""It got us communicating more - we used to play it on the plane, on the team bus. "It would be me, Rio [Ferdinand], Michael Carrick, John O'Shea, Wes Brown. You have to talk, you have to tactically be right, go and revive people when they get killed and it was a massive part of our success - ask any of those players, it was brilliant.""
""How you played that game reflected that player, how they play the game," he added. "Michael Carrick was a little sneaky calm one, you would be lying down hiding and you'd hear a little grenade bouncing by where he'd thrown it. "I was just all in, straight in, frontline of the trenches, get in there.""
""Edwin van der Sar used to get annoyed, because we're on the team bus and there's just shouting on the team bus all over the place where you are telling people where you are," said Rooney. "Sometimes if they have got one player left, you communicate, so you flank them, go and get them. Van der Sar used to get annoyed and move, he used to try and get as far away from us as possible!""
Playing five‑versus‑five on the PSP game SOCOM during flights and bus journeys created a communication and tactical practice among Manchester United players. Sessions routinely involved teammates reviving each other, coordinating flanks and sharing positional information, which reinforced in‑game teamwork. Individual playing styles in the video game mirrored on‑pitch personalities, with some players adopting calm, stealthy approaches while others led aggressive frontal attacks. The noise and tactical shouting during play irritated some squad members, notably the goalkeeper who tried to distance himself from the activity on the team bus. The activity is credited as a contributor to team cohesion and success.
Read at www.bbc.com
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