14 - Marcus Rashford

draconifire

NTC with a Positive attitude
I think he had a 6/10 match.
Pretty decent with ball at his feet. We don't have a player like that for our LW, a player who likes to drive with the ball.
Kinda useless against parked buses.

Combination play with Balde & other players needs to be worked on, but it's only his 2nd game. He needs a bit of time.
Everyone on the front line was woeful, so can't really fault him for not showing up in his 2nd game for us & against a parked bus.
 

Barcaman

Administrator
Staff member
Not a fan but this is an adaptation period and opponents so far s(h)at themselves back in their box.

We'll see against bigger opponents where there is more space.

And Flick obviously sees something in him so have to trust.
 

serghei

Senior Member
He will take some time to adjust to how we play. La Liga is totally different to EPL. Here you constantly face teams who sit deep and most of your skills have to be used in short spaces to unlock a deep block. Very rarely you see these types of games in EPL. Games in EPL are far more open, more pacy, more tailored to his skillset.

At Barcelona he will encounter this type of setup more vs bigger teams. When you go to Getafe, Rayo, Espanyol, Osasuna, Levante, etc, expect to have a hard time using your pace. Not much space to run into.
 

Maradona37

Well-known member
He can still contribute over the season, but I think a fair appraisal acknowledges he has a lot of flaws in his game - some of which can be coached out (and haven't been) and others which are inherent to him.

Still, he has his uses against high defences. However, how often do Barca play against that sort of team? He can have the odd decent game against low blocks but is generally poor against them.

He's more of a run in behind type of guy than a guy who will link well in build up. It might work in games that are like basketball games.
 

Maradona37

Well-known member
He will take some time to adjust to how we play. La Liga is totally different to EPL. Here you constantly face teams who sit deep and most of your skills have to be used in short spaces to unlock a deep block. Very rarely you see these types of games in EPL. Games in EPL are far more open, more pacy, more tailored to his skillset.

At Barcelona he will encounter this type of setup more vs bigger teams. When you go to Getafe, Rayo, Espanyol, Osasuna, Levante, etc, expect to have a hard time using your pace. Not much space to run into.
That's why it's curious that Barca have taken him on loan - the tactical quirks which suit his game are geared towards playing as the underdog and on the counter (as Man United always do). He's tailor-made for that. That tactical quirk is the main reason he scores so many goals against big sides - those big sides take control of the ball and defend high against United, allowing Rashford to ruthlessly exploit their high lines with penetrative runs in behind.

Barca dominate the ball most games and pin teams back. He isn't suited to a team that takes the initiative.

Of course it's not this simple and black and white, but the general idea is true really.
 

serghei

Senior Member
Barca have opportunities to play like this, and did so last season. This is why Rashford is more like a supersub. You score, other teams open up as they don't have much to defend anymore, and spaces appear we could use.

Scenarios like last night where a team parks the bus and exploits some defensive howlers from us on the break, and we have to unlock a packed defense, is pretty much the worst case scenario for him.
 

Maradona37

Well-known member
Barca have opportunities to play like this. This is why Rashford is more like a supersub. You score in a big game, other teams open up as they don't have much to defend anymore, and spaces appear he could use.

Scenarios like last night where a team parks the bus and exploits some defensive howlers from us on the break is the worst case scenario for him.
True of course.

Just think it's a bit too much money to pay to a guy who is only very useful in very specific scenarios.
 

Maradona37

Well-known member
It will depend on what he does in those scenarios.
I am intrigued to see how he does in games where the other team is more adventurous and leaves more gaps.

The other thing is he has literally zero experience of going deep into the CL with Man United (I mean semis and finals and even quarters were rare, if they ever made them). He has also never been involved in a title race. We have no idea how he will cope with those.
 

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