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The story of Manchester United’s season so far has been one of fall from grace.
After an encouraging first season under Erik ten Hag, this campaign has been full of underperformers, be it the manager or the players.
Ten Hag is already feeling the pressure and on the playing personnel side, perhaps no other player symbolises this fall quite as much as Marcus Rashford.
The leader of the attack last season, with more than 40 goals plus assists is now regularly the biggest disappointment in every game.
Despite scoring intermittently, his overall play has been so appalling, that pundits have started getting worried about him as a person, not just as a player.
Talking on Overlap, Gary Neville said that he looks at Rashford and it’s clear that “something is not right”.
Questionable body language has long been one of the banes of fans with Rashford and that issue has been exacerbated this season as United limp from one bad display to another.
Neville said: “It’s not just a case of him not playing football well. He just doesn’t look happy. I’m past the point of worrying about his performances on the pitch.”
Rio Ferdinand was less sympathetic, saying that the talk of “potential” of Rashford is not longer relevant considering his standing in the squad.
He said: “He’s not a kid anymore. There’s a big decision to make with him and for him. Are the people around him enabling him to make excuses for himself?”
Roy Keane added to the debate that a lack of senior players around him who demand accountability is a part of the reason why Rashford struggles but it doesn’t excuse his lack of effort.
As always, the debate around Rashford dominated the proceedings with thoughts around the team structure holding him back, maybe he’s targeted specifically etc.
However, nothing excuses an apparent lack of effort and negative body language on the pitch, especially after signing a new contract.
Form can be up and down and to a large extent, that is not in the player’s hands but the effort on the pitch is and that’s where fans have soured a bit on Rashford.
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