What a difference four days makes
Stinker of a game at the weekend, then pops up to score a hattrick in just the kind of game he’s often failed to make an impact in last night.
When more often than not strikers’ games are unfairly judged by the bottom line rather than their performances over 90 mins, more important last night than the level of Tony’s overall game was the beautiful surprise offered by the first two goals in isolation.
The third will be shown repeatedly, and people will wax lyrical about the link up play and the finish, but it wasn’t nearly as important or instructive as the first two for the player or the team.
Six months ago there isn’t even a question: Rashford hits the byline, looks up, and sees that Martial is loitering in an impossible to pick out space between the centrebacks or that he has curbed his run, waiting for a pullback in a quickly very busy area at the edge of the box. If he’d have seen Martial busting a gut to wrestle in front of his defender at the near post, he’d have probably tripped over the ball confused at the unfolding events.
Ole has spoken repeatedly about the coaches working with Martial and Rashford on their play deep inside the box, and sometimes it has been tempting to dismiss these comments as a joke when we’ve continued to see performances like Martial’s at the weekend.
He’s always been a joy to watch on the ball, and he’s often been fantastically effective with it when given it with time and in space 30 yards out. But in the box, the anticipation hasn’t been there, the sharpness, the bursting desire to get to the ball first, the positioning, and obviously the nature and timing of the runs. There are age old arguments that say you can’t teach play around the six yard box: forwards either have the instincts, in particular, and they have the feet, or they simply don’t. But last night gave us some very positive signs.
It’s a bit early to get excited, obviously, because one game is one game, and we’ve seen flashes of this from Martial before; but if Ole can actually make a number nine out of him, it might be the most important thing he does as Manchester United manager.
Martial
posted on 25/6/20
Pleased to see Martial attacking the ball, getting ahead of the front man and generally being more of a presence in the penalty area.
Clearly Ole is coaching him.
I still don't think he leads the line well and offers very little presence with his back to goal.
posted on 25/6/20
still don't think he leads the line well and offers very little presence with his back to goal.
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That is fine though Winston. We don’t want to see him with his back to the goal.
posted on 25/6/20
comment by Vidicschin (U3584)
posted 34 seconds ago
still don't think he leads the line well and offers very little presence with his back to goal.
.....
That is fine though Winston. We don’t want to see him with his back to the goal.
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Ideally, we see him improving both of these aspects of his game, but I get your point, VC.
We need to see more of him at the business end, making the right runs in behind and getting involved and scrapping in advance of the penalty spot
posted on 25/6/20
"We don’t want to see him with his back to the goal."
It's a fairly important part of the lone striker role, whether anyone wants to see it or not.
posted on 25/6/20
It's a fairly important part of the lone striker role,
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We don’t play with a lone striker Winny.
posted on 25/6/20
Not read the replies yet so may have already been mentioned but Utd may be getting to the point where they only need one or two players to be on it to start winning games as they now have a bit more quality. So yeah Martial may have a quiet game but Rashford or Fernandes can step up. If those two are npt on ot then Pogba or Greenwood can come up with a goal. I only sawthe highlights so can't tell how Utd were overall but it was a high quality hattrick.
posted on 25/6/20
You must have hated him scoring a hattrick, rosso.
posted on 25/6/20
comment by Imran The King Khan (U10026)
posted 3 hours, 1 minute ago
You must have hated him scoring a hattrick, rosso.
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Not at all, providing he continues in this vein.
I’d absolutely love him to develop into a proper number nine, Dazza, because although there are a few about who can bang in 20 goals a season with consistent, quality service into the right areas, there are very, very few who *also* have the ability to create for themselves and others from outside the box. It’s hard enough to teach the former; it’s probably impossible to teach the latter.
As I said above, *if* we see him develop and consistently apply his game inside the area, we might end up with one hell of a striker on our hands.
I didn’t see it 12 months ago, because the kind of development we’re talking about just doesn’t happen to players already his age so often. Now you’d have to be a little crazy not to see at least a glimmer of hope.
posted on 25/6/20
I’m having a laugh, mate.
I know what you mean. He hasn’t played that often as a striker in his career, so he has time to improve there. I’m not convinced he has what it takes to be an elite striker, but he can be a good one and until an elite one becomes available it’s not as big an issue in the team as other areas.
posted on 25/6/20
comment by Imran The King Khan (U10026)
posted 1 hour, 33 minutes ago
I’m having a laugh, mate.
I know what you mean. He hasn’t played that often as a striker in his career, so he has time to improve there. I’m not convinced he has what it takes to be an elite striker, but he can be a good one and until an elite one becomes available it’s not as big an issue in the team as other areas.
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