For Wayne Rooney, it is pretty simple - play him in his best position, as a centre forward, or just behind, and he is happy. Play him elsewhere, and then the 'Big Sulk' might just come out like it did last season.
Rooney, speaking to reporters ahead of England's crucial World Cup qualifier against Montenegro, revealed he was indeed unhappy with Manchester United, under Sir Alex Ferguson, last season, after getting frustrated with the amount of times he was played out of position.
Ferguson, with an in-form and firing-in-all-cylinders Robin Van Persie at his disposal, rarely played Rooney up front, with the England international used quite frequently out wide or even in midfield on a few occasions.
That led to some intense speculation that Rooney could leave in the summer, with Ferguson insisting the forward had handed in a transfer request - a claim denied by Rooney.
Chelsea were all-in for him during the last transfer window, but Manchester United refused to sell one of their biggest assets to a fellow English Premier League club.
Rooney has looked much better this season, and has been their best player, with David Moyes playing him in the hole behind Van Persie and giving him license to stay up front for the entire game.
"You can clearly see I'm playing and I'm happy in my football," Rooney said. "David Moyes has come in, he's playing me up front, and I'm enjoying it.
"I've had no problem playing out of position in the past, but I'm a forward and I felt I deserved the right to play in my position.
"That wasn't happening. Naturally I was a bit disappointed and maybe that affected some of the games I played because last season wasn't my best.
"Everyone at the club knew where I wanted to play. Maybe I will play in midfield when I'm a bit older if I have lost my legs a bit but I didn't want to play there.
"I'm not saying I am going to throw my arms up in the air and not do it if we were hanging on a bit in the last 10 minutes of a game and I got asked to drop back. But there came a point where I had to be a bit selfish for my own career."
Rooney will only have a year remaining on his contract come the end of this season, but the United striker would not confirm if a new contract was in the offing.
"To be honest I've been settled all summer," he said. "I know from the outside looking in it might not have seemed like that, but I have.
"I spoke with the people who matter at the club and we knew what we were doing. The club made that clear.
"My wife had a new child and I've been really happy. I'm not going to go on saying I wanted to stay or I wanted to leave.
"I just want to concentrate on my football. We'll see what happens after that."
