[Himannv]

When he gets the ball, he's fantastic and holds the ball up nicely and dribbles well.

I just wish he improves his game off the ball. He doesn't press or make many runs off the ball or even drag defenders out of position to free space for others. It's just not in his natural game to do that and I think that's my main concern with him. I hope he can look at Cavani and absorb the positioning and movement aspect of being a top striker, but he needs to work on those things to gain those skills. I felt he was starting to add that stuff to his game in the second half of last season but I'm yet to see much of if this season apart from a few bits and pieces here and there.

 

[Raven]

When he gets the ball, he's fantastic and holds the ball up nicely and dribbles well.

I just wish he improves his game off the ball. He doesn't press or make many runs off the ball or even drag defenders out of position to free space for others. It's just not in his natural game to do that and I think that's my main concern with him. I hope he can look at Cavani and absorb the positioning and movement aspect of being a top striker, but he needs to work on those things to gain those skills. I felt he was starting to add that stuff to his game in the second half of last season but I'm yet to see much of if this season apart from a few bits and pieces here and there.

This is just lazy nonsense talk. He been pressing well since last season, this season everyone seems to be half pressing (probably to avoid burnout) which he does his fair share of. His movement off the ball can be improved, but again, his lack of movement is miles overstated. He is always dragging at least one CB out of position, usually the RCB which is one of the reasons Rashford plays so much better with Martial in the team.

Can we please try and look at our players more objectively instead of just copy and pasting previous comments made either in this thread or by pundits?

 

[MadDogg]

This is just lazy nonsense talk. He been pressing well since last season, this season everyone seems to be half pressing (probably to avoid burnout) which he does his fair share of. His movement off the ball can be improved, but again, his lack of movement is miles overstated. He is always dragging at least one CB out of position, usually the RCB which is one of the reasons Rashford plays so much better with Martial in the team.

Can we please try and look at our players more objectively instead of just copy and pasting previous comments made either in this thread or by pundits?

He certainly improved his pressing last season (stats show he pressed more than Rashford, although part of that is Rashford reducing how much he presses), but I wouldn't go so far as to say he was pressing well. He increased it basically to the bare minimum that he should be doing, and we really should be trying to push him to increase it further.

 

[GueRed]

He's a lazy git at the best of times

With his confidence currently at a low he's a bit of a liability

He Needs that goal soon!

Ole could do with another one of those annual purple patches...

 

[Web of Bissaka]

People are actually fine with this level of pressing?
Shows how much we're accepting lower standards.

In a poor organized and bad pressings as a team such as ours, it's easy to standout. Martial is not the worst, and no way he's the best at it either. Is that enough? Just look at other teams especially the weaker teams and how they high press, then compare it to ours, it's just pure embarrassing... just who are the top team here?

 

[Bobcat]

For me, it's a straight up mentality issue.

Technically, he's fantastic. He's quick, he's strong, brilliant feet, wonderful control and first touch and he's normally ice cold when he's in on goal. It just all depends on whether or not he can be bothered. And it's this reason I don't think he's the answer for this club beyond this season.

When I think of brilliant forwards over the years I think of Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Messi, Rooney, Mbappe to name a few.

Every single of them lead by example on the pitch and demand the highest of standards at all times. They might not be having their best game, but their force of personality demands standards around them don't drop.

Now this is all conjecture because no-one knows what goes on at Carrington, but Martial just doesn't strike me as someone willing to go above and beyond with his football development with the goal of becoming one of the very best in the world. He's been here 6 seasons, and we've had one and a half, possibly two if you're pushing it, good seasons out of him. That's not in any way shape or form acceptable at this level.

He strikes me as someone who is more than happy to just go through the motions and do the bare minimum. I don't see an awful lot of fight in him, and he's far too quick to let his dead drop and start sulking. You can clearly see it on the pitch. Another season or two of doing the same and he'll be 27 with absolutely nothing to show for his career when he should be in his absolute prime. I just don't feel he's got that single minded resolve that resulted in some of the strikers I've mentioned above dominating for years.

His international record shouldn't matter, but it does. France, as a country, are restricted by having to pick players who are only eligible for them, and they still are not impressed with him. So why would we, as a club, with the freedom to sign any player in the world, regardless of nationality, put up with him? Whether he's been used up top of out on the left, one goal in 25 caps is completely damning and isn't someone that should be leading the line for this club. If he's not good enough for them he's sure as hell not good enough consistently for us.

Good post.

Hes had 3 different managers here now, each with their own man management style and yet he keeps having these cycles of world class and utterly dreadful so that would suggest its the player and not the managers that is the issue. After his brilliant form post-lockdown last season i really thought he finally had matured into the player we hoped he could be, but then this season he displays the worst form hes ever had here.

No doubt hes going to find some good form at some point this season, but hes 25 now and i am having serious doubts if he can be trusted as a long term option at CF. We simply cant afford having our main CF go through these kinds of dramatic slumps every year

 

[cyberman]

Needs to kick on tonight. He isnt a consistent scorer but he does go on runs of 8 in 8 etc and that would really set us up right now

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Good post.

Hes had 3 different managers here now, each with their own man management style and yet he keeps having these cycles of world class and utterly dreadful so that would suggest its the player and not the managers that is the issue. After his brilliant form post-lockdown last season i really thought he finally had matured into the player we hoped he could be, but then this season he displays the worst form hes ever had here.

No doubt hes going to find some good form at some point this season, but hes 25 now and i am having serious doubts if he can be trusted as a long term option at CF. We simply cant afford having our main CF go through these kinds of dramatic slumps every year

you don’t have cycles of world class. That’s just form, and he’s a streaky player.

I’m not knocking Martial, I seem to be one of the few who takes the middle ground with him.

he’s a good striker, who won’t ever be world class or one of the best.

he needs a bloody good boot up the backside, so that he can start performing as he should be again. Hopefully tonight we will get the good Martial.

if we can get some good form from him, then we have a really good chance of doing something good this season.

 

[VP89]

He's 25 and if he still thinks he's an out and out 9 then he should reconsider his long term club or his position with Manchester United. I think he's more of a winger personally - although I was really impressed by his hold up play and ability to shield the ball, link players in and weave past defenders, he just doesn't have the striker instinct by way of movement.

 

[MadDogg]

Good post.

Hes had 3 different managers here now, each with their own man management style and yet he keeps having these cycles of world class and utterly dreadful so that would suggest its the player and not the managers that is the issue. After his brilliant form post-lockdown last season i really thought he finally had matured into the player we hoped he could be, but then this season he displays the worst form hes ever had here.

No doubt hes going to find some good form at some point this season, but hes 25 now and i am having serious doubts if he can be trusted as a long term option at CF. We simply cant afford having our main CF go through these kinds of dramatic slumps every year

He hasn't really had regular cycles of dreadful form. It was only at the start of 16/17 and now at the start of this season. Otherwise he's normally been quite good whenever he's actually gotten a run of games.

In 17/18 he had been comfortably our best player on the left (and was our best attacker on form) before he was stupidly dropped for Sanchez. Then in 18/19 once Mourinho's job was on the line and he eventually put Martial back in desperation, Martial went on to (along with Pogba) keep Mourinho in a job for a couple of extra months. Unfortunately in the second half of that season he was constantly in and out of the team through illness and injury so couldn't really get going. Then of course 19/20 (last season) he was arguably our most consistent player and won the Players Player of the Year.

It feels like he hasn't been consistently good, but that's largely because he's spent a lot of time out of the team through no real fault of his own.

 

[Raven]

He certainly improved his pressing last season (stats show he pressed more than Rashford, although part of that is Rashford reducing how much he presses), but I wouldn't go so far as to say he was pressing well. He increased it basically to the bare minimum that he should be doing, and we really should be trying to push him to increase it further.

I thought he pressed really well last season, ending in a couple of goals after he'd won the ball back. I thought our pressing in general could be a little better organised though. This season he has admittedly not been pressing as intensely as last season but I think that's probably the managers instructions. I think there is still plenty room for improvement, not just in terms of pressing but also his overall game, but I think his pressing was of a high standard last season.

 

[MadDogg]

I thought he pressed really well last season, ending in a couple of goals after he'd won the ball back. I thought our pressing in general could be a little better organised though. This season he has admittedly not been pressing as intensely as last season but I think that's probably the managers instructions. I think there is still plenty room for improvement, not just in terms of pressing but also his overall game, but I think his pressing was of a high standard last season.

He had moments where he pressed well (he's had a few this season as well) but overall he was still fairly average-to-low compared to his peers. I checked out the stats recently and although he improved last season he was still behind the likes of Aubameyang, Vardy, Aguero, Jesus, Giroud, Abraham and Firmino. He was better than Kane though, and also better than Lukaku's time here.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

That hat trick in the last game against Sheffield Utd I thought he'd fully cracked it but he's been awful this season.

 

[city-puma]

I have the feeling that he is just about to find himself again. All start from today’s match against Sheff Utd.

 

[OldTrevil]

He hasn't really had regular cycles of dreadful form. It was only at the start of 16/17 and now at the start of this season. Otherwise he's normally been quite good whenever he's actually gotten a run of games.

In 17/18 he had been comfortably our best player on the left (and was our best attacker on form) before he was stupidly dropped for Sanchez. Then in 18/19 once Mourinho's job was on the line and he eventually put Martial back in desperation, Martial went on to (along with Pogba) keep Mourinho in a job for a couple of extra months. Unfortunately in the second half of that season he was constantly in and out of the team through illness and injury so couldn't really get going. Then of course 19/20 (last season) he was arguably our most consistent player and won the Players Player of the Year.

It feels like he hasn't been consistently good, but that's largely because he's spent a lot of time out of the team through no real fault of his own.

You've put it really well. There's this myth about Martial that he's been inconsistent throughout his time at United, when the truth is that he's game time was the only inconsistent thing about his game. Whenever he's given a run in the team, be it by a manager that loved him like LVG or one that constantly shit on him like Jose, Martial still produced. The times he's actually been inconsistent, as you've put it, are the exception at the beginning of 16/17 season, and the end of 18/19 when injuries kept him in and out of the team. For me this season he's only been in a goal rut, his performances, apart from the first two league games where the whole team was bad, have overall been good, not great but also not terrible as the hysterics on the caf or elsewhere will have you believe.

 

[UncleBob]

That hat trick in the last game against Sheffield Utd I thought he'd fully cracked it but he's been awful this season.

And, apart from a few performances here and there, so has Greenwood and Rashford. It's not like any of our attackers are playing anywhere near the level we expect and, more importantly, need them to be at.

If we're going to compete for something, even top 4, it's fairly obvious that we need all 3 of them to improve, quite a lot, compared to how they are performing right now. Hopefully, the match today is the first step towards that. The sooner it happens, the sooner our overall play improves and we don't rely as much on Bruno coming up with either a goal or an assist.

It would also be highly beneficial for us to be able to rest Rashford, as i'm fairly convinced that he's not fully fit after his back injury.

There's still a long way to go, if he has a completely underwhelming season and can't build on the previous one, then we'll need to bring in a first choice next summer, hopefully not at the expense of a first choice wide player.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Badly needs a goal. I'm sure once he gets one he will go on a run and find some form as he's still a good player.

However all this world class talent nonsense needs to end now. Martial will never be that. Neither will Rashford. But they can still be important players for the club going forwards.

 

[MadDogg]

For me this season he's only been in a goal rut, his performances, apart from the first two league games where the whole team was bad, have overall been good, not great but also not terrible as the hysterics on the caf or elsewhere will have you believe.

I've got to disagree with you there. There's been a few signs in his last three or four games that he's starting to turn it around but overall he's been terrible. And even those recent signs have only been 20-45 minutes of decent play in each game. It's an improvement so hopefully it continues and he starts getting close to the form he was showing last season.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Seems as an extremely mentally weak player, I think he's to good to sit on the bench but not good enough to be starting, at least not in a club with major thropies aspirations.

I think buying a top 9 is high on the priority list at the moment, and I wouldn't mind selling him to make some space.

 

[Sayros]

Seems as an extremely mentally weak player, I think he's to good to sit on the bench but not good enough to be starting, at least not in a club with major thropies aspirations.

I think buying a top 9 is high on the priority list at the moment, and I wouldn't mind selling him to make some space.

That's one of the biggest lies about Martial, that he's somehow mentally weak. It's just nonsense if you followed his career from the start here. Came in as a laughing joke because United spent a fortune on an unknown kid from France who was just 19, blew the roof off the joint that season. Then the whole Mourinho disaster could have destroyed a mentally weak player, but he wound up being the player (along with Pogba) to keep Jose in his position a few more months than he should have.

Martial may be lazy, he may not be the hardest-worker, but he's not someone I would ever say is mentally weak.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

And, apart from a few performances here and there, so has Greenwood and Rashford. It's not like any of our attackers are playing anywhere near the level we expect and, more importantly, need them to be at.

If we're going to compete for something, even top 4, it's fairly obvious that we need all 3 of them to improve, quite a lot, compared to how they are performing right now. Hopefully, the match today is the first step towards that. The sooner it happens, the sooner our overall play improves and we don't rely as much on Bruno coming up with either a goal or an assist.

It would also be highly beneficial for us to be able to rest Rashford, as i'm fairly convinced that he's not fully fit after his back injury.

There's still a long way to go, if he has a completely underwhelming season and can't build on the previous one, then we'll need to bring in a first choice next summer, hopefully not at the expense of a first choice wide player.

I think you're being very unfair to rashford there.

He's not been great this season but he's contributed so much more than Martial. Martial has what? 2 goals all season? One from open play? Rashford is into double figures.

Greenwoods been disappointing too but again even then he's outscored martial.

I agree all 3 need to improve though generally.

I like Martial and when he's playing well we look a proper team, but he's just been shocking this season. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

[UncleBob]

I think you're being very unfair to rashford there.

He's not been great this season but he's contributed so much more than Martial. Martial has what? 2 goals all season? One from open play? Rashford is into double figures.

Greenwoods been disappointing too but again even then he's outscored martial.

I agree all 3 need to improve though generally.

I like Martial and when he's playing well we look a proper team, but he's just been shocking this season. It's incredibly frustrating.

By all means, Rashford contribution in terms of goals has overall been fine, no worries there, but apart from his sublime performances against Leipzig, West Ham, probably Newcastle, it's hardly as if he's actually playing at a high level and it's very tempting to suggest it's down to his injury. How many time has he held back when he's been played one on one. Performances was the debate, wasn't it. With a bit of margins, Martial could've easily had 2-3 more goals, wouldn't change his overall performances.

 

[OldTrevil]

I've got to disagree with you there. There's been a few signs in his last three or four games that he's starting to turn it around but overall he's been terrible. And even those recent signs have only been 20-45 minutes of decent play in each game. It's an improvement so hopefully it continues and he starts getting close to the form he was showing last season.

Well that's not how I've seen it. His performance were good all the way back even during his first international games, where he did everything apart from score. This is really his first goal drought in his United career thus far, but performances have for sure not been terrible

 

[Raven]

That's comfortably his best performance of the season. Still not back to his absolute best but I'm happy with that.

 

[Steven7290]

Thank fecks for that. Hopefully it is going upward for him now. The worrying thing was that aside from the usual concerns of attitude, work rate and movements, his touch has not been at his usual standard that we have seen from him for years.

 

[Superunknown]

Muuuuuuch better. Fingers crossed that he does more of this from this point on.

 

[el3mel]

Not really a great performance but the goal had a nice touch and finish. He created a decent chance for Mata in second half as well. Hopefully he kicks on from there and regain form.

 

[JinnerJamie]

Thought he was good tonight, took his time but his link up play was brilliant. I want to see more of this from him.

 

[Red Royal]

Thought he was more up for this game then previous games, guess his goal gave him confidence.

 

[ManRed]

Very average. His recent performances have been so bad that this slightly better seems like miles apart. He missed 2 great chances, 1 in each half and was also quite lucky for the goal. No where near the standards a Manutd striker should be at.

 

[El Jefe]

I still thought he was poor, considering all the space and openings he had. His goal was basically a feck up from the keeper and his assist was a heavy first touch.

 

[UncleBob]

Not really a great performance but the goal had a nice touch and finish. He created a decent chance for Mata in second half as well. Hopefully he kicks on from there and regain form.

How so? constantly looking to get in behind, making himself available for passes either by meeting and holding up the ball or by going in behind if there was space. Could've easily had two more assists tonight with the chances he created.

Not sure what people expect

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

I didn't think he was particularly good to be honest.

Still he got his goal and hopefully that should calm him down a little and we get him back to his best eventually.

 

[acnumber9]

Looked a bit sharper but still not quite there. Hopefully the goal picks him up. When you score a goal you’ve done your job.

 

[Godfather]

Thought he was decent today

 

[Posh Red]

Owen saying how impressed he was with his movement.

 

[ghaliboy]

Thought he was the same pretty average but absolutely banging for him that he got a goal. Even a scrapper like that, just any ball in the back of the net for him at this point. I expect that will give him a boost over the next few weeks in a period we absolutely need a bump from him to keep pace with the top of the table.

 

[Swiss_Red89]

Happy for him to get his first PL Goal of the season today. We need him if we want to challenge for the title and today will give his confidence a boost. Well done Tony!

 

[Lebo]

Created a a chance for Rashford(1st half) and Mata and scored one and assisted Rashford. Missed 2 chances he should have buried. Overall good performance

 

[Leonzo1]

He can still end up putting decent numbers in for the season. If he stays focus and shows a bit more urgency he can get 15 for the season, Which will be an acceptable return for him.