Very very good in the second half. I think there was stark differences in his mentality before and after half time that were visible and obvious. He gets very self-critical of himself when he turns the ball over but in the second half whenever he did he just tried as hard as he could to win back. If that slightly encapsulates the "caf body language experts" argument, I think there is a real case there.
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 42
- Goals
- 8
- Assists
- 8
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Status
Him, Mata and Mkhi are on the same wave length. At some points they produced some beautiful moments in the game.
Quality post.
The people calling for Jose's head need to get their own head checked. Apparently hes not treating the players right so we sack him, then what? Who do we hire? If there was a number of players who complained about the treatment they received then you might have had a case, but one player moaning about the lack of game time should not put the manager under scrutiny. It seems some posters would rather see Jose sacked than Marital leave, which is just insane imo
A good manger is much harder to replace than a good winger. Much, much harder. I think most people on here agree they would rather see Marital on the LW ahead of Rashford or Lingaard, but Jose must have had his reasons for rotating there.
Completely agree.
He looked lost playing as CF last night, and he became livelier as he moved to the left side. Just like TFM as a midfield, I think at least in Mourinho's system, Martial is still a bit lost. Maybe that is due to rustiness, but he is much better at left side for now.
I still think that's because he was asked to lead the line. Mata, Mkhitareayn & Rooney are more creators rather than players who help out pressure on the back line. The 3 AM's yesterday is more suited to Ibrahimovic than Martial. He would have had a better game with Rashford & Lingard supporting him.
It's kind of asking martial to be the main striker in a 451 or a 433 - he is much better in the latter IM0.
He needs to understand he's better as LF/LW. FFS, even Ronaldo and Messi plays LW, because they contributes more to the team there than as ST/CF. It's much easier to get some time on the ball, having time to beat a player and so on as a winger. Striker either needs to have strength to hold up the ball, or they need support for a lay-off then making a run them self. Matrial doesn't have the strength yet, and it would be much better for his development to play wide. I'd even say the same for Rashford. Henry played as ST, but tracked wide every game. Today, you'd might put him as LW, but letting him roam (like CR7, Messi, Bale, Martial...).
Hasn't he got 4 assists this season? I remember two against Bournemouth on the opening day and two yesterday?
he has 5 assists and 6 goals - but thats in all competitions
You're right. He also set up Zlatan's lobbed goal against Everton
Ahh, maybe yesterdays assists haven't been added to his stats at the top.
Yeah he has five overall like the others said.
Only Zlatan and Rooney have more goals and assists combined this season. Mata, Pogba and Martial all on 11.
Haven't you heard? If it works in FIFA, it should work in the real world too!
Joking aside though: I am a big fan of Martial and really hope he's gonna reach his potential with us.
However, he's actually scored only 2–3 goals in the matches he's been our center forward/main striker. 15–16 matches, I think. That's including last season.
Far better output as a winger, thus far.
Yeah he has five overall like the others said.
Table featuring outfield players with more than 500 minutes played this season.
Only Zlatan and Rooney have more goals and assists combined this season. Mata, Pogba and Martial all on 11.
I thought the stats at the top of this thread get updated automatically and instantly.
No. It can take a while. If you click here and scroll down to player form you'll see the last match was the Liverpool one.
Never been a big fan of him down the middle but I think he's awesome on the left, I find it bizarre when people claim CF is his best position - I can't even remember that many games when he's played there.
He was class yesterday and deserved MOTM for me.
Me too since he was fantastic last season mostly playing on the left and I believe played mostly on left with Monaco also.
Have people been calling for Jose to be sacked? There is always one or two lunatics but I don't think that's really been mentioned in this thread.
Imagine what he'll look like with a good attacking FB to play alongside him (hopefully Shaw down the road).
Immense player.
Immense player.
Caption doesn't show? It just says a red ball, which I interpret as him being happy.
Ever since that Middleborough game, I think he's been our best winger. He should start ahead of Mkhytaryan, Mata, Lingard, Rashford and Rooney against Hull. Keep playing him, have faith in him and he will get his confidence back again.
Agreed, though personally I'd start both Martial and Mkhitaryan as a LW & RW respectively.
I don't think it's his best position. These last 2 seasons have proven that he's best on the left right now. However, the few times he did play as a cf I liked how he played there. I still would like to see him play or rather tested there a few more times in the future. But yeah, he has proven to be better on the left thus far.
Have people been calling for Jose to be sacked? There is always one or two lunatics but I don't think that's really been mentioned in this thread.
Some directly, others more indirectly. Others again have been having a go at Jose for not playing Martial. I'm not saying Mouhrino is beyond critizism, not at all, but he must have had his reasons for benching him for a period. I don't really think an experienced manager like that is just taking the piss and benching players willy nilly because he feels like it.
Any evidence? I'm one of the person who gives Jose a criticism for not playing Martial often ever since the Middleborough game. But it was just criticism to a manager who dropped a player who had better game recently than the other options that we have, doesn't mean I'm calling Jose to be sacked.
Any experienced manager can also make mistake and Jose did the same thing to De Bruyne before and end up letting him go, and he's now becoming one of the top attacking midfield in PL right now.
If you're talking about a 1st eleven there's no way he starts before Mkhi.
If you're talking about our best option for left wing, then for me it's a crap shoot between he and Rashford. Both have done well in that position going forward because they have great pace, but both really struggle to understand the defensive responsibility that comes with the job.
Like everybody else I also believe we need to have consistency at LB; Rotating Blind, Darmian, Bailly & Shaw is frustrating to watch. Blind's experience is such that he can play almost anywhere in a pinch, but when Darmian & Shaw are fit it should be one or the other.
Similarly if we could just guarantee either Martial or Rashford plays up front on the left that'd be great too? Maybe alternate playing Darmian & Martial one week and Shaw & Rashford the next?
No they don't. This is a lazy perception that's come about because of Jose's preferences. If you want to see players struggling to understand defensive responsibilities then watch Ronaldo for us instead. You could make a case for Rashford given he's more of a striker, but Martial is quite good defensively. Much more so than your average wide player.
And it shouldn't be a crap shoot at all. Martial is clearly our best life winger/forward. Rashford should be second choice ST behind Ibra and get games across the front three on rotational basis but he's best playing upfront IMO.
The issue isn't about who deserves to start by looking at each player's performance from the start of season until now. Jose has been rotating the wingers because he can't find his best selection since they have been inconsistent the whole season.
But if there is a player for this role who somehow is currently playing consistent recently and doesn't deserve to be dropped it has to be Martial. Martial has done well since the Middleborough game. Why is he being dropped or being rotated when he played better than the others recently??
What's the point playing players who only looked better in early season but played worse and less consistent than Martial recently? If Jose is going to select who should play as a winger for the next game based on recent performances, Martial has to be the first from our options.
I don't understand people complaining about defensive part of his game. IMO, he did very good job at tracking back and I can't really remember he got caught by some of the opponents' FBs.
I, personally, thought he might struggle at doing that job, but, except Lingard, I think he is our best winger defensively-wise.
I, personally, thought he might struggle at doing that job, but, except Lingard, I think he is our best winger defensively-wise.
He did have a really impressive start up front for us against Southampton and a few games up front against the likes of Southampton and Sunderland etc (although my memory is really hazy), and Rooney wasn't doing well at all up front and there were clamors for Martial to be reinstated up front.
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/anthony-martial-2015-16-performances.408881/page-77
Can recall being impressed by his deceptive strength up front and his hold-up play and ability to turn defenders. Remember Neville analyzing him and saying something similar too iirc. It does seem like his skill-set is better suited out wide for now though although he could very well gain the maturity and well-roundedness to play up top in the near future.
This thing about Martial wanting to play CF and Mourinho believing his best position is LW..I have read a few posts suggesting the same so I guess Mourinho has said this publically? Or are people just assuming?
I do remember that but always seemed like typical redcafe jerking of knees. It was a tiny sample of games to make a definitive decision about where he is best suited to play. Reminds me of all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about Fergie's refusal to play Anderson as a number 10 after a half-decent debut in that position against Wigan. It took years for the penny to finally drop that he might not be best suited to that position on the basis that he couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
Last edited:
My guess is that they were making assumption about it since one of the BBC commentator said so when Smalling scored from Martial's cross.
If I'm not mistaken Mourinho only mentioned Martial as a striker when he said that he had Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Rashford and also Martial but that the latter was a different type of striker.
Aye, definitely but it did seem like he had the tools to play there and the notion that he could play up front wasn't born out of nothing tbf, and Rooney's form up front only further strengthened his case.
After the game on Sunday Mou said that at half time he talked with the players and they "agreed" on the changes which needed to be made. Maybe that suggests he spoke to Martial about contributing more by playing on the left wing ?
Yeah, he's been caught out a couple of times, but that generally is going to happen to any wide player with the attacking talent Martial possesses. For the most part he tracks back well and is diligent in his defensive duties as well. Rashford tends to forget and then remember he has to track back when playing wide and will make mad dashes to get back in position, whereas Martial is very aware once the team loses possession, something I'm guessing Jardim drilled into him when he was at Monaco.
Zlatan, Mhiki and Martial should be our first choice front three.
I agree 100%
- Status