Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

[gaffs]

If I understand you right here, what you're saying is that Amorim should have been less harsh, more diplomatic in his response - because this makes sense business wise: United want someone to buy (or at least loan) the player before the window closes.

Which isn't an unreasonable point to make - sure. The "I'd rather play a 63 old year old coach than this fecker" wasn't absolutely necessary, he could have worded it differently.

But, two things:

1) It's not Amorim's job to get rid of Rashford (either on loan or permanently).

2) He only genuinely fecked up with his remark if his employers didn't want him to make it. I personally would like to think he - Amorim - and the ones above him are on the same page here.

1. You are right, it is not Amorims job to get rid of Rashford. But just because that may not be in his job description, does not mean that he needs to make the task more difficult for those whose job it is. How does is serve Amorim any better to be telling any potential interested clubs that one of his players, who he seemingly wants rid of, cant train upto a required standard and has issues with this lifestyle ?

I work for a bank. Im not in any way connected to selling banking products. But that doesn't mean that I should stand outside the bank and telling potential customers that our products are crap.

2. What would be the joined up thought process here between INEOS and Amorim to talk down Rashford?

The only argument that could be made would be to talk him down so much that Rashford takes an offer or goes to a club he is not happy with. But we know that wont work because any club that he wouldn't be happy with are even less likely to pay a higher % of his wages. Less money the club manages to claw back, the fewer options we have going forward.

Amorim is just making the situation more difficult. Just as ten Hag did with Sancho. We all love the candor from him, but i cant see how it is helping, be it in moving him on or potentially reintegrating him post the transfer window closing.

 

[gaffs]

He was speaking on the topic of Rashford and referenced playing the GK coach over someone who didn't train 100%. He didn't need to mention Rashford directly given the question was specifically about the player.

I'm quite confident this wasn't your stance when ETH said that Sanchos training was not upto standard.

IMO, don't talk down your assets, which your players are. Especially when you want to get rid of them.

 

[VP89]

I'm quite confident this wasn't your stance when ETH said that Sanchos training was not upto standard.

IMO, don't talk down your assets, which your players are. Especially when you want to get rid of them.

As I said a few pages ago if Amorim said that Rashford doesn't perform up to standards it's fine. That message is fine, heck the wording for me is fine. But he put the wording in a more insulting way, that's literally all I've said.

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

IMO, don't talk down your assets, which your players are. Especially when you want to get rid of them.

I'm really not convinced that it makes that much difference to his value - anyone with eyes can see what he's been like on the pitch in the last couple of years, and his off-field misdemeanors have been widely reported. The sheer amount we pay players makes it nigh on impossible to offload them and so we end up hanging on to them long after they have ceased to be useful and then giving them away for a pittance or free (see Pogba and Martial). Your opinion makes sense, but you have to weigh up the difference between getting rid now (or at the end of the season) at a reduced price, or holding on to him until the end of his contract at £18 million wages p/a, and trying to get the best out of a player who has admitted he wants a fresh challenge? IMO Amorim and the club have decided they definitely don't want the latter scenario, and so anything they can do now to hasten his departure may be no bad thing in the longer term.

 

[gaffs]

As I said a few pages ago if Amorim said that Rashford doesn't perform up to standards it's fine. That message is fine, heck the wording for me is fine. But he put the wording in a more insulting way, that's literally all I've said.

Fair.

And i agree, the wording does not help the situation, at all.

Infact, i don't think saying any player is performing poorly in training can help, in any situation.

 

[gaffs]

I'm really not convinced that it makes that much difference to his value - anyone with eyes can see what he's been like on the pitch in the last couple of years, and his off-field misdemeanors have been widely reported. The sheer amount we pay players makes it nigh on impossible to offload them and so we end up hanging on to them long after they have ceased to be useful and then giving them away for a pittance or free (see Pogba and Martial). Your opinion makes sense, but you have to weigh up the difference between getting rid now (or at the end of the season) at a reduced price, or holding on to him until the end of his contract at £18 million wages p/a, and trying to get the best out of a player who has admitted he wants a fresh challenge? IMO Amorim and the club have decided they definitely don't want the latter scenario, and so anything they can do now to hasten his departure may be no bad thing in the longer term.

I agree, it is no secret that Rashford has been performing quite poorly prior to him being dropped for the City game, and if we want rid, there is a very limited pool of clubs that could even contribute 50% of his wages, but you add on top that he is also a shitty trainer, then it really does make the task a lot harder.

If he does leave on loan, i think it will be a final hours of window deal where a clubs comes in a offers to pay a small % of his salary - maybe 1/3. Better to get 100k a week back and potentially see some improvement from Rashford elsewhere (as Sancho showed at Dortmund) than have to deal with Rashford questions every day and potentially try and integrate him back in.

I would love to know how badly Rashford is training to not be included in a matchday squad for weeks. What is he doing / not doing? Surely if he was that bad, to a point where he was a possible distraction, then he would be training with the reserves or youth team now.

 

[VP89]

Fair.

And i agree, the wording does not help the situation, at all.

Infact, i don't think saying any player is performing poorly in training can help, in any situation.

Yeah I'm just sick of Rashford now maybe unreasonably so, so I was totally fine with. Amorim cutting deep.

Rashford briefs to the media that he wants his England spot but he's also not entertaining pay cuts. He's also rejecting Saudi, so he needs to pick a side.

The approach Amorim was very stern and I feel it may push Rashford behind the scenes to concede to a pay cut or leave to the middle east. Forcing his hand is fine by me and we won't do that by playing nice.

 

[The Boy]

Maybe the club is not as intent on selling Rashford as everyone thinks. I'm sure they'd happily cash in, but they know there are not any buyers out there in Jan, so Amorim is doing his best to motivate Rashford anyway he can. Maybe, he's spoken to him privately, didn't work, so now he's going public to see if he can relight that fire.

 

[NewGlory]

Maybe the club is not as intent on selling Rashford as everyone thinks. I'm sure they'd happily cash in, but they know there are not any buyers out there in Jan, so Amorim is doing his best to motivate Rashford anyway he can. Maybe, he's spoken to him privately, didn't work, so now he's going public to see if he can relight that fire.

Based on what we are hearing – not only United is extremely motivated to sell Rashford, they would love to see him go even if it is loan. So much so that they would even pay half of his insane salary, while on loan. The problem is - almost nobody wants him even on these conditions, and those who may have wanted him Rashy's ego thinks he is too good for them, so basically - no realistic way to move him even on a loan. But not because of United's lack of desire to see him gone! Just a sad and infuriating reality

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

I agree, it is no secret that Rashford has been performing quite poorly prior to him being dropped for the City game, and if we want rid, there is a very limited pool of clubs that could even contribute 50% of his wages, but you add on top that he is also a shitty trainer, then it really does make the task a lot harder.

If he does leave on loan, i think it will be a final hours of window deal where a clubs comes in a offers to pay a small % of his salary - maybe 1/3. Better to get 100k a week back and potentially see some improvement from Rashford elsewhere (as Sancho showed at Dortmund) than have to deal with Rashford questions every day and potentially try and integrate him back in.

I would love to know how badly Rashford is training to not be included in a matchday squad for weeks. What is he doing / not doing? Surely if he was that bad, to a point where he was a possible distraction, then he would be training with the reserves or youth team now.

Well you've seen how he is in matches - that video posted earlier today says it all really. It's not that much of a push to imagine what he must be like in training. However, I think it's probably more that Amorim has asked him to adapt his game (as he has been very open about with Garnacho) and Rashford has said - to the press - that he's not up for that. That is all out there in the public domain. Does Amorim saying that he isn't giving 100% in training really make that much difference?

 

[romufc]

Based on what we are hearing – not only United is extremely motivated to sell Rashford, they would love to see him go even if it is loan. So much so that they would even pay half of his insane salary, while on loan. The problem is - almost nobody wants him even on these conditions, and those who may have wanted him Rashy's ego thinks he is too good for them, so basically - no realistic way to move him even on a loan. But not because of United's lack of desire to see him gone! Just a sad and infuriating reality

Yep, United seem more keen to get this done than Rashford though, we are offering to let him go on loan, not asking for a fee and paying part of his wages.

He came out saying he is ready for a new challenge, the clubs he has gone to, cannot afford him and he wasn't willing to take a pay cut to go to Milan. Now, he is sat there hoping Barca sign him, a club that need to get rid of their own players first, a club that had to sell VIP club seats to get a current member registered. How does he think BArca will sign him?

To be fair to Rashford, he does believe in himself, considering he is going to top tier clubs when in reality he isn't even good enough for West Ham.

 

[Eric's-collar]

Cant understand Rashford's thinking, Amorim obviously doesn't want to play him, for reasons mentioned, how does sitting in the stands till end of season do anything for Rashford ? Makes him look even worse imo, surely going on loan n maybe scoring a few goals would enhance his chances of a better move in the summer, he's 27 meant to be his peak years.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

1. You are right, it is not Amorims job to get rid of Rashford. But just because that may not be in his job description, does not mean that he needs to make the task more difficult for those whose job it is. How does is serve Amorim any better to be telling any potential interested clubs that one of his players, who he seemingly wants rid of, cant train upto a required standard and has issues with this lifestyle ?

I work for a bank. Im not in any way connected to selling banking products. But that doesn't mean that I should stand outside the bank and telling potential customers that our products are crap.

2. What would be the joined up thought process here between INEOS and Amorim to talk down Rashford?

The only argument that could be made would be to talk him down so much that Rashford takes an offer or goes to a club he is not happy with. But we know that wont work because any club that he wouldn't be happy with are even less likely to pay a higher % of his wages. Less money the club manages to claw back, the fewer options we have going forward.

Amorim is just making the situation more difficult. Just as ten Hag did with Sancho. We all love the candor from him, but i cant see how it is helping, be it in moving him on or potentially reintegrating him post the transfer window closing.

Well...yes.

I don't disagree with anything you said. On general principle I prefer this sort of thing to be dealt with 100% behind the scenes. Meaning: Amorim's ideal comment would be: "No comment."

But as we all know, even giving the journos nothing amounts to giving them something.

Perhaps he could have gone with something more generic - like the comment he made before Christmas (he has certain standards he expects all his players to meet etc.). The message (to anyone with half a brain) is exactly the same, of course - but, yeah, sure: like I said before, he could have phrased it less harshly.

But - and this is the point here (in a Caf context): we do have posters on here who seem to focus on how disrespectful and "emotional" Amorim is...rather than focusing on the huge elephant in the room.

Whether Rashford (his media people) is the egg or the chicken in this (as some seem to be debating) in terms of how it all started in the media - is surely utterly irrelevant: the only thing that matters is that Rashford has been acting unprofessionally. And does anyone actually dispute this? Does anyone actually believe that Rashford has been thrown under the bus here for no reason?

 

[gaffs]

Yeah I'm just sick of Rashford now maybe unreasonably so, so I was totally fine with. Amorim cutting deep.

Rashford briefs to the media that he wants his England spot but he's also not entertaining pay cuts. He's also rejecting Saudi, so he needs to pick a side.

The approach Amorim was very stern and I feel it may push Rashford behind the scenes to concede to a pay cut or leave to the middle east. Forcing his hand is fine by me and we won't do that by playing nice.

Im not sure that works. I think it makes him even more entrenched in his position. And i dont think there is anything wrong with not going to Saudi.

We will see how it plays out. But as i have said in other posts, quite bizarre that he is training badly yet still training with the first team. How bad is his training?

 

[Escobar]

As I said a few pages ago if Amorim said that Rashford doesn't perform up to standards it's fine. That message is fine, heck the wording for me is fine. But he put the wording in a more insulting way, that's literally all I've said.

That behaviour and attitude is a bloody disgrace. The words can be as harsh, it is justified

 

[gaffs]

Well you've seen how he is in matches - that video posted earlier today says it all really. It's not that much of a push to imagine what he must be like in training. However, I think it's probably more that Amorim has asked him to adapt his game (as he has been very open about with Garnacho) and Rashford has said - to the press - that he's not up for that. That is all out there in the public domain. Does Amorim saying that he isn't giving 100% in training really make that much difference?

Sorry, if i missed that, but did Rashford say he was not willing to adapt his game?

I know he said he was ready for a new challenge, but did he say that not wanting to adapt his game was the reason why?

 

[gaffs]

Well...yes.

I don't disagree with anything you said. On general principle I prefer this sort of thing to be dealt with 100% behind the scenes. Meaning: Amorim's ideal comment would be: "No comment."

But as we all know, even giving the journos nothing amounts to giving them something.

Perhaps he could have gone with something more generic - like the comment he made before Christmas (he has certain standards he expects all his players to meet etc.). The message (to anyone with half a brain) is exactly the same, of course - but, yeah, sure: like I said before, he could have phrased it less harshly.

But - and this is the point here (in a Caf context): we do have posters on here who seem to focus on how disrespectful and "emotional" Amorim is...rather than focusing on the huge elephant in the room.

Whether Rashford (his media people) is the egg or the chicken in this (as some seem to be debating) in terms of how it all started in the media - is surely utterly irrelevant: the only thing that matters is that Rashford has been acting unprofessionally. And does anyone actually dispute this? Does anyone actually believe that Rashford has been thrown under the bus here for no reason?

Exactly. I think its best for any manager not to throw more chum in the water for the press.

Q: "Why is Rashford not in the squad?"
A: "I only talk about players that are in the squad".

I dont think Rashford has been thrown under the bus. Obviously there is something not right, but I would love to know how poor his training performances actually are.

I feel that Amorim doesn't want to be seen to look weak now, so is entrenched in his positions. I think that is fine when there may still be a chance for Rashford to leave. When the window closes, something needs to be done.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

When the window closes, something needs to be done.

Yes - absolutely.

Nobody wants a Bale situation - including Rashford himself I would hope.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Not sure why people are acting like Amorim's comments affect the value of Rashford in any way. Every club already has sources telling them the same thing most likely, they don't need some twitter clips of an interview with a new manager to discover that Rashford doesn't train well.

We are reaping what we sow yet again in not getting rid of players when we should.

 

[The Boy]

Based on what we are hearing – not only United is extremely motivated to sell Rashford, they would love to see him go even if it is loan. So much so that they would even pay half of his insane salary, while on loan. The problem is - almost nobody wants him even on these conditions, and those who may have wanted him Rashy's ego thinks he is too good for them, so basically - no realistic way to move him even on a loan. But not because of United's lack of desire to see him gone! Just a sad and infuriating reality

I'm sure they'd love to have him off the books, but what I was trying to say was (and probably not that well!) is that they have accepted he's probably going to be part of the squad for at least the rest of the season, so this is Amorim's attempt to fire him up. The arm around the shoulder clerly hasn't worked, either has playing him until he hits form, ETH proved that. So maybe calling him out in public might do the trick.

I was trying to respond to posters saying that Amorim is ruining any chance of him going by telling everyone he doesn't work hard, but I wonder if Amorim only did this after being told the chances of him going in Jan were very slim.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I was trying to respond to posters saying that Amorim is ruining any chance of him going by telling everyone he doesn't work hard, but I wonder if Amorim only did this after being told the chances of him going in Jan were very slim.

Yeah - like I said above, I don't think the people above Amorim were shocked by what he said.

One rather persistent rumor is that upper management had identified Rashford as a problem well before Amorim was appointed.

The "cultural reboot" thing didn't appear out of nowhere - and Amorim wasn't the first to notice that Rashford maybe wasn't a poster boy for professionalism.

 

[BorisManUtd]

Not sure why people are acting like Amorim's comments affect the value of Rashford in any way. Every club already has sources telling them the same thing most likely, they don't need some twitter clips of an interview with a new manager to discover that Rashford doesn't train well.

We are reaping what we sow yet again in not getting rid of players when we should.

Well when Amorim says he'd rather give chance to GK coach than Rashford then clubs probably believe we'd accept even paying significant amount of his wages just to see him going somewhere on loan. But do believe club felt early in the window that clubs would be ready to pay Rashford's full wages and now, as we're approaching final stages of the window, it's clear that most probably won't be the case so Amorim decided to be open about it and now it's clear goal is to get rid and find Rashford a club even if we have to participate in paying his wages.

You'd expect some kind of deal with some club to be done by Monday.

 

[Bobby_2024]

Looks like Ruben put his neck out and taking all the shots for cleaning up the mess we created over a long time

Clearing out Rashford/Casemiro/Antony/Malacua and, phasing out players like Eriksen/Lindelof is really needed and he is doing it.

same thing wanted by many fans too.

I would say he got the balls to do Al this dirty work even after knowing his reputation is on line..

 

[skc_18]

Looks like Ruben put his neck out and taking all the shots for cleaning up the mess we created over a long time

Clearing out Rashford/Casemiro/Antony/Malacua and, phasing out players like Eriksen/Lindelof is really needed and he is doing it.

same thing wanted by many fans too.

I would say he got the balls to do Al this dirty work even after knowing his reputation is on line..

I agree. It takes guts to do this. Amorim could have ignored it but may be he is looking at it long-term and sees Rashford as a problem which he cannot fix but needed to handled. Hence the urgency.
As much as I like Rashford , he is not the player he thinks he is. He has been average for last couple of years. ETH changed the system so many times to fit him in and it just did not work. Its time to move on.

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

Sorry, if i missed that, but did Rashford say he was not willing to adapt his game?

I know he said he was ready for a new challenge, but did he say that not wanting to adapt his game was the reason why?

I think it's reasonable to infer that is part of it. We know that neither Garnacho or Rashford naturally fit into Amorim's system and he has spoken a lot about how hard Garnacho has been working hard to adapt his game. So, a day or two after Rashford gets dropped he makes his statement in the press saying that he wants to leave for a fresh challenge. From that we can infer that either a) Rashford decided he didn't want to meet those 'standards' that Amorim was talking about when he dropped them both from the City squad or b) he was disillusioned about his role in the new system and felt he didn't want to work to adapt in the way that Garnacho has, or c) most likely a mixture of the two.

Honestly, it's like people haven't been watching Rashford play over the last few years? He made it known that he didn't like playing up front as a 9, and always looked grumpy as feck when he was put on the right wing. He said in interviews many times that he likes cutting in from the left, and even his biggest fan must agree that he's never been one for tracking back. So with all of that information out there in the public domain it would be weird to think that him being unwilling to adapt hasn't played a part in this. None of it reflects very well on him does it, whatever the true reason is?

 

[gaffs]

I think it's reasonable to infer that is part of it. We know that neither Garnacho or Rashford naturally fit into Amorim's system and he has spoken a lot about how hard Garnacho has been working hard to adapt his game. So, a day or two after Rashford gets dropped he makes his statement in the press saying that he wants to leave for a fresh challenge. From that we can infer that either a) Rashford decided he didn't want to meet those 'standards' that Amorim was talking about when he dropped them both from the City squad or b) he was disillusioned about his role in the new system and felt he didn't want to work to adapt in the way that Garnacho has, or c) most likely a mixture of the two.

Honestly, it's like people haven't been watching Rashford play over the last few years? He made it known that he didn't like playing up front as a 9, and always looked grumpy as feck when he was put on the right wing. He said in interviews many times that he likes cutting in from the left, and even his biggest fan must agree that he's never been one for tracking back. So with all of that information out there in the public domain it would be weird to think that him being unwilling to adapt hasn't played a part in this. None of it reflects very well on him does it, whatever the true reason is?

There is a difference between him saying that he wasn't up for it, which is what you said earlier..

Amorim has asked him to adapt his game (as he has been very open about with Garnacho) and Rashford has said - to the press - that he's not up for that.

To that being potentially what he was referring to.

You could be right, but think its a little unfair to put words into his mouth.

The whole situation is bizarre. If, as you suggest, Rashford isnt willing to adapt to what Amorim wants, then why is he even training with the first team? That would suggest that Rashford is either dragging his heels, mailing it in or purposely disobeying the managers requests. Hard to balance Amorims hard line in the media re Rashford not meeting standards, yet the willingness to allow him to hang around and potentially drag down others.

Feels like him not doing so is diliberetly

 

[gaffs]

I agree. It takes guts to do this. Amorim could have ignored it but may be he is looking at it long-term and sees Rashford as a problem which he cannot fix but needed to handled. Hence the urgency.
As much as I like Rashford , he is not the player he thinks he is. He has been average for last couple of years. ETH changed the system so many times to fit him in and it just did not work. Its time to move on.

Agree re Amorim - this could be the case.

Did ETH change the system to fit Rashford?

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

There is a difference between him saying that he wasn't up for it, which is what you said earlier..


To that being potentially what he was referring to.

You could be right, but think its a little unfair to put words into his mouth.

The whole situation is bizarre. If, as you suggest, Rashford isnt willing to adapt to what Amorim wants, then why is he even training with the first team? That would suggest that Rashford is either dragging his heels, mailing it in or purposely disobeying the managers requests. Hard to balance Amorims hard line in the media re Rashford not meeting standards, yet the willingness to allow him to hang around and potentially drag down others.

Feels like him not doing so is diliberetly

You keep saying this, but I'm not really sure what you are insinuating? Maybe Amorim just thinks that demoting him to the reserves would be a step too far? Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding, but you seem to be implying that either you don't believe what Amorim has said about Rashford, or that he's deliberately keeping him in the first team squad for some other reason?

 

[NewGlory]

I'm sure they'd love to have him off the books, but what I was trying to say was (and probably not that well!) is that they have accepted he's probably going to be part of the squad for at least the rest of the season, so this is Amorim's attempt to fire him up. The arm around the shoulder clerly hasn't worked, either has playing him until he hits form, ETH proved that. So maybe calling him out in public might do the trick.

I was trying to respond to posters saying that Amorim is ruining any chance of him going by telling everyone he doesn't work hard, but I wonder if Amorim only did this after being told the chances of him going in Jan were very slim.

Yeap, makes sense

 

[gaffs]

You keep saying this, but I'm not really sure what you are insinuating? Maybe Amorim just thinks that demoting him to the reserves would be a step too far? Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding, but you seem to be implying that either you don't believe what Amorim has said about Rashford, or that he's deliberately keeping him in the first time squad for some other reason?

You not see the paradox?

The implication that Rashford is training so bad that he would rather put his 63 year old GK coach in the squad.

Yet allowing him to hang around the first team in training, despite him not being in a first team squad for a month and a half (bar one game, IIRC).

I know non of this can be answered here, but i would love to know exactly what Rashford is not doing to not make the grade. How bad is his training? Or does Amorim think he is giving 90% when it should be 100% ?

And if this is a play to force Rashford out, which has been suggested by many, then why not go the whole hog like ETH did with Sancho?

 

[skc_18]

Agree re Amorim - this could be the case.

Did ETH change the system to fit Rashford?

Not the formation, but he tried Rashford in centre, left , right and had to shuffle players in form.
When Garnacho was playing well on the left (when Rashford was not available) , after Rashford is available he either dropped Garnacho or played Rashford on the right.

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

I know non of this can be answered here, but i would love to know exactly what Rashford is not doing to not make the grade. How bad is his training? Or does Amorim think he is giving 90% when it should be 100% ?

To which I'll answer again - have you watched him play in actual games over the last couple of years? If he's that ineffectual in games then it's not hard to imagine what he's like in training? I don't understand what you're struggling with here?

 

[gaffs]

To which I'll answer again - have you watched him play in actual games over the last couple of years? If he's that ineffectual in games then it's not hard to imagine what he's like in training? I don't understand what you're struggling with here?

Last 18 months sure, not great. But beyond Amad, who is pulling up trees?

Hojlund with 2 PL goals this season? Garnacho with 3? Zirkzee with 3?

Rashford has 4.

My point is that in training, he must be really be doing nothing not to get a look in when you have 3 options there that have not scored a PL goal between them since early December. Not one off them have scored since Rashford has been frozen out.

And if you are really that terrible in training, that you cant get a look in when the 3 other options are this goal shy, then what is he doing ? Walking around with his hands in his pockets?

 

[lex talionis]

Last 18 months sure, not great. But beyond Amad, who is pulling up trees?

Hojlund with 2 PL goals this season? Garnacho with 3? Zirkzee with 3?

Rashford has 4.

My point is that in training, he must be really be doing nothing not to get a look in when you have 3 options there that have not scored a PL goal between them since early December. Not one off them have scored since Rashford has been frozen out.

And if you are really that terrible in training, that you cant get a look in when the 3 other options are this goal shy, then what is he doing ? Walking around with his hands in his pockets?

I had this very conversation with a Spurs supporter yesterday, who is praying to the gods Levy does not bring in Rashford. The underlying problem with Rashford -- the what, not the why -- is his lack of effort on the pitch. It is embarrassing, if not humiliating, to watch a United player walk about the pitch and watch the game by him minute after minute.

Were he to put in the effort but misfire on goal or overhit crosses, and get skinned when tracking back, no problem. We would moan about form, but not about effort.

Many years ago Diego Forlan was a United forward for four seasons. He didn't score as often as expected, and at one point when on a very long cold streak. but his effort was never in question and he become something of a cult hero. I'll take Diego Forlan every day of the week over a player who looks miserable on the pitch and can barely be bothered to put in a sprint into space or track back.

There is nothing complicated about Rashford has come under so much criticism. But we have no idea, nor could we, about his effort in training. We can either believe the coach or believe the player. I believe the coach.

 

[Vidooq]

He is starting to backtrack or having to explain that what he meant, and what he said, are 2 totally different things more and more often. First, it was that he was nervous, not the team, then he had to explain what he meant by this team being the worst in history, now about the goalkeeper comment.

From his first interviews, he seemed shocked at how many media obligations he had, and I was expecting that with time, he would understand that every sentence would be under the microscope, and what and how he would say it, would go around the globe. I was expecting that he would get even better at this, not vice versa.

 

[nickm]

Last 18 months sure, not great. But beyond Amad, who is pulling up trees?

Hojlund with 2 PL goals this season? Garnacho with 3? Zirkzee with 3?

Rashford has 4.

My point is that in training, he must be really be doing nothing not to get a look in when you have 3 options there that have not scored a PL goal between them since early December. Not one off them have scored since Rashford has been frozen out.

And if you are really that terrible in training, that you cant get a look in when the 3 other options are this goal shy, then what is he doing ? Walking around with his hands in his pockets?

I assume Amorim has decided the culture he wants to create is more important than whether one player has scored more than another. Maybe Rashford would individually score a few more goals in the short term, but the cost would be that the team would see they could get away with being lazy if they occasionally turned it on. Sound familiar?

 

[Drainy]

He is starting to backtrack or having to explain that what he meant, and what he said, are 2 totally different things more and more often. First, it was that he was nervous, not the team, then he had to explain what he meant by this team being the worst in history, now about the goalkeeper comment.

From his first interviews, he seemed shocked at how many media obligations he had, and I was expecting that with time, he would understand that every sentence would be under the microscope, and what and how he would say it, would go around the globe. I was expecting that he would get even better at this, not vice versa.

It's literally what he said the first time

 

[Pexbo]

He is starting to backtrack or having to explain that what he meant, and what he said, are 2 totally different things more and more often. First, it was that he was nervous, not the team, then he had to explain what he meant by this team being the worst in history, now about the goalkeeper comment.

From his first interviews, he seemed shocked at how many media obligations he had, and I was expecting that with time, he would understand that every sentence would be under the microscope, and what and how he would say it, would go around the globe. I was expecting that he would get even better at this, not vice versa.

You’re reading far too much into it. He’s literally being asked by journalists what he meant, if he means it, what the latest situation is. It’s not that deep.

 

[kkengvib]

 

[JPRouve]

Is it laziness or something else happened? The way Amorim talks about it makes me think about a player lacking discipline.