Well I never; Hell must have frozen over...that bitter dipper Eamonn Sweeney being complimentary about our Phil; and damning about Rashford in the Irish Indo:
"English football has no greater enigma than Marcus Rashford. And no greater talent than Phil Foden.
Yesterday’s Manchester derby was a tale of two players from one city. The local lads perfectly encapsulated the contrasting fortunes of their clubs.
Rashford had a marvellous moment, Foden had a great game. Foden’s only rival as best English Premier League player is Bukayo Saka. Rashford has the talent to be their rival but is falling far short of both.
Would it be different if someone had worked a Trading Places style switch of the two young Mancunians? Foden might have been the one hampered by the chaos at United with Rashford maximising his potential as part of the smooth-running City machine.
Or is personality just as important as environment?
After lamenting the criticism levelled against him, Rashford delivered the perfect retort with the ferocious 25-yard drive which opened the scoring in the eighth minute.
All his anger, sorrow and frustration was behind that sublime shot. It seemed his critics were about to look extremely foolish.
Who’d have thought the player himself would end up supplying them with extra ammunition? It was almost as if, having proved a point with the goal, Rashford felt the job was done.
The rest of the game raised the question of how a player capable of scoring such a goal could be so poor afterwards.
He might have had a hat-trick by the midway point of the first half. In the 17th minute a Bruno Fernandes pass gave him the chance to outpace the City defence. All Rashford had to do was nod the ball forward to be one on one against Ederson.
He botched the header and Kyle Walker cleared. Six minutes later a Fernandes cross found Rashford alone at the far post. His fresh air swipe was an embarrassment for a Premier League player.
These misses might normally be excused as the stumbles of a striker short on goals. After such a marvellous opener, they seemed rooted in a lack of concentration rather than of confidence.
Misplaced passes, poor control and a lack of physicality marred the rest of his afternoon. One moment early in the second half summed up the Jekyll and Hyde quality of Rashford’s performance.
His touch to control a pass dropping out of the air was sublime but Walker shrugged him off the ball with contemptuous ease.
The duo locked horns again in the 55th minute. Rashford had the jump on Walker and seemed set to go clear. A slight touch on the arm by his England team-mate saw the striker crumple as though picked off by a sniper on some grassy Manchester knoll.
No free-kick was forthcoming. Anatomy of a Fall may be up for an Oscar but this tumble won’t win any acting awards.
A minute later City were level, Foden burying a superb shot from 20 yards. The reversal of fortunes and contrast in attitudes between the hometown duo would have seemed heavy-handed in a Hollywood movie.
But this was the real thing. So is Foden. His goal spurred him on to greater heights rather than lulling him into complacency. A deft 1-2 set him free to put the home side ahead ten minutes from time.
Casemiro’s ageing legs failed to keep pace with the youngster inside the area while Andre Onana might have done better with Foden’s shot. City’s relentless probing tends to punish the worst weaknesses of each opponent.
In United’s case, it exposed the foolishness of the club’s transfer market dealings. Victor Lindelof, who should have been moved on by now, wasn’t tight enough on Foden before the first goal. The third came when Sofyan Amrabat, a panic buy whose contribution couldn’t be more minimal, lost the ball to Rodri who put Erling Haaland through to score.
When Foden chased back deep into his own half in the 89th minute and forced Antony to put the ball out of play it revealed both the Englishman’s enormous appetite for hard work and the lightweight nature of a big-money signing who’s never played like one.
Antony’s most significant contribution was a clumsy foul which forced Foden off in the dying seconds. Foden made no fuss about it. He has a remarkably matter of fact manner for someone with such flamboyant gifts.
A week after the death of the legendary Stan Bowles, Foden’s display was a reminder that despite its traditionally dour image English football has never been short of flair players.
He’s a 21st century successor to Bowles, Tony Currie, Rodney Marsh, Alan Hudson, Charlie George and similar entertainers. Unlike those icons of a hairier age, he has both the attitude and the team to make the most of his talents.
Pep Guardiola’s ruthlessness helps drive Foden on. Raheem Sterling, Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez et al would have stayed longer at almost any other club. No one is too big to be judged surplus to requirements if their performance level drops.
It’s the opposite situation at United where Rashford has been indulged because the perpetual turmoil makes it difficult for Erik ten Hag to impose his personality.
The striker was right to insist that his activism and his football should be judged separately. The work he did to alleviate child poverty will be forever to his credit. He is a fine human being.
His struggles as a footballer have nothing to do with his activism, tempting though the juxtaposition is for the politically conservative. Campaigning for social justice didn’t stop him being terrific last season.
The big change to Rashford’s life since then is the £325,000-a-week contract he signed last June. This slump could have more to do with riches than poverty. The problem now might be his own hunger."
