Mourinho seems to be fairly consistent in his treatment of players I feel. It's clear he values work ethic and harmony over talent. As
@Cantona_Forever points out, players (and whose agents and entourage) who bitch and whine and don't put in a shift (based on his expectation of their appropriate level gets short shrift.
We saw it with BFS, we saw it with Rooney, we saw it with Mhiki and now Martial. I think it is suggesting that it is less to do with Martial's form but his general behaviour (which honestly none of us know for certain).
P
eople questioning why Lingard is ahead? It's simple really. Maybe Mourinho sees Lingard as a 75/100 player and Lingard always puts in a shift at 70 at least. But perhaps Martial is a 90/100 player but only putting in 75. So in absolute terms Martial is still better but relatively Lingard deserves a place more.
This way of managing players in nothing new. SAF has also done this before. If we want Mourinho to turn things around, we need to give him the authority to do as he see fit. It may be unfortunate but if Martial needs to be shipped out ultimately then so be it. No player should be bigger than the club - we have seen the effects at Chelsea, we have seen it with Rooney. This club has lost great players before and we can cope, especially if the manager is the right one.
Personally I think Martial and his entourage will get the message, learn to shut up and buckle down and it will be ok.