names in their quest for goals. But the chemistry between the three men has rarely looked right all season.

In fact, Louis van Gaal’s team have now lost all three matches since Van Persie returned to the matchday squad having won the six Premier League games prior to that. The previous occasion all three were named in the 18? A 2-1 defeat at Swansea in February.

Decisions will need to be made in the summer. Not only must Falcao’s future be determined with his underwhelming season likely to spell the end of United’s interest in a permanent deal, but there will also be question marks over Van Persie’s fading form. Both will impact Rooney’s role in the team.

There has been a groundswell of opinion that Rooney must be used as a striker and it’s not without supporting evidence. The England captain has outscored Van Persie and Falcao this season, boasting a far superior conversion rate to both men – especially when it comes to clear chances, an area in which Falcao has particularly struggled following a number of high-profile misses.

Perhaps the biggest confusion regarding the Colombian has been that while cast as a spent force who has endured one knee injury too many, the physical data doesn’t immediately tease out much evidence of decline. He sprints more frequently than Rooney and Van Persie, covers more ground when he’s on the pitch and has a greater top speed than the Dutchman.

False dawn

Gary Neville even praised Falcao’s tenacity in a goalscoring performance at Stoke on New Year’s Day, but it proved to be a false dawn. He has scored only once – at home to Leicester – in 15 appearances since and was culpable for Eden Hazard’s winner at Stamford Bridge last month. “It all came from that,” said Neville at the time. “He gets robbed on the halfway line. He’s got to be stronger there Falcao.”

Van Persie has fared little better and given that, at 31, he’s two-and-a-half years older than Falcao, the concern must be that the slide is now inexorable. After scoring 26 goals at a rate of one every 120 minutes in his first season and another 12 at a rate of one every 132 minutes last term, Van Persie’s 10 Premier League goals this season have taken over 208 minutes each.

“There's pressure on Van Persie, people want more from him,” Neville told Sky Sports earlier this season. “He's got to do better and needs to make better runs, but his team-mates aren't finding him as much as Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick were two years ago.”

“I called him a burglar before,” added Neville. “He lives off the back of centre-backs. The type of pass he wants is into space. In defence of Van Persie I don't think his team-mates are in sync as they were two years ago.” All of which means Van Gaal might make other areas a priority too with winger Memphis Depay already on his way.

Strengthening United’s midfield options would allow Rooney to be restored to a forward role and that could be good news for the team given that they have looked at their most fluid when the skipper has been utilised up top. It’s certainly unlikely to be lost on Van Gaal given the work that appears to have gone into changing Rooney’s game.

Rooney role

“He is a street football player who can chase the ball, wants to be involved and wants to be everywhere on the pitch,” said Neville following United’s 4-2 win over Manchester City. “You used to see him charging down channels, dropping into midfield. If he hadn’t had the ball for five minutes you used to see him drop to get it because that’s the type of player he is.

“But I think Van Gaal must have him on a lead in training and say to him: ‘That’s not your position, that’s not what you're there to do.’ The fact he held those two centre-backs central, kept those pockets open for Fellaini and Herrera, meant that Young and Mata pulled Zabaleta and Clichy wide. I’d have thought that was as near to perfect that Van Gaal has had at United.”

The loss of Carrick to injury late in that win over City has necessitated further changes of personnel and added to the sense of confusion about how Van Gaal sees his United setting up next season. With pressure back on from Liverpool in the race for the top four, there are more immediate concerns anyway and they’ll need to rediscover their fluency against Crystal Palace at the weekend. Whether that means turning to Rooney, Van Persie or Falcao remains to be seen.

Credit: Skysports.com