Why have we started playing Rashford on the right?

[croadyman]

It is almost as if the club has told Ole that they are not going to buy a RW and he has to convert Rashford/Greenwood into one

I know some people would say don't be so dramatic but it does feel like that might be the case right now

 

[VivaRonaldo85]

He’s being asked to play on the right, not in goal. I’m not his biggest fan but doing the same job but from the other side of the pitch rarely proves to be catastrophic for players less talented than him.

I don’t understand why a supposed top player would be so flummoxed by that. How many lads every week start askew of their ideal position? Strikers dropping back into the middle, wingers told to sit, central midfielders told to go out on the left or right due to the challenge posed by a particular opponent.

There’s a real disconnect between insisting he isn’t a limited player whilst at the same time arguing his usefulness is limited by being asked to make a relatively minor adjustment to his game.

Top players adapt their game depending on where and how they’re asked to play and against whom. In a season over the course of each game top players are asked to perform in any number of different roles far more challenging than being a wide forward who prefers to play on the left being asked to play on the right, and very rarely does their form go to absolute shit because of it. Top players overcome these things. Average players need excuses, like the suggestion they’re perpetually carrying a knock, have other things on their mind, aren’t getting on with the new fabric softener or not being able to track back because he prefers the other side of the pitch

Often the player the manager believes is the biggest talent and who therefore may be able to adapt from left to right forward is the fall guy and in this case, Rashford is that guy. But how many times does Mane, Sterling & Son play on the right side, for example? Never, because their managers know how effective they are on the left side and they make sure they have a suitable option on their right sides. By moving him to the right side, we suddenly lose that threat he was offering from the left and don’t gain anything by now having a player looking out of his comfort zone on the right. It’s actually a double whammy.

The only ‘top player’ I can automatically think of in recent years who has seamlessly switched from left to right and even centre forward is Ronaldo and he’s obviously one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Leave Rashford on the left please.

 

[croadyman]

Often the player the manager believes is the biggest talent and who therefore may be able to adapt from left to right forward is the fall guy and in this case, Rashford is that guy. But how many times does Mane, Sterling & Son play on the right side, for example? Never, because their managers know how effective they are on the left side and they make sure they have a suitable option on their right sides. By moving him to the right side, we suddenly lose that threat he was offering from the left and don’t gain anything by now having a player looking out of his comfort zone on the right. It’s actually a double whammy.

The only ‘top player’ I can automatically think of in recent years who has seamlessly switched from left to right and even centre forward is Ronaldo and he’s obviously one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Leave Rashford on the left please.

Yeah this experiment has to stop because on the LW he has a real understanding with Shaw

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

But how many times does Mane, Sterling & Son play on the right side, for example? Never,

What?

Mane played an entire season on the right before they signed Salah. Sterling swaps from left to right depending on who they have on the other wing - he was on the right with Sane on the left for the majority of their record-breaking season. Son has played loads of times on the right in the last five seasons.

Literally wrong about 3 out of 3 examples.

 

[stw2022]

What?

Mane played an entire season on the right before they signed Salah. Sterling swaps from left to right depending on who they have on the other wing - he was on the right with Sane on the left for the majority of their record-breaking season. Son has played loads of times on the right in the last five seasons.

Literally wrong about 3 out of 3 examples.

Exactly, which is what top players do. Even in the course of those games they’ve been asked to play out of their favoured position they’d have been asked to play elsewhere too depending on how the game is going, opposition tactics, performance of certain players, period of time in a match and all sorts.

A truly elite player isn’t someone completely ineffective unless he plays only in his best position. Imagine if he wasn’t a product of the academy the stick he’d get for being this awful and his work rate being this poor in protest to not playing in his favoured position

 

[Alan Partridge]

Maybe playing him on the right will force him to get his fecking head up occasionally. Also for a top attacking winger switching wings shouldn’t be that catastrophic, in fact many do it in matches. Rashford is unfortunately a bit of a one trick pony it seems.

 

[VivaRonaldo85]

What?

Mane played an entire season on the right before they signed Salah. Sterling swaps from left to right depending on who they have on the other wing - he was on the right with Sane on the left for the majority of their record-breaking season. Son has played loads of times on the right in the last five seasons.

Literally wrong about 3 out of 3 examples.

But were have they made their name and done the most damage? I consider all three of those players left sided forwards as their optimum starting position with no injuries. Rashford at the start of the season was being talked about in amongst those players as some of the finest in that position in the league and Europe right now. We have no injuries in the front 4 positions yet are still choosing to play him right side. That’s just odd.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

I mean, you can consider them whatever you want, they've all played and (especially in Mane and Sterling's cases) been devastating on both flanks. Mane was Liverpool's player of the season in 2016/17.

They're all adaptable enough to switch sides when needed and there's no reason Rashford can't do the same. It can take a while too - Mane actually struggled for a bit in 2017/18 when he first moved over to the left.

 

[Lee565]

Unfortunately Rashford is the best option out of our attacking players that can actually get behind the defence and whip in a cross from the right like he did for our third goal.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

TC will not be bumping this thread today, naturally. So I'll do it for him

 

[Lee565]

I did make a thread a while back asking why can't we try rashford on the right wing, his attributes and technique suite playing on that side more so than mata, martial or Greenwood.

 

[Redlyn]

Of course there are 4 mins....without a single VAR call.

 

[stw2022]

Good first half. Second half series of questionable judgement calls

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

It's even funnier because Rashford actually played the bulk of today's game on the left and was rather poor, having one of those infuriating head-down days.

And he's gone and created another exquisite goal after popping up on the right, where I was told I can't even remember him ever doing anything useful.

More promisingly, Greenwood was dangerous if still questionable in his decision-making as well. Attack definitely looks sharper without Martial at the moment.