He's a very frustrating player. So much talent that he seems to produce when he chooses to. He had a real opportunity yesterday to make a claim for his place, certainly against lower opposition..but he really didn't take it. No doubt the Martial luvvies will disagree.....
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Goals
- 11
- Assists
- 11
- Yellow cards
- 1
- Status
I thought he was fine, better than Mkitaryan and Mata imo. He can certainly improve his off the ball movement a bit more, but he seems to be working on it.
Played well, seems a lot more motivated this season too.
Thought he was good whenever given the opportunity. We dont get the ball to him enough hence why he kept drifting into central positions to attain possession. Need to involve him more - we do, however, seem to enjoy attacking from the right.
He was pretty good on the ball. Didn't have it enough, but that wasn't completely his fault as a lot of our attacks were down the right. His run lead to the corner that created the second goal, so he did contribute unlike many are saying. Nice ball to Mata early in the 1st half too. Main thing (as usual) is that his off-the-ball movement needed to be more dynamic to make him easier to find regularly and get him involved. Maybe we should try him behind Lukaku as an SS where him coming short to pick up the ball before running at defenders wouldn't be an issue.
I'm surprised that people haven't picked up on an improvement in his off the ball movement. He seems to be moving off the ball on the back of defenders and isn't generally on his heels waiting for the ball to arrive at his feet. That by and of itself is particularly encouraging. He did seem to try a lot with the ball and the times he succeeded, it looked remarkable, but that didn't happen too many times.
The kid is still 21, learning his wares. I see some encouraging signs and that's pretty much all we can ask for at this time.
The kid is still 21, learning his wares. I see some encouraging signs and that's pretty much all we can ask for at this time.
A solid performance, gave a platform for others to succeed (we were targeting their left side, and so he did his job), and was good in the rare moments he was given the ball.
Him and Rashford are forming a very good partnership; Martial is very calm and controlled; silky with the ball. Rashford is very dynamic and direct.
I don't think Martial or Rashford should ever start together; because they give us a way to change our threat from the left side. Bringing on one of them from the bench has been working wonders.
Him and Rashford are forming a very good partnership; Martial is very calm and controlled; silky with the ball. Rashford is very dynamic and direct.
I don't think Martial or Rashford should ever start together; because they give us a way to change our threat from the left side. Bringing on one of them from the bench has been working wonders.
Yeah he did well to get on the end of that pass by Fellaini. Shame it didn't pay off.
Typical Martial performance (during the game and in this thread).
Does little all game, no off the ball movement, no making runs, very little link up play but one or two dribbles and some still call it a solid/good/positive even an OK performance. Its like 16/17 in here.
He's been given a start against feckin Basle in the CL. He should be looking to light the place up. Instead it was Fellaini who did that from the bench and Ashley Young playing RB in his first game in five months.
Does little all game, no off the ball movement, no making runs, very little link up play but one or two dribbles and some still call it a solid/good/positive even an OK performance. Its like 16/17 in here.
He's been given a start against feckin Basle in the CL. He should be looking to light the place up. Instead it was Fellaini who did that from the bench and Ashley Young playing RB in his first game in five months.
He's not good at making himself available for the ball. Never has been. He's far too passive out of possession. Others who come on onto the left wing don't have the same issues.
Agreed. It was a perfect opportunity to show what you can do, make runs etc. Totally in control, we were attacking plenty enough and Basel were doing very little in response. He basically had free reign to do what he wanted, and you won't get that chance very often.
People were desperate for him to start after a couple of decent cameos. I wanted him to carry on like that, considering he was having a positive effect on us. Lo and behold, reverts to the same as last season.
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Seems like Martial gets held to a higher standard than anyone else in the squad. Some really harsh criticisms of him in here.
To be honest I see it the other way. Whenever he does anything half decent people seem to see it as a sign of World Class potential. He was largely anonymous in the first half and didn't really do a lot all game.
It was the kind of night he should have had everyone purring with an outstanding performance, but people pointing out it was 'only Basel'. As it is folk seem absolutely desperate to look for any signs of quality in his game. It's not a good sign at the moment.
Memphis would have ripped that mob to shreds.
This kind of proves my point. How many times did we see Memphis tear apart any sort of opposition? Maybe my memory's failing me but I remember the FC Brugge games and that's pretty much it. Yet you're using him as a stick to beat Martial with.
He had a quiet game admittedly but he was far from poor. Pretty much all of his other performances this season have been promising, so why the negativity? No player is at their best 100% of the time yet there seems to be a huge amount of scrutiny on Martial everytime he steps on the pitch.
Not sure how it proves your point. I remain of the view it proves my point but there we go. Had I compared him to Ronaldo or Bale then you might have had a point.
If you go on YouTube and watch the video of Martial's touches against Basel, it's largely damning in my opinion.
Everyone's desperate for him to do well, but we have to be realistic about what that means. People can't claim he's potentially World Class then say that performance was anything substantial.
He can't be held to a too-high standard but at the same time be so highly regarded. Perhaps that's the problem.
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Not really, no. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was criticized year round for his poor finishing despite being our highest scorer and stand out player last season, Pogba was criticized for his casual approach to dribbling, long range shooting and lack of output despite people knowing what a monster of a player he is. Chris Smalling was Mike Maldini not long ago under LvG. Now he is crap and should be sold the first chance we get. Mkhitaryan and Mata are being criticized in their respective threads right now despite former leading the charts with assists and the latter being decent in the games he has played. Fellaini comes on and, more often than not, does well and, at times, gets us some very crucial goals and yet he is butchered every time he doesn't manage to shine. Herrera was POTY last year and is now an average midfielder who cannot take the games by scruff of their neck after the Stoke game. Lingard is never going to be United material no matter how many important goals he scores and Rashford is criticized for his finishing and aimless running and people start calling for Martial to start as soon as Rashford has one bad game despite him being only 19 and consistently involved in changing games.
Martial is being held to the same standards other players are held to. The United standard. You have to perform well and perform well consistently to be free of criticism (Matic, Valencia, De Gea and now Pogba). And the fact is, it's been over a year and half now since Martial performed well in two consecutive starts (not sub appearance mind you).
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Really? How's that?
Rashford is being compared to MBappe and Dembele and being criticised. Yet Martial is older and is supposed to have the higher ceiling of the two.
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Because every time he has a quiet game people flood in here with ott criticisms. I remember the game against Anderlecht last season when he came on for a 10 minute cameo and people were going mental in his matchday thread about his attitude even though he had next to no time to impose himself.
And why bring does Rashford get bought into EVERY conversation about Martial. I've said it before but it seems like people can't praise one without criticising the other. It's ridiculous really.
Fair points on Ibrahimovic and Mkhi actually. I disagree with the others though, particularly Rashford, Fellaini and Pogba, the vast majority tend to be fair with them imo. People on this forum seem very protective of Rashford for instance. Fellaini's been criticised in the past for his brainless moments but when he plays well like he has done recently, the talk around him is mainly positive. With Martial it seems like some are just waiting for him to have a semi quiet game before rushing into his thread to pass judgement. He isn't afforded the same inconsistencies that his peers are which just seems unfair to me.
His off the ball movement and runs just isn't good enough. Yeah it's exciting watching him run with the ball but you have to do more, it's that simple.
100% agree with this. He only seems to come alive with the ball at his feet.
Lukaku & Rashford are much better with their movement. I'm sorry to bring them up but that's the two positions Martial can fight for. The reason why he is falling short is clear. The clamour for him to start after scoring goals once the context of the game is changed by others is a bit tedious.
100% agree with this. He only seems to come alive with the ball at his feet.
Lukaku & Rashford are much better with their movement. I'm sorry to bring them up but that's the two positions Martial can fight for. The reason why he is falling short is clear. The clamour for him to start after scoring goals once the context of the game is changed by others is a bit tedious.
On the Anderlecht game, it wasn't about imposing himself. The game was 1-1 and our players were tired. Had Anderlecht scored one goal we would have needed two goals in the remaining time to go through. This from a side that hadn't be scoring goals all season. Our freshest player, Zlatan, had blown his cruciate and had so had Rojo in the first half. So our game changing sub options were already massively limited.
Martial then came on to stroll about the pitch like he's 3-0 up playing for Barca. And I remember Jose having a go at him at ET half time and so it wasn't just the fans.
You made the point about Martial getting treated harsher than other squad members. I made the point that Rashford is being compared and criticised against Mbappe and Dembele, despite it being Martial who is older and supposedly the superior player.
So no, Martial is not being treated more harshly than everyone else.
Man Utd 4:0 Everton
He's sensational. Left 3 of them on his heels 
The boy is pure magic.
He's a genius.
That skill 
I love how he took the ball to take the penalty. Deserved a goal
I love how he took the ball to take the penalty. Deserved a goal
Great skill. Good cameo.
Gif please...please!!!
What a player, played 4 mins - won penalty and scored it.
Whoever is coming as a sub is scoring.
Whoever is coming as a sub is scoring.
So he'll start the next PL game and Rashford will score. Then vice versa - rinse and repeat
his technical ability is just
Though he shifted to the left on the run - him starting that move centrally showed why it makes him much less readable & he has considerate less work to do to take a shot.
Never a LW.
Never a LW.
Cool penalty He's got a great record at them.
He's got a great record at them.Glad he took the penalty and scored, and glad that he demanded to take it and wasn't allowed to take it by Lukaku. Good attitude to have.
I say him and Rashford should both start on the bench. They're unstoppable when they come on at the end of the game.
I say him and Rashford should both start on the bench. They're unstoppable when they come on at the end of the game.
Rasford is a local lad for me and love his rise but I've got a soft spot for the lad! My favourite United attacker!
I can't believe we've such strength in depth.
Shame he didnt perform against Basel, needs to cement that place. He has got a lot of ability.
Rashford and Lingard being ahead of him in the pecking order is taking the piss
Does he get a goal and assist for that?
I love him. Such a joy to watch. The Martial v Rashford debate continues, but Martial is far superior in my eyes. I'm glad we have both of them of course.
Lingard isn't, was a purely tactical move which worked to a degree. We probably made the wrong subs at the wrong times though.
- Status