Every few days, an absolute howler seems to present itself in the football world. This time around, it was Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford's turn.
Following the Red Devils' 3-0 obliteration at the hands of their fierce derby rivals Manchester City, the England international was spotted partying after the game. Granted, it was his birthday, but the way the entire situation unfolded was an absolute howler.
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Reports suggest that the now-26-year-old was spotted partying at Chinawhite, a night club in Manchester. Yes, at the end of the day, he is a human being before a footballer, so he is entitled to celebrate his birthday in whichever way he would like. After all, the day only comes around once a year.
Unfortunately for him, the Manchester derby only comes around twice a year in the league and the way things are going for United now, their post-derby celebrations will be minimal. There is a particular element of his situation that fits into the category of "howler". Firstly, reports suggest that celebrations were "pre-planned" by his friends.
Now, all his friends, one would assume, know he is a professional footballer who always has eyes on him, whether it is the fans, the media, or club officials. These "friends" would have seen how bad United's performance was against the Citizens. These "friends" should have known that his performances this season were well under par and attention from the media – for the wrong reasons – was the last thing the forward needed.
As a result, the media labelled his birthday celebrations as "late-night antics" and if his friends could not see that a night out following a loss in an important encounter would be detrimental to his image, are they good friends? Probably not.
Why not change the plans if you're the people who made them? Would it not have been a better idea to gather the star's friends at a house and have an intimate celebration away from the potential and public glare of the English media?
Any elite-level athlete would want to have a circle of people around them that understands their athletic ambitions and motivate them as well as push them to achieve the heights they dream of.
If the argument is that perhaps Rashford doesn't want to reach those heights, then what is he still doing at Manchester United, a club that – granted, this was probably last the case under Sir Alex Ferguson – prided themselves on their desire to win and their hunger for greatness?
Dear Marcus, your friends need either the hair-dryer treatment or to be booted from your circle.
Another aspect of the situation is Erik ten Hag and his lack of action towards it. Some fans took to social media to say that if it had been Jadon Sancho, the manager would have reacted differently.
While one could argue that something like this would never have been allowed to happen under Ferguson, Rashford never really broke any rules, as per the reports. He is said to have been to training on time. Whether he was able to meet Ten Hag's training standards or not after a night out is another matter on its own.
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Nevertheless, the 26-year-old's selection of friends has turned out to be quite the howler, and it makes one question how big a role they have played in his substantial drop-off in form this season, after completing the 2022/23 campaign with an impressive 30 goals and 11 assists in 56 appearances – he has a measly one goal and three assists in 14 appearances so far in this campaign.
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