Roy Keane is a good man to listen to about discipline and indeed success at Manchester United. He has seen both sides of both. But recently when the former United captain described Marcus Rashford as an easy target for criticism he was wrong.

Rashford, the United forward, is not an easy target, he is the opposite. Whether you are a supporter, his manager or just a member of the media, it’s actually quite a big deal to criticise Rashford because of his standing at the club, his status as an academy player with a warm back story and, of course, because of all the work he did for schoolchildren during the Covid pandemic.

So the reality is that if you are going to come for Rashford then you had better have good reason and you had better not miss. And even if you don’t, then you should still be ready for a backlash.

Rashford, though, does not see things this way. Indeed, he would appear to be on the same side of this debate as Keane. Rashford, rightly or wrongly, currently appears to believe he’s being victimised. 

According to a raw, passionate and rather heartfelt piece published in his name on the Players’ Tribute platform on Thursday, Rashford believes that people have it in him for him. 

Marcus Rashford has claimed that the media 'use a tone you don’t get with all footballers' around him in a Players' Tribune piece

Marcus Rashford has claimed that the media ‘use a tone you don’t get with all footballers’ around him in a Players’ Tribune piece

Rashford's essay is written from the heart and reads like a plea for love - but it also reads like an excuse for poor form and questionable behaviour

Rashford’s essay is written from the heart and reads like a plea for love – but it also reads like an excuse for poor form and questionable behaviour

Despite his recent poor form and a disciplinary issue that caused him to miss a big game in the FA Cup, Rashford feels he is being treated differently. Because of his colour? Because of his background? He doesn’t say. But he feels it regardless

‘There is a tone to it that you don’t get with all footballers,’ Rashford said yesterday. ‘Let’s just leave it at that.’

This is an interesting tactic by the 26-year-old. His delicately written polemic reads a little like a plea for love, for understanding. It’s clearly from the heart and he has every right to put it out there. 

In particular, he seems upset that his commitment to United is being questioned. By whom exactly, he does not explain, but it’s not difficult to understand how that may hurt.

However, his essay also reads like an excuse for poor form and some questionable behaviour. As such it’s a gamble. As a sportsman, it’s always wise to speak from a position of strength and currently that’s not a privilege Rashford enjoys.

If goals are a forward’s currency then Rashford is currently bankrupt. Just five in the Premier League this season have done little for his own season or indeed his team’s. 

His work rate has been questioned by supporters and, on TV as United won at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, by former England forward Alan Shearer. I am not sure I buy in to that but then I do not see him play every single week.

There is a focus on Rashford at the moment. He is right about that. But it’s for all the usual reasons associated with being a United player. Nothing more and nothing less. His form, his behaviour and his countenance. 

Rashford's situation is not unique to him - all top Manchester United players are under an intense microscope

Rashford’s situation is not unique to him – all top Manchester United players are under an intense microscope 

Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, and Wayne Rooney won 65 medals between them, but that never protected them from scrutiny

Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, and Wayne Rooney won 65 medals between them, but that never protected them from scrutiny

Rashford went and visited Larne FC before going on a 12-hour bender in Belfast in January

Rashford went and visited Larne FC before going on a 12-hour bender in Belfast in January

He called in sick to training on the Friday, having partied until 3am in Belfast the night before

He called in sick to training on the Friday, having partied until 3am in Belfast the night before

There is a question mark above all three right now and maybe that’s why many time-served United supporters – rather than the bedroom lurking fanatics who would cheer a mannequin if it had a red shirt on – reacted so sceptically to his Thursday tea-time missive.

Many others have been here before Rashford, of course, and he would do well to know that. His is not an exclusive club. Keane himself, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney. That little group has – at a rough count – about 65 major Manchester United medals between them. 

But none of that protected them from criticism at times from the Old Trafford rank and file, whether it related to contracts, form, behaviour or perceived levels of commitment. They have been there too and it hurt at the time. Giggs, in particular, was deeply wounded by it. All managed to see it through, though.

So none of this is particularly unique to Rashford at all. It is what happens when good players start to play poorly over protracted periods of time. 

It’s what happens when they use a day off to go drinking in Belfast, don’t come back on time and then allow the exact details of what did and didn’t happen to become mired in half truths and confusion. Rashford was fined for that little escapade and there was a reason for that.

On the Players’ Tribune site yesterday, Rashford spoke in detail and at length about his back story, his upbringing and his long-standing love and devotion to his one and only club. All of that is a given. Nobody disputes it.

But to what end has he chosen to underline all this now? To make what point? That he has somehow earned a free pass when things are not going well? That he has credit in the bank?

Rashford can pen as many love letters as he likes, but the next chapter will only truly be written on the field

Rashford can pen as many love letters as he likes, but the next chapter will only truly be written on the field

With five goals this season, if goals are a forward's currency, he is currently bankrupt

With five goals this season, if goals are a forward’s currency, he is currently bankrupt  

In terms of the last point, he actually does have some. But this is not the way to spend it. It’s a truth as old as our game itself but the only way back in to the hearts and minds of a fanbase or indeed a manager is through solutions found out there on the grass. That’s where love is really found. That’s where the realities of professional football will surround you until you simply cannot escape them.

Rashford can pen as many love letters to Manchester as he likes. But we already know and respect that story. The truth is we are deeply fond of him because of it. 

The next chapter will only truly be written on the field and, deep down in his footballer’s soul, a bright and intelligent lad from Wythenshawe, South Manchester, will know that as well as anyone.

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Post source: Daily mail

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