Utd need Rooney vs. City -- intensity will be missed if he misses out

Andy Cole has backed Wayne Rooney to return from suspension stronger for Manchester United in their derby against champions Manchester City.

Wayne Rooney may miss the Manchester derby through an injury sustained in training and it is to his great credit that his opponents will be very happy if he is suited up in the stands this Sunday.
Over the years, this has been a fixture that he has approached with a particular relish. This was evident even after an apparently friendly fixture, when Manchester United defeated a fast-rising City side in the 2011 Community Shield. Following a 3-2 victory in which they had come back from a 2-0 deficit at half time, Rooney took to social media to proclaim that Manchester United had taught the losers "a footballing lesson."

While Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson may not have seen eye-to-eye for a fair proportion of their time together at Old Trafford, one area in which they were both allies was in their understanding of City as the emerging danger in English football. It is that level of intensity that Manchester United may miss if Rooney is absent from the derby this weekend.

Rooney has habitually brought more to this tie than the growls and snarls that punctuate his less effective performances. He has brought goals -- and the most scored by anyone in this fixture. To name the most recent, there was his superb free-kick in the 4-1 humiliation last season at Eastlands, a game in which he was the only player who did not seem absorbed by the horror of the onslaught. That was a day when Manchester City could conceivably have helped themselves to seven or eight, and a day on which they looked far more dominant than they had been in their 6-1 decimation of their hosts at Old Trafford back in 2011.
While David Moyes seemed bewildered and unable to make tactical changes that would stem the flow of goals, Rooney refused to hide on an occasion his teammates should recall with some embarrassment. Even as Sergio Aguero and his peers ripped through his team's defence, Rooney continued to chase and press, so much so that his goal was treated by supporters as his reward.

He deserved to salvage something for his showing, and the strike itself was suitably spectacular. Though he has had his critics, Rooney's commitment at that point of the season made Moyes' job immeasurably easier. In happier times, there were his two goals away from home in the 2012-13 season in a 3-2 win and then, of course, there was his thrilling overhead kick in the 2010-11 campaign which conjured a 2-1 win with 12 minutes left. In total, he has 11 goals in 22 games against Manchester City, an opponent against whom he has traditionally feasted.

One of the reasons for Rooney's success in these games is that he "gets it" -- that he apparently plays each such tie with the fervour of a supporter. Thankfully, if he is to be absent, Manchester United will not be utterly bereft of inspiration and passion, with the seemingly tireless Angel Di Maria set for his first local derby.
The occasion may mark another chance for Juan Mata to stake his claim as the club's starting No.10, though it looks as though such opportunities may slowly be slipping away from the Spain international. He has been linked with a move to Juventus, and it is telling that these rumours are not so fanciful. When Rooney is fully fit, it seems that Louis van Gaal is keen to deploy him behind Robin van Persie and Falcao, although this is a combination that has only shown limited chemistry thus far.

Rooney has suffered an injruy in training and is in a race against time to be fit for Sunday's Manchester derby.

If there is any comfort to be drawn from Rooney's unavailability through injury, it is that United have just provided perhaps their most encouraging performance of the season without him. To acquit themselves so well against Chelsea, albeit a team missing Diego Costa and Loic Remy, was a sign that Van Gaal's efforts may be on their way to producing a marked improvement.

Mata received a fair amount of criticism for his showing on Sunday but one thing that he continually did well was dropping deep to spread the play; his intelligent passing often allowing the team to counter at speed. While Mata was less effective at supplying the final ball, he was one reason why United's movement was so fluid for sustained periods, with his typically smart positioning creating room for his teammates on several occasions.

Speaking of that game against Chelsea, the most encouraging thing of all may be that Van Gaal was unhappy with his team's performance, despite the euphoria that greeted Van Persie's very late equaliser. It is this relentless competitive spirit that has characterised all of United's very best teams, a quality which has also illuminated Rooney's finest performances in his time at the club.
Thanks in part to Van Gaal's ethos, that desire will be present in his team this weekend whether or not Rooney ends up joining them.

Epl 10:55