Marcus Rashford watch

I'm sure the winning streak will end at some point, and the league likely cannot be won at this point in time, but I never thought I'd actually enjoy watching Man United play again. Most of my friends are Man United fans, and so I watch a lot of their matches - most of which have been quite sleep-inducing for what feels like a decade now

He's getting better. As with Martial, he's better as a winger for me than a central striker.

He's shit. Not a top player never will be. He's someone that should be at Bournemouth or Burnley.

And they sold Lukaku

Firenze wrote:He's shit. Not a top player never will be. He's someone that should be at Bournemouth or Burnley.

- Firenze in 2021 on Daniel James

Players (young or prime) who get a handful of goals via beginners luck and a hot streak before they are inevitably statistically due, should never be trusted unless they can continually replicate it.

Rashford showed little outside of his individual goals and crucial they were so it was hard to see how he would amount to being a superstar considering how limited he is.

But we all know of the hype train that decided to swoop him and clearly it got to his head as well I noticed.

Bump for this beautiful human being

It's really cool and noble what he's doing - but also a little bizarre that an active footballer has become an MBE-awarded leading figure to keep poor children fed.

I also cannot fathom how the Conservatives insist on keeping on scoring own goals over this issue. We're not talking about huge sums here. Being so vehemently against paying for free meals for poor kids looks like a massive blunder.

They spent 12bn (yes billion) on an ineffective coronavirus tracking system which no one bothers to use as it's broken. But they can't spend some millions in feeding the kids for 2 weeks lol.

Rashford is an incredible person.

Rashford

Been a helluva footballer this year too.

My big thing right now is Rashford-stanning, unless no one has figured it out by now. Mans has become underrated around these parts just because he plays for Man U. Legitimately great player, although what he's doing off the field is what's gaining plaudits at the moment.

I didn't quite rate him at first, not gonna lie. Thought he might be a flash in the pan, but nope. Legit player and what a job he's doing off the pitch as well. I don't follow a lot of non-Roma players on Twitter, but Rashford got a follow for me. His twitter feed is a joy to behold.

I hope he and the organization Mata founded can somehow team up on this initiative. The more that get involved, the better.

CBarca wrote:Been a helluva footballer this year too.

My big thing right now is Rashford-stanning, unless no one has figured it out by now. Mans has become underrated around these parts just because he plays for Man U. Legitimately great player, although what he's doing off the field is what's gaining plaudits at the moment.

I get the impression that most people rate him higher than his talent warrants. He's had a good season by his own standards, but his relative inefficiency in front of goal is a flaw I don't think should be so conveniently overlooked. The recent match against PSG was just one of many examples of that, and correct me if I'm wrong, but hardly anyone seemed to care that he wasted so many chances in that game, since he ultimately scored the decisive goal with an actual, good finish. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Rashford is outright poor, at all. He's clearly got a few qualities that others would envy, and his pace and athleticism stand out in that regard. He can be especially good on counter-attacks. I just don't think the total sum of his parts make up an elite level player, and I honestly get the impression that a lot of people see him that way.

He can certainly improve his finishing but it's important to me that he gets to the right spots consistently...he's still only 22 after all. It's much better than not getting to those spots at all. And his playmaking is very underrated.

Take a look at a player like Luis Suarez, for example. He's a better finisher than Rashford (and 10x the player and always will be), but he's never been a lethal striker. I would say he's not as clinical as say, Harry Kane. But he gets in the right positions on such a consistent basis that it doesn't matter.

It's an obvious flaw in his game and one that is still improving (I think he has gotten better, last year in the EPL he scored 17 goals on an xG of...17 goals). However I think that single aspect isn't enough to really bring him down as much as people say.

This is a guy who had 22 goals and 11 assists last season, btw. I don't think people have realized what a player he really is turning out to be. I'm always impressed when I watch him at how he has progressed over the years

Glory wrote:
The important thing about Marcus is he will keep going on an on, and as you said most of the time end up producing that one decisive movement, (Both the PSG games for example, this year and last) to win the game which is all the what matters at the end of the day. I think that quality of his is underrated.

Fair enough. He deserves all of the credit when he is decisive, no doubt about that. The problem is when he isn’t. When all you’re left with is inefficiency, that’s when his flaws come to the surface. No one is perfect, but Rashford can certainly leave a lot to be desired in that regard, on a relatively consistent basis. Like CB points out, he’s only 22, but it remains to be seen if that’s something he can improve on.

that mental attributes are the most important attributes in footballers, more than technical and physical (FM agrees). You have all the tchnical ability and skills in the world ala a Martial but if you starts to sulk and give up after you miss one two chances, then well, what's the point. You will end up constantly in the shadow of an 'inferior' player like Rashford.

Also as CBarca mentioned, you got to get to that many good positions to get as many chances, na?

Fair points. He does position himself well occasionally, and frequently uses his pace to get into attacking positions. No one’s challenging the claim that he’s a counter-attacking threat, he definitely is. My point stands, though, compared to an elite player, the current version of him is too limited. It remains to be seen if he can rectify that. We can all praise him when he’s decisive, but as a non-United fan, I’ve seen too many times that his lack of natural, attacking instinct hurts the team when he isn’t. His positive work rate and athleticism don’t always spare his blushes when he’s incapable of scoring or making use of good chances to create goals.

The original argument was that he’s underrated, and I don’t see it. He’s a Man Utd academy product, an England international. I do get the impression that he’s rated very highly by most PL fans, and hardly ever criticized for failing where the likes of Benzema and Suarez would typically be singled out as culprits. Suddenly, it’s not his job to score. He was even linked to Real Madrid by the British media.

On here, only Firenze seems to recognize when he plays like a mid-table player, and it happens. He is, in my opinion, not an elite player, but a level below. He wasn’t deemed the most talented player in his position while in the academy, and I personally think that’s still evident, despite his improvement. I think Man United fans can count themselves lucky to have him, but not as a regular starter. Not Martial either, for that matter.

Both are players who can be decisive, but can also be very wasteful. And that wastefulness hurts the team’s chances of winning every season. They can be good, sometimes even great, but their limitations are always there. That’s the difference between a Lewandowski and a Rashford. Or a Thiago Alcantara and a Rashford. Whichever elite player you want to compare him to. Quality.

And I’m absolutely not saying that Rashford and Martial are the reasons why Man United haven’t won anything recently, but I do think they’re part of the reason why Man United’s inability to score goals have been a frequent subject over the past few years. Your defenders are much more frequently criticized, and they’re the ones who take flak when they manage to keep the ball out of the net for 60+ minutes, only for Martial and Rashford to not capitalize on their chances in attack.

as a footballer he is okay, can get better, i rate him higher than Fartial

To be fair, I think you're conflating different fanbases. I'm not sure Rashford is underrated if you listen to Sky sports or something...I said he's underrated around these parts (GL). Which I would argue is definitely true. Man U, despite a massive # of fans globally, are not really in large numbers here. Most of us spend our time laughing at Man U and their players than rating them. Which is fun, to be fair.

CBarca wrote:To be fair, I think you're conflating different fanbases. I'm not sure Rashford is underrated if you listen to Sky sports or something...I said he's underrated around these parts (GL). Which I would argue is definitely true. Man U, despite a massive # of fans globally, are not really in large numbers here. Most of us spend our time laughing at Man U and their players than rating them. Which is fun, to be fair.

I agree with this. Who’s not underrated on GL, though? Sometimes, it feels like GL only rate players who are hyped up by the media, like Jadon Sancho, who’s having another shitter of a match right now. The guy in your avatar has frequently been criticized on here, as well. Spurs level, they said

16 min CL hattrick ffs

Yes, absolutely decisive