It’s all about the boy wonder

Manchester United 3 Middlesbrough 0

No matter how hard they tried, no-one at Old Trafford could avoid talking about Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United’s boy wonder had already been a major influence on an outstanding FA Cup performance from the holders long before his second-half double swept away any semblance of hope the outplayed Teessiders were desperately clinging to.

What his brilliant scoring feat did do was steer the post-match conversation away from the sublime trickery of Cristiano Ronaldo, who tortured Boro throughout a one-sided non-contest, on to Rooney’s more straightforward contribution.

“He makes me laugh when I see him score goals like that,” said stand-in skipper Ferdinand, the only player in the United side that cost more than the £27million Ferguson paid out to lure Rooney from Everton in August.

“I wish I was a forward and could do things like that. You can’t teach that kind of ability.

“To lob the keeper from so far out for the first one was amazing and then for the volley to go in as well, it’s just great to see.”

Ferguson felt the bullet strike which completed the win, a first-time rocket that whistled past Mark Schwarzer after Louis Saha had nodded down Roy Carroll’s long punt, was an echo of Van Basten’s brilliant effort for Holland in the 1988 European Championship Final. The Dutchman probably still edges it by virtue of his position close to the dead-ball line, but you know what Ferguson is getting at.

“Wayne does not seem to get tap-ins and you won’t get many better goals than those two,” said the United boss.

“The boy has exceptional talent. The volley reminded me of Van Basten but it was a marvellous overall performance from him and it will do him the power of good.”

The boy wonder himself added nonchalantly: “Before this year, the most number of goals I have ever scored in a season is nine. I have 11 now and I think I can make it 20. I am really pleased with the last two. They are two of the best I have ever scored. That’s three in the FA Cup now, so hopefully I can carry on and get a few more in the next round.”

If the plaudits from his own side are predictable, those from McClaren, who as Boro boss and part of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England coaching team is both friend and foe to the 19-year-old Liverpudlian, are more objective - and if anything more gushing. “Anyone who saw Wayne play at 16 and 17 could not believe it,” he said. “You can see he is special. I saw it in the first training session I had with him and the frightening thing is he can only get better. That is good news for Manchester United and England.

“Being at Manchester United will only enhance him as a footballer and given how good he is now, the big question is what will he be like when he gets to 22 or 23.”

By then, Ferguson will almost certainly have departed the Old Trafford hot seat and McClaren might even have been asked to fill the massive vacancy the Scot will eventually leave.

That would leave McClaren facing up to the twice-weekly demands of delivering success to the biggest club in the world and mean it was prospective opponents rather than him who sat fretting when a result went against the Red Devils.

While United’s other goalscorer John O’Shea, plus fellow midfielders Phil Neville and Quinton Fortune are likely to step down for the Highbury trip, each did themselves a power of good with combative performances.

Ferguson though will recall Mikael Silvestre, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane for a game he knows his side cannot afford not to win.

“We know we have to win on Tuesday and we will be going for it,” said the United boss.