[Stadjer]

He was literally getting hate during the match day thread. People actually hate him, wanted to get him off and label him as their most hated Manchester United of all time. Why? Because he doesnt chase every ball and doesnt make pointless runs after a ball he isnt going to get anyway. Rashford does make those runs and that is great and all but it is also a waste of energy and might even cause injuries if you do it all the time. It is pretty obvious that if (starting to look like a when now) Pogba is sold that Martial will be the next one to be targeted as the one who needs to be sold eventhough there are far bigger issues than Martial.

Compare Martial his game to James his game. James was much worse, lost every ball he got and it hardly even gets mentioned. Just have Martial play with Rashford, an actual good other attacker, a good and working midfield behind him and Martial will be a very good CF. Martial right now is a good player but he isnt a worldclass player who is able to be a one man attack when he is up front together with Daniel James.

Martial had a good combination with Bruno during the first half and the header he scored was a quality header. Besides that he didnt do much but also didnt really have a chance to do much. Although i do admit that his hold up play wasnt very good today, i have seen him do much better.

 

[#07]

So glad to see him get across the front of his marker and score a header. When you are the lone striker that's what you gotta do. The rest is academic.

 

[Baxter]

I thought he worked pretty hard in the first half, but the passes were far too slow and we were unable to mount any serious attack. Chelsea were a bit better and created better chances simply because they moved the ball quicker. Deserved the goal.

Said it a couple of times in the match thread. He’s so much better playing close to other players, like the chance he missed after the pass from Fernandes.

He needs to hold up the ball better at points, but the set-up sometimes doesn’t work for him.

 

[kafta]

World class header. I'm glad he scored a typical number nine goal.

 

[Kerry Donaghy]

Superb header but apart from that I thought he was absolutely woeful, his confidence looks at rock bottom, his ability to dribble past defenders has literally vanished, a big concern in my opinion.

 

[VeevaVee]

Cracking header. An otherwise very meh performance.

 

[Bebestation]

Said it a couple of times in the match thread. He’s so much better playing close to other players, like the chance he missed after the pass from Fernandes.

He needs to hold up the ball better at points, but the set-up sometimes doesn’t work for him.

And this is what happens when James get played as a left winger, Mata as a right winger - everyone is wondering why Martial isn't making runs in to the box.

He just isn't that type of striker & you can't really blame him for that. He wants other strikers and players around him so he can bring them in to play - players like Rashford or Greenwood on the sides of him suddenly form partnerships & Martial's first touches get better because the defence have 3 attackers to deal with rather than James one one side, Mata doing something completely opposite whilst Martial is dropping deep.

People will continue to hate on him because he isn't versatile in the way he plays but to be honest - neither do I think the way he plays is useless nor exactly easy to be found to just be shouting out loud to sell him whilst he can catch a good transfer fee.

We do need a more traditional striker but Martial is a support striker who works better with players in close degrees around him - players like Rashford & Greenwood on the sides of him - players like Bruno Fernandes & Pogba behind him because then all Martial has to do is surprise surprise, take a first touch - ask the ball to feet, make a pass to the forwards around him before making runs back again to finish off the move or make a pass again.

When the players aren't there - he looks extremely isolated or as the fans or haters say - not interested.

 

[Squirt]

I was looking at our europa league journey 16/17 and noticed how big Ibrahimovic's presence was on the field, something martial lacks unfortunately.

 

[Andersonson]

Top top class goal. Thats all im going to say.

 

[Rolaholic]

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[Raven]

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Loves a goal against Chelsea.

 

[Canagel]

Funny posters coming on here suddenly talking about all round game when slating him in the past even when he did all of the approach play well and didn't score.
Very funny that. Lucky he scored on the half time , I can only imagine the shit that would have come his way on the gameday thread otherwise..

 

[Foxbatt]

If he scores important goals like this I do not care what he does for the rest of the time on the pitch. He is not a Fred who is going to run for 98 mins non stop.

 

[SmashedHombre]

He needs to just stay in the opposition box. He's always dropping deep or out wide and he's useless there. In the box he's an absolute handful though, unfortunately he's rarely there. Great goal.

 

[MadMike]

People say he needs to make those runs or stay in the box more often, but how often is a decent cross forthcoming from the fullbacks? The striker is not gonna make runs if he knows that 9/10 times the fullbacks will just play it back to central midfield. He'll drop in deeper to get the ball.

What we need to see, is more crosses like the one today from AWB. Then if Martial isn't getting into the box and on the end of them, I'll give him more stick.

I though it was an OK game from him, which turned good with a beautiful #9 goal.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Was poor until the goal which was an exquisite header. Left the keeper no chance at all. Better 2nd half but first half just not good enough. Made a few runs that were t picked up and was looking for people to make runs who didn’t but yeah average game.

 

[meamth]

Cracking header. An otherwise very meh performance.

I can remember many meh performances from a no.9 in a big game.

He plays, unanimous, scores, unanimous again.
Typical no.9 performance.

 

[Reiver]

He is one of the most frustrating players I can remember watching for the club. Looks like he doesn't give a flying feck at least half the time, but the talent is there.

 

[MadMike]

I can remember many meh performances from a no.9 in a big game.

He plays, unanimous, scores, unanimous again.
Typical no.9 performance.

We unanimously agree

 

[RedCurry]

He’s my most loved and hated player since Nani.

 

[Hawks2008]

Usual listless self today but he got a goal so I guess he was ok.

 

[sp_107]

Hope he scores few more goals so that we can sell him for good price as Conte wants him in summer.
I think we can find a replacement who can be more consistent and elevate others game too. he could be the best player in a different setup but with the players we have right now I dont think we can see the best out of Martial any time soon. His personal life also got messier in recent years which didnt help.

 

[VeevaVee]

I can remember many meh performances from a no.9 in a big game.

He plays, unanimous, scores, unanimous again.
Typical no.9 performance.

Putting in a performance more often is a requirement for a team that wishes to compete though. Getting the goal despite not doing is what should happen on the bad days, not the good ones.

 

[Sayros]

He was literally getting hate during the match day thread. People actually hate him, wanted to get him off and label him as their most hated Manchester United of all time. Why? Because he doesnt chase every ball and doesnt make pointless runs after a ball he isnt going to get anyway. Rashford does make those runs and that is great and all but it is also a waste of energy and might even cause injuries if you do it all the time. It is pretty obvious that if (starting to look like a when now) Pogba is sold that Martial will be the next one to be targeted as the one who needs to be sold eventhough there are far bigger issues than Martial.

Compare Martial his game to James his game. James was much worse, lost every ball he got and it hardly even gets mentioned. Just have Martial play with Rashford, an actual good other attacker, a good and working midfield behind him and Martial will be a very good CF. Martial right now is a good player but he isnt a worldclass player who is able to be a one man attack when he is up front together with Daniel James.

Martial had a good combination with Bruno during the first half and the header he scored was a quality header. Besides that he didnt do much but also didnt really have a chance to do much. Although i do admit that his hold up play wasnt very good today, i have seen him do much better.

Martial is one of the most polarizing player on this team. The difference in treatment with him and James comes partly from that, but also the fact that every one knows Martial is a more talented player, but he doesn't always show it. That frustrates far more than an average player playing poorly.

 

[Bebestation]

Hope he scores few more goals so that we can sell him for good price as Conte wants him in summer.
I think we can find a replacement who can be more consistent and elevate others game too. he could be the best player in a different setup but with the players we have right now I dont think we can see the best out of Martial any time soon. His personal life also got messier in recent years which didnt help.

Absolutely false.

You play Rashford & Greenwood in a wide strikers partnership then Martial will do great for us being the player who centrally interlinks those two.

The problem was Greenwood wasn't ready this season so we had James on the RW who isn't a forward so only Rashford got the benefit of Martial.What did you see? James making wide runs and attempting to make crosses than cutting in and shooting unlike Greenwood who is a left footed striker. James as a RW also caused problems for AWB's ability to overlap because James would just take his space & cross himself but that's for another thread.

Martial as the only striker whilst everyone else is trying to supply him chances isn't good enough & for that we do need a traditional striker that plays a more simplistic way of getting in to the box and taking his chances than a striker who is dropping deep trying to make this work for the players around him.

Also conte is the last manager who would play a striker like him - he always has a target man doing that job & it's the reason he went for Morata & later on went for Lukaku.

 

[KennyBurner]

Got to be honest Im getting worried with his last few performances including today. I dont know if he's suffering from an injury and not trying to work himself. I dont think he was lazy today but I didnt see any enthusiasm from him to get things moving. Why this bothers me is because given the recent events surrounding City you would think all our players would be pumped up from now till the end of the season. he scored a goal but offered close to nothing else. he was also very hesitant to run at players like he used to. Im wondering if he is slowing down as he gets older which is bad considering he should be in his physical prime.

The only positive I can think of is he isnt familiar with the tactic ole used today. I wasn't a fan of it to be honest regardless of if it beat chelsea. They arent a great side in my personal opinion even if they are sitting in 4th place. He was isolated with Daniel james and didn't know what to do with the ball when it got to him. He was always quick to pass it back when he got it instead of leading the line with his great dribbling abilities. Still he was sort of sluggish and lost the ball on a few occasions.

The best players always find a way to come out on top even on rainy days and he did just that. Would like to see a better performance from him in the next game. He needs to get back in form performance wise.

 

[RUCK4444]

On nights like tonight I feel he thinks he’s done his job with a goal.

When in reality with his ability he should be running at players for 90 mins.

He had one attempt at it and played a nice one two with Bruno that beat most of the defenders and led to a chance. Why doesn’t he try this consistently like a Sterling or Mane or Hazard etc??

I feel the answer is a lack of determination, you can’t un-coach that usually.

 

[OhGee]

It’s very difficult playing upfront in this United setup where we sit so deep that the front players have to drop into that big gaping hole to try and get the ball. We know that’s the only way Ole sets up to play ie soak up pressure and catch the opponent on the break. Let’s face it 3 at the back is a defensive setup and with effectively only Martial upfront, he becomes the only threat for the opposition and they can easily mark him out of the game. No surprise that he found space for the goal when Christenson was injured. With Marcus there, they create spaces for each other but DJ is still green and unfortunately lacking in football intelligence to partner upfront.

With Bruno we have someone that will create chances for our forwards but we have to move away from the current tactics of 2 holding deep lying midfielders and switch to a midfield 3 with a DM,B2B and an AM. Let’s reserve judgement for when that happens

 

[mariachi-19]

He's got the ability to be the best player in the world on his day. He needs to find consistency.

Defenders literally shit their pants when he starts running at them.

 

[Harry190]

Bit of a fraud this guy. At the top level at least. Mid-table superstar because of mid-table consistency. Too bad.

 

[Raven]

Bit of a fraud this guy. At the top level at least. Mid-table superstar because of mid-table consistency. Too bad.

Absolute poo poo talk. Pretty clear the talent he has, pretty clear that he's been developing his game as well by adding aerial ability (2 headed goals so far this season), strengthening his left foot and working on his pressing. We still saw flashed of his dribbling ability today but too often was crowded out by the opposition, which is likely to happen at Stamford Bridge.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Great goal. Happy for him.

 

[ash_86]

He'd do very well with Ighalo next to him as second striker. I remember games when he was paired up with Ibra he was doing a really good job.

 

[kundalini]

Superb header for his goal. Good run to meet the cross.

One decent run followed by a left foot shot wide.

The rest of his performance was untidy.

 

[SmallCaine]

On nights like tonight I feel he thinks he’s done his job with a goal.

When in reality with his ability he should be running at players for 90 mins.

He had one attempt at it and played a nice one two with Bruno that beat most of the defenders and led to a chance. Why doesn’t he try this consistently like a Sterling or Mane or Hazard etc??

I feel the answer is a lack of determination, you can’t un-coach that usually.

How much of this consistency did sterling and mane show when they weren't surrounded by good players as they are now?

 

[SmallCaine]

Funny posters coming on here suddenly talking about all round game when slating him in the past even when he did all of the approach play well and didn't score.
Very funny that. Lucky he scored on the half time , I can only imagine the shit that would have come his way on the gameday thread otherwise..

There seems to be a big section of utd fans who would love nothing more than to see him fail.

A lone striker who has scored against Chelsea at Stamford bridge gets gushing praise like a meh performance, listless player, hopefully he scores a few more so we can sell him I'm summer, it's like they aren't even trying to hide it anymore.

 

[Andersonson]

I can remember many meh performances from a no.9 in a big game.

He plays, unanimous, scores, unanimous again.
Typical no.9 performance.

Well, every striker has games when they are unanimous, but score. But Martial was dispossessed alot and was involved. So he wasnt unanimous , he was just very poor in holp-up and link-up play today.

But a great header, hope we see more of that. Because we all have witnessed he can do it. Just needs to learn to be in the right positions and be smarter on the ball.

 

[MikeKing]

Loved his goal. He is such a talented player if he could just learn to be a little more focused and determined he would be class. So sloppy on the ball with people on him, it is too frustrating as that should be the best part of his game.

 

[bosnian_red]

More league goals than Firmino, same as Son and Jesus this season. Tends to play way better with Rashford alongside him, but considering we had no midfield creativity all season, I'd say hes done pretty well this year. Fully fit squad I think he'd be brilliant and way more consistent, but always hard when every game your role changes. Glad he's our long term #9 though. Very happy actually that going forward, we have Rashford, him and probably Greenwood to take up the right wing position. Now Bruno as well behind them. Give these guys like Martial the proper depth so they aren't overplayed and we'll see the best of him.

Today he started off a bit iffy but quickly grew into the game, had some very good moments, scored a great header and then proceeded to be a really good focal point for us.

 

[Bobcat]

Thought he was overall poor, but great goal from him and thats what matters for striker