Fletcher Wants to Ease Pressure on Rooney
Key Manchester United midfielder, Darren Fletcher, says he wants to help take the pressure off of Wayne Rooney ahead of the new Premier League season.
Rooney has linked back up with the Manchester United team and straight away his manager came out to his defence. Sir Alex Ferguson said that there was too much expectation on the player at the World Cup and it now seems that Fletcher thinks the same at club level.
United remain one of the biggest clubs in Europe and the world and Fletcher says this is something, which will help Rooney. This is because the club have big name players in all areas of the team who are just as vulnerable to pressure and expectation as the England striker.
United may find it tougher than ever this year to win back their Premier League crown and do well in Europe and because of this it is no surprise that players may be trying to lower the expectations already.
Pressure
Fletcher quite rightly says that when you play for a club like Manchester United you can expect pressure to be piled onto you every single time you train, play a game and even when you're off the field.
The Scot wants more of the team to step up and take responsibility this year so there is not as much pressure on Rooney. United do not look as though they are going to make a huge signing this summer and this means that all of the emphasis is going to be on Rooney to score the majority of the club's goals.
He is human like everyone else and the point that Ferguson and Fletcher are trying to make is that he is vulnerable to pressure and over expectations. However, Fletcher has said that it will do Rooney some good to be back at his club and he is still bound to be one of the top scorers in the Premier League by the end of the season.
Need to do More
The point that Fletcher has been trying to make in recent times is that other players need to do more to ease the pressure off of Rooney. They can help by doing this in a variety of ways.
If players raise their performance levels then it will mean that there is not so much pressure on Rooney to score the goals, and it won't matter so much when he has a slightly off day in a United shirt.
When these off days do appear, the more experienced players in the team have to push to the front of the media queue. This means they can defend Rooney in interviews, which will take the pressure off of the striker and show him that he is a well respected and supported member of the club.
Wayne Rooney will not have a bad season this year and you need to get a bet on him to be top scorer in the Premier League before the odds start tumbling dramatically as he starts to bang in a few goals and show why he is still England's best striker.
United may not be able to push as hard as they need to this season to get the title back. They have to bring in a big name player who can help them move up a level because this is the only way they are going to be able to counter the challenge from other teams who are building up their squads in an impressive fashion.
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