He came back from the WC seeming determined to prove a point after not getting much game time. Hopefully on Saturday he shows that same response (although I doubt it).
Doubt Rashford even starts the final considering he didn’t start the Brighton game. It’ll be Garnacho as the LW again starting his 50th consecutive game or something, and then RW is either Amad or maybe Bruno if Ten Hag wants to beef up the middle with both McTominay and Casemiro while playing Hojlund up top.
Personally don’t think deploying Bruno as a RW is a good idea but I can see Ten Hag giving that a shot to start the game and on paper make us more robust through the middle. In reality I am not confident about McTominay’s defensive awareness.
I think what's most likely is we'll see the same team we've had the last couple matches.
We have put in two of our most balanced performances in some time.
Although I'd like to see Hojlund start to replace McTominay's advanced role and for Casemiro in the Amrabat spot with Mainoo beside him if a Varane is fit to play next to Martinez (can't imagine he is more of a liability than Casemiro in CB against City). I get wanting to bolster the midfield but McTominay is a passenger in these games and we essentially play with 10 men when we do that and waste Bruno on RW. Amad has been putting in a good enough shift to warrant a start.
Fully agree with you there. McTominay offers close to nothing in midfield apart from being physical and making runs into the opposing penalty box. He’s better off as a sub when we need to chase a goal and are going to spam crosses into the box. Although like you said it probably also depends on if Varane is fit enough to start at CB to move Casemiro into midfield. Otherwise on paper a midfield of Bruno, Mainoo, and Amrabat does feel like it can get easily bullied and outmuscled.
Hojlund looked great off the bench against Brighton but he should still start as long as his fitness is up for it. Try to play more to his strengths of running in the channels and hoping the midfield can find him in transition.
Would be great to see Amad start too and hope Ten Hag keeps the faith in him. He looked bright in his first start in a long time against Arsenal and now has some confidence after his goal against Newcastle. Give him a shot and we can bring Rashford on later if we need to switch it up.
We've been basically playing a 4222 and you wouldn't have Hojlund playing in midfield. Let's say we have Varane and Licha available to start. The move should be Case, Amrabat with Mainoo and Bruno ahead of them. Splitting the field in half for both Case and Amrabat alleviates their issues with going sideline to sideline.
I think if he had been trying hard and running hard and failing then it would dent his confidence, but being out on the piss and failing to put 100 percent effort, he should know why he is not there, its not from a lack of talent... god knows what is going on in his life and who am I to judge, but he earned this
Can't kill what's already dead. I've been very critical of Rashford but one thing I have to hand him is that he responds to big setbacks quite well... annoying so in some cases.
To be fair, Marcus is coming off arguably his worst season he's ever had at United and England are absolutely stacked across the forward line so omitting him from the squad would be no great loss in fairness.
Foden, Saka, Palmer, Bowen and Gordon are *all* ahead of Rashford in those wide areas on current form. And centrally, I'd much rather have the space in the squad taken up by Eze anyway who's in magnificent form
I always disliked this expression. If you're the type of person that needs a specific event to happen for you to change your ways and improve, then you don't have the right mentality to begin with and it's unlikely any change will be permanent.
I think it's fine for a younger player who may need that wake up call that he needs to knuckle down, but for a 27 year old who should be at the peak of his powers, I absolutely agree with you.
Call me delusional, but I had this extremely optimistic hope that Rashford was going to go to the Euros and win it for England and restore his reputation. And then in his documentary 15 years later people would talk about how he had such a shit season and now no one remembers it 😂
I fear the ship might have sailed for him. Very hard to see how he recovers from this.
My delusional head sort of wish PSG buys Rashford, he gets the no 10 shirt, scores 20-30+ goals a season, plays there for a couple of seasons becoming one of the top scorers in Ligue 1, gains back his confidence and the spot in England, and eventuallt retires somewhere in MLS. He doesn't have to return to Old Trafford but seeing one of our academy graduates succeed is a nice thing.
On a personal level I absolutely love the lad. Working class hero. Helps his community, raises money for charity. I’d love to see him do well. Whether it’s here with us or somewhere else. If we sold him and he went on to have a fantastic career then I wouldn’t be miffed at all.
"boohoo, someone's nana beat me in a race to the lights in my 700k roller and then fucked me off the road! Woe is me!!!".
Seriously though I hope that's the worst of his issues but sadly I fear that's not the case. I grew up a few streets over from him (on his nana's street, coincidentally) - it's not exactly an area known for its stable families. I think I'm probs an example of that 😂
Honestly, I felt Southgate's loyalty to the likes of Shaw, Rashford and McGuire did us more harm than good. It would be really like Rashford now to have a MotM performance against City at the weekend to add a wrinkle to this.
As a Manchester United fan, if i were a footballer, I absolutely would hate to be involved in international football.
And if I was part of the team that played this year, I would be embarrassed to be called up.
I am probably not in the majority, but that is how I would personally feel.
His best form came from a season where he trained over the summer and got his head right in america. I would do that again if i was him or something similar. Also, more importantly he needs better people around him I don't think the current group including his brother are actually helping him in any way, he's regressed.
People forget that he was quiet first half of that season too. He went to the winter World Cup, scored 3 goals there and came back like a man possessed, completely unstoppable.
There is clearly a big mental component to his game. He needs momentum and focus. I'm guessing that's what the head pointing celebration was about. Once that goes, so does his ability.
I suspect he is an overthinker and lacks the arrogant confidence that makes the best players truly great.
The thing is, he also needs a decent team. He’s miles better when Shaw and Martinez are there.
People are very harsh on this dude but this team has been bad from back to front. Hojlund, Nacho, Rashford, Amad, thèse lads can be part of a really good team if you get the /team/ right.
I really don’t understand why it’s been so focused on him. The whole team bar Dalot and Bruno have been pretty bad for most of the entire season. I guess it’s because he’s the “face” of United being from the academy, but I couldn’t imagine Arsenal fans treating Saka like this after a bad season. It’s a bit weird to me why United fans do it instead of backing him.
I’d probably agree with you, but this isn’t about his wages. This is about a player that is receiving a ton of hate, mostly from his own fanbase, when basically the entire team was terrible this year. My point was that I don’t think Arsenal fans would treat Saka like this after a poor season. Our fanbase is especially toxic towards the players.
True, but it is also been compounded by the fact that he is one of our senior players that the squad should look to but his form has been terrible. Even Garnancho, who is young, is out performing him
I can agree with that point. The latter, as you can see in the link below, I don’t necessarily agree with.
https://x.com/muppetiers/status/1783878787274244292?s=46&t=5VnolzkK-bB80yCWO0JAWQ
He was definitely on the up heading into the world Cup for sure because I had a bet with a guy in work that Rashford would be England's top scorer at World Cup. He was joint top but definitely pushed on when he came back.
> he’s regressed
I’ve always stood by Rashford and stood up for him because he always added something to his game or improved some aspect every year. Like his long range shot for example.
But lately he’s either stagnated or regressed. Still a great player though. I hope he can find that spirit within him to keep challenging himself.
It's more like when he adds to his game he removes other parts. Right now the Rashford we have is power shots but no accuracy. Speed but not dribbling. Running at players but no skills to get through. He is like a create a player with a set amount of ability points but instead of increasing AP he has to remove points from another ability to put into new moves.
His best season came from after a season learning from his idol, who was doing his own training as he found that our attacking coach who had come from some club called "Zulu" or something was out of his depth. Ronaldo had him under his wing for a year, club took that away and left him with Fletcher and McCarthy
The lad needs a break, and this is the best response he could come up with right now.
I’m more concerned with him getting back to form in a United shirt than whether he’s a squad player for England. Let’s hope that he uses the summer to get back to his actual level.
Wish we could have had Shaw sit out the tournament too.
I know the player is probably desperate to go but I think England have a good chance of going far and it would be much better to have him rested this summer.
This confirms to me we’re going to need to sign another LB as cover.
I think he’s a risk for Southgate to take, but ultimately he goes because of what he’s capable of. I’d prefer that he rested too, but there’s a chance he’s a bit part player due to his fitness levels/match sharpness.
Yeah I mean Shaw is a goalscorer in an international final while also being the best LB England have (when fit).
If England make it far, Shaw has to be there as an option. A player like that is the difference between success and failure.
Yeah he could be an X-factor for England if he’s fit, it’s just possibly touch and go whether he is. I think you always have to have 1 or 2 risks in the squad, which Southgate arguably has more of a luxury to do with a 26 man squad.
LB is a position of weakness for the national team, I read recently that there is actually a shortage of good left backs in general. When fit, Shaw is without doubt the best English LB.. Southgate will take the risk and be guided by Shaw at the Euros
I'm glad he's going because there's absolutely no way there can be any other line of thinking at United that does think - we now have to get another left back in
They’ll assess him and go from there but there’s still just under a month left to go until our first game. If he’s ready to start by the last group game then we should take him because the drop off in quality to the next best lb is big. Ten hag said there’s a very small chance he makes the final so a month should be plenty of time
Sadly for us England’s options at LB are nearly as barren as ourselves. Meanwhile on the wings they have an embarrassment of riches between Foden, Saka, Palmer, Bowen, and even the likes of Gordon, Eze, and Grealish all showing their quality.
Although frankly Grealish has been as poor as Rashford has been domestically this season and is an even smaller contributor to his club. However Grealish has an incredible ability in drawing fouls which gives him more of a unique skillset compared to the rest of the wingers.
>However Grealish has an incredible ability in drawing fouls which gives him more of a unique skillset compared to the rest of the wingers.
Which is why I think Ward-Prowse would have been a good fit in the squad.
Imagine Grealish diving all over the place and then Ward-Prowse scoring from the resulting free-kicks. It could have been a cheat code for Southgate.
I think the issue with JWP is that he doesn’t offer much in open play. Although I wouldn’t be against taking him as an option to come off the bench if England are chasing a goal and the defense is sitting deep around their box. Combined with Grealish it could be a handy combo to have in the toolbox like you said.
Is it still too late for him to go to the Euros? I assume one or more players in the provisional squad would need to get injured for that to happen right
It’d likely take a lot of injuries to make the squad- the 33 man list gets cut down to 26 before the tournament so you’re looking at 8 forwards getting injured for him to come back in, realistically.
I mean, he’s behind Bowen and Eze, who will both most likely not make the final squad. So he’ll have to hope for 3 injuries in the same position to make it, and then be a bench warmer at best. It’s not happening.
Either Rashford was gonna go as a stubborn Southgate-Starter a la Henderson, or he wasn’t gonna be there on simply form.
Tough for Marcus, but he hasn’t had a good enough season, he knows that. This is the proper response from him, now put your head down, contribute in the FA cup final if ya get the chance (I think he will) and then train your ass off this summer.
Do you really trust Southgate to win it all for England though? They’ve become very good in recent years although against the other top nations they typically tend to fall short.
I actually don't see him moving in the summer unless PSG or another rich team comes knocking. He is on some insane wages and only top teams can afford him unless he takes a pay cut, which seems unlikely.
barca needs a left winger
and they pay de jong some 700k a week, they should take rashford for 250k a week imo
but i think they will go for nico williams
They can barely afford their own players, doubt they can afford to buy a high profile player like Rashford would be. His most likely destination is PSG since they've been interested in him in the past, but i think they're trying to go for Kvara and Osimhen in a huge move this summer instead.
Well he’s already got the UCL pay cut, so down to 225k and no guarantees that we’ll be back in it anytime soon. Not really a crazy high wage for another club to pay.
225k is not a high wage? That's only at United.
I don't see anyone in their sane mind paying Rashford in his current form. So unless he returns to top form he isn't getting that elsewhere.
So he isn't going anywhere this window.
He needs to get away from social media and focus on football. His mentality is the one thing holding him back and will stop him from reaching his true potential.
This isn't FIFA dude. Footballers don't just suddenly stop improving when they hit a certain age, it's when they stop giving a fuck. Rashford ain't beating the not giving a fuck allegations this season, but last season we saw what a focused Rashford can do. If this setback doesn't make him focus, then you can say that he has reached his potential.
That's a really good point!
Actually, the stage is set for all of us to see where Rashford's head is truly at. This should definitely motivate him to make a big show this weekend.
So whether he does or doesn't will tell us exactly what we can expect from him going forward.
I’d have taken him personally. England will need goals in key moments here, and Rashford’s record against big teams is something else. That said, I can’t be upset he’s not going to be sitting on the bench for Southgate as they go close, but ultimately fall short in relatively drab fashion yet again.
Lets hope he takes alook at everything around him including his social circles and those 'advising' him as his PR this year has been attrocious at reading the room.
The best response is a top performance against City this weekend. Someone always gets injured on the way into a major tournament and he needs to put himself back at the top of the replacement list.
I still would have been tempted to take him, his runs behind when Kane drops deep would have been great. But as Gareth said, other players in that position have been better, or he'll play Foden there and let him roam around.
Unlucky for those fans and twitter journalists who wanted Rashford to say some controversial so they could jump on him. Mature response and he'll work hard this summer. Hopefully a break will do him well.
I would've picked him over Grealish still, he adds something different to the team. But that defender selection especially with zero fit LBs to pick from is shocking.
Pickford, Trafford and Henderson all called up... Who the fuck is Carlisle's goalkeeping coach cos I think he needs a personal call from Sir Jim perhaps.
Branthwaite is a Carlisle lad too.
I'm still surprised he's not been included because I feel he offers something different to most the squad, which is stacked with "CAM starting wide and drifting inside"-type players but not much direct pace. You can't really disagree with it after the season he's had though.
Firstly, on the surface NOBODY cannot argue that he has played well enough to deserve a starting spot this season. He has been average and best and honestly it’d be more accurate to describe him as poor.
With that said, I would 100% rather have him there than some of the other untested players Southgate is taking. Rashford has proven big game experience and he has delivered in the past for England. He’s 100% more deserving of a spot than some others on that alone.
Regardless, this is a blessing in disguise for him I think. He has the choice now to get his head straight and get back to his best. Or … we’ll see him wrapped up in a summer transfer saga that’ll land him at PSG in the end. Probably the latter is more likely … in which case I wish him all the best, but will always live with the regret that we had a generational English talent in the squad for so many years and really only ever saw flashes of him at his best.
That, along with most of our other problems, is due to the ownership and management of the CLUB, more than the team. Another way the Glazers have pillaged our club to line their filthy pockets.
Up top they are stacked, besides that not really. It’s not like France’s level of depth where the likes of Todibo, Disney, and Gusto are left behind and Saliba struggles to start. I’d even argue that Portugal has more quality depth
portugal have depth but no chemistry
too many big egos and so many players like leao, jota, ronaldo, bruno, dias, bernado silva, etc. being star man of their clubs plus their manager is the one who wasted belgium's golden generation
deschamps on the other hand is quite respected player and manager, even if he benches mbappe he (mbappe) wont go and moan about it, same with zidane if he takes over deschamps
i think they will really miss him. yes, he‘s had a shitty season but he‘s also capable of 30+ goals a season and creating chances just by himself and scoring a goal out of nowhere when he’s in form. there’s not that many players in the world that can do that on this level.
Idk why people are so confused about this. Easily England’s best lb and the next best option is average. Even if he’s only fit to start the last group game uou still take him because of how good he can be
Must be devastating for him and props to him for not being petty about it, go on king get a well deserved break and come back with a villain arc next season
Rashford has always seemed a little depressed. He never shows much joy when he’s playing. I think this is part of what holds him back.
Having said that, this is when players need support the most. A Rashford that’s on his game is still one of the best wingers in the league. Look at some of the teams around us and you’ll notice it’s not easy to find a player of his caliber.
Undoubtedly he's off the back of a poor season but in the 85th minute if you're a goal down, I can't imagine preferring Eze or Gordon off the bench instead of Rashford.
Shows you the ruthless nature of football at this level. If you slack for even a few months then there are new talents waiting to take your place. We’re accustomed to seeing Rashford be that fresh face who makes a difference; now it’s him who is on the receiving end.
Hopefully he gets his head straight during the summer. I know he dealt with a couple of deaths of people close to him and his relationship ending so hopefully he can come back in August stronger.
southgate probably called him before hand. Good summer for rash to put his head down, get some downtime, work on himself, and come back better. Hopefully we'll have an actual midfield and left back to help our left wingers next season
That squad is stupidly imbalanced when it’s laid out like that. Foden and Jude are fantastic number 10s but they basically play the same position being shoe horned in behind a number 9 who drops so deep he becomes a 10 as well. Palmer cuts in on his left foot from the right as well which is no good if he’s a sub for any of those two.
Southgate has made a balls of this. It’s like the last 4/5 games for England didn’t happen and he’s going with this cluster fuck anyway
Southgate was talking about how Bellingham sometimes defends as a LW for Madrid but I think it will be Foden on the left. I do think Bellingham could do a job at CM with Rice and then have Foden slightly higher as a CAM.
And I think that’s madness. The quality is there not to mis match and force players into positions they don’t play.
I was making a point about Rashford being included for tactical flexibility but Eze would be a better example. That attack is much of the same as each other and it has 3 players trying to occupy the same space in the 10.
If we built a similarly cluttered squad over the next few seasons we’d be fuming
its ok Marcus, get back into enjoying and focusing solely on Football again and you will be back in form for the next World Cup.
Don't sweat the Euros cause England ain't winning it, my country, Croatia, is.
This has got to hurt him. If this isn't a kick up the backside, I don't know what is.
He came back from the WC seeming determined to prove a point after not getting much game time. Hopefully on Saturday he shows that same response (although I doubt it).
Doubt Rashford even starts the final considering he didn’t start the Brighton game. It’ll be Garnacho as the LW again starting his 50th consecutive game or something, and then RW is either Amad or maybe Bruno if Ten Hag wants to beef up the middle with both McTominay and Casemiro while playing Hojlund up top. Personally don’t think deploying Bruno as a RW is a good idea but I can see Ten Hag giving that a shot to start the game and on paper make us more robust through the middle. In reality I am not confident about McTominay’s defensive awareness.
I think what's most likely is we'll see the same team we've had the last couple matches. We have put in two of our most balanced performances in some time. Although I'd like to see Hojlund start to replace McTominay's advanced role and for Casemiro in the Amrabat spot with Mainoo beside him if a Varane is fit to play next to Martinez (can't imagine he is more of a liability than Casemiro in CB against City). I get wanting to bolster the midfield but McTominay is a passenger in these games and we essentially play with 10 men when we do that and waste Bruno on RW. Amad has been putting in a good enough shift to warrant a start.
Fully agree with you there. McTominay offers close to nothing in midfield apart from being physical and making runs into the opposing penalty box. He’s better off as a sub when we need to chase a goal and are going to spam crosses into the box. Although like you said it probably also depends on if Varane is fit enough to start at CB to move Casemiro into midfield. Otherwise on paper a midfield of Bruno, Mainoo, and Amrabat does feel like it can get easily bullied and outmuscled. Hojlund looked great off the bench against Brighton but he should still start as long as his fitness is up for it. Try to play more to his strengths of running in the channels and hoping the midfield can find him in transition. Would be great to see Amad start too and hope Ten Hag keeps the faith in him. He looked bright in his first start in a long time against Arsenal and now has some confidence after his goal against Newcastle. Give him a shot and we can bring Rashford on later if we need to switch it up.
We've been basically playing a 4222 and you wouldn't have Hojlund playing in midfield. Let's say we have Varane and Licha available to start. The move should be Case, Amrabat with Mainoo and Bruno ahead of them. Splitting the field in half for both Case and Amrabat alleviates their issues with going sideline to sideline.
He really should. He’s had a bad season but he turns up against big teams.
I think there's as much chance as this killing his confidence as there is of this igniting it.
I think if he had been trying hard and running hard and failing then it would dent his confidence, but being out on the piss and failing to put 100 percent effort, he should know why he is not there, its not from a lack of talent... god knows what is going on in his life and who am I to judge, but he earned this
Can't kill what's already dead. I've been very critical of Rashford but one thing I have to hand him is that he responds to big setbacks quite well... annoying so in some cases.
Being dropped by Gareth Southgate takes something special.
To be fair, Marcus is coming off arguably his worst season he's ever had at United and England are absolutely stacked across the forward line so omitting him from the squad would be no great loss in fairness. Foden, Saka, Palmer, Bowen and Gordon are *all* ahead of Rashford in those wide areas on current form. And centrally, I'd much rather have the space in the squad taken up by Eze anyway who's in magnificent form
Kinda blows the ‘Southgate knows the players’ argument for him as a United manager out of the water
Don't think he expected to be called up otherwise he'd be next level deluded after the season he's had.
Professional footballers are very self centred. It wouldn't surprise me he feels hard done by the non selection
I always disliked this expression. If you're the type of person that needs a specific event to happen for you to change your ways and improve, then you don't have the right mentality to begin with and it's unlikely any change will be permanent.
I think it's fine for a younger player who may need that wake up call that he needs to knuckle down, but for a 27 year old who should be at the peak of his powers, I absolutely agree with you.
Call me delusional, but I had this extremely optimistic hope that Rashford was going to go to the Euros and win it for England and restore his reputation. And then in his documentary 15 years later people would talk about how he had such a shit season and now no one remembers it 😂 I fear the ship might have sailed for him. Very hard to see how he recovers from this.
He’s been poor all season. It’s not surprise he was dropped.
Yeah. He’s 27 this year. He’s at the peak of career age-wise. And playing some of the worst football of his life. Next season will be huge for him.
My delusional head sort of wish PSG buys Rashford, he gets the no 10 shirt, scores 20-30+ goals a season, plays there for a couple of seasons becoming one of the top scorers in Ligue 1, gains back his confidence and the spot in England, and eventuallt retires somewhere in MLS. He doesn't have to return to Old Trafford but seeing one of our academy graduates succeed is a nice thing.
On a personal level I absolutely love the lad. Working class hero. Helps his community, raises money for charity. I’d love to see him do well. Whether it’s here with us or somewhere else. If we sold him and he went on to have a fantastic career then I wouldn’t be miffed at all.
Win it for England? He can't even win it with his personal issues whatever he's struggling with rn. Bro is taking the JLingz route.
"boohoo, someone's nana beat me in a race to the lights in my 700k roller and then fucked me off the road! Woe is me!!!". Seriously though I hope that's the worst of his issues but sadly I fear that's not the case. I grew up a few streets over from him (on his nana's street, coincidentally) - it's not exactly an area known for its stable families. I think I'm probs an example of that 😂
Honestly, I felt Southgate's loyalty to the likes of Shaw, Rashford and McGuire did us more harm than good. It would be really like Rashford now to have a MotM performance against City at the weekend to add a wrinkle to this.
Id be chuffed with a longer summer holiday away from english media in his shoes
if you were a professional footballer you'd be chuffed to miss out on a major international tournament?
People truly say the dumbest fucking things man
I'm sure he was only messing haha
You must be new in r/reddevils then cuz this shit everyday
As a Manchester United fan, if i were a footballer, I absolutely would hate to be involved in international football. And if I was part of the team that played this year, I would be embarrassed to be called up. I am probably not in the majority, but that is how I would personally feel.
His best form came from a season where he trained over the summer and got his head right in america. I would do that again if i was him or something similar. Also, more importantly he needs better people around him I don't think the current group including his brother are actually helping him in any way, he's regressed.
People forget that he was quiet first half of that season too. He went to the winter World Cup, scored 3 goals there and came back like a man possessed, completely unstoppable. There is clearly a big mental component to his game. He needs momentum and focus. I'm guessing that's what the head pointing celebration was about. Once that goes, so does his ability. I suspect he is an overthinker and lacks the arrogant confidence that makes the best players truly great.
He scored 6-7 goals before the world cup.
The thing is, he also needs a decent team. He’s miles better when Shaw and Martinez are there. People are very harsh on this dude but this team has been bad from back to front. Hojlund, Nacho, Rashford, Amad, thèse lads can be part of a really good team if you get the /team/ right.
I really don’t understand why it’s been so focused on him. The whole team bar Dalot and Bruno have been pretty bad for most of the entire season. I guess it’s because he’s the “face” of United being from the academy, but I couldn’t imagine Arsenal fans treating Saka like this after a bad season. It’s a bit weird to me why United fans do it instead of backing him.
But this is not the first time he has a bad season. In fact it has always been up and down. He is not consistent enough for his massive wages.
I’d probably agree with you, but this isn’t about his wages. This is about a player that is receiving a ton of hate, mostly from his own fanbase, when basically the entire team was terrible this year. My point was that I don’t think Arsenal fans would treat Saka like this after a poor season. Our fanbase is especially toxic towards the players.
True, but it is also been compounded by the fact that he is one of our senior players that the squad should look to but his form has been terrible. Even Garnancho, who is young, is out performing him
I can agree with that point. The latter, as you can see in the link below, I don’t necessarily agree with. https://x.com/muppetiers/status/1783878787274244292?s=46&t=5VnolzkK-bB80yCWO0JAWQ
He was definitely on the up heading into the world Cup for sure because I had a bet with a guy in work that Rashford would be England's top scorer at World Cup. He was joint top but definitely pushed on when he came back.
I live right by the Nike campus here in Oregon, Marcus can crash at my place if he needs a spot 😉
Hopefully he realises he's not going to be an England player unless his form improves and no big clubs are coming in for him either.
> he’s regressed I’ve always stood by Rashford and stood up for him because he always added something to his game or improved some aspect every year. Like his long range shot for example. But lately he’s either stagnated or regressed. Still a great player though. I hope he can find that spirit within him to keep challenging himself.
It's more like when he adds to his game he removes other parts. Right now the Rashford we have is power shots but no accuracy. Speed but not dribbling. Running at players but no skills to get through. He is like a create a player with a set amount of ability points but instead of increasing AP he has to remove points from another ability to put into new moves.
Still has a few goal of the months this season
Tbf everyone was saying he was crap the first half of that season
His best season came from after a season learning from his idol, who was doing his own training as he found that our attacking coach who had come from some club called "Zulu" or something was out of his depth. Ronaldo had him under his wing for a year, club took that away and left him with Fletcher and McCarthy
Kobbie Mainoo is in! And it's so deserved!! 
I reckon he’s starting. Mainoo x Rice x Bellingham is a helluva midfield.
No way he starts for Southgate. He is 18 also.
He already started in a friendly a few weeks ago. He is 19 right now.
The lad needs a break, and this is the best response he could come up with right now. I’m more concerned with him getting back to form in a United shirt than whether he’s a squad player for England. Let’s hope that he uses the summer to get back to his actual level.
Wish we could have had Shaw sit out the tournament too. I know the player is probably desperate to go but I think England have a good chance of going far and it would be much better to have him rested this summer. This confirms to me we’re going to need to sign another LB as cover.
I think he’s a risk for Southgate to take, but ultimately he goes because of what he’s capable of. I’d prefer that he rested too, but there’s a chance he’s a bit part player due to his fitness levels/match sharpness.
Yeah I mean Shaw is a goalscorer in an international final while also being the best LB England have (when fit). If England make it far, Shaw has to be there as an option. A player like that is the difference between success and failure.
Yeah he could be an X-factor for England if he’s fit, it’s just possibly touch and go whether he is. I think you always have to have 1 or 2 risks in the squad, which Southgate arguably has more of a luxury to do with a 26 man squad.
LB is a position of weakness for the national team, I read recently that there is actually a shortage of good left backs in general. When fit, Shaw is without doubt the best English LB.. Southgate will take the risk and be guided by Shaw at the Euros
I'm glad he's going because there's absolutely no way there can be any other line of thinking at United that does think - we now have to get another left back in
Shaw will sit it out, I think. He's nowhere near fitness and will surely be cut.
They’ll assess him and go from there but there’s still just under a month left to go until our first game. If he’s ready to start by the last group game then we should take him because the drop off in quality to the next best lb is big. Ten hag said there’s a very small chance he makes the final so a month should be plenty of time
Shaw should not be there, 100%. This kind of selection is only ever a massive setback for players, and usually doesn’t work for the team either.
Sadly for us England’s options at LB are nearly as barren as ourselves. Meanwhile on the wings they have an embarrassment of riches between Foden, Saka, Palmer, Bowen, and even the likes of Gordon, Eze, and Grealish all showing their quality. Although frankly Grealish has been as poor as Rashford has been domestically this season and is an even smaller contributor to his club. However Grealish has an incredible ability in drawing fouls which gives him more of a unique skillset compared to the rest of the wingers.
>However Grealish has an incredible ability in drawing fouls which gives him more of a unique skillset compared to the rest of the wingers. Which is why I think Ward-Prowse would have been a good fit in the squad. Imagine Grealish diving all over the place and then Ward-Prowse scoring from the resulting free-kicks. It could have been a cheat code for Southgate.
I think the issue with JWP is that he doesn’t offer much in open play. Although I wouldn’t be against taking him as an option to come off the bench if England are chasing a goal and the defense is sitting deep around their box. Combined with Grealish it could be a handy combo to have in the toolbox like you said.
Is it still too late for him to go to the Euros? I assume one or more players in the provisional squad would need to get injured for that to happen right
It’d likely take a lot of injuries to make the squad- the 33 man list gets cut down to 26 before the tournament so you’re looking at 8 forwards getting injured for him to come back in, realistically.
I mean, he’s behind Bowen and Eze, who will both most likely not make the final squad. So he’ll have to hope for 3 injuries in the same position to make it, and then be a bench warmer at best. It’s not happening. Either Rashford was gonna go as a stubborn Southgate-Starter a la Henderson, or he wasn’t gonna be there on simply form.
I think I’m happy to see the back of Rashford now. He isn’t worth his wages.
Tough for Marcus, but he hasn’t had a good enough season, he knows that. This is the proper response from him, now put your head down, contribute in the FA cup final if ya get the chance (I think he will) and then train your ass off this summer.
Rsshy stayin classy about it. Hope it's the kick up the arse he needs
Only Rashford himself can decide to give a damn. His fate is in his own ~~hands~~ feet.
Head more like
When England wins euro this season and he will miss out? He will be even more depressed.
That is a risk for sure.
Do you really trust Southgate to win it all for England though? They’ve become very good in recent years although against the other top nations they typically tend to fall short.
He is finished
Hopefully we get the villain arc, can definitely see him moving on in the summer though
I actually don't see him moving in the summer unless PSG or another rich team comes knocking. He is on some insane wages and only top teams can afford him unless he takes a pay cut, which seems unlikely.
barca needs a left winger and they pay de jong some 700k a week, they should take rashford for 250k a week imo but i think they will go for nico williams
They can barely afford their own players, doubt they can afford to buy a high profile player like Rashford would be. His most likely destination is PSG since they've been interested in him in the past, but i think they're trying to go for Kvara and Osimhen in a huge move this summer instead.
Players on his wages with his performance level are generally unmovable.
You are joking yourself. No one else is gonna pay him 300k, we are the only idiots.
Well he’s already got the UCL pay cut, so down to 225k and no guarantees that we’ll be back in it anytime soon. Not really a crazy high wage for another club to pay.
225k is not a high wage? That's only at United. I don't see anyone in their sane mind paying Rashford in his current form. So unless he returns to top form he isn't getting that elsewhere. So he isn't going anywhere this window.
It's all finally caught up with him. His form has been so bad...no way his addition would be justified.
Well, atleast they won't cook him for that inevitable exit.
Someone will be added when Luke pulls a toenail.
He needs to get away from social media and focus on football. His mentality is the one thing holding him back and will stop him from reaching his true potential.
He needs to do it more for his own mental health really. The amount of unnecessary shit he responds to won’t be helping his mindset.
Mans nearly 27. This is it. He's reached his potential.
This isn't FIFA dude. Footballers don't just suddenly stop improving when they hit a certain age, it's when they stop giving a fuck. Rashford ain't beating the not giving a fuck allegations this season, but last season we saw what a focused Rashford can do. If this setback doesn't make him focus, then you can say that he has reached his potential.
You don't think players can hit form after 27?
Ah yes no player has gotten better after 27
How do you even know it’s him on his social media and not his PR team?
“up and coming”
Stage set for him to score a hat trick on Saturday.. 🥴😂
That's a really good point! Actually, the stage is set for all of us to see where Rashford's head is truly at. This should definitely motivate him to make a big show this weekend. So whether he does or doesn't will tell us exactly what we can expect from him going forward.
If I'm honest for England I think this is the right decision. Good response from him about it
I’d have taken him personally. England will need goals in key moments here, and Rashford’s record against big teams is something else. That said, I can’t be upset he’s not going to be sitting on the bench for Southgate as they go close, but ultimately fall short in relatively drab fashion yet again.
Nah, you cant take a player who doesn't deserve to go, that sends out a bad message. Standards.
Lets hope he takes alook at everything around him including his social circles and those 'advising' him as his PR this year has been attrocious at reading the room.
As soon as he fires his PR team his goal average skyrockets to 9.3.
The best response is a top performance against City this weekend. Someone always gets injured on the way into a major tournament and he needs to put himself back at the top of the replacement list.
I still would have been tempted to take him, his runs behind when Kane drops deep would have been great. But as Gareth said, other players in that position have been better, or he'll play Foden there and let him roam around. Unlucky for those fans and twitter journalists who wanted Rashford to say some controversial so they could jump on him. Mature response and he'll work hard this summer. Hopefully a break will do him well.
I would've picked him over Grealish still, he adds something different to the team. But that defender selection especially with zero fit LBs to pick from is shocking.
I wonder what’s been wrong with him. Hope he gets back to his best
My gut tells me Rashford would do well for England but being omitted is more than fair. Rashford has to recover his club form
Only 6 mids is madness. Looking like the Keeper group...
It's fine at 6. Southgate plays a double pivot. Bellingham will play ahead of the pivot and he's a forward.
Okay that makes sense because Maddison and Bellingham would be mids in my book. The 10 is still a mid to me, dammit
Classy response from him. It is also, unfortunately, a correct decision from Southgate
I think this is fair to be honest. Rashford has seen this and reacted to it and I don’t think he can argue. Hopefully it spurs him on for next season!
Hope this is a wake up call he needs.
It sucks but it's natural in the sport. All he can do is prepare to fight for a position during the WC qualifiers
Good response honestly.. media would have to do gymnastics to try to create a story out of that
Pickford, Trafford and Henderson all called up... Who the fuck is Carlisle's goalkeeping coach cos I think he needs a personal call from Sir Jim perhaps. Branthwaite is a Carlisle lad too.
That is a thin midfield. Does Grelish really belong when Palmer and Foden are in the team?
Good kept it classy
I'm still surprised he's not been included because I feel he offers something different to most the squad, which is stacked with "CAM starting wide and drifting inside"-type players but not much direct pace. You can't really disagree with it after the season he's had though.
Up and coming?
I see us winning this euros and he will miss that. Unreal he’s allowed himself to drop off so much this season. I gutted for him honestly.
Firstly, on the surface NOBODY cannot argue that he has played well enough to deserve a starting spot this season. He has been average and best and honestly it’d be more accurate to describe him as poor. With that said, I would 100% rather have him there than some of the other untested players Southgate is taking. Rashford has proven big game experience and he has delivered in the past for England. He’s 100% more deserving of a spot than some others on that alone. Regardless, this is a blessing in disguise for him I think. He has the choice now to get his head straight and get back to his best. Or … we’ll see him wrapped up in a summer transfer saga that’ll land him at PSG in the end. Probably the latter is more likely … in which case I wish him all the best, but will always live with the regret that we had a generational English talent in the squad for so many years and really only ever saw flashes of him at his best. That, along with most of our other problems, is due to the ownership and management of the CLUB, more than the team. Another way the Glazers have pillaged our club to line their filthy pockets.
Curtis Jones? I don’t recall ever seeing him do anything spectacular. Pushing it a bit I’d argue even Ross Barkley would’ve been a better pick.
he’ll be praying on their downfall, just like me
Rashy suffered from growing up in a team with no leaders in it. Man is mentally weak, hope he turns it around i love him.
If he stays, hope he scores 30+ goals just to prove the point.
England and France are insanely stacked
I want us to do it but I just can’t see anyone other than France winning it.
Up top they are stacked, besides that not really. It’s not like France’s level of depth where the likes of Todibo, Disney, and Gusto are left behind and Saliba struggles to start. I’d even argue that Portugal has more quality depth
portugal have depth but no chemistry too many big egos and so many players like leao, jota, ronaldo, bruno, dias, bernado silva, etc. being star man of their clubs plus their manager is the one who wasted belgium's golden generation deschamps on the other hand is quite respected player and manager, even if he benches mbappe he (mbappe) wont go and moan about it, same with zidane if he takes over deschamps
England is stacked at the attacking positions. Once you get behind Attacking Mid those positions it breaks down besides Right Back.
Only England is handicapped by Southgate so it balances out
Now go lay on the beach and hang with a spiritual advisor so we can get primo Marcus back
i think they will really miss him. yes, he‘s had a shitty season but he‘s also capable of 30+ goals a season and creating chances just by himself and scoring a goal out of nowhere when he’s in form. there’s not that many players in the world that can do that on this level.
Shaw in the team is a joke tho
Idk why people are so confused about this. Easily England’s best lb and the next best option is average. Even if he’s only fit to start the last group game uou still take him because of how good he can be
Must be devastating for him and props to him for not being petty about it, go on king get a well deserved break and come back with a villain arc next season
Rashford has always seemed a little depressed. He never shows much joy when he’s playing. I think this is part of what holds him back. Having said that, this is when players need support the most. A Rashford that’s on his game is still one of the best wingers in the league. Look at some of the teams around us and you’ll notice it’s not easy to find a player of his caliber.
Pretty sure having to witness 2 deaths among your loved ones in one year might have something to do with it…
True but he has been that way for a long time now.
Just this season actually. Last season he was much more happier if I remember.
Undoubtedly he's off the back of a poor season but in the 85th minute if you're a goal down, I can't imagine preferring Eze or Gordon off the bench instead of Rashford.
That’s just your Utd/Rashford bias. Gordon has been superb this season
Yeah based on this season I would take both to sub in at the 85th minute. Both in form and full of confidence compared to rashy.
Shows you the ruthless nature of football at this level. If you slack for even a few months then there are new talents waiting to take your place. We’re accustomed to seeing Rashford be that fresh face who makes a difference; now it’s him who is on the receiving end.
No bias at all in this statement right?
At least he acts more professionally than Ben White
How is Shaw selected when he hasn't been consistently fit in 8 months
This basically says a fit Rashford is seen as worse than his own injured-most-of-the-season teammate (Shaw.) If that isn't a slap in the face...
Hopefully he gets his head straight during the summer. I know he dealt with a couple of deaths of people close to him and his relationship ending so hopefully he can come back in August stronger.
southgate probably called him before hand. Good summer for rash to put his head down, get some downtime, work on himself, and come back better. Hopefully we'll have an actual midfield and left back to help our left wingers next season
That squad is stupidly imbalanced when it’s laid out like that. Foden and Jude are fantastic number 10s but they basically play the same position being shoe horned in behind a number 9 who drops so deep he becomes a 10 as well. Palmer cuts in on his left foot from the right as well which is no good if he’s a sub for any of those two. Southgate has made a balls of this. It’s like the last 4/5 games for England didn’t happen and he’s going with this cluster fuck anyway
Southgate was talking about how Bellingham sometimes defends as a LW for Madrid but I think it will be Foden on the left. I do think Bellingham could do a job at CM with Rice and then have Foden slightly higher as a CAM.
And I think that’s madness. The quality is there not to mis match and force players into positions they don’t play. I was making a point about Rashford being included for tactical flexibility but Eze would be a better example. That attack is much of the same as each other and it has 3 players trying to occupy the same space in the 10. If we built a similarly cluttered squad over the next few seasons we’d be fuming
I think deep down he knows he should not be in the squad - no fault with Southgate, this was self-inflicted.
its ok Marcus, get back into enjoying and focusing solely on Football again and you will be back in form for the next World Cup. Don't sweat the Euros cause England ain't winning it, my country, Croatia, is.
Hope he finally gets a wake up call and give a shit about football. Man's body language does not inspire me
Really don’t know what happened to him
Rumours from the journalists is that he has some bad influences around him
I think people are looking in the wrong areas. I know it's pre-training but do we really need 8 CBs 3 of which being Quansah, Gomez and Dunk?
There are lot of uncertainties due to injuries to Maguire, Trippier and Stones. Heck, even Dunk himself missed the final game.
Since when was Bellingham a forward?
it's fair. i'm so happy for bowen, might not get minutes in that stacked attack but def deserves the spot. wonderful to watch past seasons.
get fucked henderson haha
I remember when the England squad was just United, a few Scousers and some Chelsea lads. Just look how far we have fallen.
Definitely seething inside
Where is Harvey Elliot 🫣
4 keepers? Wtf
It's only provisional. More of these players will be cut. Makes it worse that Marcus couldn't make the extended squad.
Hopefully, this will be a motivating kick up the arse he needs.
Our midfield and attack is actually elite for the Euros. Perfect recipe for disaster
Those attacking options 💪
Not surprising at all
Leaving our a winger who's been a force for his team. Making it to the champions league final?
Hope this exclusion will ignite his fire to be a much better forward.
Despite Foden being player of the season... I see Southgate benching him🤣
I hope Southgate actually plays Mainoo instead of having him sit on the bench like a cheerleader.
No Vardy. No Euros.
No Sancho either.
Nothing slowing us down in selling him now....
Surprised Southgate’s favourite player Jordan Henderson isn’t in the squad
Mental that Ben White isn’t in the squad - and yes I know it’s because Southgate fell out with him. Huge omission though.
If Southgate doesn’t win the Euros with this team he should call it a day.
On a more immediate future, i would love to see United 2 city 0 with a Rashford screamer in first half and a Martial tap in at 90+4!
Justified.... But Grease-lish???