Following the departure of Benni McCarthy from Manchester United, KickOff has compiled a report to find out how the former Bafana Bafana striker fared against the expectations that came with his position.
After his stint at AmaZulu FC, McCarthy landed the biggest job of his managerial career in 2022, that of first team striker coach for Man United, with his primary role being to improve the strikers.
It came as a surprise when his contract was not renewed ahead of 2024/25, as the Red Devils retained Erik ten Hag on a new deal, despite pressure to relieve him of his duties after United's worst season in Premier League history.
Before McCarthy was appointed, Cristiano Ronaldo had just returned to the club and, in the 2021/22 campaign, the Portuguese was on fire, having netted 18 goals in 30 league matches and six goals in seven starts in the UEFA Champions League.
However, unfortunately for the Hanover Park-born man, Ronaldo had issues with the club's management in the former's first season at Old Trafford and left midway through the campaign, with only one goal from 10 league matches and two in six UEFA Europa League appearances.
McCarthy, on the other hand, made a big impact with Marcus Rashford in the 2022/23 season, as the English forward scored 17 goals in 35 league games, six in the Carabao Cup, another six in the Europa League and one in the FA Cup.
This took his overall tally to 30 goals.
That was a massive improvement from before the ex-West Ham marksman arrived, as Rashford had only managed five goals in all competitions a season prior.
What seemed to have worked against McCarthy was the woeful 2023/24 campaign for the team as a whole and, in particular, the strike force, as Rashford dropped to just nine goals in all competitions.
Anthony Martial also did not improve in front of goal, as he dropped to a mere two goals last term, a significant drop after netting nine the season prior.
To be fair, though, the Frenchman's progress was interrupted by injuries in the latter part.