I have noticed he doesn’t seem to be as quick as he used to be. I remember when he was at Monaco. He was rapid as a teenager. Although I don’t feel he ever put that pace to maximum use as he’s never really liked to make runs behind the defence. The speed that he can dribble with the ball is very dangerous however.
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 36
- Goals
- 7
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 1
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
Not sure if its a result of him carrying more timber, it has helped in terms of his ability ro hold the ball up
I’m definitely happy with his build up play and his ability to hold up the ball. I never thought he would be the type of player who would be able to play that role but he has surprised me in the last 2 years. His ability to receive the ball under pressure and bring others around him into the play is everything that Lukaku couldn’t do. I’ll happily take what he offers than just raw pace.
Biggest issue i see with martial is that he thinks too much. If Bruno is going to shoot, he will just spank the ball and hope it goes in. Martial needs to think much less and react much more. Both Martial, and to a MUCH lesser extent Rashford, are so caught up in the artistry of a beautiful goal at times that when you see Bruno just twat the ball in for a goal you can't help but ask "why doesn't martial just do that".
All round play has definitely improved to an acceptable level, but he plays like that isn't enough and mentally that is a worry. It should be enough for the team and I thought it was worrying when Bruno croc'd that fecker in the bottom corner and he reacted like "feck off mate you're in my way" even Dan James running through looked to give it a "come on mate fire up we scored". Really strange player in the grand scheme of things, somewhat enjoyable to watch but I find myself at times just befuddled by him. A couple of goals here in the next few weeks and I feel the floodgates might open, but he could just as well as score a couple as well as go on a barren streak again.
It was Solskjaer that said that.
He's pretty much always gone for placement rather than power. It's why most of his goals are into the corner or waiting until the keeper starts going one way then he goes the other. It has generally worked for him in the past, but yes I would like to see him hit it with a bit more power at times. Especially now when he's overthinking his placement finishing.
I think he’s been here long enough now and had his chance, he’s just far too inconsistent imo he won’t ever be good enough to lead the line. Everyones happy because we won but if that was in a close game he could be the difference between winning and losing And we can’t rely on him.
But it wasn't a close game in large part because of martial.
That's spot on.
I just knew the moment he missed the two sitters that his detractors would jump on it, saying he doesn't score and lessening him to a Firmino or something like that. We know Anto is clinical but is going through a drought phase for the first time in his career, so why not look at the rest of his CF game that has steadily improved, especially for the last 18 months or so, and is now at a sight to behold. Defenders simply don't know how to deal with him and it opens so many opportunities for our attack to progress. Marking him tight does not work as he has the strength, vision and skill to hold it and either pass or dribble his way into the vacated space. Standing off him also won't work as he will be free to either run with it or open you up with a precise final ball. He's indispensable to our attack and simply a joy to watch. When surrounded by a on-form Rashford, Bruno and soon Greenwood, I don't see a defence that can stop us. That's what excites me about the team at the moment. If say Pogba was to commit long-term, you're looking at a potential dynasty sustaining attack.
He’s a big reason why it wasn’t a close game so that’s a moot point
Something to ponder. Martial gets a lot of criticism for taking an extra touch whilst he could have placed a shot on target, but this is exactly why he wins so many penaties.
With Bruno in the side, penalties are as good as goals.
I still expect more, he should be one of the best players on the pitch every game with respect to his talent, but even now he s very good. There are better strikers, which he himself can become if he has a season like last.
With Bruno in the side, penalties are as good as goals.
I still expect more, he should be one of the best players on the pitch every game with respect to his talent, but even now he s very good. There are better strikers, which he himself can become if he has a season like last.
This thread makes me hate this forum, blind, clueless posters all over the place.
I said this a couple months ago, I thought he had put on some weight.
I like martial but my worry about him being our main striker in the long term is that he is quite a streaky player who is great when on form but very poor when out of form. I feel like rashford is quite similar and if both are out of form ar the same time it would really affect our performances
Comfortably his best performance this season.
Thought he was brilliant yesterday. Sure he probably should have had two goals to his name but he put on a performance yesterday. If he;d tucked those two away MOTM no questions asked even over McT who Was also fantastic.
The hold up play, the amount of times he binned people. At one point he turned 3 of them and sent them the wrong way. Some of the passing and vision he showed to boot was top notch.
Favourite moment and this is the 2nd time I’ve seen this from both he and Cavani. Fair enough if I’m Fred I’m shooting but Cavani and Martial stopped in the 6 yard box both just looking at him like what. Both did exactly the same to Greenwood when a similar thing happened.
Should add made a lot of runs inbehind and even got visibly frustrated when he wasn’t getting the ball.
The hold up play, the amount of times he binned people. At one point he turned 3 of them and sent them the wrong way. Some of the passing and vision he showed to boot was top notch.
Favourite moment and this is the 2nd time I’ve seen this from both he and Cavani. Fair enough if I’m Fred I’m shooting but Cavani and Martial stopped in the 6 yard box both just looking at him like what. Both did exactly the same to Greenwood when a similar thing happened.
Should add made a lot of runs inbehind and even got visibly frustrated when he wasn’t getting the ball.
Not sure why is he getting so much criticism on here. He was brilliant yesterday, especially in the first half where he just toyed with Cooper and Ayling, I can’t remember him losing the ball on the counters, which enabled the quick ball progression into the final third.
Also added three assists, what’s not to like (the finishing isn’t a big problem, the result was 6-1 when he had that chance so basically irrelevant in the grand scheme of things).
Also added three assists, what’s not to like (the finishing isn’t a big problem, the result was 6-1 when he had that chance so basically irrelevant in the grand scheme of things).
This is an extremely shallow view on the game of football.The cult of Tony is mental.
The guy is our number 9, an iconic shirt number which should mean lots of goals.
Instead we get a guy who most people would agree isn't a natural striker and has scored 1 goals all season in the Prem. He then has a half decent game against Leeds (still no goals) and any slander on emperor Tony shall not be tolerated?
Realistically we either push him back to left attacking midfield or sell him and use the money to get a proper striker. This blind loyalty to players who are not performing in the positions they are put in, is part of the reason we have been such a mess since Sir Alex
Played well yesterday, other than the finishing.
He can’t hit a barn door since changing to those plain black boots. Back to the the pink/yellow/green ones Anthony.
He can’t hit a barn door since changing to those plain black boots. Back to the the pink/yellow/green ones Anthony.
Absolutely sensational yesterday. He was everything Solskjaer's tactics require of him to be. He fully deserved all the criticism headed his way since the start of the season but it seems that his form is finally picking up. Keep it up and the goals will surely come.
It's different with Martial though, other than some rare occasions like the first two games of the season where everyone was basically in pre-season mode, when he is not scoring the rest of the intangibles he brings to our attack are almost always there. The myth that he alternates between very good and very poor is just that.
It's understandable with Rashford, he's younger and has had a bigger gap to improve on his technique and decision making, hence when he's not banging in the goals the rest of his game can sway more.
However they're both rarely out of goalscoring form at the same time, which bodes well for our attack so no need to worry about it, and we now also have Bruno who can chip in with goals or penalties if needed
and Mason as well in the wings to add to the output.He was the difference. Two assists and a penalty, no? Involved in Bruno's goal...
His ball control is just sublime and important if we want to play fast break attacks.
The first touches to create the chances (that he ultimately missed) were absolutely amazing, Messi or Brazilian Ronaldo like. Just needs to get his confidence back.
I mean last season Martial easily outscored Firmino. Why does it matter what type of goals?
Also you can't compare headed goals on players on our team versus Liverpool or even city.
The simple reason is they cross the ball a hell of a lot more than us. Trent averaged like 8 crosses per game last year. Then they also have Robertson and even Henderson putting in crosses.
I doubt we do 8 crosses every game. We literally avoid it like the plague for the most part.
I wouldn't be surprised if Trent on his own isn't far off our total crosses in a season.
It's one of the things we need to get better at. Crossing, especially from deep is just so dangerous but we very rarely do it.
I would have to disagree because i think there is even more range in martials performances than in rashfords. Until the last couple of games martial was having an absolutely awful season. I am more inclined to cut rashford slack because whem has poor games the effort is always there and he never lets his head drop. Martial in comparison can look very sulky and seems to almost stop moving. Missed chances seem to affect him quite a lot sometimes as wellIt's different with Martial though, other than some rare occasions like the first two games of the season where everyone was basically in pre-season mode, when he is not scoring the rest of the intangibles he brings to our attack are almost always there. The myth that he alternates between very good and very poor is just that.
It's understandable with Rashford, he's younger and has had a bigger gap to improve on his technique and decision making, hence when he's not banging in the goals the rest of his game can sway more.
However they're both rarely out of goalscoring form at the same time, which bodes well for our attack so no need to worry about it, and we now also have Bruno who can chip in with goals or penalties if needed
I know people think he isnt good enough for our starting number 9 or main attacker and that is fair - he isnt good enough as a Lewandowski or an Aguero or Salah/Mane, the aubameyang from 2 years back;
but is he good enough to be the second one? Is he better than the Gabriel Jesus, the Origi's, the Lacazette's?
I think he is.
Martial didnt cry saying he wanted to be our only number 9, he said he wanted to play centrally. Ole soon as he came targeted another striker like Haaland to compete with Martial aswell and both would have been a very good duo to have. Martial as our second striker isnt such a bad thing to have.
but is he good enough to be the second one? Is he better than the Gabriel Jesus, the Origi's, the Lacazette's?
I think he is.
Martial didnt cry saying he wanted to be our only number 9, he said he wanted to play centrally. Ole soon as he came targeted another striker like Haaland to compete with Martial aswell and both would have been a very good duo to have. Martial as our second striker isnt such a bad thing to have.
He was class yesterday. When he's in the mood, he's such an asset to the team. His hold up play is underrated, he's adding assists to his all round game, and his touch and dribbling is lethal. His finishing has gone to pot though, but I'm sure it'll come natural to him soon enough. He's overthinking it (with regards to finishing) and needs to be a bit more instinctive.
With the type of player that he is developing into, does he remind anyone of Dwight Yorke? It was a comparison that has only recently occurred to me. Yorke was superior in the air, while Martial is the better dribbler and a tad quicker perhaps. Both have/had good hold up and slick interplay. Yorke scored 18 league goals during our treble winning season, Martial hit 17 last season.
On a side note, really good all round performance from him yesterday. Encouraging to see. Just needs to find his shooting boots.
On a side note, really good all round performance from him yesterday. Encouraging to see. Just needs to find his shooting boots.
2 assists due to his great ability yesterday. Him and rashford are 1 in 4 finishers, so he's due a regression to the mean anytime soon because he's currently a 1 in 8 finisher. Same goes to Rashford who will find his way back down to 1 in 4. Hopefully while they do that we have Greenwood finally come back up to his mean of 1 in 2 finishing.
What do you mean 1 in 4 finishers? You would expect or at least hope for both players to be hitting 20+ goals.
Yorke was a far superior player who scored winning goals. Let's not compare the incomparable.
Yeah that was with a sumptuous pirouette in a split second that got us on the attack...
It's silly, but I hope that's not the case, bangers from the all-black boot, black glove wearing Martial would be so iconic
You must be a new fan, or deeply caught in the agenda driven myths, because in truth Martial more often than not delivers on the intangibles whether he's in scoring form or not, and hugely impacts our fluidity, chance creation and ability to sustain attacks.
The two seasons he has been trusted as our starting 9 completely go against such a take. He has proved able to lead our attack, in various systems whether as a false 9 or out and out 9. The only question on Martial now, like all players, is if he can do it season after season while improving to a higher level, not the 'is he good enough' nonsense.
My advice for you is to pull yourself away from the agenda driven narratives and realize that we have a very unique, elite striker just about to enter his prime. Trust me, you'll have a much better time enjoying the ride than stressing daily about which poacher should replace Martial. Ole knows ball and he's not about to replace Anto with a poacher that will need a whole team set up to feed him. If anything, a poacher would come in to be the plan B rather than the main forward
I've seen the roulette he pulled mentioned a few times already in this thread, has anyone got a gif of that? It really was a stunning turn.
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His work rate to come deep is quite underrated, he isnt the most flexible player - but I'm not sure if lazy is the word to describe him. Always works his arse off at corners to try and initiate a counter as well.
Yup, that's the one, cheers. The things he can do with a ball is incredible.
Yeah, having a striker able to come deep as comfortably as him is immense for us, especially for Rashford.
What do you mean by isn't the most flexible player (mean physically?), not quite understanding what you mean there? Yeah he was never lazy even when played on the touchline by Jose, he always tracked back to help out the LB. I think because he gives off an energy of always being in control, it's easy to miss his influence outside of the box in matches generally.
Dwight Yorke IMO was a better all round player and had a better consistent first touch. His link-up play was absurd.
In Dwight Yorke's FOUR seasons at the club in two of those seasons he was world class. Definitely top tier.
In Martial's SIX seasons he has looked promising and very good in spells (usually when he hits his purple patches)
So far though he hasnt shown the consistency required to be considered world class. He still has time.. but how much more time does he fecking need?
Technically he's fine..
I think it's mental with Martial. His concentration levels are still quite poor and lacks focus and drive on the pitch.
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