Marcus Rashford scored two more goals and an assist for Barcelona on Tuesday, which some say is proof that he has been ‘lazy’ at Manchester United.
We usually broadcast former Red Devils full-back Paul Parker’s views because their bizarre and controversial nature provides an opportunity for laughs and laughs during the week at worst.
Anything that’s too ridiculous to publish is usually dismissed as the tweets of someone scrawling their opinions on a bathroom stall door.
Read more: Marcus Rashford’s redemption story continues with another two Champions League games as Manchester United look on
But we can’t help but be provoked by his latest take on Rashford.
“He let his team-mates down. He was lazy and didn’t do anything. He has a lot to prove when he comes back to England. How many players in England would trust him if he played for his home team? That I know, but no one knows the answer. They never say it out loud, but they feel it in their hearts. When I was playing, it was life-or-death. It should have been built into him, but it’s not.”
You can’t beat Rashford. Either way, he didn’t do well for Barcelona to prove that he was never all that. Or he’s doing well, which apparently shows how ‘lazy’ he has been for United. And what about this claim that “no one would trust him”?
Certainly that didn’t seem to be the case at Aston Villa in the second half of last season, and indeed it wasn’t the case in England right now either. Indeed, we would suggest that Rashford, currently a prolific goal-scorer and assist-giver for Barcelona, is the kind of player most ‘English players’ would turn to to save the day.
As with Roy Keane, Gary Neville and other former Manchester United players, Parker has struggled to come to terms with the fact that his former club is the problem, rather than Rashford or many other players who have gone on to flourish elsewhere. Not that he’s actually thriving…
“He’s done well, but I don’t think he’s in Barcelona’s ideal starting eleven. Will he start in the Champions League final alongside Yamal, Rafinha and Lewandowski? I think the answer is no. He won’t start. To be honest, everything about Marcus Rashford seems to be about politics.”
Using players who finished second and fifth in the Ballon d’Or, and arguably the greatest scorer of his generation, as benchmarks to show that Rashford isn’t actually doing all that well shows how elusive Parker is in that particular argument. And what is this “politics”? Still frustrated about feeding starving children? He recorded four goals and two assists in three Champions League games by “focusing on his own football”.
“Rashford put himself in a bad position of not knowing what to do. If you can’t give your all to your boyhood club and you’re going to let the other players in the team down, that says a lot about yourself. As a kid. If you can’t do that at a club you’ve been at for a long time, even if you say you support the team and love the city you grew up in. If you can’t contribute to the team and let your teammates down over and over again, you’re in a very bad position. ”
It is in a “bad position” that he is currently playing for one of the most famous and best clubs in Europe and enjoying his football. He’s probably okay.
“Then he went to Aston Villa and the media claimed he did well, but did he do better than Ollie Watkins? No. Did he do better than Jacob Ramsey? No. But he was sold that way because of the press coverage of putting pressure on Man Utd.”
I don’t think comparing Rashford to other very good footballers makes the point that Parker is trying to make, and Unai Emery would often choose Rashford ahead of Watkins. For example, both legs of the Champions League quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain.
It comes after Rashford scored a hat-trick in Barcelona’s first El Clasico on Sunday, and Parker was asked for his thoughts on yet another dramatic comeback. He will find a new stick to beat him with, but if he doesn’t, his talent at his new club will only strengthen his claim that Rashford was “lazy” at Manchester United.
