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2021-22 Performances


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UnitedRepublic

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Martial started for France must be shit to start for France or even being called up when out of form. Get a grip people the hate is getting to your heads.
 

Santoryo

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this doesn’t even make sense
I mean, the poster first reaction after Martial goal was to tell everyone how extremely lucky it was and how he sucks for hitting it at the keeper first and not placing it in the open space as if it was a simple tap in and not a rushed half volley.

Some people will do what they do no matter what. It is what it is.
 

Grande

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I've almost always got middle of the road views, and the same applies with Martial.

Obviously some of the criticism goes way overboard - that's typical of social media. But, also typical of social media, there's always some who take it too far the other way and start mocking any criticism - no matter how valid.

It's Martial's first international goal in 5 years, and only his 2nd in 29 appearances. And he's only really had two good scoring seasons out of 6 with us. But, on the flip side, he's played 29 times for his country by the time he's 25, and has played over 250 times for Man United so far. So he's clearly got a lot of ability, and some of the mocking criticism goes way too far. But, his scoring stats, and his inconsistency, show that he's clearly underperforming when it comes to end product so some of the mocking of that criticism also goes too far.

In short, a talented but inconsistent player who deserves some criticism - but not as much as some give him. And deserves some praise and backing, but not as much as some others give him.
It gets like that even in the evaluation of one game. He misses agreat chance and scores one. The finish on the goal is quick but not precise, ten centimeters off being held by the keeper. The finish on the miss was better (through keepers legs, but was slightly careful and lacked a couple of centimeters to get through. The positioning before the goal was ok and he got paid. The positioning before the 1-on-1 was very good and active, and did much to create the chance. He was slack in the press, and good on the pass for a slow France. Benzema, Griezmann and Diaby didn’t do any better.

on the whole, not bad for 60mins away in Ukraina after injury, not very good for a player who faces stiff competition this year in his club. I like the guy, but he needs to start enjoy fighting like hell from a one down position.
 

Chief123

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Martial is one of the few players that has extreme view points on both sides, in favour and against. And it’s solely down to him being a very talented footballer who’s very inconsistent. Some will just remember his best bits. Others will just remember his frustrating bits.

It’s like watching a goal compilation of Lukaku and coming to the conclusion he’s world class. And then watching a compilation of Lukaku heavy touches and bloopers and concluding he’s a comical joke.

Until Martial becomes a consistent performer on a regular basis, he will always attract extreme views on either side.

My personal opinion is his levels of performance have dips and peaks which are too volatile. He can be a 8 out of 10 followed by a 3 out of 10 the next game. This level of inconsistency is ultimately what I believe will lead to his exit from Utd.
 

AjaxCunian

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Martial is one of the few players that has extreme view points on both sides, in favour and against. And it’s solely down to him being a very talented footballer who’s very inconsistent. Some will just remember his best bits. Others will just remember his frustrating bits.

It’s like watching a goal compilation of Lukaku and coming to the conclusion he’s world class. And then watching a compilation of Lukaku heavy touches and bloopers and concluding he’s a comical joke.

Until Martial becomes a consistent performer on a regular basis, he will always attract extreme views on either side.

My personal opinion is his levels of performance have dips and peaks which are too volatile. He can be a 8 out of 10 followed by a 3 out of 10 the next game. This level of inconsistency is ultimately what I believe will lead to his exit from Utd.
When was his last 8 out of 10?
 

kouroux

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this doesn’t even make sense
It would have if you watched his game or if you stop taking things too seriously :lol:
I mean, the poster first reaction after Martial goal was to tell everyone how extremely lucky it was and how he sucks for hitting it at the keeper first and not placing it in the open space as if it was a simple tap in and not a rushed half volley.

Some people will do what they do no matter what. It is what it is.
You can tag me directly, don't be afraid. I don't bite :lol: Besides what I said was me clearly taking the piss but it seems Martial is a sensitive subject. Besides I never said he sucked for hitting the keeper but just that he got lucky, which he did. It's a fact.
 

EtH

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There's no question that Tony still has it. The question is whether he can bothered any longer to apply his talent and athleticism.
I’m not so sure. I think his confidence is totally shot. I also worry he is just not up for a fight or any kind of proper competition. But either way I can’t remember a player totally dropping off a cliff like he did last season. His best attributes (close control, dribbling and finishing) all but disappeared and he cost us big in the CL and EL. It was sad to see and obviously infuriating at times.

I really don’t see him coming back from it. Insane to say as someone who has always rated him, but I have pretty much written him off at this point. Especially now with so many options upfront. Of course I hope he proves me very wrong. Just my feeling after last season.

At the same time I could see him going to another league and absolutely tearing it up with a fresh start. Which at this point would probably be best for all parties.
 
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Mr.Ridiculous__

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Martial is one of the few players that has extreme view points on both sides, in favour and against. And it’s solely down to him being a very talented footballer who’s very inconsistent. Some will just remember his best bits. Others will just remember his frustrating bits.

It’s like watching a goal compilation of Lukaku and coming to the conclusion he’s world class. And then watching a compilation of Lukaku heavy touches and bloopers and concluding he’s a comical joke.

Until Martial becomes a consistent performer on a regular basis, he will always attract extreme views on either side.

My personal opinion is his levels of performance have dips and peaks which are too volatile. He can be a 8 out of 10 followed by a 3 out of 10 the next game. This level of inconsistency is ultimately what I believe will lead to his exit from Utd.
Don't write reasonable opinions on the Caf please.
 

He'sRaldo

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He has two big problems right now.

1) His usual side-footed finish is not working consistently anymore, and he doesn't have many more in his locker. In addition, he doesn't have very aggressive movement to get the simpler tap-ins. And thus he's in a goal drought and confidence is shot.

2) Similar to Memphis, Lukaku, and Pogba before Ramadan, he's bulked up too much and lost his mobility and agility. Add to this losing a little bit of acceleration with age, and his ability to beat defenders has diminished. This has also affected his confidence in terms of running at defenders.

As Lukaku has shown, the latter issue is very solvable with the right training regime. I'm more concerned with his ability to get high shot volume, it needs to improve. Or maybe he's like Salah or Robben where a lot of his goals will be lower percentage shots, and thus he needs to regularly be in positions to try those.

His first task should be slimming down and not being so bulky. And after that we need to figure out how to get him on the edge of the box regularly to unleash curlers. High volume of his favourite shots will be key. But the question is whether it's even worth the effort with so many other quality attackers competing with him.
 

TsuWave

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It would have if you watched his game or if you stop taking things too seriously :lol:
It doesn’t. It’s just a really contrived attempt at a joke using a popular format, but that didn’t quite work. No hard feelings.
 

CG1010

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He has two big problems right now.

1) His usual side-footed finish is not working consistently anymore, and he doesn't have many more in his locker. In addition, he doesn't have very aggressive movement to get the simpler tap-ins. And thus he's in a goal drought and confidence is shot.

2) Similar to Memphis, Lukaku, and Pogba before Ramadan, he's bulked up too much and lost his mobility and agility. Add to this losing a little bit of acceleration with age, and his ability to beat defenders has diminished. This has also affected his confidence in terms of running at defenders.

As Lukaku has shown, the latter issue is very solvable with the right training regime. I'm more concerned with his ability to get high shot volume, it needs to improve. Or maybe he's like Salah or Robben where a lot of his goals will be lower percentage shots, and thus he needs to regularly be in positions to try those.

His first task should be slimming down and not being so bulky. And after that we need to figure out how to get him on the edge of the box regularly to unleash curlers. High volume of his favourite shots will be key. But the question is whether it's even worth the effort with so many other quality attackers competing with him.
Good post. There is a lot of improvement possible if he just started moving more and more smartly across the pitch. But that's something he just doesn't do. Second he needs to find a way to contribute in 20-25 mins he can get as substitute and not sulk on the bench. The Wolves game was encouraging and he has played the role of super sub well in the past with Jose so he could do it.
 

AjaxCunian

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City last year? He was best player on the pitch on that match.
You mean the match in 19/20 right, and not when he won an early penalty last season? If so, that is quite long ago.

He doesnt alternate between 8 and 3's, he is usually just very poor and adds almost nothing, especially for a striker at the highest level.
 

Sparky_Hughes

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You mean the match in 19/20 right, and not when he won an early penalty last season? If so, that is quite long ago.

He doesnt alternate between 8 and 3's, he is usually just very poor and adds almost nothing, especially for a striker at the highest level.
Tbf he was very good against city last season, his hold up play was excellent.
 

Polar

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I also worry he is just not up for a fight or any kind of proper competition. But either way I can’t remember a player totally dropping off a cliff like he did last season.
I’ve always said Martial hasn’t responded very well when introduced for competition, read Zlatan and Cavani.

In my view Martial has started this season the same way he ended the last one, and that is both disappointing and worrying.

No doubt Martial has qualities; it’s an exiting player somewhere there, but United may not be the right place for him, especially if Ole prefer competition and rotation up front - like when he played. Maybe Martial needs to play someplace where he is the undisputed number on; that he needs that kind of trust or stability.
 

Idxomer

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2) Similar to Memphis, Lukaku, and Pogba before Ramadan, he's bulked up too much and lost his mobility and agility. Add to this losing a little bit of acceleration with age, and his ability to beat defenders has diminished. This has also affected his confidence in terms of running at defenders.
I have noticed that. I don't know whether we have someone obsessed with bulking our players up at the club or they do it on their own.

It's also weird seeing him losing most of his pace at 25, he was rapid when he first came on.
 

flappyjay

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I’ve always said Martial hasn’t responded very well when introduced for competition, read Zlatan and Cavani.

In my view Martial has started this season the same way he ended the last one, and that is both disappointing and worrying.

No doubt Martial has qualities; it’s an exiting player somewhere there, but United may not be the right place for him, especially if Ole prefer competition and rotation up front - like when he played. Maybe Martial needs to play someplace where he is the undisputed number on; that he needs that kind of trust or stability.
Martial was never in competition with zlatan though. By the time Lvg left Marcus was the striker and Martial was the lw. He started the 1st 3 pl games in a row for Mourinho.
 

TempusFugit

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I really believe he'll bounce back. He's much bigger due to bulking up and has lost some of his explosive pace, but he has gotten much better at hold up play. He just needs scrappy goals like the one yesterday to ignite his attacking instincts again.

I have no idea why so many people are writing him off when he's stuck here with us for at least 2 more years on huge wages. The best thing would be to hope for him to come good again and he will, he's just 25. You can't take anything out of that performance yesterday, France was very poor and even a superior player in Benzema could hardly influence the game. Deschamps needs to switch things up as it's not looking good, at this rate he may not be the one managing by WC 2022.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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You mean the match in 19/20 right, and not when he won an early penalty last season? If so, that is quite long ago.

He doesnt alternate between 8 and 3's, he is usually just very poor and adds almost nothing, especially for a striker at the highest level.
No I do mean the game last season. He didn’t score but his overall game was brilliant and hold hold up play in particular caused City real issues all day. Thats one decent performance though in ages so not sure we can deduct much from it.
 

Bestietom

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Just fed up with him now. He's being paid top wages here and doesn't deserve or earn them. Most times he is selected he doesn't give his all, and it's like playing with 10 men. He is taking up the space for one of the youngsters who will give everything for the badge.
 

Djemba-Djemba

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No I do mean the game last season. He didn’t score but his overall game was brilliant and hold hold up play in particular caused City real issues all day. Thats one decent performance though in ages so not sure we can deduct much from it.
And he still missed a sitter in that match too, even though he did play well overall.

That's maybe the most baffling thing about his decline in the last year, he's always had spells where he looks sulky and out of form but his finishing used to always be of a pretty high standard.

The last year his finishing has been terrible.
 

Steve 007

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I’ve always thought that there is a special player in there. One that could outshine our others but it just hasn’t happened. I think now that it will happen but probably not at Utd. He’ll go elsewhere and reach the potential we’ve all seen. I hope I’m wrong and seeing Ronaldo’s work and attitude will inspire him.
 

CM10

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:lol: I get why he has such massive fanbase. Watching his highlights...it's glorious.

His best contribution last season was holding up the ball and winning a pen against City. I saw 0 glimpses of old Martial over the course of the season. Even over the hill Rooney had glimpses of brilliance. It's the biggest reason why I'm comfortable writing Martial off.
He also missed about half of last season through injury or suspension. It was still without doubt his worst season in a United shirt, but that is clearly down to him playing within himself rather than being over the hill. We saw the same thing happen with Lingard not so long ago.

Hopefully Martial's selection for France and the goal will give him a bit of confidence. If he gets that going, the talent will shine through. He's an expressive player.
 

Kag

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Some folk seem to revel in Martial playing shite. The likes of Pogba and Lindelof get the same sort of stick, too. Both sides are too extreme. It’s weird, really. I mean, he’s just scored a goal for France coming off the back of an improved cameo performance against Wolves. It’s very small steps but at least it’s something.

By all means feel free not to rate him and argue cogent reasons as to why, but be fair about it at least.
 

Mainoldo

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Funny coming from you considering half of the shit you write in Ole's thread.
I hold my hands up. He’s crap and I let it be known. But if he was good I wouldn’t be so harsh. Dan James on the other hand is crap but yet we don’t let it be know like Martial who is 50x the player.

But I get your point.
 

Mainoldo

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People comments on 1 miss just tell about their hatred towards him.

He didn't set the stage fire. Scored only Goal for France and was their better player.

Made runs throughout the game. Final ball came only once for him which he missed. But he made those runs through out the game

Was better than Griezman but coach subbed him off for Benzema and kept Griezman.
Made some very intelligent runs I agree. Hope he can get his confidence back up.
 

crossy1686

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Some folk seem to revel in Martial playing shite. The likes of Pogba and Lindelof get the same sort of stick, too. Both sides are too extreme. It’s weird, really. I mean, he’s just scored a goal for France coming off the back of an improved cameo performance against Wolves. It’s very small steps but at least it’s something.

By all means feel free not to rate him and argue cogent reasons as to why, but be fair about it at least.
After reading the posts last night from during the France game and this morning countering those I didn’t see anyone revelling in him being poor.

A few posters stated he missed a good chance, he’s bereft of confidence, his movement is poor and his goal was mainly down to poor goalkeeping as it was right at him and bounced up off the goalies shin. None of that is controversial, in fact, anyone with eyesight can see those are facts more than anything.

The response to those claims were that the people mentioning those things that happened during the game ‘hated’ Martial and ‘rebelled’ in his failure at the top level. There only appears to be one emotional extreme response there to me.

I don’t even think anyone criticised him? They just said he looked shit, which is fair and didn’t really warrant a hyperbole response to defend him.

Some people on here need to accept that it’s not a slight against the club, the player or anything personal if he’s playing shit and people are stating that, we all still want him to come good and have a great season.
 

VanDeBank

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I hold my hands up. He’s crap and I let it be known. But if he was good I wouldn’t be so harsh. Dan James on the other hand is crap but yet we don’t let it be know like Martial who is 50x the player.

But I get your point.
Indeed, criticisms of Dan James' lack of ability are rare around here :lol:
 

Redcy

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Indeed, criticisms of Dan James' lack of ability are rare around here :lol:
You know why? Because as average as he is, he works hard for the team, doesn’t go missing when the game isn’t working for him, and actually tried. Martial gets criticized for exactly the opposite. Then his fans want everyone to praise him for every minor thing. He gets two glorious chances, one he misses, the other goes in despite a poor finish. The rest of the game he was somewhere between anonymous and average.
 

RDCR07

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It’s going to be tough to move him on end of this year cause he is close to £200k per week as well. Madness!
 

VanDeBank

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He also missed about half of last season through injury or suspension. It was still without doubt his worst season in a United shirt, but that is clearly down to him playing within himself rather than being over the hill. We saw the same thing happen with Lingard not so long ago.

Hopefully Martial's selection for France and the goal will give him a bit of confidence. If he gets that going, the talent will shine through. He's an expressive player.
He's not going to get the minutes he needs to get back to his old self, which I already doubt is possible without a change of scenery. He's 3rd choice at best, and arguably 4th or 5th for any position.
  • He's behind Cavani and Ronnie for the CF position (and arguably Greenwood)
  • LW he's behind Rashy, Pogba and Sancho if Greenwood is on the right.
As a sub or for the cups I'd much rather see Elanga. He plays like he can be arsed and he's scoring left and right. So it makes sense to give him a shot.

You know why? Because as average as he is, he works hard for the team, doesn’t go missing when the game isn’t working for him, and actually tried. Martial gets criticized for exactly the opposite. Then his fans want everyone to praise him for every minor thing. He gets two glorious chances, one he misses, the other goes in despite a poor finish. The rest of the game he was somewhere between anonymous and average.
It was sarcastic mate. James got a lot of flack for being shite. You didn't read his performances thread or the match days?
 

OL29

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You know why? Because as average as he is, he works hard for the team, doesn’t go missing when the game isn’t working for him, and actually tried. Martial gets criticized for exactly the opposite. Then his fans want everyone to praise him for every minor thing. He gets two glorious chances, one he misses, the other goes in despite a poor finish. The rest of the game he was somewhere between anonymous and average.
I don’t want to turn this into a Martial vs James thing, but for all of James’ hard work, how often have we seen him really impact games? Because for all of Martial’s faults, I’ve seen him make game defining contributions for us plenty of times over the years through goals and assists, which doesn’t really compute with this narrative some of you try to paint that he goes missing when the game isn’t going for him.
And the reason ‘his fans’ (I thought we’re all United fans?) may seem a bit defensive is because posters like you hang on to anything negative but refuse to give even an ounce of credit, even when he does something good. Coming into this thread to shit on him after his first match in nearly half a year for not being fully fit isn’t lost on people, or trying to downplay even the slightest bit of praise he got after a decent cameo against Wolves isn’t lost on posters, it’s a weird attitude to have towards a player in a team you supposedly support.
 

MadMike

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I don’t even think anyone criticised him? They just said he looked shit, which is fair and didn’t really warrant a hyperbole response to defend him.
They didn’t criticise him they just said he looked shit. Got it.
 
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