Gareth Southgate was there at Old Trafford and so he lived the moment with the crowd, the England manager feeling the surge of hope as Marcus Rashford flicked on the afterburners. It was the Tuesday before last, Manchester United v Galatasaray in the Champions League, the tie level at 1-1 in the 53rd minute and Rashford had blazed on to a Christian Eriksen pass.
When he reached the ball eight yards or so outside the area, on the right-hand side, the nearest defender, Angeliño, was a similar distance back. At which point something strange happened, something that would not have happened last season and which shone a light on Rashford’s current headspace.
Rather than go for goal and making sure he was firmly in front of Angeliño, Rashford slowed right down, taking two touches, suddenly locked in a holding pattern. He was clearly going to wait for the run of Bruno Fernandes to his left and square for him, which was not the decision that the United support wanted. What turned it into an awful one was the execution of the pass, delayed for too long and telegraphed, played slightly behind Fernandes rather than into the space in front of him. The other chasing defender, Sacha Boey, was able to clear and Old Trafford went into meltdown.
It was not the first time that evening that the United fans had betrayed their exasperation with Rashford, who is one of them, remember, a supporter, too; an authentic hero because of what he has achieved on the pitch and, even more so, away from it with his community work. In first-half stoppage time, they groaned after they felt Rashford had pulled out of a 50-50 challenge. You hurt the ones you love. You want more from those you know can give it.
Rashford would be substituted in the 68th minute of the eventual defeat that deepened United’s early season crisis, which was earlier than his removal in the previous game – the home loss to Crystal Palace. That day, Erik ten Hag hooked him on 77 minutes. Before last Saturday’s match against Brentford at Old Trafford, it was posited that Rashford should be dropped. He kept his place but was taken off in the 63rd minute with United 1-0 down; they would recover to win at the very end.
Rashford was likened to a “phantom” against Brentford in the Guardian’s report of the game, and if his form is a worry for Ten Hag, who is substituting him earlier and earlier and wondering whether it is time to start with Alejandro Garnacho, it must also be so for Southgate as he prepares for Friday’s friendly against Australia and Tuesday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.
The United soap opera is rarely independent of the one with England, and certainly not now. Harry Maguire, anybody? For the first time since the Qatar World Cup, Mason Mount is fit for international selection only for Southgate to overlook him. In Southgate’s words, the United midfielder had not “done enough to be in ahead of the others”.
Rashford played well in England’s victory over Scotland at Hampden Park in September but he has flatlined since his return to United. At the beginning of the season, despite the club’s struggles, he did show flickers of menace. More recently he has run into dead ends and seemed uncertain, the Galatasaray moment emblematic. Rashford had previously heard criticism for shooting too much, for being too selfish. Was it on his mind when he looked for Fernandes?
The broader takeaway is the wildness of the extremes that have come to cling to Rashford and his confidence. The lost season that he endured in 2021-22 has been well documented, not least the admission of how his mental health crashed. “Too often, I wasn’t in the right headspace for games,” he said. “I wasn’t surprised by some of the stuff that was happening.”
Rashford’s comeback to 30-goal United talisman last season and a successful return to the England squad for the World Cup was a feelgood story. It had its roots in a rare full pre-season in which he trained like a beast and, more importantly, a psychological reset that was helped by Ten Hag’s arrival and a different energy around Old Trafford. Rashford’s fortunes are lurching hard in the opposite direction again but he appears to be relaxed. Why wouldn’t he be given the Lazarus-like capacity he has previously demonstrated? The sample size from this season compared with 2021-22 is much smaller. He just needs a goal, a performance, a spark.
Perhaps it can come for England. What is obvious is that Rashford needs something. Southgate’s options run the deepest in the wide attacking roles, particularly on the left, where Rashford prefers to play. It is why the manager has been able to discard Raheem Sterling, escorting him away from the premises, gentle hand on the shoulder.
In the knockout ties at the World Cup Southgate started with Bukayo Saka on the right and Phil Foden on the left and they continue to feel like his first choices – ahead of Rashford, Jack Grealish, James Maddison and the rest. Saka will miss the Australia and Italy games with an injury. Rashford must recalibrate.
