Man Utd's Neville: Rooney influence as great as Keane
Manchester United captain Gary Neville says Wayne Rooney is as big influence on the club as legend Roy Keane.
Rooney is battling to be fit for Sunday's clash at Liverpool and Neville said: "Sir Alex said Wayne could easily be one of the best players in the world.
"Personally, I wouldn't swap him for anybody - he has such a big influence on our team. Sometimes the world's best player accolades go to people who are the most eye-catching and skilful.
"Rooney obviously has great skill but he also has incredible team qualities - his workrate, his defending and his goalscoring abilities all stand out.
"He's simply a fantastic all-round player."
Neville compares Rooney's influence on United to that of former captain Roy Keane.
He added: "Wayne's very important, he's infectious and sets the tone.
"Obviously we have a few people who do that but he has a fantastic desire that transmits itself to the rest of the team. In some ways, you see a little bit of Roy Keane's character in Rooney and the way he plays.
"There are always areas in which players can improve - even players who are over 35 will say they can improve. So certainly Rooney in his early 20s is someone who will get better with experience - and that is great for United fans."
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Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun May 13th | |||
| Stoke City | Bolton Wanderers | 2 - 2 | 14:00 |
| West Bromwich Albion | Arsenal | 2 - 3 | 14:00 |
| Everton | Newcastle United | 3 - 1 | 14:00 |
| Sunderland | Manchester United | - 1 | 14:00 |
| Wigan Athletic | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 - 2 | 14:00 |
| Manchester City | Queens Park Rangers | 3 - 2 | 14:00 |
| Swansea City | Liverpool | 14:00 | |
| Norwich City | Aston Villa | 14:00 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Fulham | 14:00 | |
| Chelsea | Blackburn Rovers | 2 - 1 | 14:00 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 64 | 89 |
| Manchester United | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 56 | 89 |
| Arsenal | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 70 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 25 | 69 |
| Newcastle United | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 65 |
| Chelsea | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 64 |
| Everton | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 56 |
| Liverpool | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
| Fulham | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | -3 | 52 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | -7 | 47 |
| Swansea City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | -7 | 47 |
| Norwich City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | -14 | 47 |
| Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | -1 | 45 |
| Stoke City | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | -17 | 45 |
| Wigan Athletic | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -20 | 43 |
| Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 17 | 14 | -16 | 38 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | -23 | 37 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | -31 | 36 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | -30 | 31 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | -42 | 25 |
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Comments (4)
Gerrard + Torres = ROONEY
so dumb. MU is bigger than just 1 player. the same was true before with Ronaldo, the same is true with Rooney.
I love manutd, and rooney is our key player,if there is no rooney there is no man utd.
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