Manchester United- What Has Happened To Martial and Rashford?

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both had fantastic seasons last year at Manchester United so what has happened to them this season? We take a look at what’s been going on with the wonder kids-

Martial

Both players have failed to have the same kind of impact at United this season as they did the last but what has caused this? Martial has had it worse of the two with his form and importance dipping off towards the end of last season.

It also didn’t help that his Euro’s campaign didn’t go well either. However, many have cited his personal problems off the pitch as the cause of his form on it. Despite his impressive early season form, Louis Van Gaal still stuck with him through the tough times.

Now though, Mourinho is manager and so he has no particular empathy to a player who hasn’t done the same for him as he did for his previous manager. This means, just as with all the United players, Martial has to prove himself once again.

In the first three Premier League games of the season, it appeared that Mourinho decided to give the Frenchman a chance. Martial managed to play the majority of those three games but since then he has failed to complete 90 minutes of a game.

It now looks like Mourinho has lost some faith in him and with increasing pressure on Mourinho’s shoulders, it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll play risky players. The speedy forward has had his personal life publicly exposed and is possibly suffering from a case of burnout.

Quite often he was United’s go to man until Rashford’s rise at United (which only came about when Martial became injured). However, this season, Martial hasn’t been himself most likely because of the positional change.

Stuck out wide because of Ibrahimovic being considered top dog, he hasn’t performed as we all know he can. The former Monaco man is also suffering from second season syndrome. Last year no one knew about him, even Rooney admitted to this.

However, now all of the Premier League’s managers are well aware of him and what he can do so now he is quite often faced with two players marking him once he receives the ball in the tight space out wide.

With Shaw also looking a shell of himself and not overlapping as much to help create space for Martial, the striker has failed to impress this season. We all know what he is capable of so it should be a matter of time before he performs again.

Hopefully Mourinho recognises these problems and solves them to help a player who’s currently lacking in confidence. If so, it shouldn’t be long before the Frenchman readjusts to the new pressure on him and begins to perform once again.

Rashford

Rashford is a very similar case to Martial at United. The youngster has stepped up in a remarkable way, going from the unknown kid to superstar in a matter of months. While he seems to handle it well and shows just as much composure as he does in front of goal, surely he feels the pressure of it all.

The England striker hasn’t had as bad a start to the season as Martial but it’s fair to say he isn’t having the same kind of impact as he did at the end of last season. As many predicted, Ibrahimovic’s arrival has stunted Rashford’s progress so far.

If Ibrahimovic wasn’t here and Rooney performed as he has so far this season, it’s likely Mourinho would’ve played the youngster up top in place of his captain. However, we’re not dealing with the what if’s and while Rashford hasn’t played as much as expected he has played enough.

The pacy forward didn’t seem to appear much for United but after a couple of impressive substitute appearances (such as the game against Hull in which he scored the crucial goal for the three points) he’s forced his way into the starting XI.

However, Rashford has proven that just as with Martial, he is not a winger and could also be suffering with a bit of burnout and second season syndrome. He’s appeared in 8 Premier League games and scored 3 goals which isn’t a bad tally at all from an out of position man.

Nevertheless, The Kid hasn’t been performing as well as expected. He doesn’t seem to take on his man with the same fearlessness as last season and his dribbles have sometimes amounted to nothing.

There were reports that Rashford has been suffering with growing pains. A reminder to anyone who’s forgotten that he’s still very young. If this is the case, it could be affecting his performance. It would also make sense why he was dropped for the game against Swansea.

Once again, we all know what he’s capable of at United and just as with Martial, they will both start to perform if given the patience and time they deserve. They’ve done so much for United that we forget that they are young and so inconsistencies should be forgiven.

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Perhaps Mourinho has already recognised these problems, dropping both players for the Swansea game with no apparent injuries to either of them. An international break’s worth of rest may do them both good and hopefully help them fire in the goals for United once again.

What do you think has caused Martial and Rashford’s form? Is it because of their position, confidence or physical health? Let us know in the comment section below!