Anthony Martial #9

SteveW

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Did really well. Worked hard. Got his goal. Great to see him back through the middle
 

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His hold up play pisses all over Lukaku's, our counter attacking will be so much better with him leading the line and Lingard, Rashford, James etc. running off him.
 

Lash

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Would be my MOTM. Did everything you need from a no 9 today. This is the Martial I wanted to see this season.
 

Raven

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Pretty happy with his goal, that's the type of goal Ole was looking for him to score more of.
 

Santoryo

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Defensive much? He repeatedly gave the ball away with sloppy passing in the first half and early in the second.
Having a few sloppy passes doesn't translate to being awful at passing. This is what I'm pointing out, everything has to be hyperbolic, people just can't be bothered to give a fair and balanced assessment of things. It has to be over the top hyperbolic.

Also no he wasn't constantly giving the ball away, he understandably lost a few balls in the final third given the area of the pitch and being swarmed but he wasn't giving every second balls away under no pressure. That's just something you've made up.
 

Art Vandelay

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Having a few sloppy passes doesn't translate to being awful at passing. This is what I'm pointing out, everything has to be hyperbolic, people just can't bothered to give a fair and balanced assessment of things. It has to be over the top hyperbolic.

Also no he wasn't constantly giving the ball away, he understandably lost a few balls in the final third given the area of the pitch and being swarmed but he wasn't giving every second balls away under no pressure. That's just something you've made up.
I didn't say constantly, I said repeatedly. There's a difference. If you want to pretend it didn't happen then feel free. He played well, but his passing was sloppy as it often is.
 

K13

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I didn't say constantly, I said repeatedly. There's a difference. If you want to pretend it didn't happen then feel free. He played well, but his passing was sloppy as it often is.
Different game to the one I watched.

The ball inside for Pogba to make the break for James to finish was top class and Sam Luckhurst at MEN does not like him either - never sees what Martial does only the things he doesn't think he should do. Gave him the same rating at Greenwood who was only on the pitch 8 mins and a less rating than James, Lingard and Rashford.

I support every single player and I just do not understand how someone can come on here and not congratulate a player when he has done so well.
 

Art Vandelay

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Different game to the one I watched.

The ball inside for Pogba to make the break for James to finish was top class and Sam Luckhurst at MEN does not like him either - never sees what Martial does only the things he doesn't think he should do. Gave him the same rating at Greenwood who was only on the pitch 8 mins and a less rating than James, Lingard and Rashford.

I support every single player and I just do not understand how someone can come on here and not congratulate a player when he has done so well.
For context I made the original post at half time, before the passing got better.
 

davidmichael

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I think Martial did very well and was only behind Maguire and Rashford as man of the match, the difference between Martial and Lukaku as a central striker was massive and it’s clear Martial is much happier being given this role as well as the number 9 shirt which may seem silly but is probably a massive confidence booster.

I’m loving Rashford and Martial interchanging between left and central as both have the ability to be great in both roles, that fluidity could be a massive weapon with Pogba also on that side of the pitch. If both play like this all season then I can see 20-25 goals over the season from both men which would be the difference between us getting a Champions League spot or not.
 

K13

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For context I made the original post at half time, before the passing got better.
OK but he was still doing some great things and trying things. Every player today was a bit sloppy. Yesterday when I watched Man City they were as well, likewise the same with Liverpool on friday.

We never expect players to peak in August. It is just very pleasing that we looked really good when ever we attacked. If those little one twos are attacking players are trying to do start to come off we are in for a treat. The intent is there and they all in patches looked fantastic today. Lingard did a mazy dribble, Martial held the ball up and tried the releases and he and Rshford ran with it when they could. I thought all 3 were fantastic but with another 10% of improvement to come. James when he came on got fouled twice so what a debut for him as well. Much sterner tests to come but some really good signs.
 

Isotope

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I just don't see it. He's not great on the wing, not great as no. 9, and not great on passing/assisting other.
 

WR10

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Scored a typical #9 goal and showed us glimpses of being very comfortable with James/rash/Jesse.

He really is going to blast through 30 goals this season isn’t he?
 

PSingh

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It wasn’t pleasing to see him score a ‘proper strikers’ goal. Impressive hold up play, and seem to be the trigger for the high press - overall a great performance.
 

Lynty

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Great first performance. Was a nuisance even if he did lack a touch of end product at times
 

K13

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I just don't see it. He's not great on the wing, not great as no. 9, and not great on passing/assisting other.
That is absolutely fine. That is the beauty of these opinion boards.

I do see it and it is an absolute pleasure watching him play. The things he and Rashford tried today - when they come off it is going to be such fun.
 

Frank Grimes

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He did a few good things. Thought he played a lovely weighted pass in the build up to our penalty. He also was very sloppy at times. I really want him to have a stonking season but I'm far from convinced that will be the case.
 

Kevin_

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Great to see him at No 9 one of my favourite players but I’m still unsure if he can be the 9 we hope he can become, worked hard yesterday really happy with that. AM9!
 

rpg

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Not going to be proper no. 9 here since he lacked teamwork and always shoot from improbable angle instead of passing to teammates. No matter how good he is in holding the ball and dribbling cos he no Cr7 or Messi. Also he lacked aerial presence.
 

bondsname

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Love to see him changing positions with Rashford, we could be in a for a really good striker partnership if all goes well.
 

Okey

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Early days... We'll need a bigger body of work to assess him. Given Wolves' style, I'd expect him and Rashford to be a front two on Monday against 3 CBs. Has to be a 4-4-2 diamond surely? Or 4-3-3 with speed on either side of the striker to drag out the CBs on the sides. The Chelsea formation might leave our attack easily snuffed out.