Zlatan vs Rashford - Who Should Start?

MoBeats

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Is there anyone who would drop Zlatan?
Rooney should be looked at not Zlatan.
 

SteveW

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For the sake of how the team play it would be Rashford. His performance level has been higher than anyone else's since he was put into the team last season and he gives us pace and movement. Zlatan has made himself undroppable too so both should play. Rashford up top, Zlatan in behind. I think Zlatan is more suited to a number 10 role anyway and I think they'd work brilliantly together. Failing that you could throw Rashford into just about any of our attacking positions and it would improve the team.

My worry is that he won't drop Rooney and it will end up being a straight battle between Rashford and Martial for the left wing which will end up damaging the confidence of both players.
 

Lawman

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Both should start. Right now imo we should go DDG
Valencia Bailey Blind Shaw
Fellaini Pogba
Rashford MKT Martial
Zĺatan

Subs:
Romero
Smalling
TFM
Morgan
Herrera
Rooney
Depay
 

Handré1990

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Both should start. Right now imo we should go DDG
Valencia Bailey Blind Shaw
Fellaini Pogba
Rashford MKT Martial
Zĺatan

Subs:
Romero
Smalling
TFM
Morgan
Herrera
Rooney
Depay
100% this! Such a shame Fellaini got an injury, just as the team was starting to gel too!
 

CannonBalls

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I guess this was the reason Zlaton was signed only for a year. This year i think he would gradually be embedded into the team.

I truely believe in 3 years time Rashford would be more important to the team than Martial. Then again i though Januzaj would become a great player aswell so what do i know.
 

Vashu

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Dropping Rooney might work in similar way to Copernican Revolution. It's really taking ages for United's manager to get this shit right.
 

Dazzmondo

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Why wouldn't we be able to choose both? Rashford can play well on the wing and Ibra can play behind him. If only one can start of course it has to be Ibrahimovic but there's absolutely no reason the 2 can't play together. Ultimately, Ibra should start all league games while Rashford should be rotated in league games and start cup and Europa League games.
 

Oldham

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Not a chance; he's barely doing enough to warrant a starting spot at #10. Sticking him on the left would be madness. He's lost his pace, his first control, and can rarely beat a defender. Martial is my first choice; he just needs games. I would even have Depay or Lingard on the left before Rooney.
Of course Martial should play instead of Rooney who looks finished. But for some unexplained reason he starts every game. So that's the reality facing us...
Perhaps stick him as right back?
 

Gopher Brown

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Luxury problem really but still relevant.

Zlatan gives us an aerial presence in the box that we we haven't had for a long time.
He is also a winner and have an aura around him that (i assume) gives the whole team a belief and confidence that we can win every game.

What he lacks is pace and mobility. Often he drops deep to get involved in the build up, but it leaves us lacking penetration up front which means we can't pin down teams as much.

Rashford is always trying to take on players and moves around a lot which takes defenders out of their positions and opens up space for other players to take advantage of.
He has pace, dribbling skills, hunger, clincal finishing.

Still a raw player, but not so much that he can't be a starter imo.

I feel the movement Rashford provides is pivotal in our style of playing, specially with Rooney being the #10.

Who do you want to be a starter? Choosing both is not an option! :nono:
He lacks neither pace nor mobility. You are looking at his age, not the way he plays. Age is a number. He is quicker and more mobile than about two-thirds of the squad.
 

YouOnlyLiveTwice

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Are we sure that Rashford would have as big an impact on the right wing?

I remember a game last year where he started on the right wing, but he had a bit of a mare.
You can't judge based on 1 game of course, but i'm not sure it's the right solution, even though i have thought about it myself.

As a shadow striker i don't know. I read on here that he was a #10 in the academy.

The point that Rashford would be a much better impact sub than Zlatan i fully agree with. But that shouldn't determine who starts or not.
 

YouOnlyLiveTwice

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He lacks neither pace nor mobility. You are looking at his age, not the way he plays. Age is a number. He is quicker and more mobile than about two-thirds of the squad.
He roams around quite a lot for a 34 year old, so it was a bit harsh to say he lacks mobility. He is not the slowest either, but there is a good margin between Zlatan and Rashford in terms of pace.

What i miss is the link up play between our attackers. Rashford, Martial and Lingard connected very well on the pitch and they did it with intensity.
Rashford was crucial in that aspect.
 

Gopher Brown

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He roams around quite a lot for a 34 year old, so it was a bit harsh to say he lacks mobility. He is not the slowest either, but there is a good margin between Zlatan and Rashford in terms of pace.

What i miss is the link up play between our attackers. Rashford, Martial and Lingard connected very well on the pitch and they did it with intensity.
Rashford was crucial in that aspect.
I thought in pre-season Zlatan and Rooney kept wanting to be in the same space, but from the games so far I think they've worked on this. It means Zlatan doesn't get the ball as much and we're very reliant on Rooney's link up play. I think Zlatan and Rashford could be good together though, as Zlatan has clearly more quality on the ball than Rooney, but everyone's been saying that forever.
 

YouOnlyLiveTwice

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Games like today where we sit back and look for the counter Rashford should play imo.

When teams park the bus on us Zlatan should play as he is a big aerial threat in the box.