Alan Shearer stands by Marcus Rashford criticism after making position clear on MOTD

Alan Shearer has reiterated his stance on Marcus Rashford, insisting he stands by his comments on the Manchester United forward’s form. During a discussion with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards on The Rest Is Football podcast, the conversation turned to Rashford’s reaction to criticism from former players.

It emerged earlier this month that the United star reportedly feels ‘bullied’ by former United players in the media. However, Shearer refused to back down when Lineker brought up his criticism of the player in recent weeks.

Lineker said: “We talked about Rashford – and there’s been a little bit of a leak that says that Marcus Rashford’s not happy with the criticism that he’s been receiving. They think it’s a bit unfair – particularly from ex-players, ex-Manchester United players as well. You’ve been one of them Alan, we covered it shortly because we never have that much time on Match of the Day. What do you think?”

Shearer firmly responded: “I wouldn’t change anything that I’ve said. He’s set his own very high standards, you know? He’s a very good player – he’s on a huge contract at Manchester United and he hasn’t played as well as he can do or has done in the past. And when that is the case – at a big football club when you’re a big name – you’re going to get criticised.

“And he did – but he doesn’t get criticised for performances like yesterday, you know? When he’s tracking back and running, and taking players on and scoring his goal. He looked a really good player yesterday. He’s now got to do that for the rest of the season,” reports the Mirror.

“There was a reason I said it last night. There’s a reason why he wasn’t in the England squad. It’s not just the pundits who were critical of him. Other players have overtaken him from where he was a couple of years ago and there’s no doubt that there’s the talent in there, but that has to be a regular. That has to be every single week, and not just against Southampton as it was. And then he won’t get criticised. Pretty simple isn’t it?”

Shearer’s recent comments come after a brutal review following Manchester United’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion. Despite a glimmer of hope when Amad Diallo levelled the score in the second half, Erik ten Hags’s men missed out on a victory at the AMEX Stadium when Joao Pedro headed in the winner for Brighton, leaving United fans heartbroken.

Earlier in the match, United had been moments away from taking the lead, only for Alejandro Garnacho’s shot to ricochet off an offside Joshua Zirkzee and thus be disqualified. It was Rashfords performance, however, that received particular scrutiny from Shearer, who did not spare criticism regarding his positioning and effort during the game.

While Lineker attempted to shield Rashford with the argument: “The only thing I would say in Rashford’s defence is at least he is looking to try and make runs,” Shearer was undeterred in his judgment. He responded: “Yeah, but he’s not a youngster anymore. He has to understand the position and look across the pitch when you can see the whole of it, you shouldn’t be offside then.”

Though Rashford once carried the hopes of Manchester United fans with outstanding seasons, netting 17 Premier League goals during the 19/20 and 2022/23 periods, current standings tell a tale of diminished form. A meagre haul of just seven goals in 33 matches for the 2023/24 run saw him conspicuously left out by then England manager Gareth Southgate from the Euro 2024 line-up, in favour of players like Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, and Eberechi Eze.

Now, at 26 years old, Rashford seems to have found his stride again, as evidenced by his goal in United’s recent triumphant 3-0 encounter against Southampton at St Mary’s.