Unhappy Martin

[GrahamC]

1 hour ago, TomF said:

On Saturday when he was subbed on to TC he was clapping the lad off with his hands above his head. 

Yep, what a truly shit professional he is.

34 in October, played a decent amount of international football, 12 consecutive seasons as a Championship player with around 100 goals at this level.

One of Holden’s better decisions, he arrived on a free, has contributed well (12 goals & 6 assists last season, “but he played too much”), realistically is probably in his last season with us & I bet he still will play a valuable part.

”Didn’t clap the fans” once, though..

[cidered abroad]

Too many negative assumptions about how he appeared to leave the pitch. Too many too ready to make assumptions about trivialities.

My opinion of him, and it's just how I see him from matches to training videos, is that he is an intelligent senior pro who knows his place in the club. He helps the young ones in training and during matches but also still has a desire to be number one striker. 

A leader on and off who has been a big asset to City over the past two years.

[chinapig]

7 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Didn’t clap the fans” once, though..

For the great majority of my decades following football nobody expected players to applaud the fans in the ritual way they do now.

So it's a mystery to me why anybody would be bothered whether they do or not.

And don't get me started on not celebrating a goal against a former team!

[Davefevs]

Ultimately it’s a squad game (I’m like a broken record).  Many factors will come into who plays and how often, and sometimes it’s other players playing better than restrict someone else’s minutes.

We are 7 games into the season FGS!

I saw last night that Matty James (who was returning from injury with his first sub appearance back) has now had his “squad status” defined for the rest of his time here as “handy sub”.  We have a group of players of fairly similar ability (bar one or two at either end of the range), therefore getting fixed ideas on a player is pretty futile.

Its a long season, form, fitness, injury, will mean lots of people are gonna have to get used to changing their pre-conceived status of a player as they come in and out.

We don’t arf like reading a lot into some that might be quite trivial.

[GrahamC]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Ultimately it’s a squad game (I’m like a broken record).  Many factors will come into who plays and how often, and sometimes it’s other players playing better than restrict someone else’s minutes.

We are 7 games into the season FGS!

I saw last night that Matty James (who was returning from injury with his first sub appearance back) has now had his “squad status” defined for the rest of his time here as “handy sub”.  We have a group of players of fairly similar ability (bar one or two at either end of the range), therefore getting fixed ideas on a player is pretty futile.

Its a long season, form, fitness, injury, will mean lots of people are gonna have to get used to changing their pre-conceived status of a player as they come in and out.

We don’t arf like reading a lot into some that might be quite trivial.

Good post.

We have no idea what will pan out in the next week with regards to departures (or possible arrivals) but if we assumed no change, then we have negotiated a hectic 7 games out of 9 in the month spell with a small squad, that Kalas aside (we can argue about Benarous & Bajic but realistically neither are integral to us yet) now has everyone available & is in a decent place.

Wycombe did make 9 changes themselves last night, but it was good to see how we were able to rest so many & still come out with a good result.

Increasing & maximising our options will be key if as I expect, we try to run on similar numbers all season.

[The Original OTIB]

6 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Good post.

We have no idea what will pan out in the next week with regards to departures (or possible arrivals) but if we assumed no change, then we have negotiated a hectic 7 games out of 9 in the month spell with a small squad, that Kalas aside (we can argue about Benarous & Bajic but realistically neither are integral to us yet) now has everyone available & is in a decent place.

Wycombe did make 9 changes themselves last night, but it was good to see how we were able to rest so many & still come out with a good result.

Increasing & maximising our options will be key if as I expect, we try to run on similar numbers all season.

As Pearson said of the performance "a bit of a mixed bag, for me" whilst echoing the need for the "squad to contribute". As ever, though, back to this: "It’s always important for players to take chances, if they get them, and some did it better than others."

Setting high standards, as ever, and keeping them grounded.

[MATT BCFC]

He's definitely a handy player to have. Gives us the option to bypass a high pressing side for example. 

You do need players who are going to run beyond him to make him effective though and we didn't have that in the first half yesterday. 

I imagine last night he was frustrated with his performance as wants to get back in the side. Happy to see that personally.

[cheshire_red]

After our game at Derby towards the end of last season, Rooney stated Martin, Weimann and Semenyo were probably the best front three in the Division. 

[Fat Cigar]

1 hour ago, Selred said:

Martin is like no player we have. He's physical, holds the ball up well, technically a very good footballer too. He will get plenty of time this season, and be vital to certain games.

Spot on. Been interesting watching Wells and Conway and seeing what they're like at holding the ball up. Wells hasn't been that great. The ball often bounces off him and he never looks fully in control with his back to goal. Certainly been playing well in our last two home games but this doesn't seem to be his strongest attribute. Conway already seems more at ease with ball to feet. 

You can't underestimate the importance of having one of your strikers able to hold off defenders and do the dirty work, whilst players around him get into space. Takes one or two defenders out of play for a start. 

I thought Diedhiou was excellent (eventually) at using his strength to keep defenders at bay. He was never the most agile of players but this was one part of his game which improved over time. 

Martin is good at this but not as good as Fam was. Martin's preferred option is to flick the ball on with his head where it usually goes straight to the keeper.

I thought Martin got better and better last season and ended up being an integral part of our strike force. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Fat Cigar

[Davefevs]

11 minutes ago, MATT BCFC said:

He's definitely a handy player to have. Gives us the option to bypass a high pressing side for example. 

You do need players who are going to run beyond him to make him effective though and we didn't have that in the first half yesterday. 

I imagine last night he was frustrated with his performance as wants to get back in the side. Happy to see that personally.

And there have been periods in both the Luton and Cardiff games where we’ve struggled to get through an opponents press, resulting in 3/4 passes between Bents and the CBs, before it gets launched.

He is also very good if you can get sustained possession in final third, where you can bounce passes off of him.

[redkev]

3 hours ago, 2015 said:

I think the disrespect towards Martin from our fanbase is a total injustice. The man scored 12 goals last season. 1 goal shy of Fam's best season for us. Martin at this level has been consistent for years, he's not a prolific goalscorer, but he's a battering ram and does all the ugly work and is not easy on the eye. He was perfect foil for Weimann and Semenyo last season.

Excellent squad player & totally professional, no doubt very good for the young guns coming through .

personally I do think we have some very good seasoned pros at the club at the mo , which bodes well with the amount of young talent around and just below the first team .

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

15 hours ago, JoeAman08 said:

Will his time come again? If everyone stays, he is quickly finding himself 5th option. I don’t think it was a coincidence our play was pretty poor with him back in the side. The ball routinely was pumped up to him and repeatedly came straight back. Didn’t take long to score when he come off and his replacement pressed them into a mistake and got a goal as reward. 
 

As for him personally, it may be tough. His career is coming to an end at this level imo. Think maybe hitting him some? He’ll still be able to make an impact at times but it has to be frustrating being dropped, watching your replacements thrive and then not taking advantage of lower level defenders. I’ll never question his attitude. If he did not clap and went straight down tunnel I hold no ill will. Everyone is allowed to he frustrated sometimes. 

I do despair sometimes when the ball is pumped into him in the manner that it is. He wins his fair share of headers by timing his jumps well but at 6ft he's no collossus of a centre forward. Much better to ping it to his feet where he can lay off to runners. 

[JoeAman08]

2 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

I do despair sometimes when the ball is pumped into him in the manner that it is. He wins his fair share of headers by timing his jumps well but at 6ft he's no collossus of a centre forward. Much better to ping it to his feet where he can lay off to runners. 

Agree 100%. Tbf to him when it is pumped up I think the plan isn’t necessarily win the header. Instead he often puts the cb off and it gets headed out for a throw in or not where aimed. It is just dreadful to watch and I feel like he has lost something in this sense too. He is quite clever when the ball is played to his feet. Feel better about it closer to the edge of the penalty area rather than the halfway line though.

[Port Said Red]

38 minutes ago, JoeAman08 said:

Agree 100%. Tbf to him when it is pumped up I think the plan isn’t necessarily win the header. Instead he often puts the cb off and it gets headed out for a throw in or not where aimed. It is just dreadful to watch and I feel like he has lost something in this sense too. He is quite clever when the ball is played to his feet. Feel better about it closer to the edge of the penalty area rather than the halfway line though.

The technique I like is where he takes it on his chest and turns 180 degrees to give himself attacking options.

[REDOXO]

Chris Martin is a very good player. He gives us a target and he kicks in with goals and assists. 
 

He will be required when we need to mix things up for a variety of different reasons. At the moment Wells n Conway are a bit of a duo, a duo that was made, tried and tested in our U23s last season that is paying dividends now. Whether that was an intended consequence or blind luck I’m not sure, but I am quite prepared to think it may have been deliberate. 
 

Wells looks a different player with Conway, obviously enjoying himself and the team are playing a much more high tempo game with more confidence. However we are only an injury or even a sale away from having to change again. In a long season with a smallish squad most will find they get a run of games at some point. 

[Wrongagain]

17 hours ago, REDOXO said:

Chris Martin is a very good player. He gives us a target and he kicks in with goals and assists. 

5 assists in each of the last 2 seasons with an average of one assist every 9 games last season - does not suggest he is a top forward to me!

[Hxj]

3 minutes ago, Wrongagain said:

does not suggest he is a top forward to me!

Neither then is Mitrovic.

[REDOXO]

3 minutes ago, Wrongagain said:

5 assists in each of the last 2 seasons with an average of one assist every 9 games last season - does not suggest he is a top forward to me!

I guess Nigel Pearson disagrees! 9 goals,  a contract extension and starting most games last season speaks for itself regarding his opinion. 

[bcfc01]

21 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

I do despair sometimes when the ball is pumped into him in the manner that it is. He wins his fair share of headers by timing his jumps well but at 6ft he's no collossus of a centre forward. Much better to ping it to his feet where he can lay off to runners. 

I agree, with the ball at his feet and with Weimann and Semenyo around him, he is very good, the later games last season proves it. We need to keep the ball on the deck.

Playing out from the back/midfield is key to this, but we have a keeper whose first thought on receiving the ball is to lump it upfield as far from his goal as possible - he even launched the ball in the air to Dasilva twice against Cardiff. And back it comes...

I feel sorry for Martin as he's labelled a "target man" but his game is much more than that.

 

[Tim Monaghan]

On 25/08/2022 at 08:11, 2015 said:

I think the disrespect towards Martin from our fanbase is a total injustice. The man scored 12 goals last season. 1 goal shy of Fam's best season for us. Martin at this level has been consistent for years, he's not a prolific goalscorer, but he's a battering ram and does all the ugly work and is not easy on the eye. He was perfect foil for Weimann and Semenyo last season.

I'm confused with our fans sometimes. It wasn't long ago that the fans were doing the same to Weimann, yet, Massengo who has literally done nothing and doesn't want to be here, is lorded about. Why? Because he has big hair! It's really bizarre how he gets away with it (granted he's picked up the past few games). 

 

 

[2015]

2 hours ago, Ghost Rider said:

I'm confused with our fans sometimes. It wasn't long ago that the fans were doing the same to Weimann, yet, Massengo who has literally done nothing and doesn't want to be here, is lorded about. Why? Because he has big hair! It's really bizarre how he gets away with it (granted he's picked up the past few games). 

 

 

Same can be the said for Diedhiou, a player who gave up putting in any effort at the back end of 2020/21 season and cost us nearly 6 million. Compare him to Martin's attitude and its chalk and cheese.

Give me 11 players who will put in everything on limited talent than 11 talented players who have crap attitude any day of the week.

[Numero Uno]

On 25/08/2022 at 09:29, Selred said:

Martin is like no player we have. He's physical, holds the ball up well, technically a very good footballer too. He will get plenty of time this season, and be vital to certain games.

Exactly this. There will be some games when we need Martin scrapping away up front and others where the pace of Wells, Conway and Semenyo will make the difference.

[Bazooka Joe]

Keep or let go. It's simply about people's personal opinions.

In my opinion, if he's unhappy and wants to go, then he can go.