Martial has shown signs of improvement in his consistency this season and that's just the start. He's clearly improved his left foot and heading ability. He is still not the best off the ball but has certainly shown improvement in that area. His work rate is noticeably higher and has been pretty much all season.As i've said previously, James is better of the LW and does what we can off the RW.
We haven't had a RW for years, thats another topic altogether.
This is a thread about Martial.
Martial is inconsistent and when he's not at it, he's non existent in games. Thats regardless of who else is playing. He's a classic hot or cold player. Thats my issue with him. When he isnt bang on top form, he might as well not be playing because he doesn't contribute in other areas.
I understand the viewpoints that strikers needs supply etc etc but that doesnt effect my viewpoint on Martial. My issue with Martial is consistency. Always has been.
He's super talented and a great dribbler. He can finish, he can link play. He's a good striker, but a level below what we ideally need there. He's not shown signs of improving the consistency either
Martial has roughly the same number of goals from open play this season as Rashford yet he's constantly shat on by people like your good self because you have already made your mind up on him.
It's like the Pogba situation for me, he's one of our best and most talented players who, like any other player in our squad, deserves fair criticism. Unfortunately, people are unwilling to look at the bigger picture, our squad has not been consistent and has not been full of quality.
Now that we finally have a team with some quality and creativity, I fully expect Martial to become more consistent and more effective. Up until the end of January he was being supplied by Fred, McTominay, Perreira, Lingard, James, etc. I like all of these players for one reason or another but there is absolutely no doubting that they have not provided that chances that a top class striker deserves.
I do agree that Martial is currently a level below what we need to challenge for major titles but given the improvents he has made to his own game and the overall improvement in quality throughout the squad, I'm confident he will become the striker we need.