The general consensus is that Wayne Rooney - captain of Manchester United and England - is a long way short of his best form.
A variety of reasons have been provided as to why the 29-year-old might be struggling to scale the heights in a fashion that once appeared to come so naturally, which include a lack of fitness, his playing position and burnout.
As Rooney prepares to return to his former club Everton tomorrow afternoon, Sports Mole spoke with ex-United defender Danny Higginbotham to get his view on the situation and find out whether he believes that the country's leading goalscorer of all time will be able to come out of this slump on the other side.
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The overwhelming reaction to Gary Lineker's recent documentary on Wayne Rooney was that it not only showed just how good a player he once was, but also highlighted how badly out of form he currently is - is that an opinion you share?
"Obviously he's not playing well at the moment, but to say that he's finished, far from it. What have you to do, and it's the same for all players, you have to adjust your game as you get older. There's no question of that. We've seen top-class players that have had to do that over the years because for one reason or another their body is changing in certain ways, whether that be a defender, midfielder or attacker.
"With Rooney, because his levels have been so high in the past, when he does have an off-time like he is having at the moment it's more in the spotlight. When players have done well in this country, a lot of the time we can't wait to dig them out.
"It's a difficult one because he's playing in a different position now. A lot of the time you can say that a player is having a bad time because of X, Y and Z. But, with Rooney, it's difficult to see why he is struggling so much."
He started playing regularly at the age of 16, whereas normally players do not break into a senior side until at least the age of 20 or 21. With that in mind, even though he is only nearly 30, in football terms is Rooney 34 or 35?
"It could be that because he did start so very young. When you're at a club like Manchester United for so long like he has been, there's pressure on you all of the time. But, if you look at someone like Ryan Giggs, he played for Manchester United from a young age as well and played a lot of games.
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"When he got older, he changed the way he played the game. He had electric pace and even towards the end of his career he still had that sharp burst. When he was younger he could run from one end of the pitch to the other in almost a sprinter's time. Whereas, as he got older, he had to change his game and ended up being a central midfielder at times.
"Maybe Wayne Rooney needs to change his game. You hear some people saying that he could play midfield because he doesn't have that same dynamism that he had a few years ago. Great players are able to adjust as they get older - it's all about how you can do that. It looks like Anthony Martial is the centre-forward now, so does that mean Rooney is the number 10 or is there another position in the team for him?"
You say that great players adjust - is Rooney great enough to do it?
"It's a tough one - only time will tell. We've seen him play in the central midfield area, but it would be very difficult for him to do that in the system that Manchester United are playing at the moment - 4-2-3-1. He wouldn't sit in front of the defence, so you can take that one out of equation. It's hard to pick out a potential new position for him. But, again, great players have always adapted and I'm sure Rooney is trying to do that. He's not having a great time at the moment, but I still rate him highly."
Does his physique not help? He's by no means overweight, but he's always been well built.
"I've played with players before that when you see them on the football pitch people might think they look heavy set, but they're not. That's just the way they're made. No matter what they do, they're never going to be as lean as Ryan Giggs.
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"Sometimes supporters sing at players about them being overweight, but when they take their top off it's not like that. For me as a player, I could never put weight on if I tried. But, some of the fittest lads I played with were well-built, stocky players.
"In terms of Rooney, we forget that he's also technically very gifted. I know he could bulldoze his way through, but we've seen him at times drop deep and pick out passes that you would never have imagined."
Following England's qualification for Euro 2016, there have been some that have called for Roy Hodgson to drop Rooney. Has it reached that point?
"Everybody's position should be under threat, what's the point otherwise? It doesn't matter who you are. If you look at all of the top clubs, you have a few that might be on the team sheets constantly, but not many. Look at England now, who is guaranteed to start?
"Even Jack Butland is pushing Joe Hart hard in goal. The way modern football has gone, it's only right that nobody's place should be guaranteed. If you're fit and playing well, then of course you should play, but the more people that are looking to take your position - that's competition and it's healthy."
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You played against Rooney many times during his early years with United - just how good was he then?
"He was unbelievable. He was like a kid in a playground that wanted to be all over the place. His appetite for the game was and still is phenomenal. He's been written off far too early. Players can have periods where things aren't going right, but the cream always rises to the top.
"People spoke about John Terry, saying he was finished and he went on to play every single game and captained his team to the title. People did something similar with Frank Lampard more than once. We have a real issue with age in this country.
"You will have times in your career where things don't go right. Rooney has been great and now he's hit a time where things aren't going quite right, but does that mean that's the end of him? I don't think so. It comes down to which position is he now the best in and that's for the manager to decide."
Liam Apicella
