Anthony Martial image 9

Anthony Martial France flag

2015-16 Performances


View full 2015-16 profile

6.6 Season Average Rating
Appearances
49
Goals
17
Assists
11
Yellow cards
4
Status
Not open for further replies.
Even if the only thing LvG achieves as a United manager is to bring through Martial, that'll be enough for me. I'm doubtful we'll win much under van Gaal, but at least we'll be left a star on our hands. He could be the manager's Rioch/Bergkamp legacy.
With the players we have with huge potential, I really think its set up perfectly for the next manager to come in. We can realistically expect 5 of our u21 players to become world class. With one of them, martial, potentially being the best in the world. Januzaj, Shaw, Pereira and Memphis alongside Martial is perfect for Giggs or whoever else takes over to take us to the top. That's part of the reason I'm confident Giggs will be a success if he takes over. United always give managers time, and Giggs is sure to give the players freedom and attack with pace, but the organisation from Van Gaals tenure will be left over. And with the players we'll have when in a couple of years, it just seems like even if Giggs isn't a great manager, that circumstances will potentially make him have a great Starr with united.

With some players, you can just see that they'll be among the best in the world. Everyone saw it with Rooney, regardless of how he is now, everyone saw it with Messi, with ronaldo, with hazard, Sanchez, de Gea, aguero, Silva.... Everyone knew these players would be top players. Martial and Shaw are firmly in that group as well IMO.
 
Amazing talent. He needs to work on his finishing/composure, but that will come with time and hard work. He's got something special. It's rare that I'm this excited about seeing a United player.
 
Amazing talent. He needs to work on his finishing/composure, but that will come with time and hard work. He's got something special. It's rare that I'm this excited about seeing a United player.
:confused: His composure is one of the (many) things that really stick out about him. He's got amazing composure for someone so young and never seems to rush anything. At a guess, I'd say he could work on his shooting from range or striking the ball with his weaker foot, and maybe heading it, but we haven't seen him really try to do that much, so he might have it in him.
 
From the little I've seen of him, I get the feeling he'd be best served playing on the left of an interchangeable front three.

Not really an option for us, at the moment, though.
 
:confused: His composure is one of the (many) things that really stick out about him. He's got amazing composure for someone so young and never seems to rush anything. At a guess, I'd say he could work on his shooting from range or striking the ball with his weaker foot, and maybe heading it, but we haven't seen him really try to do that much, so he might have it in him.
It's great for his age yes, but it's still got a way to go to be great. His technique, dribbling, agility, speed, passing (inconsistent) etc. is more at the level of the best strikers.

For being a 19 year old you can't expect much more from him, but for being United's number one you would eventually expect him to improve on those aspects of the game that we mentioned.
 
It's great for his age yes, but it's still got a way to go to be great. His technique, dribbling, agility, speed, passing (inconsistent) etc. is more at the level of the best strikers.

For being a 19 year old you can't expect much more from him, but for being United's number one you would eventually expect him to improve on those aspects of the game that we mentioned.
His overall play and end products has been superior than the rest of our attack. Saying Messi needing to improve on his heading ability is pointless, of course every player needs to improve. Just watch and enjoy, at 19 years old the boy will certainly keep improving.
 
His overall play and end products has been superior than the rest of our attack. Saying Messi needing to improve on his heading ability is pointless, of course every player needs to improve. Just watch and enjoy, at 19 years old the boy will certainly keep improving.
Our current attack isn't what we should be comparing ourselves too. We gotta compare ourselves to the best in the league. Saying Martial needs to improve his ability to finish well (in many different situations), is not the same as saying Messi needs to improve his heading (which he doesn't have to).

I am watching and enjoying. I just mentioned that in the post before. I can still give some constructive feedback on his play though.
 
He had some good games on the left for Monaco so no surprise he's played well there for France as well, the versatility is another string to his bow.
 
I don't agree with all of this 'we should turn him into a left wonger' talk. He can certainly play there, and even play well there - but if you have a player who can be the best centre-forward in the world, you play him there. It is far more valuable to the team to have one of those.

Goalscorers at the top level are gold.
 
I don't agree with all of this 'we should turn him into a left wonger' talk. He can certainly play there, and even play well there - but if you have a player who can be the best centre-forward in the world, you play him there. It is far more valuable to the team to have one of those.

Goalscorers at the top level are gold.

In a way he is a bit like Suarez, he is a striker that can play on the left but he is pacier than Suarez, so in a fluid attack you don't need to necessarily assign him the middle.
 
We've got ourselves a very talented striker, the only one in our squad. Let's go on and turn him into a winger.
 
We've got ourselves a very talented striker, the only one in our squad. Let's go on and turn him into a winger.

This is where you make a mistake, it wouldn't make him a typical winger at all. Besides most of his impressive performances have come from playing on the wing and cutting in. He has more space to run and dribble.
 
I don't agree with all of this 'we should turn him into a left wonger' talk. He can certainly play there, and even play well there - but if you have a player who can be the best centre-forward in the world, you play him there. It is far more valuable to the team to have one of those.

Goalscorers at the top level are gold.

Ronaldo, Messi, Robben have showed that you can be as much as a goalscorer and play on the wing (not as a typical winger of course). If the player is good enough, scoring goals and creating havoc won't be a pb wherever he plays.
 
This is where you make a mistake, it wouldn't make him a typical winger at all. Besides most of his impressive performances have come from playing on the wing and cutting in. He has more space to run and dribble.

Yeah, the way he played last night reminded me Hazard, until now I have always see him ending up as a striker but he might be a great inside forward.
 
Yeah, the way he played last night reminded me Hazard, until now I have always see him ending up as a striker but he might be a great inside forward.

It is great that his talent allows him to give the team more possibilities. Wherever he plays, he'll be a constant danger and even more so when he has space to run into.
 
We don't have a fluid attack though. van Gaal's system is very rigid - it isn't one for interchanging positions. We have no options up front to chuck him on the left anyway.
 
We don't have a fluid attack though. van Gaal's system is very rigid - it isn't one for interchanging positions. We have no options up front to chuck him on the left anyway.

At the moment, for sure yes. Hopefully in the future, with more talented attackers it'll be a possibility.
 
We don't have a fluid attack though. van Gaal's system is very rigid - it isn't one for interchanging positions. We have no options up front to chuck him on the left anyway.

We are thinking about the future at the moment we have one player upfront that's Martial, Mata has nothing to do in our front three. So we can dream about who will be ideal to partner him, two wingers or one winger and one striker?
We should be open to all the options.
 
In a way he is a bit like Suarez, he is a striker that can play on the left but he is pacier than Suarez, so in a fluid attack you don't need to necessarily assign him the middle.

Ronaldo, Messi, Robben have showed that you can be as much as a goalscorer and play on the wing (not as a typical winger of course). If the player is good enough, scoring goals and creating havoc won't be a pb wherever he plays.

I'm not saying they can't all operate from wide, but if a player is of a certain level of influence, you want them where they can do the most damage. Messi could always play wide, but he was moved centrally as he needed to be at the centre of things. Robben is a brilliant winger, but was moved centrally for Netherlands to maximise his influence on the game, as he was their standout talent.

Henry would have still been brilliant if he was made to play from the left, but it was quickly recognised that he was good enough to do it centrally, so it became the logical choice. Daniel Sturridge was often used from the right in his younger days, but it would be a waste to do so now. We are getting to the same turning point for Theo Walcott now. He can play on the right, but his threat is likely to be far more devastating if he can transfer it to the centre. Welbeck, on the other hand, is an average player who will be used in both roles as the team requires, however, if he became prolific, he'd spend his time in the middle.

I think in an ideal world, you want your best attacking player to be fairly central to what you do. Also, top strikers are few and far between. When you have one, you have to play him there I think. I mean caftards have been telling me for years that Rooney has been 'sacrificed' every time he is not central to our attack.
 
@Rozay and the question is where does he make more damages? I've seen him play a lot, Kouroux saw him too and I don't know. At the moment he could be great in both roles, his speed and creativity make him a very good inside forward and his calm and power make him a very good striker.
 
good reviews for our man in the French press:


Anthony Martial
Pas loin d’être l’homme du match au Danemark pour sa première titularisation en équipe de France, le Mancunien a marqué des points et sa présence dans le groupe est (déjà) quasiment assurée pour le prochain rassemblement de novembre. Passeur décisif pour Benzema face à l’Arménie, Martial a été très percutant sur son côté gauche face au Danemark du Guingampais Jacobsen, qui en a bavé. L’ancien Monégasque aurait même pu s’offrir le luxe de marquer pour couronner le tout. Et s’il attendait les rencontres face aux Allemands et aux Anglais pour ouvrir son compteur chez les Bleus ?

http://www.francefootball.fr/news/Les-gagnants-et-les-perdants-de-la-semaine/598206


Not far from man of the match in Denmark for his first start for France, the Manchester United man scored points and his presence in the group is (already) almost guaranteed for the next gathering in November. Decisive passer for Benzema against Armenia, Martial was very powerful on the left side against Denmark's Guingampais of Jacobsen, who had a rough time. The former Monaco player could even afford the luxury of missing a goal chance to top it off. And if he as expected faces the Germans and English to open his account for the Blues?
 
I'm not saying they can't all operate from wide, but if a player is of a certain level of influence, you want them where they can do the most damage. Messi could always play wide, but he was moved centrally as he needed to be at the centre of things. Robben is a brilliant winger, but was moved centrally for Netherlands to maximise his influence on the game, as he was their standout talent.

Henry would have still been brilliant if he was made to play from the left, but it was quickly recognised that he was good enough to do it centrally, so it became the logical choice. Daniel Sturridge was often used from the right in his younger days, but it would be a waste to do so now. We are getting to the same turning point for Theo Walcott now. He can play on the right, but his threat is likely to be far more devastating if he can transfer it to the centre. Welbeck, on the other hand, is an average player who will be used in both roles as the team requires, however, if he became prolific, he'd spend his time in the middle.

I think in an ideal world, you want your best attacking player to be fairly central to what you do. Also, top strikers are few and far between. When you have one, you have to play him there I think. I mean caftards have been telling me for years that Rooney has been 'sacrificed' every time he is not central to our attack.

It all depends on the system. Martial is as much of a striker as he is of a wide attacker and therefore he gives the manager good tactical possibilities. I personally think he's even better player as a wide player than a central striker, in the end where United needs him the most will determine where he'll play.
 
Moving Martial to the wing is a nice discussion to have, but who should we play as no.9 then? Rooney again?? :lol::lol:
 
Moving Martial to the wing is a nice discussion to have, but who should we play as no.9 then? Rooney again?? :lol::lol:

I hope not. I think Martial actually got all the tools to be an amazing number 9. He got the physical strength, can hold up a ball and lay it off. He drift wide if there is no space in the center and play a smart cross or pass, or come deep to get involved in the build up and on top of that his finishing has been amazing so far. I'd rather we go for someone like Griezmann or Reus or even both if we need to improve our wide options.
 
Moving Martial to the wing is a nice discussion to have, but who should we play as no.9 then? Rooney again?? :lol::lol:
Of course that's not a worry now. If/when we do buy a good no. 9, Martial and he should interchange positions often. As such, Martial appears to be a very good no. 9, but I think he's better off cutting inside from the left at times.
 
Of course that's not a worry now. If/when we do buy a good no. 9, Martial and he should interchange positions often. As such, Martial appears to be a very good no. 9, but I think he's better off cutting inside from the left at times.

I think for France this is a good solution as they have a world class number 9 1/2 with Benzema who is ideal for a one striker system but we simply haven't got this kind of player and I don't know which option would be available in the near future. On the other hand I feel there are some players in the wide areas that would offer what we need and don't play for anyone of the 3 giants or City right now, which means they should be getable for us.
 
Of course that's not a worry now. If/when we do buy a good no. 9, Martial and he should interchange positions often. As such, Martial appears to be a very good no. 9, but I think he's better off cutting inside from the left at times.

If we buy a good no.9, he should play alongside Martial to support each other as I believe in a 2 strikers system more than a lone striker one. This no.9 person hopefully can also play as no.10 if require to against opponent with powerful central midfield (aka. Rooney 6 years ago)

I hope not. I think Martial actually got all the tools to be an amazing number 9. He got the physical strength, can hold up a ball and lay it off. He drift wide if there is no space in the center and play a smart cross or pass, or come deep to get involved in the build up and on top of that his finishing has been amazing so far. I'd rather we go for someone like Griezmann or Reus or even both if we need to improve our wide options.

I like these 02 guys that you mentioned, but they are a little bit over-hyped which will cost us a lot of money. I prefer Mane who is EPL proven, similar to Martial in a lot of ways that they both should compliment each other instead of competing (explosive pace, nice passing and shooting, can operate on their own in the wing, good positional sense etc,). They would form a beastly partnership even more dangerous than the Cole-Yorke pair
 
It'd be perfect if we had two of him - one for the left and one upfront.

We need to buy the next Martial.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.