Do we still need a #9?

Devil may care

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I was going to bump one of the other striker threads but none were exactly a fit and I know the policy is no mega threads.

I know we have Martial but I am starting to wonder if LvG might see him playing more as a LWF than as a #9, it's just that right now we have no other option there bar the ineffectual Rooney. Personally I could see us lining up with Martial on the left, Memphis as the #10 and a new #9 next season.

There are a few options out there who are natural #9's and I think at this stage of his career Martial might benefit from playing from wide as he drifts out there a lot of the time as it is.
 
No, we need top wingers. Martial is there already and Wilson has to be given a chance next season if his loan goes well. Then we have Memphis who did well as the striker in the limited opportunities that he got. This is assuming Rooney stays here ofcourse. Even if he doesn't, these many are enough for a 1 striker system.
 
Yeah. I think Martial is best playing a Neymar type role, not alone up top. Maybe as a left sided forward, where he can drift wide, come in, dribble past players at will as he does and also create and get in goalscoring positions. As a striker, he's good and has huge potential, but he gets crowded out and he can't use his dribbling and running at players as much and that's arguably his best asset. Obviously he's not a pure left sided midfielder, but the Neymar role with us playing a 4-3-3 is how he and United overall should play. Then again, it's arguably Memphis' best position as well, but they could probably learn to rotate and move around in a front 4. Someone like Kane would be ideal up top though. Martial is just 19, and while I think he has enormous potential, he's not going to be scoring 20-30 goals a season just yet. Kane can, given the service, and this way we'll have more then just 1 striker. We'll have Kane, Memphis, Martial as players who are all capable of scoring over 20 goals a season once they develop and adapt in a fluid system. This way we're also not overly reliant on just 1 of them.
 
Yeah I think we need more of a goal threat tbh. We have seen what Martial is capable of, but he is young so blows hot and cold, which obviously means we can't expect him to take up the mantle of leading scorer this season. That's Rooney's job and as we know, he's failing miserably.

The way I see it is, if we had a Vardy in the side at this moment, do you think we'd be in a better position in the league? I think it's be hard to argue no and on that basis a number 9 is a must in Jan for me.
 
bosnian_red said:
Yeah. I think Martial is best playing a Neymar type role, not alone up top. Maybe as a left sided forward, where he can drift wide, come in, dribble past players at will as he does and also create and get in goalscoring positions.
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This is how I see it too. For me, the two priority signings in the summer are a striker and a right winger. I would love something like Martial - Lukaku - Reus/Mane as a three (trying to be realistic).
 
I believe Martial will score 20 goals at least next season in a proper setup.4-3-3 should be the way forward as all of our so-called "wingers" except for Young are actually better when drift in centrally or close to the goal and all of our strikers are also capable of playing as wide forwards when needed.So it's all depends on the progress of Memphis/Wilson/Rashford that we'll need to sign one,or two,or no one at all.Regardless of who that are we only need 3 strikers with another versatile winger/AM that can play as backup striker when needed, no more no less.I don't consider Rooney as a striker anymore btw.
 
Given Martial's age and versatility there's really no need for us to be depending on him in the way we are. Signing a proven goalscorer to compete with and play along side him can only help us.
 
Definitely. And a pair of wingers that are quick and can beat a man not fall over at every attempt
 
We need a striker. Whether he's one to play off martial or the other way around is up for debate. But we need to replace Rooney and get a second striker in to rotate with martial or to play with him.

Then again we also need a new winger and number 10 IMO.
 
Yep. Martial isn't an out and out goal scorer.

Kane & Martial would be ideal together.
 
Yeah I think so. Someone of peak age, about 26/27 who can rotate with him/play alongside him. We definitely need more options up there and I'd rather see this than a back up squad player ala Hernandez brought in.
 
Depends on Depay. If he develops well and will play upfront, we'd rather buy a winger. But I doubt anyone would say no to replacing Rooney
 
Someone like Pelle would have been a good signing if he was a bit younger.
 
We've needed a first team striker for two and a half seasons.
 
I think we need an established "star" striker to come in and take that mantle from Rooney. Martial is a capable 2nd choice striker who can also play other roles if required.

If Januzaj comes back (which I really hope he does) then I would also advocate signing a(nother) winger.

Unfortunately for this to happen, other players will have to make way: Rooney, Fellaini and possibly even Mata.
 
Absolutely. You don't win things if you can't score goals, and currently we don't have a consistent and proven goalscorer at this level.
 
After a bright start, Martial hasn't scored in his last 7 club games. Before the CSKA goal he hadn't scored in 4. He has bags of potential but we're seeing the risks of basically betting the house on he and Memphis in the way we did.

So yeah, I think we should be looking to bring in another striker to ease the burden. The Rooney situation doesn't look like it's going to solve itself any time soon.
 
Yes we really do - Martial would work well in a 4-3-3.

Martial - Aubameyang - Memphis

That trio could potentially be devastating next season, we really should make Aubameyang our number 1 target - he has everything that we are lacking right now.
 
I'd give Memphis a few chances up front first. His performance against Watford was the best he's played in ages.

If that doesn't work and if Martial doesn't start scoring then I'd say yes.

However Van Gaal's bias towards Rooney makes it very hard to see us signing one.
 
Of course we do.

As good as Martial is, he's still young and will remain inconsistent and prone to dips in form. We've really got no other viable option there IMO, apart from maybe Wilson. Rooney's shot and Fellaini should be sold, so I'll exclude them.

Also need another winger/#10 too. I don't look at it, as needed x amount of striker or wingers, we just need an increase in attacking options. Having eight good options for the front four positions next seasons would look a lot better.

Something like - Kane, Martial, Mata, Memphis, Mane, Lingard, Pereira and Wilson.

At the moment, we've got established players with big reputations like Rooney and Mata who are barely under threat of being dropped, because we've got very little in reserve. They need to have competition for places.
 
I'd like us to get more of an attacking threat on the right hand side, ala Griezmann before we get another striker.

Kane & Auba are the only semi-realistic ones of obtaining.
Muller & Lewandowski are less likely. Benzema isn't prolific enough for me personally. Neymar is likely to sign a new contract despite what his dad says in the media.
Kane will cost 50m+ and Auba recently signed a new contract so it's unlikely he'll go anywhere for cheaper than 50m either.

So if we pay the release clause for Griezmann, and 35-40m for Isco that'd be fantastic.
 
Just to clarify I'm not suggesting we try to get a #9 in January, I think the best we can do then is a wide player. To get a #9 worthwhile we'd need to wait until the summer when we can get rid of Rooney to clear the way. I genuinely think Martial would benefit from playing Neymar's role in a 4-3-3 as @bosnian_red says.
 
Yes.

I like Martial there, but i feel with his dribbling ability it would be better for the team if he is used out wide.

Lukaku or Kane would be perfect, but also very expensive, in the case of Kane i don't think he will move if they achieving a top 4 place, he seems to love Spurs.
 
We need a backup 9, preferably with some physical presence (which isn't the same thing as height) and a winger:

--------Martial-------- (Striker, Wilson)
Memphis--------Winger (Mata, Lingard, Januzaj)
-------Herrera-------- (Mata, Pereira)

Over 50-55 games in a season, that's enough playing time for everyone.
 
Short term I'd try Memphis there, seems to benefit from the lack of tracking back and he has an eye for goal.

If that doesn't work out we have to go for Lukaku/Kane.
 
Yes.

If we are going to persist with the slow build up play then i think we need a striker who can score headed goals as well as with his feet. At the moment none of our options bar Fellaini look like they are ever going to win a header.
 
Going to be a bloody expensive front line at this rate.
 
We definitely need to replace Rooney and find an upgrade on Mata.
 
hbgreg said:
Martial doesn't play like a #9, so yes.
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I agree, I think LvG's system works best with a #9 that wants to stay central as a focal point, Martial is best when free to roam wide and dribble inwards from the flank at this stage of his career.

Something like this next season;

 
Varun said:
No, we need top wingers. Martial is there already and Wilson has to be given a chance next season if his loan goes well. Then we have Memphis who did well as the striker in the limited opportunities that he got. This is assuming Rooney stays here ofcourse. Even if he doesn't, these many are enough for a 1 striker system.
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This definitely needs to be our priority. Also wouldn't hurt to bring in a really good number 10.
 
Devil may care said:
I agree, I think LvG's system works best with a #9 that wants to stay central as a focal point, Martial is best when free to roam wide and dribble inwards from the flank at this stage of his career.

Something like this next season;

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Has Depay ever played as a number 10? Seems a bit shoehorned in there
 
The way Rooney is playing we 100% need a new No.9. At the moment we only have 2 strikers and we can't rely on Martial. At 19 he is going to have up and down moments.

We need a world class striker who will get us regular goals.

As others have pointed out Kane and Martial would be beautiful. With Wilson hopefully getting in the mix as well.
 
Attila said:
Has Depay ever played as a number 10? Seems a bit shoehorned in there
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In LvG's system the role is more that of a second striker and I think his most promising performance in the PL was in the free roaming forward pairing with Lingard.
 
Martial is our #9½ for the future, and I think it's about time we stopped shopping to find systemic fits for the Van Gaal dossier. We need a proper #10 that is flexible enough to go wide; and a creative, dribbling menace on the outside. The top teams right now are really flexible and fluid in terms of their interplay and offensive alignments. Adding an orthodox #9 might stunt our progress once Van Gaal's term is up.
 
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