There’s a new face on the scene in the red side of Manchester and his name is Marcus Rashford. The fans and pundits alike are buzzing with energy about the kid, but one thing must be said about all of this: Don’t ruin Marcus Rashford.
The young man has two impressive stats to put to his name, as he was the fourth youngest player to make a start in the Premier League for Manchester United, only being older than Phil Neville, Danny Welbeck, and Federico Macheda. As a side note, there have been younger players than Rashford to make their Premier League debuts, but the players listed are those who made their first league starts at the youngest age.
Another phenomenal record he can add to his name is that he was one of the youngest ever players in English history to score a brace, being the same age the day of the Arsenal match as Wayne Rooney was when he scored his first English Premier League brace at 18 years and 120 days. old And, despite the rhetoric about Rooney flying around this season and last, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest scorers in both Manchester United and English football history.
Rashford is exactly the same age as Rooney was on the day they both scored their first #BPL brace (18y, 120d) pic.twitter.com/kdBrpIu3BT
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 29, 2016
But, despite going on about what everyone else seems to be saying, that he’s an exciting prospect and has phenomenal talent, it needs to be of utmost importance to the club to protect the young man. When you think of protecting a player, you think mainly in terms of game time. This is one of the best, if not the best, leagues in the world and an 18-year-old should not be thrown immediately into the fire to test his will.
Manchester United’s manager, Louis van Gaal, has had some wonderful things to say about his talent and his mentality, and in his press conference after the Arsenal match had this to say about the topic: “Give him time to be 18. We shall guide him in that way. I think he’s a very modest guy so I don’t think that will be a problem. When you have so much media attention, it can go another way, but I feel he can keep his feet on the ground.” This is the best possible way to go about making sure that he reaches his potential.
The young man has incredible talent for a footballer of his age and, despite not being physically intimidating, was able to handle the physicality of his first game in the top flight, or avoid it for that matter. There were times in the match where he looked like a seasoned veteran, but other times where he showed he is still a teenager, and this is something that the club, the media, and the supporters alike need to remember.
Despite all of the pessimistic sound of this, it must be said that a player of his age getting man of the match honours in his first ever Premier League start is something that will not soon be forgotten. So, please, do not mistake the safe and appropriate approach that should be taken as a sense of pessimism.
Congratulations to Marcus Rashford, #mufc's Man of the Match on his @premierleague debut. Thanks to all who voted. pic.twitter.com/Cvn94G363m
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 28, 2016
Manchester United and their supporters need to learn from the mistakes of the past of blowing players’ potential out of proportion, and the player never truly realizing said potential. For instance, remember the Aston Villa match back in April of 2009? If you’ve been a Manchester United supporter, the ninth day of that month will serve as a warning for the case of Marcus Rashford.
With United losing 2-1 to Aston Villa, they substituted Luis Nani for a man who was lighting up the reserves, Federico Macheda. After Ronaldo equalized in the 80th minute, Macheda bagged a winner in the third minute of injury time on his Manchester United senior team debut. So, as many pundits and professionals say “a single game (in this case, two games) doesn’t make a career”. Let’s not push Rashford into becoming the next Macheda.
The club seemingly wants to take the proper route and allow Rashford to grow into a man, and a phenomenal footballer at that, with age. The supporters must understand that the remedy to all the problems facing the club isn’t to force a young man into the spotlight.
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