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2018-19 Performances


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5.5 Season Average Rating
Appearances
38
Goals
12
Assists
3
Yellow cards
2
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Hopefully he has a game at Spurs, like the one at Chelsea near the beginning of the season. If he get's the space, he could really upset Spurs.
 
The problem is that you're thinking about it in terms of excuses - no one's saying that Martial was anything but unremarkable yesterday.

It's not about excusing that, it's about tactics. It's just people pointing out that there may be a way in which we can set up that allows Martial to flourish even more consistently than he has so far.

That's already been answered a million times. This idea that elite players need everything going for them in the setup to perform is nonsensical really. The opposite is actually true, elite players show their quality in tough situations and are the driving force behind a team.

Neymar does this all the time for PSG, he gets kicked off the park every game but is consistently the driving force of that team. Ronaldo and Messi regularly carry their teams. There's been plenty of games where Juventus have been utter tripe only for Ronaldo to bail them out. He did the exact same thing for Madrid. Griezmann is another one, Atletico Madrid are basically nothing without this guy, they park the bus in half their games and hope he does some magic. Sanchez did the same thing for Arsenal, you could hardly call their tactics any sort of setup really, Sanchez just kept on bailing them out. Hazard does the same for Chelsea. The list goes on.

Martial can be nullified with a simple 2v1 due to his insistence on getting the ball to feet and dribbling at players, as has been shown over and over again. Of course that's not a problem, because you don't need to be a world class player to be part of the team. You can just be a good player like Martial. But, that's not really an issue on my part, that's more of an issue of his fans that think he is destined to be a new Ronaldo and it's everyone else's fault that he isn't.
 
Honestly, I know it sounds overly simplistic, but for me the biggest issue with Martial is that he holds onto the ball for too long and takes too many touches...

It really is that simple in my opinion.

And I believe it comes from being coached, during his late teens and early 20s, by LvG and then Mourinho and both managers not wanting to lose the ball.

He just needs to be instructed, very clearly, to be as direct as is possible, the moment he gets the ball.

When he does that, it literally wreaks havoc on the opponent - when he starts dithering, it renders him virtually impotent in comparison.
 
I'd like him to mix things up. If LW is not working , why not take a position on the RW and try from there. The front 3 should be interchangeable IMHO for us to be effective.
 
Yeah, horrendous post. Where do you get the impression that he's a fair weather player? The reason I said the worst since September is because that was the last time people were posting nonsense about his attitude and demeanour.
Because he scores in a hotspot of a few games 7 goals means hes world class? Martial with Rashfords work ethic would be amazing, but he doesn't have it. He can't be arsed most of the time it seems (you know his demeanour). He isn't in the top bracket and never will be unless the penny drops and starts performing every game.
 
I'd like him to mix things up. If LW is not working , why not take a position on the RW and try from there. The front 3 should be interchangeable IMHO for us to be effective.

he does do that when he has Lingaard on the right wing. Lingaard can play there much better than Mata. I think you are right in that no matter who plays up front, those three has to be able to interchange their positions.
 
he does do that when he has Lingaard on the right wing. Lingaard can play there much better than Mata. I think you are right in that no matter who plays up front, those three has to be able to interchange their positions.

Yes, i have seen Martial do it to good effect. That 1-2 touch slick goal of his came from Right. Also the assist for Rashford goal against Huddersfield came from right. Wish he'd do it a bit more. He just has to mix it up within the game and the defenders would have no clue. I hope Ole or our coaching staff could point this out to him.
 
Basic football. Really.

This is nonsense people. Martial had a poor game. Accept it, move on.

Rashford and Sanchez playing wide off Lukaku changed things, as subs often do, but the first goal really changed the game. And that was a set piece.

Mata and Martial had ineffective games. Happens at this time of year, just look at the variety in results.. but Martial needs, in my opinion, to up his game, because he isn't anywhere close to this potential Ballon D'or that some on here suggest.

A talented player yes, could be superb for United. But he needs to learn what type of player he wishes to be, because it isn't clear. Not at all.
He didn’t have a poor game though, not in my opinion and by many it seems on here and it’s not nonsense just think about it for a moment. The space was denied all the players on the left because there was no threat on the right and Mata choking up the space, if we had Lukaku on and Rashford out there keeping width on the opposite side it then creates threat meaning Newcastle have to adjust and can’t just tighten up on one side and can’t overload it. Again basic principles of football.
 
I'd like him to mix things up. If LW is not working , why not take a position on the RW and try from there. The front 3 should be interchangeable IMHO for us to be effective.

That would be ideal. It makes marking them so much more difficult.
 
He's a bit of a strange player is Tony. His strengths are in front of goal (he genuinely is an incredible finisher) and you need him in 1v1 situations where he can mug a defender then quickly finish the move.

But his movement is lacking at the moment to get him in these kind of situations. For me he should be Robben mk.2. But he isn't, and plays too far away from goal (even as a LF). Hoping Ole and the next manager really work on this, because if we can iron that he's going to be 30+ goals a season.
 
I'm a huge fan of Martial. Incredible natural ability but I can't shake of the feeling that he'll never consistently fulfil his world class potential primarily because he doesn't seem like someone who'll consistently put in the work to improve his game.
 
That's already been answered a million times. This idea that elite players need everything going for them in the setup to perform is nonsensical really. The opposite is actually true, elite players show their quality in tough situations and are the driving force behind a team.

Neymar does this all the time for PSG, he gets kicked off the park every game but is consistently the driving force of that team. Ronaldo and Messi regularly carry their teams. There's been plenty of games where Juventus have been utter tripe only for Ronaldo to bail them out. He did the exact same thing for Madrid. Griezmann is another one, Atletico Madrid are basically nothing without this guy, they park the bus in half their games and hope he does some magic. Sanchez did the same thing for Arsenal, you could hardly call their tactics any sort of setup really, Sanchez just kept on bailing them out. Hazard does the same for Chelsea. The list goes on.

Martial can be nullified with a simple 2v1 due to his insistence on getting the ball to feet and dribbling at players, as has been shown over and over again. Of course that's not a problem, because you don't need to be a world class player to be part of the team. You can just be a good player like Martial. But, that's not really an issue on my part, that's more of an issue of his fans that think he is destined to be a new Ronaldo and it's everyone else's fault that he isn't.
But, again, that's not the position I'm defending. No one's saying that. It's called a straw-man when you attack the opposition's viewpoint but you change it to something that's worse and exaggerated.

Cause the thing is - I agree with you. Everything you're saying is spot on. But I'm not saying Martial was any good yesterday, or that to be any good he needs a special system. He's proven time and time again that he is an excellent young player.

The only point is this: if we fix the right hand side of our attack, this will likely enable him to be even better, purely tactically speaking. That's all. Not that it'll make him into Ronaldo or Messi or anything. Just talking tactics.
 
He's a bit of a strange player is Tony. His strengths are in front of goal (he genuinely is an incredible finisher) and you need him in 1v1 situations where he can mug a defender then quickly finish the move.

But his movement is lacking at the moment to get him in these kind of situations. For me he should be Robben mk.2. But he isn't, and plays too far away from goal (even as a LF). Hoping Ole and the next manager really work on this, because if we can iron that he's going to be 30+ goals a season.

I don't doubt he will figure that part out. I think every time he has a bad game, his faults are greatly exaggerated and when he has a good one, his positives overrated. He was solid last game in the first half, and our most dangerous player, but not much was happening as the defense were overloading on his side since it was the only one to look like making something happen. You also have to understand the team as a whole is shaking off Jose's anti-football tactics out of their set up, it takes time. What I'm seeing in Martial is someone who is more involved, he's talking more out there on the pitch, and he's willing to take the risks to make something happen, something he looked too afraid to do at times under Mourinho.

I got a good feeling he'll find his scoring boots next game. He's one of only a few players to be able to pull something out of nothing, regardless of how the team plays if he's put in the right positions.
 
Tottenham 0:1 Man Utd
Worst player on the pitch today..
 
Another poor performance.

Nothing new with Martial though. The lad looks like he always, always gets a run in which he appears unplayable then follow it with another run when he becomes very poor. No consistency whatsoever.

Frustrating player.
 
Worst player on the pitch today..
In that case we were unbelievable.

I felt Martial was passive today and could have been more proactive and dynamic. But he was by no means poor. All front three operated well.
 
Another poor performance.

Nothing new with Martial though. The lad looks like he always, always gets a run in which he appears unplayable then follow it with another run when he becomes very poor. No consistency whatsoever.

Frustrating player.
What poor run is this exactly? He's has two slightly quiet games. Pogba had a quiet game against Newcastle as well. The one before that, didn't he (Martial) get a lovely asisst?
 
Another poor performance.

Nothing new with Martial though. The lad looks like he always, always gets a run in which he appears unplayable then follow it with another run when he becomes very poor. No consistency whatsoever.

Frustrating player.
Rooney was a bit like that back in the day, would have 5 games where he's the best player on the pitch and then another 5 where he looked rubbish. I think just having our front three on the same pitch is beneficial though, they have a very good understanding so even if one of them is playing poorly the whole attack still works well.
 
I thought he was ok. He had that lovely little move in the box early in the game from which Lloris saved his shot, and he had a go from distance a bit later. Nothing eye-catching today, but nothing really that poor either.
 
I don't think Martial is at his best with this fluid movement.
He's more of playmaker picking out passes rather than making the movement himself.
He could be better in that role, who knows? Its working so far.
 
Rooney was a bit like that back in the day, would have 5 games where he's the best player on the pitch and then another 5 where he looked rubbish. I think just having our front three on the same pitch is beneficial though, they have a very good understanding so even if one of them is playing poorly the whole attack still works well.

Yep I won't drop him. We should keep those front 3 together as long as possible. Hopefully he improves his consistency though.
 
Did well in the first half, the game didn’t suit having Martial, Rashford and Lingard on the pitch in the second half. He was fine, but needed some more solitary in the second half, would have brought him off for a midfielder rather than Lukuku.
 
He was really good again. Looked very dangerous with his dribbling all game. Especially loved the way he set up Pogba in the second half.
 
Was a decent performance today. Good player, did not get much support from the fullback. However, did well occupying at least 2 oppo defenders. If only Pogba's shot went in, would have been a hell of an assist.
 
I don’t understand the decision to shift him out to the right wing midway through first half since we didn’t even bother going down that side. Second half they were all over us so not a surprise he became invisible, although subbing on Lukaku hardly changed anything in that regard.

‘Twas a quiet game, but I don’t think he was worst than the majority of our team. This is obviously an issue in itself that his performance more often than not is in line with the team, when he could and should try to be more assertive, but not a grave sin by any stretch of imagination.
 
Shh, r
What poor run is this exactly? He's has two slightly quiet games. Pogba had a quiet game against Newcastle as well. The one before that, didn't he (Martial) get a lovely asisst?

It’s the typical El3mel’s thing when it’s come to Martial, always look for nagatives.
He had a quiet game for his standard, passive as someone already mentioned. But worst player on the pitch? He should have an assist for the Pogba’s chance while keeping the ball really well in the dynamic front three.
After Lukaku came in, that
 
I think the Martial-Lingard-Rashford trio up front could be a really good, balanced attack going forward. I like the way they look paired up with Pogba up front. Martial seems to be the most composed out of the three of them, he always looks to make good decisions and find the most dangerous solution. I like that.
 
What poor run is this exactly? He's has two slightly quiet games. Pogba had a quiet game against Newcastle as well. The one before that, didn't he (Martial) get a lovely asisst?

It’s the typical El3mel’s thing when it’s come to Martial, always look for nagatives.
He had a quiet game for his standard, passive as someone already mentioned. But worst player on the pitch? He should have an assist for the Pogba’s chance while keeping the ball really well in the dynamic front three.

After Lukaku came in, that, the worst player on the pitch.
 
:lol:

I didn’t realise people still held agendas against Martial like this.
 
Shh, r


It’s the typical El3mel’s thing when it’s come to Martial, always look for nagatives.
He had a quiet game for his standard, passive as someone already mentioned. But worst player on the pitch? He should have an assist for the Pogba’s chance while keeping the ball really well in the dynamic front three.
After Lukaku came in, that
Put Rashford in for a good chance.

Set up that chance for pogba.

Had a good shot of his own saved by loris.

All round play was neat. He was by no means poor. But he can do more of course.
 
He should be doing more. Been saying that for long that his off the ball movement sucks. Could and should be more direct.
 
He’s just got this sort of quality when he is in and around the box of seeing the right pass and creating opportunities created 3 really good chances today and 2 which should have been a goal. That moment to stop and wait for Pogba to get in position, to do that in the oppositions box is just class. It’s like the whole game slowed down around him. Ice in his veins.
The one for the Rashford run was great as well, I really just wish he had a bigger desire to score goals. There were times Rashford or Lingard were out wide and for me he should have been making his way in to the box but instead he was sort of hanging out in his position. Even for the Rashford goal, for me he should have been going flat out to try and get in the box for scraps or even just giving Rashford options. He should be trying to get in there. Really needs to improve this aspect of his game.
 
Great first half performance, in fairness second was def more about the team defensive performance and that pretty much costed all our forward thinking players....
 
Twisted and turned Alderweireld with ease and forced a save from Lloris. Also set up a chance for Pogba which we were unlucky not to score from. He was good today if not spectacular. If you think he was the worst player on the pitch today when you've got Phil Jones rampaging about then you need your head checked.
 
Is it possible to start thread banning agenda posters? The complete lack of rationality with some posters is simply unacceptable.
 
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