This Week In Football History: Rooney loves an FA Cup wonder goal

Wayne Rooney - A consistent scorer of sublime goals

Wayne Rooney has scored some incredible goals for Manchester United. And today Adrian North takes us back to 2005 and 2007 and two of Rooney's most outrageous goals, both in the FA Cup Fourth Round.

January 29, 2005 - Man Utd 3-0 Middlesbrough, Old Trafford: Rooney does love an FA Cup wonder goal.

Here's something I had forgotten until I began researching for this week's stories - Wayne Rooney has never won the FA Cup. Five Premier League titles, two League Cups, and a Champions League medal, but never the FA Cup. His two runners-up medals from 04/05 and 06/07 have probably long since been chucked away or pawned off.

It may be some consolation to Rooney however, that despite losing to Arsenal on penalties in 2005 and to a Didier Drogba inspired Chelsea in 2007, he scored some of those seasons' greatest goals, all in the FA Cup Fourth Round.

Rooney, who has scored a few half decent goals throughout his career, seems to have a particular love for the FA Cup. And it's not the 17 goals in 30 Cup appearances that are necessarily that impressive, as opposed to the quality of the goals he has scored in the competition. I seem to remember a brilliant curling effort against Villa from 2008 (that I can't find online), and in 2007 he scored this screamer against Watford in the semi-finals.

But on January 29, 2005 Rooney scored a couple goals that would see him not only his get his first taste of an FA Cup wonder goal but also of a Goal of the Month and Goal of the Season award. After a famous replay with non-league Exeter City in the Third Round United would make steady progress in the 2005 FA Cup handing out thrashings to Boro, Everton, Southampton and Newcastle before battering Arsenal for a goalless 120 minutes and losing to Patrick Vieira's last kick as a Gunner.

The game against Boro was perhaps United's most complete performance of that cup run and after John O'Shea scored an early goal Old Trafford bared witness to two moments of brilliance from the still 19-year-old baby faced scouser. Midway through the second half Rooney delightfully chipped the wandering Mark Schwarzer.

And 10 minutes from time he would smash in 04/05's Goal of the Season with this volley. (There is something about goals that travel from the goalkeeper to the opposition's net without touching the ground that is unexplainably awesome)

Rooney, just halfway through his first season as a United player had begun to cement his legacy, and I hate to use this clich, but I'll make an exception for Rooney, as not just a great goal scorer, but as a scorer of great goals. He is a player who long after he retires will never be analysed statistically, but rather in the context of his bicycle kick against City, this volley against Boro, his curler against Arsenal, the lob against West Ham, and then there is this chip, from January 27, 2007, again in the FA Cup Fourth Round, this time against Porstmouth.

Rooney, who had started on the bench for the tie, came on with half an hour to go and tapped United ahead after 75 minutes. It is his second goal however that encapsulates everything that's brilliant about the man. He's not just a scorer of insane 500mph volleys or lobs from the halfway line, but also a player of finesse and guile. And to me there's something just a bit more beautiful about a delicate chip than a rocket of a volley.