Haaland and Foden missed some much better chances than the ones Rashford missed. Is he supposed to score every half-chance just because our team is so bad that we have 2 chances compared to City’s 30+?
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Haaland and Foden missed some much better chances than the ones Rashford missed. Is he supposed to score every half-chance just because our team is so bad that we have 2 chances compared to City’s 30+?
That touch compliation 
One magic touch and every other one is from a bad sunday league player with a lead lined boot.
One magic touch and every other one is from a bad sunday league player with a lead lined boot.
That airkick was not a halfchance. did you see the workrate Foden had aswell, you know, tracking back and putting a tackle in?
What do you mean by half-chance? He had one on one with Ederson, until he decided to head the ball down in a way I havent seen a professional player do. I can understand the air kick, but come on, he has to do better on the first one, I'm sorry.
Even worse than I remember! That attempted clearance out the box at the beginning... FFS.
Why are pundits/journalists not acknowledging this rubbish after a week where he's gone after them?
Come on now. Have some shame. The chance at the far post was about an 0.1 xg chance and he scored an 0.03 xg one. He also clearly worked at least as hard as Foden, who has the luxury of rarely having to track back because City always have the ball.
The airkick he kicks over the ball, its not past him, he kicks OVER the ball. Its more than enough for a shot on goal
He must be carrying a knock all through his career so.
Please no more excuses for him. He needs to go play somewhere where he isn't relied upon to deliver very often.
Brilliant goal, thought it would inspire him to put in a great performance, but instead he got worse and worse.
Messing up the one v one and the fresh air shot. But the worst one for me was the dive when he had the chance to drive at the City goal. Pathetic.
He's not good enough. Needs to be sold to whoever will pay for him.
Messing up the one v one and the fresh air shot. But the worst one for me was the dive when he had the chance to drive at the City goal. Pathetic.
He's not good enough. Needs to be sold to whoever will pay for him.
I know he scored a fantastic goal but really he was the worst United player on the pitch bar Antony.
Phil Jonesing it after his air shot and then managing to head it down behind his own run when through on goal were two particular highlights for me.
You’d think that cracking goal would’ve given him some confidence…but his all round play, touch, passing, etc were so poor.
You’d think that cracking goal would’ve given him some confidence…but his all round play, touch, passing, etc were so poor.
Amazing goal. Should have done better when put straight through though, that was not a difficult header to nod into his stride. The third chance I think he wasn't set because he didn't anticipate McTominay missing it.
Overall play was poor, but that was the case for much of the rest of the team too.
Overall play was poor, but that was the case for much of the rest of the team too.
Horrendous.
But it's no surprise - this was always his mean, outside of that one great season. He has always played like a striker player out wide - because that's what he is. I said back in 2018 we'd need to sign a genuine wide forward to challenge for anything. It's just a shame that all the wide players we've signed them like Sancho, Antony, Depay etc have been crap. Arsenal have gotten Saka and City have signed about 50 actual wide players since then.
*3 great months
With all due respect, you responding to someone who claimed Rashford started the season well and has been good for the past two months.
Scored a worldie and kind of fluffed 2 other chances. I can understand that.
But what I don't understand is the total lack of effort to fight for 50/50s, and not to mention he genuinely looked like he didn't have confidence to take on Kyle walker 1 to 1 at times.
But what I don't understand is the total lack of effort to fight for 50/50s, and not to mention he genuinely looked like he didn't have confidence to take on Kyle walker 1 to 1 at times.
I thought this was the perfect game for him to deliver. He had space to run in behind and get goals, but his touch let him down as a result of months and months of poor form. Good goal but he was poor for the rest of it.
He was awful yet again. A freak goal doesn't change that.
The goal was excellent but he does seem really lethargic now...like he's not willing to go that extra mile to win the ball...laziness or is he carrying another injury?
ETH said after the game that he had a knock. Why we insist on playing him when half fit is another matter.
I've never taken to him because I've always seen him for what he truly is, a painfully average footballer who can occasionally pull off the sublime as an exception that proves the rule. His goals mask diabolical performances majority of the time. In a real top team, a Rashy type is at best a bench option to bring on against tired legs, if they're lucky enough to get on the bench. As long as he remains a key member of our starting XI, we'll continue to be a painfully average footballing side who can occasionally pull off the sublime.
In fairness to him, that ball bounced awkwardly, it was a strange one but these things happen.
The second one where he went down too easily is more of problem, he just gave up and the fact that they went straight down the other end and scored just makes it even worse.
His aversion to any kind of physicality is disgraceful. People need to start calling this out more, and not excuse it due to him being 'out of love' with the game or having someone dislike his tattoos or falling out with his girlfriend or being diagnosed by fans googling anything from manic depression to leprosy via psoriasis. He's a wuss and he crumples in a heap when he's touched. He shows cowardice on 50/50 and aerial balls.
Let's start seeing pundits call this out. His effort is disgraceful
Let's start seeing pundits call this out. His effort is disgraceful
Incredible goal. At least it gave my trip to the Etihad something positive to remember.
He also at least looked way more threatening coming in off the wing then he has been doing up-front (though it would be virtually impossible to look any less threatening) - got into some dangerous positions a couple of times, however absolutely everything he attempted after the goal was pretty terrible.
Still, if we're starting him he should only be used as a winger
He also at least looked way more threatening coming in off the wing then he has been doing up-front (though it would be virtually impossible to look any less threatening) - got into some dangerous positions a couple of times, however absolutely everything he attempted after the goal was pretty terrible.
Still, if we're starting him he should only be used as a winger
No, but I see Foden affecting play all around the field which we can only dream Rashford can even do 10% of it.
He was clipped, running at that pace can knock you off balance. People are easy to say 'dive' but weve seen it with Ronaldo, Bale and quite a few players who run at speed. I know its easy to say its soft, but when youre in that position yourself and have experienced then you know how little the contact needs to be to knock you down (ive had it happen to me and it just takes a slight flick of the legs / feet).
His goal was a fantastic strike
But then you judge it overall, and its not good enough. WHen you put out a statement like he did especially, you want to follow it up and prove your worth. Hes one of our highest ever paid players (and probably best paid right now). He scored a great goal, but then basically stunk it up after that. He made some good sprints, but it got to the point where it seemed he was satisfied with the goal, and anything else would be a bonus.
he was rightfully subbed off (the problem is our options stink). Antony made the most sense given the state of our bench but you see a drop immediately. Its no shame that he was getting done by Walker, but then the manager needs to switch it up, maybe get Rashford away from him to the other side? Try Garnacho against Walker due to his trickery.
That doesnt take away from Rashford whenhe just looks lazy.
His goal was a fantastic strike
But then you judge it overall, and its not good enough. WHen you put out a statement like he did especially, you want to follow it up and prove your worth. Hes one of our highest ever paid players (and probably best paid right now). He scored a great goal, but then basically stunk it up after that. He made some good sprints, but it got to the point where it seemed he was satisfied with the goal, and anything else would be a bonus.
he was rightfully subbed off (the problem is our options stink). Antony made the most sense given the state of our bench but you see a drop immediately. Its no shame that he was getting done by Walker, but then the manager needs to switch it up, maybe get Rashford away from him to the other side? Try Garnacho against Walker due to his trickery.
That doesnt take away from Rashford whenhe just looks lazy.
Don't see his attributes there. He's where attacks go to die. His sense of awareness is awful. It's like he's a hammy, aging actor doing a pantomime just to wheel out his own tired catchphrases, or in his case stepovers. It's like he's doing his "bit', his turn. The fact nothing he does seems to be that effective doesn't seem to influence him. It's his trademark.
Every game we have to take 30-60% of chances - good opportunities - and just accept those are ones Rashford will waste. Either he'll run into the defenders or run the ball off the pitch or someone will write something in the press that falls short of verbally fellating him and he'll throw himself to the floor for 2 minutes in protest at the cruelty of it all.
It handicaps the team and the fact we're not creating enough anyway, the fact we have to accommodate a player who will easily fritter a dozen great opportunities a game to look up and play someone in or just do something that isn't fannying about, exacerbates our problems and are a very significant factor in our struggles this season.
We are asking a team generally struggling with creation, to offset a dozen chances a game on account for them being allowed to be wasted due to Rashford doing another bit of a stepover unsuccessfully again for some reason for the 19th time in the match and losing the ball
It’s an obvious decision when you consider the alternatives.
People will give the same treatment to Garnacho, if Rashford were not around, and we continued in this vein for a few more years. You’d think there would be something to the fact that every single one of our senior players will have had their reputation diminished rather than enhanced by this season.
Assessing how well our current group players can play this inevitably losing football is such a pointless exercise. There’s no point holding what is currently being asked of so many of our players against them. It’s so far removed from what any potentially successful United team will be doing.
Replace Rashford and/or Garnacho with any of the current darlings from recent transfer windows, keep everything else the same, and nothing at all will change. We sure as hell killed Sancho off quick enough too. Kvicha, Leao or whoever else would suffer the same fate.
Surely you see his attributes there more then when he's up-front though?
Agian he was rubbish yesterday but he was getting into positions way better then he has in the last two games.
Yet Hojlund, playing for the same club, in the same environment, has been scoring a goal a game since he found his feet in front of goal and running himself into the ground every match all season long. And he’s just a kid, in his first season in a new league. Rashford should be his inspiration, not the other way round.
Other than the goal, I frankly thought yesterday was one of the very worst performances we've seen from him this (or any) season. He fluffed almost literally every other involvement he had in the game. Spurned scoring chances is the least of the trouble, and it doesn't help much to make a lot of runs when every one of them ends up with the ball lost.
How much would Rashford realistically go for if we sold him in the summer? 60Mil?
His lethargic manner and lack of defensive effort are clear as day which I’m sure will impact his value or even the possibility that a top club (apart from PSG if that link is to be believed) would want him.
His lethargic manner and lack of defensive effort are clear as day which I’m sure will impact his value or even the possibility that a top club (apart from PSG if that link is to be believed) would want him.
You mean he was told to play like that? If not why aren't you mentioning other players in the history of football who also have had bad games. Myra Hindley was worse. Your deep state agenda against him is showing. Have you not seen the medical ailments non-qualified perfect strangers have diagnosed him with?
Pogue, it took until Christmas for Hojlund to score a league goal, in a team where everyone else in the attack was compromising their own games in aid of allowing him to play his preferred role. No-one has been asking Hojlund to play as a wide forward, or as a 10, or anything else daft. He’s been as horribly exposed as anyone by this season’s non-approach, but thankfully finally did manage to score some league goals. It was about time too, given he’s largely been allowed to just focus on being a striker and has little to no involvement in build up play.
But to emphasise, that isn’t really anything to hold against Hojlund. I can’t really give a feck about how he has performed this season, when the whole team is set up to fail – and that has been apparent from the very first games of the season when Arsenal gave us the ball repeatedly, set back, yet Martinez and Onana had no options as to how to progress from the back. The horrible performances from every single outfielder this season are the chickens coming home to roost from not having honed a clear style of play.
I’m sorry, but the whole argument that Rashford is lazy is flat out bollocks. He did more sprints than United player again yesterday, despite the treatment he had first half. People completely discount all of the attacking runs he makes, many of them off-camera, which aren’t passed to.
I really couldn’t give a toss about his attacking contributions without the ball when his contributions on the ball were as diabolical as we saw yesterday, and for most of this season. Do me a favour and watch the video posted above which has his every touch. It’s genuinely shockingly bad.
In terms of defensive effort off the ball it’s always been terrible. Himself and Martial (and Greenwood) have consistently made fewer tackles than almost any other footballer in their position. And that’s under multiple managers. This season is just more of the same old shite, with added meme-worthy slow motion jogging “pressing”.
The thing is, really elite, incisive attacking players can get away with that. The likes of Messi or Haaland. But strikers at a tier below them have to put a defensive shift in, if they want to play for a big club. Look how many tackles and pressures the strikers at Liverpool and Arsenal make. Look at Foden tracking back to tackle Antony yesterday. And when you see someone make such a horrible mess of almost every single touch he gets on the ball as Rashford did yesterday (and for most of this season) then it’s obviously going to be unacceptable to combine that with little or no defensive contributions.
It’s one of the worst individual performances you’re ever likely to see. His “every touch” video will take your breath away with how consistently awful his every involvement was.
EDIT: I’m assuming the video above really did show his every touch and not just all the bad ones? But by Christ, there’s a LOT of bad ones!
I think probably it does show every touch - I tried to keep mental track as it went on, and that fits with my recollection. He had one or two non-failed involvements shortly before he was substituted but other than that every single one that wasn't a routine pass was a ball loss.
Maybe Jamie Jackson should watch it (ratings in The Guardian; Rashford 7, Mainoo 4).
It obviously isn’t every touch. It’s just the bad ones.
Edit - or I should say the ones that the video creator decided were bad ones. It includes winning free kicks etc that weren’t given and a perfectly good pass which one of our other players inexplicably let run out of play. It also doesn’t show the two excellent off the ball runs he made that should have led to clear one on ones if Bruno and Garnacho hadn’t messed up really simple passes, highlighted on MOTD.
The last 10 minutes or so he was on the pitch he did give it away a few times cheaply. The subsequent comments that he was carrying an injury make sense.
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