Without a fuss in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Swansea City, Wayne Rooney strolled off, looking resigned, and accepted his substitution. Manchester United were bringing on Dimitar Berbatov for the last 10 minutes of a game that had already been won and just as Rooney was coming off, he received a warm ovation. United fans, in the last league game at Old Trafford this season, had acknowledged his efforts in this campaign — he did score 26 goals from 33 in Premier League games, after all. That statistic, in isolation, is good enough for some to go far enough to say the forward has been United’s best player this season.

But Rooney has a lot to answer for. He is not just their chief goal-getter; but also their playmaker. It is partly true that United rely on Rooney too much for his own good; indeed, he has only really fulfilled his role as the goalscorer, and yet not much else. This season, it’s been a bit of both and neither, played everywhere and nowhere; given the target of 40 goals and yet, at the same time, (probably) told create goals for others, too. You should never read too much into number of assists because they’re the most devilish and worst-behaved of statistics (well, after, pass completion rates, which is like a youth offender) but he’s only managed four this season compared to last year’s 11, at least giving an impression of his general profligacy.

This is what I had thought and seen before looking at the numbers (which should only be used to back up an observation); that he’s been far too wasteful and negligent than he’s ever been, especially after the most impressive second halves to a season you’ll ever see in the previous campaign; where Rooney forgot all that happened in the first and shrugged off not only a lengthy run of bad form caused partly by injury, but the pressure exerted by those not interested in football, but by what was on the front page of The Daily Star. Then, even with a ludicrous swearing ban which served in keeping up appearances, he was able to balance creating and scoring goals — against Barcelona in the Champions League final, he looked the only player who could turn it around from what may have seemed a perilous position. It was a fine spell that Sir Alex may or may not have tried to take advantage of — logically, I would say — but it hasn’t quite worked.

Is it possible to be your side’s most important player and yet not their best performing one? It seems so in Rooney’s case. He seems to be used as a goalscoring playmaker, but Diego Maradona he is not, which at least goes to show the Pelé comparisons (‘The White Pelé’) are a little more suitable. In simple terms, being a goalscorer means you have to be generally central and so your freedom is restricted — but freedom is surely what you need as a playmaker, which Rooney doesn’t always get. He’s expected not only to start attacks, but finish them, too.

Too often this season, when Rooney has tried to assume that playmaker role, he has played a bad pass for every good one, being far too negligent and careless and a bit of hindrance as United go forward. That, typically, followed by a strop or a sudden goal from the penalty spot. Which might then, therefore, indicate that it’s more than just a change in roles — that he’s most accustomed to one thing over another, rather than it being a choice. Perhaps Rooney needs to be deployed higher up the pitch and United sign an attacking midfielder that can alleviate the burden. Whatever the solution, what is clear is that this is not Rooney’s best season at the club, only a good one, despite what some say. It’s also worth pointing out that Sir Alex has been less reluctant to take him off than in seasons passed.

And in last Thursday’s Football Writers’ awards, he finished second behind Arsenal’s Robin van Persie, which is quite interesting, given the Dutchman has made a similar refinement to his game, albeit with more success (slightly, in the goal department) and (crucially) clarity. The margin between the two was roughly 100 votes and even with only about 250 in total anyway, was a still lot less than it perhaps should have been. Harsh? Yes. But that’s the beauty of value judgements — they’re not at all beautiful and nobody wants to agree, or, indeed, even hear it. But there were other players who deserved to be runners up. Furthermore, while the awards might suggest otherwise, he hasn’t even been United’s best player this season, or their second best, or even their third*.

Thankfully, Rooney recognises this. After he had scored two in April’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa, he accepted, post-match, that goals alone do not tell a story:  ”It was nice to score two goals but I didn’t think my performance was good enough. The rest of my play wasn’t great. I am disappointed with that and I will be working hard to put it right.” Given the amount of times Rooney has been written off without any real basis, you can’t doubt he will at least try to find a solution, if, indeed, he is still a Manchester United player next year.

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*For the record, and just for a bit of fun, this is my Top 5 this season in order (feel free to share your own below): Michael Carrick, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney. (Though Danny Welbeck and Paul Scholes have claims.)

It seems almost absurd to suggest that signing Paul Dickov on a free was as little a risk as paying £38million for 23-year old Sergio Aguero in the summer of 2011 but such is the change at Manchester City that if, indeed, a signing was not to materialise, they could, well, just get someone else. And if they were not to get the title this year, they could always improve their squad and attempt to win it the next. (As it turns out, Aguero has been superb — he has managed nearly 30 goals in his début season and he, along with Yaya Toure and David Silva, have forged a sort of Triple Alliance; a powerful force that everyone thinks could win but one they all want to come second.)

Manchester United fans might not admit it, and, of course, why should they but City’s kamikaze spending — which should, yes, be objected to at the same time — has made for a captivating title race made more compelling by an old, unimpressive-for-too-long rivalry; if United were to prosper at their rival’s expense, then it would make for the sweetest of victories and a domestic triumph above most.

And so, is Monday’s Manchester derby the biggest ever? ”It seems to be mentioned before each Manchester derby that the importance of the match increases every year and I suppose that’s no different now,” says Steven Allweis, editor of Manchester City-fansite View from a Blue. “That’s due to the fact we are genuine challengers for various trophies and not just some hopeful upstarts. City are a real threat to United’s dominance, so with this game effectively deemed a title decider, I think it’s fair to say it is the most important Manchester derby ever.” Playing City now, as Sir Alex Ferguson says, has “an importance which, at this moment in time, supercedes the Liverpool games.” Heck, this may even be the most important Premier League game to date in the 20 years of its existence: yes, not only has the fixture emerged as the biggest derby in the country, but it’s one that may decide the title.

I asked Allweis to be honest, here; how well does he think Manchester United have performed this season? “After virtually every game, we hear how United weren’t quite at their best or didn’t display the form that was on show in the last couple of years. As a one-off explanation that could be feasible, but perhaps United just aren’t as good as they were last season or two years ago, and this is their best form. However, even if the players are different, there is still that ruthless winning mentality that drives them on,” he concedes. “Even if not utterly dominant, United still find ways to be victorious and that’s not exactly a bad trait to have!”

It is a testament, some argue, to Sir Alex’s managerial nous that this otherwise ‘average’ Manchester United side are doing so well this season; a view that would probably have more credibility if his team were not only sitting at the top of the table, but freely scoring goals and heading for a points tally that can only really be preceded by a noun-turned-adjective that usually refers to a prehistoric mammal with long, curved tusks. All three of Jonny Evans, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia deserve a lot of credit for where United are now; but many have tended to overlook the trio, Valencia to a lesser extent, curiously, in favour of Wayne Rooney.

When you look at some of the things Rooney has said this season, what you may be able to infer is a man that values goals above anything else; which is fine, but it’s a wonder whether he himself thinks he’s not playing as well as he should be. Truth is, he’s only had a good season where he has scored plenty — but Rooney plays in a position that demands more than numbers. His negligence to waste as many attacks as create is a slight worry; his tendency to drift out and drift in only when United have a penalty is a major concern (and a bit of a hyperbole, but it has happened on a few occasions).

Sir Alex thinks Rooney is the “type of player who has to play on the edge in a game” and ”when it’s a really close and competitive game” or else “when it gets to that casual bit, he’s worse than the rest of them.” Which is a rather reasonable explanation; Rooney’s cameo at 3-0 down to Chelsea in February helped United to a 3-3 draw. That is not always true, of course (the recent 1-0 defeat to Wigan saw him subbed after 65 minutes); but United will need him at his best — while they’re not entirely as reliant on him as some will suggest, he is still their most talented player and one that Steven Allweis points to as the obvious danger-man; but then he earmarks Valencia as the man he wishes to have an off-day: “He’s been outstanding in the past couple of months and is the type of player that we could most certainly do with,” Allweis says. “He’s old-fashioned in the sense that he sticks out wide, receives the ball, takes on his man and puts crosses in, but it’s proved hugely effective and his battle with Gael Clichy will be an intriguing one.”

Moving away from the derby for a moment, Allweis thinks Manchester City have “overperformed” based on his personal expectations. “My hope at the start of the season was that we would finish in the top four. Having achieved Champions League football last season, I felt it was imperative to qualify for the competition for the next campaign, so we’ve done that and more. Many fans would have expected a genuine title push though I think you’ll be hard-pushed to find a City supporter who says we have underperformed.” How would you feel if you finished second, then? “If we finish second, there will be disappointment because we led the table for the majority of the season, but it will be an improvement on last year and that is a positive. If we continue to build, then I’d expect us to win the Premier League next season.”

And what of Mario Balotelli? If City end the season trophyless, many would point to him as the man who cost City the title. Do you agree? He can’t have been that much of a burden, though; indeed, despite some of the stupid — and stupidly hilarious — things he has done, which City would rather not have happened of course, he has surely made up for it with satisfactory or more-than-satisfactory performances on the pitch? “I think the criticism Balotelli receives is ridiculous,” claims Allweis. “I’ve actually written an article detailing some thoughts on Balotelli and other various reasons as to why we might not win the title, but to blame it purely on Mario is naive and simplistic. He’s certainly a factor, though a relatively minor one in the grand scheme of things.”

A similar question was posed on Carlos Tevez — had he been playing for the last five months, what sort of table would we be looking at? “His form since returning has been superb: not just the goals he has scored, but his all round contribution. His workrate is first-class, constantly putting pressure on opposition defences and he seems to have rejuvenated Sergio Aguero. That, of course, makes it all the more frustrating that he has spent most of the season working on his tan and playing golf in Argentina.”

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I asked Allweis a question I myself had interest in and, while not exactly vaguely to do with Monday’s game, felt out of place in the actual piece. Do you buy into “the best team is the one which ends up above all the rest” or do we need to look deeper than that? 

“It totally depends on what you define ‘best’ as. City could win every game in the season 6-0, but lose to United twice. United could win every game 1-0 and would then clinch the title. City might have played the best football, scored the most goals and entertained in matches, but United would have the best record. It’s an interesting question.”

Steven Allweis edits the View from a Blue blog. He is also a columnist for Huffington Sports UK. You can follow him on Twitter.