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Football

22nd Jan 2019

Sam Allardyce criticised for prediction about Marcus Rashford’s playing future

Darragh Murphy

Sam Allardyce doesn’t expect Marcus Rashford to have a long career

Marcus Rashford has enjoyed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in form since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over at Manchester United and it’s rather difficult to find any negatives in the youngster’s recent performances.

But Sam Allardyce has managed to find a cause for concern by claiming that Rashford’s workload for club and country could lead to an early retirement.

Rashford, who has four goals in his last four appearances, was singled out by Allardyce to make an argument that young players nowadays will not get as much rest as their predecessors and will therefore struggle for longevity.

“[It will] probably be very difficult [for Rashford] to get to 30 because of the demands physically and mentally and the fatigue that he will suffer. He will have three weeks a year off, that’s it,” Allardyce said on talkSPORT.

“He’ll play all over the world because there’s no pre-season anymore, he’ll be playing straight away across these tournaments.”

As expected, England and United supporters took umbrage with Allardyce’s comments and pointed out how not so long ago, pundits were crying out for Rashford to receive more playing time than he had been given by now-former Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho.

Fans also reminded the ex-England manager of a few high-profile players who, having looked after themselves throughout their careers, didn’t exactly do too badly.