The constant media calls for us to replace Martial

11101

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There are two things that are true.

1. We need a forward who can score 20+ league goals consistently. Martial hasnt done that yet.

2. Hes been inconsistent in his career so far.

That said, to say we should replace him now is just lazy. Hes finally on the right track, in a team that suits him, and he deserves the opportunity to show he can address the two points above. If his form from the last 6 months continues he should have no problem.

Even if he cant and we do ultimately need to replace him in a couple of years, Harry Kane is not the right player to do it with.
 

2cents

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He’s still seen as a wide forward, because he doesn’t look or play like the traditional target man that these guys associate with the centre-forward role. Despite Liverpool and City’s success, they cannot fathom life without a big man up front battling centre-backs and firing bullet headers into the net.
 

Acole9

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I don't think the media have an "Agenda" against him, they just see how good he can be and are probably frustrated by that.
 

gajender

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The media can keep talking. What matters is Martial has Ole's backing
Agreed and all our moves for strikers in the market have factored that as well ,before anyone say Halland he was a youngster available for a great price who straight away wouldn't have commanded the starting spot but now with Martial repaying the faith shown by Ole and Halland proving to be great at Dortmund I don't think we will make move for him unless Martial is moved on which is highly unlikely given how is developing.
 

E-mal

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He favours a more traditional number 9. It's hardly a controversial viewpoint. He conceded that Ole doesn't want to play that way. Not sure why people get so upset about it.
He actually has a poor football knowledge. Very few teams have that traditional number nine and for what Kane will cost, we could totally transform our squad.
 

El Zoido

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Was another thread needed for this?

Martial has been very good this season. Is Kane a better player? Yes.

Are Man Utd going to buy Kane? No.

Is there an agenda against Martial? No.
I don’t think Kane is better. And even if he is, will this still be the case in 2 years, 4 years, and more? Kane is 27 and has an ever growing injury record. He was better two years ago than he is now. Martial still has his best years ahead of him.
 

KennyBurner

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I've been among Martial's harshest critics but after 23 goals and much improved consistency showing his best, an improvement in hold-up play and brilliant chemistry, it's so obvious he should be trusted as our 9 going forward. No idea how media feckwits point to Martial needing replacement at this time.

My crazy conspiracy theory is that they have a fetish of seeing English darling Harry Kane at United and wont let go of it.
Wow! Good to see you have joined martial fc. Only @mitchmouse remains to be converted.

On a serious note though I do think they just have this fantasy of seeing England’s captain and striker leading the line for it’s biggest club. It will never happen though as he will cost too much. England also has a problem with poor and lazy journalism. Everyone saying the same thing and not having any of their own thoughts.
 

Bebestation

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Some players and fans just as managers dont see the value of a support /f9 striker like Martial - a player that can go quiet a game centrally but still be the link between the LW and RW; making everyone play close together and be a creative assist in central dominant games.

People have always attributed the central position to pure goalscorers when in reality the modern day wider attackers are capable of being as clinical due to their ability to finish on an angle.

Whilst I'm okay for a different type of striker due to it bringing tactical variety (Ole tried for Haaland and then Ighalo) - I never saw the reason why Martial wasn't deemed good enough to atleast compete for the spot because he clearly plays a useful different style of a forward than just a pure predatory one.
 

BIGbadBOO4

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I personally think Martial is a better player, but putting my bias aside. If I said to you would you rather have A. Have Martial who is already in the team or B. KANE who would cost 100+ million what option would you pick? I think i know my choice.

Agree, pundits are really thick. Just because they played football does not make them insightful and intelligent.
 

Adisa

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It's not really about whether he is rated or not, its about the lack of understanding about who a No 9 is and what a No9 should do.
It's like you're not a CF unless you're 6'3, 100kg and spend eternity within in the box.
 

TMDaines

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I think for a long time Martial was upgradable, but during the last couple of months he's shown a real consistency that I didn't really feel before. I think it would be much harder to find a definite upgrade now, especially as he has a great relationship with Rashford.
 
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based on this season? debatable

I wouldn’t trade Martial for Kane
Realistically, given price and age, I wouldn’t either. The investment needed for Kane would be eye watering. However, I still think Kane is a better player, that’s not to say I’m unhappy with Martial.

Better finisher? Yes
Better player? Absolutely not!
Disagree, they are very different players, and I think Kane brings more to a team than Martial. But as before, I’m not suggesting we get rid of Martial, just objectively I think Kane is better.
 

Banana Republic

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This season has been the opportunity Martial has needed for a few seasons and so far he’s delivered. One Swallow doesn’t make a season though. Next season will be a real test of his consistency.
If he sustain this level and improves, then there’s no way we should be thinking of moving him on.
However, unlike most on the caff, I’m with those who think a top striker is one of our main priorities.
You only had to watch Ighalo‘s movement off the ball and his positioning on the forward line last night, against LASK, to instantly know that none of our regular front 2 or 3 get into those natural striker positions. We need a top notch finisher who does just that.
Martial would complement such a player, to make a formidable striking duo.
....and no, it definitely shouldn’t be Kane.
 

devilish

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If Jadon signs for Manchester United then expect the anglophile media to increase their pressure. They will expect Rashford, Jadon and Greenwood to be playing on a week in week out basis.
 

GBBQ

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These criticisms were valid in the past but I think Ole has found a very potent attacking plan of which Martial is a key component. He's thriving on the service of the midfield and Sancho filling out the right side of the attack will give him even more opportunities to get the kind of numbers the pundits expect of a 'real' number 9.
 

bsCallout

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He is better his record speaks for itself but the question is for how much and what are the chances of him maintaining his level given that he has had a rough couple of seasons with injuries?

I think for the next couple of years Martial is alright and if he builds on this season then he will be in the elite category by then.

I doubt the football intelligence of someone who has seen us play this season, pre and post lockdown, who has seen what we have to put up with when Bruno, Matic, Pogba, Shaw and Maguire are out and then suddenly conclude that we should replace Martial.
Kane is what 3 years older than Martial?

Kane has ALWAYS played as the no.9

Martial has one season there and put u0 his best stats, in a team that has other players scoring goals unlike Tottenham who relied on Kane.

I don't buy that Kane is better. He is selfish. Awful goals to shots rate. He wouldnt even work in our team; an unselfish team.

Martial makes the players around him better with the way he plays.

Kane is glorified by british media and many have lapped it up.
 

spiriticon

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Not every number 9 needs to be a 6 foot 5 and built like a brick shithouse.

Yorke, Cole, Ole, Sheringham, Rooney, Tevez were not exactly target men but they did fine at Manchester United.

Martial will be a fine number 9 from what I've seen this season.

I like Harry Kane but do we NEED him? Not really.
 

0le

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It really frustrates me because he is arguably our player of the season and rarely gets praise from the media in comparison to players like Rashford.
 
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I don’t think Kane is better. And even if he is, will this still be the case in 2 years, 4 years, and more? Kane is 27 and has an ever growing injury record. He was better two years ago than he is now. Martial still has his best years ahead of him.
I think Kane is a better player.

I didn’t say I would swap the two of them, and that’s because of age and the money involved.

I think Kane would be sensational at Utd if he was here for the next 2-3 years, but economically it’s just not viable - and if we are spending big, I’d rather it’s on the RW position.

Martial is a very good striker, and happy he plays for us.
 

Rozay

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Kane isn’t better than Martial for me. Martial is a different level of talent, and has taken a different route/trajectory to becoming a top striker. But I have little doubt that going forward, he’ll surpass Kane. Not necessarily his goals record, but his rating as a player. It’s always been about whether he will put his game together or not, but the talent has been there. I didn’t see Harry Kane winning the Golden Ball or anything. Now it seems that his game is coming together, I wouldn’t trade him for Kane at all.

And if we subtract the penalties that Kane hoards, I will confidently predict that Kane will never have another better goalscoring season than Martial in his career.
 

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Our top scorer and focal point of an attacking three that has more combined goals than any other attacking force in the league. Paul Merson should probably lay off the booze again.
 

LawCharltonBest

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Agree or disagree, settle in and get used to it.

Every time we don't win next season, this "United need an out and out striker" debate will arise again.
 

acnumber9

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Is it really news that people have a bias to players from their own country? It happens all over the world.
 

Stretender

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It feels like every other day there’s a new “expert” in the media saying Martial isn’t good enough & needs replacing. Just in the last day we’ve seen Paul Scholes go on BT & say Harry Kane should be a bigger priority than Sancho because “United need a real number 9” and Paul Merson on sky sports saying that Martial isn’t reliable & we should replace with Kane. I’ve seen Savage, Murphy, Ince, and the like all come out with the same narrative.

What is going on here? Because these 2 aren’t isolated incidents. I see it all the time. Are these “pundits” even watching us play? Martial has been our most consistent forward this season, has 23 goals despite 2 months out & not taking pens. Yet it’s always him who the media call to be replaced. You really do have to question wether how nationality is playing a part here?

Don’t get me wrong Kane is a very good player, but he’s starting to develop a questionable injury record & I don’t think he would fit our forward as well as Martial does. He certainly shouldn’t be our “top priority” like Scholes thinks. Loved him as a player but he’s clueless at times as a pundit
Its a biased view of the British Media who always think foreign players are not good enough. I personally don't see any justification as to why English players must be expensive because they are English. It is a widely accepted view in the premier league yet it has no proper reasoning behind it other than some form of superiority complex. The pundits on TV are lazy in their analysis thats why you see people like Pogba get more criticism because he doesn't conform to the stereotype of a British footballer, running at 100 miles per hour and tackling hard. Martial is not gonna run like a headless chicken, but uses skill and football intelligence to score goals. That is not good for the British pundit. He needs to run all the time on the pitch. Its all about pace, pace and pace according to them. However am not surprised with this attitude. We are a country who voted for Brexit because we think less of others.
 

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The media and pundits just want to bask in the greatness of Kane, but know that England's best striker since Shearer, is likely to end with an even more sparse trophy cabinet than their previous diety.
Thus leaving a question mark over how great he can be considered.

Kane will likely finish his career with no big titles, and the nagging regret that Levy priced him out of a move, when it was still possible.
 

Dante

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Ignore the players in question for a moment. This isn't as personal as people in this thread are making it out to be. Everyone acknowledges that Martial is a brilliant player.

The point that's being made is that United have three players that would fit the 'second striker' mould, but nobody who knows how to occupy the box.

It's the opposite way around to the RvN to Saha change. The difference is that 2007 side had Rooney and Ronaldo to pick up the positions that RvN used to, so we ended up being stronger. In 2020, it's a reasonable idea that adding an RvN-type would make a bigger positive impact because he does things in a way that nobody in our current lineup is natural at.
 

acnumber9

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It's not really about whether he is rated or not, its about the lack of understanding about who a No 9 is and what a No9 should do.
It's like you're not a CF unless you're 6'3, 100kg and spend eternity within in the box.
Because Harry Kane is that type of footballer? If people actually listened to everything Scholes said he talked about how Martial has improved his desire to get in and score goals. Which is true and something Solskjaer has talked about countless times about wanting to see his strikers getting in the six yard box and getting the scrappy goals. Kane does that. Martial needs to keep improving at that.
 

Dante

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The media and pundits just want to bask in the greatness of Kane, but know that England's best striker since Shearer, is likely to end with an even more sparse trophy cabinet than their previous diety.
Thus leaving a question mark over how great he can be considered.

Lane will likely finish his career with no big titles, and the nagging regret that Levy priced him out of a move, when it was still possible.
England supporters care about England, not Manchester United.

If anything, they'd rather Kane didn't come here, because they don't want to see any more trophies end up at Old Trafford. It didn't harm Shearer's reputation.
 

foolsgold

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Martial has a great second half of the season, he's scored 23 goals to date, with perhaps 3 more games to come. Only 1 of these has come from the spot.

He's flourishing with a fit Poga and Bruno behind him and Rashford playing from left.

His attitude is much improved, he seems to need to score now. Wouldn't surprise me if he hit 35 next year, wouldn't trade him for any other premier league striker.
 

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England supporters care about England, not Manchester United.

If anything, they'd rather Kane didn't come here, because they don't want to see any more trophies end up at Old Trafford.
Well it isn't England fans that we are discussing. The media and pundits are a different entity to the ABU fans.
Not that they want us winning things either. But, they know he'd have more chance of that here, than at Spurs.
 

E-mal

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Realistically, given price and age, I wouldn’t either. The investment needed for Kane would be eye watering. However, I still think Kane is a better player, that’s not to say I’m unhappy with Martial.



Disagree, they are very different players, and I think Kane brings more to a team than Martial. But as before, I’m not suggesting we get rid of Martial, just objectively I think Kane is better.
Aside from more goals which has been marginal as evident by this season playing in CF, he doesn't bring anything more.
They basically have similar hold up play, Martial is better creatively and far more versatile. Martial's pace will prevent most defenses to consider not playing a high line against us. So tell me how he is better?
Goals are not all that make a player males the difference.
 

E-mal

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Is he even a better finisher?

He has a poor goals to shots ratio. Martials is VERY good.
He has better variety of finishes than Martial and better in the air. Aside that there's nothing he is better than him at.
 

Dante

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Well it isn't England fans that we are discussing. The media and pundits are a different entity to the ABU fans.
There's an ABU bias in the English media. The last thing they want is an England star sullying his name by associating with Manchester United. Everybody knows how much stick England players get in the press when they play for us in between international games.

The pundits calling for Kane to sign for United have obviously forgotten that. They must be the ones with the pro United bias.
 

Shiva87

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Martial is very under-rated by the press - and that has the Jose overhang to it. Jose never rated him as a no. 9 and moved him out wide. Martial never got a look in at that position during those 3 years. The press started believing that he is a winger because he enjoys going out wide and cutting in when he sees the space.

This is not an English bias (IMO) like others seem to suggest here. This 'proper No. 9' narrative became more prominent when Ole was going after Erling Haaland in the January window - which fueled further speculation that Ole does not trust Martial as a no.9.

Somehow the media thinks that we cannot have 5-6 quality forwards to fill 3 roles. Ole however has lived through the Fergie years and I am sure he wants to build a squad where an injury to Martial (like the 6-7 weeks in September/ October) doesn't derail an entire season. Whether he will be able to keep them happy with game time is another question. I think that's the reason why the Haaland transfer did not happen. On the other hand, Sancho may happen as he doesn't seem to be bothered about the Martial, Mason and Marcus combo keeping him out of the team.
 

Glorio

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I think Kane's had a "destined" for United feel about him since he came into the picture, which is why he's linked to United in just about every transfer window.
It's probably been a long held fantasy for the likes of G Neville and Scholes, which like any fan, can cloud one's judgement. However, that ship has sailed, and I'll have Martial anyday over Kane now.

Also, there is definitely an English bias, and if Sancho does arrive, just watch Gary and Co wind up the "Greenwood should play in the centre" or "Greenwood is ahead of Martial" comments to the extreme.