This dude on his defense alone is a badass. But then I see him moving into the build seamlessly and being good in distribution and I'm wondering what can he be if he keeps working like he does. Where do you see his ceiling, what's his comp best case scenario.
Martinez: how much better can he get
- Thread starter Boondog
- Start date
He looks a very good player, but he has played only a handful of games so far. He was dire with Maguire in his first game, but with Verane looks the business.
Its way too early to judge him overall. Imagine if we had judged Vidic or Evra after 5/6 games.
So far so good, but a long way to go.
Its way too early to judge him overall. Imagine if we had judged Vidic or Evra after 5/6 games.
So far so good, but a long way to go.
The Europa league game against Sociedad, towards the end he carried the ball into midfield, was running with it full speed, took a few good touches and then played the ball with the outside of his left foot on the left wing to Fred(iirc).
And I'm thinking, yes, I'll have more of that.
And I'm thinking, yes, I'll have more of that.
His combination of attributes are something else.
A center back who loves to defend and is good at it, reads the game well, proactive, just the right amount of hardness.
And then on the ball, he has the composure and passing range to go with it.
Very good buy so far, aside height(which he compensate for very well) he has every other ingredient.
A center back who loves to defend and is good at it, reads the game well, proactive, just the right amount of hardness.
And then on the ball, he has the composure and passing range to go with it.
Very good buy so far, aside height(which he compensate for very well) he has every other ingredient.
We will just have to wait for him to stop growing before we can really assess him.
His time here has been pretty short to be able to judge his ceiling properly. But with the right setup and the rest of the team falling into place, thinking that he improves even more upon an already solid base is surely not a tall order !
Defenders with similar ability in quality are surely in short supply though.
Defenders with similar ability in quality are surely in short supply though.
I fecking love him.
Sometimes makes me wonder how good timber is if he was eth first choice
Sometimes makes me wonder how good timber is if he was eth first choice
I said something similar in discussions on Ramos; when you have a player at CB with his ability on the ball, then it's like playing with an extra man. I think he's got the potential to be one of the top 2 or 3 CBs in the world if the system suits him.
Maguire makes everyone look bad if we’re being honest
Martinez will end the career of Sounnes the pundit, whose head will not be able to compute how a 5'9" center back dominates donkeys like Nunez (and has dominated actual good strikers like Haaland in the past).
Yeah, I was a bit worried when we clearly wanted Timber and ended up with him instead. But he's absolute quality, so Timber must have incredible potential
Maguire would make the best CB on the planet look bad. Has to be sold next summer. Terrible signing. Simply not a top level CB. He can go to Everton or Wolves or one of those perennial mid table sides. That is his level.
Maybe Timber was first choice because he was cheaper, could cover RB as well and maybe had said he was willing to come, which he was till VG got involved.
Agree. TH should take the captaincy off him as well asap.
Big test coming up of course. If he can bully Halaand, we'll know we really have got a good one. My guess is that Halaand will press on to him because of the heigh difference but I wouldn't be hugely surprised if City actually try to target Varane (just a feeling)
As usual Red Cafe are judging someone after a few games. He has been great. I hope he will get better. I guarantee he will have a bad game down the line and we will get the usual Cassandras on here screaming 'waste of money', ' fecking midget'. There is more to come from most of the 'useless waste of space' in our club. Even McTominay looks good with Eriksen next to him, Dalot Rashford, Sancho have all improved.
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5’10 maybe even 5’11
The last time they faced up to each other was in the Ajax 4 - 0 Dortmund match in last season's Champs League.. Plenty of video footage online such as.. 'The Day Lisandro Martinez Destroyed Haaland' and 'This is how Lisandro Martinez played vs Erling Haaland'.
Let's not talk about him like a Baresi regen based on 5 games.
This.
Darmain looked to have fixed our RB problem in his first 5 games for us.
Veron also looked sensational in his first few games
The best jinx ever ahead of his meeting against Haaland?
I'd wait for a season or so. People get way too excited over new players.
Darmian was the second coming of Maldini when he first joined. We're in that phase at the moment with both Malacia and Martinez. So let's just wait and see, what their base level really is once the rose tinted specs come off.
Darmian was the second coming of Maldini when he first joined. We're in that phase at the moment with both Malacia and Martinez. So let's just wait and see, what their base level really is once the rose tinted specs come off.
Too early to judge him. I just love him as a player but we need atleast one full season to understand his ability.
I've seen this quite a bit and always thought it was a myth.
I don't think Darmian was ever that impressive
You can say that now.
But you would've been shot down if you even briefly stated that opinion on here - pre the Sanchez teardown.
Am I the only one who thinks that his physical attributes, height included, is in 90% of the time in his favour? Most attackers are not big and strong that score headers for fun. It is much more likely to defend against Saka, Martinelli, Salah, Son, Foden etc than the outliers of Haaland and Kane. Against the majority, having the agility and quick feet that Martinez have, he is much better suited at defending inside his own box because he adjusts his body more quickly than a 6ft 7 giant.
I remember there was a thread at that time where everyone was posting their Europe 11, and Darmian was heavily featured
In the modern game a player's worth is increasingly about what they bring to the system rather than how good they'd be if you somehow quantified their attributes like in FIFA. Martínez may never be regarded as one of the world's best, but so far he seems to bring a lot of things we desperately need and the partnership he's built with Varane looks very solid.
Having said that, I think there's every chance he will improve further. So much of a defender's game is about experience and whilst at 24 this is his 6th season playing consistent first team football, it's only his 4th in Europe and, obviously, his 1st in the Premier League. Even Rio, who on joining us at 23 having played 180-odd Premier League games over the course of 7 seasons, continued to improve once he got here.
Having said that, I think there's every chance he will improve further. So much of a defender's game is about experience and whilst at 24 this is his 6th season playing consistent first team football, it's only his 4th in Europe and, obviously, his 1st in the Premier League. Even Rio, who on joining us at 23 having played 180-odd Premier League games over the course of 7 seasons, continued to improve once he got here.
Can't say I remember be enthralled by early days Dalot, Darmian or Veron for those who remember things differently. In fact, I was only amazed by Veron about twice during his whole stay!
Too early for this thread. We first need to be sure he's good enough to be our first choice for long term. This itself will be judged basis his consistency, big game performance, discipline and availability over a season or two. There have been too many flash in the pan players for us so I'm vary of bigging up players basis a few games.
I’d like to see how he handles Haaland in a few weeks. That is really the standard needed. With that said, you can’t really blame any defender in the world at the moment who can’t handle Haaland. He’s been that good and the height difference makes it an even more uphill task. We’ll need a prime and healthy Varane to do more of the hardwork of stopping him.
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If he pockets Haaland I want Jaime charrager and Redknapp grilled to no end.
He embodies what fans like to see - all the cliches of ‘passion’ etc that are often mocked but are precisely the qualities that we have lacked for a long time and it’s good to see.
As for the other side, you have to have quality too and he’s done well and doesn’t look out of his depth etc - it’s inevitable that his height will be a problem in some games and it’ll be used as a stick to beat him with but if he maintains what he’s doing now he’ll improve and be a really solid player for years to come.
Early days but the idea he’s completely unsuitable for the PL just isn’t the case.
As for the other side, you have to have quality too and he’s done well and doesn’t look out of his depth etc - it’s inevitable that his height will be a problem in some games and it’ll be used as a stick to beat him with but if he maintains what he’s doing now he’ll improve and be a really solid player for years to come.
Early days but the idea he’s completely unsuitable for the PL just isn’t the case.
As good as he wants to be honest, for everyone else. But that’s on the club to ensure we are demanding the most from our players and putting them in positions to play for top honours. As well as paying them accordingly based on merit, performances and trophies instead of annual pay raises.
No easy rides, we need committed players to get us back to the top, but the club as to show those aspirations as well. Its been a decent 6 months on that front, but still a lot more work to do and further levels to reach.
Players need to be put in positions where their best must be given, otherwise its not good enough.
No easy rides, we need committed players to get us back to the top, but the club as to show those aspirations as well. Its been a decent 6 months on that front, but still a lot more work to do and further levels to reach.
Players need to be put in positions where their best must be given, otherwise its not good enough.
This dude proved me wrong massively. I was convinced he was too lightweight. Goes to show how importany desire and intensity is. I think he will improve his role in build up for you as that was one of his strengths at Ajax.
Wouldn't bet on him "bullying" Haaland though. He's a freak.
Wouldn't bet on him "bullying" Haaland though. He's a freak.
I know he's played Haaland before and done well, but that was in an Ajax team who completely dominated Dortmund. We will be under extended periods of pressure against City, and I'm a little worried about how he'll cope with Haaland's height and physicality in that situation. But he's exceeded all of my expectations so far, so hopefully he'll be fine.
He'll either be the best defender of all times or the worst, and you can quote me on that.
Literally this, especially because when Ajax played Dortmund Martinez shackled him (or so I keep being told). Feel like a stinker is incoming.