What to do with Anthony Martial?

[Smores]

Yeah let's stick our striker who has only ever consistently played centrally on the right wing because Martial doesn't fancy playing there. I mean Lukaku has a decent cross so what could go wrong with him pumping the ball into the midget Sanchez, match made in heaven that

If Martial is so limited that his game is based entirely on cutting in from the left and shooting with his right then he's far from this world class talent so many insist. He should just try and enhance his game rather than sulking

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Plus, he's not great in the air - he's big and he's strong but he usually loses his aerial battles against CB's and rarely scores with his head. Put him on the right and he'll win aerial battles against LB's, or we'll play with the ball on the ground.
I don't think he's obsessed with winning the golden boot either, of course he wants to score regularly but he seems much more of a team player who wants to win, and doesn't care who scores in order for us to win.

He's not great at bringing long passes under control with his chest and/or shielding the ball with someone tight to his back but he's very good in the air and scores loads with his head.

 

[Devil may care]

We could try him on the right, not sure it will work as him, Rashford, Sanchez and Lingard all want to play centrally, at least on the left he can come in onto his strongest foot and link with Lukaku, but given not much else has worked out there it's worth giving him a run of game to try and customize himself to the role.

 

[Harry190]

Get him to see a very good psychologist or life coach.

 

[Bwuk]

Diamond midfield with Sanchez at #10 and Lukaku snd Martial uptop.

 

[Vault Dweller]

What the hell is the united hour and why does their opinion hold weight?

 

[villain]

He's not great at bringing long passes under control with his chest and/or shielding the ball with someone tight to his back but he's very good in the air and scores loads with his head.

I remember making a note of Everton not playing with wingers because his aerial ability was limited, and to be fair what he's shown for us has been distinctly average.
For a guy his size, he should be absolutely dominant.

 

[Volumiza]

Ditch wingers. We don't have any.

DDG
Valencia, Bailly, Lindelof, Young
Matic
Fred, Pogba,
Sanchez
Lukaku, Martial
​

Just my humble opinion anyway

 

[Zlatattack]

Yeah let's stick our striker who has only ever consistently played centrally on the right wing because Martial doesn't fancy playing there. I mean Lukaku has a decent cross so what could go wrong with him pumping the ball into the midget Sanchez, match made in heaven that

If Martial is so limited that his game is based entirely on cutting in from the left and shooting with his right then he's far from this world class talent so many insist. He should just try and enhance his game rather than sulking

Agreed.

 

[Adam-Utd]

He should play on the left or as a striker with Lukaku.

Sanchez can do the Mata role from the right side, just wonder about doing what he wants.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

---------------DDG---------------
Val-----Jones------Bailly-----Shaw
-----Matic--------------Fred-----
--------------Pogba---------------
-----Martial-----------Sanchez----
---------------Rom--------------

And stick with it.

 

[Minimalist]

Put him in a cupboard under the stairs.

He will have his revenge one day.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

Yeah let's stick our striker who has only ever consistently played centrally on the right wing because Martial doesn't fancy playing there. I mean Lukaku has a decent cross so what could go wrong with him pumping the ball into the midget Sanchez, match made in heaven that

If Martial is so limited that his game is based entirely on cutting in from the left and shooting with his right then he's far from this world class talent so many insist. He should just try and enhance his game rather than sulking

That's just purely making stuff up.

Lukaku has said he is a player who isn't a sole target man & prefers playing off the shoulders of defenders whilst he is a left footed striker with the strength of playing towards the left of the field.

The same is with Martial - has a bit more finesse with his passing, dribbling and in my opinion finishing but lacks the running off the back of the defence as he is better taking them on directly. He is right footed and plays off to the left.

It's pure ridiculous how it's not even been tried out for more than a game - instead Jose continues to try to play Lukaku like Drogba - the type of football he himself says he doesn't want to be associated with.

No need for wingers - Lukaku does not need to play out wide; he can play as a RS with the freedom to drift to RW on the counter. However freedom is the one thing I'm sure he and a lot of our countless strikers won't get - not if they are played alone upfront relying on pure service that we still lack.

Lukaku and Martial gets played in their best positions in partnership strikers. So will Lingard, so will r Ashford, Mata whilst Sanchez can play as a LF or a CAM too.

Absolutely no reason to wait here wondering what we would have been with Willian - it's just poor mismanagement of the squad - even if it's just one game so far.

 

[buckooo1978]

play him, play him, play him!

 

[IAmAWinner]

Needs to adapt to the right wing, the only place he can play under Jose. He should play every game.

 

[RedNed77]

An added bonus of pushing Lukaku out wide right is he's either going to drag a centre half out with him which will affect the shape of the opposition at the back, or he will have to be picked up by a smaller fullback, which gives him a height and strength advantage if we need to pump the ball up, which he wouldn't necessarily have against your average CB.

Sanchez down the middle, Martial on the left, have them all interchanging. Even if it doesn't work, I'd like us to have actually given it a proper go. It's got to be better than Mata on the right anyways.

If nothing else, Sanchez can fall over when being bullied by the big CB's, refs may take pity on the poor midget.

 

[johanovic]

Playing with Mata on the right side and Sanchez on the left is just dreadful and does not work. Martial should start on the left side as he can at least make something happen there. Sanchez should be tried on the right side with a licence to go up as a second striker/am. Martial should first and foremost drive at the right back and try to stretch the play. If Shaw could provide the overlap as he did before the injury we could have a new dimension to the attack. If Sanchez does no better at right wing then Rashford should be given a chance there with the simple instruction of getting in behind and cross the ball as a old fashioned right winger, simple and effective. This idea of having Fred,Pogba,Matic plus Lukaku,Mata,Sanchez is not going to work simply because we lack speed and technigue to make that work and simply make it easy to defend against us. Even the counter attack method that Mourinho loves is never going to work that way. As much as I like Mata he is for me a attacking midfielder or a number 10 but sadly he´s not good enough. Having him on the left and Sanchez on the right and both of them wanting to go inwards all the time with a lack of overlapping attacking fullbacks is also hindering us and makes it easy to defend against us. Hopefully Shaw can come good and Dalot will be interesting to watch.
The key to playing the 4-3-3 with wingers that go inwards is to have fullbacks that can provide width,speed and crossing ability.
If you look at the the following teams and their fullbacks you see clearly why we are miles behind in that postion and I would argue that each set there is much stronger than what we have:
City: Walker and Mendy
Liverpool: Arnold and Robertson
Spurs:Trippier and Davies
Bayern:Kimmich and Alaba
Juve:Cancelo and Sandro
Napoli:Hysaj and Ghoulam
A.Madrid:Arias and Henandez
R.Madrid:Carvajal and Marcelo
Barcelona:Roberto and Alba

 

[artursk]

To me the caf obsession with Sanchez and Martial on the right vs left is over-cooked. In games where they've both featured, no matter what wing they start on they seem to switch flanks regularly. Sometimes they seemed to swap at half time, sometimes repeatedly over the course of the match. That's why you'd often get heat-maps where they appeared to be both playing very centrally, with complaints about how we lack width. They are both capable of taking their turn on the right but the really big issue here is that they both need to up their game, no matter where they are on the pitch.

Interesting point. But wouldn't the heatmap then show a lot position on one flank and the other? It's not calculating some sort of average position. If you are spending a lot of time in both boxes, it wouldn't suddenly show that you have spent most of your time in the centre circle.

 

[R'hllor]

What the hell is the united hour and why does their opinion hold weight?

Its a podcast, hosted by a guy who wished United to lose games during LvG era and he doesnt see anything wrong in so called United fans wishing the same. You should go and check it out, maybe you will like it.

 

[Hitchez]

Up top in a 433 along with Lukaku and Sanchez. Either play him or sell him and get an attacker you're actually going to play. There's no reason why that front 3 should not play well provided they are given the freedom to do so by the manager which seems unlikely.

 

[Schmiznurf]

Its a podcast, hosted by a guy who wished United to lose games during LvG era and he doesnt see anything wrong in so called United fans wishing the same. You should go and check it out, maybe you will like it.

It was a joke anyway mate, i'm on the podcast.

 

[Bastian]

It's not really a question of who else on the right but Mata. It's who else on the right but Lingard, as he'll start there in all likelihood when he's up to speed (I assume he starts there on Sunday with Young coming in for Darmian).

I quite like this Martial - Sanchez - Lukaku front 3 you people are suggesting. It would still require a disciplined Pogba to help cover the left side or Martial to start contributing more defensively as Shaw said after the game on Friday that he was told to be more attacking. Lukaku wide right is perhaps more of a threat than mistiming his jumps to fight for the long balls. He'd stand a better chance against an isolated left back, while we'd perhaps resort to more on the ground football. I'd still question his first touch and general ball control against teams that sit deep and invite attacks. He'll hardly work well on the wing then, but when we're soaking up pressure it's worth a try.

 

[Canagel]

Martial must play. He is our best attacker dribbling 1 on 1. Fullbacks hate this kind of player. I'm sure they'd rather defend against Mata or Sanchez. Martial will actually take defenders on and create something.
For me it doesn't matter where he plays as long as he is given the freedom to attack players like he did under Louis Van Gaal although he is less effective coming from the right. The goals against Stoke for example wouldn't have happened if he was on the right.

 

[luke511]

It should be Martial Sanchez Lukaku, with Sanchez being a false 9 and Martial and Lukaku our wide forwards.

 

[fezzerUTD]

Ebay, highest bidder, reserve at 99p.

 

[Ramshock]

Play him on the right. He will get all the fecking game time he wants.

 

[Hawks2008]

Just put Sanchez on the right and let Rashford/Martial compete for the LW.

 

[Todd]

Martial should be starting every match wide left. He's our most dangerous attacker when it comes to taking a man on 1v1.

It's kinda starting to annoy me that Alexis and Rashford have basically been resigned to the bench to make way for Alexis and Alexis has done feck all since he got here. Only thing you can say about Alexis is that he definitely works hard.

---------------Lukaku--------------
Martial-----------------------Alexis
-------------------------------------
-----------Fred----Pogba----------
-------------------------------------
---------------Matic-----------------

That should be our front 6 if everyone is fit

 

[buckooo1978]

i think he and Sanchez should be swapping positions during games, in rotation with Lingard, Mata and Rashford

I'd start Martial left and give Sanchez freedom to float - it seemed most of our games last season we overloaded on the left so it could work we'll

 

[Rockets Redglare]

Yup, let's not go overly hyperbolic lads.

He’ll never play again, big bad Jose will have someone snap his legs.

 

[Inter Yer Nan]

Look at where Sanchez spent his time playing on the right wing: at Barcelona (underwhelming) and Napoli (not world class).

His best performances at Arsenal (where he became world class) were from the left or centre

Also what's all this about him stinking up the place? He's one of two risk takers on our team. People cry about our team being boring, this guy is the complete opposite.

He was very good in the 2013/2014 season. Probably their second best player that season. Unlucky to be shipped off but they signed Suarez.

 

[Inter Yer Nan]

I hope Martial-Lukaku-Sanchez is our front three but let's face it in reality Sanchez is Jose's LW so it's RW or bust.

He has to act like he gives a shit more. He has to work his bollocks off in training and work his way onto the field and stay consistent. If he does that he'll play simple as. We have to keep him now given we can't sign anyone but he either has a chance to cement his place in the first team or earn a good transfer to a good club and a good fee for us next summer. If it's more of the same from us, he'll not get a top club and we won't get a great fee. It's on him.

 

[endless_wheelies]

It was a joke anyway mate, i'm on the podcast.

"They mentioned this on the United Hour pod (good show btw) that Martial might be tried out as our solution to the right wing"

Was that "info" or just speculative?

 

[Schmiznurf]

"They mentioned this on the United Hour pod (good show btw) that Martial might be tried out as our solution to the right wing"

Was that "info" or just speculative?

Speculative, none of us have any contacts unfortunately.

 

[Billy Blaggs]

Yeah let's stick our striker who has only ever consistently played centrally on the right wing because Martial doesn't fancy playing there. I mean Lukaku has a decent cross so what could go wrong with him pumping the ball into the midget Sanchez, match made in heaven that

If Martial is so limited that his game is based entirely on cutting in from the left and shooting with his right then he's far from this world class talent so many insist. He should just try and enhance his game rather than sulking

This makes sense to me.

 

[Raven]

Look at where Sanchez spent his time playing on the right wing: at Barcelona (underwhelming) and Napoli (not world class).

His best performances at Arsenal (where he became world class) were from the left or centre

Also what's all this about him stinking up the place? He's one of two risk takers on our team. People cry about our team being boring, this guy is the complete opposite.

Never played for Napoli. And yes he has stank up the place.

 

[Funky Futurista]

As much as I love Martial he has to get his shit together. If he wants to, he can cement that right wing as his own position and also go outside to cross or go get a ball fed inside and shoot across from the right corner of the penalty area.

If he doesn't get sold by the time the transfer window closes he should knuckle down and show Jose he can be useful to him. That being said, Jose has to distill some belief in the player as well. Slating your own players in the media is never a good thing if you ask me. We'll just have to see what happens this season, but I really hope he gets some game time one way or another.

 

[Raven]

The obvious thing to me, is to play him on the left wing. He's our best option there by a mile.

All this talk about his work rate is totally over blown, the same talk always surrounds flair players, because they don't go flying into challenges. I'm sure if anyone has stats for distance covered, he certainly wouldn't stand out in a negative manner.

He's our fastest attacker and is definitely our best dribbled, so I really don't understand why he can't start every game from the left and put sanchez on the right, where he's been great in the past.

 

[Smores]

The obvious thing to me, is to play him on the left wing. He's our best option there by a mile.

All this talk about his work rate is totally over blown, the same talk always surrounds flair players, because they don't go flying into challenges. I'm sure if anyone has stats for distance covered, he certainly wouldn't stand out in a negative manner.

He's our fastest attacker and is definitely our best dribbled, so I really don't understand why he can't start every game from the left and put sanchez on the right, where he's been great in the past.

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...bottom-of-premier-league-for-distance-covered

He only just covers more distance than Smalling.

I mean he has a lot of talent to defend but effort is not one of those. Don't need stats to see that

 

[Raven]

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...bottom-of-premier-league-for-distance-covered

He only just covers more distance than Smalling.

I mean he has a lot of talent to defend but effort is not one of those. Don't need stats to see that

That doesn't seem like an outrageously low number for an attacking player in a non pressing side. Obviously he's not a lingard or a sanchez, I have however seen him chasing back into his own box many times to make a challenge, sometimes late in games. It's not his strongest asset, but he certainly doesn't just coast around as some have suggested.