Rashford out partying at nightclub hours before reporting as too ill to attend training

He’s done at United now, this should be a non-issue by now but fans are again lapping up another perfectly executed hit job from The Athletic.

Will he be the first footballer to miss training in/around Manchester this year? No.

Will he be the first footballer in/around Manchester to have gone on a night out the day before training? No.

Rashford is an idiot in as much as he hasn’t read the room about how much people want to undermine the perception he was feeding kids to look holier than thou.

I hope he leaves & wish him well if he does so. The vitriol for ‘one of our own’ makes no sense to me. We’ve read autobiography after autobiography where footballers reveal all kinds of debauchery during their careers.

Andy Mitten, a guy I have plenty of time for, summed how ridiculous this situation is up perfectly. When asked on Talk of the Devils he started by saying, ‘I’m in no position to judge him as I got steaming drunk the night before our live show in Dublin’ only to go on & judge him to finally end by telling us that ‘former pros have told him about much worse’. This is being blown up because of who we are. The Athletic will have chosen to not run with far more impactful transgressions than this one.

Guy goes out & doesn’t go to work next day cause he is ‘ill’. Yep that’s a weeks worth of story. . . Surprised the club didn’t close ranks here.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

He’s done at United now, this should be a non-issue by now but fans are again lapping up another perfectly executed hit job from The Athletic.

Will he be the first footballer to miss training in/around Manchester this year? No.

Will he be the first footballer in/around Manchester to have gone on a night out the day before training? No.

Rashford is an idiot in as much as he hasn’t read the room about how much people want to undermine the perception he was feeding kids to look holier than thou.

I hope he leaves & wish him well if he does so. The vitriol for ‘one of our own’ makes no sense to me. We’ve read autobiography after autobiography where footballers reveal all kinds of debauchery during their careers.

Andy Mitten, a guy I have plenty of time for, summed how ridiculous this situation is up perfectly. When asked on Talk of the Devils he started by saying, ‘I’m in no position to judge him as I got steaming drunk the night before our live show in Dublin’ only to go on & judge him to finally end by telling us that ‘former pros have told him about much worse’. This is being blown up because of who we are. The Athletic will have chosen to not run with far more impactful transgressions than this one.

Guy goes out & doesn’t go to work next day cause he is ‘ill’. Yep that’s a weeks worth of story. . . Surprised the club didn’t close ranks here.

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Call me cynical but I think Club is complicit in all this , it's bit of hit job all right but I think it has blessings from United's management.

gajender said:

Call me cynical but I think Club is complicit in all this , it's bit of hit job all right but I think it has blessings from United's management.

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To what end?

Maticmaker said:

Rashford, at the moment gives the overall impression of what my Grandma would have called a 'tortured soul'.

The club has a duty of care towards all employees and needs to sort out how it deals with what in Marcus's case might described, in playing terms at least, as a mid-career crisis. It's not as if United hasn't had examples of players going off the rails, boozing, disappearing, not turning up, etc.etc.going back to George Best (and others probably before him) and others who came after.
Sitting them on the 'naughty step', fining them, dropping them from the squad, even taking them out of harms way altogether, can work, but not always (e.g. Sancho). Lets hope INEOS brings some much needed expertise in this area.

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I get where you`re coming from as somebody who thought Marcus was unfairly criticized in the recent past and realises he is a decent, talented footballer. United fans reallly want the homegrown talent to come through and sometimes those expections lie too heavily on the shoulders of those footballers.

However, as some posters have mentioned this goes beyond Marcus Rashford. It`s about the culture of the club and we`ve had long enough since Sir Alex quit to see that a key reason for the instability and inexcusable under-achievement by Manchester United players especially those on overly generous contracts is to do with plain old priorities. This is not the United that was willing to sell players who were loved and had contributed to its massive success under Sir Alex - he did that and was prepared to replace big names with people who wanted to work with him and the team on his terms.

Marcus` problems seem to be no different from those of a number of other footballers or top flight sports people or those who don`t play professional sport. If he is allowing himself to get sidetracked so much by them then United needs to do a Sir Alex and say this is not for you anymore.

It seems fair to say that his attitude is not right and as a big name he has become too comfortable in thinking he is irreplaceable. Sir Alex gave all sorts of chances to players with problems but when the attitudes were affecting the team as a whole then they were moved out. Marcus is being paid to do a job that he doesn`t seem to have the right attitude for. I hope I`m wrong but it seems it`s time for him to leave if United are serious about wanting to get back to some semblance of the team they should be.

gajender said:

Call me cynical but I think Club is complicit in all this , it's bit of hit job all right but I think it has blessings from United's management.

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How is the club 'complicit'. A few more stories coming out now, including from journos about his personal demeanor in interviews for a while. We have a free press. What happens on the pitch is reflective of what is happening in his personal life. Club seem to be handling it well IMO, though I think we should offload if a good offer comes in.

afrocentricity said:

To what end?

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Maybe to prepare some sort of narrative about possibility of selling him in summer.

Gordon Godot said:

How is the club 'complicit'. A few more stories coming out now, including from journos about his personal demeanor in interviews for a while. We have a free press. What happens on the pitch is reflective of what is happening in his personal life. Club seem to be handling it well IMO, though I think we should offload if a good offer comes in.

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I for one believe there is lot of sway Clubs have while dealing with press and this kind of stuff must be regularly ignored by press as well .

What I meant with United being Complicit is United no longer think Rashford is Poster Boy for club so he is not longer the protected species anymore and if Press have negative story about him even if it's such a non issue like this one then they are free to run it .

gaffs said:

Andy Mitten on todays Athletic football podcast. Says he was told that Marcus....

"Loves the trappings of the game, doesn't love the game anymore".

Very sad, if true.

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This isn't a "wum" but it's gotta kinda suck for him having grown up at the club while Sir Alex was winning everything with the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo & Scholes but in his playing time it's been (I'll be diplomatic here) not as good.

I know there's an obvious retort to this (that he wouldn't get in the first xi under Sir Alex) but it simply has to be a big downer.

Ish said:

I honestly believe its the culmination of a decade of Ed's "Disneyland" vision coming home to roost. Hence "discipline/professionalism" aspect is such a huge issue with this lot. Pampered, spoilt, entitled lot which we've built our squads around post SAF.

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That’s exactly it.

It reminds me of when players would join United under SAF and talk about the shock they would get with the new, different culture where so much more was demanded of them.

Id say the shock players get when they join United now is how low standards actually are. Then they realise they can screw the manager over cause the clubs hopeless at offloading them and they will get paid 100% of their wages , maybe even get a contract extension and a Payrise if they time playing well around contract negotiations.

This is what I hope INEOs stamps out. A manager can’t sort that out, only the club can.

afrocentricity said:

To what end?

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I’ll chime in.

I’d say United are complicit in as much as they refuse to acknowledge the media spect of the industry.

I chose to take in a few podcasts to see what these journos actually have to say & the thing that came across massively is resentment for a lack of access. Latest episode of Manchester is Red had one of the co-hosts going on a tangent about how United players don’t stop in mix zones etc. It’s too adversarial.

This is the prime kind of story a club with good links at The Athletic buries. You give them a few exclusives & it’s gone. Do you think Manchester journalists didn’t know Kyle Walker is a serial cheat? That story broke on his missus instagram. I’m from Birmingham, the stories of Grealish’s escapades post Treble are a’plenty but we don’t hear them.

For me, this is a non-story but I understand it will be the type of red meat others love but they’re pretty naive if they think this is the only story of its kind to occur in Manchester [let alone ‘abroad’].

duffer said:

This isn't a "wum" but it's gotta kinda suck for him having grown up at the club while Sir Alex was winning everything with the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo & Scholes but in his playing time it's been (I'll be diplomatic here) not as good.

I know there's an obvious retort to this (that he wouldn't get in the first xi under Sir Alex) but it simply has to be a big downer.

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Another thing that’s unfortunate for Rashford is he’s grown up as a footballer in a dysfunctional club. Can you imagine how good he probably would be if he swapped with Giggs and grew up in that squad? He’s been unlucky to be fair but sport is harsh and you can’t go around dropping your levels without consequences.

gaffs said:

Andy Mitten on todays Athletic football podcast. Says he was told that Marcus....

"Loves the trappings of the game, doesn't love the game anymore".

Very sad, if true.

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Look at the way fans on here speak about him. It would be very hard to achieve your dream to play for the club you grew up supporting & have so many fans that do not genuinely support your achievements but salivate over your failings.

This fanbase has shown it can be patient with so many players but with Rashford it’s weirdly different.

Matt Varnish said:

I'm not condoning what he did, it was wrong, but social media and the MSM in general ha to take some responsibility if he goes off the rail completely.

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This is a big part of the problem,. Encouraging today`s celebrities in all industries to blame social media and the MSM for `going off the rails`. Big things are expected of people who have the big money, big profiles, big reputations, big lifestyles etc. Some cannot handle this - that is alright,, just don`t keep taking the money and expecting everybody to understand when you don`t deliver.

ryansgirl said:

This is a big part of the proble,. Encouraging today`s celebrities in all industries to blame social media and the MSM for `going off the rails`. Big things are expected of people who have the big money, big profiles, big reputations, big lifestyles etc. Some cannot handle this - that is alright,, just don`t keep taking the money and expecting everybody to understand when you don`t deliver.

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Yet time & again we see examples that no matter the money or fame people of all levels fall short.

‘just don’t keep taking the money’, what does that even mean.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

I’ll chime in.

I’d say United are complicit in as much as they refuse to acknowledge the media spect of the industry.

I chose to take in a few podcasts to see what these journos actually have to say & the thing that came across massively is resentment for a lack of access. Latest episode of Manchester is Red had one of the co-hosts going on a tangent about how United players don’t stop in mix zones etc. It’s too adversarial.

This is the prime kind of story a club with good links at The Athletic buries. You give them a few exclusives & it’s gone. Do you think Manchester journalists didn’t know Kyle Walker is a serial cheat? That story broke on his missus instagram. I’m from Birmingham, the stories of Grealish’s escapades post Treble are a’plenty but we don’t hear them.

For me, this is a non-story but I understand it will be the type of red meat others love but they’re pretty naive if they think this is the only story of its kind to occur in Manchester [let alone ‘abroad’].

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What’s Grealish allegedly up to ?

AFC NimbleThumb said:

Look at the way fans on here speak about him. It would be very hard to achieve your dream to play for the club you grew up supporting & have so many fans that do not genuinely support your achievements but salivate over your failings.

This fanbase has shown it can be patient with so many players but with Rashford it’s weirdly different.

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Come on now, if Marcus hadn`t turned up for training because he was in his room feeling low or had disappeared then most would understand and be sympathetic. It is what he did in blatantly showing that he will do differently and expect to get away with it - a throwback to the bad old days when it wasn`t unusual for footballers to show they didn`t give a damn who thought what because they were big names and their club couldn`t do without them.

It was a show of calculated disrespect to the management and team - which is why some of us reluctantly have the view it is time for Marcus to move on.

Chumpsbechumps said:

What’s Grealish allegedly up to ?

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Always been good natured when I’ve seen him but can be irresponsible.

More so than what is he up to, it’s a case of if the media wanted to create a shitstorm as they have here there’s plenty of ways to do so with him but like with this, it would be faux outrage.

ryansgirl said:

It was a show of calculated disrespect to the management and team

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Yea we’re done here.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

Yet time & again we see examples that no matter the money or fame people of all levels fall short.

‘just don’t keep taking the money’, what does that even mean.

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Celebrities including sporting ones are massively overpaid due to market factors etc. If they can`t deliver and/or don`t want to. then stop looking for the millions if they aren`t actually doing what they are paid for. Quit the industry whatever it is if it has too much pressure. Blaming social media etc is a bit disingenious when that same social and other media also helped your career.

Zed 101 said:

But clearly stats are not everything, Rashford at his best is a better player that either Cole or OGS (IMO), problem is you always got a 6-7/10 performance from them, Rashford tends (a lot like the rest of this squad) to be a 9/10 or a 2/10 and unfortunately the 9/10 performances are in scarcity.

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Rashford 'at his best' was about three months in 19/20. That's the only period in his career where I would say he might have been better than Cole or Ole. It actually did look like he was getting ready to step up to true world-class level, but unfortunately it ended with his back injury and he's never got close to that again.

Maybe an argument could be had for a couple of months last season as well, but personally I don't think so as even though he was scoring a lot of goals his general play wasn't actually very good.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

Yet time & again we see examples that no matter the money or fame people of all levels fall short.

‘just don’t keep taking the money’, what does that even mean.

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I won’t speak for the poster but I think of it like this.

If I’m a footballer and I only play football and keep to myself(Paul Scholes when playing comes to mind). I’m pretty confident that when I play poor or get sent off, that the coverage around it will be fleeting and possibly minor.

Now lets say I’m a player who likes social media and like to get attention. What does that mean? It means I am using my football status to get more attention to probably make more money for myself (by default your “brand” is stronger with more followers).

So now this footballer gets sent off or their form is poor or their team is playing badly . Can they really complain that they are getting more attention but now it’s the attention they don’t want?

Theres a lot to be said for doing your job and keeping the head down. People who crave and seek more attention don’t get to choose only the good parts of it.

People can say “they have a right to do what they want outside of football”. That’s not the point, if you court more attention you can’t control all the narrative and can’t be surprised when sometimes that will have repurcussions.

That’s how I see it.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

Look at the way fans on here speak about him. It would be very hard to achieve your dream to play for the club you grew up supporting & have so many fans that do not genuinely support your achievements but salivate over your failings.

This fanbase has shown it can be patient with so many players but with Rashford it’s weirdly different.

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Really? That’s a weird accusation. Name some player that this fanbase has been more patient with than Rashford?

Certainly not a pity party. You’re calling a man going out on a school night then not getting up for work the next morning ‘calculated’.

If anything you’re giving him too much credit. This article was made for people like yourself.

Chumpsbechumps said:

I won’t speak for the poster but I think of it like this.

If I’m a footballer and I only play football and keep to myself(Paul Scholes when playing comes to mind). I’m pretty confident that when I play poor or get sent off, that the coverage around it will be fleeting and possibly minor.

Now lets say I’m a player who likes social media and like to get attention. What does that mean? It means I am using my football status to get more attention to probably make more money for myself (by default your “brand” is stronger with more followers).

So now this footballer gets sent off or their form is poor or their team is playing badly . Can they really complain that they are getting more attention but now it’s the attention they don’t want?

Theres a lot to be said for doing your job and keeping the head down. People who crave and seek more attention don’t get to choose only the good parts of it.

People can say “they have a right to do what they want outside of football”. That’s not the point, if you court more attention you can’t control all the narrative and can’t be surprised when sometimes that will have repurcussions.

That’s how I see it.

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Spot on. Never understood this notion that footballers (or anyone else) has to have a social media presence. If social media bothers you, delete the app(s) And this is uniquely easy for footballers at Rashford’s level who don’t have to use social media to help earn a living. They’re plenty well paid enough already.

Zed 101 said:

Not trying to contradict you just think in context Rashford's record is comparable.

Marcus Rashford 126 goals in 384 games,
OGS 126 goals in 366 games
Andy Cole 121 in 275

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Andy Cole scored 68 goals in 84 games at Newcastle. When he joined United he was asked to play a different role, more of a frontline team role.

I wouldn’t call Rashford better than Cole. I know what you mean, Rashford can be explosive at times , but he’s nowhere near the quality that Cole showed consistently.

You don’t retain a striker position in a league Dominating team as long as Cole did without having serious quality.

Not sure why Ole is being brought into the topic. I’d take both over Rashford because both consistently performed over multiple seasons. Potential does not trump actual productivity.

Pogue Mahone said:

Really? That’s a weird accusation. Name some player that this fanbase has been more patient with than Rashford?

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You only need to refer to the annual ‘Rashford. . .’ threads.

I did write a few names but it’ll just turn in to a day of back & forth which we’ve been in before.

Had any other player been in the form Rashford was last year I doubt we’d have seen a thread as active as his sell or stay one.

If you’re really interested in finding out how patient other fans weren’t with him, you won’t need to look too far for the handwringing now his form has tailed off. Many knew this ‘years ago’ apparently.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

Certainly not a pity party. You’re calling a man going out on a school night then not getting up for work the next morning ‘calculated’.
If anything you’re giving him too much credit. This article was made for people like yourself.

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Oh I see - everybody`s entitled to `your` opinion otherwise they`re `people like myself`. Get a grip. Your angry tone in this thread is probably to suggest that you`re a personal friend of Marcus`, if so then please direct him to this thread.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

You only need to refer to the annual ‘Rashford. . .’ threads.

I did write a few names but it’ll just turn in to a day of back & forth which we’ve been in before.

Had any other player been in the form Rashford was last year I doubt we’d have seen a thread as active as his sell or stay one.

If you’re really interested in finding out how patient other fans weren’t with him, you won’t need to look too far for the handwringing now his form has tailed off. Many knew this ‘years ago’ apparently.

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What gives me hope with Rashford (and I hope he finds a way to resolve whatever is going on with him), is that he seems to be able to take his medicine when he messes up. He’s not going on twitter to defend himself, seems to be more character in the lad which has me rooting for him moreso then I might for others.

Chumpsbechumps said:

I won’t speak for the poster but I think of it like this.

If I’m a footballer and I only play football and keep to myself(Paul Scholes when playing comes to mind). I’m pretty confident that when I play poor or get sent off, that the coverage around it will be fleeting and possibly minor.

Now lets say I’m a player who likes social media and like to get attention. What does that mean? It means I am using my football status to get more attention to probably make more money for myself (by default your “brand” is stronger with more followers).

So now this footballer gets sent off or their form is poor or their team is playing badly . Can they really complain that they are getting more attention but now it’s the attention they don’t want?

Theres a lot to be said for doing your job and keeping the head down. People who crave and seek more attention don’t get to choose only the good parts of it.

People can say “they have a right to do what they want outside of football”. That’s not the point, if you court more attention you can’t control all the narrative and can’t be surprised when sometimes that will have repurcussions.

That’s how I see it.

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The crux is I struggle to accept that Rashford has suddenly began to go out this year, see Belfast & his Birthday party post City. He will have been seen out in Manchester & further afield throughout the seasons before. Unless you believe he’s never thrown a party/or attending one during his good or bad form?

So ask yourself why The Athletic are running with this now?

I covered earlier how his previous public acts have left him open to criticism due to a perceived holier than thou nature.

ryansgirl said:

Oh I see - everybody`s entitled to `your` opinion otherwise they`re `people like myself`. Get a grip. Your angry tone is probably to suggest that you`re a personal friend of Marcus`, if so then please direct him to this thread.

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AFC NimbleThumb said:

You only need to refer to the annual ‘Rashford. . .’ threads.

I did write a few names but it’ll just turn in to a day of back & forth which we’ve been in before.

Had any other player been in the form Rashford was last year I doubt we’d have seen a thread as active as his sell or stay one.

If you’re really interested in finding out how patient other fans weren’t with him, you won’t need to look too far for the handwringing now his form has tailed off. Many knew this ‘years ago’ apparently.

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This is all for obvious reasons though?

Rashford's wild swings in form, combined with his status as our supposedly best and most important attacker means he is inevitably going to attract strong opinions. I mean, last season gets held up as probably his best at the club to date but his form was absolute garbage in the first and final third of that season. There is no weird conspiracy here. Just a footballer we all know is extremely talented who frequently plays like he's rather be anywhere else than on a football pitch and who has been in absolutely terrible form all season, then behaved with a pathetic lack of professionalism as we enter an absolute make or break period for the club. A footballer who was recently made the most well paid player at Manchester United (and hence one of the best paid in the world)

What other player could have got away with all of the above without being crucified by the fans? You're going to have to name someone or I'll assume you're just making shit up. And just in case you're about to play the race card, you should really have a look at the Bruno Fernandes thread. A player whose professionalism is beyond repute, leave it all out there every time he pulls on he shirt and, unlike Rashford, has been producing what he is asked to produce consistently throughout this season. Yet the hate he gets after each and every game where we drop points is exactly as venomous as anything aimed at Rashford.

What Rashford is doing, you have to either be dense as wood or you have become so arrogant that you dont care.

I know which one i believe.

Needs to be kicked out the club as soon as possible ...

Pogue Mahone said:

There is no weird conspiracy here.

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Didn’t say there was which is exactly why I don’t want to get into this with you again.

Pogue Mahone said:

You're going to have to name someone or I'll assume you're just making shit up.

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That’s not how life works Pogue. I’m off to work in a bit so don’t have time for the usual long winded back & forths we’ve been in before.

This is the fanbase that harbours multiple underachievers in the current squad that have been given far more rope.

But let’s just say I’m chatting shit & you can reply to other posters until I get back in later for a longer discussion with if you’re genuinely looking for one. I’ll be free for quick replies though.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

Didn’t say there was which is exactly why I don’t want to get into this with you again.

That’s not how life works Pogue. I’m off to work in a bit so don’t have time for the usual long winded back & forths we’ve been in before.

This is the fanbase that harbours multiple underachievers in the current squad that have been given far more rope.

But let’s just say I’m chatting shit & you can reply to other posters until I get back in later for a longer discussion with if you’re genuinely looking for one. I’ll be free for quick replies though.

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Who?! Marcus has been shown a lot of patience and understanding by most, particularly given how uninterested he routinely looks on the pitch. The players you seem to always defend (yes, you'll take issue with that term, I'm well aware) are Sancho, Greenwood and Rashford. It's odd.

imamuppet said:

What Rashford is doing, you have to either be dense as wood or you have become so arrogant that you dont care.

I know which one i believe.

Needs to be kicked out the club as soon as possible ...

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A succinct summary of why Marcus` bender and resulting absence from the basic activity that footballers are expected to turn up to especially on that salary isn`t something you just do as a Manchester United player.

I think there is a poster on this thread who needs their name changed to yours. Laughing emojis instead of words is the essence of muppethood.

I'm torn on him to be honest.

His conduct here isn't great, more importantly we've all seen him strolling around the pitch and objectively putting next to no effort in time and time again.

I think he gets upset with himself pretty easily. My guess is he went into this season in a state of desperation feeling like he had to match his numbers from last season and it came out on the pitch e.g. not passing the ball and trying to do it all on his own, and he basically just turned in on himself. And clearly he has a tendency to become quite petulant and unprofessional when things stop going his way.

Having said all that, I can't help but really like the guy. I think he's a great player when on form and if we're going to have a squad that competes for all honours in a few years, I'd love him to be a part of that squad. I think he has the ability to be a part of it too, not sure about the mentality.

Heart says keep, head says a good fee and we should probably sell.

Pickle85 said:

Who?! Marcus has been shown a lot of patience and understanding by most, particularly given how uninterested he routinely looks on the pitch. The players you seem to routinely defend (yes, you'll take issue with that term, I'm well aware) are Sancho, Greenwood and Rashford. It's odd.

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There’s no response that will garner a fruitful discussion here. What’s odd is bringing old shit into a new discussion.

I believe serial underachievement has been rewarded in this squad [Rashford included tbf] & not many, if any, of the current squad have hit the heights Rashford did last year so by that measure players that turn up overweight or who have their own off field issues used as an excuse for elongated poor form would fall into the small category of players given ‘more rope’. In my opinion of course.

It’s the same old replies from the same old posters about the same old players. How odd.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

There’s no response that will garner a fruitful discussion here. What’s odd is bringing old shit into a new discussion.

I believe serial underachievement has been rewarded in this squad [Rashford included tbf] & not many, if any, of the current squad have hit the heights Rashford did last year so by that measure players that turn up overweight or who have their own off field issues used as an excuse for elongated poor form would fall into the small category of players given ‘more rope’. In my opinion of course.

It’s the same old replies from the same old posters about the same old players. How odd.

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I've been very much on Rashford's side over the years. I was even defending him in that thread until it came out that he was out two nights in a row as opposed to just the one, and wasn't given permission.

Who, specifically, are those players given more rope?

Chumpsbechumps said:

Andy Cole scored 68 goals in 84 games at Newcastle. When he joined United he was asked to play a different role, more of a frontline team role.

I wouldn’t call Rashford better than Cole. I know what you mean, Rashford can be explosive at times , but he’s nowhere near the quality that Cole showed consistently.

You don’t retain a striker position in a league Dominating team as long as Cole did without having serious quality.

Not sure why Ole is being brought into the topic. I’d take both over Rashford because both consistently performed over multiple seasons. Potential does not trump actual productivity.

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That`s why Goal King Cole will always be remembered and respected by United fans. Loved seeing him in action with Dwight York as the terrible twins for the opposition and he also had the drive for success and self-discipline to overlook his personal problem with Teddy Sheringham.

Seeing Andy and Teddy working together on the pitch, you would never have thought they disliked each other. And that is what we haven`t seen enough of since Sir Alex - players putting their egos and personal feelings aside to combine for success after success.

Pickle85 said:

I've been very much on Rashford's side over the years. I was even defending him in that thread until it came out that he was out two nights in a row as opposed to just the one, and wasn't given permission.

Who, specifically, are those players given more rope?

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PM’d.

AFC NimbleThumb said:

PM’d.

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Bizarre way to have a discussion about football. Why even post on here if you won’t stand over your opinions in public?

Looking at this nightclub issue in isolation, I agree with a few posters that have said ‘much worse’ has gone on and he’s not on his own with this kind of behaviour.

But the trouble with Rashford here is that this isn’t an isolated piece. I’m not even talking about being late for training, I’m talking about his performances on the pitch.

I could forgive him for not scoring 20 goals so far this season. It’s a tough league. But I’ve watched him on more than a few occasions this season and been convinced he’s downed tools. He hasn’t tracked runners. Doesn’t close town. Jogs back when he should be bursting a gut. His performances have been a disgrace this season and that part is unforgivable for me.

He doesn’t have a right to score 20 goals in a season, what he does have though is the expectation to always go out and try his hardest. And that part he has completely failed on.

I can’t think of another player at a top side that has been accused of downing tools in recent years but he absolutely has given up on trying or putting in the required level of a player at his level.