What has happened to this Manchester United star’s form?

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You could argue that if it wasn’t for Anthony Martial’s early season form, Manchester United would be in dire straits, but what has happened to that form in the last few months?

After joining Louis Van Gaal’s side for £36 million, fans were skeptical and concerned that the Frenchman was a panic buy. One national newspaper labeled the signing “a waste of money”, and even Van Gaal himself said that Martial was a signing for his successor. But all skepticism was wiped away after scoring on his debut – a wonderful solo goal versus bitter rivals Liverpool in front of the Stretford End. It appeared that the 20-year-old had already found his feet. It didn’t take long for Martial to strike again, a brace against Southampton at St Mary’s on September 20^th. The price tag no longer seemed unjustified and the Red Devils were going strong in the league. The striker also managed a goal against Ipswich in the League Cup and these four goals led to a comparison between him and ex-Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry and ex-United forward, Ruud Van Nistelrooy. This however signaled the end of the honeymoon period for Martial and Manchester United’s season started to go downhill.

Despite goals against CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg, Martial failed to score again in the league until December 19^th in a 2-1 loss to Norwich – 3 months after scoring his last league goal. However, instead of the blame being placed on the player’s shoulders, the fault was firmly with the manager, Louis Van Gaal. The Dutchman has rotated Martial’s position throughout the season, sometimes being used as a number nine, a right winger and also as a left winger. Early success at United was found on the left wing, cutting inside and shooting on his favored right foot. The wings were also successful as it allowed Man Utd to play with Rooney as the sole striker and Depay or Mata out on the other wing and these were debatably the team’s best players prior to the start of the season. However, after a few weeks it was evident that Depay was not the player he was expected to be and Rooney was not performing at his best. This left Van Gaal with a couple of options, keep Rooney playing through his bad run or give Martial a run as a solo striker and have Rooney playing off the Frenchman. The manager tried both but with little success and he latter option also pilled a heap of pressure onto Martial, being a loan striker is a lot to ask of a 20-year-old.

It is also difficult for a player to achieve if he is not getting the necessary service and this is another reason that Martial’s form has dropped, there are no midfielders at Manchester United this season that have stood out. However, some of the blame has got to be placed on Louis Van Gaal, his philosophy is potentially the reason Man Utd are in the situation they are – out of the Champions League, struggling in the Premier League and not playing entertaining football. This philosophy is not allowing players to be creative, create opportunities or get into the positions they normally would.

A player like Martial is particularly struggling with this, especially whilst out on the wing. Lately, he has not been cutting inside and taking shots on goal but spending too much time hugging the side of the pitch, but what is the reason for this? It is a question only Martial knows the answer to. The chances are it is the manager’s instructions and Martial’s ‘fear’ of ignoring them. It is also a similar story with many other players at Old Trafford, they are not allowed freedom. It is something Manchester United players have always had whilst under Sir Alex Ferguson and even David Moyes but now that Van Gaal has come in, this freedom has been taken away and the Dutchman has somewhat ‘brainwashed’ his players to only playing his way.

So will Martial’s form pick back up? If he is allowed to play with freedom like he was in September, I have no doubt he will start to see vast improvement in his game. But if Van Gaal still insists on his style and wants a uniformed team, it’s difficult to see goals coming his way.

Featured image: All rights reserved by Ian Johnson.