Raees
Pythagoras in Boots
- Joined
- May 16, 2009
- Messages
- 29,469
For me the easy criticism to make of someone like Martial is that he can get predictable, just running straight at players and doesn't use enough of the skill he clearly has in his locker. It seems like he goes through the motions and takes the easy option sometimes.. all of these you see in a typical 'bad' performance of Martial. Now that has led many to call him lazy... but is it laziness, or a physical flaw he has?
Every young winger/wing forward who bursts onto the scene and aspires to greatness in addition to the natural talent that Martial has, has always tended to have the ability to run at speed all game. Think of the young Cristiano, Robben, even the lightweight that was Messi.. even before that think of Giggs.. and looking at his contemporaries at the moment Dembele, Mbappe, Sane, Sterling.. or Rashford himself, these guys are like greyhounds, they can run all game - most of the time.
Lukaku also shares this problem, they can't really run all day long.. I don't know if this is because they're more physically developed than your average elite striker/winger but not being able to be at the races all game is going to give opponents the opportunity to dominate phases of the game, even lesser opponents if they know you're not able to run at them for a while and hurt them.
Now when Martial plays as a second striker, it is less of an issue because he can playmake a little, and pick and choose when he wants to sprint with the ball but as a winger, you need to have that sprint endurance to take the opponent on at any given moment during that 90 minutes. You need to be a roadrunner to play out wide, and I don't think Martial has that innate stamina needed to be a really top top wing forward. Its the reason why someone like Griezmann who came on the scene as a winger, gradually moved inwards because he too would never have had the sprint endurance to last out wide at the very highest level week in week out. Hazard's endurance and passion for running loads out wide is diminishing by the seasons and he wants to move inside and run less.
I think it is a huge factor why he was dropped in the first place by Jose as he can't do the running needed out wide and why he needs constant rotation. Which begs the question, if we know he has this physical incompatibility with the demands of the position, why not focus on what he can bring to the game and play him up front or off Lukaku.. some of the best football he's played has been in that 3-5-2 as a second striker with the wing-back doing the running for him.
I know some will argue well as he matures that stamina should come and it is something he can work on, but there is limitations on how much he can really push that sprint endurance.. it needs to be compensated for tactically.. either by supporting him with a roadrunner electric left wing back and livewire striker, which means his lack of running throughout 90 minutes isn't that much of an issue or push him closer inside and let him roam (able to play at a slower pace but wreak havoc when he decides to go through the gears).
Thoughts?
Every young winger/wing forward who bursts onto the scene and aspires to greatness in addition to the natural talent that Martial has, has always tended to have the ability to run at speed all game. Think of the young Cristiano, Robben, even the lightweight that was Messi.. even before that think of Giggs.. and looking at his contemporaries at the moment Dembele, Mbappe, Sane, Sterling.. or Rashford himself, these guys are like greyhounds, they can run all game - most of the time.
Lukaku also shares this problem, they can't really run all day long.. I don't know if this is because they're more physically developed than your average elite striker/winger but not being able to be at the races all game is going to give opponents the opportunity to dominate phases of the game, even lesser opponents if they know you're not able to run at them for a while and hurt them.
Now when Martial plays as a second striker, it is less of an issue because he can playmake a little, and pick and choose when he wants to sprint with the ball but as a winger, you need to have that sprint endurance to take the opponent on at any given moment during that 90 minutes. You need to be a roadrunner to play out wide, and I don't think Martial has that innate stamina needed to be a really top top wing forward. Its the reason why someone like Griezmann who came on the scene as a winger, gradually moved inwards because he too would never have had the sprint endurance to last out wide at the very highest level week in week out. Hazard's endurance and passion for running loads out wide is diminishing by the seasons and he wants to move inside and run less.
I think it is a huge factor why he was dropped in the first place by Jose as he can't do the running needed out wide and why he needs constant rotation. Which begs the question, if we know he has this physical incompatibility with the demands of the position, why not focus on what he can bring to the game and play him up front or off Lukaku.. some of the best football he's played has been in that 3-5-2 as a second striker with the wing-back doing the running for him.
I know some will argue well as he matures that stamina should come and it is something he can work on, but there is limitations on how much he can really push that sprint endurance.. it needs to be compensated for tactically.. either by supporting him with a roadrunner electric left wing back and livewire striker, which means his lack of running throughout 90 minutes isn't that much of an issue or push him closer inside and let him roam (able to play at a slower pace but wreak havoc when he decides to go through the gears).
Thoughts?