You’d be rash to bench my super-sub
JOSE MOURINHO has welcomed the decision to omit Marcus Rashford from the senior England squad because the striker will have more game time with the Under-21s.
But Sam Allardyce is unlikely to be quite so happy if the teenage sensation is still playing most of his club football off the bench in the months to come.
Mourinho, below, probably did not appreciate the irony of some of his comments after Rashford scored a last-gasp winner at Hull having shown in 20 minutes just why he is the most exciting young talent in Premier League football.
Whizzkid, prodigy, England’s saviour – 18-year-old Rashford has been labelled many things since bursting on the scene but one thing he is definitely not is a super-sub.
That may be his current role for United but he is far too good, and Manchester United’s manager knows it.
“Top players are better on the pitch than on the bench,” he said. “If he went with the full England squad, Sam would put him on the bench.
“Can he help the first team to win matches like he’s helping Manchester United? I think he can.
“But for me, from a selfish point of view, thinking just about me and the evolution of my player, I prefer him to play with the Under-21s. It will be good for him to be on the pitch for 90 minutes. But Sam knows if he needs the kid, he has the kid, but he has so many strikers that this time, he chose not to select him and we respect that.
“Marcus has the perfect head for an 18-year-old, very stable, not in the moon. He has everything. So he goes with the Under-21s with the best mentality because he wants to play football.”
Mourinho insists Rashford is not competing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic for an attacking slot, suggesting the pair could play in tandem. Just where that leaves Wayne Rooney is anyone’s guess, so it is just as well the United skipper, after a fairly anonymous display, came up trumps in added time by laying on the winner with a deft pass after an impressive burst of pace that reminded fans of his matchdefining qualities. “Wayne was like the team,” said Mourinho. “The first half was OK but the team was a little bit slow in the transitions. In the second period, the team moved into a different gear and he did the same.”
Rooney says that Rashford’s omission from the senior squad will not hinder his international progression.
“It was a big moment for him to go to the Euros and it’s still important for his development to go and play with the Under-21s,” he said. “It’s important he gets games because he hasn’t played that much. He knows that and understands his time will come and he will get his chance with United and England.”
United deserved to beat Hull for the way they turned the screw as the match wore on but Mike Phelan’s side were magnificent in their defiance, none more so than skipper Curtis Davies, a rock in the heart of defence.
Now Phelan is praying for reinforcements so the Tigers can build on their promising start.
“It just shows that if we’re able to bring bodies in and make a couple of substitutions at the end, that could make all the difference,” he said.
“If we had a senior striker, then maybe we could have thrown on fresh legs and it might have made things easier.
“Hopefully, I can enjoy the transfer deadline day with a smile on my face knowing we’ve done business rather than panicking.” HULL (4-3-3): Jakupovic 7; Elmohamady 6, Livermore 7, Davies 9, Robertson 6; Huddlestone 6, Clucas 6, Meyler 6; Snodgrass 6 (Maloney 48, 6), Hernandez 6 (Maguire 83), Diomande 6. Booked: Huddlestone, Meyler. NEXT UP: Burnley (a), Sep 10 PL. MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): De Gea 6; Valencia 7, Bailly 7, Blind 6, Shaw 7; Fellaini 7, Pogba 6; Mata 7 (Rashford 71, 7), Rooney 6 (Smalling 90), Martial 5 (Mkhitaryan 60, 7); Ibrahimovic 6. Booked: Fellaini, Rooney, Rashford. Goal: Rashford 90. NEXT UP: Man City (h), Sep 10 PL. Referee: J Moss (West Yorks).