Sir Alex Ferguson later explained the thinking behind the decision.
“I thought he was brilliant,” enthused the boss. “I think he was possibly needing a different role in terms of getting his confidence back.
“He’s been getting a little bit of criticism, not seriously so, but a few doubters. He’s a fantastic player and our job is to get his confidence and form back. I thought a spell in midfield today would do him the world of good and, of course, it worked for us.
“With Chicharito, Robin van Persie and Wayne on the pitch, they have got 55 goals between them and that counted for me,” he added. “One of them is going to score for you and that was important.”
“I also thought a spell in midfield for a while could be good for Wayne.”
Ferguson has tested Rooney in almost every position possible and Rooney has proved his versatility by showing that he could excel everywhere on the pitch according to the need. It was Rooney’s pass to Van Persie which led to the penalty in the game against Stoke City.
When asked if Rooney would continue the same role, Sir Alex replied:
“Yeah, it’s a possibility we’ll utilise players who can get you goals. I think we tried to do that today with Antonio Valencia wide right and Shinji Kagawa on the left, who I thought was fantastic, as it gave ourselves options to score.”
Source: Manutd.com
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