Gifted Roo a natural 10

ON Thursday night, in his regular slot on Off The Ball, John Giles ventured the opinion that on the strength of his performances against Everton and Galati, Wayne Rooney was the best central midfield player in the Premier League.

Most of the listeners who responded disagreed with Giles. If the notion of specialist positions in football has any relevance at all, then it’s hard to accept the idea that a forward, even a particularly gifted one like Rooney, could simply slot into midfield and immediately outshine rivals who have spent their whole lives learning how to play that position.

One response to this is that perhaps the whole idea of specialist positions is a bit of a con. Tactics aren’t that complicated, good players should be able to play anywhere, and footballers only complain about being played “out of position” when they’re looking for an excuse for playing badly.