Marcus Rashford needs these three simple things to recapture his best form | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford’s 2023 has been a rollercoaster to say the least.

The 26 year old has hit such highs of scoring a goal at Wembley to help his side win a trophy and also find the net and dominate at the Camp Nou. So much so that Barcelona boss, Xavi, commented that the English attacker was in the top three most difficult-to-stop players the Catalan giants have faced during his tenure.

The 2022/2023 season culminated in Rashford scoring a career best 30 goals in all competitions and the player winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Season club award.

Consequently, Rashford was signed a new bumper contract in the summer that made him one of the highest paid stars in the Premier League. Finally, after years of inconsistency, the club and Erik ten Hag had finally unlocked the player’s true potential and Rashford had found a new elite level of consistency.

No. That isn’t how things tend to work out at post-Alex Ferguson United.

The 2023/2024 season has been an absolute disaster for Rashford. In 19 games to date, the player has scored two goals and only one from open play and that was way back at the start of September versus Arsenal. To highlight the player’s woes The Athletic took a deep dive into the statistics behind his slump this year. They don’t make for a pretty picture.

The England international only has an xG of 4.69 Premier League goals and his goals per 90 figure has dropped from 0.57 last season to a paltry 0.16 this season. In addition his assist numbers have fallen from 0.18 to a meagre 0.08. Something is far from right.

Rashford has been taken off numerous times this season when the team have needed a goal such as against Brentford and Galatasaray. In addition, he has faced a torrent of abuse from former players like Mark Hughes and Alan Shearer about his work ethic and general happiness with football. This was most recently highlighted in United’s 1-0 loss at Newcastle where the player frequently didn’t track back and the Magpies’ Tino Livramento caused chaos in the United backline.

So, what can be done to solve a problem like Marcus Rashford?

Stop chopping and changing his position

Rashford has consistently been shunted about between striker, left winger and right winger. The truth is United are not good enough to do this without disrupting players and the team. Sir Alex Ferguson used to do it but he had a well-oiled winning machine and well, with the greatest respect to the current manager, he was Alex Ferguson.

United’s top goal scorer last season found his best form playing off the left and he has always looked better there. He even says so himself. Talking to Gary Neville on Sky Sports on The Overlap show, Rashford claimed, “I prefer the left, I feel like on the left it’s easier to stay in the game,” he added. “From even when I was younger, I always wanted to stay in the game, that’s why I think I struggle playing centre-forward sometimes because I struggle with patience”.

Moreover, whilst playing left winger this season, he has had to adapt his natural game to accommodate new signing, Rasmus Hojlund. The Dane has yet to score in the Premier League and being naturally left-footed takes up similar spaces to Rashford on the left. As a result, the Englishman has had to shift further out wide and is further away from the goal. The England international has found some success creating as he has made five big chances in the league, the same as Arsenal’s much praised Martin Odegaard. The Mancunian has played a new chip pass over the backline for the pacey Hojlund to run onto, and it has almost provided a couple of goals so far. However, Rashford is at his best when he is running onto those chances, not making them.

Find a way to positively channel his passion for the club

The attacker is claimed to be a moody character when United lose and according to The Athletic, “carries the weight of negativity” when things are not going well. Despite the Englishman’s claim that he cuts out the noise around him, he clearly doesn’t. The best we see of Rashford was when he successfully gets out of his own head.

Much was made last season of the United academy product’s point to the head celebration. He would routinely do this when he scored and it is thought that “he is hinting at his recent mental health struggles and how focusing on that has become a priority”. He is claimed to “wear his emotions” and takes deep pride in playing for the club he loves. While this is great, it is of no use if it negatively affects his performances. He needs to learn to follow legends like Beckham, Scholes and Gary Neville, who cared deeply about their boyhood club, yet channelled this energy more positively for themselves and crucially the team.

Stop expecting him to be better than he is

Finally, Manchester United fans have to accept at 26 years old, Rashford is unlikely to get much better. He has always been a bright spark and an incredibly talented player, who on his day, is unstoppable. However, he isn’t world class or at least, not consistently. The Manchester born player has never consistently scored goals. We should accept him for what he is.

That is problematic as he was given such a large deal in the summer, but he is who he is. The player needs to learn to track back better but maybe that just isn’t his natural game. Additionally, maybe Rashford needs to be a complimentary piece rather than the star of the team. Perhaps if he were surrounded by better players, he may thrive in a less pressure-filled scenario.