04 Oct 2024 11:44:25
There is some conjecture about why Rashford was taken off at HT, I implore everyone to go back and look at Porto's two opening goals, his concentration, intensity, willingness to track back, his appetite to help his teammates, his hunger and desire to stop crosses into the box was an absolute disgrace. I'd said at HT I'd personally take him off but I was amazed EtH hooked him, no matter what ridiculous reason he gave. Go back, watch the goals and the truth stares you in the face.

2-0 up in a very difficult away game, with your job on the line, following a horrendous start to the season, you just need your team to compete, concentrate and work hard for each other. Would you want Rashford in your team from a defensive point of view. Yes of course there are tactical deficiencies and other players at fault but this has been a criticism levelled a Rashford for a long time. If he'd tracked his man or got out to block the cross we don't concede either goal. Do you see Saka, Foden, Silva not tracking back. They are all better players anyway and they work harder. Do it for the fans, do it for your teammates, do it for your own career! He'll never get his England place back defending like that, especially when England have more talented players that will also sacrifice themselves for the team and help out defensively!

I've heard people say Rashford was playing well and from an attacking perspective, I accept he looked dangerous at times, but there can be no passengers in the modern game. Surely he knows he can't just be allowed to stand out on the wing and wait for a counter attack. Rashford is woeful out of possession and this is why we'll struggle to implement any kind of pressing game, no matter who is the manager.

Academy player, Utd fan, highest earner, look back at the goals and tell me the effort is there?! He should be the one player almost guaranteed to be busting a gut for the team. Benni McCarthy came out a few days ago and said some of these players don't try enough. Well we saw that again last night.

EtH will surely go but Rashford will remain. Good luck to the next guy is what I will say!

Before I get vilified I know other players had bad games last night and the problems at Man Utd run deeper than individual players, but I'm talking about a lack of effort, intensity, hunger, desire, concentration and application. This criticism has been levelled at Rashford for years now and there is evidence he is willing to do anything about it.

1.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 12:03:16
Why good luck to the next guy? The next guy might be smart enough to drop him and play garnacho whixh is what eth should so. I fear gsrnacho might go. His talent is too good for him to be sitting on the bench or playing out right. He should be 1st choice LW and would be at many a big club in europe.

2.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 12:08:50
I’ve said it many times DLIB. If we’re playing Rashford, he starts up top. If not, don’t play him.

3.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 12:19:15
@DLIB. 100%. Rashford is a luxury that seldom delivers. I can think of very few elite managers that would tolerate him even if he did.

4.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 12:27:57
There are rumours Barcelona and Juventus want Garnacho because they feel he is getting frustrated because of ETH.
I said many time on live chat about Rashford defensively, it was awful. The second he was yards from the crosser and waved his leg as the ball flew by, utter shambles. It was obvious from early on about the crossing from the left yet ETH waited until half time.
I watched Bruno give the ball away and being petulant.
We should have sold Rashford and Bruno in summer but ETH can’t bring himself to take Bruno off.
Garnacho should be first choice, his effort is second to none and if we let ETH ruin that then Wilcox and Co are complicit.

5.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 13:18:33
Let’s not talk about the centre halves looking mediocre? Dalot being asked to play as a defensive mid leaving loads of space? A midfield with a hole in the size of the Grand Canyon?

But instead let’s blame Rashford. The manager is absolutely clueless. We had zero control in that game again. Even going 2-0 up they were the better side but the keeper chucked two in.

He needs to go.

6.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 13:37:38
Red Man - I think it’s glaringly obvious the problems with this team!

Casemiro £300k per week, no future, yet retained beyond the summer.

Eriksen £150k per week, no future, yet retained beyond the summer.

Maguire £180k per week, no future, yet retained beyond the summer.

Lindelof £180k per week, no future, yet retained beyond the summer.

Antony £200k per week, enough said!

Then we come to Rashford and Bruno, our two biggest earners and highest profile players! Both recently rewarded with lucrative new contracts. Rashford’s defending is woefully and his attacking impetus has been similarly poor for well over 12 months.

Bruno lacks positional discipline, he presses alone and leaves gaping holes in midfield. He surrenders possession with alarming regularity and his attacking influence has declined year or year. Woefully out of form for months.

I accept it’s difficult to move all those players out in a single window but EtH is relying on these players to perform and what do we do with Bruno and Rashford now?

EtH has also become a big problem, no doubt about it, even the most patient and understanding supporters can see that, but when he’s eventually replaced the new manager will still have to use the same players and face the same problems. Yes they can be better organised, but the Club are not going to sell Rashford and Bruno and in their current form and huge salary, they are unsellable anyway.

The only solution is for the Club to take a massive financial hit or they find a manager and system to get the best out of them. Ole failed, Rangnick failed, now EtH has failed. Others have also failed with Rashford.

There is no easy fix and appointing RVN will not work in my opinion. He is already heavily involved and was brought in to help improve the team, they have regressed.

Ineos have got their hands full with massive decisions to make and problems to solve, many of their own making already!

7.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 15:50:44
Great post about Rashford. I think he's a terrible player because he's got no heart.

I recommend watching him off the ball, he's so pathetic it's actually funny. A bit like Pogba was. They both do that thing where it kinda looks like they're trying but oh didn't quite get there again so don't have to put in the challenge.

8.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 16:16:00
I'm sure Ineos's team are at least as smart as any of us on this site and can see for themselves what the problems are. Yes, play Garnacho on the left, but he can't play every game. and there are no easy 3pts in the EPL any more. We had a big turnover in the summer and I'm sure we will have another big turnover next summer. I'm also sure that the club would have sold Casemiro if there were any takers that made financial sense given the club's PSR problems. Lindelof was injured and it's had to sell an injured player. Antony is unsaleable. Maguire can leave on a free at the end of this season. Neither Rashford nor Bruno will have any book value at the end of the season so maybe deals can be done for them.

Ratcliffe was quite clear. It will take more than one summer to fix all the problems that have been building up since long before SAF retired. He also said that if every manager is failing, maybe the problem isn't the manager, which is why, I think, ETH was given more time. Berrada has set us a challenge: to win the title by 2028. not this year, not next year nor even the year after.

The professionals are acknowledging that the problems they have inherited run deep and it will take time to really get to grips with them. I don't see any of the players in DLIB's list, including Rasford and Bruno, probably Dalot and Shaw if he can't get fit, , being Man Utd players for more than this year and the next. but that said, we still need to field a team twice a week for the rest of this year and for that we need a full squad.

9.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 18:44:01
Saka, Foden, Silva are better players BECAUSE they work harder. Rashford will never improve because he lacks the desire to work hard. That's why he'll always be a good but never a great player.

10.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 14:55:24
I’m sure any of those players would have been sold if anyone was willing to meet their wage expectations?

11.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 15:15:57
Caolan - That can hopefully be solved with a change of system or manager!

Effort, intensity, hunger and desire must come from the players.

12.) 04 Oct 2024
04 Oct 2024 22:09:36
MancMam tou made me laugh there because I remember for many years watching Chariots Offiah at Wigan. Defensively he always seemed to reach a tackle just after someone else.

Admittedly unlike Rashy he was always devastating when going forward but for a fast guy he sure knew how to not quite be so fast defensively.

13.) 05 Oct 2024
05 Oct 2024 13:33:12
Oakbark, that kind of timing is an art in itself.

I just wish Rashford could time his forward runs so well because he wouldn't be offside so frickin often.

14.) 05 Oct 2024
05 Oct 2024 19:53:06
I think the well paid players thing is a bit misleading. He’s spent enough to have 11 70m pound players on the pitch but he’s still picking most of our overpaid underperforming or just long in the tooth players every week. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. Most of the players he’s bought smack of trying to control the dressing room and narrative, not the best man for the job.