Is Marcus Rashford being ‘forced out’ of Man Utd for money?

Are Man Utd forcing Marcus Rashford out of the club because they need the money? It certainly feels like it.

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Is Marcus Rashford being forced out?

I have to say I am fed up with the whole circus surrounding Rashford.

Again just like with Pogba, and Martial, and Sancho, we’re being told by the media that Rashford has an attitude problem. In fairness, some of this is off the back of comments made by the manager who is supposedly not happy with how Rashford is training. It does seem like it’s not just coincidence that all the players who get hounded out of the club are black, and it can’t be coincidence that I can’t think of any white players in the league who have notable off field disciplinary issues or attitude problems. Statistically that seems implausible.

Not that I’m trying to defend Rashford’s form this season, he’s not performed when he was in the team and no doubt he’d own up to that. But can we say that Antony has done better while he’s played? Has Garnacho? 4 goals and 1 assist in 15 vs 3 goals and 1 assist in 22 suggests no. And it’s funny how Garnacho’s sometimes subversive social media posts never come up as evidence of poor attitude, but obviously nothing to do with him being white.

No doubt some people will throw Rashford’s salary in his face as evidence. “He should be working harder for £300k a week!” I hear them frothing. But actually we’ve no evidence he doesn’t train as well as the others, just one person’s story to the media, in a very one sided, punching down kind of way. Rashford can’t exactly tell his side to the media nor would he want to no doubt.

We do have evidence that the owners are trying to pinch pennies and offload their highest earners and cash in on academy talent. We know that parties have been cancelled, staff have been fired, bonuses removed, ambassadorial roles curtailed, players moved on and Garnacho dangled in front of potential buyers. Is it more or less likely that the ownership have decided they need to get Rashford off the books and told the manager to force him out?

They’re not mutually exclusive off course, Amorim maybe has seen something he doesn’t like or he holds a player of Rashford’s abilities to a higher standard and is also tasked with forcing him out. It’s plausible, but then I see Antony getting game time and I think there is no way he’s seeing more from him. I see Højlund bundled off the ball again and I wonder if he’s really training harder.

I can understand why the media especially the Mail hates a successful, young, wealthy black man that shows up the Tories and their supporters for their heartless policies. But supposed Manchester United fans turning on him on account of this narrative, which let’s face it is basically just modern code for “lazy f***ing n*****” along with other racist tropes for black footballers (e.g. Beast, unit, monster that plays up their animalistic traits), is beyond disappointing. It’s shameful.

The clue is in the club name. Manchester United. United. And yet ‘fans’ are lining up to boot him out. A player that has has been with us since a kid, who’s devoted most of his life so far to the club, who is despite all the hate is still a fan and a human being. It’s ok to criticise his on field performances. It’s OK even if you think he’s not good enough to be at the club based on what you see on field. You can do that all and still wish him well in his future career away from Old Trafford. The vitriol over his reported off field antics, the buying into bullshit clickbait media stories, needs to stop.

I saw earlier this week a picture of Rashford as a kid waiting for a bus to get to training. He has dedicated more of his life to Man Utd than most people have dedicated to their careers. He’s been well recompensed for sure but so what and what’s it to any of us what he earns? So can people please just stop with the damned circus? If you haven’t got anything nice to say then just not say anything, and if he goes just wish him well on his way.

Daniel, Cambridge

MORE MARCUS RASHFORD COVERAGE ON F365…

👉 Amorim ruins genius Rashford transfer plan before ‘risking wrath’ of Manchester United players with decision

👉 Mailbox: Rashford earning ‘F-off money’ creates issues amid Man Utd ‘deterioration’

👉 Arsenal 5th), Barcelona 3rd): Marcus Rashford’s six end-of-window outcomes ranked on likelihood

Man Utd need to get used to ‘painful’ mid-table

I think an email like Charly’s deserves a response. There is a temporal element that Charly seems to ignore. Any sensible United fan has been saying for 15 years that United is run terribly, notably under Ed Woodward and the Glazers. Any sensible United fan understands the Glazers have not ‘spent billions on transfers’ but have simply taken out money the entire time they’ve been owners. That panic buying (see Antony, Casemiro) and fear (see Rashford’s contract) are not the way to do things.

Here’s the TL:DR – the Glazers are terrible for United, should never have been allowed to buy the club and the Premier League should have forced them to sell if it cared a jot about what is good for football. (spoiler, it cares about one thing and one thing only, and it’s not clubs surviving)

What Charly misses is that there is, finally, some new leadership in place. So any hints of optimism does not stem from a dull 1-0 win at the Cottage, but from the hope that perhaps we might have some competent decision makers at the club. And here’s the rub: United have been run into the ground, financially. It cannot buy at present, because of how badly the Glazers have mismanaged us.

And so when I see Casemiro and Rashford frozen out, and realise that forcing the two of them to leave is actually fundamental to our survival as a going concern, and that the club are doing this, I at least acknowledge someone understands what is happening. When I see United choose a manager who relies on a system rather than relying on the best players, I think someone understands that we cannot keep spending like the top clubs, because in the short term we can’t.

Finally, anyone who realises all of this should come to the same conclusion I have: the next 2-3 years are going to be very, very painful as supporters. We will not sign big names, we will not buy our way to success and we will remain kind of mid-table, because that’s where the squad is, and where it will remain. But, if INEOS deal with the errors of the last few years, United can emerge in a much better place. That’s my cause for optimism.

Ryan, Bermuda (If Charly claims BHA’s wages of 1.1m per week is what Case is on, no wonder he’s still here)

The Man Utd transfer hall of shame

There’s a narrative currently that is reflected in media articles, and the mailbox opinions, that Antony is United’s worst transfer, and possibly the Premier League’s worst transfer too. Let me explain why both are wrong (recency effect?). Actually, by just highlighting why he’s not United’s worst, the second point will presumably be proven.

The first challenge is the fee of some £80m. We know this is not Antony’s fault. He is suffering from the Harry Maguire syndrome here. If he was bought at the same price as Malacia, people would immediately have a different perspective of him. Just by comparison Pogba was bought for £86m, and Sancho for £70m, and Di Maria for £60m.

The second part is his salary. He’s definitely more culpable here – but hey, can we really grudge him negotiating the highest possible salary? His performance definitely lacks any resemblance to his salary even after the deductions based on lack of Champions League games. In this category his competitors are Alexis Sanchez, Casemiro, Sancho, and Rashford since his most recent deal last year.

Lastly is his actual output on the pitch. Putting aside all financial considerations – as a Man United first team player (or even squad member) he has been distinctly poor. And compared to the hype created by his arrival, or based on the number of chances afforded to him, it’s been unacceptable. The comparisons here would be Memphis Depay, or Mkhitaryan, or even Shinji Kagawa, who all belied the promise and aura of their arrivals.

The fact that many of these players did better in other environments before or after raises another important point. Being United’s worst transfer (or in the shortlist) doesn’t make them bad players – just that it didn’t work out for them at Old Trafford. Even Juan Veron wasn’t a success at United.

Antony is a 25 year old. He definitely has time on his side. There’s a distinct possibility that in the slightly slower and more technical landscape of the La Liga, he turns out to be a different player altogether. He’s not a shirker, and his problems don’t stem from lack of effort or commitment.

In the pantheon of transfer failures therefore, I don’t think Antony sits at the top of the pile. Here’s my hall of shame counting down. For this discussion, let’s cast a veil over Sir Alex’s rotten tomatoes such as Bebe, Jemba Jemba, Dong, and Kleberson, and look at the post Fergie era. And you’ll notice that Anthony doesn’t make the top 5.

#5 – Bastian Schweinsteiger – the Casemiro of his time, except that he also had his mind on things outside of football, reportedly didn’t really spend enough time in Manchester, and although he didn’t cost a fortune, his salary of some £5m per year was really money thrown into a pit. A great player in his time. Okay-ish on the pitch. But really a terrible transfer for United. (Close tie between him and Schneiderlin for #5)

#4 – Depay – cost United £30m – which at the time was not insignificant. Played 29 games in his first season, scored 2 goals and had zero assists. Much like Antony, his confidence ran way ahead of him. Including his lip tattoo.

#3 – Di Maria – a player that did exceptionally well both before and after United. Just didn’t have the heart for his United stint. His treatment of the club, the fans, and his overall attitude while he was at United was abhorrent. A transfer that should never have happened, though United did well to recoup much of the fee. He didn’t do terribly – with 10 assists and 3 goals in his first season. But he was a British record transfer, and it ended in flames. Van Gaal was definitely to blame as well.

#2 – Alexis Sanchez – unstoppable at Arsenal, incapable at United. Whether he had just lost a yard of pace, or confidence, he was incredibly predictable – preferring always to cut back rather than beat the defender on the outside. Notionally a low cost transfer as a swap with Mkhitaryan, but at the time the highest paid player in the league. The Haaland of his time in terms of salary so to say, played 32 games and got 3 goals and 6 assists in the league in 2 years.

#1 – Paul Pogba – bought for £86 million after leaving for nothing. Could barely bring himself to run about a bit on the pitch. Was talented enough to perhaps be a Ballon D’Or contender, but his performance not only belied his talent, his fee and his salary, but also as the supposedly totemic player in the team, brought down the team’s performance significantly. Scored the occasional goal, and always just did enough to keep the wolves at bay. To me he qualifies as Man United’s worst signing simply for the waste of talent and the sheer lack of application. Left on a free again, to add insult to indolence.

So yes, Antony’s been a failure, but in the unfortunately long list of poor transfers at United in the past decade, I’d rate him better than these 5.

Ved Sen (MUFC)

READ: Every Man Utd signing post-Sir Alex ranked: Alexis, Antony in bottom two, Solskjaer buy top

Loving this Spurs disaster

You lot are going to think I’m mental, but I’m loving what is happening at my club, Tottenham, right now.

I know I know. What a premise eh! But as much as the injury crisis is crippling our season, and the fact we’re sliding inexplicably towards an area of the table we haven’t really been at since the early 00’s or even the late 90’s, the world, or at least the wider football universe, is finally seeing what is wrong with our club, or should I say – WHO!

The memes we’ve seen this week! My favourite was the one with Mourinho, Conte and Nuno on it, showing how well they’re doing since they released themselves from the shackles of THFC and Daniel Levy. They were all treated a different shade of terribly, Nuno undermined from the start with a sawn off shotgun approach to manager recruitment which saw us flash our knickers all over Europe. Mourinho sacked a week before a cup final and Conte pushed to the point of mania, no doubt partly caused by a dark year in his life with the loss of Vialli amongst other friends, but also the common thread of managing Tottenham. Operating with an arm tied behind your back.

Then there’s the imaginary “WhatsApp group” of ex players who have gone on to win trophies. Even flops like Emerson Royal and Tanguy N’Dombele have won! It must be about 50 strong now. The joke about Eriksen dying, coming back to life, and winning a league title and an FA Cup is funny, if a little dark.

The person at the top of any organisation is the one responsible for the success and the culture. From the word go, the acceptance of mediocrity and the laser focus on everything EXCEPT what makes a club a club, which is the football team and how it performs on the pitch, has led us to where we are now. A club who has a stadium described by Pochettino as “like having a big beautiful house, now it’s time to put some furniture in it”.

Six years on from then, and we’re still hanging around bonfire sites for smouldering three piece suites and raiding charity shops for hastily binned cast offs, or that familiar annual visit to the Premier League graveyard to desecrate the graves of the recently deceased. The thought of “where does this player play?’ Or ‘is this player needed?’ Never seem to enter the consciousness of the man at the top. And this is what leads to having a Europa League squad with no back up left back but 4 or 5 keepers.

This month has seen the injuries pile up, as an ever diminishing pool of players see their workload incrementally increase as a result. Archie Gray runs until his lungs burst. Porro has gone public to state that the players aren’t being overtrained as some, dare I say ‘briefed’ journalists have come out recently to say. Kukusevski going public to say the players still believe in the philosophy and are fighting for their manager. And yet the chairman hasn’t put a dent in that £200m cash sat in the club coffers. In years gone by, Levy will have approached his friendly journos and the spin machine would crank up, and unusually led to opinions among supporters and squad reached the critical mass to fire the manager.

It started two weeks ago, But it’s not working this time.

Postecoglou is currently in one of the worst runs of any Spurs manager in the last 50-60 years, save for a relegation season in the 70’s. Levy has sacked AVB on almost 2 points per game in 2013 as the players and fans had given up. Nuno, Harry Redknapp, Mourinho, Pochettino, have all been dispensed with. The latter was the one that really broke me and set me on a road of just wanting this owner out

Relatively speaking, there are lots of clubs worse off than us, and loads with worse owners even, but all a supporter really wants is for a club to be the best it can be. Tottenham, or should I say ENIC, aren’t doing that. The tills are ringing, but the best performances at the new stadium are more Beyoncé than Bergvall. The only records being set are the ones on the go kart track under the stadium, and the closest we get to ‘aiming high so even failure has an echo of glory”, is paying £50 to go on the Dare Skywalk. We’ve become an entertainment entity with a falling team attached to it. A franchise club who rather than buying a player for a specific part of the team, looks for a player from a particular part of the world to exploit lucrative markets.

The failure of the club at present is entirely down to the man at the top. The manager and players make errors on a micro level of course, just like all managers and players, but what we’re seeing played out is a squad starved of quality investment, the same fate every manager has suffered. It’s time to get him out at all costs.

Ross – Birkenshaw Spurs

Woe is Arsenal

Is there anything Arsenal won’t get blamed for?

It’s now apparently an outrage that we bid for Ollie Watkins on Monday, two whole days before he was next due to play a match.

Please can F365 clarify how long before a player’s next match is an acceptable time period to make a transfer offer?

Ben, AFC (honestly the discourse around this team is just insane)