Wayne Rooney has insisted that he has no goals target for Manchester United by the end of the current season.

Rooney really is the man of the moment and seems to score in pretty much every game that he plays. He helped United romp to a Champions League win over AC Milan and is now zoning in on the Premier League golden boot.

Rooney is very close to some of the targets that Ronaldo set during his best spells at United but the scouser says he does not have any figure in mind and is just taking one game at a time.

He said: “I am delighted to get two more goals but I have not set myself a target. I just want to keep scoring. Overall, it was a great result and we are delighted to get through. Now we can just look forward to the draw and see how it goes from there.”

“There is no preference. They are all difficult games at this stage of the competition. The first goal was vital. We set out to get an early goal to kill the game off and when we got it we shattered Milan’s confidence. That was the major turning point.”

United Chief Executive, David Gill, added: “Anyone who went on our tour of the Far East last summer knows the strength of feeling that Malaysians have for the club. Over 40,000 attended our training session and another 40,000 came to the second match in Kuala Lumpur, despite only having 48 hours’ notice of the fixture.”

Gill is speaking about the new reported sponsorship interest for United from the Far East. It may not be too long until Rooney could get a few deals out there too if he carries on laying the way he is.

There is no doubt about how important the striker is to the current team. It will not be too long before people bow down to Sir Alex Ferguson all over again and say that he was right all over again to let Ronaldo go in the first place.

Many said he had lost his marbles, said it was time for retirement but it seems to have been just the thing that United needed in order for Rooney to step to the front of the queue and be counted.

However, that decision cannot be fully judged until the end of the season has actually arrived and then everyone can see if United are holding a trophy or not.

Rooney is bound to play a big part in that and if he does keep on scoring goals, then United are bound to win something by the end of the season. Ferguson will know exactly how to nurse the player through the rest of the season.

Many criticised the gaffer for leaving Rooney on the bench during the Carling Cup final but it seemed the right thing to do because it inspired him, fired him up and probably went a small way to him bagging the winner.

Former professional football player, Tony Cascarino, has said that England will need Peter Crouch more than Wayne Rooney in South Africa this summer.

Crouch came off the bench to bag a brace in the win over Egypt on Wednesday night. His dominance and physical presence seemed to transform the fortunes of the England side on the field.

Rooney played from the start of the game and gave a typically busy performance, which was capped by a TV clip that showed the Manchester United front man yelling at the entire team in the first half.

Cascarino said: “Who’s the more important striker for England, Wayne Rooney or Peter Crouch? Guess again: it’s Crouch. I’d argue he’s England’s most important attacker – potentially the team’s most important player, in fact.”

“Not the best player, you understand; but there’s a difference between “best” and “most important”. Crouch is one of those players who can make the entire team more effective just by his presence. He’s not the most individually talented, he need not even have an especially good game; but as we saw on Wednesday, when he’s in the team, England are improved.”

“It’s because of what Crouch does to opponents – he scares defences who are intimidated by his height – and what he does to his own team-mates. He adds a dimension to England’s attacks that isn’t present when two small forwards such as Rooney and Jermain Defoe are up front. And by doing that, Crouch influences England as a whole, because they become less predictable and more confident, whether he’s seeing much of the ball or not.”

“There’s enough flair in the England side to create chances without a tall target man, but Crouch gives an extra option. Wingers can cut inside and pass short to onrushing midfield players such as Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard, or send over high crosses and feel optimistic Crouch will get on the end of the ball. They’ve got more choice when Crouch is there. And not being able to predict what will happen makes defences nervous and more vulnerable.”

It is highly debateable to say that Crouch is a better player than Rooney. Any football fan or pundit would pick the United striker ahead of the Spurs player. The point is that together they can become formidable.

Rooney has the work ethic and the skill to create something out of nothing while Crouch gives them something at the very top of the pitch. Just the sheer size of the Tottenham player makes him a daunting striker to play against.

The two need to combine and start working towards making England a threatening attacking team to play against. Teams have worked out how to play against Crouch but not when he has Rooney snapping at his heels as well.

Hopefully the two will bag enough goals to be able to send England into the later stages of the World Cup when literally any thing can happen.

Former England player and current legend, Chris Waddle, has said that Theo Walcott does not understand the game enough at international level.

Waddle is speaking ahead of the World Cup this summer and there is still a big chance for someone in the side to step in and make the right and left wing positions their own.

Waddle was an England regular who played in some of the toughest club and country competitions in the world. He will know better than most the qualities needed to read the game at the highest level.

He said: “People keep saying he’s young but Wayne Rooney understood the game at 16, 17. I’ve never seen any difference in Walcott since he was at Southampton and broke into the team at a very young age.”

“I’ve never seen him develop. He just doesn’t understand the game for me – where to be running, when to run inside a full back, when to just play a one-two. It’s all off the cuff. I just don’t think he’s got a football brain and he’s going to have problems. Let’s be honest, good defenders would catch him offside every time. I just don’t know whether he studies the game, learns the game, or what. He’s at a great club where they play fantastic football week-in, week-out, and I’m just surprised he’s never developed his game.”

“I’m surprised Walcott was in the squad. He doesn’t play a lot of football, he hasn’t done anything. he hasn’t done anything for a long time and I think Croatia was a one-off. I just think he’s got a lot to learn. I’ve been more impressed by Adam Johnson at Manchester City than Theo Walcott.”

Waddle’s comments about Johnson at Manchester City will be echoed by many people within the current football community. It is a little strange how a player who was set to join Real Madrid at one point cannot be good enough to play for his own country.

Walcott is a decent player but the point is he still has a lot to prove on the international stage. Johnson needs a chance and he could be a fresher and surprising choice for England’s World Cup squad this summer.

It is a nice problem for Fabio Capello to have and the boss will be hoping that competition for places continues to stay fierce. The one thing he will not want to happen is a spurt of injuries, which threaten to dent the spine of the side.

You cannot be a bad player if you can score an away hat trick in international football. Walcott needs to work hard and remember that he has a top line manager in Arsene Wenger to go to advice for at Arsenal.

It’s difficult to call all of the midfield positions for England’s squad, which will go to South Africa in June. Walcott and Johnson may well end up both going. Watch this space over the coming months.

Manchester United defender, Gary Neville, has said that Wayne Rooney is not too far away from being considered one of the greatest ever English players to have ever graced the game.

Neville was speaking after Rooney came off the United bench to score the winner against Aston Villa. Rooney headed the ball accurately past Brad Friedel in the Aston Villa goal, with many hailing the finish as one of his best.

Neville says that there are now plenty of teams who will not know what to do against Rooney or how to mute his influence. He has also said that it bodes well for England and the World Cup this coming summer.

He said: “Wayne is a great player to play with and is one of the brilliant Manchester United players have had. He has been brilliant for England too. The only thing he has to do for England now is go and win something. That is what England players have been striving to do for the past 40 years.”

“That would really crown it off for him. Wayne can handle all the comments and accolades, all the praise and criticism. He has been around a long time now and he has the experience of a 30-year-old really even at such a young age because he came into the Premier League at 16.”

“He has played in European Cups, FA Cups, World Cups and European championships. He has experienced the lot. He is maturing now. It is not just about his performance, it is about his determination and character and his willingness to always fight for the team. That is what makes him stand out. He is not just a player who wins you games he fights for everything as well.”

“His temperament is brilliant. He is brilliant to watch. He has been great since the moment I laid eyes on him about six or seven years ago when we were with England.”

There is very little doubt that Rooney is carrying United at the moment and were he to get injured, it would greatly dent the club’s immediate plans and ambitions.

He is also one of the best current players in the world and a good bet for top scorer at the World Cup in South Africa. Teams do not know how to mark him or keep him quiet during a game because there are so many different ways he can play and stretch sides.

Like Neville says, he has also matured a lot, which helps with him bringing other players into the game. He is able to read things and see passes, which other players just cannot vision.

Many pundits say that players do not reach their peak age until they are around 26 or 27 years of age. If that is the case then it is frightening what this Merseyside lad is capable of. He is without doubt the most valuable current asset in the Premier League.

Manchester United, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Porto each take a lead into the UEFA Champions League second round second leg after in an intriguing return of Europe’s premier club competition.

With the playing format of the tournament altered this season, just four of the eight second round ties took place this week, with the other four commencing next week, and it was United who gained the most impressive result.

AC Milan 2 Manchester United 3
A brace from in-form Wayne Rooney helped them to a creditable 3-2 win over Seria A giants AC Milan in the San Siro. The rejuvenated Ronaldinho handed the Italian outfit a third minute lead with a deflected volley before veteran midfielder Paul Scholes equalised for Alex Ferguson’s men ten minutes before the break.

The match turned into the Rooney show in the second half, as a pair of headers moved United into control of the tie as Milan’s unfavourable average age began to show as their performance waned. Veteran Dutchman Clarence Seedorf ensured Leonardo’s men hold a glimmer of hope in the second leg with his sublimely taken goal five minutes from time.

United will be without midfielder Michael Carrick for the return leg, however, as he received a foolish second yellow card for kicking the ball away in stoppage time. The English side will no doubt remain overwhelming favourites to progress, with the Old Trafford meeting pencilled in for the 10th of March.

Porto 2 Arsenal 1
Meanwhile, Arsenal have given themselves plenty of work to do as they must overcome a 2-1 deficit after going down away to Porto in a game riddled with mistakes. Lukasz Fabianski was the centre of attention after he gifted the Portuguese side an 11th minute lead after fumbling Silvestre Varela’s cross.

Veteran defender Sol Campbell, making his first Champions League appearance since Arsenal’s 2006 final defeat to Barcelona, popped up with an equaliser soon after but he was at the forefront for Porto’s second in a bizarre phase of play.

Goalkeeper Fabianski was penalised for picking up a backpass from Campbell, before the pair stood aimlessly as the hosts got on with the indirect free-kick, leaving Radamel Falcao the simple task of tapping into an almost empty net with the Arsneal goalkeeper stranded when he perhaps should have been more alert.

The Gunners remain favourites to progress to the quarter finals despite the defeat, with an impressive home record at the Emirates this season leaving them confident the tie is far from over. Manager Arsene Wenger’s injury list should have lessened by then, with his beaten side heavily weakened through injury in Wednesday night’s encounter.

Lyon 1 Real Madrid 0
Elsewhere, Real Madrid have also given themselves an uphill task after they went down to a shock 1-0 defeat to Lyon. Jean Makoun’s screamer was the only goal of the leg, with Madrid’s star-studded side unable to break down the resilient French side.

The Spanish giants have an added incentive in reaching this year’s final as it takes place in their very own Bernabeu stadium, not to mention spending in excess of £250million in the summer in president Florentino Perez’s latest ‘Galacticos’ era.

But they must come from behind in the second leg if they are to continue their quest towards a tenth European Cup. Should they fail to progress, however, manager Manuel Pellegrini’s job could well be on the line.

Bayern Munich 2 Fiorentina 1
The week’s only other Champions League game took place at the Allianz Arena where Bayern Munich took a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in an evenly balanced tie. Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben opened the scoring from the spot on the stroke of half-time, his sixth consecutive match in which he has scored.

Former Everton defender Per Kroldrup got the Italians back in the contest shortly after the break but the Germans ensured they take a slender lead to Stadio Artemio Franchi thanks to a controversial goal from Miroslav Klose.

It is debateable whether the Germany international should still have been on the pitch after escaping with a yellow for a lunge on Cesare Natali earlier in the match, but there was no debating his equaliser should not have stood.

The 31-year-old, a second half substitute for Thomas Muller, was clearly yards offside when he nodded in a minute from time, leaving the Viola coach Cesare Prandelli livid with the decision and no doubt determined to gain justice in the return leg.

Frank Lampard has insisted that selecting Rio Ferdinand as the next England international captain was the right choice for everyone concerned.

After John Terry was stripped of the role, there were calls emerging for great transparency within the England team and all players concerned. Fans and pundits alike seemed to want a new figure to represent England as opposed to a player with a damaged past.

Now England have a captain that was banned from football for missing a drugs test and a vice captain who has been in court for assault. Not to mention John Terry’s latest activities, which do not exactly inspire confidence down the spine of the team.

The point is that historically, Fabio Capello and England have both liked a defender in the role as captain. The defence is often seen as one of the most tactical areas to play in a football team and many captains like to lead from the back.

Lampard said: “John and Rio are both big personalities. The England captain has to be someone vocal in the squad and (Ferdinand) has always been a popular fella in the dressing room and he is easy to get on with.”

“The controversy of the changeover and everything is unfortunate but now it has changed Rio deserves it and will give it a great crack.”

“Wayne is our best player, especially at the moment, and he is the one that can really make things happen for us off the cuff. To burden him at that age (24) would have been the manager’s decision, but I think it is a good idea not to.”

“I think he will be England captain one day for sure. This has brought up a whole talk about England captaincy but you need a few captains on the pitch.”

England need to be structured and strong if they are to have any chance of success in South Africa this summer. Ferdinand already has experience of captaincy in the Manchester United side so it is important to look at the positives instead of the negatives.

Hopefully the team will pull together at just the right time and put all of these bad feelings and bad pasts behind them. On too many occasions, the best football players in the country are in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons when we just want to see them playing and doing well.

There had been strong calls for Wayne Rooney to be given the armband but the decision not to is probably the right one. Rooney needs to focus entirely on himself and his own game and not have to worry about other responsibilities. This will mean he can be ready and willing to rip the heart out of many sides.

If he was made skipper and then did not perform as well as everyone hoped then there would have been uproar and Rooney probably would have been forced to give up the role. Ferdinand has the job now and it’s important that we all get behind him and the team.

Michael Owen says that he is as good as ever, regardless of his age. Owen has been in good form for his current side, Manchester United, and insists that he is still as good as he was when he scored his famous hat trick against Germany for England eight years ago.

A lot of people have said that Owen would struggle to cope with the pace of life at the Premier League champions, but his performances to date have shown that Sir Alex Ferguson may well have pulled off a managerial masterstroke.

Owen said: “I am not slower now than I was seven, eight years ago. No chance. With the hamstring problems early in my career, they knocked a yard off my pace straightaway, but since then I have been the same player and if anything I have improved.”

“Game awareness is a good word for it. A lot of it is so instinctive it’s hard to put down. It is your experience taking you into areas. You think, ‘Would I have moved there as a kid, would I have anticipated that?’”

“People think I’m past my thirties, I’m in my forties, the way they talk about me. I’m only 29. I’m not past it. It’s not an easy squad to get into with the results the team are getting at the minute. But I’m as passionate as ever about extending my time with England.”

“He came to Highbury to watch us one time — I think I had five touches in the game. Then, I was coming back from injury. So there are reasons why he wouldn’t pick me so far. Yes, I have to play a bit more. I am sure with the number of games we have got, so many cup competitions, I will start my fair share.”

Owen’s recent performances have meant that he is in line for a starting place when Manchester United take on Wolfsburg later this evening. It was clear that playing Wayne Rooney up front on his own did not work in United’s last Champions League game and Ferguson may opt to go for experience over the unpredictable nature of Dimitar Berbatov.

Owen seems to have found his place and if he carries on playing well then he could well finish his career at United. He seems happy and the club seem happy and as far as all parties are concerned, it is a clossoming relationship.