Law backing Rooney as heir to United throne

As 'the King' of Old Trafford, Denis Law's fruitful reign at Manchester United lasted 11 years and bore 237 goals in 404 games, as well as two league titles, a European Cup and a European Player of the Year award. A certain monsieur Cantona stole both the hearts of United fans and Law's ceremonial title in the 1990s, but the original 'King' believes it's now time for another coronation, with Wayne Rooney next in line for the throne.

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Denis Law presents Wayne Rooney with the famous No.10 shirt in 2007.

Law commands legendary status at United and is second only to Sir Bobby Charlton on the club's all-time scoring charts, but the former Scotland international is full of admiration for a player who sits 16 places and 122 goals behind him on that very same list. Law is excited by Rooney's intense combination of passion and panache and believes the 24-year-old can go on to etch his own legacy into football's history books.

"I think if he stays free of injury. he can go on to break everybody's records not only at United but for England as well. I really think he's got the ability to beat all those records," Law told ESPN Soccernet. "He's a terrific player. He's not just a goalscorer - he's a worker, a battler."

Rooney shares many characteristics with Law in his prime, notably a sometimes questionable temperament paired with unquestionable ability, and the United legend is convinced the England striker can go on to emulate his goalscoring exploits.

"He will come into his own now, more than he did when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was here," Law said. "A lot of the attention was on Ronaldo but now he has centre stage and can achieve all that Alex [Ferguson] expects of him."

Rooney has some way to go if he is to get anywhere near Law's record, and will need to improve the regularity at which he finds the net - he currently averages a goal every 2.4 games for United, while Law's average was 1.7.

As part of manager Sir Matt Busby's 'Holy Trinity' alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best, Law spearheaded United's attack during one of the most successful periods in the club's history. He won the European Footballer of the Year Award in 1964 after scoring 30 goals in 41 games and he remains the only Scotsman ever to have won the prize.

The scintillating combination of Law, Charlton and Best was feared across the continent, but the likes of United and Chelsea still boast attacks capable of terrifying the rest of Europe. Law admits choosing between United and Chelsea's crop of strikers is an unenviable task ahead of the clash at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

"I'd like to have all four of them in my team," he said. "They are all so good at what they do. [Didier] Drogba's athletic and powerful and [Nicolas] Anelka's a strong finisher, while [Dimitar] Berbatov is skilful and Rooney is, well, Rooney.

"They are two excellent teams and I feel that it will be the usual suspects at the end of the season. A draw would be a marvellous result for United but, even if they get beaten, it wouldn't be a disaster because it's still early.

"This season has been strange. I feel whoever wins the league this year will have lost more games than any of the other championship winners over the past half a dozen years. I think the competition is a bit more intense this year."

While Berbatov and Rooney may be Sir Alex Ferguson's current forward pairing of choice, Law believes United have a dangerous weapon in England's forgotten man Michael Owen, and insists he was not caught by surprise by one of the summer's shock transfers.

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Owen signs up, to the surprise of many, alongside David Gill.

"I think he's been excellent," he said. "When I read about the signing, I thought it would be a good move from Alex's point of view to have him there. The only question mark would be his fitness.

"But if he can stay free of injury, Michael Owen will be a tremendous asset for United. It's early days yet but he's scored a few goals and will continue to do so. I think he's a good acquisition."

As one of the greatest strikers to have ever played the game, Law's ringing endorsement of Rooney and Owen will be music to Ferguson's ears. But the 'King Rooney' flags should not be rolled off the production line just yet, as the heir apparent still has much to prove before he can take the Old Trafford crown.

Denis Law was speaking at the launch of the Barclays Ticket Office promotion, which offers football fans the chance to win a pair of free Barclays Premier League tickets every 90 minutes throughout the 2009-10 BPL season, either by collecting an advice slip from any Barclays ATM or by logging on to www.barclaysticketoffice.com.