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2020-21 Performances

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5.1 Season Average Rating
Appearances
36
Goals
7
Assists
5
Yellow cards
1
Red cards
1
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Martial was great last season. Don’t have a clue what’s up with him this season but he was dreadful last night - but Rashford was worse. Bruno was on par too.
feck everyone was awful. What went on? Did they expect an easy game even though this very Sheffield United team has given us a rotten time the last 3 times we’ve played.
 
dirkey said:
I agree with this, and I hope it does! I agree that he needs to be dropped for a while.

It's interesting - was it this thread .. but someone pointed out - Henderson came back, De Gea (till last night) has upped his game. Telles came in, Shaw upped his game.

Look at Martial since Cavani came in. Is it a mentality thing? Is he sulking? Who knows.
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I think given the year that's in it, it's difficult to speculate. I think he's shown excellent fight throughout his time here to push himself back into the team, to get his 9 back and to become our starting striker.

Clearly there is something affecting him mentally. Is it lock down? Is it having competition for his spot?

What's clear is that Ole doesn't give up on players very easily, especially those he rates highly, Martial will probably get to the end of the season to prove himself again at the very least I would imagine.
 
Lennon7 said:
Martial was great last season. Don’t have a clue what’s up with him this season but he was dreadful last night - but Rashford was worse. Bruno was on par too.
feck everyone was awful. What went on? Did they expect an easy game even though this very Sheffield United team has given us a rotten time the last 3 times we’ve played.
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Yeah everyone was trash, we deserved absolutely nothing from the game and that's everyone's fault but even as Martial's biggest fan, he needs some time on the bench more than any of his teammates.
 
Useless. The quicker we sell him and get an actual good CF the better we will be.
 
romufc said:
I am with you on this, I have been a Martial defender, still thought he will turn things around.

People say, he lacks service, that might be true but Cavani came on and our players almost found him 3/4 times, this is because he makes the runs. They say, the run makes the ball. If he isnt going to make runs, no one will play him the ball.

Every time he got played the ball, he had no idea what to do with it, our pressing was non existent. I am in the camp of sell him, replace him with a proper ST.
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Yeah, i am/was a big Martial fan....thought his potential was limitless, but he's regressed this season and his work rate seems to have also regressed. I just don't think he'll ever have the required desire and hunger to take him to the next level. That performance last night was inexcusable, IMO.
 
dirkey said:


This guy needs a LONG spell on the bench. And a few good hard kicks in training. Lazy mope. Absolutely sick of him. Rashford is also playing badly, but at least he tries, and he scores some goals. What exactly does Martial give us?

Cavani absolutely has to be first choice number 9 from this on in. This guy is simply not good enough. Squad player at the very best.
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He should be banished from the club for that alone, most football fans can forgive players who feck up when they at least try, a poor touch, a poor pass or whatever. He just looks like he has no interest in being out there.
 
Ish said:
Yeah, i am/was a big Martial fan....thought his potential was limitless, but he's regressed this season and his work rate seems to have also regressed. I just don't think he'll ever have the required desire and hunger to take him to the next level. That performance last night was inexcusable, IMO.
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I can accept players being out of form however; as a fan we cannot accept and excuse lack of effort. No player should play for this club with that attitude. We have supported him all season but instead of working hard trying to get his form, he is sulking.
 
romufc said:
I can accept players being out of form however; as a fan we cannot accept and excuse lack of effort. No player should play for this club with that attitude. We have supported him all season but instead of working hard trying to get his form, he is sulking.
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Stands around with his hands on his hips. WTF man. Agree. He's had 6 years here. It's not like he's not had chances.
 
Lennon7 said:
That stood out for me too. Rashford was fecking awful there.
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I just find it somewhat amusing that there's no boundaries to how people will describe Martial for his half arsed attempt at Sheffields second goal, yet compare it with what Rashford did in the above clip and the response that gets...Weird
 
I can understand being out of form but god what an abject performance devoid of any effort that was.

How has he regressed so much this season? He went from his best season and 20+ goals without pens last year, to literally his worst. I can’t understand it.
 
Not having a good game, a bad day that I can forgive. But not putting an effort, basically around the pitch, having a wee run every once in a while do it doesn't look to obvious and acting like he doesn't give a fuk. That I can't forget. And it's not the first time.
 
Rashford is definitely getting ripped apart in his own thread, deservedly so. But Rashford's poor performances doesn't really excuse Martial because all the time Rashford is the one being shunted around the pitch to accommodate this fecker's "best position" (What even IS Martial's best position???) and not the other way round.
 
UncleBob said:
I just find it somewhat amusing that there's no boundaries to how people will describe Martial for his half arsed attempt at Sheffields second goal, yet compare it with what Rashford did in the above clip and the response that gets...Weird
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You can’t criticise one and not the other for lack of effort. However both deserve a bit of a break.

I think Martial needs to see Cavani start ahead of him and not be played on the wing. He needs to see that effort level and lack of fight is not acceptable under any circumstances.
 
UncleBob said:
I just find it somewhat amusing that there's no boundaries to how people will describe Martial for his half arsed attempt at Sheffields second goal, yet compare it with what Rashford did in the above clip and the response that gets...Weird
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Its interesting people say Rashford gets less flak.
At the same time, this is the Martial thread, not the Rashford thread.

One had a good performance in the last game.
The other had his last good performance last season.

One thing I don't see mention of is the ludicrous positions he takes up. In the first half, he found himself standing a metre from Telles by the halfway line, despite us going forward. That leaves nobody central, why tf is he there? And then he strolls back.
Twice more he ends up randomly deep out wide or in central midfield.
It's almost like he wanders about aimlessly.

He's begun to disturb the team shape and flow.

Until he realizes that he needs to do more, he should stay benched.
 
Black Adder said:
Scholes said it best- he fooled us all last season into thinking we have a proper number 9 in our team.

When he's on form and motivated than he's brilliant to watch, but those moments are so rare and instead of going forward with his progress he's taking steps back in developing his game.

I can understand being out of form, but don't understand lack of effort. Jogging back or just staying still while everyone else run like crazy because of YOUR mistake should never be tolerated.

Get him out of the first eleven and play with 2 strikers, any combination of Rashford/Cavani/Greenwood is better than playing disinterested player.

Would go as far as looking at offloading him in the summer while we can get some money for him, he lost all credit he had with United in my eyes.
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Hes been supported and even coddled by the manager, given chance upon chance to find some form despite being off the boil all year and he responds with one of the most gutless performances i've ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

Relegate him to the bench and let him claw his way back into the team. If he cant, then he should be shipped off
 
spiriticon said:
Rashford is definitely getting ripped apart in his own thread, deservedly so. But Rashford's poor performances doesn't really excuse Martial because all the time Rashford is the one being shunted around the pitch to accommodate this fecker's "best position" (What even IS Martial's best position???) and not the other way round.
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His best Position is at another club . He wants to just dribble and Do flicks and Tricks , A farmers League will suit him when he can stroll around a pitch Doing as he pleases. The premiership Is too Physical and there is a requirement for a certain amount of effort . I personally have been Patient and hoped he would develop and live up to his potential, I did say last week him and Rashford need to fight for the same position and maybe that would drive them on . But I am starting to think this is it with Martial , this is good as it gets. some Good Performances some Ok performances but mostly Underwhelming performances.
 
MadMike said:
I can understand being out of form but god what an abject performance devoid of any effort that was.

How has he regressed so much this season? He went from his best season and 20+ goals without pens last year, to literally his worst. I can’t understand it.
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It doesn't make any sense at all. It was all set up for him to cement himself as world class this season and he hasn't taken the opportunity. It's upsetting because if he had, we'd probably still be top of the league.
BenitoSTARR said:
You can’t criticise one and not the other for lack of effort. However both deserve a bit of a break.

I think Martial needs to see Cavani start ahead of him and not be played on the wing. He needs to see that effort level and lack of fight is not acceptable under any circumstances.
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This is a sensible take. Drop him for as long as it takes for him to find himself again because it's unacceptable at the moment.
 
dirkey said:


This guy needs a LONG spell on the bench. And a few good hard kicks in training. Lazy mope. Absolutely sick of him. Rashford is also playing badly, but at least he tries, and he scores some goals. What exactly does Martial give us?

Cavani absolutely has to be first choice number 9 from this on in. This guy is simply not good enough. Squad player at the very best.
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That's about it for me, too. Minutes remaining, just enough time to maybe get an equaliser and you never know what could happen next. Yet, he's just ambling along doing nothing. Not creating space, not making a run, not even trying to get into the box to get on the end of something. That's not what you want from a number 9. The defenders can literally let him go as he isn't any danger whatsoever. He's a traffic one.
 
MattofManchester said:
Its interesting people say Rashford gets less flak.
At the same time, this is the Martial thread, not the Rashford thread.

One had a good performance in the last game.
The other had his last good performance last season.

One thing I don't see mention of is the ludicrous positions he takes up. In the first half, he found himself standing a metre from Telles by the halfway line, despite us going forward. That leaves nobody central, why tf is he there? And then he strolls back.
Twice more he ends up randomly deep out wide or in central midfield.
It's almost like he wanders about aimlessly.

He's begun to disturb the team shape and flow.

Until he realizes that he needs to do more, he should stay benched.
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Leeds ? Everton ? Aston villa ?
 
Raven said:
It doesn't make any sense at all. It was all set up for him to cement himself as world class this season and he hasn't taken the opportunity. It's upsetting because if he had, we'd probably still be top of the league.

This is a sensible take. Drop him for as long as it takes for him to find himself again because it's unacceptable at the moment.
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If he doesn't he does not have the right mentality for this club.
 
I can’t see Welbeck doing a worse job than 2020/21 Martial

And I’m not joking. He’s been that bad. He helps the opposition more than he hurts them
 
Lennon7 said:
That stood out for me too. Rashford was fecking awful there.
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Martial was absolutely shocking last night but that’s been Rashford all season too. Walking around the pitch letting his man double up on the full back while he looks on and providing zilch going the other way. 1 good game in 5 is just enough to keep the fans off his back about his low workrate and couldn’t care less body language. There’s a pair of them in it and they need splitting up asap. Having even one passenger speedster in attack is already criminal enough when you’re playing a team sitting deep. 3 of them is just asking for trouble. They are fair weather players. They look good when conditions are right for them to get the ball to feet and lots of space in behind. That happens about one in 5 games. What a coincidence... We need far more industry and guile from our forwards and Cavani is shitting all over them with his workrate and his output even as a last minute addition squad player. Disgraceful and they’ve just about been getting away with it all season. Hopefully this sees Cavani moved in as a starting 9 whatever happens.
 
I loved Tony when he first came and became my favourite player at United. He was fearless, dribbling past players with ease and was ice cold when in front of goal. Even though his finishing and positioning wasn't fully there, you felt due to his age that by the time he hit his mid 20s he would be at that stage as a devastating all round striker.

Almost 6 years on and he seems to have lost a bit of his pace and doesn't beat his man as often, or that could just be me imagining things? But his finishing hasn't improved at all! I do think his all round game has improved though and if you was to say he has improve as a player 6 years on, it is extremely marginal IMO which is so sad to see because he has all the attributes to become a world-class striker. I just think the drive is not there to want to truly become the best player he possibly can be which his attributes.

Hope I am wrong and he does become a world-class number 9! But at the moment as it stands, Cavani should be our number 9 and Martial as it stands should be backup to Cavani upfront and be a rotation option for the LW spot along with Rashford and the more in-form player starting (which right now is Rashford, even though I don't think he has been amazing either IMO).
 
spiriticon said:
Rashford is definitely getting ripped apart in his own thread, deservedly so. But Rashford's poor performances doesn't really excuse Martial because all the time Rashford is the one being shunted around the pitch to accommodate this fecker's "best position" (What even IS Martial's best position???) and not the other way round.
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Left back. (On the team bus)
 
I've been one who has said to give Martial a bit of time, he will come good, but I still haven't seen any improvement.
Unless this changes drastically in the remainder of the season, then I would let him go in the summer, and look to get Haaland, who seems to be the outstanding striker in Europe at the moment.
Are there any strikers in South America who are worth a punt? even if they just put the effort in for 90 minutes, it may be worth a shot.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
I can’t see Welbeck doing a worse job than 2020/21 Martial

And I’m not joking. He’s been that bad. He helps the opposition more than he hurts them
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Current Welbeck, the one without any knees, has as many PL goals as Martial this season, in half the games.

The Welbeck who played for United was a vastly better player than Martial has been this year (and I’d argue most other years, but that’s obviously a lot bolder a claim).
 
Should I feel bad inside thinking that Jesse Lingard would have put better shifts in than Martial this season. I don't mind players who are moody, inconsistent but can turn a game. Really makes you think is everything ok with Martial in the head.

I remember seeing an interview ( I think with Michael Owen) and he was going on about how when you are not right mentally you go lost or go hiding in games. Small injuries are much worse than what they are. Pulling out of tackles. I don't buy the logic that its because he has lost shirt or or there is competition from Cavani.

Maybe there is an element of tactical play on this as him and Rashford seemed to be playing much closer together up top at the back end of last year. Even that though, it's rare for him and Cavani to be on the pitch at the same time. Everything about his play at the moment is just sloppy and no energy.
 
dirkey said:


This guy needs a LONG spell on the bench. And a few good hard kicks in training. Lazy mope. Absolutely sick of him. Rashford is also playing badly, but at least he tries, and he scores some goals. What exactly does Martial give us?

Cavani absolutely has to be first choice number 9 from this on in. This guy is simply not good enough. Squad player at the very best.
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That's because he is not a CF. You pass the ball to him in a static position and then he will try to dribble past defenders. Which makes no sense.
 
NinjaZombie said:
Yeap. That was shocking from Rashford. Maguire should've given him a bollocking there.
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I remember looking at my tablet asking myself, what he is doing. Zero effort is pressuring the opposition. I sub him for whoever on the bench. Ridiculous, anyone who can’t be bother about the game shouldn’t be on the field.
 
Ole should just tell Ed that his time is up. Tell his agent to find a new club. I would like think he would go back to French. I doubt any Spanish club or English will buy him. I don’t even think teams like Palace or West Ham even want him. No work rate, no heart, no determination.
 
He's the most Arsenaly player to have never played for Arsenal.

So he'll probably start against Arsenal on Saturday... and do an Arsenal.
 
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