Nope. That was never my point. I tried to explain it in a simple way due to not wanting to have to type out a PHD thesis in every post - however, I have realised that’s not the way to do it because if you leave any kind of ambiguity in your argument people on this forum will manipulate it.
So here’s my argument in full. Broken down for ease of reading/understanding.
1) I only care about what our players achieve in the PL, for the most part. We play 60+ games in all competitions, which is more than most other teams in the league. We also play more cup games than most other teams in the league, and very often they are more open/against moderate opponents. Therefore, when I am evaluating a players contributions, I’m looking predominantly at their contribution in PL games.
2) I don’t know where this sudden obsession with assists has come from but it’s not really a great measure of performance on it’s own. We all know not all assists are created equal. Pogba could play a 60 yard pass which Rashford rolls sideways to Bruno, who then scores from 35 yards and that’s an assist for Rashford. Likewise, of course goals are important in football but again, not all goals are created equal. There’s more context needed to understand how these goals where scored, when they were scored, who they where scored against, what state was the game at when they where scored etc..Basically, what I am saying is only looking at a players statistics is really only half of the picture at best.
3) Now, as a pointed out elsewhere (and have since been misrepresented over and over again), some players get SO MANY goals and assists that there is an argument to say that that is a good contribution in and of itself. If you imagine a graph with “performance” across the horizontal axis and “goals/assists” across the vertical, the very best players would obviously be top right - however, most players aren’t Messi/Ronaldo so there is a trade-off. Now, my point remains, if a player puts in average performances but scores/assists a tonne of goals, then I might be willing to overlook their shortcomings. I’m thinking someone like Bruno here, to a certain degree. Personally, I think his all-round game is so-so. He makes plenty of mistakes, gives the ball away on a regular basis etc., etc...however, for a midfielder, his numbers are very good. Plus, his work-rate and obvious threat occupy the opposition and free up space/creates chances for others.
4) So, following on from Pt.4, and please re-read that whenever you feel inclined to misrepresent my point, Rashford, by fairly common consensus, is a very “hit and miss” player. When he is good, he can be very good. When he is bad, he stinks the place out. The trouble is, there are more “bad” games than there are good. I don’t think that’s a controversial opinion. Even his biggest fans accept he was poor at times last season and at least half of the season before. There may be excuses, there may not be, that can be argued elsewhere. So, for a player to be regularly average/below average and play for a club like Utd with aspirations for titles and trophies, I’d be expecting excellent numbers. Currently Rashford averages a goal every 4/5 PL games and about the same with regard assists. I don’t call that “excellent”. I don’t even really call it “very good”. I think we can debate somewhere between “decent and good”.
5) You say “eye-test” as if in someway mocking or making light of the fact that someone can claim to be able to tell something about a player over and above just looking at their statistics, which I find bizarre. Of course the “eye-test” is important, otherwise why would clubs employ hundreds of Scouts? Why wouldn’t they just go on the Premier League website and sign whichever player posts the best numbers? An experienced footballer/watcher of football can see things in the “mundane” moments of a football game that are not caught by statistics, or at least not the one’s freely available and or used by your average fan. Take the Europa League final...how many times did Rashford make an unforced error? Who is measuring that? I don’t have the statistics, I only have my “eye-test”. How many times did Rashford stand and watch as Cavani (11 years his senior) run past him to close an opponent down or make a tackle? How many times did Rashford make the wrong choice? Where are the statistics for that? The fact is, football will always be subjective. The problem for the pro-Rashford posters is statistics are all they have at the moment because 70% of his performances stink and perhaps even more damning, his attitude looks off, for whatever reason.
6) I never set out with an agenda to pan Rashford. I have no agenda against any of our players. If I was asked to give my honest opinion on Rashford I would say “average PL inside-forward/winger”. I’m not claiming he’s crap or useless or should be sold. I will consistently question the people who make excuses for him over and over and question why other players aren’t afforded the same luxury? I class Rashford as about as good/on a level with Scott McTominay, but I love Scott McTominay and I bet you can’t find a damning post from me about him. And the reason for that is mainly because I don’t have to hear nonsense on a daily basis about how McTominay is ‘as good as Scholes/Gerrard/Vieira/Keane’ or is a ‘world class talent’. People just accept his limitations and provide a reasonable analysis of his performances. For some reason, that doesn’t seem to be applied to Rashford, who is just wildly over-rated for whatever reason.
