09 Aug 2026 06:54:31
Michael Carrick has confirmed Marcus Rashford will be part of Man Utd's squad when they face Leeds in a pre-season friendly in Dublin on Wednesday.
Personally, I think this is wrong and that he should be ostracised. It will be interesting to see the fan reaction, particularly at Old Trafford.
09 Aug 2026 07:51:04
Fizz
I agree. Appalling decision and weak management.
09 Aug 2026 08:21:24
Bring player power back into the rooms.
But hey ho. Nothing we can do about it, so gotta suck it up and see.
Personally, I would rather not see him back in the team.
09 Aug 2026 11:25:30
Nor me, Keefy. Not our call to make, but I dont agree with it at all. He won't be the 1st United player I dislike a lot playing for the club, and he won't be the last.
Although, all of a sudden, I see an upside. ?
09 Aug 2026 11:00:41
Yeah its not good imo Fizz.
I know they can't force him to leave. I would rather have him not part of the team and just pay him but we can't replace him.
I don't understand Rashfords thought process at all. But as keefy says we just have to hope it works positively
Hopefully he gets booed all around Croke Park on Wednesday and that makes up his mind to leave but he has plenty of fans that want him back too.so it will probably be a half decent reception.
Id love to hear him booed off the pitch at OT in our last friendly too but it will be mixed.
He won't be the 1st player we have that I dislike a lot and he won't be the last.
Although as much as I dislike him it won't bother me too much its not my call to make and I'll have a little chuckle every week when trumpman has a little breakdown its worth 20m a year of the glazers money to torture him that little bit more. Every cloud and all that.
09 Aug 2026 11:40:22
If the club can't sell him then they have little choice but to bring him back in. Despite what some fans think you can't ostracise players in the manner fans want.
A player has a contract, and in that contract are conditions that both the player and the club need to meet. The days of sending a senior player to the reserves to bully them into leaving are long gone, that falls under constructive dismissal.
You cannot restrict a professional from being allowed to do their job while under contract. If Rashford isn't allowed to play at a decent level then it will affect his ability to earn a contract at a new club.
The club have only three options.
1. Find a club willing to buy him, a club that he is willing to join.
2. Loan him out to another club for the season, again it has to be a club he is willing to join.
3. Keep him in the first team squad.
The problem with option 1 is there are few clubs who are prepared to buy him AND pay him his wage demands (effectively matching what he is currently on).
The problem with option 2 is there are few clubs that are prepared to take him on loan and pay all his wages, meaning the club are left in a situation where they are paying for a player they are getting no value from because he's playing for someone else. Also it still has to be a club that Rashford is willing to move to on loan.
Which leaves option 3. Now we can look at this two ways. The emotional way, where we are frustrated about being stuck with him so we refuse to play him and let him rot in the first team.
The problem with that is we are still getting no value from him, while it will only frustrate Rashford who is then likely to act out and become a problem and a distraction for the manager and the first team squad. He will still have friends at the club and in this scenario he is unlikely to be particularly positive with them about the club. Risking creating fractions and potentially a toxic atmosphere in the dressing room.
Which is something the club will be trying to avoid, especially having seen how disruptive that is to a teams season.
The other way of approaching option 3 is to take the logical approach. We can't move him out of the squad, so the best approach is to reintegrate him and try and get the best out of him. That way we get some value for the money we are paying him. Hopefully we can manage him to keep him happy and motivated, which means we don't create fractures to the dressing room atmosphere. Meaning we get some use from him while also keeping the squad happy and challenging on multiple fronts.
I know most fans would rather cut off their nose to spite their face with Rashford. But if there is no solution that ends with him playing somewhere else, then the best option for everyone involved (including the club) is to reintegrate him and try to get him back to something close to his best.
Fortunately we have a former teammate of his as our manager, along with most of the management structure that frustrated him and caused him to fall out of love with the club have been replaced/moved on.
Sitting down with him and having a frank and honest conversation where the club is prepared to listen to his grievances and even act on them, is the best place to start.
From what I gather Rashford feels let down by the club as he put himself through a lot of pain and suffering, playing with pain killing injections, and delaying surgery to help the club, and he doesn't feel that the club appreciates that. Regardless of your view about what a paid professional should and shouldn't do, people still need to feel appreciated.
Personally I would prefer a clean exit for him, but if that isn't possible. Then I appreciate that reintegrating into the first team squad is the best available solution for the club.
He will have to be told that he will have to earn his place in the first team just like everyone else. And to do that he needs to be meeting the clubs and the managers expectations. He needs to be on time, he needs to be dedicated, he needs to work hard, he needs to follow the managers and the coaches directions. If not then he won't play, which is detrimental to both the club and to him. He needs to rebuild his image, he's back at his boyhood club who sent him on loan, while Barcelona who had him on loan for a year chose to spend heavily on Anthony Gordon rather than complete the much cheaper deal for Rashford. Which will not have done his image any good, that might be playing a part in him struggling to get offers from clubs he would be willing to join. If he can come back to United, work hard and earn his place back in the team on a regular basis then that might convince other clubs that he is worth the gamble next summer.
It's in his best interests to get his head down and work hard, if the club can have a open and honest conversation with him, then maybe we can convince him that it is in his best interests to get back to his best.
I wouldn't be giving him his old shirt number back, he should have to earn that. He needs to understand that the fan base are unhappy with him, and that he will need to take the hits from them until he proves himself to us again. The club will have to protect him when that happens, not because they are against the fans right to display their discontent, but because they need to work with Rashford to try and get the best out of him, which is in the clubs best interests.
09 Aug 2026 11:53:13
How is that weak management? What is Carrick supposed to do? Your answer will be let him rot in the reserves/u23s. But that is always the standard response to these situations. If Rashford is what we all believe he is, then how will that help the young players in the 23s?
So sell him? Nope, no takers. We have tried that, but even at a cheap fee, no one wants him. Rip up his contract? Can't do that.
So actually, being back involved, potentially getting some sort of song out of him, will either help the team or help get a bidder for him.
I don't think he should be at the club, for the club's sake and his own sake, but this is the hand we're dealt with. My only hope is that he is going to enter the changing room with a lot better professionals than he was with previously. No Pogba, no Lingard, no Martial. Hopefully his influence will no longer be impactful.
And let's not ignore the fact that he is a player. If, and it is a big if, Carrick can turn him round, that's one hell of an addition to the team. Personally I don't see it, but I do hope I am wrong on it.
09 Aug 2026 12:08:15
Happy for Rashford to return, but only if he puts in the effort. He needs to be running, not jogging, and busting a gut to get to every ball. He needs to look like a player who wants to play for the club.
09 Aug 2026 12:17:37
Ports, I'd argue that it's ultra-strong management from Carrick if he wants Rashford.
He knows him well, played with him, and if he is kept, Carrick obviously thinks he can get better out of him.
Carrick is showing he is his own man and will do things his way.
As much as I don't like Rashford and want him gone, if Carrick wants him and gets him back playing well, then it's super management.
Carrick has maybe decided that no player will pay for their sins of the past and it's a clean slate. That's strong management.
Some fans only agree with things they want for United and refuse to see any other side, because it's so important for them to get what they want.
Carrick sets the standards, he is the sheriff in town, if people don't like it too bad.
Carrick will either succeed or fail on his decisions and I admire that.
He knows more about Rashford than me, you, or anybody else. If that's his choice, then we have to hope he is right and it works out.
There will be boos, and Rashford will need to have a 360 change in attitude to win the fans and teammates back.
Only the most arrogant of supporters thinks they know better than any manager when it comes to picking a team and squad.
09 Aug 2026 12:24:11
I worry about the impact he will have on the rest of the squad, particularly if, as is likely, he isn't first choice. His attitude has been questionable, and I disagree with Ports. Other than the occasional flash, I don't think he's any good now.
09 Aug 2026 12:48:33
I'm, for one, delighted he's coming back. It seems to have snowballed massively out of proportion, like he's public enemy number one. A little lazy under the previous manager? Probably. Burned a few bridges in Barca interviews in the mistaken belief the transfer would become permanent? Yup.
But there are plenty of positives to his game. He's probably the best finisher we have, and will be perfect on the left side. I like Dorgu and Cunha, but it's a long season, and all will play plenty.
09 Aug 2026 12:59:27
Yes, Spenno. Completely OTT, and if he comes in and scores a few, all is forgotten quickly.
No one has a clue on here what went on with him, but they want him booed off.
For that alone, I can't wait for him to come back and play.
09 Aug 2026 13:05:52
How does it help the club to have him sit on the sidelines? It only reduces his value further. It smacks of desperation. If he can't be sold or loaned in the next 3 weeks, then we should absolutely try to get the best out of him. He has weaknesses, but he also has some major strengths. That entails getting him ready to start the season. The club and Carrick are doing exactly the right thing.
This whole argument about being a bad influence in the dressing room is pure speculation. For all any of us knows, it could be quite the opposite. Rashford's decline could very easily revolve around his disenchantment with the club's poor selection of managers and pathetic transfer record. It's been disheartening for us. Why not for a kid brought up in the United Academy?
09 Aug 2026 15:04:22
Rashford coming back will be a step backwards.
Late-night partying, missing training, poor disciplinary records, and lack of work rate will set a bad example.
09 Aug 2026 15:34:36
It'll all get settled down quickly, one way or the other. If Rashford plays well and gets the goals and assists, everyone will be happy.
If he's not playing, he'll end up on a loan, and nobody will care.
He's a decent footballer, but never a great one, and he won't become great now.
Too much emotion wasted on him.