Friday 22 December 2017 23:58, UK
With Everton preparing to face Chelsea live on Sky Sports this Saturday, Adam Bate takes a look at how Sam Allardyce’s changes might be helping to get the best from Wayne Rooney.
The accepted wisdom during Everton's poor start was that the loss of Romelu Lukaku's goals was proving irreplaceable. So it might come as a surprise to discover that Wayne Rooney has not only matched Lukaku's tally this season but the 32-year-old forward has also scored more than his predecessor had netted for Everton at this stage of last season too.
Rooney is already into double figures in the Premier League. Only three players in the country have scored more. But the goal glut has come only recently with six of them being scored in the last five games. They are the five games that have been played since Everton announced the appointment of Sam Allardyce as their new manager.
The two men know all about each other, of course. Rooney was Allardyce's captain during his brief time in charge of the England national team and the veteran boss was vocal about the need for Everton to get the best from their biggest name even before he took this job. But how exactly is Allardyce attempting to achieve that and why is it working so well?
When outlining his blueprint for Premier League survival earlier this season, Allardyce provided a real insight into the philosophy that governs his approach to the game. While he rejects the notion that he is a long-ball manager, he readily admits that he is a coach who places huge emphasis on getting the ball up the pitch quickly.
"I was brought up to always make your first pass forward if you can," Allardyce told Sky Sports. "Even against the best defensive team in the Premier League, it's a quick forward pass that creates the opportunity to score. Too many sideways or backward passes allow the opposition to get back into their own half and put up two banks of four."
When operating in a deeper role, Rooney has made a habit of stroking the ball sideways to retain possession but the statistics show that since Allardyce took charge the percentage of passes that he has played into the final third has increased. Allardyce will welcome that. "He has got a big opportunity in terms of forward passing," he said of Rooney this week.
"He can make the cutting-edge pass which we saw against Huddersfield and Liverpool." Against the Terriers, his ball for Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goal was hit from within his own half. At Liverpool, it was Rooney's raking pass behind the defence that allowed Calvert-Lewin to run at Dejan Lovren, force the error and allow him to equalise from the spot.
It is not just Calvert-Lewin with whom Rooney is developing a partnership on the pitch. Everton's record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson took a little time to find his best form this season and he also took a while to forge an understanding with Rooney. With the pair often stationed on opposite flanks, there was little hope of the two working together to create.
A look at Everton's passing statistics highlights this problem and how it has been solved. For example, in Ronald Koeman's final game in charge at Brighton, Sigurdsson hit only one pass to Rooney despite being on the pitch with him for 89 minutes. In 67 minutes together against Watford, he also played only one pass to Rooney. And Rooney did not pass to him once.
Allardyce's tactical changes have encouraged greater interplay between two important players. In his first game in charge, Rooney and Sigurdsson played more passes to each other than they had in any game under Koeman. Away to Newcastle there were 11 occasions when they combined. Putting them closer together is reaping rewards too - it was Rooney who provided the pass for Sigurdsson's goal against Swansea.
Ultimately, perhaps the most important factor for Rooney is that there appears to be a certain level of trust between player and manager. Allardyce suggested that the two had reached an understanding when speaking this week. "He's not a frontline player now," he pointed out. "We know that, we both accept that and we both see that role a little deeper."
Rooney agreed when talking to Sky Sports. "It's the right position for me at this stage in my career," he explained. "I can pick my moments to get in the box and when to stay out and try and help us control the game so it's certainly a position I know I can play. I can score goals, create goals and I've been lucky enough to do that over the last few weeks."
The challenge now is to maintain that form. But with a greater sense of purpose to his role, with pace and quality around him in the shape of Calvert-Lewin and Sigurdsson, and with a manager who appreciates what is needed to get the best from him, the hope is that Rooney can prosper. If he keeps pace with Lukaku's scoring feats, Everton fans will be delighted.
