Rashford has what it takes to be a legend
SOMETIMES, great players can stand out in poor teams.
It’s a statement that defies logic for those who shun the power of the individual, believing team sports are purely about the collective, but it applies to any sport, not just football.
At the start of the season, few would have predicted it could apply to Marcus Rashford and United. The 22-year-old had been a prodigious talent, a youngster who would one day spark into life.
But as former City player Micah Richards rightly noted while on punditry duty after last Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup derby, there is now a growing chasm between Rashford and his United team-mates - in more ways than one.
“I feel a little bit for Rashford,” said Richards. “If Rashford was in City’s team, he would get 30, 40 goals a season.”
He went on to describe how Rashford looked increasingly isolated, especially during a chastening first half for United in the semi-final first leg, the scoreline of which appeared to affect Rashford more than any other home player.
There was barely even a celebration when the England striker tucked the ball beyond Claudio Bravo to make it 3-1 in the second half.
It’s easy to trot out the usual cliche about the derby ‘meaning more’ to a Mancunian player and note how Rashford, Manc born and bred as supporters like to sing, has the United ‘DNA.’
Whether or not you subscribe to such cliches barely matters, because it’s clearly the case that Rashford is standing head and shoulders above his United team-mates at the moment.
Not just with his performances, either, although his 20 goals in all competitions - boosted by his double in the 4-0 defeat of Norwich on Saturday – suggest he may get close to that 30-goal mark Richards mentioned.
No, Rashford is proving himself to be a leader and deserved his chance to captain his boyhood club for the first time against City, an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decision that many fans questioned before the game as David de Gea was also on the pitch.
He showed those leadership credentials not just by appearing completely broken by the derby defeat and grimly apologising while trudging off the turf, but he then puffed his chest out and answered reporters’ questions after the game, the only United player to bother stopping to accept responsibility for the loss.
He quickly put messages out on Twitter and Instagram reflecting on a ‘bittersweet’ night, ‘a proud moment for me and my family but the result hurts more,’ which was aptly put.
This is a player United must cherish, not isolate.
A raw talent that has been honed and developed, but one that cannot be hung out to dry with such turgid team performances and a squad barely fit for purpose.
On the pitch it’s clear United don’t have the midfield to serve Rashford’s finishing. Off it, they don’t have the characters like Rashford to stand tall and dig deep on difficult nights such as Tuesday.
Rashford is the standard bearer for United’s academy, but he’s also a damn good footballer who deserves better.
If United had a No.10 of Kevin de Bruyne’s quality, Rashford probably would score more than 40 goals a season.
So while it will take time, transfers and money to solve those footballing problems, United must develop Rashford the leader and create the right environment for this homegrown talent to become a legend.