[Robaldo]

Not sure if he's really been better than Lingard or Pereira this season.

 

[Devil81]

Won't be told by anyone that this lad is showing a single ounce of ability to play for a top four team.

Just an awful kick and rush footballer, I'd say similar standard if not worse than Marc Albrighton.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Needs benching which can't or won't happen until Rashford comes back most likely.

 

[sammsky1]

James should only have been a bench player this season and been allowed to have the time to make the step up into first team. But because of our crazy lack of squad depth, he's a first XI player, even though he doesn't have enough quality yet.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

Was fecking awful today.
In that first half, he did more counter attack football for Wolves than us with some of the loose back passes

 

[kundalini]

It's not even clear what he is trying to do on the pitch. He takes up strange positions where it is difficult for other players to find him, rarely makes runs off the ball that could take advantage of his pace.

Awful performance.

 

[Josh 76]

He is a impact player when the game is stretched.
That's it.

 

[Rozay]

He’s closer to being the right back we need than the right winger we need.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

At the start of the season, I never thought he'd have played this much. I thought we'd phase him in here and there given he is young and unproven.

I like him, but he's not quite good enough. I think he has something to offer as a squad player and perhaps an impact player. He is piss weak though. He was just bouncing off their defenders.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

A very one-dimensional winger currently, not showing a lot other than pace. Still room to improve but in a team chasing top 4 he should be a rotational player at best, not a guaranteed starter. Wouldn't get a look in at City/Liverpool.

 

[Master Yoda]

This guy should hit the gym first before coming back in the starting 11. James is too weak! I will say it time and time again, we have one of the most overrated attackers.

 

[Beaucoup]

Not good enough, never was and never will be.

 

[RedIan]

Looks knackered and low on Confidence. He was great when he started the season but hes lost all form now. Needs a break.

 

[NJM78]

Chong and Gomes must be truly awful to not get in ahead of him when being this ineffective. Pereira and Lingard are complete turd but I still have some hope for him next season.

Greenwood surely starts v Chelsea and Matic next to Fred.

Pereira needs to join Jesse and leave in the summer...along with Ole.

 

[Sultan]

Needs to adapt his game beyond pace. Otherwise, he'll be demoted back into the Championship.

 

[Sultan]

He’s closer to being the right back we need than the right winger we need.

Playing as a wingback in a back 5 would definitely be worth a try. This way any defensive deficiencies are less likely to hurt the team.

 

[VeevaVee]

We certainly need better than him to start. He doesn't impose himself on a game at all.

 

[Godfather]

Not coming much from him anymore is there

 

[elnorte]

Worth a thread search for the word 'bargain'.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

He is starting to look very limited. His general play is very poor and his pace isn’t quite blistering enough to just take him past people. Just doesn’t seem to understand or see things he is supposed to be doing.

Its clear his strength isn’t quick intricate passing yet time and time again this is what we and he seem to be trying to put through him. Just get on the line kid and try and create space.

 

[Robbie Boy]

I honestly just don't think he's that good. Had he signed for a bottom half club he wouldn't have looked out of place.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

It's really not a shock to see that all of James's best games for us have come against teams that have had a go at us. He's good on the counter. Has a lot still to learn about how to break down teams.

Not his fault he's been rushed into being a starter for us. The squad is so shit he had to play most weeks.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Is he even squad quality?

I don't think Adama Traore is first XI quality for a top 4 side, but he could be a squad player. Could be and he's way better than our James.

He's just not that good. He doesn't even try to use his pace to beat a man.

 

[Lash]

It's not even clear what he is trying to do on the pitch. He takes up strange positions where it is difficult for other players to find him, rarely makes runs off the ball that could take advantage of his pace.

Awful performance.

Yeah, he needs protection now. Get him out the side for a bit

 

[Robbie Boy]

He's our Jesper Grønkjær and that's not a good thing.

 

[JPRouve]

Why doesn't he run into the box when the striker drops or goes wide? I noticed that when Rashford was playing upfront and it hasn't changed with Martial. He seems to play in a very limited area all the time, close to the touch line between the half way line and the box, he doesn't want the ball beyond the hypothetical line between the edge of the box and the byline.

 

[reddevil80]

Weirdly enough, the one ability he does possess is his acceleration and speed to get away from defenders, and yet, you can count on one hand the amount of times he's used his rapid pace to break away for a goal or an assist.

Goodness, 3 goals and 6 assists but you can count them on one hand?, how big are your hands like?
tbh, he actually plays like he's been told to just hang wide and wait for the ball ott. If that doesn't happen he just seems to wander around and it looks like he doesn't have any imagination regarding where to run. That must surely come down to poor coaching. His pace is electrifying but, to me, he looks like he's been told to rein it in. If the oppo defence don't hold high lines, he can't or won't attack and pressure them. This, plus he can't tackle for toffee.

 

[Rozay]

Needs to join the party tonight. Martial is battered from pillar to post every day on here, but this lining up with only one player capable of scoring a goal is not fair on him. He’s 5-6 months without a goal now. Whichever mitigation you want to apply to him, that’s far from good enough.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Difficult game for him, he was marked by 2 players a lot during the game.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Being a one trick pony was eventually going to catch up with him. Still, works hard for the team and has age on his side to improve.

 

[el3mel]

Very, very poor again.

 

[Dec9003]

Did a job being played in an unfamiliar position against good defenders.
We’re not seeing him set up players like he was a little earlier in the season which is a shame.
I don’t get why we had Martial go wide and try to find James in the box so often tonight, it was never going to come to anything.

 

[Amar__]

This is about his fifth game in this formation in same position that he is the worst player on the pitch, and Ole insist on playing him there.

 

[arnie_ni]

Should be bringing him on for the last 15 mins after we go two instead of taking him of. Good bench option but starting up front i dont think is for him

 

[RedIan]

Agree, James is a sub, bring him on when the opp are tiring. He struggling with the current set up.

 

[Stadjer]

Not good enough. This squad is just so totally unbalanced that someone who played in the Championship last year has to start a lot of games for a team wanting to get into the CL. He just isnt good enough for that and i am not sure he will ever be. When playing this formation with James in the role he played today it is basically only Martial up front since James wont offer much of anything.

The moment he was taken off for Pereira might have been the perfect moment to bring someone like him on.

 

[NJM78]

No better than a sub, with two up top Mason should start every time ahead of him.

 

[Andersonson]

Not sure if he's really been better than Lingard or Pereira this season.

3 goals and 6 assists.
Andreas 1 and 3
Lingard 0 and 0.

A hell of a lot better.

 

[luke511]

Bad game but playing out of position up front in a 3-5-2 away at Chelsea is a tricky job.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

I’m not sure there is a point to him currently. He just looks out of his depth. He does work hard but, he just doesn’t seem to know what to do when he has the ball and doesn’t seem to make many good runs when he doesn’t.

There was a moment today where Martial got the ball and you can see him waiting for James to make this run and it should have been obvious to James but instead he just casually jogged not making an effort. Martial then loses the ball.

He has this thing of not using his pace at the moments where he actually can use it. He always seems to want to cut it back, then the times when there is no space to use his pace, he tries to use his pace. So frustrating.