Anthony Martial as Number 9

[Jeffthered]

Be honest, I have had enough of the guy. No 9, on the left, right etc... Anthony Martial, in my opinion, is not what Manchester United need as starting attacking forward because his attitude, general game development, and more than anything, his performances since receiving a super £200k + a week contract at arguably the biggest club in the world, have been pathetic.

There are better, more effective forwards out there, probably for far less money. Do you think Anthony Martial would score more goals than say, Callum Wilson?

I don't.

Too much hype has surrounded Martial. He will score a great goal somewhere before the end of the season, probably do little else, and that will probably convince some that he is this precocious talent. I'm fed up with him.

 

[In Rainbows]

His best quality is his dribbling and he won't get as many opportunities to use it up front as he does on the left. He should be used as a left forward (not as a winger though). He lacks top-notch off the ball movement to be played as a number 9.

I don't think his dribbling is that great of an asset right now.

I would like to see Martial up front, only because I think he'll do a better job at holding it up and bringing others into play. You guys are right that he won't be that great at making runs.

 

[Jacob]

Rather him than Rashford. As I've said multiple times, Rashford's qualities are more suited to the wing. Pace, dribbling, whipped crosses, energy.

 

[Devil may care]

His touch and ball protecting is better than Rashford and he's a better finisher, but his movement is awful, if we could fuse them into one player then we'd have a #9 on our hands.

If we start the season with either of them as our #9 we are fecked.

 

[el3mel]

He should be as far from it as possible with his god awful movement.

In fact he should be a just a squad player and away from starting lineup anyway. Having moody inconsistent players as your starters isn't going to make you challenge for the league.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

The first question really is: Does he deserve to play at number 9? If the answer is yes then he is third choice behind Lukaku and then Rashford. At best, his recent form has been that of a replacement level left sided player. Yet has been a somewhat regular starter when fit. The problem is that he's paid as a senior veteran in the squad. So he must play no matter what and there is a logjam in the attacking positions, none of which he's able to stamp down as his position or make them his own.

He has glaring flaws in his game still and beyond an injury crisis of any kind where he naturally gravitates toward first choice striker then I don't see him getting a run there any time soon. From in-game scenarios, I don't see anything there that makes me say "he needs to play up front". If anything his current form says "do we have anyone better on the left?". That is a huge worry.

I just don't see what he'll bring up front. Give it a go but I envisage people just saying "GET HIM BACK ON THE LEFT WHERE HE CAN RUN AT GUYS THE SERVICE IS BAD!" so try it, and good luck to him. But I won't be expecting much.

 

[Devil may care]

He should be as far from it as possible with his god awful movement.

In fact he should be a just a squad player and away from starting lineup anyway. Having moody inconsistent players as your starters isn't going to make you challenge for the league.

You're not wrong but you could apply that description to all 3 of our starting forwards, people are ducking it but Rashford's attitude has been no better than Martial's for weeks.

 

[el3mel]

You're not wrong but you could apply that description to all 3 of our starting forwards, people are ducking it but Rashford's attitude has been no better than Martial's for weeks.

Rashford should be even more far away from the starting lineup than Martial.

We need an entire new attack.

 

[Kostur]

Same ol' same ol' with him, we've been here couple of times before. He plays like shit on the wing, then it's back to the 'he's not a winger but a striker' thing until he plays a couple of games as a centre forward, at first he'll score one or two but then get back to being shit so there will be the 'he's most dangerous when he can dribble from the left and cut inside' talk. Rinse, repeat.

 

[Devil may care]

Rashford should be even more far away from the starting lineup than Martial.

We need an entire new attack.

In an ideal world I agree, as it stands I'd make Rashford and Martial compete for the LWF spot like Sterling and Sane at City, as we'll be lucky to get 2 new forwards in with how we do business.

 

[Stacks]

As a striker he is Crystal Palace/Bouremouth level at best. might bag 10 goals a season

 

[Sandikan]

He is a striker if we're honest, but we've sort of shoehorned him in a left sided attacker.
It works better than putting Rashford on the right, but the problem is neither create much for others.

 

[Nickosaur]

He has needed to kick on and develop for the last 2 seasons. He annoys me as much as the likes of Young - because he does have the talent, but I don't think he has the drive or desire to improve himself.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Easily the most over rated player by utd supporters in a long time. Flatters to decisive and puts in no effort. Get rid.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Easily the most over rated player by utd supporters in a long time. Flatters to decisive and puts in no effort. Get rid.

Yeah. Have had enough of him.

 

[Sp00ks11]

Easily the most over rated player by utd supporters in a long time. Flatters to decisive and puts in no effort. Get rid.

Get rid? So who are we keeping then? Seems like this forum wants everyone sold this summer. Madness.

 

[arthurka]

Where the feck is Martial FC after he signed the contract?
He has been absolutely unusable of late. I am getting on Neville´s team as talent is one thing and use of talent is another.
Martial should be on the transfer list this summer as he is one of the biggest culprits of not being up to standard.
When he is on his game he looks fantastic but that 1 game out of 10 isn´t enough to cover up the 9 out of 10 where he stinks up the place.
We need real wingers on both sides not some players who were thrown in there.

 

[jem]

How's about we just don't play the lazy git at all? His best position seems to be in some people's imagination.

Spot on. Until he develops any kind of consistency/work ethic, it won't matter where we play him - it'll be the same old tale of frustration and the occasional tantalizing glimpse. Sanchez has underwhelmed, but the more you watch Martial, the more you can understand why Jose wasn't sold on him (remember the coaching staff also gets to see him in training all week - I somehow can't seem him being the embodiment of hard work in practice.)

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Get rid? So who are we keeping then? Seems like this forum wants everyone sold this summer. Madness.

Suits me, I've never disliked so many utd players as I do right now. More concerned with image, brand, lifestyle and money than winning football matches, and the others just aren't good enough. There's not a single player id be sorry to see go.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

Martial looks like a classic, quick second striker who can dribble. Consequently, the he can only be used to his full in a 352, diamond or 442.

I think this is about right. 352 would also suit Dalot most, but I don't know if it's in our future plans to build our team around those two in particular.

 

[kouroux]

It will never work him as 9 long term, just like it would never work having Lukaku as a long term right winger. We confuse too much players being able to do a job for a certain time at a position and doing the job full time

Martial's stats for his entire United career so far:

Centre Forward: 10 goals, 7 assists in 2648 minutes - goal/assist every 156 minutes
Left Winger: 34 goals, 22 assists in 7548 minutes - goal/assist every 135 minutes
Right Winger: 2 goals, 0 assists in 638 minutes - goal/assist every 319 minutes
Second Striker: 0 goals, 0 assists in 156 minutes - goal/assist every 0 minutes
Attacking Midfield: 2 goals, 0 assists in 128 minutes - goal/assist every 64 minutes

Ignoring the obvious outlier in attacking midfield, he has been the most productive as a left winger. It's a total myth that he was always better as a striker, he wasn't even as productive in his first season where people claim that was his best position. He actually played more and scored/assisted more as a left winger that season:

15/16
LW - 2222 minutes, 11 goals, 7 assists (every 123 minutes)
CF - 1611 minutes, 4 goals, 2 assists (every 269 minutes)

This is a good post. Caftards love to create narrative and stick by them for whatever reason. Martial's limitation as a footballer would be more crying if he played there

 

[Freak]

I couldn’t care less about Martial. Extremely overrated player. If we got a good offer for him I’d take it. He doesn’t have the mentality to be a top player.

 

[Kaglish10]

In an ideal world I agree, as it stands I'd make Rashford and Martial compete for the LWF spot like Sterling and Sane at City, as we'll be lucky to get 2 new forwards in with how we do business.

Seconded.

 

[Volumiza]

Martial was OK as a striker originally, but then went shit, so he was played as a left winger. He started off very well on the wing, but now he's gone shit, so not sure moving him back to striker would make him less shit.

Rashford was good as a left winger, then he went shit, so he's now being played as a striker. Now he's gone shit there too.

Lukaku was good as a striker, then he turned shit, so now he's being used as a right winger sometimes. He's shit there too.

Sanchez has been shit wherever he's played.

Lingard is shit on the right wing.

I'm not sure the positions are the problem, it's shit players.

I try not to get sucked in by negativity too often ... this is pretty funny though

 

[Kaglish10]

It will never work him as 9 long term, just like it would never work having Lukaku as a long term right winger. We confuse too much players being able to do a job for a certain time at a position and doing the job full time


This is a good post. Caftards love to create narrative and stick by them for whatever reason. Martial's limitation as a footballer would be more crying if he played there

His performance as a striker against Liverpool in the Europa cup match sealed his fate for me. He's no striker! But a deadly finisher when drifting from the left side.

I think having another quality forward on the right wing that could threaten and attract the attention of the opposition would open up more space for him on the left side. He also seems to look better in a possession based setup which would have him see a lot of the ball because he loves the ball to his feet. However, his movement, work rates and mentality need to improve because these are his achilles.

 

[kouroux]

His performance as a striker against Liverpool I'm the Europa cup match sealed his fate for me. He's no striker! But a deadly finisher when drifting from the left side.

I think having another quality forward on the right wing that could threaten and attract the attention of the opposition would open up more space for him on the left side. He also seems to look better in a possession based setup which would have him see a lot of the ball because he loves the ball to his feet. However, his movement, work rates and mentality need to improve because these are his achilles.

This is a very important and key thing for me. Very good point, if that were to happen he'd get more space, I would still want him to be less predictable with his movement (less cutting inside to fool defenders)

 

[MikeKing]

I think he would do well as a striker, provided we play to his strength. He is very good with the ball close to his feet and if he get a clever pass inside the box he can turn and finish a lot. I think he has the potential to score a lot of goals if he is more fortunate with positioning himself. He struggles with it at the moment, but he might improve there and he has clear quality we can take advantage of. I would rather we try Martial as a striker than Rashford. Rashford is pressing better and has more work rate but not much else is in his favour in that position, imo.

 

[bond19821982]

He is the kind of player who will just lighten the league if played for Dortmund or Sevilla.

Just not happening for us unfortunately along with other stars. That's the reason why I doubt if Ole or Carrick will be able to get a 100% from him.

 

[breakout67]

He is the kind of player who will just lighten the league if played for Dortmund or Sevilla.

Just not happening for us unfortunately along with other stars. That's the reason why I doubt if Ole or Carrick will be able to get a 100% from him.

More like Nice and Rennes. He's performing on the same level as mid table forwards like Richarlison and Delofeu. He's had 1 good season in his United Career where he was an unknown quantity, his tricks have been figured out and instead of adapting his game he has stagnated.

 

[cyril C]

What is everyone's views on playing Martial as a striker next season . He is a quality talent with a bad temperament but his finishing is good . He was signed as a number 9 for a record buy but was later shifted to the left wing to first accommodate Rashford and then Zlatan . Watching him play is so frustrating because he doesn't take any initiative . He is on big wages now so very less chance of getting rid of him for time being .

With all the chances we make which get spurned by both Lukaku and Rashford maybe it's time we gave Martial a chance as striker as he is decent when it comes to headers and probably best finisher when given chances .

You have the answer yourself. Do you think being our #9 can be lazy and can score 20+ goals without taking any initiative? A good player will take any opportunity available to him, whether left or right or middle.

 

[EireRed_GS]

Id prefer him up top and through the middle, a he has a whole lot less defensive responsibilities then... And as we have seen recently, hes not to keen/nor the best, at busting a gut to get back. id give him a go there next season see how he does.

 

[Ahsan_6386]

You have the answer yourself. Do you think being our #9 can be lazy and can score 20+ goals without taking any initiative? A good player will take any opportunity available to him, whether left or right or middle.

That's not exactly the answer since the wages he receives is so high that we need to make him work for it . It will be very tough to get rid of him now because of his wages so might as well give him opportunities in a position he showed promise in at the start of his career . We all know he is an uninterested player so I hope Ole motivates him to start showing intent .

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I used to think he was more of a winger, but his lack of movement makes him easy to mark and is the reason he can spend large chunks without touching the ball.

As a 9, yes, he needs movement, but alot of that movement could be towards the ball, providing you have a winger or wingers to take advantage of thevspace in behind, i.e. Salah and Mane with Firmino.

If you look at Martial, his hold up play, one touch play and vision are amongst his strongest attributes. It may not work, but it would be nice to see him tried up top.

Its something I wanted to see with Depay when he was here after his performance vs Watford. Now it seems thats his starting position for both Lyon and Netherlands.

 

[SlimDizzle075]

What is everyone's views on playing Martial as a striker next season . He is a quality talent with a bad temperament but his finishing is good . He was signed as a number 9 for a record buy but was later shifted to the left wing to first accommodate Rashford and then Zlatan . Watching him play is so frustrating because he doesn't take any initiative . He is on big wages now so very less chance of getting rid of him for time being .

With all the chances we make which get spurned by both Lukaku and Rashford maybe it's time we gave Martial a chance as striker as he is decent when it comes to headers and probably best finisher when given chances .

My .02 on Martial. When he is emotionally invested in the match and interested in having a go, he is an immense talent that can play as a LW, LFW, ST, or CF. However his problem is and always has been consistency.

As far as deploying him centrally.. I would only play him as a striker is he was deployed there as the left side striker in a 4-4-2. The reason I say this is that when deployed in that central position he still continuously drifts to the left. That left side channel is where he is most comfortable receiving the ball. It is natural for him. If he is the central striker when he drifts left it creates crowding on that left hand side. Between Shaw, Pogba, Martial and whoever is deployed in that LM/LW spot its too congested and very easy for the opposition to get behind the ball and play pragmatic. Not only that but the effect it has on the rest of the formation is detrimental as well. Him drifting left creates a void in the center, and we have NOTHING on the right hand side of the field. with players like Lingard, Mata, Young and Valencia on the right we have nothing of significance to counter balance the crowded left hand side. We become predictable and easy to defend.

 

[Kaglish10]

I used to think he was more of a winger, but his lack of movement makes him easy to mark and is the reason he can spend large chunks without touching the ball.

As a 9, yes, he needs movement, but alot of that movement could be towards the ball, providing you have a winger or wingers to take advantage of thevspace in behind, i.e. Salah and Mane with Firmino.

If you look at Martial, his hold up play, one touch play and vision are amongst his strongest attributes. It may not work, but it would be nice to see him tried up top.

Its something I wanted to see with Depay when he was here after his performance vs Watford. Now it seems thats his starting position for both Lyon and Netherlands.

Depay has a better off the ball movement than Martial.

 

[bonothom]

Martial is shite. He hasn't improved one bit in all the time he's been at the club. His attitude stinks as well, if United can get £50 million then sell and buy a player who actually tries.

 

[bond19821982]

More like Nice and Rennes. He's performing on the same level as mid table forwards like Richarlison and Delofeu. He's had 1 good season in his United Career where he was an unknown quantity, his tricks have been figured out and instead of adapting his game he has stagnated.

Yeah, may be he needs a better coaching - just assuming.

Certainly think he has the talent to make it to the top.

 

[Copa Mundial]

I'd definitely start him as a number 9 but this is driven more out of necessity than desire.

Both Rashford and Lukaku are technically woeful in front of goal and thus I'd give Martial a chance.

On a side note how on earth has a Utd team got into this situation of not having at least one (even half) decent striker? It's not at all acceptable imo.

 

[Emrethis]

I think he's been found out at LW. His tricks don't work anymore. On the other hand, he offers something that our other forwards don't at the moment, and that's hold-up play. You don't need to be built like a tank in order to hold the ball up. His ball control is so good that I'm sure he'll manage. He'd be an unknown quantity as a striker and this could be an inspired move. Maybe.

 

[mav_9me]

Lets get him running 10km per match first. Then we can talk about positions.

Where I am. I was/am a big believer in his talent. However with that work rate he is not going to do justice to his talent wherever on the pitch. I am not talking about defensive work rate, I am more interested in his attacking work rate. No where near good enough.