Monday 24 August 2015 13:43, UK
Wayne Rooney has been "hung out to dry" by Louis van Gaal's style of play so far this season, Neil Custis told the Sunday Supplement.
The Manchester United captain has now gone 858 minutes without a Premier League goal following United's disappointing 0-0 draw with Newcastle at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Rooney did manage to get the ball in the net in the early stages of the match, but saw his effort ruled out for offside, with replays showing the decision was very tight.
Nonetheless, the England skipper again struggled to make any impact as United's lone striker, and showed no other signs that his barren run could come to an end any time soon.
However, Custis leapt to Rooney's defence, and believes the lack of pace in United's build-up play, coupled with the various roles he has been asked to play, are to blame for Rooney's lack of goals.
"Everyone is criticising Rooney, but if you look at how United play, Rooney is being hung out to dry," Custis, The Sun's Manchester United writer, told the Sunday Supplement.
"I feel sorry for Rooney. The ball does not come out from the back quickly enough, it is slow, it is ponderous, and any defence who is organised can see it all coming.
"At the moment he is going out on the pitch and trying to do all four jobs. I don't think Rooney just wanders. If you look at Robin van Persie in the last two years, he didn't come looking for the ball and didn't affect the game in any way.
"Rooney can play as a No 9, but not if there are two centre-backs on him and he has no support.
"His head must be spinning. Sir Alex Ferguson played him out wide, Van Gaal this time last year told him that he is not good enough to be a No 9, so you'll have to reinvent yourself as a midfielder.
"He then became a No 10 and a deep-lying playmaker. Now he is being told he is a No 9."
The rest of the panel were not quite as sympathetic as Custis, with the London Evening Standard's Patrick Barclay particularly critical of Rooney's contribution.
"Sometimes you look at Wayne Rooney and you think 'what is all the fuss about?'" Barclay said.
"He is not quick, his technique is not all that brilliant. They are just picking him off like they were yesterday.
"For a top player, his form just goes on and off like a tap."
