Ten Hag’s masterstoke was axing Ronaldo and giving Rashford space to breathe
SO what has Marcus Rashford done right that he was doing so wrong last season?
Correct answer here, for any striker who has ever played at the top level is . . . nothing?
I can tell you from the heart, that sometimes, it’s not the player who is at fault, but the structure around them. I don’t want to name names in my own career – but there are managers I enjoyed playing for more, managers who got the best out of me.
And managers who I just didn’t feel right playing under.
Now, you can criticise me or Rashford for that. Or you can listen to every pro that’s ever played the game, and realise that there are coaches and managers who are the best fit for a player, and those who are not.
I’m not having a go at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer here. Really, truly I’m not – or some of my old managers either.
But do you honestly think that Rashford has suddenly rediscovered his talent this season? C’mon. It was always there. Regular readers of this column will know I’ve always really rated his ability – and for me to say that about a Manchester United player shows I really mean it!
He’s a generational talent. Everything about him screams class.
His movement, his touch, his intelligence – he’s always been gifted.
People at Old Trafford that I know were talking about him when he was 14 as being the next United great.
So he didn’t suddenly become bad last season – and he wasn’t suddenly distracted either.
All that nonsense about him caring more about his off-field activities than his football – that was just rubbish spouted largely by people who had an agenda.
And what was that agenda? Selfish people who don’t care about kids going hungry. People without a conscience. We all look at footballers these days, and say they’re insulated from the real world, they don’t care about the people who pay their wages. And then we criticise Rashford for caring passionately about the kids who idolise him. Now we’ve got that out of the way, I’d say his form this season could be far simpler than that daft argument. Maybe he’s just happier under Erik ten Hag. That definitely applied to me, and to most players. If you’re happy in your environment, then it gets the best out of you. It’s not just that, of course. When you have a talent like Rashford, then you create the conditions to make the most of that ability. Clearly Ten Hag did that, but did Solskjaer? Or Ralf Rangnick, or Jose Mourinho for that matter? Ten Hag clearly gets him. He deserves massive credit for binning off Cristiano Ronaldo and creating the space for Rashford and his other forwards to breathe . . . and by the way, it’s no coincidence that Bruno Fernandes has hit form since then too. The new manager has also created a brand of football that is exciting and stimulating for his players, and don’t underestimate the importance of that either. I said last season that Rashford was not being used properly, and he may start thinking he should look for a fresh start to get the best out of him. Well, he got that under a new manager, and it’s probably the best thing that’s happened to Manchester United in a long time. Worse luck!
a When you have Rashford, talent like create the then you conditions to make the most of that ability