Right now it seems everyone has an opinion on what’s going wrong for Marcus Rashford.
Another frustrating night as United’s No 9 away to Nottingham Forest brought fresh questions in a week that ends with a daunting trip to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
There are those who believe Rashford has no business playing through the middle and instead should only operate from the left wing. Others point out he’s had enough success as the central striker in years gone by. Others don’t want him in the starting XI full stop.
All-time Premier League top scorer Alan Shearer pins the blame on Rashford while the 26-year-old’s former United team-mate Wayne Rooney is convinced service into him when he’s through the middle is nowhere near good enough.
Marcus Rashford played through the middle at Nottingham Forest with Rasmus Hojlund out
‘Come on Marcus, get up. Stop waving your arms around,’ an irate Shearer said on Wednesday night. ‘You’ve got to do better.
‘I don’t like his body language at times. He’s trying to send a message out to the fans, it’s not my fault.
‘You as an individual have to take responsibility now and again for your actions on the pitch. Get up and get on with it.’
Rooney begged to differ.
‘When you’re playing as a No 9, you need the team to create chances for you,’ he said.
‘I don’t think we created that many chances for him.’
But what do the stats actually tell us by comparing Rashford the winger to Rashford the centre forward? They tell us that this great disparity people like to speak of doesn’t actually exist.
He has started 170 games from out on the wing for United, compared to 115 starts as the main striker, averaging 0.39 goals a game per 90 in both positions.
It was another frustrating night for the England ace, who is low on confidence right now
Against Fulham, Rashford (right) was starved of service having been pushed inside from wing
Stats show that for Manchester United there is little positional difference for Rashford
Take chances created as another metric. In the two positions Rashford has created 181 chances from the wing and 127 as a centre forward, averaging out to 1.2 chances per 90 in both positions.
Shot conversion, another important stat for attackers, sees Rashford at 13.8 per cent when on the wing and 12.8 per cent as a striker; the difference is marginal.
The biggest differential is touches and involvement. Right now Rashford can go long spells in games appearing disinterested or isolated. He doesn’t get chance to build up a rhythm and thus finds himself snatching at half-chances that come his way – two examples of this at Forest summed up his current plight.
A look at the stats shows he has had 8,030 (51.4 per 90) touches from a wide position and 4,564 (42.6 per 90) as a striker. It is perhaps one of the reasons why he has made it plain it is wide left he likes playing most.
‘[Playing on the] left makes it easier to stay in the game,’ Rashford told Gary Neville on the Overlap last year.
‘When I was younger I always wanted to be involved in the game and thats why I think I struggle with playing centre forward sometimes, because of my patience. You might not touch the ball for 20 minutes and then your first touch might be an opportunity to score.
‘You have to be mentally switched on. It’s almost like a goalkeeper; you might be in the game for god knows how long, but when it’s time to make a save then you have to make it.
‘I never enjoyed that aspect of it [playing centre forward] but as I’ve got older I’m starting to enjoy it a little bit more.’
He only has five goals to his name this season and he is searching for some rhythm once again
Right now Rashford is part of a United team that look badly short of goals. He’s definitely not alone in carrying the can for this.
It took a stooped header in the final few minutes from a set piece by Casemiro to beat Forest, while Harry Maguire scored the consolation against Fulham.
Rashford was starved of service against Fulham and had just two credible chances, both of which he fired over the target, at Forest.
Looking ahead to Sunday and he will head into the derby as one of 31 players to have attempted 40 or more shots in the league this season.
Of those 31, only four players have a lower accuracy than Rashford’s 33 per cent. That is a by-product of his lack of confidence, lack of rhythm and general downturn from his purple patch of a season in 2022-23.
But all of his troubles cannot be pinned on him being pushed into a No 9 role in a system that isn’t set-up for forwards to thrive in (it took Rasmus Hojlund months to get off the mark before he found his groove).
His goal at Wolves showed his instinctive finishing, but he needs better service when as a No 9
Rashford needs to go back to basics. Trust his finishing ability and stop with his tendency to drift out to the left if things aren’t going his way.
‘I do think he needs to be more ruthless,’ Rooney added. ‘He needs to be a bit more patient and stay in the middle of the goal.’
If there is anyone worth listening to when it comes to finding feet as a No 9, it’s Rooney.
