No significant strengths… Manchester United star gets a brutal assessment, another has ‘no weaknesses’

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A very difficult season for Manchester United has seen the rising reputations of many players tarnished by their struggles.

Take Marcus Rashford for instance, whose difficult campaign can be illustrated by his goal tally, which is also hurting his confidence. He scored a career-best 30 goals last season, and this year he has a paltry figure of just one, back in early September.

Worryingly, per FBRef, Rashford has attempted the second-highest number of shots in the league this season with 36, second only to Erling Haaland with 42.

It comes after a difficult 2021/22 season where he scored only five times, and instead of that looking like the freak blemish on his record, Rashford’s inconsistency is now becoming a worrying feature of his game, which he needs to turn around.

Rashford qualities scrutinised

Opta statisticians at WhoScored analyse a player’s qualities for their individual profiles, and their assessment of Marcus Rashford is not a very kind one.

In analysing Marcus Rashford’s characteristics, under his strengths, the box is worrying blank.

‘Player has no significant strengths‘…the profile reads. Under weaknesses, ‘defensive contribution’ is listed.

Compare this to Vinicius Jr at Real Madrid for instance, who plays a similar role, whose strengths are named as ‘dribbling’, ‘long shots’, and ‘key passes’.

The outlet says the strengths and weaknesses are ‘statistically calculated’.

Rashford is a player who is struggling to define himself other than a player who gets the ball, cuts inside, and shoots. Which is of little use when he is not scoring goals.

The 26-year-old has just signed a new contract and big things are expected of him. He must improve over the rest of the season and redefine his strengths, to become the player Manchester United now need him to be.

Andre Onana has ‘no weaknesses’

Another interesting assessment from WhoScored concerns summer signing Andre Onana, who has bounced back after a very tricky start at the club.

Onana’s player profile lists his strengths as ‘Shot stopping reflexes’, ‘Saving long shots’, and ‘Concentration’.

Crucially under ‘Weaknesses’, the column is blank, noting… ‘Player has no significant weaknesses.’

In recent matches, it has certainly looked that way. The Cameroon international has started to show why Erik ten Hag made a push to sign him in the summer.