Three glorious seasons later Cristiano Ronaldo decided that it was time to make good his childhood dream and bid adieu to Mancunia. Carlos Tevez decided he needed regular playing time and switched to Manchester City, a cash laden bandwagon as such. And thus the Holy Troika that could have been is no more.

The third musketeer in the pack Wayne Rooney remains at Old Trafford and it is in him that legions of fans now trust to take up the mantle vacated by CR7. Wayne Rooney must now be "the" man for Manchester United if their glorious conquests have to continue. However, to pull the strings you must be the focal point and Wayne Rooney must now be handed over his favorite position, the central off the striker role that he so relishes and in which he caries Enlish hopes for the World Cup.

That he is capable enough of orchestrating another title winning season for United is hardly a doubt. Over the years we have witnessed far too much to think remotely otherwise. And the fact that Ronaldo in his goodbye interview said that in Wayne he was leaving behind a team mate who could challenge him for the best player in the world tag only made us nod our heads vigorously. Coupled with the amazing ability is the dogged determination and to-die-for attitude and together this makes for a delightful combo. It is however the position in which he plays that will determine the impact he has.

The last two years Rooney increasingly occupied the left side of midfield cutting in from wide and also thwarting the opposing wingback. This was of course done by Ferguson to free up the enterprising Ronaldo of any defensive responsibilities thereby increasing his potency. But while that worked well, but it limited Wayne drastically. Not that he was not effective, in fact he performed his role commendably enough and also provided flashes of brilliance to remind us of the prodigious talent but it was always a feeling of what could be than what it is.

Now of course, there is no CR7 and the wings will be occupied by players who are not capable enough of having that free role which he relished and one can only think that it is also time to give back Wayne Rooney the central position. Doing so would also make the player realize what is expected of him and knowing the man that Wayne is he would be fired up by the challenge of being Manchester United's "go to" man.

Already Sir Alex has indicated that this may indeed be the case and we sincerely hope that Fergie come's good on these indications and unleashes the talent of Rooney for all to behold.