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Anthony Martial France flag

2020-21 Performances

View full 2020-21 profile

5.1 Season Average Rating
Appearances
36
Goals
7
Assists
5
Yellow cards
1
Red cards
1
Status
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poleglass red said:
decent goal, horrible performance otherwise, his lack of movement is a real problem, the mid have no outlet when he and Rash aren't making runs in behind. We have a problem with these 2, neither our wingers and neither are centre forwards either, they are somewhere inbetween. Maybe when Cavani is fit, one of either would benefit in a two with him, right now those 2 as a pair doesn't work, too easy to play against. Martin Skrtel is 35, he looked like a prime VVD out there against them. There is a distinct lack of energy shown by both players, whether it's fitness, confidence, lack of coaching or self motivation, possibly a combination of all, I'm not sure, but it isn't good enough
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Ah, the "not making runs behind" gang.

Plenty of runs were made in behind, it was followed by either overhit, underhit or intercepted passes from our players. You then try to adapt to the match by coming deeper to receive the ball.

The problem against Istanbul sure as feck wasn't Martial or Rashford.
 
UncleBob said:
Ah, the "not making runs behind" gang.

Plenty of runs were made in behind, it was followed by either overhit, underhit or intercepted passes from our players. You then try to adapt to the match by coming deeper to receive the ball.

The problem against Istanbul sure as feck wasn't Martial or Rashford.
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like the runs he made in previous games v Brighton and Palace as well. There's a reason he's 1 goal from open play, he doesn't get in behind defenders consistently. He stands still too often, then he drops deep. We don't need him to drop deep, he occupies space where Bruno already is. He's far from the only issue we have but if you watched that game yesterday and didn't see his lack of movement, at times when we were chasing the game, where he was standing still next to the centre half, like he was marking the defender. He prefers to play in front of defenders, as does Rash, maybe that's hangover from their playing out wide, but they need to adapt if they are playing centrally.I said previously maybe a more traditional central striker will benefit either of them, because having 2 strikers whose instinct is to face defenders is problematic.
Previous seasons we complained about lack of creativity from mid, yesterday at different times we had 4 on the pitch, you have to wonder in a game v a at best decent team, how not one of them can't find a decent through ball. Mid have to share their blame but lack of movement in behind defenders, esp ones lacking pace is definitely a problem.
 
poleglass red said:
like the runs he made in previous games v Brighton and Palace as well. There's a reason he's 1 goal from open play, he doesn't get in behind defenders consistently. He stands still too often, then he drops deep. We don't need him to drop deep, he occupies space where Bruno already is. He's far from the only issue we have but if you watched that game yesterday and didn't see his lack of movement, at times when we were chasing the game, where he was standing still next to the centre half, like he was marking the defender. He prefers to play in front of defenders, as does Rash, maybe that's hangover from their playing out wide, but they need to adapt if they are playing centrally.I said previously maybe a more traditional central striker will benefit either of them, because having 2 strikers whose instinct is to face defenders is problematic.
Previous seasons we complained about lack of creativity from mid, yesterday at different times we had 4 on the pitch, you have to wonder in a game v a at best decent team, how not one of them can't find a decent through ball. Mid have to share their blame but lack of movement in behind defenders, esp ones lacking pace is definitely a problem.
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:lol:

Brighton and Palace, great, remind me again how we got our penalties against Tottenham, Leipzig and PSG this season, and the "lack of runs in behind" in the second half of last season after we had signed Bruno. It's a none-existing issue...Even the first goal against Leipzig is partially down to Martial's movement to create space for Pogba.

Against a compact deep lying team there isn't going to be much space in behind, so you require accurate passes to feet, which is what he kept pointing for. If you re-watch the match (I wouldn't), you'll also see that the few times we did have space in behind, the pass was too poor or Bruno decided to try a shot from long range instead. Rashford prefers to run into space, always has, do you even watch us?
 
Bastian said:
Yeah, he wasn't great. He's not a #9. I would just like to see him work his socks off, it's not like he's tired with the week between games at this point.
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He literally won the ball back from a defender and created a chance if I'm not mistaken

And he has done that quite a few times since after the lock down. This stereotype of Martial being lazy has to stop as he's not been that way for ages now.

He closes down to the best of his ability and the way people go on about him you'd think he was another Ozil
 
MadDogg said:
He was one of our better players despite not getting involved enough.


Cavani was significantly worse when he came on.
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It's like people just close their eyes and stick to their biases no matter what
 
Devil may care said:
I heard Scholes was blaming him for tonight as he wants of the £100M white boys brought in, utter joke, got one chance and took it, held the ball up and won free kicks, to me him, Van de Beek and Shaw are the only players who can say they offered us anything tonight.
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I shudder to think what the pundits would have been saying if he didn't score that goal
 
yfoFC said:
He literally won the ball back from a defender and created a chance if I'm not mistaken

And he has done that quite a few times since after the lock down. This stereotype of Martial being lazy has to stop as he's not been that way for ages now.

He closes down to the best of his ability and the way people go on about him you'd think he was another Ozil
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I guess I'm part of the pitchfork brigade then, with a huge agenda, because from what I'm seeing he could do a lot more. When we're playing well he is pretty much the focal point of that, when we're struggling I feel he goes missing. I guess people take offense to that.
 
Bastian said:
I guess I'm part of the pitchfork brigade then, with a huge agenda, because from what I'm seeing he could do a lot more. When we're playing well he is pretty much the focal point of that, when we're struggling I feel he goes missing. I guess people take offense to that.
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Fair enough to say he goes missing but to brand him lazy after performances where he is anything but is just plain... lazy in and of itself
 
Bastian said:
I guess I'm part of the pitchfork brigade then, with a huge agenda, because from what I'm seeing he could do a lot more. When we're playing well he is pretty much the focal point of that, when we're struggling I feel he goes missing. I guess people take offense to that.
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That your quote has two meanings and I'm focusing on one and I see you're focusing on the other. We don't have any disagreement
 
What I would do for a manager that has the guts to play him as a false 9.

If he fails there then I'd deem him as not good enough for us even on a squad basis.

However I think he will do well there. He consistently makes the runs deeper on the pitch than behind the defensive line. I see him always trying to bring others in to play before he makes the run in behind. I see him having the ability to dribble at momentum from deep directly at the defence to put them in a scared state.

I'm never going to say no for a more predatory striker at United but neither am I going to feel like chucking Martial out is a good decision unless he is made to play in a creative way behind 2 clinical forwards that can concentrate on making runs off of him.

Even when playing for France I think

Mbappe - Dembele
Martial
​
Is how to line up those 3 with the front 2 dropping deep when the ball is deep so they can come in at an angle.

Rashford- Greenwood
Martial
​
Done similarly.
 
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yfoFC said:
That your quote has two meanings and I'm focusing on one and I see you're focusing on the other. We don't have any disagreement
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Did I use the word lazy? If I did, it was indeed lazy to do so. I think he can work a lot harder and show a lot more determination. I would maybe use the word lazy about Shaw for large periods of his United career. Disinterested is a word I'd use about Pogba for large periods of his United career, not exactly lazy either.
 
UncleBob said:
:lol:

Brighton and Palace, great, remind me again how we got our penalties against Tottenham, Leipzig and PSG this season, and the "lack of runs in behind" in the second half of last season after we had signed Bruno. It's a none-existing issue...Even the first goal against Leipzig is partially down to Martial's movement to create space for Pogba.

Against a compact deep lying team there isn't going to be much space in behind, so you require accurate passes to feet, which is what he kept pointing for. If you re-watch the match (I wouldn't), you'll also see that the few times we did have space in behind, the pass was too poor or Bruno decided to try a shot from long range instead. Rashford prefers to run into space, always has, do you even watch us?
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can you explain that one to me please. Their back 4 had their shape, all 4 in a line, Martial tight on the flank covered by their full back. Both central defenders are on Greenwood, one in front and one behind him. Pogba has a player right on his shoulder, with 2 more closing in on him. Pogba makes a great run and plays a lovely pass, Greenwood makes a great run in behind and slots home, a goal by the way I don't think either Rash or Martial would have scored.What part did Martial play, none of their defenders were pulled out to create space, just a great piece of play by us.

2nd half of last season means feck all now, the whole team was playing well then. Him stopping making runs and standing still is what counts. The passes weren't good last night, but you don't stop, at the very least your runs can create space for someone else by dragging a defender out of position, that's basic centre forward play. Even when Bruno plays as bad as he has done in last couple of games, he's still capable of playing that killer pass. He's played with Bruno long enough to know that not every pass he plays comes off, even when he's on form. One good turn or run isn't enough, you have to be consistent over 90 mins which he isn't right now as our the team. He did well for the peno's in both games you reference, but in one game he got sent off and the other he scored an og. We know the talent is there, we just need to see it more comprehensively over the whole game
 
Bastian said:
Did I use the word lazy? If I did, it was indeed lazy to do so. I think he can work a lot harder and show a lot more determination. I would maybe use the word lazy about Shaw for large periods of his United career. Disinterested is a word I'd use about Pogba for large periods of his United career, not exactly lazy either.
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I figured out your post could be read in two ways and so we on the same page bro
 
Bebestation said:
What I would do for a manager that has the guts to play him as a false 9.

If he fails there then I'd deem him as not good enough for us even on a squad basis.

However I think he will do well there. He consistently makes the runs deeper on the pitch than behind the defensive line. I see him always trying to bring others in to play before he makes the run in behind. I see him having the ability to dribble at momentum from deep directly at the defence to put them in a scared state.

I'm never going to say no for a more predatory striker at United but neither am I going to feel like chucking Martial out is a good decision unless he is made to play in a creative way behind 2 clinical forwards that can concentrate on making runs off of him.

Even when playing for France I think

Mbappe - Dembele
Martial
​
Is how to line up those 3 with the front 2 dropping deep when the ball is deep so they can come in at an angle.

Rashford- Greenwood
Martial
​
Done similarly.
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100% agree on idea of playing Martial as false 9 and Bruno going to play as CM. I feel Martial wont feel left out in that way and constantly play one touch with team.
 
poleglass red said:
can you explain that one to me please. Their back 4 had their shape, all 4 in a line, Martial tight on the flank covered by their full back. Both central defenders are on Greenwood, one in front and one behind him. Pogba has a player right on his shoulder, with 2 more closing in on him. Pogba makes a great run and plays a lovely pass, Greenwood makes a great run in behind and slots home, a goal by the way I don't think either Rash or Martial would have scored.What part did Martial play, none of their defenders were pulled out to create space, just a great piece of play by us.

2nd half of last season means feck all now, the whole team was playing well then. Him stopping making runs and standing still is what counts. The passes weren't good last night, but you don't stop, at the very least your runs can create space for someone else by dragging a defender out of position, that's basic centre forward play. Even when Bruno plays as bad as he has done in last couple of games, he's still capable of playing that killer pass. He's played with Bruno long enough to know that not every pass he plays comes off, even when he's on form. One good turn or run isn't enough, you have to be consistent over 90 mins which he isn't right now as our the team. He did well for the peno's in both games you reference, but in one game he got sent off and the other he scored an og. We know the talent is there, we just need to see it more comprehensively over the whole game
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pearls before?

Martial wasn't tight on the flank, he moved out wide as Pogba moved forward and dragged their cb out wide as well, making himself both an option for a pass and creating more space for Pogba to move into. If he had stayed central and/or simply gone for a run in behind, space would be more congested. If you don't see it and/or don't understand it, it's not a surprise.

Ofcourse the second half of last season doesn't matter feck all when you're talking about what a player can and can't do, and the two stand out performers were Bruno and Martial. The issue against Istanbul was a collective collapse, and in terms of our forwards there's little doubt that Martial wasn't the worst one on the pitch.
 
MadDogg said:
He was one of our better players despite not getting involved enough.


Cavani was significantly worse when he came on.
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Agree. It's so strange that the debate about him being good enough is started again after a game that he was one of our better players in and took the only chance our fecked up team created for him.
 
acnumber9 said:
Because this cult following Martial has are the most annoying twats on the whole forum. They’re so removed from reality it’s unreal. Do you ever let Rashford off for bad performances? I doubt it.
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People don't do that with Martial either.
 
acnumber9 said:
Because this cult following Martial has are the most annoying twats on the whole forum. They’re so removed from reality it’s unreal. Do you ever let Rashford off for bad performances? I doubt it.
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pot kettle
 
When i think of all the great CF's United have had in the past under Sir Alex, Ruud/Cantona/Rooney/Ronaldo/Cole/Yorke/Ole etc to now it's depressing really that in the now we have Martial (who's not even a CF) starting as a CF and all that is because he wants to play as a CF and sulks less (still sulks) when he plays as a CF.

Martial is a large part why United are where they are now (inconsistent and half arsed), when i look at Martial's whole body language and enthusiasm for the cause, it just sums up Ole's Manchester United really and ultimately that is Ole's fault too, he's a soft touch, a yes man not only for Woodward but the players too.

It's not just Martial, you only have to look at (in Ole's words) 'great lad' Paul Pogba, we have too many of these players. I remember growing up having posters on my wall of Manchester United footballing titans like Keane/Scholes/Giggs/Cantona/Beckham/Schmeichel/Cole/Bruce/Ole/Hughes/Irwin (can go on and on) but when i look at these names and compare these players who young Manchester United fans have to look up to now (Ie Martial/Pogba/De Gea/Shaw/Maguire/Lindelof/Fred), it's quite depressing really, todays players arn't good enough to even lace previous generation Manchester United players boots.

Steve Bruce/Gary Pallister never even got a look in playing for England but they are x4 what £80m CB and Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is, what i wouldn't give to have these 2 as United's CB's now, generation after this lot we then had Stam/Rio/Vidic.
 
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Ignore acnumber9 it’a a Rashford fan boy not a United fan.
 
OL29 said:
But then there’s posters like you that go in the other direction so it’s a bit rich to act superior.
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Possibly. We all have different things we find annoying. The cult of Martial just happens to top my list when it comes to the United forum. But you won’t find me blaming other players for my hero not playing well.
 
acnumber9 said:
Possibly. We all have different things we find annoying. The cult of Martial just happens to top my list when it comes to the United forum. But you won’t find me blaming other players for my hero not playing well.
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Yeah I get why it annoys people but I think every player has over zealous fans and so called haters. Martial just tends to be our most divisive player so it sticks out more IMO. I’ve seen Lindelof regularly been blamed for Maguire underperforming, I’ve seen Martial blamed for Dan James not performing etc. It happens with all our players.
 
Everton 1:3 Man Utd
Hardly stellar return to the team, wasn't the worst of the front line but didn't do much. Hopefully comes back stronger after internationals.
 
I like Martial but we need another long term striker. I don't think we'll win any major trophies with him leading the line.
 
tumescent performance. People still arguing if he is a good player. Not reliable.
 
What's happened to him between the end of the last season and now? Looks a completely different player and a much worse one as well.
 
The incredible sulk. Cavani did more pressing in the 20 minutes he was on than Martial did the whole game.
 
Frank White said:
Hardly stellar return to the team, wasn't the worst of the front line but didn't do much. Hopefully comes back stronger after internationals.
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What? Rashford and Mata were not good, but they were far better than Martial who did not have a single positive involvement all game. Could not hold up the play, sluggish movement and constantly misplaced the most basic passes
 
Frustrating performance. Too many poor touches. Did well to create a big chance for himself early on but shot wide after a corner. Poor touch when found in space beyond the back post by McTominay. Not as bad as Rashford.
 
Need to drop him. Workrate was atrocious today. Need a kick on the arse. I am his biggest fan but man he is frustrating
 
Crap today. 4 games from him and not a single shot on target in the league. His biggest fanboy on here and he keeps embarrassing me every week.

Drop him. Needs a good kicking.
 
Bobcat said:
What? Rashford and Mata were not good, but they were far better than Martial who did not have a single positive involvement all game. Could not hold up the play, sluggish movement and constantly misplaced the most basic passes
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Was a toss up between them, Rashford squandered a lot of chances with sloppy passes. Both need to improve drastically.
 
That break to the end of the 2nd half and he was running slower than the Everton midfielder behind him. We know what he's capable of so is it ok now to question his attitude?
 
I don’t think I’ve ever been more angry at a player during a game in a long time. I can accept lack of quality but his total lack of effort was shocking. Should have been subbed about five minutes into the second half. Walking about, not making runs, not making himself available for passes, non existent press. This whole sulky Martial schtick every other season is starting to become a pain. Stick Cavani in next round out.
 
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