[Ali Dia]

Such divided opinion! He was ok. We didn’t have any great performances as shown by greenwood having to come on and save us. Our final ball into the box is either early and to nobody, aimless basically... or ponderous and delayed to death after a few pointless cutbacks while the opposition get back into position. We need someone who can bully the defenders and get ahead to the ball in the danger zone

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

I'm not convinced to be honest, he's obviously talented, but it's alarming that a 17-18 year old sub has more goals from out wide than Martial does starting at centre forward.

 

[OldTrevil]

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure where all the hate comes from. Been pretty excellent this season.

Beats me as well, many of them also tend to be body language and effort experts..

 

[OverratedOpinion]

I'm not convinced to be honest, he's obviously talented, but it's alarming that a 17-18 year old sub has more goals from out wide than Martial does starting at centre forward.

We are getting one in January.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Beats me as well, many of them also tend to be body language and effort experts..

He has not been bad, we do need more goals from our starting striker though.

 

[Raven]

It's also funny how some people think Martial is beyond criticism when this season he should be proving himself. He is not a youngster anymore and has been heavily inconsistent, coupled with the fact he may be becoming injury prone, which is an issue in itself.

He's not beyond criticism, we're all here to critique United and the players. What is annoying is that people are unable to analyse his performance well enough and start chucking the whole "nEeds tO BE ShiPPed OuT" rant around as soon as he doesn't score. I feel he could potentially try harder to get into the box to meet crosses, but at what point do we ask ourselves, why are we blindly crossing to nobody when Martial is unmarked on the edge of the area?

 

[Amar__]

We had over 20 shots, and our main striker had one shot(I don't remember that one either), how can it be a good performance?

 

[Raven]

What has he done? He should be our leading attacker this season and has been inconsistent, to say the least. No more excuses, if he is not being dangerous in front of goal, the least he could do is provide intensity and work-rate.

If youre asking me what he's done then you clearly haven't been watching us this season.

 

[Litch]

Hard to criticise when there is zero creativity, we create nothing for our forwards

 

[MikeKing]

Didn't rate him much this game. Both him and Rashford looked like the old immature younger versions of themselves. I feel like Martial has a mentality that lacks persistence. Not everything is his fault, and he knows it when things don't go his way but he tends to play within himself and not force the issue after a bit of resistance. He needs to be a bit more positive and back himself, he has incredible ability. I hope he can unlock his full potential some day soon.

 

[Zen86]

He's not beyond criticism, we're all here to critique United and the players. What is annoying is that people are unable to analyse his performance well enough and start chucking the whole "nEeds tO BE ShiPPed OuT" rant around as soon as he doesn't score. I feel he could potentially try harder to get into the box to meet crosses, but at what point do we ask ourselves, why are we blindly crossing to nobody when Martial is unmarked on the edge of the area?

He’s a good player, but I don’t think he’s got that strikers instinct and aggression that we need against teams that defend. He’s got pace and good dribbling ability, so he’s good on the counter, but when that’s not on the cards he goes missing a bit. He’s a square peg for a round hole in games like today IMO.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Hard to criticise when there is zero creativity, we create nothing for our forwards

Arguably he is the only creativity in that front 6. It would be really interesting if we could get someone inbehind the front 3 which could do the things Martial can but more workrate because the amount of times he is the one doing the Lingard job is ridiculous. Lingard today couldn’t even control the ball.

 

[Isotope]

Hard to criticise when there is zero creativity, we create nothing for our forwards

Why is it hard to criticize? Did he have a flawless game? We had 20 shots and dominated possession. Surely you can expect your main striker to perform much much better.

 

[Van Piorsing]

In words of Claude from AFTV - Not good enough.

 

[Bebestation]

The fact is you don't put Martial as a CF for him to be the main goal scoring threat.

You put him centrally to get players like Rashford to have space and passes created for them to score. The problem is on the other side we have no goal scoring threat, James who plays a completely different way - a traditional winger than a forward.

If Martial is going to play CF then he needs to play deep and be the main creator for 2 strikers like Rashford & Greenwood or potentially Rashford & Haaland.

People wondering why Martial doesn't get in to the box have this assumption that every type of striker gets in to the box - have a look at Football manager or whatever video games you play - see how many different type of strikers they are & Martial is simply not one that gets in to the box & the end of the cross.

That's why I don't blame him & that why I don't blame him for competition that should arrive as a striker who plays in a different way- because he plays football in a way as a striker no one else in the squad does that only someone like Firmino can replicate in the league even if Firmino is significantly better at everything ( note how the attack comes from Mane & Salah from the sides consistently).

It's time we stop being scared of using Greenwood - Martial is not our main goal scorer and there is nothing wrong with that, he is the creator for our strikers & that is so so obvious.

Ball comes to martial, he holds on to the ball whilst he has 1 or 2 central defenders marking him , dribbles off them, plays the ball out wide and then finds the wider players much free in space - rince and repeat.

 

[OldTrevil]

It was a different kind of goal. A very good one, but he’s not going to do that every week. Greenwood’s today was simple, push it away from your feet and find the corner.

That's just splitting hairs and bordeline laughable, we'll have to agree to disagree if you're going down that route. You don't have to demean Martial to praise Greenwood either.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

He’s become such a scapegoat. Doesn’t get judged by the same standards as the rest of the squad (bar ironically Pogba).

 

[Rawls]

The fact is you don't put Martial as a CF for him to be the main goal scoring threat.

You put him centrally to get players like Rashford to have space and passes created for them to score. The problem is on the other side we have no goal scoring threat, James who plays a completely different way - a traditional winger than a forward.

If Martial is going to play CF then he needs to play deep and be the main creator for 2 strikers like Rashford & Greenwood or potentially Rashford & Haaland.

People wondering why Martial doesn't get in to the box have this assumption that every type of striker gets in to the box - have a look at Football manager or whatever video games you play - see how many different type of strikers they are & Martial is simply not one that gets in to the box & the end of the cross.

That's why I don't blame him & that why I don't blame him for competition that should arrive as a striker who plays in a different way- because he plays football in a way as a striker no one else in the squad does that only someone like Firmino can replicate in the league even if Firmino is significantly better at everything ( note how the attack comes from Mane & Salah from the sides consistently).

It's time we stop being scared of using Greenwood - Martial is not our main goal scorer and there is nothing wrong with that, he is the creator for our strikers & that is so so obvious.

Ball comes to martial, he holds on to the ball whilst he has 1 or 2 central defenders marking him , dribbles off them, plays the ball out wide and then finds the wider players much free in space - rince and repeat.

Very good post.

I think at times that when we fail to beat a non-Top 6 side at home, people feel the need to scapegoat someone as they feel that someone must be at fault. The truth is that the real reason why we struggle to break down deep blocks has more to do with our player recruitment over the past few years as opposed to individual players not performing on a given day. The fact that McTominay or Lingard or James struggled to create today had less to do with them playing poorly on the day and more to do with them being players who can't break down a deep block in general. Unfortunately for Martial, I don't think people are able to fully recognise that for as long as a CF fails to receive proper service versus a deep block, that CF will not be able to make any real impact upon the game.

 

[Dec9003]

He’s become such a scapegoat. Doesn’t get judged by the same standards as the rest of the squad (bar ironically Pogba).

You could just as easily argue it works the other way just as often, where he isn’t allowed to be critiqued or you’re accused of scapegoating him.
At times the game gets played around him a bit too much, and we want to see him be a bit more assertive in and around the box.
It doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s good enough, or that we should ship him out, it’s just an observation.

 

[bond19821982]

The fact is you don't put Martial as a CF for him to be the main goal scoring threat.

You put him centrally to get players like Rashford to have space and passes created for them to score. The problem is on the other side we have no goal scoring threat, James who plays a completely different way - a traditional winger than a forward.

If Martial is going to play CF then he needs to play deep and be the main creator for 2 strikers like Rashford & Greenwood or potentially Rashford & Haaland.

People wondering why Martial doesn't get in to the box have this assumption that every type of striker gets in to the box - have a look at Football manager or whatever video games you play - see how many different type of strikers they are & Martial is simply not one that gets in to the box & the end of the cross.

That's why I don't blame him & that why I don't blame him for competition that should arrive as a striker who plays in a different way- because he plays football in a way as a striker no one else in the squad does that only someone like Firmino can replicate in the league even if Firmino is significantly better at everything ( note how the attack comes from Mane & Salah from the sides consistently).

It's time we stop being scared of using Greenwood - Martial is not our main goal scorer and there is nothing wrong with that, he is the creator for our strikers & that is so so obvious.

Ball comes to martial, he holds on to the ball whilst he has 1 or 2 central defenders marking him , dribbles off them, plays the ball out wide and then finds the wider players much free in space - rince and repeat.

Excellent post. Have mentioned it in some other threads. He is very similar to Bobby . Our problem starts with Ole though who is a very old school manager and has absolutely no clue on how to dominate games let alone play these kind of players.

 

[Sayros]

Very good post.

I think at times that when we fail to beat a non-Top 6 side at home, people feel the need to scapegoat someone as they feel that someone must be at fault. The truth is that the real reason why we struggle to break down deep blocks has more to do with our player recruitment over the past few years as opposed to individual players not performing on a given day. The fact that McTominay or Lingard or James struggled to create today had less to do with them playing poorly on the day and more to do with them being players who can't break down a deep block in general. Unfortunately for Martial, I don't think people are able to fully recognise that for as long as a CF fails to receive proper service versus a deep block, that CF will not be able to make any real impact upon the game.

Which is why Haaland won't be the difference-maker he can be if he does come unless Martial is starting on the field along with him. As long as the team gets the ball to Martial, he can retain the possession and turn at the defense to create for the wings (or Haaland) so they can cross it (hopefully properly from time to time) to a guy like Haaland who should be there waiting to pounce on it and can be physical enough to hold off pressure (although that remains to be seen at the higher level).

 

[El Zoido]

That's just splitting hairs and bordeline laughable, we'll have to agree to disagree if you're going down that route. You don't have to demean Martial to praise Greenwood either.

He just doesn’t come across as a natural finisher. The goal against City was absolutely millimetre perfect. Even slightly to the left or right and it doesn’t go in. Greenwood’s was a more “normal” type of goal, I just don’t see Martial doing that kind of thing hardly ever, let alone every week. I’d back Mason to replicate that shot every single game. He might not always score but I’ll take the odds. I definitely would not expect Martial to be scoring that kind of goal with any kind of regularity.

 

[Yagami]

We couldn't get the ball to him at all.

When we had it centrally, we were devoid of any ideas. It went back or wide more often than not. When we had it wide, our crosses were terrible.

He needs some actual service. When he came deep to pick up the ball he didn't do much either, so he isn't entirely blameless, but, whenever he had the ball, we, as a team, calmed down and had a bit of composure which was rare.

 

[Drainy]

You could just as easily argue it works the other way just as often, where he isn’t allowed to be critiqued or you’re accused of scapegoating him.
At times the game gets played around him a bit too much, and we want to see him be a bit more assertive in and around the box.
It doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s good enough, or that we should ship him out, it’s just an observation.

yeah - exactly. Martial FC are always waiting to pounce.

As I've said previously, this team would massively benefit from a proper striker who attacks the ball. It's possibly the second biggest weakness of the side outside of the number 10 role.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

You could just as easily argue it works the other way just as often, where he isn’t allowed to be critiqued or you’re accused of scapegoating him.
At times the game gets played around him a bit too much, and we want to see him be a bit more assertive in and around the box.
It doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s good enough, or that we should ship him out, it’s just an observation.

Yeh I don’t disagree with that, I agree he doesn’t impose himself enough but the cries of “woeful” and “passenger” are just not true. He held the balk well again today, looked composed on the ball, dribbled well just had some useless performers around him (cough Lingard) who just don’t give any supply!

 

[Hammondo]

We couldn't get the ball to him at all.

When we had it centrally, we were devoid of any ideas. It went back or wide more often than not. When we had it wide, our crosses were terrible.

He needs some actual service. When he came deep to pick up the ball he didn't do much either, so he isn't entirely blameless, but, whenever he had the ball, we, as a team, calmed down and had a bit of composure which was rare.

His movement was crap though. You cannot provide service to a player with bad movement.

 

[Yagami]

His movement was crap though. You cannot provide service to a player with bad movement.

I don't think it's that bad, though. Even when we went with two up front we couldn't get the ball to them. It's no coincidence that whoever we've played up front in recent years they've barely had any service whatsoever. It's because we, as a team, aren't creative enough to get our forwards in promising positions.

 

[berbatrick]

The difference between the first half and second half was that martial got a few touches and could hold it up. It meant that we had a route forward that wasn't a long hit-and-hope to the wings. He wasn't good but the total lack of plan and midfield quality and forwards who need open space were the reason he wasn't involved.

 

[Rawls]

Which is why Haaland won't be the difference-maker he can be if he does come unless Martial is starting on the field along with him. As long as the team gets the ball to Martial, he can retain the possession and turn at the defense to create for the wings (or Haaland) so they can cross it (hopefully properly from time to time) to a guy like Haaland who should be there waiting to pounce on it and can be physical enough to hold off pressure (although that remains to be seen at the higher level).

Very true, although I think Martial needs to be our secondary playmaker as opposed to our primary playmaker. Martial, at his best, would be similar to Firmino in terms of productivity i.e. a very even split between goals and assists. I think up until today, if Martial were to play a full season and if he were to maintain the same G+A ratio, he would have 29/30 G+A on the season from open play (Roughly 15 goals plus 15 assists).

 

[lsd]

Hard to criticise when there is zero creativity, we create nothing for our forwards

Hard to create a chance for a striker that refuses to move . He has to go as soon as we buy a striker . I have never seen a lazier player at Utd and we signed Berbatov

 

[Canagel]

​

It’s hard to find your man when he’s not even in the box mate.
He’s probably not been as terrible as some said, but he wasn’t as good as you said either.
We either need to tell him to be in the box more or go two up top, because he isn’t a natural at getting ahead of his man and getting on the end of balls.

He's not in the box because he's the one iniating all our crossing moves from deep mate. I even remember he dropped and threaded a inch perfect ball on the left to someone (I don't remember) in the 1St half (took 2 players out of the game) and nothing happened at the end of it. It would be good if he could be in two places but I'm not too worried. Pogba will be coming back very soon and he won't be dropping from the box anymore.

 

[Mr PG]

Martial is simply not good enough to be a starter for United... period. No awareness of space, no fight and stops running when ball is not passed to his feet. That’s the reason he never scores tap ins or rebounds because he never busts a gut to get into the box.

 

[Mr PG]

I said Greenwood >Martial after the Tottenham game and got some bad looks. True Martial will have a world class moment every few games. They played together Thursday Greenwood got 2 goals and earned a penalty and got another goal today.

 

[Dec9003]

​

He's not in the box because he's the one iniating all our crossing moves from deep mate. I even remember he dropped and threaded a inch perfect ball on the left to someone (I don't remember) in the 1St half (took 2 players out of the game) and nothing happened at the end of it. It would be good if he could be in two places but I'm not too worried. Pogba will be coming back very soon and he won't be dropping from the box anymore.

I don’t really agree, he does sometimes drop deeper and initiate chances and that’s great, but that doesn’t excuse the times when he’s not doing that and he’s not busting a gut to get in the box either.
It’s not a case of being in two places at once, he just needs to vary his game and be more willing to get into the box.

 

[Obiorahking_]

His play is starting to worry me.

 

[Art Vandelay]

He's simply not good enough and never will be. He's barely any better than when he was just standing around on the wing.

 

[zenith]

Martial is good without being great and that's how it'll be. I'm glad that greenwood is developing the way that he is and we may be looking at bringing in haaland because frankly martial needs competition from such ultra talented kids to keep him on his toes.

 

[Stretfordender]

Yea, so much of our good attacking play comes from him, the few times those behind him are able to pass forward, he ends up creating a move. He has been a scapegoat for a weird bunch for a while now, not surprising that they jump in here every chance they can get.

Ffs so you must be watching a different game.

 

[Devil may care]

Mediocre today, had some ok moments but didn't look sharp enough at key times.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Martial FC fans starting to look a bit silly. He's not even better than Rashford. Rashford has bad games but runs his nuts off when he does. This fraud does the bare minimum most weeks. Haaland and Greenwood will be taking his place soon.