Oba Martins

[Guest NUFC4]

How many assists has he got this season? must be a few.

 

i believe he has 3, 2 of them on dyer's super goals...the other one i can't place

[aimaad22]

For his first season in the league, he's been abolutely fantastic. Its often been mentioned people like Henry and Drogba were fairly inconspicuous in their first seasons here. On top of that, Martins has come and played for a team in relegation trouble and under huge pressure. That makes things all the more difficult. And he's 22 for heavens sake.

 

He's maturing with every minute he plays, and looks better each next game. With a seaon's experience under his belt and the rest of the players coming up to the mark as well, he could cause a lot more damage.

 

Comparing Bellamy to Martins is a joke. Martins has got more of everything Bellamy has, plus two very important things he doesnt. One is physical presence, Martins is no pushover. Second is the ability to create something out of nothing, which Bellamy hardly ever displays.

[Benwell Lad]

For his first season in the league, he's been abolutely fantastic. Its often been mentioned people like Henry and Drogba were fairly inconspicuous in their first seasons here. On top of that, Martins has come and played for a team in relegation trouble and under huge pressure. That makes things all the more difficult. And he's 22 for heavens sake.

 

He's maturing with every minute he plays, and looks better each next game. With a seaon's experience under his belt and the rest of the players coming up to the mark as well, he could cause a lot more damage.

 

Comparing Bellamy to Martins is a joke. Martins has got more of everything Bellamy has, plus two very important things he doesnt. One is physical presence, Martins is no pushover. Second is the ability to create something out of nothing, which Bellamy hardly ever displays.

 

No it's not. Saying he is LIKE Bellamy would be a joke, but any different players can be COMPARED.

 

My original point was that they both cause problems for defenders with their pace and movement, and make teams defend deeper against us.

But they are very different players.

[Guest the_serbian_mag]

I'm delighted with Obafemi, and the only thing that bothers me about him is his first touch. He can hardly control the ball in situations where he should hold it a bit...

[skryp2nit3]

How many assists has he got this season? must be a few.

 

i believe he has 3, 2 of them on dyer's super goals...the other one i can't place

 

fantasy league seems to think he has 5. including dyer's goal against arsenal and spurs, parkers goal against spurs, duff against westham and the penalty won against bolton.

[Cajun]

How many assists has he got this season? must be a few.

 

i believe he has 3, 2 of them on dyer's super goals...the other one i can't place

 

fantasy league seems to think he has 5. including dyer's goal against arsenal and spurs, parkers goal against spurs, duff against westham and the penalty won against bolton.

 

5 assists, 9 goals also involved in the build up to other goals. Not a bad return so far.

[Zero]

I hope he didn't show his inconsistency at Inter again here.

[Delima]

To say that Bellamy is a support striker is a complete joke.

 

Bellamy was the main striker for Blackburn, who did he support in Blackburn? Bellamy is now the main striker for Liverpool. Kuyt supports Bellamy far more than Bellamy supports Kuyt.

 

Martins is a superior player to Bellamy, like what Knightrider says.

[Nobby]

6 goals in past 5 prem games

[Guest khainufc]

Dont u lads think martin is actually kinda simmilar as lua lua...the diff for now perhap is that martin is sharper...If only Lua Lua was patient i think he could be a big hit here...but too bad...

 

 

[NE5]

Martins still bothers me because he fluffs chances, in big games against the best teams you only get one chance. Bellamy is a different sort of striker, hes a support striker. Martins may have more of an eye for goal and I am very pleased he is now scoring to go with his good attitude, but I would still prefer Bellamy. Martins needs a support player alongside him to get the best out of him I would say, which would make a big difference to the team.

 

In the 2nd half yesterday the inability to hold the ball up and consequently concede ground was obvious. Under these circumstances Taylor and Ramage were magnificent in holding out. I like Ramage in this position, I thought some of his far post defending when he was playing left back indicated he may be a good centre back and he is developing a good partnership with Taylor. They were commanding and held their positions well. There is no frills to his game, his distribution will probably stop him becoming a top player but his courage, attitude and total committment to defending well is cementing his position at the club and I now see him as a player who can give us a lot of good years.

 

Butt was man of the match though. He is playing like he did when he played for manu now, when he didn't get the caps he should have got for England. He was always unlucky to be behind Roy Keane and would have been an automatic in any other side.

 

 

What are you talking about?

He doesnt fluff his chances any ammount close to be a concern.

 

And he didnt fluff his chances against "big clubs"

That WAS a goal against chelsea, and in the other match vs chelsea, they all couldnt finish.

The only other big club he played against, he did well, vs arsenal setting up the dyer goal, and looking like beating his man everytime he touched it.

 

his finishing is erratic, he snatches at chances and misses the target more than he should. It might improve now he has a few goals, it might not. I hope it does.

 

Sadly his "goal" against Chelsea wasn;t over the line, the replays proved it. And it wasn't a "chance" anyway it was a superb pot shot and he was very unlucky.

 

I'm not knocking him. But there is no room for sentiment in football. There ARE better players, even though he is now doing well, and long may it continue.

 

 

[Guest Alan Shearer 9]

Far better player than Bellamy I think. I rate Bellamy, but he was never really a goalscorer. Did he ever score more than 10 for us in a season? Martins offers the pacey threat as well as goals.

 

Martins is a better footballer than Bellamy, better technique and a better football brain. Also he's a better finisher but Obagoal is not quite a master predatory finisher just yet.

[Nobody]

Far better player than Bellamy I think. I rate Bellamy, but he was never really a goalscorer. Did he ever score more than 10 for us in a season? Martins offers the pacey threat as well as goals.

 

Martins is a better footballer than Bellamy, better technique and a better football brain. Also he's a better finisher but Obagoal is not quite a master predatory finisher just yet.

Oba isn't a cunt either.

[Baggio]

I'm not knocking him. But there is no room for sentiment in football.

 

Funny you should say that because it seems that its sentiment that's making you still rate Bellamy as high as you do.

 

The only thing I would say Bellamy was better at than Martins is running the channels, which you wouldn't need anyway if the club had decent fullbacks who could get up and down the pitch, you point out Martins needing a support striker but at Inter he was the support striker playing off Adriano, you also mention him not being able to hold the ball up either but that isn't what his game is about and it's something Bellamy wasn't particularly good at either.

 

The exciting thing about Martins for me is that from watching him you can tell he's not the finished article, he's someone who will continue to get better and better if we develop him properly, his finishing is sometimes erratic but most of these chances he's making for himself out of nothing anyway, he also doesn't have the privilege of playing off a 25 goal a season striker like Bellamy did in his time here.

 

As far as I'm concerned the whole Bellamy issue can be put to rest now, the problem of him not being replaced properly has been put to rest whether you think Bellamy was better or not, he certainly isn't the better player at the moment IMHO.

 

And NE5 - Merry Xmas

[NE5]

I'm not knocking him. But there is no room for sentiment in football.

 

Funny you should say that because it seems that its sentiment that's making you still rate Bellamy as high as you do.

 

I'm not one of those who thinks someone that scores 18 - 20 goals is better than someone who scores 10 - 15 goals. They are different types of players and I would rather have Bellamy in my team.

 

The only thing I would say Bellamy was better at than Martins is running the channels, which you wouldn't need anyway if the club had decent fullbacks who could get up and down the pitch, you point out Martins needing a support striker but at Inter he was the support striker playing off Adriano, you also mention him not being able to hold the ball up either but that isn't what his game is about and it's something Bellamy wasn't particularly good at either.

 

I am not on about "holding the ball", I am on about being an outlet - chasing the ball and getting there first is the same as holding the ball. Craig Bellamy makes things happen, he forces things, he makes poor balls into good ones through his desire and thirst to win.

 

The exciting thing about Martins for me is that from watching him you can tell he's not the finished article, he's someone who will continue to get better and better if we develop him properly, his finishing is sometimes erratic but most of these chances he's making for himself out of nothing anyway, he also doesn't have the privilege of playing off a 25 goal a season striker like Bellamy did in his time here.

 

As far as I'm concerned the whole Bellamy issue can be put to rest now, the problem of him not being replaced properly has been put to rest whether you think Bellamy was better or not, he certainly isn't the better player at the moment IMHO.

 

And NE5 - Merry Xmas

 

I hope he does but he has some way to go to contribute what Bellamy did in my eyes.

 

Happy Xmas

 

 

[aimaad22]

I'm not knocking him. But there is no room for sentiment in football.

 

Funny you should say that because it seems that its sentiment that's making you still rate Bellamy as high as you do.

 

I'm not one of those who thinks someone that scores 18 - 20 goals is better than someone who scores 10 - 15 goals. They are different types of players and I would rather have Bellamy in my team.

 

Then thank goodness you arent our manager.

 

For his first season in the league, he's been abolutely fantastic. Its often been mentioned people like Henry and Drogba were fairly inconspicuous in their first seasons here. On top of that, Martins has come and played for a team in relegation trouble and under huge pressure. That makes things all the more difficult. And he's 22 for heavens sake.

 

He's maturing with every minute he plays, and looks better each next game. With a seaon's experience under his belt and the rest of the players coming up to the mark as well, he could cause a lot more damage.

 

Comparing Bellamy to Martins is a joke. Martins has got more of everything Bellamy has, plus two very important things he doesnt. One is physical presence, Martins is no pushover. Second is the ability to create something out of nothing, which Bellamy hardly ever displays.

 

No it's not. Saying he is LIKE Bellamy would be a joke, but any different players can be COMPARED.

 

My original point was that they both cause problems for defenders with their pace and movement, and make teams defend deeper against us.

But they are very different players.

 

Thats what I meant, lets not get all technical on the English.

 

 

 

 

[NE5]

I'm not knocking him. But there is no room for sentiment in football.

 

Funny you should say that because it seems that its sentiment that's making you still rate Bellamy as high as you do.

 

I'm not one of those who thinks someone that scores 18 - 20 goals is better than someone who scores 10 - 15 goals. They are different types of players and I would rather have Bellamy in my team.

 

Then thank goodness you arent our manager.

 

Aimaad.....I mean because they are different players playing different roles ? A player who scored 10-15 goals and supports another forward player and creates situations etc can be a much better player than a player who scores 18-20 goals and doesn't really contribute in a footballing sense ? Also consider that simply looking at a goalscoring stat doesn't take into accout how many of those goals are scored when you are for instance already 2-0 up, or at home rather than playing away, or penalties possibly

 

I think Craig Bellamys worth to Newcastle couldn't be measured by goals alone, he transformed defence to attack, he prevented teams from pushing up against us and he without a doubt put 2-3 years on Alan Shearers career.

 

 

 

[ohmelads]

Bellamy was a top player but the difference with Martins is he can create goals for himself and can lead the line in the absence of any other stars. It's clear to see Martins is not playing his natural game at the moment but he's making a bloody good first of it in difficult circumstances and to score 7 in 14 league games is a great start.

 

Bellamy is a great player if you use him correctly, but Martins is doing superbly without the benefit of playing alongside big strikers such as Shearer or Kluivert. Martins would have been in his element alongside either of those. Indeed Shearer's skills were fading and Kluivert wasn't the most motivated, but Bellamy forged his reputation playing alongside Shearer when he was still a top class number 9 and I sincerely doubt Bellamy could play up front with Dyer or Sibierski and have the same impact Martins has had. He simply doesn't have the strength or aeriel ability to get to half of the balls Martins gets to and he is significantly easier to foul or knock off the ball than Oba. I'd say Bellamy's running is more intelligent but he hasn't always been this way and is a good few years older than Martins.

 

Martins has had a very tough job, his natural game is to play off a big man but he's had to spend a lot of the time working hard to keep the ball and play in others. If we can get in the right partner for him in January there is still a lot more to come from Martins IMO.

 

Of course Oba could improve in certain areas but so could all footballers. His finishing is slowly getting better and in time hopefully his runs will get better too. Physically he is all-rounded, so much pace and power and he's scoring headers too. With the ball at his feet he's demonstrated better awareness in recent games. I've wanted us to sign this guy for years and it was once just a pipe dream as he burst onto the scene with Inter. We've been the club to take a chance on him and give him a run in the team and we are beginning to reap the benefits.

[DJ_NUFC]

People are obviously forgetting all those games in which Bellers was invisible, ineffective or sent off for ridiculous reasons.

 

Erm, and his dubious finishing abilities which the Liverpool fans now talk about.

 

I was one of his biggest fans, but there were times when he could've stamped his authority on games in a positive manner, but failed to do so, even though he had been playing in England almost all his life.

 

Martins has shortcomings to his games too, but he is still fresh to the Premiership, still adapting, and doing a darned good job of it. To compare the two players and saying they'd rather have Bellers would be a typical NE5 thing to say.

 

Let the player breathe, ffs.

[Mowen]

I'm not knocking him. But there is no room for sentiment in football.

 

Funny you should say that because it seems that its sentiment that's making you still rate Bellamy as high as you do.

 

I'm not one of those who thinks someone that scores 18 - 20 goals is better than someone who scores 10 - 15 goals. They are different types of players and I would rather have Bellamy in my team.

 

Then thank goodness you arent our manager.

 

Aimaad.....I mean because they are different players playing different roles ? A player who scored 10-15 goals and supports another forward player and creates situations etc can be a much better player than a player who scores 18-20 goals and doesn't really contribute in a footballing sense ? Also consider that simply looking at a goalscoring stat doesn't take into accout how many of those goals are scored when you are for instance already 2-0 up, or at home rather than playing away, or penalties possibly

 

I think Craig Bellamys worth to Newcastle couldn't be measured by goals alone, he transformed defence to attack, he prevented teams from pushing up against us and he without a doubt put 2-3 years on Alan Shearers career.

 

 

I agree with you to an extent, I think Bellamy was an excellent player for us, but I think it would be unfair on Oba to say you'd rather have Bellas at this early stage. He was younger when he signed for us than Craig was, and had to (is having to) adapt from a league that was completely different to the one he's now playing in.

 

I see Oba as a second striker to be honest, he drops deep to pick the ball up a lot, and seems to have a very good passing range combined with good vision (see the passes for Dyer's goal against Spurs and Le Sib's against Pompey, just off the top of my head). I honestly think he'd work even better with a natural goalscorer a la Shearer or Owen alongside him.

 

He started slowly, but really seems to be finding his feet now - I hope this purple patch isn't a one off, or the start of inconsistency where he has 6 matches of mediocrity followed by 5 of brilliance - but it's too early to tell. Positively, he seems to be making things happen himself now, for instance the effort at home to Chelsea.

 

Whilst Bellamy did more for us than Oba has so far, even if you compare the first 15-20 games of their careers here, I wouldn't take a straight swap of the players now. This may or may not be correct, but in the long term I can see Oba becoming special, and I am very much looking forward to following his progress as our newest number 9.

[NE5]

People are obviously forgetting all those games in which Bellers was invisible, ineffective or sent off for ridiculous reasons.

 

Erm, and his dubious finishing abilities which the Liverpool fans now talk about.

 

I was one of his biggest fans, but there were times when he could've stamped his authority on games in a positive manner, but failed to do so, even though he had been playing in England almost all his life.

 

Martins has shortcomings to his games too, but he is still fresh to the Premiership, still adapting, and doing a darned good job of it. To compare the two players and saying they'd rather have Bellers would be a typical NE5 thing to say.

 

Let the player breathe, ffs.

 

meaning ??

 

You must have watched a different Craig Bellamy to me. Because for my money - home and away - he was the most hungry and dynamic player at the club during the years he was here until Souness arrived, even when he played 50 games with an injury between Easter 2002 and the summer of 2004. Only Gary Speed ran him close for consistency. If this is typical of what I say, it is because I call it as I see it and don't spout cliches like many other people. Nor was I foolishly taken in like many others that the Scottish fuckpig would somehow become Alex Ferguson simply by getting rid of "the bad apples". You should try it.

 

 

[Nobody]

People are obviously forgetting all those games in which Bellers was invisible, ineffective or sent off for ridiculous reasons.

 

Erm, and his dubious finishing abilities which the Liverpool fans now talk about.

 

I was one of his biggest fans, but there were times when he could've stamped his authority on games in a positive manner, but failed to do so, even though he had been playing in England almost all his life.

 

Martins has shortcomings to his games too, but he is still fresh to the Premiership, still adapting, and doing a darned good job of it. To compare the two players and saying they'd rather have Bellers would be a typical NE5 thing to say.

 

Let the player breathe, ffs.

 

meaning ??

 

You must have watched a different Craig Bellamy to me. Because for my money - home and away - he was the most hungry and dynamic player at the club during the years he was here until Souness arrived, even when he played 50 games with an injury between Easter 2002 and the summer of 2004. Only Gary Speed ran him close for consistency. If this is typical of what I say, it is because I call it as I see it and don't spout cliches like many other people. Nor was I foolishly taken in like many others that the Scottish fuckpig would somehow become Alex Ferguson simply by getting rid of "the bad apples". You should try it.

 

 

That's where everyone should stop reading.

[The College Dropout]

Oba has been great recently and long may it continue.

 

I don't think the comparison to Bellamy is as ludicrous as people make it. For many years he was a second striker alongisde Big Al and for Celtic and Blackburn he was the main man. Although I'd say at Blackburn, their style of play brought the very best out of Bells whilst I still think we play as if Obafemi was a 36 year old balding Geordie.

 

Bellamy got something like 17 goals at Blackburn and although some of that can be attributed to his improvement as a finisher, I'd say Blackburns slick-ground passing is the more important factor. At Liverpool where he isn't the main man, the style doesn't suit him and him moving to a club with more pressure has affected his performance. I'd say the last 2 could be said for Oba.

 

If the coaches do their thing and Oba works very hard he could be one of the best strikers in the league.

[IndonesianToon]

 

Martins > Bellamy

 

In size, pace , goalscoring ability, strength and attitude

a lot of plus from Martins.

 

Can anyone tell me where Bellamy>Martins? (positive atributes please)

 

 

[Guest Moe-Ali]

Bellamy>Martins.........

 

 

 

 

Get back to me on that one......