Man Utd have one true leader left after ‘ill thought of’ public antics
Ten Hag believes Man Utd are on the up ahead of Everton trip
The Marcus Rashford nightclub saga has come and gone. Erik ten Hag labelled his star forward’s behaviour “unacceptable” and confirmed it had been dealt with internally at the start of the month. Yet it has rubbed one of Manchester United’s former players the wrong way and highlighted a glaring issue in Ten Hag’s squad.
Rashford made headlines for visiting a nightclub hours after the humiliating 3-0 derby defeat against Manchester City at Old Trafford.
The 26-year-old was celebrating his birthday in a contained event with friends and family but garnered criticism for not opting for a private gathering.
Rashford’s struggles in front of goal have heavily contributed to United’s disastrous second season under Ten Hag – netting just once in 16 appearances.
The Dutchman publicly branded his decision as “unacceptable” but quickly swept the incident under the carpet, insisting that Rashford would soon rediscover his best form.
But ex-United winger Ian Storey-Moore is struggling to let his fellow England international off the hook for his behaviour during United’s rut.
“It was a silly thing to do after being beaten at home by Manchester City to go to a local nightclub,” Storey-Moore told Express Sport after letting off a frustrated sigh.
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“You’re always going to get fans there at nightclubs and bars, so I think that was probably ill-thought of by himself and whoever advised him to go there.
“He shouldn’t have gone. I do believe that he shouldn’t have gone. Ten Hag is right [in saying it was unacceptable] to be fair.
“They’re really difficult to deal with now, these players. They’re all multi-millionaires, they’re all superstars, and they’re all in the media every five minutes. I wouldn’t want the job to deal with them.”
Rashford was one of United’s primary leaders last term, in which he scored a career-best 30 goals to help the club to Carabao Cup glory and third in the Premier League.
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But his antics have raised questions, compounded by reports that he was one of the players Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claimed rejected the captaincy before he handed Harry Maguire the armband in 2020.
Meanwhile, other leaders in Ten Hag’s squad have not lived up to their reputations this season. Casemiro’s form has been woeful; he’s a shadow of the £70million general of last season.
Raphael Varane has fallen out of favour, now behind Maguire – who Ten Hag planned to sell in the summer – in the pecking order. Luke Shaw is another standout name, but he has missed three months through injury.
It leaves club captain Bruno Fernandes as the only true leader in the Old Trafford dressing room – and even that fact is a matter of mass debate. Rashford’s loss of confidence is a problem for more reasons than one.
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