Marcus Rashford Gets Deserved Praise

When Marcus Rashford’s late winner hit the net at Hull, the crazy celebrations were not confined to a raucous 3,000 travelling Manchester United fans in the away end at the KCOM Stadium. Six hundred miles across the North Sea, 1,000 supporters fans erupted in The Scotsman.

The four-level pub is located on Oslo’s main shopping street and is busy whenever the club play, with almost all of the games televised. On Saturday, it had been hired out by for 35th anniversary celebrations by United’s Scandinavian Supporters Club, which has 42,000 paid-up members — around one percent of Norway’s population.

Among those present were invited former players, who still hold United dear and refer to the club as “we”. When Rashford’s goal went in, Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside, Dwight Yorke, Ronnie Johnsen, David May, Lee Martin and Ben Thornley jumped up like fans. They punched the air and hugged each other. One of them even started a song as red-shirted supporters bounced around.

Their belief was back in United before the game and the 18-year-old Mancunian’s winner only strengthened the feeling as Jose Mourinho made it four straight wins from his first four games as manager. The former Old Trafford players have their favourites, but all consider Rashford the real deal.

“Marcus is still young, but you saw his intent when he came on at Hull,” said former striker Yorke. “He was a real threat; he put energy into the attacking force and he committed defenders, which was what was required. We dominated the game but didn’t seem to be making inroads with the aggressiveness. Marcus did that when he came on. He just wants to run at people and do his thing. That’s the beauty of young strikers like him, he seem fearless.

“Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]’s arrival may limit his opportunities, but Marcus turned the game. That sent a message to the front players: ‘If you’re not playing well then I’m looking to get in here.’ That competitiveness is exactly what you need and I also think he’ll have plenty of chances when the games start to come thick and fast.”

“To be a top forward you need pace and Marcus has got that,” said Whiteside, one of the few other United forwards who came through the youth ranks at the club. “He’s got loads of potential which bodes well for the future. He’s making the right steps; he’s in a good environment.”

“Marcus is a well-grounded lad,” added Robson, United’s iconic captain throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. “He knows he’s got to work hard. He hasn’t moaned about not being in the team at the start of the season. He knows he has to bide his time to get chances, but he’s fresh and ready for when he gets his chance. He brightened the game up when he came on at Hull. He gave us pace and enthusiasm, that’s what young boys do. That’s what [Ryan Giggs] did when he came into the side I was in and Marcus generated a different speed to the game which troubled Hull.

“Marcus knows exactly where to run down the sides and across defenders. His hold-up play has got to be a bit better, but if he can improve that he’s on his way to being a complete striker. I’m just pleased that he got that goal because when you dominate a match like that and don’t win, you’re only going to be disappointed.”

“People liken Marcus to Danny Welbeck,” said Whiteside. “But Danny’s first touch wasn’t great but his pace got him out of trouble. I think Marcus has got that important first touch.”

“Danny is not a finisher; he’s an all-round work horse, whereas Marcus is a natural goalscorer like Gary Lineker,” agreed Robson. “Marcus gets across defenders; he has the extra yard of pace to get away from them.”

Much is made of Rashford’s age but, said Whiteside, that can also work in his favour: “I was fearless when I made my debut at 16. You just want to hear the whistle and play. Money doesn’t come into it. A year ago, he was in United’s under-19s. At the end of the season, he was England’s best player in the European championships and he was only on the pitch for four minutes [in the final game].”

The last sentence was said with a smile, since Whiteside is a proud Northern Irishman.

“The way Marcus plays, he doesn’t look like he feels under any pressure,” explained Thornley, who made his United debut aged 18 in 1994. “Look what he did when he made his United debut. Look at him playing for England in the European Championship, when he should have got more minutes. He’s a breath of fresh air. I firmly believe that it won’t be long before he’s commanding a starting place for United and that will create a problem for Jose Mourinho. No players can afford a dip in form because when they do he’ll replace them.

So who gets dropped? Wayne Rooney’s place in the side has been under pressure for a season.

“I went to Bournemouth for the first game and thought Wayne played really well,” said Thornley. “He didn’t play as well against Southampton, but I still feel he’s a great passer of the ball, probably the best passer along with Michael Carrick at the club.”

Robson also praised Rooney.

“People have criticised Wayne lately, but he was brilliant when he set the goal up,” said Robson. “It was bad defending by the Hull defender — I wouldn’t have been happy if he was my defender — but Wayne put the ball on the plate for Marcus [and] he anticipated what Wayne was going to do, he was in the right position to score. That’s not something you learn in training, that’s a natural instinct.”

As was the ecstatic celebration of those former players in Oslo.