[MileStolar]

We massively improved at GK and midfield, and there is no chance our fixture congestion will be as bad next season. Chelsea and Liverpool are going through big transition, though I do think Liverpool will be fine. Newcastle are about to feel fixture congestion for the first time and you bet your ass that has a big impact.

I'd be very surprised if Chelsea or Newcastle finish above us. Just like they didn't last year despite us playing about 20 games more than them over the season.

I hope you're right, I just fear that we might go backwards as many of our players declined at some point in the season. Let's hope it's not the case, and we build our confidence and momentum from the get go.

We, the fans, could use a good season, after so many years of getting our hopes up only to get crushed down into dirt.

 

[Red_toad]

With the squad as it is, we won't finish above City, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea. Would be in a scrap with about 4 other teams for 5th.

I'd wager someone said that prior to last season!
Squad is better this season, what happens remains to be seen. Shame some seems to think they already know.

 

[simonhch]

It is the wont of the Caf to over react to results, whether it’s preseason or not, victory or defeat. We’ll either crush all before us, or languish in 8th scoring 7 goals all season and humiliating ourselves in Europe. The squad is either one of the best in Europe, or barely good enough to compete with Brighton. There’s little to no middle ground, and the position taken is invariably dictated by the most recent result.

Im fairly convinced this forum is some sort of Machiavellian social experiment.

 

[ForeverRed1]

Lets not be over dramatic!

Who was our main striker last season, and where did we finish?

That’s not the point. We need to stop shoe horning players out of position and play them at their best position. Rashy isn’t a left winger. Bruno isn’t a right winger. Etc etc.

We won’t win the league unless these players are at their absolute best. Unless we have a striker who scores plenty of goals. City literally have a goal demon scoring 25 goals by Xmas! We got to compete. Nothing dramatic about it. It’s a fact.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Him playing up front is borne out of necessity unfortunately. It’s far from ideal but it’s comfortably our best option currently.

What I find weird is when he plays upfront he doesn't hang out on the left. Most wingers turned strikers (Henry, Ronaldo and more recently Mbappe etc) always go back to their comfort zones but he doesn't and just lets the game drift by him.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

I know it's preseason and all, but just once I'd like to watch Rashford and not get the sense he's doing a bad Madrid CR7 impression. Can't remember the last time I've seen him play and gone "wow he's worked his socks off today".

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I know it's preseason and all, but just once I'd like to watch Rashford and not get the sense he's doing a bad Madrid CR7 impression. Can't remember the last time I've seen him play and gone "wow he's worked his socks off today".

He came on and was heavily involved, which was due to his relentless running off the ball and driving at players when on it. Was a constant threat!

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

He came on and was heavily involved, which was due to his relentless running off the ball and driving at players when on it. Was a constant threat!

Making runs into channels is expected though. That's not really what I'm talking about, Rashford has done that since he was a teenager.

 

[Santoryo]

I know it's preseason and all, but just once I'd like to watch Rashford and not get the sense he's doing a bad Madrid CR7 impression. Can't remember the last time I've seen him play and gone "wow he's worked his socks off today".

Hopefully Garnacho competition gets him out of that impression once the season starts. We're actually going to have decent competition on the left and right wing.

 

[Ali Dia]

Hopefully gets on the scoresheet at wolves and more of the same this season!

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He'll turn up for Wolves. Confident of that.

 

[Remember the geese]

Just goes through the motions at times. Needs a bit more intensity in his play.

 

[bosnian_red]

I'm sure he'll be fine when the season starts but he's been shit this pre season. At least his running with the ball and off the ball runs have been better today than for some time, but decision making wasn't good and it felt like he could've been more selfish/direct to take a shot on.

 

[In Rainbows]

Yeah, he's been awful in preseason. Good thing it's only preseason. No use of saying anything more than that. Season hasn't started so no reason to really be upset.

 

[Footyislife]

High likelyhood this will end up being a bad contract at £300k/pw. He's worth max £175k/pw for averaging about 12-14 goals a season.

Decent player, but always something off in the final touch whether it's pass, dribble or shoot to make him CONSISTENLY a great player.

 

[KM]

High likelyhood this will end up being a bad contract at £300k/pw. He's worth max £175k/pw for averaging about 12-14 goals a season.

Decent player, but always something off in the final touch whether it's pass, dribble or shoot to make him CONSISTENLY a great player.

 

[Escobar]

Needs to find top gear soon without him we are lost

 

[Red_toad]

High likelyhood this will end up being a bad contract at £300k/pw. He's worth max £175k/pw for averaging about 12-14 goals a season.

Decent player, but always something off in the final touch whether it's pass, dribble or shoot to make him CONSISTENLY a great player.

Had we given him said contract, he'd be playing for PSG and scoring a shed load in their Farmers league. Then we'd be relying on Sancho, Antony, injury & Hojlund to replace his 30 last season. Marcus doesn't need to be a great player, he need to give us 20 plus goals per season.

 

[Witchking]

I have an agenda against Rashford. For me it's looking like a mistake to give him a 5 year deal. He is very talented and has all the skills to become a great player but he will end up being just another one who played for United.

His finishing is very iffy, lacks finesse in his game. Doesn't seem to be in control of the ball, or body when he is dribbling. Feel like he was actually better at this in his early years.

He is unable to play well if there's no space to run, he is not a CF for sure.

Garnacho might end up getting more game time on the left, so he may be shunted to the right which again is not his best position.


Really am hoping he turns up with a 30 goal season in the league as we are counting on him a lot. But I do not see it in him.

He is good at a lot of things without being consistent at any of them.

Hasn't had a good preseason at all which is again very worrying.

We will have Spurs, Arsenal very early in the season and him playing like he is right now doesn't bode well.

 

[CallyRed]

Typical. Signs his massive contract renewal and has already checked out for the season

 

[Wilt]

Typical. Signs his massive contract renewal and has already checked out for the season

Yep, job done, chill out.

 

[Cassidy]

I have an agenda against Rashford. For me it's looking like a mistake to give him a 5 year deal. He is very talented and has all the skills to become a great player but he will end up being just another one who played for United.

His finishing is very iffy, lacks finesse in his game. Doesn't seem to be in control of the ball, or body when he is dribbling. Feel like he was actually better at this in his early years.

He is unable to play well if there's no space to run, he is not a CF for sure.

Garnacho might end up getting more game time on the left, so he may be shunted to the right which again is not his best position.


Really am hoping he turns up with a 30 goal season in the league as we are counting on him a lot. But I do not see it in him.

He is good at a lot of things without being consistent at any of them.

Hasn't had a good preseason at all which is again very worrying.

We will have Spurs, Arsenal very early in the season and him playing like he is right now doesn't bode well.

Based on patchy pre season form when he had a longer break that a lot of the squad due to internationals?
I think you have made that judgement extremely quickly

 

[Chip]

He's a puzzling player. Has stretches where he's almost unplayable and bangs them in for fun.

Then at other times he is simply not able to control the ball and barely looks like a professional footballer. I know it was a pre-season game against Dortmund, but it's pretty damning for a star attacker to have such a hard time controlling the ball.

I'm afraid he's really not going to age with any grace.

 

[Escobar]

You wonder if fitness is an issue or just his mentality. But I am sure he will do well once the season starts

 

[Chip]

You wonder if fitness is an issue or just his mentality. But I am sure he will do well once the season starts

Fitness shouldn't make a player unable to control the ball for a full match tbf. If anything, he's probably not switched on mentally.

 

[Escobar]

Fitness shouldn't make a player unable to control the ball for a full match tbf. If anything, he's probably not switched on mentally.

It can, as your body and brain gets tired so you start making mistakes

 

[Eplel]

I have an agenda against Rashford. For me it's looking like a mistake to give him a 5 year deal. He is very talented and has all the skills to become a great player but he will end up being just another one who played for United.

His finishing is very iffy, lacks finesse in his game. Doesn't seem to be in control of the ball, or body when he is dribbling. Feel like he was actually better at this in his early years.

He is unable to play well if there's no space to run, he is not a CF for sure.

Garnacho might end up getting more game time on the left, so he may be shunted to the right which again is not his best position.


Really am hoping he turns up with a 30 goal season in the league as we are counting on him a lot. But I do not see it in him.

He is good at a lot of things without being consistent at any of them.

Hasn't had a good preseason at all which is again very worrying.

We will have Spurs, Arsenal very early in the season and him playing like he is right now doesn't bode well.

This is the worst post of season 23/24, and it's still only July.

 

[wr8_utd]

You wonder if fitness is an issue or just his mentality. But I am sure he will do well once the season starts

Just how long will this continue to be an excuse for Rashford? And ball control and brainless decisions really shouldn't be blamed on fitness. Anyway, its just pre-season and about getting match sharpness. Will be a real worry if he continues this way when the season starts.

 

[Santoryo]

I'm sure he'll be fine when the season starts but he's been shit this pre season. At least his running with the ball and off the ball runs have been better today than for some time, but decision making wasn't good and it felt like he could've been more selfish/direct to take a shot on.

The hope with Rashford is that he has the same goal scoring knack this season as he did last year because that's how he is valuable to this team. His all round game will always remain spotty(poor touch more often than desirable, unable to play well in tighter areas and poor with his back to goal) but his production did offset all that last season and hopefully he has that same scoring bug this season.

If he doesn't score, his play will frustrate people because that's when you start noticing his overall play which isn't always good. So far this preseason he's been off even in front of goals but the good news is that he's still getting in those goal scoring position which is massive for him and the team.

 

[bosnian_red]

Just how long will this continue to be an excuse for Rashford? And ball control and brainless decisions really shouldn't be blamed on fitness. Anyway, its just pre-season and about getting match sharpness. Will be a real worry if he continues this way when the season starts.

Yeah it's nothing to do with fitness. He looked quick and strong. He just had some sloppy touches and decision making but at the same time I thought he looked sharper than the previous games, especially with his dribbling.

He's often been one that needed pressure of important games to step up so I'm not too concerned yet.

 

[Prodigy24]

Not been that good so far during the pre season but I'm sure that Erik will make him raise his levels for the league.

 

[roonster09]

The hope with Rashford is that he has the same goal scoring knack this season as he did last year because that's how he is valuable to this team. His all round game will always remain spotty(poor touch more often than desirable, unable to play well in tighter areas and poor with his back to goal) but his production did offset all that last season and hopefully he has that same scoring bug this season.

If he doesn't score, his play will frustrate people because that's when you start noticing his overall play which isn't always good. So far this preseason he's been off even in front of goals but the good news is that he's still getting in those goal scoring position which is massive for him and the team.

Rashford has excellent first touch, not sure why people repeat this. His general play is lacking sometimes but anyone saying his first touch is poor is just wrong.

It's his pace, off the ball movement and very good first touch that gets him so many goal scoring opportunities.

 

[bosnian_red]

The hope with Rashford is that he has the same goal scoring knack this season as he did last year because that's how he is valuable to this team. His all round game will always remain spotty(poor touch more often than desirable, unable to play well in tighter areas and poor with his back to goal) but his production did offset all that last season and hopefully he has that same scoring bug this season.

If he doesn't score, his play will frustrate people because that's when you start noticing his overall play which isn't always good. So far this preseason he's been off even in front of goals but the good news is that he's still getting in those goal scoring position which is massive for him and the team.

Yeah, and importantly he does make fantastic runs on that left wing, which was a problem in the 2nd half as everyone seems to think they can pick him out easily (which TBF they can, but still). It leads to forcing it to him over the top way too much instead of just playing normally. Can't blame him for making good runs but the squad needs to know to still play it through the midfield and Sancho. Now add Onana to the mix of Bruno, Licha, Shaw and Casemiro who can pick him out (and often force it?)... He's going to be in great positions pretty often, more than ever before IMO, so just about sharpening up that decision making.

 

[Pickle85]

Typical. Signs his massive contract renewal and has already checked out for the season

Can't tell if this is serious or not. If it is, it has to be one of the most absurd posts I've seen on here in quite some time. Writing him off this season based on a handful of preseason games...

 

[Stadjer]

Rashford has excellent first touch, not sure why people repeat this. His general play is lacking sometimes but anyone saying his first touch is poor is just wrong.

It's his pace, off the ball movement and very good first touch that gets him so many goal scoring opportunities.

Agree. He had bad touches against Dortmund which are showing very clearly because of the focus on Onana his distribution that ended up being ruined by average touches by Rashford. Usually the first touch isnt an issue with Rashford. He just had a day off, wasnt focused and/or sloppy against Dortmund. I dont see it as an issue.

I also do find it very stupid that people are claiming that he doesnt care anymore now he signed his deal and thats why he had a bad game. Is that what we will have to read this season at every bad Rashford moment?

 

[Santoryo]

Rashford has excellent first touch, not sure why people repeat this. His general play is lacking sometimes but anyone saying his first touch is poor is just wrong.

It's his pace, off the ball movement and very good first touch that gets him so many goal scoring opportunities.

I wouldn't say that. When he's on he has a good touch but even then it's can be spotty and not quite consistent with it. People with naturally excellent first touch are very consistent with it and wouldn't mess up 2-3 easy long ball to them in a single game(which he did this game) no matter how fit or unfit they are.

When we talk about Rashford's strengths, touch doesn't usually jump to mind which isn't an issue in itself if one has accepted it(which I have). I see Rashford as a player who brings values through other means and exquisite first touch isn't one of them.

 

[Cassidy]

Rashford has excellent first touch, not sure why people repeat this. His general play is lacking sometimes but anyone saying his first touch is poor is just wrong.

It's his pace, off the ball movement and very good first touch that gets him so many goal scoring opportunities.

He had a good first touch, not excellent

 

[roonster09]

I wouldn't say that. When he's on he has a good touch but even then it's can be spotty and not quite consistent with it. People with naturally excellent first touch are very consistent with it and wouldn't mess up 2-3 easy long ball to them in a single game(which he did this game) no matter how fit or unfit they are.

When we talk about Rashford's strengths, touch doesn't usually jump to mind which isn't an issue in itself if one has accepted it(which I have). I see Rashford as a player who brings values through other means and exquisite first touch isn't one of them.

It's just 2 touches, out of that he misjudged the first one. You are using one game where he has shown it for years that he has very good first touch.

Shaw has excellent first touch and probably best in the squad, his first touch went out of play vs Dortmund, means nothing. It happens to every player. If the player who has excellent first touch are very consistent, they wouldn't be averaging more than 2 unsuccessful touches per game or per 90 mins.

There is a big different between exquisite first touch and 'poor touch more often than desirable'.

 

[roonster09]

Agree. He had bad touches against Dortmund which are showing very clearly because of the focus on Onana his distribution that ended up being ruined by average touches by Rashford. Usually the first touch isnt an issue with Rashford. He just had a day off, wasnt focused and/or sloppy against Dortmund. I dont see it as an issue.

I also do find it very stupid that people are claiming that he doesnt care anymore now he signed his deal and thats why he had a bad game. Is that what we will have to read this season at every bad Rashford moment?

Yeah, it's so weird to see so many conclusions drawn on single preseason game.

 

[Frank White]

Jesus he must have been ridiculously shite to warrant some of the comments in here. Only got to watch him against Arsenal where he was basically in the B side, so not watched are early morning preseason games. Mental that he's been written off after 3 preseason halves.