BTL: Martial is not short of talent, only attitude

Source: Breaking The Lines

Written by Oisin Doherty

In September 2015, Martial made his Manchester United debut. Benteke had previously scored a wonderful barb for Liverpool, and it didn't take long for Martial to get attacking space on the left.

Martial swung past Stecol into the penalty area and finally pushed his right foot into the far corner to bypass Mignolet to score, reminiscent of Henry. Manchester United fans at the Theatre of Dreams stood up to pay tribute to the team's new hero. The sight of a rising star was enough to make the Premier League defences shudder for many years to come.

Or rather, that's what people think.

It's been 6 years since that magical debut, and we can say that Martial has never reached that height again. With just five goals in his last 29 league appearances, and after landing in Ronaldo, Greenwood and Cavani, Martial's Red Devils career seems to be nearing the end.

The Van Gaal era

In the summer of 2015, United set a new record for signing a young player in world football at the time, reportedly paying a transfer fee of up to £36 million for the 19-year-old. Judging from the documents later leaked, as long as certain conditions are met, Martial's transfer fee can rush to 60 million pounds.

Many have focused on mocking the "Ballon d'Or clause" in the contract, but counting the floating terms that are easier to achieve, such as 25 appearances for the French national team, the transfer fee is still more than £50 million.

Martial has at times really shown his outstanding potential, and some of the goals he has scored over the years have been a work of art.

For example, the half-time run at Craven Farm, the FA Cup semi-final goal against Everton, and the header at Stamford Bridge in February 2020 are all proof of his own talent.

Martial's problem was never talent, but stability.

Looking back on his Career with the Red Devils, Martial has been riding a roller coaster. In the 2015-16 season, he lit up the entire Theater of Dreams. Martial switched back and forth between the left winger and centre forward positions, frequently tearing apart the opposing defence and one of the few bright spots in Van Gaal's dull Manchester United squad.

Even after winning the FA Cup, United's results that season were still disappointing. Just after the team lifted the FA Cup, Louis van Gaal was removed by Jose Mourinho.

The arrival of Mourinho and Ibrahimovic

Under Jose Mourinho, Martial suffered the first low point of his United career. In the 2016-17 season, the Frenchman mainly played on the left side, and most of his appearances were substitutes.

José never seemed to really trust Martial, and that period was arguably the worst of Martial's career. Martial did fare badly during mourinho's time, but it would be unfair to blame him alone.

The Mourinho era coincided with the beginning of United's "era of traffic". During that time, United was obsessed with social media engagement data, Ins likes, Twitter followers and, of course, revenue. United's motivation to bring in new signings has little to do with football.

That's the only way to explain it. Otherwise, how could Mourinho, who was having an unpleasant quarrel with both former owners, get all the keys to the Manchester United Kingdom? How did the club find the 34-year-old Ibrahimovic to lead the way and give him the number 9 shirt? How could the club spend £89 million on Pogba four years after he released him for free and not know how to use it?

Martial's growth stagnation can be traced back to the summer of 2016. With Ibrahimovic coming, Martial was unable to continue playing for long periods of time in his preferred center position. He was also forced to cede the Number 9 shirt to his teammate, who was 14 years older than himself.

Ibrahimovic did well that season, but in retrospect, it's hard to understand the logic of United's operation, after all, Ibrahimovic has ruled Ligue 1 in Paris for several previous seasons and he has passed the peak of his career. The reason that can be thought of is that Ibrahimovic's fame is guaranteed, and he can sell more jerseys.

In fact, that may be one of the first pieces of evidence that United management has exposed the reality of its own incompetence. At the player recruitment level, 2015-2018 is the lowest point in the history of the entire Manchester United team, and Di Maria left the team at a discount after only one season.

Schweinsteiger, Blinder and Memphis have never been able to really lock up a big-squad spot, let alone start eleven. As for Sanchez, don't talk about it.

In fact, Martial's single transfer is one of the few in that period to focus on future operations. Still, he was forced to give up center stage and serve as a deputy to the aging star.

Rashford stepped forward

Marcus Rashford's swift foothold in United's first team is also one of the reasons why Martial's development has been limited. Scoring two goals against Jutland in his debut and scoring twice again against Arsenal a few days later, Marcus Rashford was destined to become the darling of the Stratford stands.

Marcus Rashford and Martial have similarities. Both are fairly sharp attackers on the ground, able to hit the middle, and they are both fast and have a good sense of scoring. In fact, the two are quite similar to the output data of the last few seasons.

In the Premier League, Martial scored 56 goals in 174 appearances and provided 25 assists. Marcus Rashford scored 57 goals in 188 appearances and provided 31 assists. However, among the Manchester United fan base, Rashford is much more tolerant of public opinion than Martial. It's understandable that Marcus Rashford is a native after all.

With this, coupled with United's club culture of promoting young hukoubens, fans are eager to see Rashford and Jesse Lingard succeed that season in the first team. Marcus Rashford is just a young man and the club hasn't spent a huge transfer fee on him, which means he will face much lower expectations and carry a lot less pressure.

Martial, on the other hand, does not have these preferential conditions. High transfer fees bring great anticipation. The Frenchman's debut season did respond to the expectations of United fans, but in the three seasons that followed, his performance was rather mediocre.

The revival of the Ole era

Under Solskjaer, Martial's competitive form has improved significantly. Soon after Ole took office, Martial received a generous 5-year offer. With Romelu Lukaku leaving for Inter, Martial took home the Number 9 shirt.

Martial finally waited for a manager who trusted him. The Norwegian made him a leading role in United's forward line. The 2019-20 season was Martial's best season since joining Manchester United.

He has contributed a total of 23 goals and nine assists in all competitions, working seamlessly with Marcus Rashford to help United set off a storm of counterattacks and finish third in the Premier League. Feeling trusted by the manager, Martial seems to be about to cash in on his talents and truly become a world-class striker.

landslide

Unfortunately, the 2019-20 season became the pinnacle of Martial's work. Solskjaer continued to give Martial plenty of opportunities last season, giving him the opportunity to consolidate his position as United's number one striker.

United brought in veteran Edgar Cavani before closing the window, with the intention of finding a rotation for Martial to rest in some of the games and let the Frenchman have a ready mentor to learn from.

As a result, Cavani seized the opportunity to become a main player in the second half of the season, but instead squeezed Martial to the bench.

Engagement issues

Martial can point out that United's introduction of Ronaldo and Cavani is similar to the introduction of Ibrahimovic that year, and complain that he has been snubbed because of the addition of the veteran.

However, the situation is completely different on both occasions. Manchester United signed Ibrahimovic for his fame, and later brought in Cavani because the team desperately needed to strengthen the front.

In addition, Martial was given many opportunities to prove that he was stronger than Cavani, but he did not seize it. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, it was his goal that kept United's season from falling apart.

Compared to Cavani, the most unacceptable thing about Martial is the degree of engagement in the game. The 34-year-old Cavani is always running tirelessly on the pitch, constantly harassing opposing defenders and trying to find attacking opportunities. Inside the opposing penalty area, Cavani was very deadly when he saw the opportunity, and such a wonderful no-ball run was the result of years of hard work.

In contrast, Martial has always been accused of not working hard enough on both offensive and defensive ends. In a no-ball state, Martial rarely rushes to the opposing defender's foot, and is not even close enough to put pressure on the opponent.

Martial averaged only 9.54 pressures per game, with another 0.19 steals and 0.31 interceptions. Cavani's three figures were 14.56, 1.17 and 0.78, respectively. Expanding the scope of comparisons further, Martial's three figures are inferior to Ogru, Aubameyang and Dzeko.

When United got possession, things didn't change much, and Anthony Martial often seemed uninterested. A few weeks ago against Watford, the last game solson coached, Anthony Martial came off the bench and could barely control the ball at his feet.

It was Martial's poor possession that gave Pedro the opportunity to rewrite the difference to 3-1. Ironically, Martial inadvertently set the last nail on the coffin, and inside lay the manager who trusted him.

The end of the journey

A few days ago, Martial's agent said in an interview that the Frenchman intended to leave the team in January. When asked about the topic, interim coach Lonnick said he had not yet spoken to Martial. Given Lonnick's intention to take a tough stance against players who want to leave, Martial's Red Devils career really seems to be coming to an end.

Martial is only 25 years old and still has time to cash in on his talent. The potential of the French is indeed unquestionable, but the professional attitude and the degree of engagement in the game are really not flattering. Maybe going back to French football, or joining teams like Everton and West Ham, is a good choice for him.

Rumor has it that Martial will be Newcastle's first blockbuster move, and perhaps the Frenchman's next stop will really be Tyneside. However, it is unclear whether Eddie Howe believes that Martial is enough to lead Newcastle out of the relegation zone.