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Anthony Martial France flag

2019-20 Performances

View full 2019-20 profile

6.2 Season Average Rating
Appearances
48
Goals
23
Assists
8
Yellow cards
1
Status
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Been brilliant this season. Next season I expect him to hit the magic 20 goals mark.

I think he would love that as well. We need a striker who is a guarantee for 20+. He has showed he is on the right track.

Love that he gets pissed off when subbed off and everything about his play has been better.

Was a big critic but he has turned me around big time.
 
Bebestation said:
I dont get why that's down to Martial though?

One of Ole's main tactics is work rate - he joined the club and said he wants a high energy, high work rate team in the idea of having the ability to press and much more.

As a tactic Ole bought that to the team and Martial therefore adapted his gameplay to fit to it. That doesn't mean he changed his work rate purely because he improved his mental state - it shows that he is playing to a team tactic.

Mourinho and LVG weren't such a hard working team in comparison to Ole. Mourinho played very narrow and usually would rather have forwards track back (especially LW's and RW's) than face the opposition goal and work hard in that direction. Martial got called lazy for that because of the tactics that were played back then which individually highlighted players - Ole came and changed the team dynamic and tactics to a hard working team and Martial then adapted like alot of the other players.

I think his work rate has improved due to tactics just as much as everyone else in the squad and he was highlighted as lazy because the tactics we used during the past couple years wasn't primarily asking for that.
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Pressing from the front is a new knowledge for players.

Ole once said the lads are learning how to press from the front, they working extensively hard as a unit to apply it more in games.

It's up to the players to learn and adapt this approach.
 
JPRouve said:
That's only true for Mourinho, we had one of the hardest working team under LVG and it had better running stats than Ole's team. During LVG's last season we were 5th in terms of distance covered and this season before the restart we were 12th.
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I agree with you - (I'm a fan of LVG's period here much more than alot of people) I just added him to show a difference from the past of martial during LVG & Mourinho vs current management by Ole.

If I look back and try to remember during LVG's time - we were an organised team that would like to keep the passing of the ball to feet and I thought Martial was fantastic at that. I never really got or heard the lazy aspect back then because we were clearly playing with a tactic that involved the team as a whole trying to do all three of play, possession and positiong.

Mourinho on the other hand came in and his tactics were much more individualistic such as the whole team building there game towards goal scorers like Zlatan and Lukaku or at best CAM like mkhitaryan so they could be creative. On top of the individualistic approach, mourinho didnt play a game that suited Martial and Rashford as Mourinho has one tactic he aims to play at whatever club he is at; not necessarily adapting his tactics to get the best out of Martial/Rashford.


The laziness got pointed at during Mourinho's period because that 'team aspect' got replaced much more by individual aspects of a footballer - ie the ability for a winger to drop back and protect his fullback whilst Martial wasnt a winger in the first place.
 
Bebestation said:
I agree with you - (I'm a fan of LVG's period here much more than alot of people) I just added him to show a difference from the past of martial during LVG & Mourinho vs current management by Ole.

If I look back and try to remember during LVG's time - we were an organised team that would like to keep the passing of the ball to feet and I thought Martial was fantastic at that. I never really got or heard the lazy aspect back then because we were clearly playing with a tactic that involved the team as a whole trying to do all three of play, possession and positiong.

Mourinho on the other hand came in and his tactics were much more individualistic such as the whole team building there game towards goal scorers like Zlatan and Lukaku or at best CAM like mkhitaryan so they could be creative. On top of the individualistic approach, mourinho didnt play a game that suited Martial and Rashford as Mourinho has one tactic he aims to play at whatever club he is at; not necessarily adapting his tactics to get the best out of Martial/Rashford.


The laziness got pointed at during Mourinho's period because that 'team aspect' got replaced much more by individual aspects of a footballer - ie the ability for a winger to drop back and protect his fullback whilst Martial wasnt a winger in the first place.
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But the football was absolutely horrid.

Fell asleep everytime we're 0-0 deep in the game.
 
Bebestation said:
I agree with you - (I'm a fan of LVG's period here much more than alot of people) I just added him to show a difference from the past of martial during LVG & Mourinho vs current management by Ole.

If I look back and try to remember during LVG's time - we were an organised team that would like to keep the passing of the ball to feet and I thought Martial was fantastic at that. I never really got or heard the lazy aspect back then because we were clearly playing with a tactic that involved the team as a whole trying to do all three of play, possession and positiong.

Mourinho on the other hand came in and his tactics were much more individualistic such as the whole team building there game towards goal scorers like Zlatan and Lukaku or at best CAM like mkhitaryan so they could be creative. On top of the individualistic approach, mourinho didnt play a game that suited Martial and Rashford as Mourinho has one tactic he aims to play at whatever club he is at; not necessarily adapting his tactics to get the best out of Martial/Rashford.


The laziness got pointed at during Mourinho's period because that 'team aspect' got replaced much more by individual aspects of a footballer - ie the ability for a winger to drop back and protect his fullback whilst Martial wasnt a winger in the first place.
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Good points.

LVG's tactic is a lazy tactic though but he does emphasize work-rate and players always moving like chess pieces, as you've said. Team play.

Yeah, Martial doesn't fit Mourinho's version of wingers because he's not really like one of the traditional type of wingers who also do and good at doing the defensive aspects. Expecting a forward to suddenly be good at defending is lazy management by Mou.

Wish Mou would turn Martial into Hazard 2.0 as in less defensive works and actually he sort of did in 17/18 (with Lingard being Oscar 2.0) but he put a stop to it as soon as Sanchez arrived. Obviously they're not the same type of players, but function similarly in that season system.
 
SteveW said:
Manager challenges him to work harder. He works harder. I praise him for working harder. Martial FC takes it as a slight and insists he's working just as hard as always.

Whoevers idea it is, he's been putting in a shift and no longer looks "disinterested" to use your description. Long may it continue.
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He s improved his fitness over the last 18 months as has most of the team. All the players cover more ground now than they did under Mourinho. Mostly because we press now rather than sit deep.
Tbf, I thought Martial would struggle with the press because he never seemed to have great endurance. He improved his fitness massively and deserves credit for that.
 
I was looking for the player of the season thread but found this one first...

Got caught up thinking about Martial's contributions to the club this past PL season and I could go on and on praising this campaign of his. Improoved massively in every aspect: work rate, no doubt; mobility and space covering in attacking plays; beautiful goals, that one against city, watford's piece of magic; excellent numbers, also bagging some good assists; his skills are as high as they have ever been; ended up being our most in-form player and was consistent whenever he was available; connected beautifly with his teammates, Rashford, Bruno, Greenwood, Pogba.. you could even sense that the guy also improved his english skills! was sound in interviews.

Probably this post still belongs in the player of the season thread, because I cannot do otherwise but give him my vote. Can't wait to see him improving even further next season, nevermind picture him playing alongside the likes of Sancho.
 
Mick1 said:
He s improved his fitness over the last 18 months as has most of the team. All the players cover more ground now than they did under Mourinho. Mostly because we press now rather than sit deep.
Tbf, I thought Martial would struggle with the press because he never seemed to have great endurance. He improved his fitness massively and deserves credit for that.
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Absolutely. He looks the fittest and strongest he's ever been and he's actually been pressing better than Rashford over the last few weeks which few could have ever predicted. When everyone around him was starting to struggle with fatigue in the last couple of games he was still chasing everything (admittedly he got a rest v Chelsea).

He's also starting to bully centre halves more and more. Greenwood's goal against Villa is a great example. He tracked well into his own half to disposes Mings, instead of looking for a foul when he got knocked over he popped to his feet in a flash, beat a man and played it forward to Greenwood. Then sprinted 50 yards to catch up to play and provide the assist. Great to see.
 
SteveW said:
Absolutely. He looks the fittest and strongest he's ever been and he's actually been pressing better than Rashford over the last few weeks which few could have ever predicted. When everyone around him was starting to struggle with fatigue in the last couple of games he was still chasing everything (admittedly he got a rest v Chelsea).

He's also starting to bully centre halves more and more. Greenwood's goal against Villa is a great example. He tracked well into his own half to disposes Mings, instead of looking for a foul when he got knocked over he popped to his feet in a flash, beat a man and played it forward to Greenwood. Then sprinted 50 yards to catch up to play and provide the assist. Great to see.
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I think in the beginning it was Ole convincing him to do all the hard work. Now, however, Martial has seen that it comes with benefits and results and has started doing it by himself. Great stuff from all involved!
 
georgipep said:
I think in the beginning it was Ole convincing him to do all the hard work. Now, however, Martial has seen that it comes with benefits and results and has started doing it by himself. Great stuff from all involved!
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That's definitely how it looks to me. Under Jose there was never really anything for him to aim for. He could play well for a few months and end up replaced by Alexis. It's not incentivising.

Now that Ole's made him the main man he seems really engaged and excited about his football. Still shocking to think Jose tried to sell him on several occasions. Would have been such a waste.
 
SteveW said:
Absolutely. He looks the fittest and strongest he's ever been and he's actually been pressing better than Rashford over the last few weeks which few could have ever predicted. When everyone around him was starting to struggle with fatigue in the last couple of games he was still chasing everything (admittedly he got a rest v Chelsea).

He's also starting to bully centre halves more and more. Greenwood's goal against Villa is a great example. He tracked well into his own half to disposes Mings, instead of looking for a foul when he got knocked over he popped to his feet in a flash, beat a man and played it forward to Greenwood. Then sprinted 50 yards to catch up to play and provide the assist. Great to see.
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On the pressing generally think he’s been better at pressing for quite some time, not just the last few weeks. People only perceive pressing as running to the ball. Which is something Lingard and Rashford did a lot ie closing down.

Pressing is about getting yourself in positions to force risky passes out or be in a place to capitalise on a mistake. It doesn’t always involve just chasing someone down and I think he is the best at getting himself in to the right positions.

Hes been the best organiser of our pressing for over a season as you see him constantly organising the whole front line to get in positions do this and do that. Sometimes he’ll be the trigger man sometimes he won’t but his pressing is the best out of our current forwards easily.
 
It's a bit sad to see our arguably POTY for United not even winning a single Player of the Month trophy throughout the season. His performances have been nothing short of fantastic this season, the glue which has bound our young but deadly attack together. While I won't the deny the galvanizing effect of Bruno's signing on the squad, it has clearly launched Tony into another level in terms of performance and drive(the quality has always been there). He has been an absolute joy to watch after the restart. My POTY for the season, and just can't wait to see him lead our line next season.
 
Arka_BleedingRed said:
It's a bit sad to see our arguably POTY for United not even winning a single Player of the Month trophy throughout the season. His performances have been nothing short of fantastic this season, the glue which has bound our young but deadly attack together. While I won't the deny the galvanizing effect of Bruno's signing on the squad, it has clearly launched Tony into another level in terms of performance and drive(the quality has always been there). He has been an absolute joy to watch after the restart. My POTY for the season, and just can't wait to see him lead our line next season.
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Another way to look at is that it's a testament to his consistency this season (something that was missing before.) I agree that he is POTY and I think he is very much our best player.
 
Absolutely deserving of player of the month, thought he was the obvious choice. Fair play to Mason though.
 
Dribbling is a thing of beauty...especially when there is an end product!
 
Martial is the difference between a great dribbler and a skillful player. He doesn't have 5 star skills but his dribbling ability is brilliant.
 
is there any player in the league that is involved in more one-two goals than Martial
 
Wondering if he was pointing at Rashford or Ole - latter was having bit of chuckle after. Rashford didn't look all that thrilled :D - nice to have the internal rivalry to drive them on.
 
Martial just has that extra level of quality that can make the difference on night's like this. Stood out easily from the rest of the pack.
 
Shimo said:
Wondering if he was pointing at Rashford or Ole - latter was having bit of chuckle after. Rashford didn't look all that thrilled :D - nice to have the internal rivalry to drive them on.
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He was pointing at Ole. Martial was probably laughing at the super sub scoring thing which is what Ole is known for.
 
Might get 25 now.

Then everyone can stfu about that 25 goal striker that we allegedly still need.
 
marc1_007 said:
is there any player in the league that is involved in more one-two goals than Martial
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This is why I'm a bit worried about Sancho as a right footed RW. He could be pushed to the touchlines and have less one-two's with Martial in comparison to how he would play if he was cutting in on the left all the time.

His one-two ability is a great influence to having wider playing goalscorers like Rashford and Greenwood. For Martial's sake I hope Sancho joins and shows up as a predatory RW as Rashford/Greenwood are on their wings more so than a creative/crossing player which isnt exactly Martial's natural game (to be predatory waiting for crosses).
 
Was a man against boys moment when he stepped onto the pitch
 
Everything just comes natural to him now, a proper number 9 and I'd not be surprised ti see him kick on for France also.
 
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