Has Martial done enough to be backed as our long-term #9?

romufc

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I can accept either one. Could Martial just be lazy? definitely. Maybe last season when he wanted to prove he can play 9 he was going above and beyond. who knows
If that is the case, then he needs to have a look at himself. He raised standards so high, we expect that from him.

I remember post lockdown, Martial was unplayable, everything stuck to his feet, brilliant movement, great link up play, making runs, pressing. We all thought wow, with Bruno's service he is going to rip it up next season.

This season comes and he is the same old inconsistent Martial again. Its frustrating to see, especially when he showed us what he is capable of doing.
 

tjb

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The thing with Martial is this...the only time I ever really saw him as potentially being a high level player was the second half and extra time of that Sevilla game in the Europa League last season. Most of the other hype he has gotten has been a result of scoring a goal or a 5 minute burst where he has two or three succesful dribbles, but never truly anything special that Tabby Abraham can't do. I think the talk of his skill is overrated as he doesn't use them enough to even be worth considering.
 

tjb

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If that is the case, then he needs to have a look at himself. He raised standards so high, we expect that from him.

I remember post lockdown, Martial was unplayable, everything stuck to his feet, brilliant movement, great link up play, making runs, pressing. We all thought wow, with Bruno's service he is going to rip it up next season.

This season comes and he is the same old inconsistent Martial again. Its frustrating to see, especially when he showed us what he is capable of doing.
The thing is, those standards still weren't high enough to be considered an outright United no.9.
 

Chesterlestreet

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The answer to the question in the OP is - again - no.

The question is what we're gonna do about it.

Right now I prefer Cavani as the default starter. But he's hardly the future.
 

romufc

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The thing is, those standards still weren't high enough to be considered an outright United no.9.
No there was still alot to improve on, like Ole said he wants him scoring the proper No. 9 goals.

However; we thought we saw progress from him and this season its all gone down in the dump, last few weeks I kept thinking what would we be like if Martial, Rashford, Greenwood hit top form?

I am still waiting, to a point where I am questioning whether they are actually good enough. We always seem to hide them behind the age card, it happens etc, but I am not sure anymore.

It looks like they just dont have the ability and mentality to be top top players.
 

Stacks

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If that is the case, then he needs to have a look at himself. He raised standards so high, we expect that from him.

I remember post lockdown, Martial was unplayable, everything stuck to his feet, brilliant movement, great link up play, making runs, pressing. We all thought wow, with Bruno's service he is going to rip it up next season.

This season comes and he is the same old inconsistent Martial again. Its frustrating to see, especially when he showed us what he is capable of doing.
It is yeah. It could also be regression to the mean.
 

BeltUp

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No. His form means he deserves dropping and even though he isn't scoring many, I'd much rather we gave Greenwood more minutes than Martial. If he keeps up his lazy attitude and sulking, he may well find himself behind Diallo in the near future.
 
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SSSSnake

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This isn’t even a knee jerk reaction. He’s been at the club long enough to stamp his authority. Clearly doesn’t have the mental strength or drive to succeed here. We should cash in on him whilst he’s still young. This will then open the door for a Grealish or a Sancho.
 

croadyman

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I can accept either one. Could Martial just be lazy? definitely. Maybe last season when he wanted to prove he can play 9 he was going above and beyond. who knows
Yeah looking at the rest of his Utd career I am absolutely convinced that last season was a freak one, can't help thinking that had a lot to do with him not being intimidated by competition from the likes of Zlatan, Sanchez or Cavani and now he has that we are seeing the normal Tony again who cannot be arsed to track back at all
 

croadyman

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This isn’t even a knee jerk reaction. He’s been at the club long enough to stamp his authority. Clearly doesn’t have the mental strength or drive to succeed here. We should cash in on him whilst he’s still young. This will then open the door for a Grealish or a Sancho.
Yeah he has had more than enough opportunities and the club need to cash in while they still can, only problem is who is going to take him on with the average performances that he has put in most of the season
 

OverratedOpinion

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So, so much talent.

So bad at using it to make an impact on a game. The exact sort of player we will sell for peanuts to a smaller club and then feel annoyed when he goes and scores 30 a season.
 

mikel

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He has not. Whether the player, coaching or more likely a combination of both this was the wrong place for him to fully develop. Talent to be in the running for top scorer in the league every year but its just not there. What happened between the conclusion of re-start and now is a mystery. He looked set to take off and this year... nothing.
 

redrobed

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So, so much talent.

So bad at using it to make an impact on a game. The exact sort of player we will sell for peanuts to a smaller club and then feel annoyed when he goes and scores 30 a season.
There’s not a world in which he scores 30 a season. West Ham/Aston Villa/Arsenal level player.
 

Eire Red United

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So, so much talent.

So bad at using it to make an impact on a game. The exact sort of player we will sell for peanuts to a smaller club and then feel annoyed when he goes and scores 30 a season.
Yeah he’ll probably make it, just not with us and not what we need. I’d be offering him to Dortmund to sweeten the deal for Haaland.
 

Bebestation

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I dont think he is a flop to be honest.

He was a 36 million player with add ons he wont achieve in his career.

He was a useful player during our top 4 phase over the decade and we are now striving towards more. Helped us win Europa League and Fa Cups but he now isnt good enough to make the step up to win titles and CL's.

I enjoyed his time here but it sounds more and more past tense.
 

croadyman

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It's tough because I think it will be difficult to get rid.
Yeah can't see anyone being able to afford him and we aren't generally someone who does swap deals, the only one I can remember in years was the Sanchez/Mkhitaryan one and we all know how that worked out. We just haven't got the right people in place to make shrewd deals which is really the only way to improve your squad in these tricky times.
 

SAFMUTD

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Its clear Ole is trying to play him back into form but he's just not up to it. He doesnt seem motivated and things are just not happening for him.

We should be definitely be looking to use him as a LW sub or getting rid, we can't give ourselves the luxury of our number 9 to be hot and cold for such long periods if we are serious about challenging for top titles.
 

Hughie77

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Hes clearly not a no 9 hes wide and prefers the left, Rashford plays there, if he stays here it's a back up to Rashford and another striker should be bought, I think that may well happen. It's another one like Pogba if he wants to stay or go it's up to him I think as there is a strong possibility that another striker is coming in the Summer.
His form as a 9 is not good enough not enough goals.
 

Scholsey2004

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Hes clearly not a no 9 hes wide and prefers the left, Rashford plays there, if he stays here it's a back up to Rashford and another striker should be bought, I think that may well happen. It's another one like Pogba if he wants to stay or go it's up to him I think as there is a strong possibility that another striker is coming in the Summer.
His form as a 9 is not good enough not enough goals.
We've got a stack load of young forwards/wingers coming through now though with Greenwood, Diallo, Shoretire and Pellestri at the very least. If Martials not progressing, which hes not, then he'll be overtaken anyway.
 

Bilbo

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I think its quite likely that the club would accept a reasonable offer if one should come our way. I like the idea of using him as a makeweight in a summer transfer but those deals don't seem to happen very often.
 

Fitchett

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He needs to go. His continual lack of effort and poor performances are inexcusable for a player on such a high salary. Like De Gea, but much worse, it feels as if the club are playing him, so as to be able to maintain his value, should we try to offload him in the summer. His efforts and performances most certainly do not warrant selection.
 

utdalltheway

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Please Poch, pay big and take him.

Martial’s been here long enough to show his worth, consistently. And he hasn’t so we need to replace him with someone that can get 20-30 goals per season.
 

Waynne

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Not good enough. Get rid.

That goal against us vs Sheffield (where he has his hands behind his back just looking at the ball) still makes my blood boil and sums him up perfectly.
 

Champagne Football

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Van Gaal used to boast that Martial would be his parting gift to Man Utd. The man was a clown and as clueless as clueless can be. He paid about 5 times Martial's true value at the time. Zaha is more consistent and more effective and we sold him for peanuts.

Anyways Martial definitely has the ability but he simply does not have the Man Utd DNA, the desire and mental toughness required. I wouldn't be against sending him out on loan next season as nobody is going to take him off our hands with those wages.
 

RRCE

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Martial is a talented player, but far too inconsistent to be our long term #9. As many have pointed out, his lack of effort and commitment at times is quite stunning. He just doesn’t seem to have the hunger to score goals at all costs. It must drive Ole crazy. In my opinion, he doesn’t have a winner’s mindset. I’d happily move him on in the summer. My only concern is, if we did sell him, whether the club would actually spend to buy an upgrade.
 

nokoya

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Martial is a talented player, but far too inconsistent to be our long term #9. As many have pointed out, his lack of effort and commitment at times is quite stunning. He just doesn’t seem to have the hunger to score goals at all costs. It must drive Ole crazy. In my opinion, he doesn’t have a winner’s mindset. I’d happily move him on in the summer. My only concern is, if we did sell him, whether the club would actually spend to buy an upgrade.
Agree with this

No desire at almost all this season matches he started, really curious what's gone wrong.
 

norm87cro

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His game without the ball is non existent. I don't think he will go down as a flop but just a decent transfer that has reached it's peak.
 

Bobcat

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Hes clearly not a no 9 hes wide and prefers the left, Rashford plays there, if he stays here it's a back up to Rashford and another striker should be bought, I think that may well happen. It's another one like Pogba if he wants to stay or go it's up to him I think as there is a strong possibility that another striker is coming in the Summer.
His form as a 9 is not good enough not enough goals.
Last season it was "hes not a wide player and need to play centrally. The truth is hes been shite across the entire attacking line and no amount of shifting him around is going to solve the root of the problem
 

Sky1981

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I dont think he is a flop to be honest.

He was a 36 million player with add ons he wont achieve in his career.

He was a useful player during our top 4 phase over the decade and we are now striving towards more. Helped us win Europa League and Fa Cups but he now isnt good enough to make the step up to win titles and CL's.

I enjoyed his time here but it sounds more and more past tense.
He's not useful

If we have a proper 9 like Prime Zlatan or even Prime Andy cole we won't be in the Europa league in the first place.
 

Sky1981

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Its clear Ole is trying to play him back into form but he's just not up to it. He doesnt seem motivated and things are just not happening for him.

We should be definitely be looking to use him as a LW sub or getting rid, we can't give ourselves the luxury of our number 9 to be hot and cold for such long periods if we are serious about challenging for top titles.
I don't know what's with "playing him into form", if that's the case than Martial really "spits" on ole's face.

You can have off days, but not running enough is inexcusable.

Ole should invite him to his room, and ask him what the feck do he want? if he doens't want to give him his all then don't bother playing him ever again. If he says he wants to play, make him earn it.

At this rate Ole's being made to look like a fool for giving him time he don't appreciate
 

Denis79

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He's not a natural striker he simply doesn't have the movement and positioning for it and we can clearly see the difference when Cavani plays.
 

Denis' cuff

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Really is a shame. Probably the player I enjoy watching more than any other when he’s on it. Such a waste of talent and I just wonder wtf is up with him? He clearly and deliberately simply doesn’t try. That is unforgivable. End of. Fergie would not have put up with his shit for 5 minutes and ditto, his French mate. Get rid of both. Create a team.

(don’t hate French)

You look at the way players like Sharpe, Ince, Leighton etc were ejected at the first sign of non-compliance and lack of application. Fergie had the authority that Ole will not be given by the current regime. I think he’ll get there but it will be a slow process. Even if he had Fergie’s nouse, he doesn’t have his dynamism not the cooperation from above that Fergie had but that is where we are. Club profits were ploughed back into the club but not anymore. NYSE comes first.
 

RUCK4444

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In response to the thread title... Martial hasn't done enough to be backed as our long term ball boy, let alone the number 9 for Manchester United ffs.

Joking aside, make him part of any bid to sign a better player, ideally Haaland but I can't see many top teams being interested in gambling on a player coming off the back of a season as awful as this one has been for Martial.
 

Rampant Red Rodriguez

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He's a LWF but has Rashford to compete against. He needs to buck his ideas up fast if he wants to play from the start in every game. As per Shearer his movement doesn't have the same nature of getting in the box like a fwd, he's a no 9 in name only. And if we get a cfwd, he's going to be relegated to fixed bench position pretty quickly. If Pogba goes then so should this lad and we could rebalance the squad with his replacement.
 

RUCK4444

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He's a LWF but has Rashford to compete against. He needs to buck his ideas up fast if he wants to play from the start in every game. As per Shearer his movement doesn't have the same nature of getting in the box like a fwd, he's a no 9 in name only. And if we get a cfwd, he's going to be relegated to fixed bench position pretty quickly. If Pogba goes then so should this lad and we could rebalance the squad with his replacement.
He has zero off the ball movement and has no idea how to make runs and offer opportunities for players like Bruno to find him. He literally wants the ball to feet constantly, his hold up play when he first arrived was pretty good, now it's awful. He simply doesn't have the room he would require to play like he does when he's in the striker role, which is why he's usually better from the wing. That said I've not been impressed with a single performance of his for some time regardless of position.

For the life of me I cannot understand why a player like Martial can't figure out that he needs to make attacking runs into the box off the ball. It's like the penny hasn't dropped yet, however I'm feckin certain coaches will have been demanding this of him. So it's almost a lack of intellect at this stage.
 

romufc

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I have not seen a forward so disinterested in a football game like Marital. never breaks his neck to get into the box, always wants ball to feel but loses it.

A month ago, Martial FC was saying his all round game is brilliant, he holds the ball, he brings people into play and is only lacking goals however; he is doing none of it.

He isn't pressing, isnt passing well, cant hold the ball up, no runs in behind, no runs into the box for a cross, absolutely nothing.
 

The holy trinity 68

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I don't understand what Ole and the management are seeing in him every game to keep starting him. All of the fans can see that he is not good enough and has been terrible for months, so how can our management not see this?

I have faith that Ole may be ruthless with Martial eventually, as he has shipped out a lot of players since being manager.