[Santoryo]

I hope he does well but if Mourinho is not sold on him fot whatever reason, I hope he loans him out to Monaco, Dortmund, or Atletico. He will get to develop a lot more there than he would sitting on our bench.

A lot of the criticism he gets here is unfair but it is what it is. People are either influenced by what Mourinho says or have very high expectations because of Martial's first season. That season made it easy to forget how young Martial is.

People are simply EASILY influence. Whatever Mourinho says they take it and run with it.

Martial being harshly criticised and microanalysed started with Mourinho publicly criticising him and now people are just parroting whatever they've heard.

It's both quite astonishing and frustrating to see how fickle people can be. People would rather lie themselves about Martial abilities and potential in order to make sense of whatever Mourinho does and absolve him of any blame despite the guy being know to consistently fail talented youngsters.

 

[Wade3]

Mourinho knows the players better than we ever will, so why the feck wouldn't we be influenced by what he says?

That still doesn't mean managers are always right. Form your own opinion and stick with it. Under van Gaal, Martial was the second coming of Jesus to many. Suddenly, with a change of manager, he's a lazy, limited player. The change of opinion is too radical and too influenced by the manager's perception of him.
Plus, sometimes a manager simply doesn't get along or doesn't have any use for a player while other managers might unleash somebody's potential and thus the manager always has a biased view of a player.

So while Mourinho obviously has more opportunities to evaluate Martial, many fans have seen him play under van Gaal and thus can form their own opinion on him without being a loyal sheep to the manager.

 

[Wade3]

True we need to chill a little bit. I do think Martial has been disappointing and expect him to do better this season.

Disappointing in comparison to his first season and his abilities, yes. But compared to other players in his position, he's performed about the same way.

 

[Catt]

Disappointing in comparison to his first season and his abilities, yes. But compared to other players in his position, he's performed about the same way.

I meant last season, of course.

 

[Santoryo]

Disappointing in comparison to his first season and his abilities, yes. But compared to other players in his position, he's performed about the same way.

He's actually performed better than them despite what some would like to believe. It's simply not possible to say with a straight face that Lingard performed as well or better than Martial while he registered a single goal and about 2 assists an entire season while Martial had like triple or more the number Lingard pulled.

People would then talk about running and energy to try to even things out which is beyond ridiculous.

Martial puts in better number than his peers but the mass want to discredit that by saying the other ran and worked harder than. Since when was an attacking player's job to be some pseudo defender rather than being a threat offensively?

This shift in mentality is actually quite scary and just another proof of fans fickleness.

2,3, few more years ago, if one tried to argue a United winger or any other attackers case by bringing in his defensive duties rather than his offensive attributes, this very place would go to town on said person yet here we are today with people preaching running, enervy, defensive discipline over attacking threat and skills. How things easily change.

The brainwash is strong on these boards.

 

[Catt]

He's actually performed better than them despite what some would like to believe. It's simply not possible to say with a straight face that Lingard performed as well or better than Martial while he registered a single goal and about 2 assists an entire season while Martial had like triple or more the number Lingard pulled.

People would then talk about running and energy to try to even things out which is beyond ridiculous.

Martial puts in better number than his peers but the mass want to discredit that by saying the other ran and worked harder than. Since when was an attacking player's job to be some pseudo defender rather than being a threat offensively?

This shift in mentality is actually quite scary and just another proof of fans fickleness.

Good thing you haven't fallen victim to Mourinho's mission to turn the fans against Martial. Seriously though, don't you think most fans are capable of using their own mind? And Martial was not as good last season as the year before. I expect him to do better this season.

 

[Womp]

These arguments about how x manager does or says this means he's right is always hilarious.

I sat here on these boards seeing people vehemently defend every single decision Moyes made, same with Van Gaal and it's the same with Mourinho. It's always about how they're manager and know better and we shouldn't question anything and just go through with the motion.

What's even funnier is that Mourinho someone wildly known to fail to develop talented young players and shipping then only for them to flourish somewhere else to prove him wrong, is now being presented as this credible and unquestionable person who'd always know what's best for young players.

The same people pretending to be top red with parroting everything Mourinho says were most likely the ones well aware of Mourinho failures when it comes to managing young talented players and leading them to their potential.

Mou doesn't have any benefit of the doubt here, he is well known to fail to managed young talent and that's clearly what's been happening with Martial so far. If anything the benefit of the doubt should be given to Martial given he's proven his talent already while Mou is a proven failure toward guiding and managing talented(especially the extremely talented ones) young players.

There is no need to exert ridiculous mental gymnastic, underrate Martial and microanalyse everything he does in order to find sense in Mourinho decision. The guy is just up to his old habits which are him mismanaging a certain ilk of players.

When you have a manager givine more game times to the likes of Lingard or Rashford over a talent like Martial(Ballon d'or potential)with some pretence about hardwork etc then you know what's up.

This pre season alone Martial has already received harsher criticisms from this boards compared to his peers despite him putting in consistent performances with numbers (assists and goal) while Rashford is allowed to have cold games with no one caring. I mean beside 2 games this pre season Rashford has been nothing much but no one bother bombarding his thread with constant negativity, Heck I've seen nonsense stating that he's a consistent player compared to Martial

Are you Martial's girlfriend by any chance? You claim he has Ballon Dór potential, which imo is complete rubbish (He's had one good season ffs), but assuming he does, the fact that you're upset he's being judged to a higher regard than Lingard and Rashford is baffling. If he had Ballon D'or potential as you claim, we should expect more from him. He's a professional footballer ffs, not your fecking friend. If Jose fails, he'll get stick for it, if any player in our squad under-performs, they'll get stick for it. Martial isn't safe from this criticism.

He's getting paid money some people could only dream of at the age of 21, he's not some poor homeless boy who needs your love and protection. He's here to perform, it's that fecking simple.

Also your examples of Jose being renowned for mismanaging youth is also off the mark imo. Let me guess, the two examples you're going to use is KDB and Lukaku. He has shown this season that if you perform and do what he wants, you will play. As has been evidenced by Rashford. Claiming Martial should have the benefit of the doubt is nothing short of laughable imo. We have one of the World's best managers who has won everything everywhere, Martial isn't even the best French player at our squad.

People need to wake up imo. This has nothing to do with what Jose says, this has to do with his performances. Jose has never questioned his movement publicly, yet it's one of the biggest reasons as to why people are upset with him as of late. Yes, it's true it wasn't brought up the season before last, but he was playing well and performing then. Now that he's not, his short comings are more in the limelight. Players with Ballon D'or potential don't need specific tactics and set-ups to flourish. Not every manager in Martial's career is going to play patient, build-up, possession football, it's up to him to adapt, not the other way around.

You claim people are short-sighted and have Mourinho bias, yet you're harping on about him being renowned for being bad with youth, completing absolving Martial of any blame. He was poor last season due to himself. If he isn't use to running in behind, being more active etc. (which is the changes he'd had to deal with now that LVG's gone) he should be putting in more work to adapt.

No-one is calling for his head or getting the pitchforks out and claiming for him to be sold, but people being upset with his performances is completely understandable. He hasn't been good enough. He has been nowhere near good enough if your outlandish claim that he's good enough for the Ballon D'or is true.

He's a very good talent who's understanding of the game is poor. He's got great feet but there's been many a player who've had just as good, if not better feet who have amounted to nothing players. It's up to him to adapt and become the best player he can be. Players with genuine Ballon D'or potential don't need so many excuses. He's not even close to being the best French prospect, let alone potential to be the best in the World imo. Dembele, Mbappe, Pogba etc. are all superior to him imo.

He's a very good talent who is under-performing and who needs to improve certain aspects of his game. Until he does that, the manager is completely within his right to opt for players he trusts. Was SAF bad with youth for his treatment of Nani over all those years, his treatment of Pogba (who is a superior player to Martial?), his treatment of Beckham, his treatment of Morrison etc. If a player isn't up to scratch or doesn't do what the manager expects he will be sidelined, that's how it has always been. Pep is the same, Conte is the same, they all are. Managers use players that work for them. When all is said and done, I'm willing to put my faith in a manager who is a serial winner, rather than a player who has one stand-out season in his whole career, playing catch up to his form from 2 years ago.

He's supposedly a best in the world player, yet you're not sure why he's being questioned more than Jesse fecking Lingard. Come on now, pal.

 

[Womp]

He's actually performed better than them despite what some would like to believe. It's simply not possible to say with a straight face that Lingard performed as well or better than Martial while he registered a single goal and about 2 assists an entire season while Martial had like triple or more the number Lingard pulled.

People would then talk about running and energy to try to even things out which is beyond ridiculous.

Martial puts in better number than his peers but the mass want to discredit that by saying the other ran and worked harder than. Since when was an attacking player's job to be some pseudo defender rather than being a threat offensively?

This shift in mentality is actually quite scary and just another proof of fans fickleness.

2,3, few more years ago, if one tried to argue a United winger or any other attackers case by bringing in his defensive duties rather than his offensive attributes, this very place would go to town on said person yet here we are today with people preaching running, enervy, defensive discipline over attacking threat and skills. How things easily change.

The brainwash is strong on these boards.

Why did SAF opt for the more reliable Valencia over the mercurial match-winner that was Nani over all those years? Why'd he use Park as a defensive winger? etc. This shift in mentality is bollocks, the way you're going on about Lingard you'd think he doesn't get forward at all.

The discussions about attack and defensive minded players was going on long before Jose came in. In fact I use to be in the camp that was upset to see Nani sidelined for Valencia and Young, but at the end of the day, it won us titles. Which is more important. I care about Manchester United more than I do any individual player.

 

[E-mal]

Jose's record with young players is poor as evidenced by his previous antecedents and rightly or wrongly he tends to have issues with flair players in recent pass. Now this is not saying Mourinho has an agenda against the chap but my personal opinion is that he doesn't rate him as highly as the forum do.

I think people need to just see how the season pans out, if it doesn't work out for Martial then in his interest is time to move as it's clear the talent is there. Sometimes some players and manager's don't just hit it off.

 

[barmyarmy]

His personal problems or for whatever reasons he hasn't performed to his abilities last season. If his pre season form is to go by he looks on track to deliver the goods for us. He has immense of talent our coaching staff should be telling him the things he needs to work more on to have more minutes in first team and make him work on it, they are paid huge amounts to sort out such things.

 

[Womp]

Jose's record with young players is poor as evidenced by his previous antecedents and rightly or wrongly he tends to have issues with flair players in recent pass. Now this is not saying Mourinho has an agenda against the chap but my personal opinion is that he doesn't rate him as highly as the forum do.

I think people need to just see how the season pans out, if it doesn't work out for Martial then in his interest is time to move as it's clear the talent is there. Sometimes some players and manager's don't just hit it off.

Don't think it has to do with young players, has more to do with players who don't share the same mentality as him. Rashford is as young as it gets and Jose absolutely loves him. I think as a manager he needs to work on being able to communicate with players who aren't of a similar mentality to him, that much I agree with though. Not every player will give everything they have to win, especially these days.

 

[Red_toad]

Martial gets more criticism than just about any player on these boards.

.

Do you live in a universe where Fellaini, Shaw, Jones, Darmian, Lindgard and Smalling don't exist? Otherwise I'm calling that a load of tosh.
Martial is rightfully criticised for his lack of application. Wonderful player on his day and I've no doubt if he can get some consistency then he'll be an automatic starter.

 

[Kag]

Do you live in a universe where Fellaini, Shaw, Jones, Darmian, Lindgard and Smalling don't exist? Otherwise I'm calling that a load of tosh.
Martial is rightfully criticised for his lack of application. Wonderful player on his day and I've no doubt if he can get some consistency then he'll be an automatic starter.

I think you live in a universe only to serve your own argument. Look at the size of this player thread already. I'm not going to check through them all, but only Fellaini promotes as much (probably more) discussion as Martial. And in many cases it's actually people that rate him having a pop at those people that don't rate him, so much so that the vast majority of his current player thread is overwhelmingly positive. No other player (although this will 100% happen to Pereira as a result of his perceived popularity) is microanalysed to such a silly extent as Martial. I think his application, which you question, is fine, as it was under Van Gaal, a season in which his "ice cool" approach to the game was met with equally baffling glee.

 

[Dobbs]

Maybe Kagawa didn't do it here but he had previously albiet in another league. Recreating form from another league as opposed to another manager meh not much difference

I don't think Martial gets that much criticism at all its just we have a few nutjobs (as per Kagawa thread) who jump on any criticism.

I think comparing him to Kagawa shows the level of criticism he's up against.

Kagawa - a guy who in his prime never really did anything here. Then left.

Martial - A young player, career only just got going, been here two seasons. Player of the season in one of them.

For some reason his achievements in that first year get diminished.

 

[NotQuiteManc]

just came across this. What a goal this would have been.

Amazing run, the kind of runs that he is very well capable of, but like in the video his decision making in the final third, the crucial area is still pretty poor. He has the ability to pass and shoot just that his timing is still off more often than not. If only he can sharpen up that area of skills, he would be unstoppable. Or at least he would draw more defenders towards him. Either way, I am a fan.

 

[Santoryo]

I think you live in a universe only to serve your own argument. Look at the size of this player thread already. I'm not going to check through them all, but only Fellaini promotes as much (probably more) discussion as Martial. And in many cases it's actually people that rate him having a pop at those people that don't rate him, so much so that the vast majority of his current player thread is overwhelmingly positive. No other player (although this will 100% happen to Pereira as a result of his perceived popularity) is microanalysed to such a silly extent as Martial. I think his application, which you question, is fine, as it was under Van Gaal, a season in which his "ice cool" approach to the game was met with equally baffling glee.

It's pretty simple.

Look at it this way, normally when a player has a good to brilliant performance, his thread tend to have a positive vibe about it until some consecutive sub par performances occur. The only time this doesn't happen is if the thread is filled with various agendas which would keep driving home what they want everyone to believe.

Now in this preseason Martial has had several good performances throughout and been positive in every single games but a look at the past 10 pages or so and this thread is mixed leaning toward negativity. What does that tell you? It just says that Martial has become a target for constant criticism and some people would always find something negative to point toward hence the micro-analyzing of every single aspect of his game or what he does(in order to find something negative however small and insignificant it can be, they can grasp onto and parrot it repeatedly).

Have any currently favorite Caf player or any newly acquired player, give them Martial performances of this pre season and this thread would have had that overwhelmingly positive feeling right now but that's not the case with Martial simply because there is a bit of an agenda(YES THERE IS, despite predictable deniability) and some want to feel vindicated in their negative assumptions in everything regarding Martial.

I mean Martial does pieces of magic this pre season, showed end products(assists and goal) throughout and consistently so far and instead of getting giddy for the season to come and excited of what this lad has in store, the vast majority in this thread want to talk about some supposedly lack of ambitions, motivation, laziness etc. It has become quite obvious by now what we're dealing with.

 

[Rozay]

 

[Santoryo]

Amazing run, the kind of runs that he is very well capable of, but like in the video his decision making in the final third, the crucial area is still pretty poor. He has the ability to pass and shoot just that his timing is still off more often than not. If only he can sharpen up that area of skills, he would be unstoppable. Or at least he would draw more defenders towards him. Either way, I am a fan.

I've also realized this. Many times I've seen him cut and make himself in a position to shoot but hesitate a bit then shoot that bit late which end up being blocked. It's something he really has to work on. He basically need that decisiveness whenever he found himself in those deadly position he create for himself and just go for it. Cut and Shoot.

Though beside that his other part of decision making have been alright to me. He's pretty good at assisting and passing the ball and putting it where needed, be it in dangerous area or a pass to a player in a dangerous position. I want to see him improve his decisiveness though.

 

[DWelbz19]

There is no need to exert ridiculous mental gymnastic, underrate Martial and microanalyse everything he does in order to find sense in Mourinho decision. The guy is just up to his old habits which are him mismanaging a certain ilk of players.

Aye, pretty much. Some of the posts praising him this pre-season go caveat crazy already: 'he's been good, but did you see his movement?' ... 'He was good,I don't think he was that good' etc. etc. No other player gets this level of nuance and analysis when rating performances.

 

[Santoryo]

Feels good seeing a player beating other with a ball at his feet

Honestly surprised at how many people would rather see us lose this player. I think some just don't realize how hard it is to find special talent and be in your team. We sit on these board drooling over kids from other clubs, being envious while we ourselves have a very special talent. Is this what they say about the grass always greener?

 

[Rozay]

Feels good seeing a player beating other with a ball at his feet

Honestly surprised at how many people would rather see us lose this player. I think some just don't realize how hard it is to find special talent and be in your team. We sit on these board drooling over kids from other clubs, being envious while we ourselves have a very special talent. Is this what they say about the grass always greener?

Indeed. He is definitely worth the patience and investment, and we won't be able to get a better talent on the market now anyway. As it is, we have been playing inferior talent already within the squad over him, we don't need more.

I'm very much a Jose fan, but he needs to develop players too, beyond his 'I'll give you a game and if you don't perform, you're out' approach.

 

[Red_toad]

I think you live in a universe only to serve your own argument. Look at the size of this player thread already. I'm not going to check through them all, but only Fellaini promotes as much (probably more) discussion as Martial. And in many cases it's actually people that rate him having a pop at those people that don't rate him, so much so that the vast majority of his current player thread is overwhelmingly positive. No other player (although this will 100% happen to Pereira as a result of his perceived popularity) is microanalysed to such a silly extent as Martial. I think his application, which you question, is fine, as it was under Van Gaal, a season in which his "ice cool" approach to the game was met with equally baffling glee.

Plenty of Lindgard mentions in this thread alone. I'm 100% certain Martial isn't in the top 5 of players who get most criticism on here.
Had his application been to the managers liking then he'd have been playing almost every game last season. Even his most ardent fans admitted he looked disinterested in certain games.

 

[Santoryo]

Indeed. He is definitely worth the patience and investment, and we won't be able to get a better talent on the market now anyway. As it is, we have been playing inferior talent already within the squad over him, we don't need more.

I'm very much a Jose fan, but he needs to develop players too, beyond his 'I'll give you a game and if you don't perform, you're out' approach.

Yep. Nowadays special talent are being quoted with ridiculous fees which means when you have one you hold onto that one and nurture him until his full potential is fulfilled.

We just got lucky we got him back then before fees completely exploded, especially given these days, special young talent with ridiculous potential can't be acquired easily nor on the cheap. Mbappe being quoted for over 100 millions is all the proof one needs.

We have a Ballon d'or level of talent and potential on our hands, how about being smart about how we handle his situation.

 

[Dobbs]

Do you live in a universe where Fellaini, Shaw, Jones, Darmian, Lindgard and Smalling don't exist? Otherwise I'm calling that a load of tosh.
Martial is rightfully criticised for his lack of application. Wonderful player on his day and I've no doubt if he can get some consistency then he'll be an automatic starter.

None of those players have ever been the best player of the season.

You've got to judge the criticism relative to the players performance level.

 

[limerickcitykid]

Aye, pretty much. Some of the posts praising him this pre-season go caveat crazy already: 'he's been good, but did you see his movement?' ... 'He was good,I don't think he was that good' etc. etc. No other player gets this level of nuance and analysis when rating performances.

Lingard does. When he has a good game its always "he was good but still Championship level." Blind too, good game but still too slow or weak, wait for some big striker or whatever even after a game he has played well against strong and fast players.

And when you've got people in here claiming Martial is the best player I don't see the problem with saying he is good but not that good. People claiming stuff like he is better than Pogba and Pogba still has it all to prove but Martial doesn't would also make him the only player with so many people so far lodged up his ass. And then those same people will use this post as a 'hater' criticizing Martial.

 

[Silverman]

I'm a massive fan of his and I think he needs to be given a number of starts in succession for him to find the form from the first season.

 

[Arka_BleedingRed]

A guy who is capable of doing the things in the video in his first season surely needs a coach to stick by him during his rough patches. Sure, at 21, Anthony has some things to iron out but in order to do so, he needs to play regularly and deserves the faith and trust of the manager. Last season, along with the other issues, Ibra's lack of chemistry with Martial and Pogba's tendency to play to Ibra even when others were in a better position also hurt Martial. So many times, he was in a better position, but did not receive the ball.

This pre-season though, Martial has been showing signs of improving and returning to his best and his chemistry with Mkhi, Mata and Rashford is encouraging to see. Now, all he needs is faith from Mourinho. For all the Mbappes, Dembeles and the Dybalas, an Anthony Martial in full flow is a spectacular sight to behold and we cannot simply afford to give up so quickly on such an outstanding talent.

 

[Sammyjunn]

Very hit and miss player, in terms od when he is at full pace, running at defenders, he is close to none. His dribbling, control, pace and acceleration is very good when he is already running at defenders. Other than that he has very little to his game as an attacker. Average crosser, very poor runs off the ball which doesnt make him utilize his speed maximally, and he has a very limited range of finishing I feel. Always with his inside right and he mostly needs quite a clear angle. This season he needs to kick it up a notch, or I fear Mou will look to upgrade.

 

[Red_toad]

None of those players have ever been the best player of the season.

You've got to judge the criticism relative to the players performance level.

How those others players perform had nothing to do with my post. Martial isn't the most criticised player on here, that my point. The vast majority of posters think he's wonderful.

 

[BluesJr]

Mourinho simply doesn't really know how to manage and coach a player like Martial. As much as I love Mourinho and I'm fully behind him I wish he'd be a little more positive and be right behind Martial. Behind Pogba he's our most talented player and he needs to be nurtured not taken out the team at every available opportunity. He needs to be playing every single week to iron out his flaws and the mistakes he makes on the pitch, which right now are pretty frequent.

There is a world class player in there but I fear Mourinho is going to snuff it out before it gets a chances to blossom unless he changes his approach and let's Martial fly this season.

 

[Verminator]

Am I allowed in this thread without a tin foil hat?
As if Jose wants to drive out a player who the club paid so much for, and showed great promise in his debut season.
He was poor and lethargic for most of last season, and deserved to be dropped.

Signs from pre-season though are, he is smiling more, seems happier, and more productive and willing to work. He looks like he is a different person.
Hopefully he is back on track, and we can enjoy his growth, along with Mourinho, who would love a world class attacker to rely on.

 

[Red_toad]

Mourinho simply doesn't really know how to manage and coach a player like Martial. As much as I love Mourinho and I'm fully behind him I wish he'd be a little more positive and be right behind Martial. Behind Pogba he's our most talented player and he needs to be nurtured not taken out the team at every available opportunity. He needs to be playing every single week to iron out his flaws and the mistakes he makes on the pitch, which right now are pretty frequent.

There is a world class player in there but I fear Mourinho is going to snuff it out before it gets a chances to blossom unless he changes his approach and let's Martial fly this season.

How do you know this for a fact?

People seem to think Martial isn't happy at the club, yet he's not been a moments bother and has gotten on with his work. Surely if he was being so badly managed, he'd have asked to leave.
Lads got as many appearances as all of other wingers/wide players last season. Yet it's being made out he's being singled out, that facts don't back that up.

SQUAD 2016/17A (S)GLS

JESSE LINGARD Appearances 28 subs (14) goals 5
ANTHONY MARTIAL Appearances 29 subs (13) goals 8
JUAN MATA Appearances 34 subs (9) goals 10
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN Appearances 30 subs (11) goals 11
MARCUS RASHFORD Appearances 30 subs (23) goals 11
ASHLEY YOUNG Appearances 15 subs (8) goals 0

 

[BluesJr]

How do you know this for a fact?

People seem to think Martial isn't happy at the club, yet he's not been a moments bother and has gotten on with his work. Surely if he was being so badly managed, he'd have asked to leave.
Lads got as many appearances as all of other wingers/wide players last season. Yet it's being made out he's being singled out, that facts don't back that up.

SQUAD 2016/17A (S)GLS

JESSE LINGARD Appearances 28 subs (14) goals 5
ANTHONY MARTIAL Appearances 29 subs (13) goals 8
JUAN MATA Appearances 34 subs (9) goals 10
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN Appearances 30 subs (11) goals 11
MARCUS RASHFORD Appearances 30 subs (23) goals 11
ASHLEY YOUNG Appearances 15 subs (8) goals 0

A player that talented who regularly displays moments of brilliance should be afforded the opportunity of making mistakes and taking risks. He needs to be playing week in week out to gain that knowledge that will take him to the next level. He'll never learn if he isn't playing all the time, learning from each situation.

 

[Red_toad]

A player that talented who regularly displays moments of brilliance should be afforded the opportunity of making mistakes and taking risks. He needs to be playing week in week out to gain that knowledge that will take him to the next level. He'll never learn if he isn't playing all the time, learning from each situation.

Yeah he never plays, poor lad

 

[Womp]

A player that talented who regularly displays moments of brilliance should be afforded the opportunity of making mistakes and taking risks. He needs to be playing week in week out to gain that knowledge that will take him to the next level. He'll never learn if he isn't playing all the time, learning from each situation.

Sorry but I don't agree. Both the club and manager don't have that freedom. If he puts a whole season of faith in under-performing players, it's his job that is on the line. Before anyone says so, yes, Martial was scoring and assisting towards the end of the season and was still benched. Yes, it's true, but Rashford was who he put his faith in, given he was playing very well and his decision was vindicated as it was him who got us over the line in the Europa League.

The club needs to win, it's how we make money. He will get chances throughout the season and it's his job to make the most of them. It was the same under SAF. If Rashford loses form and Martial starts performing, it'll be Rashford's responsibility to try and get back in the team. There will always be competition at teams that expect to compete all fronts, we don't have the freedom to babysit players into form.

Given the level of competition these days, one or two games can decide our whole season.

 

[BluesJr]

Yeah he never plays, poor lad

How many times was he taken out the team last season? Or dropped after a good performance? You simply can't deny that. This is the problem. Yes he made plenty of appearances but if we want him to be a key member of the team he needs to be getting Pogba level of minutes. That's just a fact.

 

[BluesJr]

Sorry but I don't agree. Both the club and manager don't have that freedom. If he puts a whole season of faith in under-performing players, it's his job that is on the line. Before anyone says so, yes, Martial was scoring and assisting towards the end of the season and was still benched. Yes, it's true, but Rashford was who he put his faith in, given he was playing very well and his decision was vindicated as it was him who got us over the line in the Europa League.

The club needs to win, it's how we make money. He will get chances throughout the season and it's his job to make the most of them. It was the same under SAF. If Rashford loses form and Martial starts performing, it'll be Rashford's responsibility to try and get back in the team. There will always be competition at teams that expect to compete all fronts, we don't have the freedom to babysit players into form.

There's babysitting players into form and realising that a player has world class potential and putting some faith in it could actually reap massive rewards in the long run. If he's not performing, then sub him but not starting him regularly is having a massive impact on his development. Pogba would not be the player he is now if it wasn't for Juventus playing him week in week out despite fluctuations in performance.

 

[ivaldo]

People are simply EASILY influence. Whatever Mourinho says they take it and run with it.

Martial being harshly criticised and microanalysed started with Mourinho publicly criticising him and now people are just parroting whatever they've heard.

It's both quite astonishing and frustrating to see how fickle people can be. People would rather lie themselves about Martial abilities and potential in order to make sense of whatever Mourinho does and absolve him of any blame despite the guy being know to consistently fail talented youngsters.

Quite the opposite mate. Those 'fickle' people recognise Jose has a paticular way of playing and Martial currently does do what is necessary to be a significant part of his team. What Jose is known for is building incredibly successful teams and winning trophies. If he demands his wide players to work their arse off then pointing out Martials lazy work rate and poor attitude shold come as no surprise to you. I like Martial but anyone who thinks he did enough to warrant a place in a Mourinho side last season is just delusional.

 

[Womp]

There's babysitting players into form and realising that a player has world class potential and putting some faith in it could actually reap massive rewards in the long run. If he's not performing, then sub him but not starting him regularly is having a massive impact on his development. Pogba would not be the player he is now if it wasn't for Juventus playing him week in week out despite fluctuations in performance.

He constantly selected Martial at the beginning of the season despite him being poor, he put his faith in him but he was far too hot and cold. He started to play better towards the end of the season but Rashford was flying (that Chelsea performance was incredible). It was obvious Jose trusted Rashford and put his faith in him when Ibra went out. The decision was ultimately vindicated as we put all our eggs in the Europa basket to save our season and Rashford played a huge part in it's success. We wouldn't have won it if it wasn't for his freekick, his goal in the dying minutes etc. For all this talk of Jose being bad with youth, it's quite funny that he put all his faith in a player who is younger than Martial is. Jose isn't bad with youth, he's bad with players who don't see eye to eye with him.

Simply put, he just wasn't good enough over the course of the season which is why he didn't play as much. Mourinho is always going to put winning trophies first, if the players don't understand that they're going to have a tough time here.

 

[kouroux]

Feels good seeing a player beating other with a ball at his feet

Honestly surprised at how many people would rather see us lose this player. I think some just don't realize how hard it is to find special talent and be in your team. We sit on these board drooling over kids from other clubs, being envious while we ourselves have a very special talent. Is this what they say about the grass always greener?

Very good post. We need to be patient just as Martial needs to wake up IMHO. Mourinho is ruthless and won't hesitate freezing him out and selling him and in that case Martial won't probably go to a better club than ours. It's not a talent problem, it's not a football problem but a mental/psychological one for me.