CLUB LEGEND Gary Neville has spoken of how something seems to happen to players when they sign for Manchester United.
Too often in the post-Alex Ferguson years, the Red Devils seem to drag ostensibly talented players down to their level, rather than the other way around.
You could count on one hand the number of signings that have been unequivocal successes — Bruno Fernandes springs to mind, but very few others.
While United sit just one point above the Premier League relegation zone after another indifferent start to the season, Marcus Rashford was the match-winner as Barcelona beat Newcastle 2-1 in the Champions League tonight.
In the summer, the 27-year-old joined Barça on a season-long loan, with an option of signing permanently for £30.3 million (€35 million).
The England international had a quiet start to his career in Spain, with no goals and one assist in four matches before tonight.
But he was unquestionably the star of the show this evening at St James’ Park, opening the scoring with a bullet header before doubling his side’s advantage thanks to a powerful, spectacular strike from the edge of the area.
United won’t be the only ones scratching their heads.
Rashford already has as many goals for Barcelona as he managed in 10 Premier League matches on loan at Aston Villa, where he didn’t set the world alight, and it was no surprise that Unai Emery’s side didn’t seem to push the boat out to sign the attacker permanently.
The fact that the Catalan outfit acquired Rashford instead is also perhaps an indictment of where the financially-stricken team are at.
He was one of just three notable purchases the club made during the summer, along with goalkeeper Joan García for €25 million from Espanyol and 19-year-old Roony Bardghji for €2.5 million from Copenhagen.
In another time, they may have been competing with Liverpool and Arsenal for stars like Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres.
Instead, the visitors started with Robert Lewandowski up front, an all-time great player but someone who, at 37, is nearing the end of his career.
Still, though, for all the millions Newcastle have spent recently on players like Anthony Elanga (€63 million from Nottingham Forest) and Nick Woltemade (€79 million from Stuttgart), a Premier League reject eclipsed them all.
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It brings us to why Rashford might be set to thrive, despite only achieving double figures in terms of goals in one of his last four Premier League campaigns.
Should he do it, Rashford would not be the only player to struggle at United before finding his feet elsewhere.
Scott McTominay was generally perceived as a squad player at the Red Devils and spent plenty of time on the bench.
Last season, he won the title with Napoli and was named Serie A’s Most Valuable Player.
That award, which was first given in the 2018-19 season, was won by another player, Romelu Lukaku, in 2021, not long after he left United.
Even Antony, who is widely thought of as one of the worst signings in the Red Devils’ history and arguably the most ill-advised of the Erik ten Hag era, after he joined for €95 million from Ajax, had a terrific loan spell at Real Betis last season.
The La Liga club eventually signed the out-of-favour star permanently for a reported fee of €22 million, with €3 million in add-ons.
There are plenty of others, including Anthony Elanga, Ángel Di María and David de Gea, who have thrived since leaving the Red Devils.
There are multiple reasons why players often excel away from the pressure cooker of Old Trafford.
Rashford’s case, though, assuming he maintains tonight’s level, would be representative of a couple of the aforementioned names.
At United, he was playing in a struggling team. Since making his debut in 2015, he has made almost 300 appearances for the club, and as a homegrown talent, there was an extra weight on his shoulders.
Over the years, Rashford’s performances have yielded diminishing returns.
Since the high point of the 2022-23 campaign, when he managed 17 goals in 35 Premier League appearances, he has found the net 13 times in the two top-flight seasons since.
At Old Trafford, though, it felt like he had a difficult game every week.
United were regularly second best, not just against Man City and Liverpool, but sometimes less heralded teams like Brighton and Bournemouth.
La Liga is now some distance weaker than the Premier League overall and can’t compete with England’s financial power.
So in stark contrast with United, Barça only have a small number of truly big games outside of the Champions League. Undoubtedly, the four matches a year against Real and Atlético Madrid come into this category, but not too many others.
They are capable of dominating in Spain the way English sides are incapable of domestically, or at least not to the same extent year in year out.
Barça won the league last year, dropping points in only two of their final 18 matches.
They have just beaten Valencia 6-0 and put seven past the same opposition last season.
These are far from the only games that Hansi Flick’s men have won at a canter. They scored 102 goals last season. The top scorers in the Premier League, Liverpool, managed 86.
This factor similarly explains McTominay’s success in Italy.
It is easier for the Scottish international to stand out because fewer elite players are plying their trade in Serie A, and there is a far bigger quality gap between the top teams and the also-rans.
From an Irish perspective, it also indicates why Evan Ferguson might benefit from his year abroad at Roma after a difficult spell in England.
In contrast with playing sides expecting to get some joy out of facing United, at Barça, Rashford will come up against teams looking to shut up shop, who are, in some cases, beaten before they even take to the field.
Even the Magpies, on Thursday, afforded the La Liga giants far more respect than they would have reserved had it been Ruben Amorim’s team in the away dressing room.
The one downside for the Englishman is that he probably wouldn’t have started at Newcastle had 18-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal been fit to play.
Even after this evening’s heroics, Rashford will need further exceptional displays if he is to be picked ahead of the likes of Yamal and Raphinha, the ex-Leeds player who hit a phenomenal 38 goals in all competitions last season.
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Is another Man United outcast set for a stellar season?
CLUB LEGEND Gary Neville has spoken of how something seems to happen to players when they sign for Manchester United.
Too often in the post-Alex Ferguson years, the Red Devils seem to drag ostensibly talented players down to their level, rather than the other way around.
You could count on one hand the number of signings that have been unequivocal successes — Bruno Fernandes springs to mind, but very few others.
While United sit just one point above the Premier League relegation zone after another indifferent start to the season, Marcus Rashford was the match-winner as Barcelona beat Newcastle 2-1 in the Champions League tonight.
In the summer, the 27-year-old joined Barça on a season-long loan, with an option of signing permanently for £30.3 million (€35 million).
The England international had a quiet start to his career in Spain, with no goals and one assist in four matches before tonight.
But he was unquestionably the star of the show this evening at St James’ Park, opening the scoring with a bullet header before doubling his side’s advantage thanks to a powerful, spectacular strike from the edge of the area.
United won’t be the only ones scratching their heads.
Rashford already has as many goals for Barcelona as he managed in 10 Premier League matches on loan at Aston Villa, where he didn’t set the world alight, and it was no surprise that Unai Emery’s side didn’t seem to push the boat out to sign the attacker permanently.
The fact that the Catalan outfit acquired Rashford instead is also perhaps an indictment of where the financially-stricken team are at.
He was one of just three notable purchases the club made during the summer, along with goalkeeper Joan García for €25 million from Espanyol and 19-year-old Roony Bardghji for €2.5 million from Copenhagen.
In another time, they may have been competing with Liverpool and Arsenal for stars like Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres.
Instead, the visitors started with Robert Lewandowski up front, an all-time great player but someone who, at 37, is nearing the end of his career.
Still, though, for all the millions Newcastle have spent recently on players like Anthony Elanga (€63 million from Nottingham Forest) and Nick Woltemade (€79 million from Stuttgart), a Premier League reject eclipsed them all.
It brings us to why Rashford might be set to thrive, despite only achieving double figures in terms of goals in one of his last four Premier League campaigns.
Should he do it, Rashford would not be the only player to struggle at United before finding his feet elsewhere.
Scott McTominay was generally perceived as a squad player at the Red Devils and spent plenty of time on the bench.
Last season, he won the title with Napoli and was named Serie A’s Most Valuable Player.
That award, which was first given in the 2018-19 season, was won by another player, Romelu Lukaku, in 2021, not long after he left United.
Even Antony, who is widely thought of as one of the worst signings in the Red Devils’ history and arguably the most ill-advised of the Erik ten Hag era, after he joined for €95 million from Ajax, had a terrific loan spell at Real Betis last season.
The La Liga club eventually signed the out-of-favour star permanently for a reported fee of €22 million, with €3 million in add-ons.
There are plenty of others, including Anthony Elanga, Ángel Di María and David de Gea, who have thrived since leaving the Red Devils.
There are multiple reasons why players often excel away from the pressure cooker of Old Trafford.
Rashford’s case, though, assuming he maintains tonight’s level, would be representative of a couple of the aforementioned names.
At United, he was playing in a struggling team. Since making his debut in 2015, he has made almost 300 appearances for the club, and as a homegrown talent, there was an extra weight on his shoulders.
Over the years, Rashford’s performances have yielded diminishing returns.
Since the high point of the 2022-23 campaign, when he managed 17 goals in 35 Premier League appearances, he has found the net 13 times in the two top-flight seasons since.
At Old Trafford, though, it felt like he had a difficult game every week.
United were regularly second best, not just against Man City and Liverpool, but sometimes less heralded teams like Brighton and Bournemouth.
La Liga is now some distance weaker than the Premier League overall and can’t compete with England’s financial power.
So in stark contrast with United, Barça only have a small number of truly big games outside of the Champions League. Undoubtedly, the four matches a year against Real and Atlético Madrid come into this category, but not too many others.
They are capable of dominating in Spain the way English sides are incapable of domestically, or at least not to the same extent year in year out.
Barça won the league last year, dropping points in only two of their final 18 matches.
They have just beaten Valencia 6-0 and put seven past the same opposition last season.
These are far from the only games that Hansi Flick’s men have won at a canter. They scored 102 goals last season. The top scorers in the Premier League, Liverpool, managed 86.
This factor similarly explains McTominay’s success in Italy.
It is easier for the Scottish international to stand out because fewer elite players are plying their trade in Serie A, and there is a far bigger quality gap between the top teams and the also-rans.
From an Irish perspective, it also indicates why Evan Ferguson might benefit from his year abroad at Roma after a difficult spell in England.
In contrast with playing sides expecting to get some joy out of facing United, at Barça, Rashford will come up against teams looking to shut up shop, who are, in some cases, beaten before they even take to the field.
Even the Magpies, on Thursday, afforded the La Liga giants far more respect than they would have reserved had it been Ruben Amorim’s team in the away dressing room.
The one downside for the Englishman is that he probably wouldn’t have started at Newcastle had 18-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal been fit to play.
Even after this evening’s heroics, Rashford will need further exceptional displays if he is to be picked ahead of the likes of Yamal and Raphinha, the ex-Leeds player who hit a phenomenal 38 goals in all competitions last season.
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