WAYNE ROONEY WILL GET BETTER

SIR ALEX FERGUSON likes a flutter and knows there is no such thing as a racing certainty.

But when the Manchester United manager wagered £26million on a young colt in the summer of 2004, he knew he was on to a winner.

Wayne Rooney was just 18 when Fergie ended a four-year pursuit for him by persuading Everton to sell. Five years later, the England striker has reached an exhilarating level of performance which has left his manager drooling.

Fergie has transformed United in his 23 years at the club by bringing them unprecedented success. But his greatest legacy when he calls it a day will be Rooney.

With a new contract in the pipeline, Rooney is destined to spend at least another nine years at Old Trafford.

And Fergie believes there is more excellence to come from his multi-talented forward, who has revelled in a new wide role in recent games.

The United boss said: "When we signed Wayne, it was a bargain at the time. We knew what we were getting. We had identified him a long time before that. We tried to get him at 14 and then again when he was 16.

"Eventually we had to pay that money for him. I said to him if he had joined us earlier he could have had the £26million for himself!

"Rooney keeps on showing things that are special because he has that wonderful appetite for the game. He wants to play all the time. It doesn't matter where you ask him to play.

Perch

"He keeps saying he's a better centre-half. But he is capable of playing anywhere in the forward positions. His performance level as a wide player has been eye-catching. He's never said 'I'm a centre-forward. I want to be in the box scoring goals'.

"He is now scoring goals in a different way and is doing it for the team. We have got a lot of candidates for the Footballer of the Year award but no one could argue with Wayne getting it."

Fergie denies it but his quest to "knock Liverpool off their perch" should be complete if he overtakes the Merseysiders' 18 league titles and five European Cup successes.

United currently have 17 domestic championships and three European crowns. And the perceived wisdom within Old Trafford is he will give himself another two years to exceed those triumphs.

CARLOS TEVEZ - leaving?

Fergie will leave behind a young squad with Rooney in the vanguard and the opportunity for his successor to take United on even further.

The need to replace the ageing Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs will be his transfer market priorities in his remaining time at the club. He will also want to add an extra layer of quality to his forward line - especially if Carlos Tevez leaves.

United's continuing dominance is not the only lasting impact their manager will leave his replacement. His success can be measured in bricks and mortar with the 75,000 capacity Old Trafford a testimony to the success Fergie has achieved. Even that does not satisfy the manager's desire to leave his mark in many ways.

United are buying up parcels of land which will enable them to expand the stadium even further. They already own a number of warehouses and also the 26-acre Manchester International Freight Terminal. But the new land grab is designed to increase stadium capacity to 95,000.

• MIDDLESBROUGH 0, MAN UNITED 2
• KEEPER CRISIS FOR FERGIE
• BERBATOV: I'M UNITED'S OUTCAST
• FABREGAS: I'M A HUGE UNITED FAN! | But that won't stop me ending their Quadruple dream

This article has 0 comments