Why are we so sentimental about Marcus Rashford?

[JPRouve]

When it comes to Rashford I share both main viewpoints. Rashford has been pretty bad since his back injury, he has failed to reach his best previous level of performance, even for a single game/half game. On that point I agree with the people who criticized him, particularly when his selfishness has increased despite a lack of end product and he has been visibly frustrated for a while.

Now I'm the type of person that wants to know why and how things happen, mainly because I want to be sure that things aren't fixable before giving up and that's where my support of most players comes from, we can't all agree on the fact that the club and the coaching staff have been subpar and also expect players to not be affected by these issues, ideally I want to see ten Hag try to put many of our players on the right tracks, find why they stopped developing, regressed or have grown frustrated maybe he can find a solution for many of them, now if he can't then a new club could be the answer.

On a side note, people should remember that one of the club cult hero, Eric Cantona had issues with almost all the clubs he played for, he was worse than any of our current players but SAF found a way to communicate and provide Cantona comfort. United fans should always remember that, psychology and reaching out to people is important and can fix many issues.

 

[Dan_F]

We’ll see if we’ve learnt and if Woodward going will really change anything. We’re under no pressure to offer a new contract as he effectively has two years remaining. There’s no way he’s playing better than he was when he signed this contract, so he doesn’t get improved terms.

It doesn’t mean he needs to be sold though. All these problems we have are linked, and ultimately it’s up to ETH to figure it all out. We’ve seen that signing a new player and replacing one out of form does nothing. Sancho has looked terrible compared to his Dortmund form and I’ve no doubt whoever we put in last season would be the same.

 

[Swiss_Red89]

Because I assume most of us fell in love at one point with Marcus Rashford. His story was nearly too good to be true. But despite being inconsistent, he backed it up with a lot of quality moments over the years.

This season the patience has come to an end with a lot of fans, I can't really see a lot of sentiment anymore when it comes to him.

There is only a minority of the fanbase (at least within redcafe), me included, who still has hope for him under a new manager and a fresh start that he can come good again.

 

[Withnail]

When it comes to Rashford I share both main viewpoints. Rashford has been pretty bad since his back injury, he has failed to reach his best previous level of performance, even for a single game/half game. On that point I agree with the people who criticized him, particularly when his selfishness has increased despite a lack of end product and he has been visibly frustrated for a while.

Now I'm the type of person that wants to know why and how things happen, mainly because I want to be sure that things aren't fixable before giving up and that's where my support of most players comes from, we can't all agree on the fact that the club and the coaching staff have been subpar and also expect players to not be affected by these issues, ideally I want to see ten Hag try to put many of our players on the right tracks, find why they stopped developing, regressed or have grown frustrated maybe he can find a solution for many of them, now if he can't then a new club could be the answer.

On a side note, people should remember that one of the club cult hero, Eric Cantona had issues with almost all the clubs he played for, he was worse than any of our current players but SAF found a way to communicate and provide Cantona comfort. United fans should always remember that, psychology and reaching out to people is important and can fix many issues.

Well said.

I find the opinion that we need to ship out the whole squad, Rashford included, bizarre to the say the least. Especially so, when practically everyone agrees that the squad has been woefully mismanaged. It may well be that Rashford and a lot of the squad are not of the level required but if EtH is as good as we think he is then he should be able to get a tune out of most of these players.

 

[Rood]

Rashford has had one bad season (anyone who says it's more that is simply wrong, just check his G+A last few years) after major surgery and the whole team playing shite

Yes he's been abysmal this season but his past record means he deserves a chance to get back to what he was

The amount of hate he gets on here is ridiculous (mostly based on made up ideas of being a problem in the dressing room etc) even if Rashford never scores a goal for us again, I'll be proud of what this local lad achieved on and off the field

 

[charlenefan]

English, club dna, soul of the club etc…the usual drivel.

This is why academy products are a double edged sword.If they are not good enough, the excuses for them are endless and it is more difficult to let them go.

Bet Martial and Nani don’t get half the number of excuses offered up for rashford despite being arguably more talented.

bullshit on multiple levels

 

[Frank Grimes]

I doubt anyone hates Rashford. It is alright to think a player who has been shite for 16 months and looks like he is regressing should be sold if the right offer comes in. Ferguson sold Paul Ince and Jaap Stam at their peak.

 

[Trigg]

He's one of our own, played through some quite serious injuries/fitness problems when we were desperate not to mention all his hard work off the field makes me proud. There's no doubt his form dropped this season (who's didn't?) but lets be honest he's probably mentally and physically fatigued and I feel its in situations like this where he needs fans support.

I'm at a miss as to why any fan wouldn't support him to be honest.

 

[glasgow 21]

i think we still have time with Marcus Rashford. Last season was post op and season before ,when he was playing , clearly he was hurting every time he went down or challenged on that shoulder. He is 24 so lets see a pre-season under ten hag and what he is like after that with a proper manager. Until then i will postpone judgement.

 

[Raoul]

I'd love him to prove us all wrong. But I just don't think he's quite as good as we thought / hoped he was.

I'd agree with this. He could be a 20 goal player, which is what he was the previous two years. Not sure if he could do that again given the players and tactics the new manager will employ.

 

[calodo2003]

Why do people care about what he does off the field & use that to excuse his on-field shittiness? I just can’t get my head around it.

What he does off the field should have no bearing on what he does on the field. Sentimentality doesn’t win us hardware.

 

[Frank White]

Why do people care about what he does off the field & use that to excuse his on-field shittiness? I just can’t get my head around it.

What he does off the field should have no bearing on what he does on the field. Sentimentality doesn’t win us hardware.

Who does that? If anything his off the pitch work is used as another stick to beat him with. Literally nobody says "he's helping feed the hungry, so start him against Palace midweek"

 

[Strootman's Finger]

Rashford has had one bad season (anyone who says it's more that is simply wrong, just check his G+A last few years) after major surgery and the whole team playing shite

Yes he's been abysmal this season but his past record means he deserves a chance to get back to what he was

The amount of hate he gets on here is ridiculous (mostly based on made up ideas of being a problem in the dressing room etc) even if Rashford never scores a goal for us again, I'll be proud of what this local lad achieved on and off the field

Someone can get a few goals and assists and still play poorly. In his last 4 years or so Rooney managed decent numbers, but that doesn't tell you the story of how he negatively affected the whole teams play while on the pitch. Sure he scored 12 goals in 13/14, but that doesn't tell you how many attacks broke down because his cowardly play, where he would receive the ball on a counterattacking move, stop, turn, and pass the ball back, thus ending the attack. It doesn't tell you how many times someone passed to him and it bounced off him like he was a barn door, and how many more attack broke down that way.

 

[calodo2003]

Who does that? If anything his off the pitch work is used as another stick to beat him with. Literally nobody says "he's helping feed the hungry, so start him against Palace midweek"

Look at any post on this thread defending him. It’s always ‘what he does on & off the pitch.’ The off the pitch shit shouldn’t matter over his on the pitch output. That’s where sentimentality is coming into play.

 

[Strootman's Finger]

Why do people care about what he does off the field & use that to excuse his on-field shittiness? I just can’t get my head around it.

What he does off the field should have no bearing on what he does on the field. Sentimentality doesn’t win us hardware.

It shouldn't have any bearing, but it clearly does, so of course people are going to mention it.

 

[quirkey]

Because he is a local, homegrown striker. How many top clubs produce their own centre forwards? Very few, if any. He embodies what supporting a football club is all about, hope. Sadly that hope is evaporating with every appearance, but I doubt there are many on here who don’t ‘hope’ that ten Hag can get a tune out of him.

 

[Strootman's Finger]

Because he is a local, homegrown striker. How many top clubs produce their own centre forwards? Very few, if any. He embodies what supporting a football club is all about, hope. Sadly that hope is evaporating with every appearance, but I doubt there are many on here who don’t ‘hope’ that ten Hag can get a tune out of him.

I don't hope for that at all, I just want him to leave. I won't forgive his attitude this season, no fan should, he's taken the piss out of us.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

The obsession with deriding this guy is weird. The same fanbase that think McT is a ‘decent squad player’.

 

[SirAnderson]

according to reports

if reports are to be believed

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are here is where you went wrong.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

I don't hope for that at all, I just want him to leave. I won't forgive his attitude this season, no fan should, he's taken the piss out of us.

 

[Strootman's Finger]

I don't hope for that at all, I just want him to leave. I won't forgive his attitude this season, no fan should, he's taken the piss out of us.

Why is that funny? Think about the emotions people have attached to United, what it means to people when United play on the weekend. Think about the money people spend to support United, whether it's going to games, buying merchandise, and this guy comes on against one of our biggest rivals, our city rival, if anyone should be up for it, it's him, and he just strolls around the pitch, losses possession and couldn't give a toss. If you think this guy cares about you, or any fan, or the club then you are deluded. And on top of that, he's shite.

 

[Rood]

Someone can get a few goals and assists and still play poorly. In his last 4 years or so Rooney managed decent numbers, but that doesn't tell you the story of how he negatively affected the whole teams play while on the pitch. Sure he scored 12 goals in 13/14, but that doesn't tell you how many attacks broke down because his cowardly play, where he would receive the ball on a counterattacking move, stop, turn, and pass the ball back, thus ending the attack. It doesn't tell you how many times someone passed to him and it bounced off him like he was a barn door, and how many more attack broke down that way.

This thread is about Rashford, not Rooney

And Rashford scored 21 goals + 13 assists the season before - it's not just good numbers, it's an outstanding return for a wide player who isn't taking pens, plus he played half the season with injury (a massive mistake in hindsight and no doubt part of his current issues)

 

[Crashoutcassius]

His confidence has been lacking for around 2 years.
That's not a temporary issue anymore.

Our unwillingness to let go of poorly performing footballers and making excuses for them has culminated in our most disastrous league season in the modern era.

People have said this his whole career which is proof it is not a reflection of his form. As soon as his form dipped people jumped on him. Everyone has been mostly terrible in that time

 

[justsomebloke]

I don't think it's an over exaggeration to think that if Rashfords form of the last couple of seasons carries on into next season he could very well go down the Theo Walcott route which would include clubs like you've mentioned.

It's still to early to mention those type of clubs but on the other hand mentioning clubs like PSG, Bayern, Barca and Liverpool are as far fetched for me as Brighton and Everton are for you.

It doesn't matter how far fetched it is to you, these are the kind of clubs he's being linked with in transfer rumours. Which even if they would be made-up says something about what people consider plausible.

Of course things can continue to go South, it's always possible. But equally there's no obvious reason why he shouldn't be able to revert to the form of the previous two seasons.

Marcus Rashford linked with possible move to PSG (thetopflight.com)
Rashford makes decision on Man Utd future with Bayern Munich 'keeping an eye on' his situation (football365.com)

 

[Frank White]

Look at any post on this thread defending him. It’s always ‘what he does on & off the pitch.’ The off the pitch shit shouldn’t matter over his on the pitch output. That’s where sentimentality is coming into play.

One guy on the 1st page said that he thinks the reason why people are sentimental towards him is because he built a huge amount of capital with his community work. He didn't use that as a reason to defend him and as far as I can see no one else said anything so......

 

[Loon]

Be wonderful if ten Hag could get a tune out of him.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

I would say the opposite actually, he gets far too much personal abuse considering what he’s done for Manchester and his overall service to the club. There is no doubt that he was absolutely shite this season though and it’s a results game. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but if he starts next season the same then he might be busted flush and more suitable to mid-table like Welbeck. Football waits on nobody.

 

[tjb]

What made me like Rashford was that, even though I wasn't a fan of either Rashford or Martial, I felt that his willingness to improve and develop would lead to him becoming a decent player for us. I didn't like either Martial or Rashford because I felt our fans had always overrated their abilities at the cost of us finding better solutions to our attacking issues. Statement like Ibra hindering Rashford and Martials development really annoyed me at the time. However, seeing Rashford actually try to expand his game, seeing him try to carry is in the first half of 19/20 and the fact that he was looking at making things better for others made him very likable for me.

I do agree with posters suggesting that time is needed with him. However, there are two major issues for me:
1. The contract - He's not worth what he's being paid and any further increase would be supremely annoying. For me, he's a Damian Duff or Joe Cole being paid and treated like a Hazard.

2. The locker room leaks - There is a lot of mistrust, particular toward the British portion of our squad as that is clearly where most of the leaks are coming from. The expectation that has been portrayed by the media is that home grown/ British players are more likely to fully understand the club, which insinuates they would cause less issues. However that has clearly not been the case at United. For me, he was never going to be a superstar. So hearing stories of him pouting at managers not utilizing him properly or crying about his position has been annoying.

Our fans clearly overrated him as they do with any homegrown player, but I believe there is still a good player there

 

[Fearthegrimp]

We're too fecking sentimental. We'll never be successful again until we forget about sentimentality.

 

[Suedesi]

Despite being a shadow of his former self and according to reports, one of the voices of toxicity in the United dressing room, Marcus Rashford will not be sold this season. In fact the greater likelihood is that he will be offered a new contract on enhanced terms (possibly £300k+ per week) making him almost impossible to sell if his form does not improve.

Yes Rashford is United by and man. One of a succession of players to emerge from the clubs youth academy and one who when he burst onto the scene looked destined for greatness. Yet, the fact is that whilst Rashford does indeed have the potential for greatness, potential is not realisation. To a large extent in recent seasons and particularly since his back injury Rashford has flattered to deceive. Not only that but his extra-curricular activities and rise to global prominence, lauded by royalty and former President Barack Obama, has given him an other worldly status. Again, if reports are to be believed the adulation and words in his ear may be going to his head. If I recall correctly, Sir Alex Ferguson let David Beckham go for less than this.

Honestly, I do not see Marcus Rashford fulfilling his potential at United. I genuinely think that ship has sailed. I am not saying that he has reached his peak. Far from it, he has plenty of headroom, but just not at United. He desperately needs a new challenge and United desperately need fresh blood.

However, for reasons of pure sentimentally we (the club and fans) seem unwilling to let him go. Seemingly our whole approach is based on hope rather than expectation.

What are your thoughts?

Marcus is not United quality and never has been. He's got an amazing PR team and Kelly Hogarth deserve every penny as she's made made everyone believe that because he's a super decent human that makes him a super decent player as well.

 

[Ali Dia]

I’m definitely over the Rashford thing but I would love for ETH to get him to improve his workrate and on field passion. He’s a good athlete who looks to have lost his spark. As I said above I’d be very very very wary of giving him the type of contract he’s going to want to stay around. It’s our own fault. We’ve created this monster

 

[InspiRED]

I mean yeah honestly we probably don’t need another thread on this. I’m sure many fans feel generally like this.

Rewinding back to LVG era, Rashford was everything I loved about the club and the first name I wanted to see on the team sheet. He gave it everything and what he lacked in composure he made up for with heart in buckets. During Mourinho era I felt he deserved more game time, when he did come off the bench he was usually really effective.

it was Ole’s era ruined him for me. His attitude seemed to change around this time like he was being indulged. You’d notice when he didn’t get the ball he wanted from a teammate he would make over the top visibly exasperated body movements. He also picked up the habit of trying to beat 5 men with one dribble and doing things like shooting from 45 yards with teammates in obviously reachable better positions. I think it was like one of the only times some of his dribbling skills have come off that he beat a Brighton player with an elastico trick and then provided an assist from it. It was in isolation, outstanding, and made his YouTube highlights reel for ever more. Yet it was apparent these moments of magic were being served with 80% dross the rest of the time.

Myself and a fair few other posters around this time pointed this out and generally took absolute pelters for it. Everything was then compounded by rumours of a new mega bucks contract. Some of us couldn’t believe it, that a young player was being rewarded for such inconsistency as it was starkly the exact opposite to how SAF would keep young players feet on the ground. Fast forward to today and it still staggers me that Marcus earns more than Son, who has been remarkably consistent for season upon season, not just putting up goals and assists but generally rarely losing the ball and being an absolute top player. Think Rashford is about paywise parity with Kane, let that sink in.

I watched that documentary about feeding the kids, hard to watch that and think Rashford was motivated by his own star alone. His heart was obviously tied to the cause. Nevertheless, the whole thing shot his fame and social status into the stratosphere and he became a virtual walking goldmine for any brand that wants a positive bit of publicity. There is no question that this later stage effect has changed the Rashford we knew under LVG, into a social icon and worldwide brand. The only problem with that is his star as a football player has kept nowhere near the pace. When forced to play in a team that is trying to strategically exert control, he is an absolute liability and looks sorely out of place because he takes high risk high reward choices which, usually and totally statistically predictability, do not come off and put the entire team under pressure. To compound matters further, his attitude has absolutely got worse. Some of us pointed it out years ago but it is now the majority view point with it being highlighted by pundits In post match analysis, with him walking or jogging around while the team is getting battered,

in totality, it is simply a demonstration of the results of poor leadership at the club. SAF would have nipped this shite in the bud from literally the first moment he saw it started to happen. Instead we have somehow gone along with it because, who knows because. The net result is we now have this sulking, global icon prima Donna who is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is and is impossible to move on owing tothe ridiculous contract he’s on.

i hope he can recover and come back stronger and be that few years later of LVG Rashford that we all wanted. But he has a lot to repay now, his attitude has obviously gone sour. His branding importance, arguably not really his own fault, is so prominent that it’s inevitable he will have sycophants blowing smoke up his arse as they try to coin it. But for Man Utd the football club, it’s just a giant and massively irritating distraction as we deal with the worst season in living memory. Can ETH help him turn it round? Let’s hope so, but his stock has fallen incredibly low in my eyes.

Apologies for the essay, but I felt a rant was needed.

 

[Frank Grimes]

No coincidence that Martial and Rashford's best season were that behind closed doors asterisk season(s). As soon as the crowds returned so did reality.

 

[Rayman96]

Ive said this before on other threads.

Name one player who has played at the level Rashford has for the last 18 months and resurrected his career to a level where we think he will be an asset at the level we want at Utd.
I have thought long and hard and I cannot think of a single one... ever, yet there are still large sections of Utd fans who think he is going to be the one that will turn it all around.

Its delusional rubbish. I would bet anyone all I have that he never gets even close to his best form ever again. I would take 10 mill if some mug would give us it because this time next year, you couldnt give him away

 

[Jibbs]

Academy graduate, Manc, English, a huge proponent of Black rights, Media Savvy, A very good human... all these these things cloud our judgement that he's a very mediocre footballer.

 

[pascell]

Dislike him because he's not good enough and he's lazy.

He's quick enough to tell us how much of a United fan he is, yet his lack of performances and work rate vs Liverpool and City suggest otherwise.

Lack of confidence doesn't wash as an excuse towards his lack of work ethic on the pitch.

 

[UTD_Since_1978]

He's a nice guy from a humble background but I judge him by his on field performances & his form has been awful for a while now, whether yer man ETH can get him playing good again remains to be seen, me personally, I would sell him this summer.

 

[VidaRed]

I don't hope for that at all, I just want him to leave. I won't forgive his attitude this season, no fan should, he's taken the piss out of us.

Agreed.

Disgusted that he'll be here next season prancing about whilst delivering feck all except apology posts over social media.

 

[Greck]

Who does that? If anything his off the pitch work is used as another stick to beat him with. Literally nobody says "he's helping feed the hungry, so start him against Palace midweek"

Well he didn't actually say anything this extreme (re starting privileges). His off the pitch work however does get cited for why he's a bigger asset to the club. That isn't really up for question, even if it was or wasn't said in a 2 page thread. What is up for question is whether it should even matter to the club when we talk about his value as a football asset. There's a real question to be asked on whether there's sentiment involved in how he's assessed.

 

[Rayman96]

Because he's proven to be a talented young player over the last few years, with room to develop into a quality striker that the club acquired for free. He's an asset.

Side note: why do so many of our fans mock the club because they look for certain desirable traits in a player - otherwise known as United DNA - before signing them?

Yeah thank god we aren't adopting that ridiculous strategy that City and Liverpool use when signing players. Look at the state they are in.
We definitely wouldn't have that happy, harmonious, hardworking, never say die, super team we have without the good old Utd DNA