Marcus Rashford

Will Marcus Rashford become a Man United legend?

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Eight years ago, a young lad from Wythenshawe broke onto the scene at Manchester United, scoring two goals on his debut against Midtjylland and then just three days later, another two against Arsenal.

This young starlet changed his life in just 72 hours.

On Wednesday 24th February 2016, hardly anyone had heard of him, but by the 28th February, the name Marcus Rashford, was all anyone could talk about.

https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/detail/classic-match-marcus-rashford-united-debut-against-midtjylland

The 18-year-old seemed destined for big things.

Just a year on from his emergence, Rashford had cemented himself as a first teamer with the world at his feet.

Could he become the next United legend, the next Ballon D’or winner, the man to spearhead United back to success?

Eight years later and these hopes are slowly fading away as the Englishman struggles to live up-to the demanding expectations.

So, will Rashford fulfil his so-called destiny?

The Battle of Inconsistency

In 2019/20 and 2022/23, Rashford was arguably United’s best player.

He could glide past players, using his electric speed and had the final product to match.

Rashford scored 17 Premier League goals in both seasons.

He was a nightmare to defend against, so much so, that Barcelona manager Xavi, named Rashford as his toughest opponent since becoming head coach.

At his best, Rashford is one of the most dangerous wingers in the world, the issue for him is staying at his best.

Since his emergence in 2016, Rashford has been plagued with inconsistency.

He’s had strong seasons as mentioned, but then will have far weaker years.

Just after the best season of his career in 2019/20, the following year, Rashford scored only 11 Premier League goals and in 2021/22 he managed just four.

It’d be wrong to ignore the fact Rashford massively struggled with a shoulder injury throughout the 2020/21 season, playing through pain for just under a year to help the side.

While injuries are certainly a factor to his inconsistency, this season, Rashford looks a shadow of the player he was last season, and this is without the previous issues.

He doesn’t possess the danger when running at defenders, nor the lethal potency in the box.

Last season, particularly just after the Qatar World Cup, anything Rashford touched, turned to gold.

Whereas now, United’s number 10 looks nervous himself, struggling to make an impact on games.

So how will he become a United legend if he’s inconsistent?

The Impact of Coaching

Last season, United functioned incredibly well in a compact squad playing progressive football.

Less than twelve months on and the performances couldn’t be further from that.

Battling an injury crisis and a lack of key personnel to play the style United manager Erik ten Hag wants, the Dutch coach has been forced to play an open counter attacking style.

Ten Hag had success in 2022/23 playing out the back using expert progressive passers like Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, to break through the oppositions press.

In midfield he had an inform Casemiro sweeping anything up, with Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes using their creativity to create chances for Rashford.

The team had the right balance to dominate the ball and play the way Ten Hag wanted.

However, with Shaw and Martinez injured, Eriksen not the same player since his long-term injury and age catching up to Casemiro, the United team is completely imbalanced.

United can no longer pass out the back effectively, nor can they control games in midfield.

Thus, United have resorted to a strategy which looks to build on their strength in open spaces, and avoid their weaknesses on the ball.

This style has had a negative impact on Rashford however, with the Englishman struggling to impress.

This is in complete contrast to Alejandro Garnacho who has thrived off this new style.

Subsequently, the impact of coaching is huge on Rashford’s form.

With a big summer window coming up under new co-owners INEOS, Ten Hag should bring in players to reintroduce his previous style.

This in turn could have a hugely positive impact on Rashford’s form helping lift the pressure off his shoulders and improve his inconsistency.

The Introduction of Other Goal Scorers

Before the signing of Rasmus Hojlund, United were almost solely reliant on Rashford for goals.

This is a huge responsibility, particularly if the teams not playing at its best.

Hojlund’s arrival has helped ease this, as the Danish forward is popping up with some goals, but United struggle to make chances and so still rely on moments of individual brilliance, which is often expected of Rashford.

Therefore, if under the new INEOS recruitment team, better goalscoring forwards are brought in, this could ease this pressure and give Rashford more license to focus on his own game without feeling the burden of the team always needing him to score.

Only Time will Tell

Rashford is still only 26 and sits 12th in United’s all-time goalscoring list with 131 goals.

Therefore, if Rashford in a better United side can remain consistent, he has a great chance of becoming a United legend.

However, with the new INEOS revolution just beginning, Rashford will need to find his feet quickly else a sad exit could be looming.