WAYNE ROONEY IS VITAL FOR UNITED

HIGH FLIER - Wayne Rooney shows the talent which makes him invaluable to United

Alex Ferguson's only doubt is who to play with him

TWO GOOD - Wayne Rooney (left) and Dimitar Berbatov are a formidable strike partnership for United

By xx, 18/04/2009

WAYNE ROONEY is the key striker for Manchester United and it will be a major blow to their chances if he is missing from today's FA Cup sem-final line-up against Everton

The 23-year-old has already scored 21 times for Sir Alex Ferguson's side in all competitions this season, although just one of those has come in the FA Cup.

Click here for live commentary on today's FA Cup semi-final

Former England striker and Newcastle boss Alan Shearer is convinced United are a much better side when Rooney plays, even though he has only featured in two of their four FA Cup ties this season.

Shearer, whose side face Tottenham in the Premier League today, said: "For United It has to revolve around Rooney, without a doubt.

"Whether they play two up, three up or one up there has to be a place for Rooney in there, assuming he's fit. It's finding the right partner for him.

"The stats seem to show that it's a partnership with Berbatov that will result in more wins (72 per cent) and more goals (16), but United seem to rotate depending on who they play, where and when, so tactics play a big part in the overall decision."

"Great strike partnerships are based on understanding and chemistry on the pitch - I don't think having a personal relationship matters, especially now that teams include so many different nationalities.

STRIKE FORCE - how Wayne Rooney has combined with his strike partners in Premier and Champions League this season

"I never had a tremendous personal relationship with Chris Sutton when I was at Blackburn. I never socialised with him and only saw him at training and on match days. That's not to say I didn't like him but I never mixed with him. But we still had a good partnership."

If Rooney is unfit, then Ferguson will be faced with a choice of who to play out of Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez.

All statistics compiled courtesy of the Castrol Index. Click here for more details

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