I had just 15 minutes when England played warm-up matches against Brazil and Belgium in March. He left that camp with a clear warning from manager Gareth Southgate that he had “a war on his hands”. ” to be part of the Euro 2024 squad.
It was a war that Rashford just didn’t seem fit for. Confirming the Manchester United striker’s absence from the 33-man pre-tournament education camp (which will be whittled down to 26 before they leave for Germany next month), Southgate spoke. of the need to make “tough decisions,” which is what he accomplished. An awkward phone call to the player than an agonizing resolution that preceded it.
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“With Marcus, I feel like other players on the field have had better seasons,” Southgate said.
Rashford denies this. Southgate had Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish among his chances in wide attacking positions. This season has seen the emergence of Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon, while Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney are Harry Kane’s favourite replacements as centre-forward.
By contrast, Rashford has scored 8 goals in 42 games in all competitions for United, compared to 30 goals in 56 career appearances last season. Like Jordan Henderson, he paid the price of a dismal campaign.
Southgate says it’s “as undeniable as that. ” And in many ways it looks like that. But is it a loss of form for a footballer, a disappointing setback in a career that remains so promising?The more you look at Rashford’s situation, the more confusing it seems.
When Rashford, 26, signed a new contract with United last July, raising his base weekly salary to around £325,000 ($412,000), John Murtough, the club’s then director of football, said that “working with Erik ten Hag and his managers is the very productive environment for Marcus to continue to expand to become one of the world’s attacking players. “
It hasn’t been “perfect” this season.
There have been periods, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020 and Ten Hag last season, when Rashford looked like a natural talent, with his skills, role and status. But there have been long periods when his form has deteriorated and he has looked like a young man suffering under the intense light and weight of the burdens he has to carry on and off the court.
It’s been 8 years since he broke into United’s first team as a teenager with a lot of goals (8 in his first 18 games). He has scored 131 goals in 401 games in all competitions. It’s been a comeback that’s more solid than spectacular, but it’s still been continuous, as illustrated by his totals over the past five seasons: 22, 21, five, 30, 8.
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It’s the fifth season out of nine in which he failed to double Premier League targets, and his four double-digit totals include a 10 and an 11, as well as two impressive 17 more.
The 2022-23 season saw an era where he far exceeded his expected goals (xG), as shown through the blue-shaded dominance in the chart below. This season, he’s regressed to his average functionality, and much more.
There’s more to Rashford’s game than goals. But is there enough more?
It depends on whether you are hot or cold. He’s a fast, professional player who dribbles and finishes well when he sings, but he can seem predictable. He doesn’t have the artistic instincts of Foden, Saka or Palmer and has never become the centre-forward he hoped to be. He has already made 461 senior appearances for club and country.
From the beginning, this season has been difficult. Some enthusiasts accused him of settling into a convenience zone after signing his contract, yet this has been one of United’s modern campaigns where nothing and no one goes right.
Halfway through, Rashford had scored two goals in the first league. I behaved miserably and generated a lot of criticism.
He publicly censured Ten Hag in November for frequenting a nightclub following the derby defeat to Manchester City and was benched for four consecutive games in December, but gave the impression of a mini-resurgence during his time flying to Belfast. . See a frifinish on a day off at the end of January.
That ended when Rashford declared himself too ill to attend education at United, having been absent in Belfast the night before. When he was absent from the squad for the FA Cup draw against Newport County two days later, United first claimed it was due to illness. The club later said: “This was treated as an internal matter, which is now closed. “
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Closed. . . but forgotten. That left Ten Hag feeling disappointed. The coach has been frustrated by the player’s lack of conviction and consistency with the ball (adding spaces where he excelled last season) and the perception of a lack of defensive field without him.
Ten Hag attaches importance to his forwards behaving out of possession, as a defensive first line. Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Amad are inconsistent in this regard, but Ten Hag has been pleased with their efforts to adapt to their demands. Rashford’s absence The starting line-up of recent weeks reflects as much fear for his off-the-ball paints as for his return to goal.
After the Belfast episode, former United defender Rio Ferdinand warned that Rashford seemed dissatisfied in a broader sense. “I haven’t noticed Marcus showing that he loves what he’s doing for a while now and that would be concerning,” Ferdinand told TNT Sports. in January. ” Body language is very vital, and for a long time, its framing language has been that of someone who is under pressure or dissatisfied with where they are. As a club, that’s the question I’d like to ask you. .
Criticism following the Belfast incident prompted Rashford to publish a 2,200-word first-person article in the Players’ Tribune titled “Who I Really Am. “
“They don’t write about me,” he said of the media politics of this and other episodes. “It’s like they’re writing about this character, ‘Marcus Rashford. ‘”
He described a media fixation on his salary, his car, his jewellery, his tattoos and his body language, “questioning my morals and speculating about my family and my footballing future”.
“There’s a tone that you don’t get in each and every player,” he said. “Let’s leave it there. “
He’s not the first BME player to use another “tone” in his lifestyle coverage. Chelsea striker Raheem Sterling shared similar observations.
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But what is transparent is that the youngster at the centre of this story – he is Marcus Rashford and “that character, Marcus Rashford” – has been through a complicated era both on and off the pitch.
His mother, Melanie Maynard, writing an article in The Times, spoke about the fact that Rashford had been affected by the death of a cousin and friend over the past 18 months.
He made an oblique reference to the “need to be careful about the intentions of the people around you” when you’re the most level-headed footballer. “Sometimes the people around you can be wolves in sheep’s clothing,” he said.
Rashford said he struggled to accept the truth with people. He has maintained a relatively small team around him. Aside from his mother and a few friends from his formative years, he includes his older brothers, Dwaine Maynard and Dane Rashford, who are indexed in Companies House. and control your D N May Sports Management control team. It includes public relations representative Caroline McAteer, whom he hired this season in an effort to replace the media and public discourse around him.
For three years, Rashford relied on PR adviser Kelly Hogarth, who worked with him on his much-loved campaign to end child food poverty and the Covid-19 pandemic.
He and his advisers then joined Huxley, a specialized public firm, hoping to propel their logo onto the covers of fashion magazines.
Last December, faced with the growing weight of complaints about his performances at United, the precedence changed again. This time, Rashford hired McAteer, best known in the sporting world for helping the public and media symbol of David Beckham in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In some interviews, Rashford suggests that he finds it easy to block out all the noise, but in this Players’ Tribune article, he explains that “when I’m in my darkest situations and I feel like part of the world is opposing me, I have a tendency to go it alone for a few days and reset, and then it’s all good. “
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He continued, “It’s just that I’m an introvert and I want to re-establish my space. Other times, when it doesn’t work out, I find someone to communicate with. Sometimes that’s the way to do it. But whenever I’m depressed, physically or mentally, I feel like that’s when I turn things around and play my most productive football for United and England.
For a while, the English organization seemed to have Rashford’s shrine. Unlike many United players in the past, he seemed to act more for his country than for his club. During difficult times at United, he maintained his position in England and has become an iconic figure in the cultural reboot that took place under Southgate.
But that has changed. Rashford was frustrated at not starting a single game at the last European Championship, in the summer of 2021, and deeply disappointed by the racist abuse he, Jadon Sancho and Saka suffered after being inconsequential in the final against Italy.
A combination of poor form and injuries kept him out of action for England for 16 months until an improvement in his performance at United earned him a just-in-time call-up for the 2022 World Cup, where he scored against Iran (as a substitute) and twice. . opposed to Wales but left out of the start XI opposed to Senegal and France in the circular of the 16th.
Of the 31 appearances in England since the Euro 2020 final, Rashford has played 14 (five starts, nine as a substitute). As at United, any hope of securing a normal starting position as a centre-forward has been abandoned. .
“He plays for England, he loves to bet on England and the opportunity to play tournaments is the reason you play foreign football,” Southgate said. “I told him, ‘You’ve got to score some goals this weekend (against Manchester City in the FA Cup final) and do things right. ‘
“You know if it’s a fair solution and if it’s the right solution for the group. And you’re aware of the effect on Marcus and Henderson because they’re two other people who, outwardly, make each other jump. “on them very quickly.
“They know I’m there for them. Although the verbal exchange was difficult, both were very pro and respectful. I’m aware that it creates a little bit more drama in their lives, that I don’t need them to live. “However, it is a truth of the resolution I made.
Rashford has endured some tragedies in his life. Nothing too far-fetched (not even Paul Gascoigne’s titles), but enough, at times, to carry the burden he carries as a top-level footballer and incredibly well paid by Manchester United.
Lately, a sense of intrigue has arisen around his professional future. Less than a year into his new deal, United seem open, or at least closed, to the concept of promoting Rashford if he and they get a suitable offer.
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There was an incident last week where he seemed angry at anything a fan shouted about his long career while warming up before the game against Newcastle at Old Trafford. Christian Eriksen took it away while Rashford continued to watch his detractor.
Like most of United’s senior players, Rashford was recently invited to a constant one-on-one personal meeting with Sir Dave Brailsford, head of sport at INEOS, whose owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, bought a 25 cent percentage stake in the club.
Brailsford’s aim was to broaden the vision of INEOS and gain a greater understanding of the landscape ahead of what is expected to be a summer of renewal at Old Trafford.
Rashford’s relationship with Ten Hag is known to have been more strained, however, it is unclear what comments he or any other player has made, whether about his own form, the manager or anything else.
A lot of things at United are unclear. This includes Ten Hag’s long career and Rashford’s. The Cup final provides a chance to end a dismal season on a high note, but it is unlikely that Rashford will start.
In this Players’ Tribune article, Rashford concluded by suggesting that he loves to be questioned and criticised: “If it’s me, great. If you doubt me, even better.
But it’s one of those emotions that rings hollow; He seemed hurt and exhausted by the negative politics of the mainstream media and social media. Like most gamers, it turns out that he craves more warmth and appreciation than negativity.
For now, however, he finds himself bloodless: on the fringes of United, without England’s favour.
It will have to be a lonely place, but Marcus Rashford will be hoping an unwanted summer will give him the time and space to reset and get his career back on track.
(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
England’s full squad