Roy Keane risked becoming a caricature of the caricature of himself this evening when he criticised Marcus Rashford for smiling during the warm-up to Manchester United's game against Chelsea.
Rashford, of course, has been in dire form since missing that penalty against Italy in the Eur0 2020 final. His has been one of may seasons to forget at Old Trafford, but it might be the most disappointing of all his teammates. Rashford's career promised such great things when he destroyed Arsenal on his debut when he was 18. His charity work off the field has challenged so many lazy tropes about selfish footballers.
As Manchester United's season careens into the abyss, Rashford's play continues to underwhelm.
Speaking ahead of the match, Roy Keane had some hard words for Rashford.
🗣 "Every time I see Marcus getting warmed up, he's always smiling, I don't like players smiling too much."
Roy Keane vents his frustrations with Marcus Rashford at Man United pic.twitter.com/16xcBsCgrJ— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 28, 2022
He said:
"I want to see a bit more courage from him, we have not seen that enough from him this season, he has not been consistent, not worked hard enough, not been brave in taking people on. He is now 24 years old, he has got to show more maturity and be more consistent, that is key for any player at a big club."
"I am really frustrated with him. Every time I see Marcus warming up, he is smiling."
"I don't like it when you are smiling too much. Yes, smile when you do something, but we always said when he burst on the scene, he affects games, but he doesn't do that anymore. He does very little. his performance last week was very immature, he almost played like a child."
Keane's entire critique is spot-on, bar the line about smiling. Sport is about play. If Rashford isn't allowed to enjoy it, it's hard to know how he'll re-discover that fire.
SEE ALSO: Was Roy Keane Right To Blame Jesper Blomqvist For Yellow Card v Juventus?
