logo
Man Utd are in 'no man's land' due to constant managerial churn, says Rashford

Man Utd are in 'no man's land' due to constant managerial churn, says Rashford

LONDON: Manchester United's exiled forward Marcus Rashford has delivered a scathing assessment of the Premier League side's struggles, saying the club remains stuck in "no man's land" due to constantly changing coaches with different philosophies.
Rashford has not played for United since December after a fallout with coach Ruben Amorim, with the England international spending the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa before joining Barcelona on another loan deal last month.
The 27-year-old, once the lynchpin of United's attack, said the last few months away from the Old Trafford side have allowed him to "take a step back" and analyse why the club which finished a lowly 15th last season has been floundering.
"People say that we've been in a transition for years but to be in a transition you have to start the transition. The actual transition hasn't started yet," Rashford said on 'The Rest is Football' podcast.
"When Liverpool went through this, they got (Juergen) Klopp and they stuck with him. They didn't win in the beginning, people only remember his final few years when he was competing with (Manchester) City and winning the biggest trophies.
"To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. This is where I speak about being realistic about what your situation is. We've had that many different managers, ideas and strategies in order to win that you end up in no man's land."
United have not won the Premier League title since 2012-13, the last season of manager Alex Ferguson's career before he retired, while Liverpool have now equalled their tally of 20 league titles.
United's managerial carousel since Ferguson's exit has included David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag, with each bringing vastly different playing styles.
"When Ferguson was in charge, not only were there principles for the first team but they were for the whole academy," Rashford said.
"They'd all understand the principles of playing the Man United way. Any team that's been successful over a period of time, they have principles that mean that any coach or player that comes in has to align to or add to the principles."
United have won several cups since their last league title, but Rashford attributed them to squad quality rather than systematic success.
"At times, I feel like United were hungry to win so we'll always try to adapt and sign players that fit the system. But that was reactionary," Rashford added.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Liverpool splash out to secure status as Premier League's top dogs
Liverpool splash out to secure status as Premier League's top dogs

Free Malaysia Today

time12 minutes ago

  • Free Malaysia Today

Liverpool splash out to secure status as Premier League's top dogs

Fresh from storming to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title, Liverpool aim to restore glory days with new signings. (EPA Images pic) LIVERPOOL : Fresh from storming to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title, Liverpool have not held back in transforming Arne Slot's squad in pursuit of an era of Premier League dominance. On top of retaining veteran stars Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to new contracts, the Reds have splashed out £260 million ($350 million) and are reportedly far from finished in the transfer market. Two of the Bundesliga's most promising talents Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have arrived at Anfield to add extra creativity and goals. Jeremie Frimpong has also made the move from Germany with the daunting task of replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, while Milos Kerkez joined from Bournemouth as the long-term successor to Andy Robertson at left-back. More defensive reinforcements are imminent with the club closing in on deals for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi and 18-year-old Italian centre-back Giovanni Leoni from Parma. But it is the potential addition of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak for a British transfer record fee in excess of £115 million that is the transfer saga of the English summer. Risky and rare strategy Liverpool were among the lowest Premier League spenders last year as Slot oversaw a steady transition from Jurgen Klopp in spectacular style. A huge investment this time round is also possible because the Reds are among the slickest movers in the market when it comes to sales. The departures of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold and Tyler Morton have raised around £200 million. Liverpool's bold strategy of tearing up a title-winning team is a risky and rare experiment. Only once, Manchester City in 2019, have the Premier League champions been the biggest spending English club in the market since 2007. After years of battling against the financial power of Abu Dhabi-backed City, Liverpool are now flexing their muscles thanks to years of commercial growth and prudent ownership. 'It doesn't feel Liverpool-like to me,' said former defender Jamie Carragher at the thought of a new £69 million striker Ekitike playing second fiddle to Isak. After decades in the doldrums prior to Klopp's arrival, Liverpool are aiming to bring back glory days the club has not since the 1980s. The last time Liverpool won back-to-back titles was in 1984 and doing so this season would come with the added bonus of overtaking Manchester United as English football's top dogs. To do so, Slot has recognised the need to strike the right balance that still harnesses the best from his side's extra firepower. A pre-season trend of high-scoring encounters continued in losing the Community Shield to Crystal Palace on penalties after twice blowing the lead. 'Now we are better in creating and getting promising situations than we were, in my opinion, throughout the whole of last season,' said Slot. 'What made us really strong last season was we only won mostly by a margin of one goal and that had mostly to do with us keeping a clean sheet or as a maximum conceding one goal.' Liverpool also have extra motivation to defend their title as they try to honour a lost friend and team-mate in Diogo Jota. The Portuguese international was killed aged just 28 alongside his brother after a car accident in northern Spain last month. Tributes to Jota will continue throughout the season with 'Forever 20' – his shirt number, which the club have now retired – printed on Liverpool's jerseys.

Man Utd in ‘no man's land' due to lack of plan, says Rashford
Man Utd in ‘no man's land' due to lack of plan, says Rashford

Free Malaysia Today

time12 minutes ago

  • Free Malaysia Today

Man Utd in ‘no man's land' due to lack of plan, says Rashford

Marcus Rashford seems to have played his final United match, with his Barca loan move including a €35 million purchase option. (EPA Images pic) MANCHESTER : Marcus Rashford decried Manchester United's lack of strategy as leaving the English giants in 'no man's land' after joining Barcelona on loan. The 27-year-old, who played 426 times for United after coming through the club's academy, left Old Trafford in January for a loan spell at Aston Villa after falling out of favour with new manager Ruben Amorim. United went on to have their worst season since being relegated in 1973/74 as they finished 15th in the Premier League and failed to qualify for European competition. Rashford believes the root of United's problems is in the instability caused by appointing six different managers since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. 'We have been way below where we deem United to be but then if you take a step back, which I've been able to do, especially over these last six months, what do you expect?' Rashford told the Rest Is Football podcast. 'When Liverpool went through this, they got (Jurgen) Klopp, they stuck with him. They didn't win in the beginning. People only remember his final few years when he was competing with (Manchester) City and winning the biggest trophies. 'To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. It's not easy to do. But this is where I speak about being realistic with what your situation is. 'We've had that many different managers, different ideas and different strategies to win that you end up in no man's land.' United have failed to even contend for the Premier League title or the Champions League since Ferguson's departure. Rashford is one of the few success stories for the Red Devils in that time. After breaking into the team as an 18-year-old in 2016, he went on to score 138 goals for the club, winning two FA Cups and two League Cups. However, he believes the winning culture embedded during Ferguson's 27-year tenure has been worn away. 'When Ferguson was in charge, not only were there principles for the first team but they were for the whole academy,' Rashford added. 'Any team that has been successful over a period of time, they have principles that mean that any coach or player that comes in has to align to or add to the principles. 'At times, United were hungry to win… but it was reactionary. If your direction is always changing, you can't expect to win the league.' Rashford appears to have played his last game for United with his move to Spanish champions Barca containing an option to buy for a reported €35 million (US$41 million).

Premier League referees to crack down on players holding in the box
Premier League referees to crack down on players holding in the box

New Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Premier League referees to crack down on players holding in the box

LONDON: Premier League referees are likely to award more penalties this season in a tougher response to players who grapple and hold opponents in the penalty area. Howard Webb, chief operating officer of referees' body the PGMOL, told reporters on Thursday that feedback from a recent Premier League survey had highlighted "a few too many" clear holding offences going unpunished. He said VAR could intervene in situations of "extreme non-footballing action" where a player was clearly dragging another to the ground, even off the ball. "I would expect, if we're sitting around this table this time next year, there to have been a few more penalties given for holding offences than what we've seen (last season)," he said. "But not a huge swing of the pendulum, because that's really difficult to sustain over a period of time." Webb said there would still be "some grey zone situations where the referee's call stands, where the referee says 'No, it's a small touch, it's not impacting his ability to move the ball, it's mutual holding. "That will stay the referee's call. "When there's no considerations to support the referee's call, then we'll expect VAR to get involved as well," added Webb. Nottingham Forest were awarded a penalty, confirmed after a VAR check, last season in a 7-0 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion when Tariq Lamptey bundled Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White to the ground. A subsequent Premier League statement referred to "sustained holding with no attempt to play the ball." The PGMOL has tried before to reduce holding but Webb said this time the approach would be more lasting. "This is not meant to be a two-week campaign, a six-week campaign, August and September and then forget all about it," he explained. "If we went in like a steam train and gave every little bit of contact then it would be a six week campaign because we get told very quickly to ease off on what we're doing. "We have to take the game with us, we have to be credible."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store