[Kostur]

Back to mindless dribbling and ball shielding that doesn't really create anything, it's the same ol' shit with him unfortunately.

I genuinely struggle to name more than one aspect of his game that has improved since his time here.

 

[KM]

Really chopping it back after running on to it counts as enough to make you one of the best players he laid the ball off to Gomes and ran on to an overhit pass.

It is worry that that was still a lot better than what Martial in the whole half and in both of the preseason matches.

 

[Fer]

I wasn't able to watch the game... Do you consider he would be better as left winger or striker?

 

[Black Adder]

Good penalty and some flicks, but overall to little for a starting spot.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Not looking sharp at all, while many others of his teammates are.

What have he been doing in trainings so far... has to do better next game.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

It is worry that that was still a lot better than what Martial in the whole half and in both of the preseason matches.

Alright end of discussion not going to bother you can see it your way, the blatantly wrong way and I’ll see it my way.

 

[UncleBob]

It's certainly becoming a meme now that Martial is never to be blamed for his average performances by some of his fanbase in this thread. Now that he's playing as a striker, it's suddenly those who are behind which are the problem.

Some will defend everything, some will complain about everything.

 

[Chunk of hope]

Why are people already on his back on here for 2, 45min pre-season games with 2 different line-ups ? it's crazy how so many of you are criticizing players so early on in pre-season.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Given that how he looked last season under Ole I am certainly worried

To be honest so am I, but I'm trying to give everyone a clean slate until the end of pre-season. As difficult as that is with some of them.

 

[KM]

Alright end of discussion not going to bother you can see it your way, the blatantly wrong way and I’ll see it my way.

Cool. One cursory read of this thread will tell you who's wrong and who's right but I suppose it's difficult to assess the performance rightly when you support an individual more than the club.

 

[KM]

To be honest so am I, but I'm trying to give everyone a clean slate until the end of pre-season. As difficult as that is with some of them.

Any sane person will see that he's been average in the two matches and need to up his game. Let's hope he does that.

 

[passing-wind]

Martial has been rubbish under Solskjaer all together. There's every chance he's an Ozil type and needs a savage negative manager to get him firing. If that's the case he won't make it at this club because he should be motivated to play irrespective of who's coaching.

Football players are an absolute embarrassment nowadays, it's like they take no pride in their profession it's a short career make the most out of it. The passion has died out of the game because all the superlatives in financial resources and celebrity status. Beckham / Ronaldo are the perfect exemplification that you can balance the celebrity aspect with the professional requirements to succeed. Nothing but collecting cheques useless individuals.

 

[Raven]

Does anyone else think he's filled out quite significantly? Could it be because he'll be used mainly as a striker this season?

 

[DarkChild™]

What's the fan base turned into? This is preseason people! No need to judge any player. Thought it more interesting that there seems to be an elaborate style of play being implemented. Do people seriously think the teams being put out are anything close to the starting 11 vs Chelsea?

 

[Toni's Left Foot]

Talented player but shows no hunger or ambition.

I doubt whether losing a game of football bothers him that much.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Cool. One cursory read of this thread will tell you who's wrong and who's right but I suppose it's difficult to assess the performance rightly when you support an individual more than the club.

Jesus can it not just be that people watch closer and see the things you miss. All these debates always have to turn in to some sort of slander or disrespect. So because I see the runs he makes, the nice bits of hold up and bringing others in to the game I now apparently support a player more than the club wow.

 

[M Bison]

Average again. Didn’t see anything which would mean he should play over Greenwood or rashy.

 

[He'sRaldo]

I thought he played the forward role better than Rashford, his hold up play and strength was quite good, as well as his runs. Rashford, however, seemed more dynamic and fitter than him, and perhaps due to more space on the counter he was able to score & almost assist.

Very nice to see competition for places, interesting to see who comes out on top in the end.

 

[bosnian_red]

What's the fan base turned into? This is preseason people! No need to judge any player. Thought it more interesting that there seems to be an elaborate style of play being implemented. Do people seriously think the teams being put out are anything close to the starting 11 vs Chelsea?

I think theres definite partnerships that Ole is looking at developing... Pogba linking up with McTominay, Wan Bissaka and Rashford primarily. But also 2 games in a row that Greenwood has been that other guy starting from the right alongside those, and while he might not start the season as a regular there, can see him finish it as one.

Martial has so far been the 2nd striker, but I think come the season he'll start on the left with Lingard/James/Mata starting on the right. Makes sense for now having Rashford/Martial separate as you don't want to just throw Greenwood, Gomes, Chong and James all in the same side without more experienced heads, so Martial is the starting caliber striker to help out Chong and Gomes(same with Lingard).

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Jesus can it not just be that people watch closer and see the things you miss. All these debates always have to turn in to some sort of slander or disrespect. So because I see the runs he makes, the nice bits of hold up and bringing others in to the game I now apparently support a player more than the club wow.

Bit rich for you to accuse anyone else of missing stuff when you said that Chong achieved nothing in a game where he won a penalty with a neat piece of skill.

Anyway. Martial. Distinctly “meh” performance. Took his penalty well and I’d like to think there’s a good player in there somewhere. Needs to buck up his ideas though. He’a not a kid any more.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

I thought he played the forward role better than Rashford, his hold up play and strength was quite good, as well as his runs. Rashford, however, seemed more dynamic and fitter than him, and perhaps due to more space on the counter he was able to score & almost assist.

Very nice to see competition for places, interesting to see who comes out on top in the end.

He's a better CF than Rashford in my opinion, as is Lukaku.

I'd have Rashford as Utd's 3 best CF currently.

 

[DarkChild™]

I think theres definite partnerships that Ole is looking at developing... Pogba linking up with McTominay, Wan Bissaka and Rashford primarily. But also 2 games in a row that Greenwood has been that other guy starting from the right alongside those, and while he might not start the season as a regular there, can see him finish it as one.

Martial has so far been the 2nd striker, but I think come the season he'll start on the left with Lingard/James/Mata starting on the right. Makes sense for now having Rashford/Martial separate as you don't want to just throw Greenwood, Gomes, Chong and James all in the same side without more experienced heads, so Martial is the starting caliber striker to help out Chong and Gomes(same with Lingard).

Exactly! There's a balance to the player selection, player partnerships and systems to try. This is preseason. 2 games in and already players are being judged. We should see a more settled first 11 maybe last 2 preseason games. Early days for now.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Bit rich for you to accuse anyone else of missing stuff when you said that Chong achieved nothing in a game where he won a penalty with a neat piece of skill.

Anyway. Martial. Distinctly “meh” performance. Took his penalty well and I’d like to think there’s a good player in there somewhere. Needs to buck up his ideas though. He’a not a kid any more.

Don’t believe I said he achieved nothing. Because Chong did have some good runs that were nearly something, nearly got on the ball. He had a decent game but I would have said Martial had a better game but seems some think that 1 chop back that wins you a penalty is some sort of golden chariot.

Martial picked up a lot of positions that fill in for others like how he found himself covering out on the right when Lingard and Gomes had pushed on, or when similarly dropped in to midfield and covered a position add that to his hold up and link up play then for me that was better than what other were producing.

Obviously people see football in many different ways which explains why so many thought Carrick was rubbish for the longest time and why somehow people were convinced Bailly and Rojo were world class and that Valencia was the best RB in the world.

But martial is a divisive figure hence why you get people that don’t like him going on about Martial FC and trying to say people support a player more than the club which is a ridiculous accusation like something a child would come up with.

Should add in no way am I saying his performance today was brilliant but there were a lot of poor performers for me in that 2nd half and as a whole we weren’t playing as well or implementing the same things we did against Perth.

 

[Dazzmondo]

Could only see the highlights unfortunately but considering he was played at striker again I'm not surprised he was again underwhelming. Team performance overall sounded great but I wish Ole would just play Martial on the left. This striker experiment will never work

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He is still the same player we bought 4 years ago.

His short passing game at times is so sloppy, it's infuriating.

Pretty sure he covered the least amount of ground again.

 

[Rajma]

Can anyone imagine him making same supportive run from the deep that James did today when he hit the post? Players like Mane, Salah, Ronaldo, Rooney they matched their abilities with similar drive and determination go get on the end of any chances. That’s exactly what boy is missing and he doesn’t seem to get it cause I sincerely doubt coaches are not telling him this.

I was really impressed when he first came in but since he never improved on his major flaws which is very disappointing as those negatives are not as much talent related and are fixable.

 

[haram]

Can anyone imagine him making same supportive run from the deep that James did today when he hit the post? Players like Mane, Salah, Ronaldo, Rooney they matched their abilities with similar drive and determination go get on the end of any chances. That’s exactly what boy is missing and he doesn’t seem to get it cause I sincerely doubt coaches are not telling him this.

I was really impressed when he first came in but since he never improved on his major flaws which is very disappointing as those negatives are not as much talent related and are fixable.

Why would you change when you are barely criticised and have been rewarded with 250k a week.

 

[TwoSheds]

He is still the same player we bought 4 years ago.

His short passing game at times is so sloppy, it's infuriating.

Pretty sure he covered the least amount of ground again.

Basically this. Except he's maybe even lost a little pace I think. So incredibly bad at pressing and his runs off the ball are almost non existent. Can't believe he got a new contract really. I don't even know who would buy him off us with the wages he's supposedly on now.

 

[Raven]

I reckon people are in for a big surprise with Martial. He's an excellent player, went through some poor form at the tail end of the last 2 seasons. But he was absolutely class at the start of both seasons. Just needs consistency.

 

[WR10]

Last chance this season. If the younger plays don’t drive his hunger to perform he’s out to the highest bidder

 

[pocco]

Are you suggesting that Martial comes on and reads our musings on the CAF?

No, but I'm sure he checks social media. Its even worse on the likes of Twitter.

We are still here. He played behind Linagrd ffs. You guys need to value context when judging players.

He played through the middle, which was apparently just what he needed to get the most out of him. I'm not just talking today either, last game also. I said a while back but he is in real danger of losing his spot if James comes in and is full of energy and causes problems for the opposition. It's seemingly happening earlier than i expected too.

We don't watch friendly games.
But seriously, i still have faith that he will become our main attacking player. My opinion is that it is easier to fix your attitude than your skill.

You're not like the rest as you acknowledge that there seems to be an issue with his attitude. We're pretty much on the same page.

No idea why people aren't instantly threadbanned for tedious posts like this.

I just wanted to raise awareness of the issue when it is laid out clearly, as so many just can't recognise it. The energy and endeavor from most of our attackers today was there, except Martial. He's the only one that didn't look like he had a point to prove.

 

[DoomSlayer]

Martial instantly became one of my favourite players in the team with that debut performance against Liverpool. But I've realised some time ago that he truly has some attitude issues - just doesn't seem to be actively trying to adapt his game to the rest of the team and expects things to just happen as they were with Van Gaal.

The guy has incredible potential but isn't utilising even 50% of it, in my opinion, and it's mostly his own fault.

 

[Raven]

No, that's just how he plays football. The sooner people accepts the different styles of players the better. I didn't catch all of the match but from what I saw he held the ball well enough, passed reasonably well, made some good runs on the shoulder that were not found understandably because our best passer was not on the field. Nothing eyes catching but nothing to make a big drama out of it. If you don't prefer his style and like a more high energy style of running for example then say that. It's OK. Some people see it differntly and value things other than running in the performance. What's the problem with that?
But because he don't run in a way to make you feel comfortable suddenly he don't want to prove anything and the Martial FC cannot recognize it? That is nonsense and full of rubbish.

Rashford is more of an advanced forward, constantly on the shoulder of the last defender looking for the ball in behind. Martial is more of a complete/modern forward. Comes deep, links up play, attacks space with the ball at his feet and a few runs in behind.

I personally prefer this type of forward, but understandably, it's a more complicated role to play. Given that you can count Martial's appearances as a striker on one hand over the last 3 seasons, it's only really to be expected that he is a little rusty there.

Edit: He was also pressing as hard as anyone else in that second half. This thrown together argument that he wasn't putting in the effort today is clearly agenda driven.

 

[Canagel]

No, but I'm sure he checks social media. Its even worse on the likes of Twitter.



He played through the middle, which was apparently just what he needed to get the most out of him. I'm not just talking today either, last game also. I said a while back but he is in real danger of losing his spot if James comes in and is full of energy and causes problems for the opposition. It's seemingly happening earlier than i expected too.



You're not like the rest as you acknowledge that there seems to be an issue with his attitude. We're pretty much on the same page.



I just wanted to raise awareness of the issue when it is laid out clearly, as so many just can't recognise it. The energy and endeavor from most of our attackers today was there, except Martial. He's the only one that didn't look like he had a point to prove.

No, that's just how he plays football. The sooner people accepts the different styles of players the better. I didn't catch all of the match but from what I saw he held the ball well enough, passed reasonably well, made some good runs on the shoulder that were not found understandably because our best passer was not on the field. Nothing eyes catching but nothing to make a big drama out of it. If you don't prefer his style and like a more high energy style of running for example then say that. It's OK. Some people see it differntly and value things other than high energy running in the performance. What's the problem with that?
But because he don't run in a way to make you feel comfortable suddenly he don't want to prove anything and the Martial FC cannot recognize it? That is nonsense and full of rubbish.

 

[KennyBurner]

Martial instantly became one of my favourite players in the team with that debut performance against Liverpool. But I've realised some time ago that he truly has some attitude issues - just doesn't seem to be actively trying to adapt his game to the rest of the team and expects things to just happen as they were with Van Gaal.

The guy has incredible potential but isn't utilising even 50% of it, in my opinion, and it's mostly his own fault.

I think this was his biggest problem last season. Its still to early to know if he is getting along with oles style of play or not. I'd like to see him against Inter milan when we have a much better team. Anyone would find it difficult playing with our reserves.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

50 million down the drain

As Mason Greenwood scores again?

 

[SadlerMUFC]

In a game of football you might get 70 touches on the ball if you're lucky. Of those 70 touches you may have the ball for 3-4 seconds. So that means in a 90 minute game of football you have the ball for roughly 280 seconds or less than 5 minutes. So what does that mean? It means that you have to be thinking all the time and looking for space. Basically, most of the game is played without the ball at your feet so you have to get creative. Martial just doesn't have a good footballing brain. His work off the ball is so basic. He doesn't make runs. All he does is check in for the ball. As a winger (I know he's been playing as a striker so far on tour, but I don't see that continuing) you have the most space of any attacking player. But he just doesn't see it. "If" he still has any value left I would look to sell him and promote one of the youngsters. Martial really has regressed season after season since he first arrived. Maybe a move is what he needs to rejuvinate his career...

 

[Andersons Dietician]

In a game of football you might get 70 touches on the ball if you're lucky. Of those 70 touches you may have the ball for 3-4 seconds. So that means in a 90 minute game of football you have the ball for roughly 280 seconds or less than 5 minutes. So what does that mean? It means that you have to be thinking all the time and looking for space. Basically, most of the game is played without the ball at your feet so you have to get creative. Martial just doesn't have a good footballing brain. His work off the ball is so basic. He doesn't make runs. All he does is check in for the ball. As a winger (I know he's been playing as a striker so far on tour, but I don't see that continuing) you have the most space of any attacking player. But he just doesn't see it. "If" he still has any value left I would look to sell him and promote one of the youngsters. Martial really has regressed season after season since he first arrived. Maybe a move is what he needs to rejuvinate his career...

Check the 74th minute for his movement. As he makes 1 run for the defender then checks out and peels off and has completely lost the defender and finds himself in acres of space awaiting a simple pass from the “expert of world class movement” the pass never comes.

It wasn’t the last time in the game something like this happened and it was the same in the previous game. He and Lukaku are the only forwards we have with intelligent movement and make double or triple runs.

I think everyone would like more intensity and personally I think he’d get more goals if he would get in the 6 yarder instead of hovering or stopping a run around the penalty area for a cut back or lose ball. That’s just me as I’ve always liked going to a post instead of that.

 

[K13]

Check the 74th minute for his movement. As he makes 1 run for the defender then checks out and peels off and has completely lost the defender and finds himself in acres of space awaiting a simple pass from the “expert of world class movement” the pass never comes..

Really good observation and one I concur with. This happens time and time again .. was why I was very keen we got an Eriksen type player because his movement is too clever for some of our players and to take advantage of that we need a player who plays with their head up to make the pass instantly it is on not a second later when it has gone. Against Perth James had a chance to play him in early when the GK had left his right post with a significant gap and all Martial had to do was side foot the pass into the net as his body shape was ready to strike but James elected to take an extra touch and pass it across the 6 yard box. Martial was then hammered by the likes of Luckhurst for not being there. The GK had the angle on the cross covered. It is why Martial was the most clinical finisher in the PL last season.

Many fans will disagree I am sure but I see an excellent reader of the game someone who sees a couple of moves ahead. The only forward we have with that type of game. Ole has got it. He knows the player he has and what needs to be done hence the type of players he is trying to get in. If he had an attitude problem then I think he would have been shipped out long ago.

 

[pocco]

No, that's just how he plays football. The sooner people accepts the different styles of players the better. I didn't catch all of the match but from what I saw he held the ball well enough, passed reasonably well, made some good runs on the shoulder that were not found understandably because our best passer was not on the field. Nothing eyes catching but nothing to make a big drama out of it. If you don't prefer his style and like a more high energy style of running for example then say that. It's OK. Some people see it differntly and value things other than high energy running in the performance. What's the problem with that?
But because he don't run in a way to make you feel comfortable suddenly he don't want to prove anything and the Martial FC cannot recognize it? That is nonsense and full of rubbish.

Do you not think his 'style' is a problem if we're going for a high-energy, pressing style of play this season? Is he not capable of running more off the ball to make sure he gets a spot in the team? His first season, he was brilliant on the ball. As soon as he received it he was running at his man, trying things. Now it seems labored. It's like he's lost the spark to his play.