[Red_toad]

I sincerely hope that's not true.....

Look at the stats, ones featured in 1 game, the other has featured in 4 games. That would give a clue to Martial being the better thought of player, not some overreacting fans post.

 

[Red_toad]

Definitely agree that mourinho wouldn't rate lingard as a better player than martial, but for him to think lingard would fare better against city is really baffling.

I'd have said he was there for his defensive qualities. But he had an absolute stinker of a game, I'd say his worst game by far. Couldn't even control the ball.

 

[Scholesy]

Why would you not start Martial over Lingard, in a game that your going to be up against the arguably best team in the league.

Martial is 10 times the player Lingard is, no offence to Lingard, he is decent but should be playing in the Championship

 

[Red Ryan]

There's no way Lingard would have been near the City line-up yesterday it was a baffling decision.

 

[Godfather]

Lingard's performance yesterday puts Martial's into perspective.

 

[DWelbz19]

Martial came on for Shaw but what position did he play?

RM. We sort of went to a 3 at the back with Valencia, Bailly and Blind. Herrera sitting just ahead and everyone else piling forward.

 

[K2K]

Apparently Mourinho thinks Lingard is the better player. I am sick of every manager picking the wrong players

When did Jose day that?

Your beef with him regarding Bastian seems to be blinding your view on him.

 

[Litch]

Great player but you get the feeling one that needs to be loved. Got a bad feelin about him under Jose as not sure how patient he's going to be whilst others can play there.....

 

[United22]

Why would you not start Martial over Lingard, in a game that your going to be up against the arguably best team in the league.

Martial is 10 times the player Lingard is, no offence to Lingard, he is decent but should be playing in the Championship

He's played good against City and Arsenal, scored brilliant goals against Chelsea , Leicester and Palace (in the FA Cup Final) and he should be playing in the Championship? Ridiculous stuff, get your head checked. He isn't Man Utd first XI quality, and he shouldn't have started in such a big game, but he deserves to be in our squad.

 

[Litch]

He's played good against City and Arsenal, scored brilliant goals against Chelsea , Leicester and Palace (in the FA Cup Final) and he should be playing in the Championship? Ridiculous stuff, get your head checked. He isn't Man Utd first XI quality, and he shouldn't have started in such a big game, but he deserves to be in our squad.

Agree. Some players irrespective what they do, will be seen negatively. surely any assessment of players should be how the play in big games?

 

[VP89]

I'd have said he was there for his defensive qualities. But he had an absolute stinker of a game, I'd say his worst game by far. Couldn't even control the ball.

But what is there to say lingard is more of a worker defensively? Obviously we don't see training, but martial tracked back really well last season IIRC.

 

[The No.10!]

We badly need him back. It was around this time last year when he hit the ground running, and a couple of goals, no matter how they come, need to go in for the lad ASAP. His personal life has been a wreck recently, and United taking away his squad number, on which he was basing his brand, didn't help in any way either. He is yet to update his Instagram handle after the squad number change.

Martial's contract has a bonus clause which entitles Monaco to additional payment if he wins the Ballon d'Or, THAT's how highly he is rated, let's not forget. I remember reading that leaked contract and gasping at that point, but he really did show enough potential last season to warrant it.

The problem I see with him making the expected return, is that Martial might just be one of those players who need as much attention as they can get, or to put it in other words, have to be the centre of attraction in the squad, and that's not gonna be the case this season, unless he puts in match-winning performances again. We need to sort whatever it is that is causing him problems, because I would hate for the youngster to have a bad season after such a great start, and risking losing him to PSG.

 

[bosnian_red]

But what is there to say lingard is more of a worker defensively? Obviously we don't see training, but martial tracked back really well last season IIRC.

Martial was a bit off form and might have been becoming a bit complacent, especially if he loses form but stays in the starting 11. That's not good at all for a young players development I think so it made sense to drop him, even if it was in such a big game. Lingard is a decent player, not as good as Martial but he is usually fairly reliable so it was a surprise for him to play as he did.

 

[Chaky_Best]

He doesn't need to be loved, he's not an affective one. He's a talented young player who just reach his first limits last year and was hitten by personnal issue.

Here in France, we all know about his new girlfriend's behavior and believe me, if Martial is in love with this kind of girls, then he's absolutely upset in his head.

I really think that it's down to his focus on and off the pitch. He lived in Manchester with his ex gf and now lives alone and may find it hard too.

 

[VP89]

Martial was a bit off form and might have been becoming a bit complacent, especially if he loses form but stays in the starting 11. That's not good at all for a young players development I think so it made sense to drop him, even if it was in such a big game. Lingard is a decent player, not as good as Martial but he is usually fairly reliable so it was a surprise for him to play as he did.

I don't think Martial has been complacent. Lingard was in no better form, nor did he have any match rhythm. It was baffling seeing him start even before KO, and he should have been hauled off the pitch earlier honestly speaking.

 

[Stacks]

Why would you not start Martial over Lingard, in a game that your going to be up against the arguably best team in the league.

Martial is 10 times the player Lingard is, no offence to Lingard, he is decent but should be playing in the Championship

*Rashford is 10 times the player Lingard is, no offence to Lingard, he is decent but should be playing in the Championship

 

[bosnian_red]

I don't think Martial has been complacent. Lingard was in no better form, nor did he have any match rhythm. It was baffling seeing him start even before KO, and he should have been hauled off the pitch earlier honestly speaking.

I saw the logic in it tbh, but he was just so off it all game so it didnt work out. Lingard had a pretty good record in big games, played really well againdt Leicester, is a hard worker while also having good movement off the ball and it could've caused problems for City if he wasnt so sloppy. Along with also being home grown, it wasnt that big a call to start him (many of us were saying he could well start before the game anyway).

 

[Stacks]

I saw the logic in it tbh, but he was just so off it all game so it didnt work out. Lingard had a pretty good record in big games, played really well againdt Leicester, is a hard worker while also having good movement off the ball and it could've caused problems for City if he wasnt so sloppy. Along with also being home grown, it wasnt that big a call to start him (many of us were saying he could well start before the game anyway).

Leicester is not a big game. They will be fighting relegation.

 

[Sammyjunn]

Lingard won us big matches like Chelsea away, FA cup final, community shield, last year vs City home he was our best player, and immediately after a bad match he should be playing in the Championship? Is this RAWK.

 

[bosnian_red]

Leicester is not a big game. They will be fighting relegation.

So the Fa cup final isn't a big game? Or the Leicester game wasn't for a trophy that he scored in? Or away to Chelsea last season? Lingard was mainly good in big games last season. while basically all other games he looked a bit pointless.

 

[Stacks]

So the Fa cup final isn't a big game? Or the Leicester game wasn't for a trophy that he scored in? Or away to Chelsea last season? Lingard was mainly good in big games last season. while basically all other games he looked a bit pointless.

Carling cup is the last Friendly of pre season. Like a 5-aside tournament before your sunday league campaign. Chelsea away he did good. I don't remember his performance against palace to be honest

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He has to start on the left. If Rooney plays every game, so should Martial especially given his pefornances over the last year actually merit it.

 

[Offside]

Lingard won us big matches like Chelsea away, FA cup final, community shield, last year vs City home he was our best player, and immediately after a bad match he should be playing in the Championship? Is this RAWK.

We didn't beat Chelsea away. He shouldn't be starting big games. Good squad player.

 

[bosnian_red]

Carling cup is the last Friendly of pre season. Like a 5-aside tournament before your sunday league campaign. Chelsea away he did good. I don't remember his performance against palace to be honest

He scored the winner in it which is the main thing, but all in all, he generally did pretty well in big games so it's easy to say in hindsight that it was the wrong choice, when it made sense at the time. Obviously he won't be starting ahead of Rashford/Martial or Miki long term, and it doesn't mean he is a better player, just seemed right for the moment.

 

[Ødegaard]

Martial
Rashford - Zlatan - Mkhitaryan

 

[Shiva87]

Leicester is not a big game. They will be fighting relegation.

And is that your prediction for the season?

 

[Adisa]

I just want to see more energy in his play. The rest will come.

 

[rocks13]

Martial's poor form is surely Rooney's fault. Can't really see any other reason for it.

 

[Sammyjunn]

We didn't beat Chelsea away. He shouldn't be starting big games. Good squad player.

Oh I forgot, we conceded a late stupid goal, but on Lingard, he's played well more often than bad in big games, would be a weird conclusion for me. We dont really have big game players in our squad, except Martial who was good in most of them last year, all the others have been inconsistent too.

 

[VP89]

I saw the logic in it tbh, but he was just so off it all game so it didnt work out. Lingard had a pretty good record in big games, played really well againdt Leicester, is a hard worker while also having good movement off the ball and it could've caused problems for City if he wasnt so sloppy. Along with also being home grown, it wasnt that big a call to start him (many of us were saying he could well start before the game anyway).

He didn't really have much of a player to displace under LVG. When you have Mkhitaryan, Martial, Mata, Rashford all fighting for the wide spot, its baffling that he'd displace Martial. As good as he was, not once would he be good enough to start ahead of Martial on the left.

He ticks the boxes by way of hard work, but had zero match rhythm and was replacing a player that tends to be quite competent at tracking back himself, is just as fast and better on the ball with more physical presence.

 

[bosnian_red]

He didn't really have much of a player to displace under LVG. When you have Mkhitaryan, Martial, Mata, Rashford all fighting for the wide spot, its baffling that he'd displace Martial. As good as he was, not once would he be good enough to start ahead of Martial on the left.

He ticks the boxes by way of hard work, but had zero match rhythm and was replacing a player that tends to be quite competent at tracking back himself, is just as fast and better on the ball with more physical presence.

Yes but the point was that Martial was being dropped because of his poor form so we needed changing for the big game. We couldn't have someone taking it a bit easy as Martial was in the first few games (wasn't awful or anything, just needed a bit of a kick and this is where we gave it to him). So someone had to come in. Mkhitaryan started on one side so it was Lingard or Rashford on the other (as Mata wasn't the right choice in this game because of his lack of pace). Rashford is an 18 year old striker who has played very few games on the wing so starting him on the wing against City would've been a risk, while Lingard is normally pretty reliable in what you get from him. It made sense at the time, it just didn't work out because he severely underperformed.

 

[VP89]

Yes but the point was that Martial was being dropped because of his poor form so we needed changing for the big game. We couldn't have someone taking it a bit easy as Martial was in the first few games (wasn't awful or anything, just needed a bit of a kick and this is where we gave it to him). So someone had to come in. Mkhitaryan started on one side so it was Lingard or Rashford on the other (as Mata wasn't the right choice in this game because of his lack of pace). Rashford is an 18 year old striker who has played very few games on the wing so starting him on the wing against City would've been a risk, while Lingard is normally pretty reliable in what you get from him. It made sense at the time, it just didn't work out because he severely underperformed.

Martial hasn't been poor this season though. He's been underwhelming yes, but to replace him for Lingard (who never even operated on the left flank last season, mind) was never going to work. Lots of posters raised eyebrows over it before KO, it's not even like lingard had match rhythm let alone any established form to go by to warrant a start over martial. This big game player case for lingard also doesn't stick when martial put two past Liverpool and scored vital goals in the Champions League when we most needed it.

I'm still very confused as to why Martial couldn't start over a lesser player who hasn't really played this season and another winger evidently carrying a knock from internationals. Wrong decision and it showed after 10 mins into the match.

 

[Nighteyes]

I don't think he's been poor at all. Not as good as last season sure but poor? No chance. Should be one of the the first names of the team sheet.

 

[Stacks]

He scored the winner in it which is the main thing, but all in all, he generally did pretty well in big games so it's easy to say in hindsight that it was the wrong choice, when it made sense at the time. Obviously he won't be starting ahead of Rashford/Martial or Miki long term, and it doesn't mean he is a better player, just seemed right for the moment.

He hadn't started any of the matches whilst Rashford was on form so to me it made no sense. I can screenshot my watsapp comment just before kick off where I was exclaiming "why Lingard" if you like?

 

[VanGaalEra]

Would love to see back to the LW role with Zlatan and Rashford central. Right side is up for grabs, Mkhi/Mata/Lingard fighting it out for it.

 

[Womp]

Think a little break will do him wonders, looks exhausted.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He needs to play.

 

[Adisa]

Hope he starts tomorrow. He needs a lift.

 

[Bubz27]

I'd like to see him start up top tomorrow. Rashford from the wing.
Just a chance to get a goal or two.

 

[Devil may care]

I'd like to see him start up top tomorrow. Rashford from the wing.
Just a chance to get a goal or two.

Me too as they can keep switching between the positions as well.