Eriksen and Martial

lex talionis

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Well if we ever need a makeshift CB I'd rather have McTominay over Bruno there. But that's about it.
I'll grant you that, and I would add throwing McTominay before Bruno at goalkeeper if we were eve in a situation where De Gea had to come off and we were out of substitutions.
 

Lecland07

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Genuine question. Do we eliminate Barcelona if it was Eriksen instead of Fred in both legs?
I think they both would have started, anyway, just like they did against Man City.

On another note, I didn't realise that Eriksen has 7 assists in 19 PL games; that is pretty mad for a central midfielder. He would be great to have back.

I have given up with Martial, though; I just expect him to get injured every time he players.
 

cyril C

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Genuine question. Do we eliminate Barcelona if it was Eriksen instead of Fred in both legs?
We could probably hold on to the 1-2 lead 1st leg, if Eriksen was in the team, simply by holding on to, and protecting the ball better.

Fred's energy was the key in the 2nd leg. Eriksen doesn't have that.
 

Mr.Hik

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Another stupid about Martial on the caf. What does it take for people to stop peddling myth about our players?
What myth?
Martial is not walkin in this first 11. ETH is not Ole.
He's really not that influential pal!
Martial is not going to walk in this first 11.
ETH is not OLE.
And thank God for that.
 

Escobar

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We miss both for depth but I am a bit surprised how well we coped without Eriksen. I expected worse
 

arthurka

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Martial will be unavailable again in less than 3 weeks. Eriksen will add both depth and quality.
 

Borys

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We miss both for depth but I am a bit surprised how well we coped without Eriksen. I expected worse
+1
Casemiro is the catalyst for both Fred and Eriksen. In most games we've played recently I think Fred was the better option anyway (to start).

Martial would play if fit, he takes us to another level especially now that we have a lot of players who work hard.
 

Mr.Hik

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That has nothing to do with the stupid shit you said earlier. Besides, are you ETH ? He's always played Martial whenever fit
Stupid shit? I just wrote that ETH wouldn't broke harmony of team who is winning.
ETH talk sweet talk, but he is ruthless.
You all have Stockholm Syndrome with Martial.
 

kouroux

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Stupid shit? I just wrote that ETH wouldn't broke harmony of team who is winning.
ETH talk sweet talk, but he is ruthless.
You all have Stockholm Syndrome with Martial.
I doubt you even know what Stockholm syndrome truly mean. If Martial is fit, let's see how ETH uses him because Martial makes the team better, he doesn't break any harmony :lol:
 

Eli Zee

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I doubt you even know what Stockholm syndrome truly mean. If Martial is fit, let's see how ETH uses him because Martial makes the team better, he doesn't break any harmony :lol:
idk if martial would be willing to press the way others are...but his strengths definitely benefit the team. Either way, we lack a 25 goal a season strike and need to buy one.
 

DJ_21

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Martial gives us a different option when playing. The thing is though he can barely get a run of games together. We need a striker then has good fitness record. I can see us selling martial in the summer to free up more space and give us more funds. It’s ashame because he’s such a talented player and ETH would have been the perfect coach for him as he improves every single player.
 

Von Mistelroum

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Martial will be fine for a match, might score a goal but then 6 more months on the shelf as he's had to run a bit.

Eriksen will need time to get back into things but he's a good player for us and could be very important.
 

jesperjaap

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My views havent changed from weeks ago:

Martial: Has lots of ability, but really his time should be up here, I mean hasnt he been here a decade nearly now. We have waited longer for him to come good consistently after promising times earlier....longer than ANderson. He is 27 now. I still think we actually need to sign two strikers this summer as there arent rally any youth players close to breakign through and for me Rashford is much more a left sided attacker than striker, so we dont really have any options there at all come the summer....bar Martial

Eriksen: Got slated at work when I said we wouldnt actually miss him that much at all. I think he is a great pro, good technically and can be creative, he is a good player. But always felt at Spurs he was over hyped and I feel like his performances here have been as well.....which isnt so much his fault for me anyway. I jsut dont think he has the legs or defensive awareness and reactions to play where he does in midfield, at his age should be floating as a number 10. I think he is a great addition to our squad and wth him out, we lose a bit of creativity....but Sabitzer keeps things ticking over and is better defensively in that role, Fred has also done well recently.

DeGea would be a huge loss with our back up options, Martinez I thought would be but MShaw has done so well there and Malacia has done well in his first season too that even he isnt as huge a loss as it would seem, Varane for me is a huge loss as he has a great patnership with Martinez that simply isnt replicated with other options in his place, Rashford in current form is obviously a loss but the one player we have seen IS a huge huge loss is Casemeiro....but for me Eriksens position is one we should be looking to fill in the summer, one of a couple of missing pieces for me, he will be a year older and a great squad option in 2/3 positions, but starting all season when fit, is no bad thing but it isn ta silverware winning thing for me
 

NZT-One

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Not necessarily, he is much more press resistant than Fred
And he isn't half as mobile as Fred who was everywhere in that 2nd half putting out fires. Plus I don't remember Fred losing the ball a significant number of times due to pressing. At least not more often than his teammates.
Both players have their pros and cons and definitely, Eriksen is the better footballer but there are a few cons with him as well. Primarily in the defensive and energy department. It is all good and well to have players that are good on the ball but against a very good press, there can't be any one player in our team who is weak. Not sure if there are any teams ticking that box and we certainly do not. And as long as that is the case, somebody who can inject intensity is just as important in certain games as someone with a fine foot is.
 

Borys

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Not necessarily, he is much more press resistant than Fred
He may be more press resistant but that's not his strength. In any case Eriksen would need to do a lot of running off the ball in midfield and that (along with tackling) is his weakness. So even if he was available, pretty sure Fred would've played anyway (like vs City).

Eriksen and Fred are both very good, each has strengths and weaknesses so they should be picked based on opponent. Fred was the better choice in recent games imo. That doesn't taka anything away from Eriksen mind you.
And he isn't half as mobile as Fred who was everywhere in that 2nd half putting out fires. Plus I don't remember Fred losing the ball a significant number of times due to pressing. At least not more often than his teammates.
Both players have their pros and cons and definitely, Eriksen is the better footballer but there are a few cons with him as well. Primarily in the defensive and energy department. It is all good and well to have players that are good on the ball but against a very good press, there can't be any one player in our team who is weak. Not sure if there are any teams ticking that box and we certainly do not. And as long as that is the case, somebody who can inject intensity is just as important in certain games as someone with a fine foot is.
Exactly.
 

The Substitute

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Eriksen has not been a big loss, he had hit a bad run in form when he was injured as well.
I would prefer him in games we own, trying to find the killer, but I'd say the caf have consistently undervalued Fred.

Football is more than sexiness, and with Eriksen, we lack the grit and press in the midfield with Fred.

Perhaps it's my preferred style of play, overwhelming the opposition.

Martial... The Martial chant is gone for a good reason, cause the text is getting embarrassing
 

tenpoless

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After Newcastle, we have...:
Westham in 4 days (FA Cup), and after that
Liverpool in 3 days (PL)
Real Betis in 5 days (Europa)
Southampton in 2 days (PL)
Real Betis in 5 days (Europa)
Brighton in 2 days (PL)

That's crazy amount of games in a 3 weeks period. We need both of them badly. Eriksen might be out of question but if Martial can play in 2 of those games, even that would be helpful.
 
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SAFMUTD

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ten Hag just confirmed Martial still not available against Fulham.

At this rate Eriksen will be back first no joke.
 

r0663664

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Martial can retire from football. He is breaking down, can he even walk properly today? Martial is just like Phil Jones. For his sake, he should retire and go back to France.
 

FreakyJim

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Looks like Martial's muscles are made of the stuff Louis Saha and Phil Jones are made of. Curious, from a science perspective.
 

hobbers

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Martial will play one more game for us this season (and then be out injured for the rest of it). Question is, what's the best game to use him in.
 

Ish

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It’s crazy how quickly things change in football. A couple/few years ago I genuinely thought we’d have an all conquering front 3 for years to come with Rashford, Martial & “he who must not be named”. Imagine, at the time, the prospect of adding Sancho to those 3.

Now our forward line is genuinely the weakest part of the team, with only Rashford hitting new heights - and even he was going through a torrid time, very recently.
 

glasgow 21

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It’s interesting the way a few good pre season performances, followed by almost a full season of being crocked has managed to wipe Martial’s many average to shite performances from recent seasons off the record.
100% agree, Martial is like the one of those men in black agents, one performance and out comes " the neuralyzer" an all that went before is forgotten.
 

Pogue Mahone

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100% agree, Martial is like the one of those men in black agents, one performance and out comes " the neuralyzer" an all that went before is forgotten.
I don’t mind being optimistic about the return of an injured player but it bothers me when imaginary performances from that same player are used as a stick to beat players who are actually available for selection.
 
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First things first, martial is a complete sick note.
Second, we tried to bring him back into the team a few weeks ago and he broke down again.
I suspect ETH has had him training for two weeks and wants a further two during the international break to ease him back in.
Much as we would all like to see him playing it appears his body is not up to it. I believe ETH is wrapping him in cotton wool so he will be available for the run in to the end of the season.
 

Bertie Wooster

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I don’t mind being optimistic about the return of an injured player but it bothers me when imaginary performances from that same player are used as a stick to beat players who are actually available for selection.
Yep.

Martial's stock seemed to undeservedly rise when he scored a few goals earlier in the season and so was used as a stick to beat Ronaldo with - "Who needs a has been? If he can stay fit Martial will carry on banging in the goals..."

There were always two problems with that - it's a huge 'if' regarding Martial staying fit. He's also never been a guaranteed scorer - very inconsistent with some good seasons and some poor ones. With more of the latter than the former.

At least there was a more positive recent update about Eriksen's fitness.
 

Rusholme Ruffian

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It’s interesting the way a few good pre season performances, followed by almost a full season of being crocked has managed to wipe Martial’s many average to shite performances from recent seasons off the record.
Agreed, personally I was ready to sell him 3 years ago. However, having seen how the likes of AWB, Shaw, Dalot and Rashford have drastically improved under Ten Hag it's a real shame that he's not been fit this season - would have been good to know once and for all whether he could reach his potential here.
 

Pogue Mahone

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Agreed, personally I was ready to sell him 3 years ago. However, having seen how the likes of AWB, Shaw, Dalot and Rashford have drastically improved under Ten Hag it's a real shame that he's not been fit this season - would have been good to know once and for all whether he could reach his potential here.
That’s a good point.