Manchester United view sidelining Marcus Rashford as key to cultural reboot

[justsomebloke]

The hate is over the top, although it's not hard to see why the hate is there. Marcus grew up in extremely humble circumstances and now carries himself like a prima donna off the pitch and like someone who doesn't care on the pitch.

But if he produced the end product, Marcus Rashford can carry on like a pre-Madonna for all I care. But the end product has evaporated and it's not just a run of poor form. When Forlan was missing chances on goal at least he ran his socks off. When Rooney would go cold, you knew he would get hot again. Both gave it everything they had, even on days when they had nothing. Rashford just gives up too easily and it's weird to watch. But above all he never bothered to learn a new skill, a new trick or anything to advance his game beyond what it was when he was 20 years old.

This is a good point, and to my mind the biggest concern with him, perhaps even more than his questionable level of application and work rate. His repertoire is too narrow, and hence it doesn't take much of a drop in levels before the end product starts suffering badly, and it also limits his ability to function in different systems. And the really annoying thing is it looks like it really wouldn't take huge improvements in many areas. If he was just a little bit better with his take-ons, in his passing, with his timing, with his finishing - it's all there. But he has never taken that step into becoming a truly effective and more well-rounded attacker that he has looked capable of for years, and which I think everyone more or less have expected him to.

I've always been a big fan, and think he's gotten a good deal more stick than is reasonable. But at this point it's hard to disagree that the time seems to have come to move on.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

This is a good point, and to my mind the biggest concern with him, perhaps even more than his questionable level of application and work rate. His repertoire is too narrow, and hence it doesn't take much of a drop in levels before the end product starts suffering badly, and it also limits his ability to function in different systems. And the really annoying thing is it looks like it really wouldn't take huge improvements in many areas. If he was just a little bit better with his take-ons, in his passing, with his timing, with his finishing - it's all there. But he has never taken that step into becoming a truly effective and more well-rounded attacker that he has looked capable of for years, and which I think everyone more or less have expected him to.

I've always been a big fan, and think he's gotten a good deal more stick than is reasonable. But at this point it's hard to disagree that the time seems to have come to move on.

It’s weird. The most obvious gaps in his skillset are how he so rarely scores with his left foot or his head. In his last hot streak it looked like he was suddenly a more rounded threat. Scoring headers and on his left. But then it all just… stopped. Can’t remember the last time he scored other than with his right foot. Maybe a year ago? Longer?

 

[justsomebloke]

It’s weird. The most obvious gaps in his skillset are how he so rarely scores with his left foot or his head. In his last hot streak it looked like he was suddenly a more rounded threat. Scoring headers and on his left. But then it all just… stopped. Can’t remember the last time he scored other than with his right foot. Maybe a year ago? Longer?

I can't remember either. And you're right, it's telling.

 

[didz]

It’s weird. The most obvious gaps in his skillset are how he so rarely scores with his left foot or his head. In his last hot streak it looked like he was suddenly a more rounded threat. Scoring headers and on his left. But then it all just… stopped. Can’t remember the last time he scored other than with his right foot. Maybe a year ago? Longer?

Ipswich and Barnsley this season for his left foot. Not sure about headers; probably during the good run.

 

[elmo]

There is always a recency bias towards the view of a player when he is in / out of form.

Think about the context of the 22/23 season. You have one player in Rashford that scored 30 goals. What else did we have in the forward line? Martial on the way out that summer. Antony and Sancho unconvincing. With the priority being a striker, which we signed in Hojland, do you really think the club want to risk letting Rashford go on a free when their priority is using money for strengthening other areas? That makes zero sense.

What are you talking about? Getting a forward that can chip in 10-15 goals on 150k a week? Who is that player? And i assume youre talking about a free transfer, unless you wish to totally negate the transfer fee of said player?

Yes, Rashfords history has been patchy, but as have United. Coming of a 30 goal season, im sure Ten Hag and United thought they could get another good season out of him. But sadly the whole United team was shocking in 23/24

I mean, did anyone really think United would finish 8th in 23/24 after such a positive first year under ETH? The vibes were good and Rashford was a big part of that season.

Im not saying Rashford is anywhere near world class, but these salaries are very much situationally dependant. This would have been maybe his 4th senior pro contract at United. It was always going to be higher than the last. And when you bring in Casemiro on 360k a week at the age of 30, on a 4 year deal (plus a big transfer fee), then the bar has been set.

We’ve signed one in Rasmus. Probably cheaper ones available too, but we paid a premium for his potential.

Rashford is overrated and the club and fans got conned by his goals and neglected watching him play. His performance was terrible apart from the goals and he contributes nothing when he’s not scoring. That’s not the kind of player you should be giving 300k a week. That’s the kind of player you should be shifting out.

He didn’t do anything close to justifying his previous wages, giving him a pay raise was a fecking joke and the club is paying for it today.

 

[elmo]

Ipswich and Barnsley this season for his left foot. Not sure about headers; probably during the good run.

People were claiming Benni unlocked his heading ability. Lasted for about 2 months.

 

[justsomebloke]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...tart-but-reviving-his-career-will-not-be-easy

Obviously some valid points here as well, but Wilson just can't resist it: He's just worn out playing for such a shambolic side, poor thing.

I generally like his stuff when he writes about other teams, but he's such a cnut as soon as he gets to the subject of United - he is consistently a couple of notches to the side of what's reasonable.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Ipswich and Barnsley this season for his left foot. Not sure about headers; probably during the good run.

I think the last time he scored a header was in a 2-0 win away to Leeds in February 2023, during the good run as you say.

So it's been nearly 2 years.

 

[FlawlessVictory88]

And no one can seriously say that Manchester United's 10 year slup is because of Rashford.

There have many a player that have come into United have have cost the club way more and that have failed miserably.

Like it or not, even though he has been patchy, Rashford is one of the brighter points of the past decade.

I never said he was responsible for a 10 year slump, nice strawman.

He is responsible for his own personal performances which have been utter garbage for more than a year as I highlighted with his statistics both offensive and defensive.

Why not respond to the rest of my post? Cunha performing well because he's "highly motivated" according to you, so what's Rashford's excuse?

 

[Maticmaker]

One of the main things about Rashford now is how and when he receives the ball.

At one time he could receive a ball with his back towards the opponents goal and his speed on the half-turn (left or right) was punishing for defenders, that rarely happens now.

Quite often now the ball is moved down the wing/or from mid-field to him, each player usually taking no more than one or two touches to move it to him; at this point Marcus is now almost demanding it to his feet, with him facing the opposition defenders, and nine times out of ten he comes to a dead stop. Then whilst he decides how he might get around the first defender, a second and sometimes a third is blocking his path whether he decides to go either inside or out.

This little (now painful to watch) 'cameo' in play is carried out regularly, and maybe only once in ten times does he get into the box for a shot on goal.

I cannot understand why Marcus continues to do this, or more importantly why the other players keep going along with this?

 

[EnviedRed]

If Palmer had done feck all for over 2 years for Chelsea earning superstar wages you can be sure he’d get criticism for flying off to the states too just as they got a new manager, or just generally not giving a toss on the field.

When you’re performing like… an actual star, you tend to get away with a fair bit more. Surprisingly.

You can't acknowledge that racism exists but at the same time pretend that there is no difference between the reaction or public perception when a white player hangs out with rappers versus a black player only "dressing like a rapper". You say racism exists but also no one is being racist towards Rashford. Your cognitive dissonance is showing.

If you actually understand racism then you would understand that it clouds people's perceptions of others even on a subconscious level. Your opinion is contradictory, non-sensical and can be disproven through decades of research. Not surprisingly.

 

[FrankWhite]

It still doesn't make sense how the OP message of this thread came out earlier this week, spread like wild fire to the point we were all convinced the club was done with him but yet is contradictory of what Amorim said.

 

[Bastian]

I'm not a fan of his laziness and his terrible PR shitesters, but I do understand why he took to the media after the club briefed it seems that he was the main issue in terms of a cultural malaise. Fair enough. And I thought it was absolutely superb that he openly wanted a new challenge, so now he'll work with the club to get off the club's books, which is fantastic. The media being one dimensional and asking only about Rashford is nothing new and Amorim dealt with it well.

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

Palmer is friends with rappers, taking pictures with rappers, giving the middle finger with rappers and there is zero outrage. Most people said it was cool. Most of the discourse around Palmer was that he is a "great guy just having fun". Imagine the outrage if Rashford took a picture like Palmer did. Rashford "dresses like a rapper" while behaving perfectly and everyone criticizes him. That's racism.

To be fair, if Marcus was playing like Cole Palmer I don't think anyone would give the merest shite about what he was wearing or what he was doing with his fingers.

 

[gaffs]

We’ve signed one in Rasmus. Probably cheaper ones available too, but we paid a premium for his potential.

Rashford is overrated and the club and fans got conned by his goals and neglected watching him play. His performance was terrible apart from the goals and he contributes nothing when he’s not scoring. That’s not the kind of player you should be giving 300k a week. That’s the kind of player you should be shifting out.

He didn’t do anything close to justifying his previous wages, giving him a pay raise was a fecking joke and the club is paying for it today.

You need a central striker to be doing more than chipping in with 10 to 15. Plus, Rasmus is averaging a goal every 283mins of Premier League football so far in his United career. That is nothing to shout about.

Yes, Rasmus is on 150k a week, but look at his overall package including transfer fee over 5 years. He is contesting the club way more than Rashford will over both of their contract lengths. Same for Mount - 60mil + 250 a week - a package bigger than Rashfords. Casemiro - 350k and a 60mil transfer fee. Maguire, 150k + 80m. Antony - 200k a week + 80mil. All players that we would have a hard time recouping even a quarter of the transfer fee on. There are the transfers that are killing us. Im not sure why fans are unable to see the bigger picture and just want to focus on the weekly wages.

That is why Rashford's salary is not so outlandish. He and his agent knew in 2023 that to replace him would have cost the club way more than keeping him.

If we do manage to sell Rashford for 40 mil in January (or even during the summer) , that will have more than covered all his wages over the past 18 months of his new contract. That would be one of the only players in recent times that we have actually made money on, so it was obviously beneficial to keep him signed on in 2023.

 

[Telsim]

Just get rid, if at all possible. No need to think about it so deeply.

 

[gaffs]

I never said he was responsible for a 10 year slump, nice strawman.

He is responsible for his own personal performances which have been utter garbage for more than a year as I highlighted with his statistics both offensive and defensive.

Why not respond to the rest of my post? Cunha performing well because he's "highly motivated" according to you, so what's Rashford's excuse?

I can't tell you why Rashford is not performing. Maybe he is utterly unmotivated by playing under 5 different managers, the club being a hot mess and rightly or wrongly feeling like the scapegoat in the club. There are many players that have been worse than Rashford for the last 18 months, that are costing the club way more than Rashford that don't get any stick. I agree, he needs a new challenge and should move on.

You can't tell me why Cunha was bang average at Athletico, so much so he was moved to a lower tier PL club. Players sometimes find a rich vein of form. Lets see in the case of Cunha whether it lasts.

 

[nickm]

To be fair to Rashford, I haven't liked the unattributed noise from the club about wanting to move Rashford on as part of a cultural reset, which sounds more like it's coming from the senior leadership than Amorim. Obviously we are going to contact clubs and agents about possible moves and yes, he does need to be sold as part of said reset but whether we like it or not Rashford has a high public profile which he's going to seek to protect, which just causes an unnecessary distraction for Amorim. Much better to keep this kind of talk behind closed doors.

I almost prefer we handle all our transfers like Stam, where he was practically kidnapped by the club overnight to wake up in shock at the press conference in Italy. First time we heard about it, is the first time he heard about it.

 

[Top_Bins]

Edited post as i think i misread the quote.

 

[Utterly De Ligt'd]

You aren't arguing in good faith. So now you have switched to implying that I said something which I never did. When did I say that no black player can be criticized? I NEVER said that a black player can't be criticized but don't insult my intelligence by saying that it's 100% not about race. You clearly don't share my disgust for racism because you can't actually admit the problem and you are actually trying to excuse it.

Your argument is basically "well maybe kind of sort racism exists but that's OK because we don't want the black players to feel left out from criticism." Also, NEVER said that Sir Jim will sell Rashford because he is black and that's completely irrelevant to this convo. I never even implied that but that's just another bad faith argument from someone who can't defend their opinons.

I said some of the same people who were spewing racist insults are some of the same people who are criticizing his performances. That means the vitriol and hatred surrounding someone like Rashford will be significantly more because of racism. Unless of course, you believe that racists have magically disappeared from football. It's almost 2025 and FIFA is still trying to "get rid of racism" so we all know that it's absurd to suggest that racism doesn't exist.

Palmer is friends with rappers, taking pictures with rappers, giving the middle finger with rappers and there is zero outrage. Most people said it was cool. Most of the discourse around Palmer was that he is a "great guy just having fun". Imagine the outrage if Rashford took a picture like Palmer did. Rashford "dresses like a rapper" while behaving perfectly and everyone criticizes him. That's racism.

Weird example since Palmer is half black, so the fact he isn't being treated the same suggests it's not just about race.

 

[K Stand Knut]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...tart-but-reviving-his-career-will-not-be-easy

Obviously some valid points here as well, but Wilson just can't resist it: He's just worn out playing for such a shambolic side, poor thing.

I generally like his stuff when he writes about other teams, but he's such a cnut as soon as he gets to the subject of United - he is consistently a couple of notches to the side of what's reasonable.

Gave up when he mentioned the PR campaign of the school meals bull shit

 

[Vidyoyo]

Are there any instances where a player has a high-profile fallout for on-pitch form (after a sustained period e.g. 2 years) and has gone on to prove that they were better elsewhere?

I mean to differentiate from the likes of e.g. Salah who w/r/t Chelsea wasn't played

 

[stepic]

You can't acknowledge that racism exists but at the same time pretend that there is no difference between the reaction or public perception when a white player hangs out with rappers versus a black player only "dressing like a rapper". You say racism exists but also no one is being racist towards Rashford. Your cognitive dissonance is showing.

If you actually understand racism then you would understand that it clouds people's perceptions of others even on a subconscious level. Your opinion is contradictory, non-sensical and can be disproven through decades of research. Not surprisingly.

You just repeated yourself while failing to acknowledge the fact he is being criticised primarily because of his performances, not the colour of his skin.

If he was performing as well as Palmer do you think there would be any criticism of his clothing? Or if he was hanging out with rappers? Of course not.

Is his poor performances and general attitude an opportunity for racists to weigh in? Sure, of course. Racists will take advantage of any opportunity to spout their bullshit. But it’s not the primary factor at play here. The first team has had loads of black players throughout the years, some of them which are loved as icons to this day.

 

[mewnew11]

I am.happy that finally the rashford lingard era is coming to an end. It was defined by mediocrity as a club and with the players.

Genuinely I want to ask the Rashford fans a question. What is Marcus Rashford really good at ?

Scoring goals : No
Creating chances : No
Dribbling : No
Heading : No
Pressing : No
Duels : No
Defending : No
Crossing : No

What does he excel in ? Just a bits player whose only game is to run in behind and get into a one v one vs the keeper and he still missed quiet a few of those chances.

The biggest criticism I have of rashford is any player would know his strengths and weaknesses and tries to improve on his weaknesses but I am yet to see one area of improvement in Rashy.

The biggest mistakes previous managers made was to try to build a team and play style around rashford where we would play on the counter with Rashford running in behind. Once the opposition shut shop, we were doomed. No plan B and Rashy would just keep running into defenders like a mad bull on alcohol.

Happy this is coming to an end. No more pampering mediocrity . We have suffered a lot these years , time to finally get back where we belong and uplift the standards.

Hail Amorim.

 

[Ludens the Red]

With Carragher on this. It is genuinely staggering that this debate is still being had. The narrative that Wright and Neville are peddling here. I actually don’t think folk like Wrighty do him any favours suggesting his ability is on par with Saka/Salah/Mane.

 

[343]

I am.happy that finally the rashford lingard era is coming to an end. It was defined by mediocrity as a club and with the players.

Genuinely I want to ask the Rashford fans a question. What is Marcus Rashford really good at ?

Scoring goals : No
Creating chances : No
Dribbling : No
Heading : No
Pressing : No
Duels : No
Defending : No
Crossing : No

What does he excel in ? Just a bits player whose only game is to run in behind and get into a one v one vs the keeper and he still missed quiet a few of those chances.

The biggest criticism I have of rashford is any player would know his strengths and weaknesses and tries to improve on his weaknesses but I am yet to see one area of improvement in Rashy.

The biggest mistakes previous managers made was to try to build a team and play style around rashford where we would play on the counter with Rashford running in behind. Once the opposition shut shop, we were doomed. No plan B and Rashy would just keep running into defenders like a mad bull on alcohol.

Happy this is coming to an end. No more pampering mediocrity . We have suffered a lot these years , time to finally get back where we belong and uplift the standards.

Hail Amorim.

Completely agree. His is a very specific playing style quite unsuited to a big club forward.

People keep mentioning his 30-goal season. Only 17 of those were in the league and he has never reached 20 league goals in a season. He is a slightly above average PL forward with a few purple patches here and there blown up his PR / because he is at United. He looks disinterested half the time and has poor defensive contribution. Why is so much ink being spilled over this guy?

 

[stevoc]

If it's not then what is?

You don't normally just drop two players of your supposed best players from the squad for nothing.

Garnacho maybe but I doubt it's the case with Mainoo as well.

For the record I was replying to the other poster who thinks we should sell Garnacho and Mainoo as it would be good for PSR/FFP.

 

[FlawlessVictory88]

I can't tell you why Rashford is not performing. Maybe he is utterly unmotivated by playing under 5 different managers, the club being a hot mess and rightly or wrongly feeling like the scapegoat in the club. There are many players that have been worse than Rashford for the last 18 months, that are costing the club way more than Rashford that don't get any stick. I agree, he needs a new challenge and should move on.

You can't tell me why Cunha was bang average at Athletico, so much so he was moved to a lower tier PL club. Players sometimes find a rich vein of form. Lets see in the case of Cunha whether it lasts.

Cunha played 1k minutes at Atletico and managed 6 goals and 4 assists. He was then sold for a 20m profit.

His 6 goals and 4 assists in 1k minutes is better than Rashford for the 1k minutes he's at this season, the 2.3k minutes he played all of last season and the entire 2021/22 campaign.

So despite Cunha being "bang average" that season he outperformed Rashford in 3 of his last 4.

For Rashford's sake lets not bring up performances over the past 2 years.

 

[RedFanaticTattooist]

Whatever happens to Rashford, i don't really care. I'd sell him for a really simple reason. NO ONE can build a good team out of unreliable players. Rashford had only 2-3 good seasons during his career, and we never actually know if his next season will be great or a disaster. Simple as it is.

 

[Dazzmondo]

Christ, Rashford FC in full force here. Maguire did/has done exactly what your hero should do, get his head down, keep quiet, and work hard to get back in the team.

Rashford could learn a lot from Maguire, but I bet he won't, we'll just get more PR pieces from him.

Utter nonsense. I have supported Utd since long before Rashford and I'll support the club long after he's gone. I've already said it's best he leaves. He isn't any sort of hero to me. Nowhere near my list of favourite Utd players in fact. You're the one clearly showing an agenda.

Also, I was one of the only people on here actually defending Maguire for staying back when everyone else, probably including you, were hating on him for refusing to leave when the club wanted to sell him. I defened him because he had his contract and was looking after his own best interests. Exactly the same way Rashford is looking after his own best interests. The only difference is Rashford's best interests lie away from Utd.

 

[gaffs]

Cunha played 1k minutes at Atletico and managed 6 goals and 4 assists. He was then sold for a 20m profit.

So what you are doing here is taking Cunhas best season for Athletico when he scored 6 goals in 29 games (21/22) and putting up against this current season, which is one of United and Rashford worst. Incase you have not noticed, United are sitting 13 with only 4 clubs having scored less PL goals. We are a team that was so bad, our manager was sacked and the new one is still finding his way.

Why not put Cunhas best, up against Rashford's best? I guess not, because it wont fit your narrative.

His 6 goals and 4 assists in 1k minutes is better than Rashford for the 1k minutes he's at this season, the 2.3k minutes he played all of last season and the entire 2021/22 campaign.

So despite Cunha being "bang average" that season he outperformed Rashford in 3 of his last 4.

For Rashford's sake lets not bring up performances over the past 2 years.

Athletico are a far better team. They scored 70 goals in the previous two campaigns, while we scored 58.

58 United PL goals in 22/23 and Rashford scores one third of them. And you wonder why he got a big contract?

In that same season, Cunha played 1,565 mins of football and scored 2 goals! He was sold in January, not after the 21/22 season of 6 goals, as you stated.

A goal every 780 mins. It this really the best example you have??

The point is, which you seem to be struggling with, is that when United are playing well, as does Rashford. It is proven, year on year.

Cunha is having a purple patch at Wolves, true. And im sure you will go on to point out that if he can do it in a struggling team, then why cant Rashford? Well, if you look, Wolves have actually scored more PL goals than United this season. Their issues is keeping them out.

 

[Tarrou]

Funny how there’s never a response to posts that strictly point out his unacceptable lack of work ethic and professionalism. Maybe because there’s no logical excuse.

I think it's a combination of his physical decline and depression

they aren't excuses just possible reasons

those things don't excuse his terrible attitude and professionalism, but I do think he's struggling with something we don't fully understand

 

[Kayla40TS]

Waiting for the racism card to be played.

Yeah, no one ever talked about what David Beckham wore, no front page articles about sarongs, nothing of the sort.

Nah, just cause Rashford isn't white. That's all.

If your rebuttal is a player from 25 years ago, it's not a great rebuttal.

And I didn't play the "racism card". I pointed out a case of clear cultural bias, at best. I get it. Life is tricky. Nuance is tricky. Discussion like this are big and tiring and a lot to take on. If people don't want to, fine. As a society we won't progress until people stop being lazy about these things.

 

[acnumber9]

I am.happy that finally the rashford lingard era is coming to an end. It was defined by mediocrity as a club and with the players.

Genuinely I want to ask the Rashford fans a question. What is Marcus Rashford really good at ?

Scoring goals : No
Creating chances : No
Dribbling : No
Heading : No
Pressing : No
Duels : No
Defending : No
Crossing : No

What does he excel in ? Just a bits player whose only game is to run in behind and get into a one v one vs the keeper and he still missed quiet a few of those chances.

The biggest criticism I have of rashford is any player would know his strengths and weaknesses and tries to improve on his weaknesses but I am yet to see one area of improvement in Rashy.

The biggest mistakes previous managers made was to try to build a team and play style around rashford where we would play on the counter with Rashford running in behind. Once the opposition shut shop, we were doomed. No plan B and Rashy would just keep running into defenders like a mad bull on alcohol.

Happy this is coming to an end. No more pampering mediocrity . We have suffered a lot these years , time to finally get back where we belong and uplift the standards.

Hail Amorim.

It’s a fairly remarkable achievement to have a goal or assist every other game over his United career when he has zero ability.

 

[red.knight]

Rashford isn't near the level of Salah, clearly. Rashford has a lot of technical deficiencies not suited to playing for a top team. And im not saying that we should keep him, although we may not have a choice.

But the point is, Rashford has been playing in a poor team for a long time. At the times when the team were functioning well, as did he.

And very easy to say we should have sold him rather than keep him, but i have explained the context of that situation. It would have been mad to not extend his contract and risk letting him run it down for a year.

Were you criticising Rashford post 30 goals in the summer of 2023? Were you critishing the renewal? No, you seemed surprised that others were still critical...



Still think Rashford is better than Gakpo in any position?

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/rasmus-højlund-signed-for-united.476325/post-30866479

Because as to my point, put Gakpo on a functional side and he looks great.

Easy to be wise after the fact!

Its a bit of a shocker how quickly your comparisons have shifted from Rashford vs Salah to Rashford vs Gakpo. Personally, I don’t rate Gakpo at all. FYI, Gakpo has scored just 3 goals in 15 Premier League games this season playing for the league frontrunners. Thats essentially Rashford level output so I am glad you finally mentioning a more appropriate comparison.

Rashford came through United academy and I truly hoped he would stay and become a club legend. But with Amorim here its clear that the standards and accountability at United have been elevated. Its no surprise Rashford is the first player to face scrutiny.

As Amorim said, the biggest challenge in world football right now is bringing United back to the top. I am curious about the “new challenge” Rashford mentioned what do you think hes referring to?

 

[Bright_Eyes]

I remember when Rashford broke through he was playing well but he was never someone who I thought could be much more than a squad player for us. I think due to poor transfers he's been elevated beyond his station and it seems to have gone to his head a bit. He played his best in ETH's first season but by then I'd come to feel wary of these purple patches that he has with long streaks of mediocrity in between.

I think Rashford's main issues are his mentality and that he's the type of player that really needs to fully believe in the project, where it's going and how he fits into it to be able to be motivated to try his best. He also seems to not have the mental toughness that is required at the level we want to be at, where criticism and being left out should annoy you enough to be fired up to prove them all wrong. Which is perhaps a bit ironic given his favourite celebration. He might also realise he's not the ideal player to lead the line for us or be a number 10, and rather than fight his instinct is flight. See Harry Maguire for a good mentality - he became a worldwide meme and was criticised week in week out for more than a year but he wanted to stay and fight, and he's made quite a comeback recently. Rashford could be a great player in a functioning system that caters to him but I really don't think that's going to, or should, happen here.

 

[Jim Beam]

I think it's a combination of his physical decline and depression

they aren't excuses just possible reasons

those things don't excuse his terrible attitude and professionalism, but I do think he's struggling with something we don't fully understand

Agree. I mean, from the outside it is really impossible to say, but the man doesn't look happy or like he is enjoying any of football. And even more so after he signed that big, fat contract everyone is banging about. One of the reasons I never quite went too harsh on him, especially when it comes to money he makes. Money means shit if you are not in the right place. Maybe it is some kind of burnout being the face of the club for so long (and feeling he is declining as you say), but the man is walking around looking like a feckin island. Even when he isn't on the pitch.

In any case, change of scenery is almost certainly the best option for everyone.

 

[clarkydaz]

I remember when Rashford broke through he was playing well but he was never someone who I thought could be much more than a squad player for us. I think due to poor transfers he's been elevated beyond his station and it seems to have gone to his head a bit. He played his best in ETH's first season but by then I'd come to feel wary of these purple patches that he has with long streaks of mediocrity in between.

I think Rashford's main issues are his mentality and that he's the type of player that really needs to fully believe in the project, where it's going and how he fits into it to be able to be motivated to try his best. He also seems to not have the mental toughness that is required at the level we want to be at, where criticism and being left out should annoy you enough to be fired up to prove them all wrong. Which is perhaps a bit ironic given his favourite celebration. He might also realise he's not the ideal player to lead the line for us or be a number 10, and rather than fight his instinct is flight. See Harry Maguire for a good mentality - he became a worldwide meme and was criticised week in week out for more than a year but he wanted to stay and fight, and he's made quite a comeback recently. Rashford could be a great player in a functioning system that caters to him but I really don't think that's going to, or should, happen here.

The only project he believes in is where a manager will let him play on the left, cut inside and shoot. Had his best season under ETH who then backed him to the hilt to his own detriment , Rashford still found a way to shun and sulk for the guy who always had his back. The club created this incarnation of the player, spoil a child and raise a brat. He's uncoachable

 

[Doracle]

People keep mentioning his 30-goal season. Only 17 of those were in the league and he has never reached 20 league goals in a season. He is a slightly above average PL forward with a few purple patches here and there blown up his PR / because he is at United. He looks disinterested half the time and has poor defensive contribution. Why is so much ink being spilled over this guy?

How many left wingers have scored more than 20 premier league goals in the last 20 years? Sterling and Mane both managed it once in their careers, playing for all conquering teams. There’s absolutely no way either of them would have got near those numbers at United. Can you name any others?

 

[RedCoffee]

I'm glad the manager is making a statement with Rashford. He seems miserable most of the time and generally can't be arsed. If we are lucky we'll get 40m for him and take 15m a year in wages off the books. Reinvested that's a new 60m player on wages of 10m a year.