Marcus Rashford: He’s Still Born To Play In Red & White

When he first rustled the back of the net on that iconic night back in February 2016, Marcus Rashford was greeted by a roar he’s now heard 131 times home and away for Manchester United. The connection with the fans was an instant classic. An academy boy from the streets of Wythenshawe, born to play in the red and white of the most famous club in all the land. Listen close; Rashford is red. That was the chant from the crowds back in January 2023, when everything was going smoothly. The 26-year-old was bursting the net more times than he wasn’t, developing that sense of inevitability that the greatest players on the planet have when they step out onto the pitch. It wasn’t a question of if Marcus Rashford was going to score at that stage; it was simply a question of when and how.

The Online Toxicity

The online fan base is a toxic beast. Rashford had felt it’s rath before last season, but this one in particular made the abuse take on dark shades of gray. Manchester United recorded their lowest league season in Premier League history, with the entire team underperforming in a season that but for the famous FA Cup win, was one of the worst to watch for the fans in their lifetimes. Rashford, more than anyone else in the side, took copious amounts of abuse and has continued to do so ever since. The wingers every movement is analyzed on the football pitch, and things that get forgotten and zoomed over for other players are amplified in the case of Marcus and shared on social media out of context to allow the entire world to build a false narrative around him as a player. Unfortunately, in the modern age of social media, where fact checking is secondary, this propaganda spreads like wildfire, and a narrative is born out of the ashes of lies.

23/24 was not Marcus Rashford’s best season in a United shirt, and mistakes were made along the way. The night out in Belfast is of course a talking point, but the greatest players in United’s history, and players that many idolize for loving the club and being the ultimate professionals, would have a story or two to tell about the nights out they had back when the spotlight wasn’t quite so focused like it is in modern football. There’s an argument to be had that Marcus’s overall game has never been better, and while he isn’t running at full-backs in the manner he was at 18 years old, he’s more calm and reserved in possession, practicing patience and retention when he has the ball, and picking out world-class crosses to make game breaking differences as well.

The Liverpool game is an example of the online furor for the winger going too far, and it’s unfortunately spread into the stadium. It feels like fans are blinded by what’s actually going on when it comes to Rashford, driven by the narratives they’ve read online and using confirmation bias whenever he does anything negative to drive home the growing belief they’ve created that he’s finished. Alejandro Garnacho’s substitution was booed at the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday, despite Marcus being Manchester United’s most potent attacker in the game, in a decision that was justified by Erik ten Hag as he went on to produce two game-breaking crosses for Joshua Zirkzee, which could have pulled United back into the match.

Rashford Needs Support, Not Hate:

Certain individuals on social media drive narratives against Rashford in situations that sometimes go too far. These are people at the end of the day. Pushing narratives and slamming hateful propaganda against a player you’ve never met in your life is always a query that serves more questions than it does answers. Of course Marcus Rashford can improve, and there’s absolutely no doubt there have been some poor performances over the last year and a half; he more than anyone would admit that, but the same could be set for 10 or 11 players within the United squad. Targeted abuse is not the way United worked in the past. During the days of Sir Alex, it was the club against the world, no matter what happened, but in the age of social media, the Manchester United players and manager seem to be targeted more by their own fan base than the rival fans.

Erik ten Hag’s charisma and speech are slated on a weekly basis. Harry Maguire has had bomb threats sent to his family home in what can be viewed as one of the most disgusting displays of ‘support’ from a ‘fan’ football has ever seen. Clips went viral last season of Scott McTominay against Bayern Munich, questioning the commitment of a player who has literally left everything out there for the club on countless occasions, breaking his body to secure a win and playing through countless unlisted injuries.

Rashford himself has put his body on the line for the club. The 26-year-old has played through back injuries, shoulder injuries, and ankle injuries, particularly in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time at the club. Famously, the academy graduate referenced this in a passionate interview after the Europa League Final defeat to Villarreal, stating he could take the interviewer into the dressing room and show him six or seven players who had pushed their bodies to the limit to make things happen that season for United.