The attacker has been dropped from Roberto De Zerbi's starting XI and now faces an unexpected fight for his future at Stade Velodrome
At a glance, you would think everything was going very well for Mason Greenwood following his highly-controversial transfer to Marseille from Manchester United in the summer. The 23-year-old became an instant fan favourite as he hit the ground running in his new surroundings, and he is Les Phoceens' top scorer by some distance.
However, things have suddenly gone awry for the forward, with his numbers papering over the cracks somewhat. He has been publicly chastised by his manager Roberto De Zerbi and finds his future cast into doubt once again ahead of the summer.
Greenwood has gone from being Marseille's dubious new hero to fighting to keep his place at the club in a matter of weeks, as he bids to keep the resurrection of his career on track – but what exactly has gone so wrong?
AFPPapering over the cracks
On the face of it, Greenwood's numbers this season are not to be sniffed at; the ex-Man Utd forward has been involved in 18 goals in Ligue 1 alone, and he sits second in the top-scorer charts with 15 strikes of his own, albeit he is six behind Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele.
He became Marseille's questionable new hero almost immediately as he made a spectacular start to life at Stade Velodrome, scoring five times in his first three games. But while he has continued to mark the scoresheet, his subdued displays in recent weeks have been publicly called into question as those statistics begin to paper over some cracks.
In January, Greenwood even admitted his own level had dropped, saying: "I think I can do a lot better. I started very well and then I slackened off a little bit. I hope to get back to my best level and maintain it."
AdvertisementAFP'Less decisive, less impactful'
So, for the majority of us who are either casual Ligue 1 observers or see Greenwood's contributions from afar and take them at face value, what exactly is going wrong? Speaking to GOAL, journalist and author Fabrice Lamperti explains: "He [Greenwood] is less decisive, less impactful on Marseille's performances. This has been going on for a while.
"It's true that sometimes, individual brilliance has been able to save his matches. For example, against Nantes, where OM won 2-0, Greenwood was involved in the first goal and scored the second through an individual effort with a bit of luck. [But] He wasn’t good at all. He was very quiet throughout the match, except for those two actions that allowed OM to win, almost making people forget that he hadn’t played well.
"Most people remember those moments, but you also have to consider everything he didn’t do until then. This has been a recurring issue."
Lamperti adds: "He simply needs to do more, to get in sync with the team, and to try not to be too individualistic all the time. At the start of the season, he always opted for personal play rather than the team’s collective approach. At one point, he started to change – he began assisting his teammates more towards the end of the year. But lately, he’s reverting to that individualistic style again, and above all, he needs to work harder defensively. More collective effort, more defensive work, and maybe stop focusing only on his stats and goals."
AFPDe Zerbi's big decision
Inevitably, Greenwood has not escaped the wrath of famously-outspoken head coach De Zerbi, who first demanded more of the attacker before dropping him from his starting line-up for the first time all season for the clash with Lens earlier in March.
"I expect more from him. He has to do more, because what he is currently showing is not enough," the fiery Italian said. "If he wants to achieve his ambition of becoming a champion, he has to be more consistent, sacrifice more and be more determined."
However, De Zerbi's words didn't have the desired impact; Greenwood delivered an ineffectual performance off the bench as Marseille were beaten 1-0 by mid-table Lens, with the Englishman torn to shreds by the French press afterwards and reportedly irking his manager with his 'nonchalance', 'attitude' and 'lack of effort'.
That culminated in one of the biggest shocks of the Ligue 1 season so far as De Zerbi left his top scorer on the bench again for at PSG ahead of the international break, pointing to the forward's "physical condition" after he played just 27 minutes of Marseille's damaging 3-1 defeat to their fierce rivals. The result leaves OM clinging onto second place having frittered away a fairly comfortable cushion.
AFPGreenwood's 'misjudgement'
Lamperti, author of , believes that being overlooked for the starting XI for what is always one of the club's biggest games, and arguably the biggest in the French football calendar, could be the shot in the arm that he needs to get his time at Stade Velodrome back on track.
"Being a substitute in , in Paris at the Parc des Princes, must have been quite a shock for him," he tells GOAL. "Everyone thought that for such an important match Roberto De Zerbi wouldn’t leave out his best attacking asset twice in a row. And yet, that’s exactly what happened."
The journalist also believes that Greenwood will now realise that the vociferous and passionate fanbase will never accept players coasting through games, even if he has been Marseille's star player so far this season.
"I think Greenwood has probably realised that he needs to do more," he continued. "Perhaps he also misjudged the context of OM, which is an extremely demanding club where players are always expected to give more."
