Anthony Martial needs intensity as well as ‘acceleration’ to thrive at United
By Carl Anka
“The last two seasons, I have regularly played injured. People don’t know that. I couldn’t accelerate during the four months following the COVID season. (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer tells me that he needs me, so I play.
“Given my game, if I can’t accelerate, it becomes very complicated. And I get criticised — the coach never bothered to tell the media. Obviously, I end up getting injured for good and when I come back — finished, I don’t play anymore.”
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In a rare interview, with France Football, Anthony Martial gave his account of his turbulent Manchester United career, citing a previously unspoken injury issue behind his two most recent seasons.
If we are to take Martial’s quotes at their most literal, he was unable to accelerate to his top speeds until December 16, 2020, four months after the end of the COVID-19-interrupted 2019-20 season, which ended with a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-final.
Martial featured in United’s first three games of the 2020-21 season before receiving a red card during the 6-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. After a three-game suspension, he returned to the starting line-up, but after his underwhelming performances Solskjaer reduced his playing time and used him more as a left-winger rather than centre-forward. Martial made 12 appearances for United in that four-month period but only scored twice, both in the Champions League group stages.
In October 2020, Paul Scholes voiced his frustrations with the forward’s inconsistent form, saying Martial “almost conned us into thinking he was one (a high-level striker) at the end of last season because he scored so many goals and was quite good. He’s started this season quite poorly again, which makes you think he isn’t. It’s misleading. That’s why I’ve kept saying we need a top-class No 9”.
Martial’s four-month injury timeline expired a day before his first Premier League goal of the season, in United’s 3-2 victory over Sheffield United. He would earn two more assists a few days later in a 6-2 victory over Leeds United before another loss of form would result in him falling behind Edinson Cavani in the centre-forward hierarchy, and behind Marcus Rashford and eventually Paul Pogba for a place on the left wing.
Martial slipped further out of favour in 2021, which can be attributed to his own tactical shortcomings rather than physical issues. Even when 100 per cent fit, Martial often relies on his above-average finishing ability to balance out the more difficult attacking positions he is culpable of taking up.
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Under Solskjaer, who publicly defended Martial’s poor form, United’s attacking players had a licence to interpret their attacking roles as they wished. Martial’s best movements became player-specific as a result — when played through the middle, he would often hold up the ball looking to release Rashford out wide or make early runs into space whenever Pogba got onto the ball in central areas.
Martial’s first league goal of 2020-21 against Sheffield United comes from this motion.
As Martial’s playing time with his favoured players began to drop, he made fewer of the repeated motions that can make him a dangerous forward. A 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United on January 27 was the nadir of his season. The United coaching staff could be heard asking Martial for better movement off the ball, only for the forward to appear confused as to where he was supposed to run.
When Martial arrived at United in 2015, he was a promising young player with enough pace to damage defences when he ran in behind. He also had the close-control dribbling to receive the ball at a standing start, before beating a defender and displaying a finishing ability beyond his years.
As his United career developed, he became less effective at stretching defences. He was easily discouraged from making runs depending on which United midfielder was on the ball (read: not Pogba) or if a previous run went unnoticed or was unsuccessful.
His acceleration issues would have also impacted his ability to carry the ball at pace into dangerous areas, resulting in a “complicated” situation where an often-static Martial had to rely more on his ability to finish difficult chances, which can improve or decline based on psychological factors as well as playing position.
“I am not irreproachable,” said Martial in the France Football interview. “When people say that I lack consistency, it’s true. When I have my place, it often goes well, but when I’ve been used less, it is true that my performance has not been the same.
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“It’s a vicious circle: I’m less efficient because I play less, and therefore I play even less. When it’s like that, I can sometimes drop out a bit. A player like Cavani, he’s at 3,000 per cent even when given few minutes.”
An assist in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City on March 7, 2021, would be Martial’s last Premier League game of the 2020-21 season. A hip complaint and a ruptured knee ligament suffered on international duty would also force him to miss that summer’s European Championship. During the 2021-22 season he made eight league appearances for United (scoring one goal) before departing to Sevilla in a loan deal that would prove disappointing.
Martial looked promising in pre-season this year, thriving under Erik ten Hag’s more structured attacking systems, but missed the first two games of 2022-23 with a hamstring injury. A second-half substitute appearance in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool — where he again led the line and played well with Rashford — was followed by an Achilles injury. No timeline has been given for his return.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s declining mobility and Rashford’s own shortcomings when playing up front mean the Frenchman appears best-suited to Ten Hag’s demands from a lead striker, but injury and inconsistency in finishing and off-ball movement create another riddle.
Even when Martial is fit, he will need to offer more than pace. He will have to make repeated runs off the ball, even if passes from Bruno Fernandes or Christian Eriksen do not find him. He will need to receive the ball when on the move, rather than to feet from a standing start.
Some of this can be coached by Ten Hag and his staff, and Martial is likely to benefit from the addition of Brazilian winger Antony on the right, but greater playing resilience above the shoulders is needed for him to make the most of his talents below the shoulders.
For Martial to be the United player he wants to be, he will have to play with the intensity and focus he has not always been able to find.
https://theathletic.com/3583243/2022/09/12/martial-manchester-united-acceleration/
Anthony Martial needs intensity as well as ‘acceleration’ to thrive at United
By Carl Anka
“The last two seasons, I have regularly played injured. People don’t know that. I couldn’t accelerate during the four months following the COVID season. (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer tells me that he needs me, so I play.
“Given my game, if I can’t accelerate, it becomes very complicated. And I get criticised — the coach never bothered to tell the media. Obviously, I end up getting injured for good and when I come back — finished, I don’t play anymore.”
ADVERTISEMENT
In a rare interview, with France Football, Anthony Martial gave his account of his turbulent Manchester United career, citing a previously unspoken injury issue behind his two most recent seasons.
If we are to take Martial’s quotes at their most literal, he was unable to accelerate to his top speeds until December 16, 2020, four months after the end of the COVID-19-interrupted 2019-20 season, which ended with a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-final.
Martial featured in United’s first three games of the 2020-21 season before receiving a red card during the 6-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. After a three-game suspension, he returned to the starting line-up, but after his underwhelming performances Solskjaer reduced his playing time and used him more as a left-winger rather than centre-forward. Martial made 12 appearances for United in that four-month period but only scored twice, both in the Champions League group stages.
In October 2020, Paul Scholes voiced his frustrations with the forward’s inconsistent form, saying Martial “almost conned us into thinking he was one (a high-level striker) at the end of last season because he scored so many goals and was quite good. He’s started this season quite poorly again, which makes you think he isn’t. It’s misleading. That’s why I’ve kept saying we need a top-class No 9”.
Martial’s four-month injury timeline expired a day before his first Premier League goal of the season, in United’s 3-2 victory over Sheffield United. He would earn two more assists a few days later in a 6-2 victory over Leeds United before another loss of form would result in him falling behind Edinson Cavani in the centre-forward hierarchy, and behind Marcus Rashford and eventually Paul Pogba for a place on the left wing.
Martial slipped further out of favour in 2021, which can be attributed to his own tactical shortcomings rather than physical issues. Even when 100 per cent fit, Martial often relies on his above-average finishing ability to balance out the more difficult attacking positions he is culpable of taking up.
ADVERTISEMENT
Under Solskjaer, who publicly defended Martial’s poor form, United’s attacking players had a licence to interpret their attacking roles as they wished. Martial’s best movements became player-specific as a result — when played through the middle, he would often hold up the ball looking to release Rashford out wide or make early runs into space whenever Pogba got onto the ball in central areas.
Martial’s first league goal of 2020-21 against Sheffield United comes from this motion.
As Martial’s playing time with his favoured players began to drop, he made fewer of the repeated motions that can make him a dangerous forward. A 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United on January 27 was the nadir of his season. The United coaching staff could be heard asking Martial for better movement off the ball, only for the forward to appear confused as to where he was supposed to run.
When Martial arrived at United in 2015, he was a promising young player with enough pace to damage defences when he ran in behind. He also had the close-control dribbling to receive the ball at a standing start, before beating a defender and displaying a finishing ability beyond his years.
As his United career developed, he became less effective at stretching defences. He was easily discouraged from making runs depending on which United midfielder was on the ball (read: not Pogba) or if a previous run went unnoticed or was unsuccessful.
His acceleration issues would have also impacted his ability to carry the ball at pace into dangerous areas, resulting in a “complicated” situation where an often-static Martial had to rely more on his ability to finish difficult chances, which can improve or decline based on psychological factors as well as playing position.
“I am not irreproachable,” said Martial in the France Football interview. “When people say that I lack consistency, it’s true. When I have my place, it often goes well, but when I’ve been used less, it is true that my performance has not been the same.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s a vicious circle: I’m less efficient because I play less, and therefore I play even less. When it’s like that, I can sometimes drop out a bit. A player like Cavani, he’s at 3,000 per cent even when given few minutes.”
An assist in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City on March 7, 2021, would be Martial’s last Premier League game of the 2020-21 season. A hip complaint and a ruptured knee ligament suffered on international duty would also force him to miss that summer’s European Championship. During the 2021-22 season he made eight league appearances for United (scoring one goal) before departing to Sevilla in a loan deal that would prove disappointing.
Martial looked promising in pre-season this year, thriving under Erik ten Hag’s more structured attacking systems, but missed the first two games of 2022-23 with a hamstring injury. A second-half substitute appearance in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool — where he again led the line and played well with Rashford — was followed by an Achilles injury. No timeline has been given for his return.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s declining mobility and Rashford’s own shortcomings when playing up front mean the Frenchman appears best-suited to Ten Hag’s demands from a lead striker, but injury and inconsistency in finishing and off-ball movement create another riddle.
Even when Martial is fit, he will need to offer more than pace. He will have to make repeated runs off the ball, even if passes from Bruno Fernandes or Christian Eriksen do not find him. He will need to receive the ball when on the move, rather than to feet from a standing start.
Some of this can be coached by Ten Hag and his staff, and Martial is likely to benefit from the addition of Brazilian winger Antony on the right, but greater playing resilience above the shoulders is needed for him to make the most of his talents below the shoulders.
For Martial to be the United player he wants to be, he will have to play with the intensity and focus he has not always been able to find.
https://theathletic.com/3583243/2022/09/12/martial-manchester-united-acceleration/