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Anthony Martial France flag

2019-20 Performances


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6.2 Season Average Rating
Appearances
48
Goals
23
Assists
8
Yellow cards
1
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My only complaint about Martial is that he has to work harder off the ball. Especially when we have the ball wide. He likes to check in to receive the ball with his back to goal, but once he passes it off and it gets out wide he is rarely busting a gut to get inside the 6. If he can add the "tap in" goals to his CV he will score 30+ per year in all comps...
 
He's a great supporting cast, but put him in the lead role he'll bound to hiccups.

The kind of player that shows brilliance on and off, only to slide back to mediocrity again and again. His improvement isnt constant and steady.

I dont think he's a first xi material, first xi in the sense compared to players like zlatan, aguero, henry. The kind of players you can bank on 38 games to perform if you're chasing the league. I hope I'm wrong but i dont think he can manage his form and he'll slide back down a notch in the near future.
 
My only complaint about Martial is that he has to work harder off the ball. Especially when we have the ball wide. He likes to check in to receive the ball with his back to goal, but once he passes it off and it gets out wide he is rarely busting a gut to get inside the 6. If he can add the "tap in" goals to his CV he will score 30+ per year in all comps...
He will get there but it will take a little time, those instinctive runs aren't natural yet for him
 
My only complaint about Martial is that he has to work harder off the ball. Especially when we have the ball wide. He likes to check in to receive the ball with his back to goal, but once he passes it off and it gets out wide he is rarely busting a gut to get inside the 6. If he can add the "tap in" goals to his CV he will score 30+ per year in all comps...
This is why I think he's naturally a better number 10 or second striker.

He's not really a natural poacher, but he's a good finisher. He naturally lives to get on the ball and is very good in the link up play. Look back at the 1st and 3rd goals against Sheffield and it all comes from his link/hold up play. Somebody like Haaland ahead of him to be the tap in / finishing touch would work nicely.

As you say though when the going gets tough, Martial just needs to unlock that extra 10% of grit to get us into the match. He's a bit too laid back sometimes, same issue I had with Lukaku. Football is always played better with a bit of aggression in a controlled manner.
 
He's a great supporting cast, but put him in the lead role he'll bound to hiccups.

The kind of player that shows brilliance on and off, only to slide back to mediocrity again and again. His improvement isnt constant and steady.

I dont think he's a first xi material, first xi in the sense compared to players like zlatan, aguero, henry. The kind of players you can bank on 38 games to perform if you're chasing the league. I hope I'm wrong but i dont think he can manage his form and he'll slide back down a notch in the near future.

Not saying martial is at the level of these players however i feel its a bit unfair to judge him in that manner. The difference is players like aguero have always been surrounded by immense quality at most stages of their career. Zlatan and henry alike. We cant even say the same about martial who we expect to be consistent 38 games in a row because we dont have the quality anywhere else. Just look at the sheffield United game for instance, we had a midfield of pereira and Fred. where do you think zlatan, aguero and henry would finish if they had those 2 consistently playing for them a whole season? To make matters worse we dont even have a bench that could come on and do a Job.

Its why its very hard for me to judge how good he is when you take in consideration of our team status. Still I believe he is doing very well this season. The sheffield game wasnt great but it wasn't terrible when you add context of that first half formation and the performance of the whole team alike. We also could have won if it wasn't for their luck at the end. By the end of the season we will be able to tell if he is good enough or not after he's had more games to be consistent.
 
He's a great supporting cast, but put him in the lead role he'll bound to hiccups.
The kind of player that shows brilliance on and off, only to slide back to mediocrity again and again. His improvement isnt constant and steady.
I dont think he's a first xi material, first xi in the sense compared to players like zlatan, aguero, henry. The kind of players you can bank on 38 games to perform if you're chasing the league. I hope I'm wrong but i dont think he can manage his form and he'll slide back down a notch in the near future.
Based on all that we've seen he's not a "great" anything. I'd love to dispel this illusion otherwise intelligent Utd fans have about this guy but i lack the formidability. There is NOTHING THERE. We have seen all evidence of what might be hoped to be elicited from him and the sum total is DISAPPOINTING and can only best be expressed in BLOCK CAPITALS. FORGET feckING MARTIAL. HE WILL ULTIMATELY ALWAYS LET YOU DOWN.
 
Give him time and space then Martial can be devastating. Mark him tightly and a baby kitten has more bite. Not what we need for a main striker if we're serious about winning things. If he added aggression to his game and upped his work rate then we could have a hell of a player but what's the chances?
 
Disclaimer, think this guy is just quality and it's been a shame about how he was in and out of team, shifted around for the last 3-4 years. Even in his first season from what I can recall, he ended up moving more out to the wing to accommodate Rashford in the middle towards the end. To me it's hard to expect consistency from young players in those circumstances.

That said, despite the circumstances, I do think the one thing he had control was even if his performances were not good game to game, the one thing he could have done better was fight a bit harder and not get down. Not talking about the whole smiling thing, that's just a stupid stick to beat him with, he doesn't need to smile but, effort can still be there.

However, so far this season, I think there is a marked difference in him attitude wise. He keeps going and is pressing very intelligently. For the Sheffield game, I don't particularly get the criticism of him being anonymous. That happens when the the team can't get the ball to the forward players. That first half, De Gea had more touches than James, Rashford and Martial combined. Martial was doing his job as our striker and making his runs and keeping the backline occupied. If anything it should have been Rashford/James that should have found a way to get more involved by coming deeper.

People need to keep in mind that strikers live off what is going on behind them, if they are not getting the ball, unless you spend the match just following them on the pitch, they will seem anonymous. At least with Martial we have a striker that will not only do well holding up the ball but, also can finish and play that more intricate football. If he can stay fit and Ole doesn't decide to shift him in and out, could finally be a consistent world beater he has the potential to be.
 
Some of you people have it for him :lol:
Really? I see lots of blind fanboy-ism, and also lots of balanced posts that look at both the good and the bad.

But nothing that jumps out as being wholly negative.

Martial is obviously not a world class player right now. It's only right that people should be able to discuss the areas where his weaknesses are holding him back.
 
Really? I see lots of blind fanboy-ism, and also lots of balanced posts that look at both the good and the bad.

But nothing that jumps out as being wholly negative.

Martial is obviously not a world class player right now. It's only right that people should be able to discuss the areas where his weaknesses are holding him back.

Really? Just read @Needham post, he even had the courtesy to SPELL OUT HIS NEGATIVITY IN CAPITAL LETTERS!
 
Based on all that we've seen he's not a "great" anything. I'd love to dispel this illusion otherwise intelligent Utd fans have about this guy but i lack the formidability. There is NOTHING THERE. We have seen all evidence of what might be hoped to be elicited from him and the sum total is DISAPPOINTING and can only best be expressed in BLOCK CAPITALS. FORGET feckING MARTIAL. HE WILL ULTIMATELY ALWAYS LET YOU DOWN.
Clueless - both the point and the way it's put across.
 
Really? Just read @Needham post, he even had the courtesy to SPELL OUT HIS NEGATIVITY IN CAPITAL LETTERS!
Apologies @Suedesi Find the guy exasperating and too sporadic. Numerous managers haven't been able to get much of a tune out of him. Mourinho instantaneously upping Dele Alli's performances are a reminder that the issue is Martial not the coach.
 
Ok. I personally love Martial, I think he is a class above all of our player's bar pogba. Like previously mentioned this is a dire team, rooney, ronaldo, tevez, berbatov used to be our front 4 nevermind our midfield and defence. This lack of quality not only affects him but all of our better players, e.g rashford, pogba, maguire, de gea as so much is expected of them.

For example, put the current de gea in the 2010/11 season and we win the league not lose on points difference. My point being those good quality players will bring the best out of the players. Rooney struggled in his last few years as the quality around dropped, not slightly but drastically and its no surprise that he had his last great season playing alongside RVP.

For Martial to prove he is truly worthy of United no 9 shirt, he needs to score more, he is to be fair to him great at linking up play and creating chances for others, specifically rashford. However, how much better do I think he could be? Personally I believe if surrounded by players of similar quality, which unfortunately we are severely lacking across defence, midfield and attack, I believe he could be deadly. I don't think he will ever be a 30+ goals a season striker. Not to say he can't achieve this a couple of times but in comparison to harry kane for example... But i do believe hes more than capable of 20+ and 15 assists. I believe he under-appreciated and the lack of quality around just like pogba frustrates him as the chances he creates for others are rarely replicated for him.

James and Mctominay lindelof shaw and wan bissaka have done well, (specifically wan bisska and mctominay who are great at covering ground and making tackles, exceptional even) but overall all lack the combined quality expected of united to create chances, win tackles, dominate possession, play cute accurate penetrating passes and dominate aerials balls.

frankly, put Martial and rashford and pogba into a quality team and they will thrive. these are the players we must keep and build our team around.
 
He puts the rest of the team under pressure with his complete disinterest in the game at virtually all times, but he's still our 6th or 7th best player because he's so talented. Badly needs the right manager to diagnose his problems with movement and reading play.

A top 10 striker in the Prem in certain situations (basically if the opponents have a fairly high line and his teammates can get him the ball to feet and not back to goal or with crosses) and a bottom 5 striker in the Prem whenever the ball is out wide or the other team is sitting deep.

We have money so no real need to sell, but I think getting 80M for him and spending half on a competent midfielder and half on a #9 who works for the team and can attack a cross would make us a better team.
This is nothing more than shite talk. Getting rid of Martial instantly weakens us, never mind the bargain basement replacement you have in mind.
 
He's a great supporting cast, but put him in the lead role he'll bound to hiccups.

The kind of player that shows brilliance on and off, only to slide back to mediocrity again and again. His improvement isnt constant and steady.

I dont think he's a first xi material, first xi in the sense compared to players like zlatan, aguero, henry. The kind of players you can bank on 38 games to perform if you're chasing the league. I hope I'm wrong but i dont think he can manage his form and he'll slide back down a notch in the near future.
I doubt Aguero has ever played 38 PL games, he generally plays around the 20 mark.
 
I doubt Aguero has ever played 38 PL games, he generally plays around the 20 mark.

But Augero would likely perform in 19 out of the 20 games. Martial not so much.

We need a lot more than to rely on him to lead our line. Even him and Rashford isn't really enough.
 
But Augero would likely perform in 19 out of the 20 games. Martial not so much.

We need a lot more than to rely on him to lead our line. Even him and Rashford isn't really enough.
Nonsense. I'm of the opinion that Aguero is up there with Henry, Shearer, Rooney, etc, but if you genuinely think that Aguero is class in 19 out of 20 games, you're out of you're fecking mind.

Martial has aspects of his game he can improve upon, that being said, he's probably our best player. This season, he has been consistently good, I'm not really sure why there are so many nay sayers around at the moment.
 
But Augero would likely perform in 19 out of the 20 games. Martial not so much.

We need a lot more than to rely on him to lead our line. Even him and Rashford isn't really enough.

I know a lot of excuses get made for Martial, but I can't help but think how much better he'd look in a well coached team. We create so few chances.

We should definitely be in the market for another striker though.
 
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Nonsense. I'm of the opinion that Aguero is up there with Henry, Shearer, Rooney, etc, but if you genuinely think that Aguero is class in 19 out of 20 games, you're out of you're fecking mind.

Martial has aspects of his game he can improve upon, that being said, he's probably our best player. This season, he has been consistently good, I'm not really sure why there are so many nay sayers around at the moment.

Not that he's always class, but he'd perform. Augeros general work rate and performance levels are extremely consistent. You can see his energy and generally polished play in most games he features in, even if he's not able to penetrate the defence as much or get on the end of a goal.

Martial however has too many games where he's struggling to not only impact the game but would have inconsistent first touches and can be anonymous way more times than someone like Augero. He doesn't come close in the way he Augero hustles the defence off the ball either. In fact I'm chuckling that they're even in the same class to be compared with in the first place :lol:

And this argument that he's one of our best attackers really means feck all. We have Dan James and Rashford in that benchmark and the standards of this club is far higher. These are players who aren't as established yet and need to be around more polished players to develop themselves further. Not carry the burden on their own.

I know a lot of excuses get made for Martial, but I can't help but think how much better he'd look in a well coached team. We create so few chances.

We should definitely be in the market for another striker though.
He's been coached by 3 managers now and all have varying philosophies.

And to avoid offending some serious fans of his, I'm making it clear that he has all the talent but his inconsistencies and rawness currently doesn't make him as dependable as some think on the caf. He's no Son, or Lacazette or Kane or Vardy etc. He might be one day but he needs to show that very soon at 24.

I agree he needs better players around him, the fault isn't all his own. But this is how it looks to me at the moment anyway.
 
He hasnt been great but hes been better than Rooney was the season we first had him lead the line. Very much a work in progress and I havent seen real striker instincts from him yet
 
Not that he's always class, but he'd perform. Augeros general work rate and performance levels are extremely consistent. You can see his energy and generally polished play in most games he features in, even if he's not able to penetrate the defence as much or get on the end of a goal.

Martial however has too many games where he's struggling to not only impact the game but would have inconsistent first touches and can be anonymous way more times than someone like Augero. He doesn't come close in the way he Augero hustles the defence off the ball either. In fact I'm chuckling that they're even in the same class to be compared with in the first place :lol:

And this argument that he's one of our best attackers really means feck all. We have Dan James and Rashford in that benchmark and the standards of this club is far higher. These are players who aren't as established yet and need to be around more polished players to develop themselves further. Not carry the burden on their own.


He's been coached by 3 managers now and all have varying philosophies.

And to avoid offending some serious fans of his, I'm making it clear that he has all the talent but his inconsistencies and rawness currently doesn't make him as dependable as some think on the caf. He's no Son, or Lacazette or Kane or Vardy etc. He might be one day but he needs to show that very soon at 24.

I agree he needs better players around him, the fault isn't all his own. But this is how it looks to me at the moment anyway.
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Chuckle away, you made the comparison.
 
I know it's massively simplifying things, but these two facts just make me highly pessimistic:

1. His first season back in 2015 was by far his best.
2. He hasn't looked hungry for more than 2 months a season since that season.

Those things alone are near enough to make you want to give up on him, imo.
 
Give him time and space then Martial can be devastating. Mark him tightly and a baby kitten has more bite. Not what we need for a main striker if we're serious about winning things. If he added aggression to his game and upped his work rate then we could have a hell of a player but what's the chances?
Actually not true. Martial is one of the few that doesn't need space and most adept at dealing with the tight marking, unlike Rashford, Lingard and James that need time and open field to run into.
 
Went on fully invisible mode 2 games in a row now. Can't get himself to perform just few matches in a row.

I said it previously but the fact our 2 best players are Martial and Pogba, 2 players who blow hot and cold so much is one of the reasons why we're that poor.
 
He is the only technically capable attacker we have but he needs to force himself on the game more.
 
He is the most inconsistent player in our squad, no way he can be first choice striker with attitude like his.
 
Miss of the season from him today. Worst one I've seen in 40 years. If that doesn't convince Solskjaer we need a proper goal scorer what will?
 
Martial FC will still try to convince people he is the best thing since pele.
 
Thought he actually tried quite well today. Pressed the defence quite well, made some decent runs whenever midfielders like Fred or Mata made a pass and did well dribbling against the opposition.

Should have done better than that finish from close by even though the keeper was right in front of him.
 
He doesn’t give a shit. Which is why when things are going well for him he’ll look great and when it’s not he’s worse than having nobody there.
 
Played decently. Far from our worst performer, actually he seems to gradually develop into his role as a striker. I've seen some things from him that I wasn't sure he had in his locker. I think he'll develop nicely in this position from here on out. I don't see any reason to be negative towards him right now. Needs to get in the box during crosses, but it's hard because he is both the creator and the finisher in this setup.
 
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