18 - Gerard Martín

[FCBarca]

To be accurate, Gerard is not a Masia product - he arrived at 21 as a replacement for Aznou in B team

Still, I said this last season when he debuted - he started very poorly and I had no idea why he was preferred over Valle but he has been excellent depth for the team since. He's earned his place in the squad and maybe not a starter but he's absolutely an important rotation player

 

[serghei]

He made a very big error at the big Barnes chance where Garcia saved our bacon. You cannot relax just because the main target of a possible pass is offside. A secondary run he sleeps on and doesn't track, and that's Newcastle's biggest chance until their goal. At one point he is keeping Elanga in check, after 2 seconds there's 30m between them.

 

[TheStig]

I still don't think he's good enough for being a backup at a top club but he improved a lot in 1 year. I think it also helped that Rashford played in front of him and kept the width.

 

[FCBarca]

He made a very big error at the big Barnes chance where Garcia saved our bacon. You cannot relax just because the main target of a possible pass is offside. A secondary run he sleeps on and doesn't track, and that's Newcastle's biggest chance until their goal. At one point he is keeping Elanga in check, after 2 seconds there's 30m between them.

He was simply beaten for pace and barring either Jofre or Balde, can't fault him for being unable to track the secondary runner - this is the highwire act of a high line

It's also true that all of Newcastle's danger on the night began on Gerard's side, expressly due to his inability to match pace of Elanga or others - it was smart from Howe but equally, Garcia was incredible

The heir to backup Balde seems clear it will be Jofre and either Gerard will be moved to LCB or sold next season - that's my prediction

 

[JamDav1982]

He played well and had good second half.

Heart in mouth with that yellow challenge. Not a red but very close to being on if catches Bruno with more force that high.

 

[Barcaman]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1968956075278848357

 

[Loki]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1968956075278848357

But many will only remember his mistakes. Same as against Inter, when they remembered his mistake in the end of the game and not his 2 assists prior. I would really like to see a backup, who will be better than him, sit quietly on the bench when Balde is fit and also earns as little as Martin.

 

[draconifire]

I still dont think he should be our LB backup. Newcastle's main threat was coming from their Right side, and it was mainly due to Martin.

It is what it is.
I saw some improvement from him. And I hope he continues to improve, but at this moment, he still isn't a player I would be comfortable to field in these UCL nights. I also think that playing Rashford as an LW is the reason we are seeing his improvement.

 

[JamDav1982]

Got to give him credit.

He lacks a lot technically but doesnt crumble in these games and plays above his ability really.

Ideal world he is back up this season and Jofre is the obvious back up by next season and Gerard earns a decent move and makes money.

 

[ZenI]

But many will only remember his mistakes. Same as against Inter, when they remembered his mistake in the end of the game and not his 2 assists prior. I would really like to see a backup, who will be better than him, sit quietly on the bench when Balde is fit and also earns as little as Martin.

..."sit quietly om the bench when Balde is fit"... Dude, Balde sucks - Martin might actually become better very soon if he keeps improving.

 

[Porque]

Main thing against him is that every time the camera shows his face he looks like a dear in headlights and scared shitless. But other than that his level is OK.

Without that expression we would probably rate him a little higher.

 

[xXKonan]

He's a rare case of a player, an "Older" player being bought for the B team for reinforcement and ending up becoming much more than he originally intended to be.

He's the same age as Pedri, but he's one of those guys who usually end up getting to help reinforce the Atletic team and did pretty well for all things considered. But I could name quite a few guys just like him who ended up in the same situation and 9/10 times he'll end up leaving and either having a chance for a lower-end team in La Liga/ or end up having a solid career in the lower divisions of Spain.

But he's proven, even if he isn't a starter caliber, that he definitely is good enough to play for a team competing for Europe(CL/EL/CF) in La Liga and elsewhere. The amount of work Flick has down and Martin willing to improve is something though.

It's tough being a backup player in a team like ours considering the demands but every time he's called upon he you know he's at least ready for the challenge.