9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Goals
- 11
- Assists
- 11
- Yellow cards
- 1
- Status
I'm sorry but the missed chances are a big part of his performance, you cannot just omit it. The same way when people say "apart from the goal his performance wasn't good" isn't a fair statement, missed chances should also be included as part of his whole performance.
He wasn't good against Newcastle.
Martial can't isolate full backs and dribbles like this unless on the left. He doesn't look comfortable at all in dribbling when he goes on the right. He also can't cut inside and shot with his right fight as he can on the left. Can't seem him a long term choice on the right at all.
Either Sanchez switches to the right or Martial has to rotate with him on the left. Team balance is more important than the individuals on the pitch, and that's why I was against playing Rashford and Martial on both flanks earlier. I think Sanchez being more mature than Rashford can adapt his game to play on the right though, but it's all up to Mourinho.
Either Sanchez switches to the right or Martial has to rotate with him on the left. Team balance is more important than the individuals on the pitch, and that's why I was against playing Rashford and Martial on both flanks earlier. I think Sanchez being more mature than Rashford can adapt his game to play on the right though, but it's all up to Mourinho.
I think he has the worse off the ball movement I have seen from a forward thinking United player, it really is disgraceful. Lack of desire to sprint is also very frustrating, if the ball is slightly out of reach he just seems to give up on it and has no hassle about him, must be so easy to defend against when he hasn't got the ball.
All the talent in the world and if he can add some movement and desire to his game he could be world class.
All the talent in the world and if he can add some movement and desire to his game he could be world class.
I agree. I'm a big fan, but his movement off the ball and defensively are pitiful. He needs the right manager. Guardiola would have been brilliant for him.
Not this movement thing again, who are our other players that are scoring and assisting with their great movement? Lingard most of the time runs around like a headless chicken and his goals haven't exactly due to movement either, same for Mata, same for Sanchez even(who is also getting the ball from deep midfield and dribbles in). Our problem is lack of quick passing, for martial by the time the ball comes to him he is already facing a defense sitting deep, there is no point in running behind that, add a wrong footed full back who never stretches the play, there is really no other way. If you think Martial's movement is bad, take a look at how Sanchez has played so far, he is not trying to get in behind the defenders, he is also dribbling at them and making intelligent passes.
longer version
Fair enough. But that said his finishing wasn't shit because of his position. I think he did well on the right side regardless.
I didn't omit or dismiss the missed chances, I emphasized the rest of his performance, which was good. I don't classify a forward's performance as bad just because he misses some chances, I look at his overall game and how he contributes to the team's play. It's also, by the way, a fair statement to point out when someone has a bad overall performance but scores a goal. Goals are important no doubt, but the way to give yourself the best chance of scoring goals as a team is through good play and good play doesn't always lead to goals. Martial was involved in most of our threatening moves in that game, and found himself at the end of those chances through good movement and link up play.
Is this not a good thing...that Martial has competition. All the best teams have quality throughout the squad, and it is also an important motivational tool. You don't want a young player to get complacent.
To be honest, if Martial is getting game time no matter what; and our next option is Rashford. Then the squad is probably not at the right level. What happens when Martial has a dip in form like young players do; what if we need a different type of player to Martial for the tactical setup.
To be honest, if Martial is getting game time no matter what; and our next option is Rashford. Then the squad is probably not at the right level. What happens when Martial has a dip in form like young players do; what if we need a different type of player to Martial for the tactical setup.
From my observation, it isn't that Martial has bad off the ball movement, he doesn't bother to make then becasuse when he does (and for that matter, any of our attacking players) the ball doesn't come because 99.99% of the time the player on the ball just plays a fecking simple pass. So why even bother.
So people that criticize Martial movements should rather lay blame on the midfielders, I know it is sometimes fraustrating because myself I want him to make some runs but the fact of the matter is that in recent years especially when Carrick isn't playing, passes are always sideways and simple.
So people that criticize Martial movements should rather lay blame on the midfielders, I know it is sometimes fraustrating because myself I want him to make some runs but the fact of the matter is that in recent years especially when Carrick isn't playing, passes are always sideways and simple.
Lack of quick passing, agreed but I think it won't fix the off the ball movement when we are chasing the ball, he has to have that hunger to win the ball back, to try to reach for the loose ball to be a simply better team player. Lingard is not running around like a headless chicken, he's making runs all the time and gives other players option for pass and creates space, that is important. Martial doesn't need to be like that but working harder would do him a lot of good. In fact I don't think that it will come that easy - to reach his immense potential and he won't reach it.
So making a run behind the defense to add a bit of diversity into his play would do him a lot of good because he won't go past players that easily and be always successful. Even Mata does those runs and it is simply part of the wingplay. Sanchez is a different type of player, he's more of a playmaker. He needs players like Martial to make runs for him because he can pick the pass, Martial is a bit shortsighted can't affect the game all over pitch. To make him useful the best is to get him into space and isolate his defender from other player. In a team with a stretched defence like today, it works wonders.
And in addition to Sanchez I think the hunger for the game is much higher, he likes to press much more and win the ball. Martial just runs around in the space too desinterested
Yes Martial's defensive workrate is lacking and compared to Sanchez it will always lack, I don't think he is the sort of player who likes too much physical stress but that doesn't mean he is lazy, he still tracks back and protects the full back. You don't see players like Iniesta, Modric or Isco busting their lungs like Sanchez does but they still have been an integral part of teams where pressing was very much emphasized. My point is when our team presses as a collective and Martial prances around then you can criticize him but apart from Sanchez no one really presses in our side.
If Sanchez plays as a playmaker then Martial too is plays as our left sided playmaker, if he also runs around like Lingard does who is going to carry the ball from our left side? Who is going to create and deliver those passes to martial?
Agreed the issue is 100% our defense & midfield (excluding Pogba) is far too conservative with their touches & passing. Watch how the top teams play and you'll see the players use quick touches & body feints to create space and deliver more aggressive passes which unlock the defensive teams shape. We rarely do that unless Sanchez, Pogba, or Martial touch the ball which is why our ball movement looks so stagnant at times. Mourinho needs to do some passing drills with the players to improve their vision and prevent the safe easy option.
Still though Martial can do a lot more with his aggressiveness. If he plays like he played today in the 15 mins he was on the pitch, he'll be a superstar.
Basically this. He's a good player and can become a very good and effective player if he just carries on as is. If he becomes more aggressive and gives that 5-10% more that we know he can, on a consistent basis, then he can become world class. The talent is obvious, and he'll be a good player regardless. It's just does he have the motivation to become truly world class.
Never in a million years. If Martial plays on the right and has the same positional freedom that Mata seems to have in the team then we would be a lot better off.
Maybe Mata is just more intelligent off the ball
Agreed, for a player with his quality he can find the game passing him by which can be so frustrating. The quickness when he moves the ball can make or break our attacks, unless there's 0 chance of him going anywhere with the ball I'd like to see him do that nearly every time he gets it (unless there's a clear better option available) because more often than not he can beat the defender.
A slight concern I have with Martial is that if he starts the game badly he rarely ends up improving as it wears on, lets teams sometimes get into his head. If he can sort out that I think we've got a real gem on our hands.
It's quite sad that our player of the month in January has been left to dry again. When we signed Sanchez all I saw on this forum was people claiming Sanchez should/would operate from the right hand side leaving Martial to continue his really good form. Add to that the general agreement held by United fans throughout the November-January period that it's the right wing position that most needed sorting out, and it becomes even more odd that United fans go back to the old 'discipline' 'movement' 'attitude' 'wasteful' remarks to justify Mourinho's apparent refusal to position our attacking players in a way which will actually better our attack.
The reality is Martial is not wasteful, he doesn't have a poor attitude, and actually generally tracks back far more than Sanchez did last night where he left Shaw exposed numerous times in the first half. Furthermore, you can question him regarding individual misses but the idea that he isn't clinical is actually hilarious given his goal/shot ratio is easily amongst the best from those who have a decent number of goals scored in the league. I don't want to create the impression that he should be immune to criticism because no player is, but it's quite tiring from an outsiders point of view to come in here and see him getting ridiculed when he's being played out of position and is barely even getting a run of games to adjust to the changing circumstances.
At the end of the day, Martial started 2018 with 3 goals and 2 assists and we were all saying that the left wing position is his own and that Sanchez will come in on the right and complete our attack rather than replace Martial leaving us with the exact same problems we had before we signed him. Sanchez is a Mourinho signing, so it's kind of laughable that he seems to escape the responsibility of actually using his managerial nous to accommodate our best attacking players and instead it is Martial who is responsible for adapting to a position completely alien to him in under a month whilst playing only half of the available games
The reality is Martial is not wasteful, he doesn't have a poor attitude, and actually generally tracks back far more than Sanchez did last night where he left Shaw exposed numerous times in the first half. Furthermore, you can question him regarding individual misses but the idea that he isn't clinical is actually hilarious given his goal/shot ratio is easily amongst the best from those who have a decent number of goals scored in the league. I don't want to create the impression that he should be immune to criticism because no player is, but it's quite tiring from an outsiders point of view to come in here and see him getting ridiculed when he's being played out of position and is barely even getting a run of games to adjust to the changing circumstances.
At the end of the day, Martial started 2018 with 3 goals and 2 assists and we were all saying that the left wing position is his own and that Sanchez will come in on the right and complete our attack rather than replace Martial leaving us with the exact same problems we had before we signed him. Sanchez is a Mourinho signing, so it's kind of laughable that he seems to escape the responsibility of actually using his managerial nous to accommodate our best attacking players and instead it is Martial who is responsible for adapting to a position completely alien to him in under a month whilst playing only half of the available games
You dont do things like that if you're low on confidence so good to see the switch to the right in recent games hasn't effected him
Can't Martial and Sanchez swap during games? That's what Giggs, Sharpe and Kanchelskis used to do. Or maybe I'm missing something.
He fecked those chances up. It's not like he's gone from Ronaldo on the left to Obertan on the right. He was very hit and miss anyway in terms of performances. It's way too early to tell if he can play on the right because he had a tonne of average or below showings on the left as well.
They have done, certainly in the Tottenham game and Newcastle game. Martial started on the right for both games but it was actually when he moved on the left side he went missing in both games.
Attack isn't an issue but there's seriously an issue balance-wise with our team and we have to come up with answers fast as our play can't even reach our attackers without them having to drop so deep and move out of position.
Think he'll be off in the summer.
Damn, I really wanted to watch those mesmerising dribbles in the Champions League.
Oh well, what can you say. Personally for me Martial plus Sanchez > Sanchez plus Mata, even if you combine them.
I think this settled the best position for Martial debate it is exist from Old Trafford, i can see him pushing for transfer in the summer. And I don't blame him one bit.
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Sevilla 0:0 Man Utd
One of the better players of Utd sitting on the bench. I'm pretty sure he would have done more than what Sanchez is doing on the left.
Did well, when he came on. Especially that solo counterattack.
He will be unleashed on Chelsea.
Nice cameo.
Looked lively when he came on. Took players on and played some good passes. Don't know why we don't put him on the left and try Sanchez on the right for once.
The good news is we won’t be paying the add-on for him getting the Balon d’or
Was only on for a bit, but when he came on, he held his position well and had a couple of good runs.
Mourinho needs to put him back on the left. Let him keep the width and get him into 1v1 situations.
Look at Correa tonight for Sevilla. Their best player by far. Kept the width and the left and caused Valencia quite a few problems.
Mourinho needs to put him back on the left. Let him keep the width and get him into 1v1 situations.
Look at Correa tonight for Sevilla. Their best player by far. Kept the width and the left and caused Valencia quite a few problems.
Should be one of the first names on the team sheet every single fecking week. Whenever he doesn't play, we lack everything he offers. Sure, he's young and inconsistent. But he's just too important for our style to actually hold on to the ball and run at defenders and not just lose it every single time he tries to dribble. Having him on the pitch forces defenders back because they know he's a threat. Drop Lukaku. Drop Mata. Hell, even ahead of Sanchez on the left. Martial simply has to play.
Most dangerous attacker we have imo. Don't see why Sanchez is starting in that left wing spot over him. Martial is more dynamic and needs to be de facto starter on that flank.
Him and Rash give the side much needed penetration.
Him and Rash give the side much needed penetration.
Imagine him in a team that knows how to play attacking football
Can someone explain why he can't be tried as a 9?
It's a shame we bought a player to replace him.
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