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2020-21 Performances


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5.7 Season Average Rating
Appearances
57
Goals
21
Assists
11
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Teja

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I'll keep saying it every week, I just don't want to see him on the wings anymore. Martial is in horrendous form, stick Rashers up front and let Martial get his place back.
He's been terrible at CF when he's been given a run last season and I don't see why it'll change if he's given another run there.
 

Teja

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My problem with Rashford is that he seems to do all the hard bits okay but seems to panic whenever you expect him to do something simple (control an aerial ball, take a good first touch, finish 1v1 etc. etc.). If I had the time and energy, I could make a video compilation out of it just using clips this season.

I don't know if it's just lack of confidence or if he just has a total lack of composure. He fixed it briefly when he had that scoring run last season but seems to have reverted to being average again. Immensely frustrating because he has all the tools in the locker to be world class, just needs to do the simple things right.
 

ghaliboy

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He's been terrible at CF when he's been given a run last season and I don't see why it'll change if he's given another run there.
He's scored twice and assisted twice playing up front for us this season. I really don't get where this keeps coming from that he's somehow a crap striker and "one time, you know I dunno last year or sumfin. He was shit up front". It's weird. He's a striker and if you play him up front he'll score goals and if he doesn't score goals you can bring Martial in. Or we could even play them both together up front if we want to get the formation and midfield right.
 

Teja

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He's scored twice and assisted twice playing up front for us this season. I really don't get where this keeps coming from that he's somehow a crap striker and "one time, you know I dunno last year or sumfin. He was shit up front". It's weird. He's a striker and if you play him up front he'll score goals and if he doesn't score goals you can bring Martial in. Or we could even play them both together up front if we want to get the formation and midfield right.
It was barely a year ago and he got a solid 10 game run at CF where he was absolutely shit. You can look up threads like "It's time to burst Rashy's bubble" or YT highlights if you'd like more evidence. Nothing in his skillset is suited to him being a sole CF. He can't drop deep / link up play nor does he have that poacher's knack for getting goals. He's playing in his best position and is in shit form, no excuses.
 

ghaliboy

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It was barely a year ago and he got a solid 10 game run at CF where he was absolutely shit. You can look up threads like "It's time to burst Rashy's bubble" or YT highlights if you'd like more evidence. Nothing in his skillset is suited to him being a sole CF. He can't drop deep / link up play nor does he have that poacher's knack for getting goals. He's playing in his best position and is in shit form, no excuses.
I can't believe that even though I know these points are total drivel I actually looked this up. 5 starts up front 2 goals 1 assist, in October of 2019. So we're going back to some arbitrary period which we could then just go "but look when he started he was mad up front scoring goals and stuff innit". I don't need to go look at youtube highlights (why would I be looking at highlights to try and find negatives on a player...?) or a bunch of narrative threads (Raees even knows that thread was terrible) because I do this thing called watching the games and then formulating my opinion and then sharing this opinion with people. Occasionally I actually go back into the game logs and double check my work like I did above.

The points in bold are drivel, his linkup play is fine and has scored some good poachers goals from a variety of positions over the last two seasons. But your comment about being in shit form is definitely correct. Either way, I dont want to watch him play out wide anymore, it is a shitter and more unwatchable experience than a proposed "he was shit one time up front innit" anecdotal rendition of 'lets not play him up front'. I say we play him up front and jam Martial in there as well for shits and giggles, or we don't play him at all. Vice versa Martial.
 

Highfather_24

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He is not playing well. Ineffective against low blocks, and often loses the ball after a brain-dead run.

Is much better on the left, than at CF, because he has poor hold up skills and doesn't attack the box enough(like Martial). At least Martial has decent hold up play. But even he is off form.
 

Volumiza

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This guy is not as good as some of you think. Sorry. I like him, he’s obviously a great kid but I have stopped expecting any great improvement as a player now. A great game every now and then isn’t enough.
 

cyberman

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He gets in golden positions for goals every game. He has had 2 poor games and really should have scored in each.
He reminds me so much of Sterling pre Pep so hopefully he can grow just as well.
 

Born2Lose

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He seems to lack even the most basic understanding of what his position requires.

Felt yesterday vindicated Shaw a lot as Telles got very little help from Rashford either.
 

redDNA

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There's an arrogance him and Martial have,they always trying to turn a good goal into a better goal.

Nobody gives you two goals for scoring one beautiful goal,look at the chance he had ,instead of hitting it hard he went for a beauty, this is the difference between a good player and a great player, a draw and a win,a trophy and no trophy.
 

Idxomer

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He's probably the player who needs most better coaching and direction on the pitch.
 

Borys

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He seems to lack even the most basic understanding of what his position requires.

Felt yesterday vindicated Shaw a lot as Telles got very little help from Rashford either.
Not that I disagree, but I keep asking myself the same question. What his position requires? What position does he play anyway?
 

spiriticon

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He's probably my favourite player at the moment but let's be honest, he's another awful goal poacher.

He's a carbon copy of Martial, good player and scorer of good goals, but not a good goalscorer.
 

Volumiza

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He's probably my favourite player at the moment
What makes him your favourite player? What do you see that elevates him to that position?

I’ve seen some formidable attacking players here during my 35 years as a fan. Our current frontline in my view is one of, if not the weakest I’ve seen during that period.
 

spiriticon

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What makes him your favourite player? What do you see that elevates him to that position?

I’ve seen some formidable attacking players here during my 35 years as a fan. Our current frontline in my view is one of, if not the weakest I’ve seen during that period.
More of a romantic thing rather than a skill thing. Always nice to see someone from our academy make it big and he's a decent bloke as well.
 

Forevergiggs1

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More of a romantic thing rather than a skill thing. Always nice to see someone from our academy make it big and he's a decent bloke as well.
Being a decent bloke isn't going to win us trophies I'm afraid. I'm torn with Rashford. I keep thinking there's a great player somewhere inside him as we've all seen glimpses of it but I don't think under Ole (even though he was a great goal scorer himself) we're going to see the best of Rashford so I'm going to wait until we get a United quality manager before passing final judgement on him. Hopefully Rashford will still be in his 20s before that happens.
 

Dorris

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He's scored twice and assisted twice playing up front for us this season. I really don't get where this keeps coming from that he's somehow a crap striker and "one time, you know I dunno last year or sumfin. He was shit up front". It's weird. He's a striker and if you play him up front he'll score goals and if he doesn't score goals you can bring Martial in. Or we could even play them both together up front if we want to get the formation and midfield right.
He’s not a striker he can’t play with his back to goal, it’s that simple
 

HowieC

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He’s not a striker he can’t play with his back to goal, it’s that simple
IMO he is just not good enough.

Poor IQ. Poor and inconsistent technique where he seems to mess up even basic things like taking down aerial balls, making some space when receiving the ball with his back to goal.

For some reason this forum seems to think he is on the level or will eventually be on the level of players like son, mane, silva etc.

We will be waiting for him to “develop” till the cows come home.

Nothing more than a player to be used against teams that don’t respect us and give us (and him) plenty of space. Good bloke though.
 

WR10

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IMO he is just not good enough.

Poor IQ. Poor and inconsistent technique where he seems to mess up even basic things like taking down aerial balls, making some space when receiving the ball with his back to goal.

For some reason this forum seems to think he is on the level or will eventually be on the level of players like son, mane, silva etc.

We will be waiting for him to “develop” till the cows come home.

Nothing more than a player to be used against teams that don’t respect us and give us (and him) plenty of space. Good bloke though.
Bang. On.
I have been saying this for months on end. This kid really lacks any natural footballing ability and constantly works his arse off to make up for it in grit and determination. Ultimately his goals are a result of forced volume through him rather than pure brilliance. I love him as a human and respect his work ethic as a footballer however we’ve all been watching and playing football long enough to say no premier league footballer should be failing basic skills (first touch, space manipulation, protection of ball, chest control etc) as much as Rashford does.
 

Hansinity

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He is a good player. Thats it. But good is not enough when you strive for top spot as a club.

Many here like and overrate him for the obvious reasons.
 

ghaliboy

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He’s not a striker he can’t play with his back to goal, it’s that simple
He's a striker, he's played as a striker for most of his junior and senior career. It is that simple.

This is like Groundhog Day, if we bring in proper wide players the only spot he can play is up front and if he isn't a striker we might as well get rid of him if we're then just going to buy new/better strikers or always moan about wanting better strikers.
 

Bebestation

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I dont care what people say about this guy.

Compare Rashford's performances to Salahs performances, Manes performances, Sons performances, Sterlings performances, nearly everyone's bloody performances except in the Bundesliga he has been better than them at a similar age to them.

The problem is that we severely lack players in their prime and we rely on only players like Rashford at the age of his up and coming years of experience building.

The fact is if Liverpool didnt have anyone in their bloody prime and only Trent Alexander Arnold as a young player - he would do hardly anything for his club to the level we see now. However he plays as a young man in buck of 10 other players in their prime and it really benefits his strengths aswell as his weaknesses.

Who does this for Rashford? Bruno? The only player completely in his prime? Martial maybe but is he even good enough? Maguire at best?

We need players in their prime and stop with this youngster building crap. Appreciate the young players when we have them, but our main team needs to be in their prime to win.

We wont win a PL with a bunch of 22 year olds.
 

archiebald

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I dont care what people say about this guy.

Compare Rashford's performances to Salahs performances, Manes performances, Sons performances, Sterlings performances, nearly everyone's bloody performances except in the Bundesliga he has been better than them at a similar age to them.
All of those players you mentioned came good by 25 or earlier - Sterling saw massive improvements on his finishing and off the ball movement by as early as 23. One commonality amongst the players you mentioned is that their technical ability was never in doubt even in their early 20s, they just lacked end product and you can chalk this down to lack of coaching or experience.

The only thing Rashford can match any of them in is pace. His dribbling, first touch, passing and decision making are all a long way off. He got moved off to the wing because he doesnt have the skillset to play as a CF; however his pace opens up opportunities to hit teams on the break. It's similar to how AWB converted to being a fullback from a winger due to tackling being his only selling point.
 
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HowieC

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All of those players you mentioned came good by 25 or earlier - Sterling saw massive improvements on his finishing and off the ball movement by as early as 23. One commonality amongst the players you mentioned is that their technical ability was never in doubt even in their early 20s, they just lacked end product and you can chalk this down to lack of coaching or experience.

The only thing Rashford can match any of them in is pace. His dribbling, first touch, passing and decision making are all a long way off. He got moved off to the wing because he doesnt have the skillset to play as a CF; however his pace opens up opportunities to hit teams on the break. It's similar to how AWB converted to being a fullback from a winger due to tackling being his only selling point.
Exactly. His general play is so poor most of the time. I would have money on him immediately losing the ball if he doesn’t do a back pass 4/5 times when he receives it.

Frankly, I was shocked when we gave him the no. Ten shirt as that shirt normally goes to the most skilled player.

People say he is inconsistent, but i feel he’s consistently poor, with a few spurts of flashy plays, or counterattacking success.
 

P-Nut

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He seemed to start playing a lot deeper when he was playing through injury last season and he's never looked right since.

With Martial having been suspended and Greenwood having injury problems we've had no choice but to keep playing him. Shame we didn't win in Turkey as he could do with games once a week for a while.

I'm hoping Greenwood is back for Tuesday so we can rest him then, but it's unlikely.
 

Bebestation

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Exactly. His general play is so poor most of the time. I would have money on him immediately losing the ball if he doesn’t do a back pass 4/5 times when he receives it.

Frankly, I was shocked when we gave him the no. Ten shirt as that shirt normally goes to the most skilled player.

People say he is inconsistent, but i feel he’s consistently poor, with a few spurts of flashy plays, or counterattacking success.
@archiebald

But this is the problem I dont agree with.

I dont see why we should be here complaining about Rashford being the problem at 23 when we dont have a single person relatively good quality and at their prime except Bruno, Pogba, Maguire and maybe at Max; De gea.

You know very well I am pushing it.

What do you want Rashford to do?

Dribble through the team like he is Messi?

Be the one who makes the right cut throat passes whilst Mata, Mctomminay and Matic run on to them?

Like how would Rashford play in the same team with De Bryune and David Silva of couple seasons ago? Would you still be complaining about his poor decisions compared to him playing with Mata on the RW?


Is that genuinely because of his wrong mentality or because he has to be one of the main leaders at a club that has about 2 or 3 exceptional players at max in a game when we consistently have to put 11 out on a pitch.

I think Rashford can atleast project as much as Nani can at the club but it's not his fault that there is no equivalent of Ronaldo or Rooney or Scholes or Tevez types of players anymore. Nani was far more inconsistent than Rashford was but ultimately it didnt matter because we had more players in our squad in their prime doing the job for us overall.
 

Lentwood

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I'm going to make the same point I always make....once every 10/15 games Rashford will have a stormer. This almost exclusively happens against teams that play a high defensive line, giving him the opportunity to use his two key attributes - his pace and his direct runs. At about this time, a load of posters with nothing better to do trawl through the forums from the last 2/3 years ago and find quotes from posters who have criticised Rashford and attempt to shame us somehow with a snarky comment like 'not bad for the new Welbeck/a Championship player' or similar.

The trouble is, these games are the exceptions, not the norm. If I tagged all the pro-Rashford posters every time he was anonymous or had an outright stinker I'd be doing that 70/80% of the time after games.

I don't know why we never learn as Utd fans. We'll make every excuse in the book for a player. You've only got to look at the posts on this page...people blaming Ole...people saying 'try him at CF'...people comparing him to other players at a similar age...the fact is, I've seen all these excuses before made for other players and it never turns out well for us. In the case of Rashford, first it was LvGs fault...then Jose's...now Ole's. First it was because he was playing on the right, then it was that he was playing on the left...then he got a run of games at CF last Christmas time and it seemed to be almost universally agreed that he was horrendous and just not suited to the position. Guess what...slow start to this season and here we go again with the "try him at CF posts".

I've got to be clear - I am not saying Rashford is useless or isn't worth having as a squad player. What I am saying is that if posters think we're going to win titles or major trophies with Rashford as a regular starter I think they are sorely mistaken. He averages a goal about every four PL games (and some of those have been pens)...it's just nowhere near enough...and as I have said elsewhere, I wouldn't mind so much him not being prolific if his all-round game was better but at times his technique really does resemble a bottom-half PL player.

The majority of the time, United will face teams who deploy a low-block. When this is the case, we should be starting Mason, Cavani and Martial. These three are the best three finishers and the best at controlling and passing the ball in tight areas. We could then utilise Rashford as a fresh pair of legs around the hour mark as the opposition starts to tire. I think that would suit him down to the ground. It's no shame not to be good enough to start every week for Utd, plenty of players have made a career out of being good at coming on and impacting tight games...his current manager being a prime example!

Until we realise this, we will keep wondering why we are struggling to break teams down. I'm not pinning it all on Marcus but his being in the side impacts us negatively for two reasons. One, he isn't effective against a low-block. Two, it means Martial (who can be as an AMLF) is moved to CF to accommodate them both. I want to see Martial picking the ball up in wide/inside left positions and driving into the box, that's where he can be effective. against teams who sit deep.

Surely even the most pro-Rashford posters think it's worth a go? Rashford has been the one constant in this side that has failed to put away weaker teams at home. It's got to be time to give him a rest and try something a bit different for a handful of games at least.
 

archiebald

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I'm going to make the same point I always make....once every 10/15 games Rashford will have a stormer. This almost exclusively happens against teams that play a high defensive line, giving him the opportunity to use his two key attributes - his pace and his direct runs. At about this time, a load of posters with nothing better to do trawl through the forums from the last 2/3 years ago and find quotes from posters who have criticised Rashford and attempt to shame us somehow with a snarky comment like 'not bad for the new Welbeck/a Championship player' or similar.

The trouble is, these games are the exceptions, not the norm. If I tagged all the pro-Rashford posters every time he was anonymous or had an outright stinker I'd be doing that 70/80% of the time after games.

I don't know why we never learn as Utd fans. We'll make every excuse in the book for a player. You've only got to look at the posts on this page...people blaming Ole...people saying 'try him at CF'...people comparing him to other players at a similar age...the fact is, I've seen all these excuses before made for other players and it never turns out well for us. In the case of Rashford, first it was LvGs fault...then Jose's...now Ole's. First it was because he was playing on the right, then it was that he was playing on the left...then he got a run of games at CF last Christmas time and it seemed to be almost universally agreed that he was horrendous and just not suited to the position. Guess what...slow start to this season and here we go again with the "try him at CF posts".

I've got to be clear - I am not saying Rashford is useless or isn't worth having as a squad player. What I am saying is that if posters think we're going to win titles or major trophies with Rashford as a regular starter I think they are sorely mistaken. He averages a goal about every four PL games (and some of those have been pens)...it's just nowhere near enough...and as I have said elsewhere, I wouldn't mind so much him not being prolific if his all-round game was better but at times his technique really does resemble a bottom-half PL player.

The majority of the time, United will face teams who deploy a low-block. When this is the case, we should be starting Mason, Cavani and Martial. These three are the best three finishers and the best at controlling and passing the ball in tight areas. We could then utilise Rashford as a fresh pair of legs around the hour mark as the opposition starts to tire. I think that would suit him down to the ground. It's no shame not to be good enough to start every week for Utd, plenty of players have made a career out of being good at coming on and impacting tight games...his current manager being a prime example!

Until we realise this, we will keep wondering why we are struggling to break teams down. I'm not pinning it all on Marcus but his being in the side impacts us negatively for two reasons. One, he isn't effective against a low-block. Two, it means Martial (who can be as an AMLF) is moved to CF to accommodate them both. I want to see Martial picking the ball up in wide/inside left positions and driving into the box, that's where he can be effective. against teams who sit deep.

Surely even the most pro-Rashford posters think it's worth a go? Rashford has been the one constant in this side that has failed to put away weaker teams at home. It's got to be time to give him a rest and try something a bit different for a handful of games at least.
Great post and agree fully with your suggestion and assessment of Rashford. However it's going to take a manager with bigger cojones than Ole to demote a 200k per week player to the bench and have him play an impact sub role for more than half of the PL games.
 

DRM

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Great post and agree fully with your suggestion and assessment of Rashford. However it's going to take a manager with bigger cojones than Ole to demote a 200k per week player to the bench and have him play an impact sub role for more than half of the PL games.
My Rashy shall always play.

But in all seriousness, I think Rashford isn't fully fit, he seems to be playing with the brakes on (if that makes sense?). We really should've gone all out for Greilish who not only would've provided adequate cover but also good competition to Rashford.
 

jamesjimmybyrondean

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I'm going to make the same point I always make....once every 10/15 games Rashford will have a stormer. This almost exclusively happens against teams that play a high defensive line, giving him the opportunity to use his two key attributes - his pace and his direct runs. At about this time, a load of posters with nothing better to do trawl through the forums from the last 2/3 years ago and find quotes from posters who have criticised Rashford and attempt to shame us somehow with a snarky comment like 'not bad for the new Welbeck/a Championship player' or similar.

The trouble is, these games are the exceptions, not the norm. If I tagged all the pro-Rashford posters every time he was anonymous or had an outright stinker I'd be doing that 70/80% of the time after games.

I don't know why we never learn as Utd fans. We'll make every excuse in the book for a player. You've only got to look at the posts on this page...people blaming Ole...people saying 'try him at CF'...people comparing him to other players at a similar age...the fact is, I've seen all these excuses before made for other players and it never turns out well for us. In the case of Rashford, first it was LvGs fault...then Jose's...now Ole's. First it was because he was playing on the right, then it was that he was playing on the left...then he got a run of games at CF last Christmas time and it seemed to be almost universally agreed that he was horrendous and just not suited to the position. Guess what...slow start to this season and here we go again with the "try him at CF posts".

I've got to be clear - I am not saying Rashford is useless or isn't worth having as a squad player. What I am saying is that if posters think we're going to win titles or major trophies with Rashford as a regular starter I think they are sorely mistaken. He averages a goal about every four PL games (and some of those have been pens)...it's just nowhere near enough...and as I have said elsewhere, I wouldn't mind so much him not being prolific if his all-round game was better but at times his technique really does resemble a bottom-half PL player.

The majority of the time, United will face teams who deploy a low-block. When this is the case, we should be starting Mason, Cavani and Martial. These three are the best three finishers and the best at controlling and passing the ball in tight areas. We could then utilise Rashford as a fresh pair of legs around the hour mark as the opposition starts to tire. I think that would suit him down to the ground. It's no shame not to be good enough to start every week for Utd, plenty of players have made a career out of being good at coming on and impacting tight games...his current manager being a prime example!

Until we realise this, we will keep wondering why we are struggling to break teams down. I'm not pinning it all on Marcus but his being in the side impacts us negatively for two reasons. One, he isn't effective against a low-block. Two, it means Martial (who can be as an AMLF) is moved to CF to accommodate them both. I want to see Martial picking the ball up in wide/inside left positions and driving into the box, that's where he can be effective. against teams who sit deep.

Surely even the most pro-Rashford posters think it's worth a go? Rashford has been the one constant in this side that has failed to put away weaker teams at home. It's got to be time to give him a rest and try something a bit different for a handful of games at least.
Good post and especially like the suggestion of Martial Cavani Greenwood against low blocks as it could be a massive help
 

RUCK4444

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Lad had a poor game but he's the last of our worries really. I don't like that he drops deep and tries pinging passes forwards for other (slower and less equipped) players to run onto.

He should be on the shoulder of players or hugging the touchline imo to stretch the opponents. This would suit his best attributes, pace and ability to run passed players.

I feel part of the problem we have with breaking teams down is our lack of width, no natural wingers stretching the opponent and no natural attacking fullbacks to do so either (other than perhaps Telles.)

The forwards we have all like to run into central positions, with and without the ball, probably because they are not natural wingers and all have been strikers previously. I definitely feel some width and overlapping fb's would help but it comes back to us being weak in the DM position where all that falls down and we become fragile meaning we can't play that way, imo at least.
 

HowieC

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I'm going to make the same point I always make....once every 10/15 games Rashford will have a stormer. This almost exclusively happens against teams that play a high defensive line, giving him the opportunity to use his two key attributes - his pace and his direct runs. At about this time, a load of posters with nothing better to do trawl through the forums from the last 2/3 years ago and find quotes from posters who have criticised Rashford and attempt to shame us somehow with a snarky comment like 'not bad for the new Welbeck/a Championship player' or similar.

The trouble is, these games are the exceptions, not the norm. If I tagged all the pro-Rashford posters every time he was anonymous or had an outright stinker I'd be doing that 70/80% of the time after games.

I don't know why we never learn as Utd fans. We'll make every excuse in the book for a player. You've only got to look at the posts on this page...people blaming Ole...people saying 'try him at CF'...people comparing him to other players at a similar age...the fact is, I've seen all these excuses before made for other players and it never turns out well for us. In the case of Rashford, first it was LvGs fault...then Jose's...now Ole's. First it was because he was playing on the right, then it was that he was playing on the left...then he got a run of games at CF last Christmas time and it seemed to be almost universally agreed that he was horrendous and just not suited to the position. Guess what...slow start to this season and here we go again with the "try him at CF posts".

I've got to be clear - I am not saying Rashford is useless or isn't worth having as a squad player. What I am saying is that if posters think we're going to win titles or major trophies with Rashford as a regular starter I think they are sorely mistaken. He averages a goal about every four PL games (and some of those have been pens)...it's just nowhere near enough...and as I have said elsewhere, I wouldn't mind so much him not being prolific if his all-round game was better but at times his technique really does resemble a bottom-half PL player.

The majority of the time, United will face teams who deploy a low-block. When this is the case, we should be starting Mason, Cavani and Martial. These three are the best three finishers and the best at controlling and passing the ball in tight areas. We could then utilise Rashford as a fresh pair of legs around the hour mark as the opposition starts to tire. I think that would suit him down to the ground. It's no shame not to be good enough to start every week for Utd, plenty of players have made a career out of being good at coming on and impacting tight games...his current manager being a prime example!

Until we realise this, we will keep wondering why we are struggling to break teams down. I'm not pinning it all on Marcus but his being in the side impacts us negatively for two reasons. One, he isn't effective against a low-block. Two, it means Martial (who can be as an AMLF) is moved to CF to accommodate them both. I want to see Martial picking the ball up in wide/inside left positions and driving into the box, that's where he can be effective. against teams who sit deep.

Surely even the most pro-Rashford posters think it's worth a go? Rashford has been the one constant in this side that has failed to put away weaker teams at home. It's got to be time to give him a rest and try something a bit different for a handful of games at least.
Very good post.

Feel that Rashford is the beneficiary of a lot of top-reddism. Frankly the caf is rather RAWK-ish for a homegrown player like Marcus.

There’s nothing wrong with critiquing our own players, its a united fan not a rashford fan page.

Honestly, I don’t think we can return to the top with him in the first 11.

Feels like being one man down against teams that sit back.
 

Volumiza

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Feel that Rashford is the beneficiary of a lot of top-reddism. Frankly the caf is rather RAWK-ish for a homegrown player like Marcus.
I agree with this.

Honestly, I don’t think we can return to the top with him in the first 11.

Feels like being one man down against teams that sit back.
I don't agree with this though. There's not many better options anywhere than Marcus as our left sided attacker. My main issue with him is when both he and Martial aren't doing well, it's tough to watch as they're so similar in some respects and when they both go missing then it renders our forward line almost useless.

I think Marcus on the left of a proper CF is perfectly capable of being in a title winning team. Marcus is quality, just infuriatingly inconsistent.
 

Adam-Utd

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He's at his best when he's got competition. No surprise he had his best season when Dan James was giving him a bit of a challenge, now he's disappeared and Rashford has gone back to taking it a bit easier.
 

poleglass red

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Maybe with a more physical centre forward Rash could play off him in a front 2. We saw the shambles of the Arsenal game where Rash played with Greenwood in a 2, both were pushed around like little boys by their backline. I feel both Rash and Greenwood would both benefit from playing of Cavani in a 2, he would be that focal point that never of them are. Martial can get hold the ball up, but he's just not clinical enough and there isn't enough to his overall game to carry him when he can't finish. Not sure where Cavani is in terms of playing 90 mins, but him plus one of Rash or Greenwood is an option I'd like to see.
 

Plymouth Red

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The problem is, you can't be 'quality' and inconsistent.

If a restaurant served great food only once every five times you visited, would you keep going back? No, I'm guessing.

Truly top players are consistent and can be relied on. The best forwards will take their routine chances and along the way there will be some worldies thrown in for good measure. Coaches and team mates know they can be relied on the great majority of the time, acknowledging no-one gets it right 100% of the time. Rashford's nowhere near this standing.

Rashford was quality when playing at a level where he could stand out more easily. Now, at the highest level, he (and Martial) are found sadly wanting four times out of five.
 
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