Bouhafsi: Martial wants to leave United

[Jaqen H'ghar]

Hand wringing and hysterics aside, I think this is just posturing and brinksmanship, a negotiation tactic by his agent trying to get the best fee and playing assurances possible for his client. It's his job, and if being an obnoxious prick helps his client, then that's what he needs to be.

On the flip side agents pressuring clubs in the media and exaggerating things leads to a disconnect between player and fans.

Martial is obviously talented, but very far from the finished article. We're a great club recovering from a bad period, so either he knuckles down and proves himself, or moves (for the right price).

Anyone who thinks that Martial "deserves better" or hopes he "shines and fulfils his potential elsewhere" can do one. Personally my hope is he either stays and fulfils his potential here, or goes somewhere else, and turns out a sulky, lazy, frustrating player and we feel justified for getting rid.

 

[gajender]

Yeah? And how many of those we have in the squad? Easily replaced? Like we are doing it with Alexis?

Don't get me wrong, I agree no player should try to strong arm the club as you say, but we as a team footballing wise have been awful in identifying world class talent in the last couple of years. In Martial we have one and our manager hasn't handled him properly. If we had a plethora of other attackers like him, or genuine world class players playing in his position and displacing him because they are better, I would say feck Martial and he can go.

Instead we have Alexis who looks like a shadow of his former self, Rashford who is lesser talent/or just as inconsistent and a ST mainly, everything else is dross.

That he will be easily replaced, I doubt it.

Agreed with everything thing you have said our squad is clearly lacking in world class talent and we have made big blunders in transfer market as well but may be I am being naive or just optimistic but I think things would get better hopefully our upgraded scouting structure and better aligned transfer policy should start producing better result and if Martial leaves we should be able to get similar replacement.

Only problem is with Mourinho we may face similar problems next season as well so hopefully we win big prizes this season so it's all worth it at least.

 

[Neilwij]

Hes been a good player and only 22 as well and I can see that his form has dipped but I can understand why he wants to leave.

Sanchez has been shite for us yet mourinho has still started him. No doubt this time next season it will be Rashford in the same position as Martial. End of the day its the manager that needs to go not any of the players.

 

[GM K]

People talk of comparisons with De Bruyne and Salah but this is far worse.

Martial has actually done a lot for us unlike those two for Chelsea. He was our top scorer in his debut season. Second season was a mixed bag but which of our players are so incredibly consistent?

Mourinho's favourites can go several games playing like shit and keep their place, but young talents are dropped at the slightest poor performance.

People are now comparing him to Anelka! Anelka was never treated poorly by his club like Martial was.

It has been reiterated many times in this thread, but he was player of the month three times before Sanchez joined. I'll leave it at that.

How has Martial been treated poorly at United? Gosh! The state of modern football.
People need to get real. Football today is what it is especially in the big clubs. Talented players always want to play, be the center of the universe or earn more money. Clubs can't offer all of them that privilege all the time so the players force their way out. There is absolutely nothing about Martial's case that is unique. Salah did it at Chelsea, Neymar did it at Barcelona, James did it at Madrid, Ronaldo and Pogba did it at United, Miki, Dembele and Lewandowski did it at Borrusia Dortmund, Sanchez did it at Arsenal, I can go on and on. Martial 'doesn't get enough game time'? Big deal. Same can be said for Rashford, Herrera, Romero, Shaw, Rojo, etc. It is perfectly normal for players not to be happy in that kind of situation. But I prefer not to be seeing media leaks every now and then or the agent coming out to state you want to leave thereby risking the chance of the club earning more money from your sale. Work with the club strategically and leave in such a way that everyone wins.

 

[OohAahMartial]

Guess I might need to change my username again.

I'm not exactly shocked though. Talented though he is, he hasn't really progressed and never seemed like Jose rated him. A bit one dimensional too.

However, he was pretty much our only exciting player. We had better replace him well and get exciting to watch replacements or we will be even more of a borefest to watch.

Is he the last LVG signing to go? Seems like Jose only wants his own men.

 

[Damien]

Wasn't Martial angling for a move last summer? That was before he had his "spot stolen" by Sanchez. He's wanted out for ages, feck him at this point, clearly thinks he can do better than us, so lets see what happens.

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[L1nk]

I guarantee the people saying good because Martials attitude is poor or he doesn't want to fight for a place will be clamouring for us to sign Bale who apparently doesn't want to fight for a place at Real Madrid and used the CL final to moan about it, when Martials kept to himself mostly.

 

[Mainoldo]

Is it that strange to not want players playing for other teams to become world class? Odd reaction.

It’s okay to be a United fan and still like football. It’s like not wanting Messi to forfill his potential. We’re not 7 anymore, this doesn’t affect us in the slightest.

 

[crossy1686]

You said that we dropped points most of the games he started, that's wrong. He also didn't cause any issues.

After January we have.

• He had a strop because he lost the number 9 shirt.
• Had an affair with a x factor wannabe
• His wife left him with his baby and started spouting all kinds of shit in the press
• Attitude goes off a cliff after Sanchez signing
• His new girlfriend started posting shit on Twitter about him being 'misused' out on the right
• Played utter dog shit football
• United confirm he's refused to sign a new contract
• Agent confirms he wants to leave because we signed Sanchez

Too much unnecessary drama.

 

[Damien]

Guess I might need to change my username again.

I'm not exactly shocked though. Talented though he is, he hasn't really progressed and never seemed like Jose rated him. A bit one dimensional too.

However, he was pretty much our only exciting player. We had better replace him well and get exciting to watch replacements or we will be even more of a borefest to watch.

Is he the last LVG signing to go? Seems like Jose only wants his own men.

We'll still have Romero and Rojo if you assume Darmian and Blind are leaving soon and are of the view that Shaw and Herrera are signings started under Moyes.

 

[Renegade]

Guess I might need to change my username again.

I'm not exactly shocked though. Talented though he is, he hasn't really progressed and never seemed like Jose rated him. A bit one dimensional too.

However, he was pretty much our only exciting player. We had better replace him well and get exciting to watch replacements or we will be even more of a borefest to watch.

Is he the last LVG signing to go? Seems like Jose only wants his own men.

Rojo hanging in there. I’ll be gutted if Martial goes,but ultimately we’ve lost better players before and we’ll move on. Hope Mourinho knows what his doing. Sanchez should have been bedded in on the RW until he was comfortable and could settle. No one saw it coming with Sanchez being put out left.

 

[gajender]

Guess I might need to change my username again.

I'm not exactly shocked though. Talented though he is, he hasn't really progressed and never seemed like Jose rated him. A bit one dimensional too.

However, he was pretty much our only exciting player. We had better replace him well and get exciting to watch replacements or we will be even more of a borefest to watch.

Is he the last LVG signing to go? Seems like Jose only wants his own men.

We have Rojo , Herrera , Blind and Darmian aswell but if Mourinho decides to sell them all they would hardly be missed . We really did buy lot of average players under Van Gaal.

 

[Smores]

I guarantee the people saying good because Martials attitude is poor or he doesn't want to fight for a place will be clamouring for us to sign Bale who apparently doesn't want to fight for a place at Real Madrid and used the CL final to moan about it, when Martials kept to himself mostly.

Bale is 28 at the peak of his career, not some little wannabe just starting out. The situations are not remotely comparable

 

[Frank Grimes]

I'd love him at Liverpool. Make it happen, Jurgen!

Swap with Mane and it's a deal.

 

[ivaldo]

I don't care, in fact I don't even care if Martial leaves or stay but I do care about the bullshit that you and others are spouting. In the league, we won most of our games when he started.

Isn't that the case for the vast majority of our players?

 

[crossy1686]

How has Martial been treated poorly at United? Gosh! The state of modern football.
People need to get real. Football today is what it is especially in the big clubs. Talented players always want to play, be the center of the universe or earn more money. Clubs can't offer all of them that privilege all the time so the players force their way out. There is absolutely nothing about Martial's case that is unique. Salah did it at Chelsea, Neymar did it at Barcelona, James did it at Madrid, Ronaldo and Pogba did it at United, Miki, Dembele and Lewandowski did it at Borrusia Dortmund, Sanchez did it at Arsenal, I can go on and on. Martial 'doesn't get enough game time'? Big deal. Same can be said for Rashford, Herrera, Romero, Shaw, Rojo, etc. It is perfectly normal for players not to be happy in that kind of situation. But I prefer not to be seeing media leaks every now and then or the agent coming out to state you want to leave thereby risking the chance of the club earning more money from your sale. Work with the club strategically and leave in such a way that everyone wins.

Done feck all for 6 months, been paid handsomely for it and then been offered a new contract with a higher salary. In what other career can you get away with that? Wish I was subject to some of that 'abuse'.

 

[Kevin]

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That is how these "bad attitude" style posts come from. They read something vague a year or whatever, couple it with a bad memory or the narrative just fits a certain argument they want to make more and voila "martial wanted out all this time and never had the mentality of bla bla". Couple of other posters who don't care either way what is what and are searching for something that fits their agenda read this and mentally copy and paste this ready to blast them out in the next martial thread.

Ignorance spreads like a virus.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I guarantee the people saying good because Martials attitude is poor or he doesn't want to fight for a place will be clamouring for us to sign Bale who apparently doesn't want to fight for a place at Real Madrid and used the CL final to moan about it, when Martials kept to himself mostly.

Bale scored in the CL final on more than one occasion for Real. He has a right be be annoyed that he isn't in the side. However that is a risk when you join Real. There are plenty of great players who have been stuck on the bench there.

 

[lsd]

Bale is 28 at the peak of his career, not some little wannabe just starting out. The situations are not remotely comparable

29 and nowhere near his peak

 

[JPRouve]

Isn't that the case for the vast majority of our players?

Why do you ask me, I'm not the one trying to make a point?

 

[AbusementPark]

After January we have.

• He had a strop because he lost the number 9 shirt.
• Had an affair with a x factor wannabe
• His wife left him with his baby and started spouting all kinds of shit in the press
• Attitude goes off a cliff after Sanchez signing
• His new girlfriend started posting shit on Twitter about him being 'misused' out on the right
• Played utter dog shit football
• United confirm he's refused to sign a new contract
• Agent confirms he wants to leave because we signed Sanchez

Too much unnecessary drama.

Never realised how much drama came along with him. Heard about the x-factor contestant but not about his wife, new girlfriend or any of the shit along with it.

 

[maniwin]

Our team success didn't depend on him so it's not like we are losing Messi here , the faster he goes , the better so we can say goodbye to whiny Martial FC fans.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Be hilarious if Martial ends up going to the Chinese league.

 

[ivaldo]

Why do you ask me, I'm not the one trying to make a point?

I think we would need to look deeper than just overall wins with a player to get a meaningful stat. A player can still win the majority of games and still have a negative effect compared to when they don’t start. Not sure if it’s the case, just speculating.

 

[JPRouve]

After January we have.

• He had a strop because he lost the number 9 shirt.
• Had an affair with a x factor wannabe
• His wife left him with his baby and started spouting all kinds of shit in the press
• Attitude goes off a cliff after Sanchez signing
• His new girlfriend started posting shit on Twitter about him being 'misused' out on the right
• Played utter dog shit football
• United confirm he's refused to sign a new contract
• Agent confirms he wants to leave because we signed Sanchez

Too much unnecessary drama.

His attitude hasn't change, he didn't had a strop because of the number 9, he didn't play utter dog shit football, he has no obligation to renew his contract and the rest doesn't concern the club and are non issues. It fairly simple if Martial wants to got it's fine the club will live without him but we don't need to make up things create ridiculous narrative to lambast Mourinho or Martial, they don't see eye to eye, it happens, we move on.

 

[JPRouve]

I think we would need to look deeper than just overall wins with a player to get a meaningful stat. A player can still win the majority of games and still have a negative effect compared to when they don’t start. Not sure if it’s the case, just speculating.

I don't really care, I responded to a post that wanted to create an narrative around the idea that when Martial was starting we dropped points more often than not, that's wrong.

 

[K2K]

So Jose slating him in the press, dropping him for Sanchez, moving his position to suit Sanchez and hardly giving him (or any forward) any focus on playing attacking football has nothing to do with it?

Think of it from Martials point. He has been in and out of the team, its clear Jose will play others ahead of him, he's lost his spot in the French team and we play dire attacking football that doesn't suit him.

Why is anyone surprised by this news? I'm surprised Rashford isn't kicking up a fuss, or Mata/Lukaku as we just do not focus on our attack. We have top tier players and talent in our attacking ranks and Burnley looked a bigger goal threat than us last year.

So in likelihood, Martial will leave and may well develop further and become a top player. We'll all regret it. Sanchez will be good for a season then decline. In a season or 2 most utd fans will be moaning that we let martial go and we'll be in the market for a top talent of a similar skillset to martial because we cant rely on sanchez anymore.. So predictable.

I do think that if Martial stays, he wont play much under jose and if our style of play continues then it'll be much the same as the season gone. Our style of play HAS to change, regardless of who plays in our attack

I even highlighted in that post that I was talking about De Gea.

 

[NJM78]

Our team success didn't depend on him so it's not like we are losing Messi here , the faster he goes , the better so we can say goodbye to whiny Martial FC fans.

That's one positive I guess but how can we get rid of the the fans who laud over Rashford and Valencia.

 

[Nick7]

That's one positive I guess but how can we get rid of the the fans who laud over Rashford and Valencia.

Support another team?

 

[Paxi]

Massive f*ck up by us.

Can’t wait to watch Sanchez struggle next year and Martial flourish elsewhere.

fecking hell have a bit of faith.

 

[Loublaze]

He did make his break through as a striker though? 94//95/96 he played upfront and dropped into midfield in 97 when Keane got injured.

I honestly don't remember that. Thought he was more of a CAM. Im getting old

 

[crossy1686]

His attitude hasn't change, he didn't had a strop because of the number 9, he didn't play utter dog shit football, he has no obligation to renew his contract and the rest doesn't concern the club and are non issues. It fairly simple if Martial wants to got it's fine the club will live without him but we don't need to make up things create ridiculous narrative to lambast Mourinho or Martial, they don't see eye to eye, it happens, we move on.

I would argue that the drama that surrounds him and the rumours he's not been happy at United would have affected the dressing room. We'll find out more once he leaves, unless his agent is feel more liberal with any information surrounding his exit this summer.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

We swapped lvg for mourinho and everyone cheered. This is always what it meant. It comes with lots of positives too.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

He's talented, and I always want to see him play, but I still don't see what he's particularly good at, apart from dribbling. His close control is very good, but he's not the best of finishers, not good in the air, he rarely makes runs off the ball that you'd expect of a wide forward, his positioning in the box is often poor. There are many who seem to think he's an out and out centre forward and I don't see it. I'd guess that he plays out wide because his best asset is taking the ball past defenders. He hasn't really excelled at anything else.

I'll be a little sad to see him go, as I still think he'll improve somewhat eventually, but overall his play right now is lacklustre, with some patches of decent form. I understand why he's not a concrete starter for Mourinho, even though I sort of wish he was, in hope that it just starts to click for him.

I do think it's going to take big money for the club to sell. He cost a lot to begin with, and I don't see the club making a loss on him. Who can afford him that can also play him regularly?

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Far better players have left. As a player right now, he’s easily replaceable by Rashford and Sanchez. If him going means we get a better balanced team, then so be it.

The only reason people are disappointed is that he does have a great deal of potential, but he’s not showing the right attributes to get the best out of himself.

If it’s posturing and he gets a new deal and buckles down, then great. If not, thanks for the memories and see you later.

Worst case scenario is that he gets a shiny new contract, doesn’t progress as a player, and we have a highly paid squad player.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

He's talented, and I always want to see him play, but I still don't see what he's particularly good at, apart from dribbling. His close control is very good, but he's not the best of finishers, not good in the air, he rarely makes runs off the ball that you'd expect of a wide forward, his positioning in the box is often poor. There are many who seem to think he's an out and out centre forward and I don't see it. I'd guess that he plays out wide because his best asset is taking the ball past defenders. He hasn't really excelled at anything else.

I'll be a little sad to see him go, as I still think he'll improve somewhat eventually, but overall his play right now is lacklustre, with some patches of decent form. I understand why he's not a concrete starter for Mourinho, even though I sort of wish he was, in hope that it just starts to click for him.

I do think it's going to take big money for the club to sell. He cost a lot to begin with, and I don't see the club making a loss on him. Who can afford him that can also play him regularly?

Bayern Munich and Juventus spring to mind.

 

[crossy1686]

Bayern Munich and Juventus spring to mind.

Don't think they'll be willing to pay £50m for him though. The'd take him on loan for sure.

I'd be surprised if Martial is anywhere but United after the summer. No one is going to pay what we're asking this summer when they'll get him for next to nothing next summer. He's been a mug a shown his hand too early.

 

[NJM78]

Support another team?

Nah I'm good Nick but quality suggestion all the same.

 

[Nick7]

Nah I'm good Nick but quality suggestion all the same.

Ah well, we'll still have Rashford and Valencia next year so buckle in.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

We swapped lvg for mourinho and everyone cheered. This is always what it meant. It comes with lots of positives too.

We could have swapped LvG for Sam Allardyce and I'd have cheered tbf...