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2015-16 Performances


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6.6 Season Average Rating
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49
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17
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SirAF

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He's going to become one of my current favorites, we've really been starved of a proper #9 since RvP in 12/13.
 

RaptorSlo

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He doesn't look the type to get exhausted. He's not broke a sweat yet.
Very impressed how he doesn't needlessly waste energy but at the same time is bright as a button.

Very very impressed
He had the Berba school at Monaco. :p
 

Everest Red

Reddest ever
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Neville was chatting shit there - Rooney and Ronaldo were playing day in and day out when they came here. If a players ready, he is ready. And Martial looks more than ready, physically and mentally he looks solid.
I'm sure Neville suffers from acute imposter syndrome.
 

ivaldo

Mediocre Horse Whisperer, s'up wid chew?
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Nov 15, 2012
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28,701
You can't just box himself together in a neat little package along with all other 19 year old you have to look at him individually.

He has a calm head on his shoulders, he's already physically matured so no growing pains, he's more than athletic enough for the league, knows how to play the position properly and seems to already have the right mentality. To me that says he's ready to regularly lead the line for us, too much emphasis is put on age these days. (Careful!)
 

Sam

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He's absolute magic. Just a class above.

We have a star here, we really do. His composure is unreal.
 

YouOnlyLiveTwice

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He doesn't look fussed at all being a 19 year old kid coming to Man Utd with a huge Price tag, which is great.

Long may his form continue.
 

Snowjoe

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
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Watching it again on MOTD. He just doesn't give a feck in front of goal does he? At no point does the thought of missing seem to cross his mind.
 

Fortitude

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In all of his minutes so far, I've yet to see him snatch at any action he's made, be it a pass or a shot. Even if things don't come off, the intent and idea behind it is clear and apparent. There's not only composure in there, but also a speed of thought and ability to process the game rapidly in a way where his final action always looks like he has all the time in the world.

All his goals so far have involved intricacy and a functional process where if you slow down the action of the play you see all the nuance before the ball hits the back of the net. You won't find that in many strikers around, so to have 'it' at 19 years old makes it clear this kid is a special talent. He looks like the type who can pick and choose the best option for each scenario and it will be interesting to see the range of goals and attempts he makes over the course of the season.

The biggest problem we might have with him is actually pulling him from games and giving him the breaks from our starting xi that teenagers generally need, because, as a player, irrespective of age, he gives us everything we need in a lead the line striker, so much so that people might forget this is a kid who needs to avoid burnout.

He's going to have a respect and fear factor to him if he keeps going at defenses in the way he's done to Liverpool and Southampton. The most dangerous and clever element to his running is the way that once he gets beyond a player, he cuts straight across them, meaning they're at risk of a red or yellow immediately if they try to challenge him on their wrong side. If he keeps doing what he's shown in his brief time in the PL, opposition managers are going to have to cater to his game in short order, which will benefit the rest of the team immensely.

Another thing that seems to be apparent is that his one-touch and link-up ability is better than what we have here - he looks like he can ping balls back and forth all day and he makes the appropriate runs off the ball to receive and go again, and again. He really looks like the type who would thrive with a proper and competent #10 behind him.


It's quite astonishing that this random kid most of the caf knew nothing about has just popped up and looks like such a polished all-round player straight out the gate. I wasn't expecting anything like the player we've got and little by little I'm wondering what the actual holes in his game are as he looks ridiculously competent to this point in time.

I wonder how LVG will manage fan expectations if Martial keeps performing like this.
 
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iammemphis

iwillnotaskforanamechangeagain
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At a loss to explain how 1) I had never heard of him before he joined for us, and 2) why he only completed 90 minutes five times in his career!

The guy is unbelievable. Hats off to Woody and LVG for having the balls to spend this much on a 19 year old. Thats not guessing he was going to be good - like Nani or Anderson, that was a statement of "This guy is for sure one of the best players in the world in a few years". To be that sure deserves huge credit because he is absolute mustard. He barely scored for Monaco, Wenger said he was a winger and then we go and stick him as a lone striker and he performs like he's been playing the role for 10 years.. And he's 19! Incredible.
 

Ixion

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Apr 11, 2003
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I'm looking forward to next week. He's started a couple of tough away games and had a sub appearance at OT against a rival. Sunderland at home should be a game we dominate and win comfortabley so it will be exciting to see what he can do in a game with a bit more freedom.
 

FujiVice

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May 8, 2013
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He's so great, I want to start a thread to discuss him even though I'm in a thread that is discussing him. He deserves his own sub forum. FrenchCafe. We can talk about Cantona in there as well.
 

Trizy

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Apr 16, 2014
Messages
12,009
According to some, he's no bigger a talent to James Wilson.
I'd agree they're both very talented but I have only seen Martial in an United shirt three times and have been impressed whereas I've watched Wilson loads underage and he is a special talent too.

If both reach their potential we will have a world class front 2 for many years to come.
 

bosnian_red

Worst scout to ever exist
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At a loss to explain how 1) I had never heard of him before he joined for us, and 2) why he only completed 90 minutes five times in his career!

The guy is unbelievable. Hats off to Woody and LVG for having the balls to spend this much on a 19 year old. Thats not guessing he was going to be good - like Nani or Anderson, that was a statement of "This guy is for sure one of the best players in the world in a few years". To be that sure deserves huge credit because he is absolute mustard. He barely scored for Monaco, Wenger said he was a winger and then we go and stick him as a lone striker and he performs like he's been playing the role for 10 years.. And he's 19! Incredible.
No idea how you've never heard of him, or how so many haven't really. He's been a very highly rated youngster for a while and is an FM legend too. Why he only completed 90 minutes 8 times or whatever it was before he joined United was because he was 18 and turned 19 last season. Pretty easy to see why. Also his goalscoring record isn't bad. It's just he was 18 years old. Find me an 18 year old with a good goalscoring record... They don't exist. 12 goals last season, for an 18/19 year old, is very good. And it only got better once he turned into a starter in the second half of the season and he scored 8 or 9 of them in his last 14 games or so I think.
 

Deleted member 78215

Guest
Why does every commentator and pundit keep going on about how cold and calculating he looks?

You'd think we had Ted Bundy up front for us.
 

Scorpy

Absolutely crapping it and loving it!
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Just watched Van Gaal's post-match conference and he said Martial's greatest strenght is showing his talent under pressure. Pretty much why he's received so much praise and deservedly so.
 

Red_toad

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Nice to see his thread is positive, as many were very unsure of his qualities as theyd never seen him play & gave a shite what United paid for him.
Lad is class & is going to have ups & downs. Needs to be used correctly, so won't be starting every game.
 

HabeasC

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Why does every commentator and pundit keep going on about how cold and calculating he looks?

You'd think we had Ted Bundy up front for us.
It's his eyes. They give away no emotion - like a shark.
 

Hernandez - BFA

The Way to Fly
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Jan 5, 2011
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Could easily do it. Early days but if he keeps on doing what he's doing - then certainly.

His composure is unreal. I actually started celebrating before he even shot his second goal. I have so much confidence in him when one on one. How many shots has he had for us now? About 5 maximum surely. Scored 3 from them.
Just saw the stat on MOTD. I was wrong.

4 shots not 5. 3 goals :drool:
Clinical.
 

Kraftwerker

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We can't stop here. This is bat country.
Why does every commentator and pundit keep going on about how cold and calculating he looks?

You'd think we had Ted Bundy up front for us.
He just seems a bit unemotional, which is not a bad trait in a striker.

I read an interesting article which talked about the very top players and how many of them would probably score quite highly on tests of psychopathic personality.

That's not to say they're killers or anything, it just means they remain emotionally detached from the situation around them and nothing phases them. They don't do nerves or fear.

Not many people would have the ability to zone out from the occasion of a football match played in front of thousands of screaming fans and millions watching worldwide.
 

Wade3

Correctly predicted France to win World Cup 2018
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Dec 4, 2013
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2,729
Another decent performance, although that second goal in particular was handed to him by Southampton. Nonetheless you have to finish it and he did it well, as was the case with the first one. I'm still not gonna expect any wonders from him this season. While he could continue to be very productive for us, I'm also not gonna be concerned if he hits a dry spell. He's still 19 years old after all.
 

Green_Red

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May 29, 2013
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Good to see him on the scoresheet. And great to see us get 3 goals in a game.. have we turned the corner?
 

PvsNP

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May 13, 2013
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Another decent performance, although that second goal in particular was handed to him by Southampton. Nonetheless you have to finish it and he did it well, as was the case with the first one. I'm still not gonna expect any wonders from him this season. While he could continue to be very productive for us, I'm also not gonna be concerned if he hits a dry spell. He's still 19 years old after all.
Despite his price, I think it'd be harsh of us to have major expectations for him this season. I'm happy with whatever he can contribute.
 

Enigma_87

You know who
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Aug 7, 2008
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So far it's pretty much ok to say that he'll be better in the box than Welbeck will ever be.
 

Brightonian

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So far it's pretty much ok to say that he'll be better in the box than Welbeck will ever be.
Well... yeah. Given that that's the weakest area of Welbeck's game*, that's hardly a high bar.

*unless the pass is hit behind him, in which case he'll flick the ball between his legs to score every damn time. :drool:

Anyway, cracking start to the lad's United career. Keep it going!
 

Von Mistelroum

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I know I've harped on about the kid a lot from the day we went in for him, but I'd be amazed if he wasn't one of the world's best players (never mind strikers) in 3-5 years time at least. He has the attributes of a top, top player but I think the main thing that could be seen in his Monaco days was that look of confidence in his own ability that the top players seem to have at that age (Ronaldo, Neymar etc.) even when they don't play brilliantly, or make some mistakes you can see that self assuredness in them. I can't help but think back to Van Gaal and Kluivert too, exciting times for us ahead because even if we're not firing on all cylinders as a team, we have an amazingly good and exciting foundation for the future with players like Martial, Memphis (who will come good), Shaw, Schneiderlin and the likes, and with a truly world class, inspirational player like Schweinsteiger to learn from too.

I haven't felt such a strong attachment to so many UTD players since the class of 92 days and I don't think I've been quite so in love with a player since Cantona as I am with Schweinsteiger :)
 

Tarrou

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May 13, 2013
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He's got that arrogance about him, he just knows he's good enough to play here. Was genuinely worried he'd struggle a bit after all the press attention and pressure put on him, but he doesn't look fazed in the slightest. It shows an extreme amount of confidence in his own ability.
 

HabeasC

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I feel like Memphis and Martial can be our new Rooney and Ronaldo. They might not reach their level, but having two young players (plus Shaw and Januzaj) playing regularly and pushing each other on can only improve all of them.
 
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