Yeah, let’s be petty little bastards because the guy, at one point in time, when things weren’t going so well for him, allegedly wanted to leave the club. Fecking hell.
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 29
- Goals
- 9
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 0
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Did we forget in 08/09 when Ronaldo wanted to not be here, did we forget Rooney trying to leave multiple times? During the seasons if they were performing well, yes. Fans are fickle if Martial continues to perform well into the real season, who cares?
I mean, it's only pre-season but he's done pretty much everything we could've hoped. It still gives me reason for optimism because we haven't seen this Martial for ages.
I wouldn't celebrate just yet. He has proved us lot to be correct about him on more than one occasion. But he looks to be having fun.
"one point in time", it was literally last season and not "allegedly" when his agent came out and said it. Just funny how perceptions can change after a few goals. For the record I've never been in the camp of wanting him to leave as we've seen what he's capable of when on form.
How have perceptions changed? You’d have been petty to turn on him back then, and you’d be petty to linger on it now. What’s he actually done to deserve criticism, aside from playing poorly?
Not looking arsed most of the time, being the definition of hot and cold for extended runs and going on worrying periods of poor form when things haven't gone his way along with publicly wanting out of the club.
I don't think its petty to remember things in the not distant past. Hope this season is a fresh start and we can se the best of him again.
I heard he got many injuries and he has family issues as well. I guess the loan gave him an opportunity to really reflect on himself and what’s going on.
I think it reasonable to speculate the reason he wanted out is because of Ronaldo. Ronaldo was a guaranteed starter no matter what.
Mad
3 pre season games and it’s like we’ve got a new world class forward according to some. I’ve seen enough of Martial in the past 7 years to know there’s zero chance this continues for a full season and after a few bad performances we’ll be wondering why the guy who couldn't break into Sevilla‘s team is starting for us.
Squad player at best but then that’s another problem he will be sulking like a man child if he’s on the bench and his work rate will drop from 50% down to 5%.
Should have been sold. Not good enough.
3 pre season games and it’s like we’ve got a new world class forward according to some. I’ve seen enough of Martial in the past 7 years to know there’s zero chance this continues for a full season and after a few bad performances we’ll be wondering why the guy who couldn't break into Sevilla‘s team is starting for us.
Squad player at best but then that’s another problem he will be sulking like a man child if he’s on the bench and his work rate will drop from 50% down to 5%.
Should have been sold. Not good enough.
Martial in lockdown season was as close to the current Benzema a striker could be. He has excellent pre-season which is very encouraging.
But his other seasons surely can't be forgotten.
If I were EtH, i wouldn't bet my first season on Martial, where the striker deputy is Rashford who, even on his best seasons, is hardly a striker but more like a wide forward. Would you? A proper plan is being optimistic about the future, while preparing with what the odd things would happened based on data.
If Ronaldo is gone, we need to get at least someone like Cavani, who's good enough to "do the job", just to ride this season, asses how Martial and Rashford do as the main strikers, then plan for next Summer window.
But his other seasons surely can't be forgotten.
If I were EtH, i wouldn't bet my first season on Martial, where the striker deputy is Rashford who, even on his best seasons, is hardly a striker but more like a wide forward. Would you? A proper plan is being optimistic about the future, while preparing with what the odd things would happened based on data.
If Ronaldo is gone, we need to get at least someone like Cavani, who's good enough to "do the job", just to ride this season, asses how Martial and Rashford do as the main strikers, then plan for next Summer window.
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Depth is definitely a problem for our squad. But, Pep played so many games without using a recognized striker. Why can’t ETH do it? But I agree with you, we need an extra player if possible.
Reporters are jumping on this like it’s a surprise. It would have been football suicide if we let martial go this summer. After Cavani left, Greenwood became unavailable and Ronaldo started flirting with leaving there was very little chance martial would be sold.
Well, it's Pep. The inventor of football.
Joking aside, extra player in attack is needed. I don't really see Bruno or Donny is capable as False 9. What do i know though. I thought Martial was finished, and i remember laughing at your post about Martial-Rashford-Sancho front three. And now i can't wait to see the season start with Martial upfront.
Although if the money is tight, I'd prefer additional CM instead of attacker.
Agree.
Pep didn’t invent the positional play out of nothing. Like any evolution even though a seemly giant step, it’s a leap from the giant’s shoulder, isn’t it? ETH and Potter developed their ideas similarly. ETH now has a great platform to do something he couldn’t in Ajax. Of course, it needs the fundamentals rightly developed and evolved simultaneously, I mean the club structure. I am positive on where we are heading to.
Sevilla wasn't the place to revive his career. They were in a good position in the league but they played some of the dullest football in Europe. They were a worse attacking outfit than United last season and scored only 53 goals in La Liga.
It was a miscalculated move from him, he would've performed better at United under Rangnick had he not moved to Spain in January.
He injured his knee early on after a couple of promising games and then struggled for fitness basically
He wanted to leave because he wasn't getting game time. Naturally. Does anyone actually get upset at a player for wanting to leave for the good of their own careers? Mad. I question the motivation of any player that is content with just being a squad player and play limited minutes but pick up a big paycheck.
Also hes had injury trouble the last few years. If he's fit again, then having a proper coach for the first time in years is also a huge plus and a reason to hold out hope for him. He hasn't had a good coach in about 6 years.
My guess is Erik Ten Hag has seen Martial this pre season and is wondering why the feck he's struggled so much and why we were open to selling him.
I think we've failed Martial far more than he's failed us, in terms of why he hasn't developed tbh. Garbage coaches, the one time he had a coach who played a proactive, possession football, he looked like the best u21 player in Europe. I do think he's lost a bit as a player, and the biggest thing is his fitness just hasn't been good at all. But stylistically, I think he's the perfect striker for ten hag. Hold up play, link up play, excellent dribbling and capable of being a good goalscorer. Just needs to put it all together. Wouldn't be the first time that a player with a talent like his got unlocked and put it all together under a manager that finally suits him.
I think we've failed Martial far more than he's failed us, in terms of why he hasn't developed tbh. Garbage coaches, the one time he had a coach who played a proactive, possession football, he looked like the best u21 player in Europe. I do think he's lost a bit as a player, and the biggest thing is his fitness just hasn't been good at all. But stylistically, I think he's the perfect striker for ten hag. Hold up play, link up play, excellent dribbling and capable of being a good goalscorer. Just needs to put it all together. Wouldn't be the first time that a player with a talent like his got unlocked and put it all together under a manager that finally suits him.
All that stuff might have been true upto 2019. He was delivering decent or very good numbers but was being shifted from left to centre to right to the bench. Given a run as undisputed #9, and he crossed 20 goals in an injury hit season. The stage is set, and...
That's when his form fell off a cliff. Not when he was undervalued, publicly criticized, rotated, dropped... He still has decent numbers and performances in the jose seasons. What happened from late 2020 onwards is different, and it's almost entirely on him. His dribbling, finishing, and even sharpness of passing all fell badly, which hadn't happened while he was struggling for his place and position.
I'm a massive fan of pre-2020 martial. I think his flaws are overstated, and his performances were pretty consistently good except for some variations of being a young player, different managers, positions. His finishing numbers were excellent and he was a slick passer and had awesome control. But his drop off since then is such a massive question mark over him, it's inexplicable, and makes it hard to believe the real player will ever be back for good.
Half of our squad isn’t good enough, can’t sell them all in one window, Bob.
Agree with that. Uphill 2019 his performances were impressive. And the blips here and there can be reasonably put down to age, the state of the club and managers. I was a big admirer of him during this phase of his career.
However the last two years have been inexplicably poor and that big a downturn can't be pinned on others, as much as I like the playwr stylistically.
Gosh. An intelligent and objective post. It’s a shame the extreme fanboys and haters won’t pay attention to it.
I wouldn’t go as far as being a “massive fan” pre-2020; there were frequently application issues that couldn’t just be excused by poor management and shifting positions. He still managed a few really good all-round performances in 20/21 when he could be bothered, even though his deadly finishing had deserted him.
He seems to be an extremely high maintenance player who needs a good deal of management, ideally from a detail-obsessed sergeant-major type with enough warmth to be capable of the occasional arm round the shoulder. If ETH thinks he’s worth the effort I’m 100% behind him. That’s being ETH FC, not Martial FC.
It’s not like we exactly have a list of buyers for him -
whilst he is here we might as well use him.
whilst he is here we might as well use him.
Didn't I recently read that he's gotten divorced?
He wouldn't have been the first person to have his professional life affected by a rocky personal life.
He wouldn't have been the first person to have his professional life affected by a rocky personal life.
Best thing about Martial doing well would be hearing the Tony Martial chant again.
He'll stop running before Christmas. The absolute 1/10 effort he put in for the most part here doesn't just get forgotten in my book.
It's not exactly inexplicable, is it? A loss of form in terms of goalscoring in the 2020-21 season, coupled with a serious knee injury, subsequent loss of fitness, already low confidence, Ronaldo, and lack of further chances altogether created a downward spiral for Tony. Which was the reason he wanted a loan/fresh start at Sevilla. After a relatively decent start, he suffered 3 injuries in the 5 month period, and the loan failed to take off. Martial himself has talked about recently of having overcome the serious knee injury. The only problem I would have with Martial as the only striker, is the injury issues. When Cristiano goes, we definitely need a striker more than a RW forward.
He allegedly cheated on his wife when she was pregnant. If true, he deserved it.
Ideally, he has a good year, and then sell. Unfortunately, he will probably have an average year and we won't sell.
I haven't been so emotionally invest on pre-season trainings until now. If he can get us play like Ajax, the future is bright indeed.
Agreed the 20-21 is inexplicable and there is no point trying. The 21-22 is a bit more complicated, he did his knee playing for France in March 2021 and looked off the following season up until the beginning of his Sevilla career but then injured himself again.
Oh for sure he lost his form and confidence, it happens, but that season he also ruptured his knee ligaments after having multiple other injuries that year. And then struggled to find fitness the following season but was also pushed down the pecking order. The half season or so he was fit for in 20/21 he lost form and was on him, but the rest of the past 2 years you can easily point to injuries in lack of fitness (still on him, but different as it happens to every player at some point).
For me, 21/22 is purely injury hit more than anything, and 20/21 was loss of form. But it wouldn't be unheard of if he got back to form this year in a new system like Ten Hag's. And then the rest is on him. Some don't seem willing to even wait and see if he can get there at all.
There's no denying he's done well this preseason. But his issue in past seasons was being able to force himself into tight games and positioning his way onto the end of chances in the box.
I won't write him off because I think he has a big upside if he can bring it all together. But I still have doubts about what he can do in competitive games in a top league.
I won't write him off because I think he has a big upside if he can bring it all together. But I still have doubts about what he can do in competitive games in a top league.
I don't think a 50 goal target is an unrealistic ask this season.
You mean back when Ronaldo, Cavani and Greenwood were all ahead of him? Can’t believe he wanted out.
Agreed, and I think it may have helped the penny drop as well; grass isn't always greener and all that.
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