Yes, this season should be make or break .....just like last season and the season before that.
Is next season make or break for Martial?
- Thread starter Schmeichel's Cartwheel
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He should improve on few things like intensity in his game, work rate and working without ball but for the mins he plays, his goal contribution is very good. Hopefully he will kick on this season.
He's the best number 9 at the club and performs at his best in that position. Will we see him play there? Probably not.
Even if Martial has another lackluster season, it seems Ed wont admit defeat and will be convinced his potential alone is worthy of a place in the squad.
What's frustrating is that certain players gets shipped out in no time (Depay?) yet others are allowed to get comfortable and never get near reaching the level they are capable of. Not saying Depay didn't under perform, but there are others who are equally as unproductive, and Martial has not been a reliable performer.
What's frustrating is that certain players gets shipped out in no time (Depay?) yet others are allowed to get comfortable and never get near reaching the level they are capable of. Not saying Depay didn't under perform, but there are others who are equally as unproductive, and Martial has not been a reliable performer.
Literally no justification to this. Lukaku has actually hit 30 goals as a 9. Martial has 10 goals in his entire career as a 9....
If it was all about goals then Lukaku wouldn't even be considered for sale. Martial has barely had a run in that position but I see him as striker ideally, he doesn't suit the tracking up and down the wing. He could also be a very effective false 9, dropping deep to collect the ball and playing 1-2's, I'd love to see us try it.
Yes I believe it will be. But I, like quite a few other posters, would like to see him as a No 9, with Rashford supporting him with runs. To me an ideal front two would have one coming deep and one making runs forward, I think both are quick enough to support each other when the ball is played to one or the other
I never said it was only about goals but people need to decide whether we want to be a midtable team and the next Arsenal. To lead the line as a 9 for a top side, the bare minimum is a lot of goals. Do we want a poor mans Giroud? Martial has played 87 career games as CF and delivered 21 goals. for United it is 44 apps 10 goals. If this were anyone but a fan favourite this would be mocked. imagine Chelsea or Arsenal fans calling for someone to start at CF who has that record at CF?
If Martial played for Dortmund and had this acheivement at CF, would you be begging United to sign him up so he can be our starting CF? we may as well grab Dembele from Lyon then.
why do fans actually see him as a striker I am curious to know? what has he actually done to convince you in a way that he failed to convince ALL his previous managers including Van Gaal, whom he had success with?
Make or break for a lot of players, not just Martial.
I don't see him as a lone striker. If we're sticking with the 4-3-3 formation then I think he'd be most effective as a wide forward but he needs to start showing some intensity and start taking players on more.
He might well work alongside Rashford...Rashford the guy to make the runs in behind, Martial to drop deep, link up and arrive late. For me though, he slows things down too much but a better tempo for the team in general and it could work.
I don't see him as a lone striker. If we're sticking with the 4-3-3 formation then I think he'd be most effective as a wide forward but he needs to start showing some intensity and start taking players on more.
He might well work alongside Rashford...Rashford the guy to make the runs in behind, Martial to drop deep, link up and arrive late. For me though, he slows things down too much but a better tempo for the team in general and it could work.
You used the example of goals to illustrate your point so you did make it about goals. Also out of interest what else does lukaku offer?
And why would you compare Lukaku and Martials goals from number 9 when one has played about 10x the amount of matches there? He cartainly hasnt played more than about 50 games at CF for us and nearly all were under LVG.
I think Martials skill set makes him the best suited option to play number 9 for us. Poor mans Giroud? I cant think of a player less like him than Martial, its actually insane that you would compare them..
Tbh I don't see Martial as one of the top players that needs booting out of this club any time soon. He's obviously talented, still young and has been a victim of our managerial merry go round as much as anyone else. When a rival fan is asked who they want to sign from our club Martial will come up a lot because they know he'll thrive in a more attacking setup, with actual structure. Yes he has a few attitude issues, but nothing glaringly bad.
Martial as with any other would be C/F the team has to play to their strengths, we never seem to do this because our C/F 'model' is never the right one.
Rashford offers a lot more in terms of bringing others into play, and keeping possession.
Martial is a more natural finisher than Rashford.
Martial will be used on the left as we have nobody else there this season. But in a year if we can land Jadon Sancho, then it will be between Rashford and Martial for the no. 9 role.
Martial is a more natural finisher than Rashford.
Martial will be used on the left as we have nobody else there this season. But in a year if we can land Jadon Sancho, then it will be between Rashford and Martial for the no. 9 role.
Lukaku offers nothing extra which is why we are offloading him but his replacement cannot be less prolific than him otherwise we may as well stick.
No he hasn't and that's because he is not convincing at CF.
His Skillset is best suited for a wide player which is why he has played wide all his career.
What I was referring to in Giroud is a number 9 who is not prolific but plays up top for a side who wants to win major Silverware.
I have a deja vu feeling reading this topic...
If he's not consistent this season, we should look to replace him next season, or least get in a first team LW.
He is a striker and should be played like one than a winger.
As we have 4 strikers at the club I don't think our starting lineup should consist of only one main striker. I think we should switch to 2 striker system and Martial should be one of them up front.
This is the only way Martial can bee judged on his performance I feel. We will always feel dissatisfied with him if played wide.
As we have 4 strikers at the club I don't think our starting lineup should consist of only one main striker. I think we should switch to 2 striker system and Martial should be one of them up front.
This is the only way Martial can bee judged on his performance I feel. We will always feel dissatisfied with him if played wide.
You have one odd approach to debating things, you'll make a point on one side of an argument and then move to the other side of the argument in the next post
.You claimed Lukaku was better than Martial as a striker due to his scoring record despite Martial having hardly played there. You also equated playing Martial up front to us becoming the next Arsenal..? I don't follow the reasoning.
Again the Giroud comparison I think is so far wide of the mark, he is nothing like Martial.
The reason why Martial hasnt played up top is a lack of options at LW and we have had other strikers like Rooney, Rashford, Ibra and Lukaku who almost have the be played there.
I completely agree. He has always been a striker in my eyes and deserves a chance there.
Jesus Christ.Any player who signs for Manchester United should always give their all. So yes this season he has to realise this and to be honest keep his personal life away from the football pitch, which I am not sure he has up to now.
Martial is the best striker in the club, even though he barely played there and his best games for United were on the left. I honestly get "Rooney's shite because he's out of his position as his best is a false number 9" vibe from these comments.
Is he going to have a problem if Ole is obsessed with Rashford being his forward?
Nope. He'll be playing regularly on the left and he's receiving very high wages no other club will pay. I can't see him wanting to leave at all, regardless of his performance.
Which sums up the problems we have. They are professional footballers, show some pride. Why have we signed so many motivated by money than winning trophies and wanting to be the best they can?
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It's always the same shit with him by the way, 'he needs to play as a striker' until he plays a couple of games there, gets found out because he doesn't have as much space to exploit and his off ball movement is shit then we'll keep hearing how 'we need him to play on the left wing so he can cut inside'. Rinse, repeat, season in, season out. Truth is it doesn't matter if he's playing as a wide forward or as a #9, he's just inconsistent as feck and unless he manages to work on either that or on his other shortcomings such as defensive help or off-ball movement not much will change with him.
I have not moved to the other side though. I am quite firm in this. Lukaku is currently the best and most proven number 9 in our club at the moment. this much is evident.You have one odd approach to debating things, you'll make a point on one side of an argument and then move to the other side of the argument in the next post
You claimed Lukaku was better than Martial as a striker due to his scoring record despite Martial having hardly played there. You also equated playing Martial up front to us becoming the next Arsenal..? I don't follow the reasoning.
Again the Giroud comparison I think is so far wide of the mark, he is nothing like Martial.
The reason why Martial hasnt played up top is a lack of options at LW and we have had other strikers like Rooney, Rashford, Ibra and Lukaku who almost have the be played there.
I completely agree. He has always been a striker in my eyes and deserves a chance there.
There is no evidence that Martial as an adequate 9 however. In the games he has played which is over 80+ he has flattered to deceive and has a modest goal return. It is pure speculation and wishful thinking that he is an even "semi decent" number 9.
Martial has hardly played there because he is not actually any good there and is actually a wide player as he has been throughout his life. we went through this when people claimed Rooney is a CM but just needs to be given a chance there.
This. Martial FC has been taken over by some Sheiks and they have promised Billions in investment to make sure we hire the right managers, coaches and playing staff to make Martial our new poster boy number 9.
I think he should be sold right now. He's still young, his ability is generally thought to be very good, and his value must be pretty high... Probably 50 mil plus.
I don't know why we keep pretending he's been anything other than gash for us. A few great moments interspersed with months of dross. Sure the team has been dysfunctional for most of his time here, but he's shown little to suggest he isn't part of the problem.
Take the money, try again.
I don't know why we keep pretending he's been anything other than gash for us. A few great moments interspersed with months of dross. Sure the team has been dysfunctional for most of his time here, but he's shown little to suggest he isn't part of the problem.
Take the money, try again.
If we're offloading Lukaku and this guy won't show some desire for retaining his number 9 role, then I really don't know how to motivate him.
Martial needs to be given a run of games where he does not get injured. If he can improve his workrate, this boy can be special.
Haha was that a quick Whoscored.com search? hes played nothing like 80 games as a striker for us.
Martial has consistently had a fantastic shot conversion rate (shots to goals) across all seasons he has played for us, and the latest statistics (from Jan admittedly) show his to be the best in the league. Is that not a reason to play him as a striker? i.e. more chances to shoot?
https://www.90min.com/posts/6279553...yers-in-the-premier-league-so-far-this-season
Oh an regarding the second bolded part:
https://www.skysports.com/football/...get-angry-and-im-a-striker-first-and-foremost
The ones who have pride and are motivated by trophies want to leave. As did Martial in the recent past, until we had to offer him an obscene contract. Maybe we're partly to blame for the problems?
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Don't really remember this ever happening tbh.
Aren't young players generally inconsistent though? and he is still young, 23 is literally nothing in today's game. If we judge him against players like Mbappe, Ronaldo and Neymar at the same age he'll come up short but not every major talent hits those levels, doesn't mean he can't become very very good. What you mention aren't areas that can't be improved upon, he has everything else in his locker, so why give up on him soon.
Transfermarkt thank you very much
His shot conversion is irrelevant. All the top scorers typically do not have these conversions because they actually shoot! Martial is either a coward (only shoots when clean through one on one), or is lazy, passive or has poor application or movement. either way that's not worthy of a starting birth as CF for Manchester bloody United. He need goal hungry killers. I don't even know if Martial can shoot across goal from right to left.
he can rant and rave all he wants as he does not possess the necessary qualities. Players always do this "play me here, play me there". how can he even expect this when he has added nothing to his game in 4 seasons?
Is the manager supposed to trust someone with that level of application?
Because it's the same reocurring problem ever since he got here that doesn't seem to have been addressed by him to be honest. It's not that I give up on him, I just don't really hold much hope or don't believe in him drastically upping his game.
You can never really tell when a player is going to up his game though. Nobody seen Salah for example turning into what he did when he arrived at Liverpool. Sometimes it just clicks into place. But either way Martial wouldn't be anywhere close to being one of the first players I'd boot out of the club, even at his current level. There's around 6 or more players I'd like to see go first.
Fair enough.
Exactly. It's the exact same pattern, world class in a position he's not playing until he plays there and it starts off with the players around him being at fault before morphing into him needing to play in another position. Usually one he's already been moved from due to underwhelming there. At least Ole has shown he will bench him though, unlike the LVG/Rooney fiasco.
Pogba is going through the same pattern. Needs to be a 10, needs to be on the left of a midfield three, needs Pirlo and Mbappe before he can be bothered to track runners. Never his fault.