I don't think Rashford is at a level anymore where style of play or tactics come into it. However you want to et up the team he would have to be in it, because you're not going to find another player who'll get you 30 goals from a wide position and can also stand in as a centre forward. Not to mention a fair chunk of his goals he either has no right to score or creates for himself.
United will be able to keep possession and be less reliant on counter attacks when they find a centre forward who is actually half useful and doesn't either lose the ball 75% of the time or spend the whole game half attempting to do their job. And also when they have more than two midfielders in their squad who can play a forward pass through a defensive line. This maybe will mean less goals for Rashford but it wont really be a problem because it would mean not being reliant on him to score all of the goals our centre forwards don't as well as his own. Or maybe it'll just mean we win more games and score more goals, and actually benefit him because teams wont find it as easy to double or triple up on him whenever we aren't counter attacking.
Very fair points.
Our strikers are not nearly good enough.
But, and this is actually true anecdotally (by watching the games) and statistically: Neither Martial or Weghorst give up possession a lot, and 75% is just obscene. They don't even give the ball away half the time. They are in fact both quite good at holding up the ball and linkng up play.
That being said, they are not nearly good enough inside the box, especially Weghorst. We are obviously crying out for two new strikers. But to criticize their hold-up play is disingenuous. That's really one of the few things about them that's actually quite good.
I can totally see the use-case for Rashford, once we bolster our midfield and strikers. I've been pretty clear that he has some extreme abilities. At the same time, I still think he lacks the discipline and decision-making to be our best option in the market.
As some people have lazily suggested, I don't hate Rashford. I've never hated any United player, and I wouldn't spend energy hating anyone I don't even know. I quite like him, he seems an alright lad, and is lightning fast when he times his runs correctly. I just don't find his overall skillset to be anywhere near a perfect fit for a team that's looking to control the game.
Then again, if he starts playing like he did against Chelsea, week in and week out, I'd be forced to reconsider my views. Because in that game, he was not at all wasteful in possession, and he almost always made the right decision to pass or go past his man when appropriate. He was disciplined in possession, and that resulted in us creating a ton of chances from our left side. He was still lazy and not disciplined when defending, which is disappointing, but par for the course. Some players are not bothered to track back, and even the likes of Messi are guilty of this.
If he can keep on playing like he did against Chelsea, instead of running straight into defenders and lose the ball, I'd be very happy if he stays for ten more years. But that was truly one of the few games for years that he has been this disciplined in possession. I just don't see that happening on a regular basis.
But, I hope that it will. If he (and everyone else) can continue to do that, it would make us so much better and reliable in creating chances, and spending less time chasing after the opposition to recover lost possession.
Hopefully Ten Hag can instill this in his game, and Ten Hag mentioned in an interview with Viaplay yesterday that he has to improve certain facets of his game. Those are very likely the exact same things he is referring to, so I'd wager a bet that Ten Hag would agree that he needs to improve his ball retention.
On a side note: He also mentioned that he wanted 40 goals from his next season. But he must be very pleased with him reaching 30. He should be, it's a phenomenal achievement for a wide attacker, no doubt. It's more a statement to spark motivation to further push his game for next season, which is good management. Like Ten Hag has said so many times already: Good is not good enough. It's the perfect mantra -- in lieu of a better term -- for a team vying to be the best.