Good thread but come on, slightly better version of Kuyt? No, Rooney is way better in every department.
That being said, Rooney certainly hasn't lived up to the hype and his development seems to be going in the wrong way. He's gone from an English kid who played the game like a South American to an English man who play the game like an Englishman. I read somewhere that he always asks the senior players in Man United where to run and what to do in certain situations and weird as it may sound I think it has slowed down his development rather than speeding it up. When he was young it looked like he basicly just felt the game and adapted. He was taking shots from everywhere and didn' think twice if he should of passed it instead, nowadays you see him hesitating before he shoots.
But mostly I think the media just put a ridiculous amount of hype around him at a very young age when he had proved little, and they expected him to score loads of goals even though he wasn't a box striker. I mean the "white pele"? How is he gonna live up to that?
I think for Rooney to become a great player it would be easier for him to develop if he moved to Italy or Spain, no offence to any Englishmen but England ain't exactly know for developing technical skillfull players. But no I don't think he's past his prime and I believe he will be better than ever, but it's gonna take a lot of time and a change of environment.
