Martial's United career so far?

ArjenIsM3

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He was invisible when he came on yesterday. I think he's the reason why Ole persists with Rashford even though he hasn't performed in a while and according to Ole hasn't been fully fit. Rashford even at 80% works harder than Martial. At least Rashford was constantly pressing them.
 

Paul_Scholes18

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His lack of movement is the big problem. Doesn't seem to work hard, run much nor make clever runs. He got pace so that is not the problem and I don't see why he should lack stamina to make more runs. Also don't link up well with our other players.

His dribbling is fairly good and he can take his chances, but needs to improve the other areas.

Feels like he is playing a lot on his own. Sane is a bit like him, but he can dribble and pass better and Pep is pushing him to do more. Even if he drops him a lot too for the same reasons Martial gets dropped.
 

Smores

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It's fair to say some people on here have changed their tune. Under Jose he was being held back all his faults were Jose's instructions etc etc.
Hopefully people have learned it's never all the managers fault if a player is underperforming or not showing their potential as often the case the middle ground is usually the most reasonable.
 

charlenefan

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Ah so ok Martial has only ever scored off the bench once. Still not agreeing with you, as you're incorrect in your opinion.
I have already had a jog and been to the gym ta! So I'll carry on correcting you ;)
Nah seriously jog on, I never said he'd only ever scored once from the bench did I? Learn how to read and learn how to understand English
 

OohAahMartial

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Next season is make or break for him imo. If he can't show genuine improvement and correction of his obvious issues even under an attacking coach like Ole, then it will be time to upgrade.
 

Sayros

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He was invisible when he came on yesterday. I think he's the reason why Ole persists with Rashford even though he hasn't performed in a while and according to Ole hasn't been fully fit. Rashford even at 80% works harder than Martial. At least Rashford was constantly pressing them.
Which serves absolutely no purpose against Barcelona. So you get Rashford's pressing, but you also get his inability to hold up the ball under pressure, to be effective without his pace being an advantage against Pique or Lenglet, or his suspect first touch. That's without even getting into his finishing.

Yeah, I think I'd rather have Martial against Barcelona than Rashford. He might not press as hard, but he's capable of holding up the ball, his first touch is better, and he can dribble in tight space; he's just capable of being more dangerous against a team like Barcelona than Rashford who is rather easy to defend against for them.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Looked like he was going to become one of the best players in the world in his first season, but he's flattered to deceive since. He seems to very much be a confidence player, he'll have 2 great months, then do nothing for 6. I still think there's a very very good player in there, but he's not going to ever be an Mbappe in my honest opinion. I could see him getting to Sterling's level, which is obviously still very very good.

Also, the price seems to increase every time I see him mentioned. 80m :lol: He cost 36m, with it possibly rising to 58 depending on Utd winning the league/CL & Martial winning the ballon d'or. I think we've only paid about 40m for him
 

ArjenIsM3

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Which serves absolutely no purpose against Barcelona. So you get Rashford's pressing, but you also get his inability to hold up the ball under pressure, to be effective without his pace being an advantage against Pique or Lenglet, or his suspect first touch. That's without even getting into his finishing.

Yeah, I think I'd rather have Martial against Barcelona than Rashford. He might not press as hard, but he's capable of holding up the ball, his first touch is better, and he can dribble in tight space; he's just capable of being more dangerous against a team like Barcelona than Rashford who is rather easy to defend against for them.
Martial's first touch let him down too in the short time he was on. And yes, the reason we pushed Barcelona back and got back into the game was because we started pressing them high up the pitch. That actually worked. The first 20 minutes we sat back which obviously didn't work.
 

Untd55

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Martial is not a left winger. He is average at best at the crossing and his dribbling seems ineffective on the wing.

Martial will only have a chance of succeeding here as a striker. He is only really effective when he goes through or cuts into the middle. I always thought he would become a striker.

He is a brilliant finisher but were not able to use his best asset because he is stuck out on the wing.

I just don't see the point of playing someone in a position that does not even suit him.
 

padzilla

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I think at this stage we are going to have to accept that Martial is going to be in the bracket of outrageously talented and dangerous forwards who have the capacity to damage any side but lack the consistency and work-rate to be regarded as truly world-class.
 

Sayros

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Martial's first touch let him down too in the short time he was on. And yes, the reason we pushed Barcelona back and got back into the game was because we started pressing them high up the pitch. That actually worked. The first 20 minutes we sat back which obviously didn't work.
For me, the pressing had little to do with why Barcelona was pushed back, they just had a terrible game and created the pressure on themselves with sloppy passing and a lack of energy overall. Barcelona are such good passers, and when you press them it opens up all kinds of opportunities for them, without mentioning how sloppy some of the pressing was where giant gaps opened up for Barca but again, they had a terrible game by their standard. Also, it's actually Martial's second touch that let him down IIRC, his first was sublime. If you want to use that one example on how Martial's first touch is not better than Rashford then knock yourself out but it's a losing battle.
 

Jeffthered

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Yeah he's not really improved since he first joined, which is a shame because at the time it looked like we had a future world beater on our hands.

He's still young, but he lacks any kind of intensity nor the drive to make runs off the ball. Or to drive at defenders.
That's what concerns me...his lack of drive and intensity.

Doesn't he want to be a top, top player? He is currently sub for United , and was dropped from his National team... I'm never quite sure whether he cares enough or not.

Maybe he is fed up. He looks it.
 

Canagel

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He is a very good player with some interesting attributes. I still don't think we use him well enough. Of all the attackers in the team he is the most polished and composed in front of the goal. He's very unselfish and always looks for the link up play. my concern is the constant injuries which has blighted his season. An injury prone player won't be getting very far.
 

finneh

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He simply does not work hard enough. That's pretty much all there is to it and something our coaching team should be driving into his head daily.

We can't move towards a more aggressive, pressing style with him in the team. He covers less distance than our centre backs which is quite frankly embarrassing. He needs to move more than 30% more to have parity with Lingard and more than 40% more for parity with Mata.

Mata - 12.7km per 90 mins
Fred - 11.8km per 90 mins
Lingard - 11.7km per 90 mins
Matic - 11.4km per 90 mins
Dalot - 10.7km per 90 mins
Pogba - 10.5km per 90 mins
Rashford - 10.2km per 90 mins
Shaw - 10.0km per 90 mins
Young - 9.9km per 90 mins
Lukaku - 9.3km per 90 mins
Smalling - 9.2km per 90 mins
Lindelof - 9.1km per 90 mins
Martial - 8.9km per 90 mins
 

Red_toad

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Nah seriously jog on, I never said he'd only ever scored once from the bench did I? Learn how to read and learn how to understand English
Maybe you are the one with history issues. Plus a general lack of ability to admit when you’re wrong.
 

Josep Dowling

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He simply does not work hard enough. That's pretty much all there is to it and something our coaching team should be driving into his head daily.

We can't move towards a more aggressive, pressing style with him in the team. He covers less distance than our centre backs which is quite frankly embarrassing. He needs to move more than 30% more to have parity with Lingard and more than 40% more for parity with Mata.

Mata - 12.7km per 90 mins
Fred - 11.8km per 90 mins
Lingard - 11.7km per 90 mins
Matic - 11.4km per 90 mins
Dalot - 10.7km per 90 mins
Pogba - 10.5km per 90 mins
Rashford - 10.2km per 90 mins
Shaw - 10.0km per 90 mins
Young - 9.9km per 90 mins
Lukaku - 9.3km per 90 mins
Smalling - 9.2km per 90 mins
Lindelof - 9.1km per 90 mins
Martial - 8.9km per 90 mins
I think that can apply to the whole squad not just him.
 

Red Star One

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Underwhelming so far, as we all know he's extremely talented but few things stop him from being able to show he can use that talent to become a consistent, world-class player. Little doubt that the environment of changing managers and lack of stability has not helped him, his personal issues contributed to that too, and his work ethic is somewhat questionable - wouldn't call him lazy, but in order to be the best you need to give 110% every day, and I am not sure if Tony is doing that.
Nevertheless, my hopes for him are still very high and this guy brought me so much joy I can't help but love him. Turning 24 this year though, so he can't be really judged by his potential and talent, he's a mature player that has to start delivering consistently and stepping up when it matters. Next season could and probably should be decisive for him - and I truly wonder how Ole plans to play him.
 
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haram

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He simply does not work hard enough. That's pretty much all there is to it and something our coaching team should be driving into his head daily.

We can't move towards a more aggressive, pressing style with him in the team. He covers less distance than our centre backs which is quite frankly embarrassing. He needs to move more than 30% more to have parity with Lingard and more than 40% more for parity with Mata.

Mata - 12.7km per 90 mins
Fred - 11.8km per 90 mins
Lingard - 11.7km per 90 mins
Matic - 11.4km per 90 mins
Dalot - 10.7km per 90 mins
Pogba - 10.5km per 90 mins
Rashford - 10.2km per 90 mins
Shaw - 10.0km per 90 mins
Young - 9.9km per 90 mins
Lukaku - 9.3km per 90 mins
Smalling - 9.2km per 90 mins
Lindelof - 9.1km per 90 mins
Martial - 8.9km per 90 mins
Where did you find these stats?
 

finneh

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Oh right, these are CL stats. I thought they were stats over all competitions.
Unfortunately the PL don't release them. 441 mins and 7 games is a decent sample size though. Especially since a couple of these performances he's come on for the last 20 mins so his stats should be boosted per minute.
 

Maccataq

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He comes alive with the ball at his feet but needs to do more off the ball. I think the problem is that he started up front and scored a lot of goals there and has since largely played on the wing. I don't mind the distance covered stats noted in this thread because you want his energy going into attacking and you can often afford one or two players not to track back and I imagine this is why he doesn't look good in this area but not to say he can't do more.

Under Ole, I expect he will improve - he has to if he wants to be the player we all know he can be. I think Utd fans love him (myself included) because he creates moments that get you off your seat and these sorts of players are always going to be given more slack.
 

Lentwood

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A footballing conman....all the talent, all the flair, none of the application, none of the nous.

Needs to be moved on whilst there are still clubs out there that will pay 'exciting young talent' money.

I'm not advocating for a team of workhorses but if you don't impact games and you don't put the work in then you don't belong at a top club. Martial is perfectly happy to drift through games when the going gets tough
 

Lennon7

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A footballing conman....all the talent, all the flair, none of the application, none of the nous.

Needs to be moved on whilst there are still clubs out there that will pay 'exciting young talent' money.

I'm not advocating for a team of workhorses but if you don't impact games and you don't put the work in then you don't belong at a top club. Martial is perfectly happy to drift through games when the going gets tough
Hurts to agree because I think he can be excellent but you’re right yeah. He’s like me on a Friday at work
 

RUCK4444

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Another 'young talent' that thinks he's made it already. Nothing I hate more than watching players not run their heart out for the shirt. I can tolerate losses but lack of application and desire is unforgivable, nobody can tell me this kid tries his hardest and gives 100% every game, he's a moments player except those moments come 7 games apart. So disappointed with his progression (or lack of.)

Ole should give him next season to apply himself or look to move him on. This isn't a reaction to last night's performance but my overall opinion of his time here.
 

OL29

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A footballing conman....all the talent, all the flair, none of the application, none of the nous.

Needs to be moved on whilst there are still clubs out there that will pay 'exciting young talent' money.

I'm not advocating for a team of workhorses but if you don't impact games and you don't put the work in then you don't belong at a top club. Martial is perfectly happy to drift through games when the going gets tough
Whilst I agree with this post somewhat and I do believe he needs to apply himself better if he's to fulfil his potential, I think this reputation he has of dissapearing when the going gets tough is so harsh. I can think of countless games where he's pulled something out of the bag to salvage a result for us, not least towards the end of Mourinho's reign to save his job for a few weeks. He's very inconsistent but I don't buy that he's a fairweather player.
 

Buster15

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That's what concerns me...his lack of drive and intensity.

Doesn't he want to be a top, top player? He is currently sub for United , and was dropped from his National team... I'm never quite sure whether he cares enough or not.

Maybe he is fed up. He looks it.
Pretty much spot on. I have felt exactly the same about him.
Loads of skill and on his day lethal.
And that is the problem. On his day.
In truth we have too many like that. Martial, Pogba and maybe Rashford.
 

Sing you a song

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If there is one song that I hear 10x more than any other (pre Ole managing us) it is Tony's. He's an OT favourite.

He's nowhere near where I hoped he would be, but the talent is there. We've got quite a few of those highly talented players who don't seem to have the motivation to become as good as they can be.
He is a favourite but he fails to deliver in probably 7 games out of 10.
He’s been here a few years now and still nowhere near to being a certain starter the fact he was left out of the line up in a Euro cup tie against Barca says it all .
I’d be tempted to move him on if we got a big offer .
I’ve been dead set against buying Bale but after last nights match I can’t help thinking that a player of his ability ( even with his injury record ) is just what we need someone who will scare defenders and score important goals
 

MikeKing

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Yeah, but it doesn't matter right now. Least of our worries and he is signed up long term. We still have a lot of dross left in the squad so considering to get rid of him is just a stupid move at this point. He is potentially a player we could build the team around and worst case if he doesn't develop his consistency and keeps his same level he will always be in with a shot to make a difference in certain games anyways, especially if we get better players in for him to play with. Which we hopefully are going to do, so I guess time will tell. To me he is similar to Pogba in his inconstancies and I get easily frustrated with both of them. That equally applies to Rashford too when I think about it.
 

sp_107

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He is our least worry now....After sorting out 5/6 other areas in this coming summer we can look into Martial situation in 2020 summer
 

Irwin99

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It's a process with him and Rashford in that we're all hoping they go up another level and achieve a standard of consistency similar to the way Rooney and Ronaldo developed here (I think those two had more raw talent but I can see some parallels). On the other hand we could wait another few years and they might still be at the same level (similar I suppose when we had Jones, Smalling and Evans all in their early twenties). So far Martial hasn't kicked on enough from his debut season and I've been a bit disappointed in him. Think he might be better suited to a striker role but hasn't looked particularly good in that position for anyone other than LVG.
 

United Hobbit

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Is it me or does he seem to get injured quite a lot? I wonder if that is potentially hindering him as it's very stop start for him each time he gets a few games he gets injured then needs time out etc?
 

Ashley R1+O

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I am seriously disappointed with him, from probably the biggest talent in the world that cost us some serious money, to not even being a starter in a team where his competitors for places are all out of form.
Does somebody wanna let this guy know that Martial just signed a 6 figure a week deal not long ago? He's made it, done. Being paid as a senior and important member of the squad and we don't even know what his best position is and can't get a proper tune out of him.

Certainly a baffling situation but I personally have never seen "biggest talent in the world" there at any stage. A raw talent yes, but we've fast tracked him into big boy pants before he's even done anything.
 

poleglass red

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His work rate or lack of is an issue. The ability is there. The problem we have when he plays on the left is we have him and then Pogba plays left centre. That's 2 players on that side with no work rate. Shaw does his thing but his final pass isn't great at times. Every time I go to finally write him off he pops up and shows us what he can do, so I'm expecting a big showing in next game. Like Pogba all the ability in the world but sadly the application is missing for both. Put both in a successful team and I'm sure they will do well but in a league as tough as ours you need more than just natural ability.