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Wayne Rooney Is Filling The Void Left By Cristiano Ronaldo At Manchester United - Darren Fletcher

Former Everton hitman has grown in stature at Old Trafford...

Nov 24, 2009 7:53:00 AM

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo lead Manchester United to victory over West Brom (PA)

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Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo lead Manchester United to victory over West Brom (PA)

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Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher believes that Wayne Rooney has gone some way toward filling the void that appeared when Cristiano Ronaldo left in a megabucks transfer to Real Madrid.

While the Scot admitted that the absence is still felt, but believes that the domination of the Portuguese star will soon be replaced by the dawn of the Rooney era as the Englishman basks in the spotlight.

"Any team in the world would miss him [Ronaldo]," said Fletcher, according to The Telegraph. "He is a fantastic player and a great goalscorer.

"He adapted so much when he was here, from being a silky winger to being a goalscoring winger and then the best player in the world.

"Hopefully we can become a more rounded team, with other players raising their game to cover the gap left by his absence, and we’re starting to see that, with 'Wazza' [Rooney] banging the goals in."

The 25-year-old explained that the England international had to make sacrifices in previous seasons for the greater good of the club, but maintained that the time is ripe for Rooney to take to the centre-stage.

However, Fletcher also explained that it would be wrong for United to turn into a one-man show and rely too heavily on the services of their Scouse star.

He added: "Other players will hopefully step up. 'Wazza' springs to mind straight away and you could see at the start of this season that he was really hungry.

"He was in the shadow of Cristiano and often sacrificed himself for the greater need of the team, but it’s his time to become a bit more selfish and score the winning goals.

"We need more goals from midfield and more goals from all the players. That will make us a stronger team, because we won’t be as reliant on one player."

Adithya Ananth, Goal.com UK

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