Marouane Fellaini | 2013/14 Performances

[sullydnl]

If United had bought the second CM that Moyes wanted then there would not so much focus on him needing to be the answer to all midfield problems. But that's the way it's going to be until January at least.

That's true, the fans are looking for Fellaini to produce something that he's never been capable of producing. If the rest of our midfield was at the required standard Fellaini's signing wouldn't be an issue really. It's the massive contrast between what we need and what Fellaini provides that's really irritating people.

That said, he was the wrong type of player for us to sign anyway, regardless of any doubts over quality. He just doesn't fit in with the other players we have imo. We didn't need steel in midfield, we needed quality.

 

[acnumber9]

The fans aren't expecting him to be the answer to all our problems. They are looking for him to produce anything that actually contributes to the team in a positive way. I don't think that's a lot to ask.

 

[Sultan]

Niall should replace the regular laughing smilie with this classic.

 

[Sam]

I think some of the reactions are over the top.

He was shite, yes. But he was utilised in a way he should never have been for Manchester United. He is a defensive midfielder, an anchor, and should never ever be played anywhere else. It's up to Moyes to cop that.

The problem is, so far, he's shown that he can't tackle, always lets players make runs off him, is slow, and turns like an oil tanker.

And I'm one of the people that thought he WOULD be our defensive minded midfielder.

 

[Sam]

That's true, the fans are looking for Fellaini to produce something that he's never been capable of producing. If the rest of our midfield was at the required standard Fellaini's signing wouldn't be an issue really. It's the massive contrast between what we need and what Fellaini provides that's really irritating people.

That said, he was the wrong type of player for us to sign anyway, regardless of any doubts over quality. He just doesn't fit in with the other players we have imo. We didn't need steel in midfield, we needed quality.

Thats nonsense. No one expects him to be a creative force. We did think he could run and tackle though.

 

[Baxter]

Well if we're further gonna incorporate the three man midfield of tonight, as I suspect we will after the City and Liverpool leasons, there'll be room for an anchor man. Carrick and Cleverely should have been further forward than Fellaini. Moyes will eventually learn that Fellaini is not technically near good enough to play in the final third for us.

He's coached him long enough that he should know this by now. He's shite. He's not worth anywhere what we paid for him, and I agree with the view that if we couldn't get our main targets we should have just kept the £30m and invested it when the right players were available.

 

[LR7]

If United had bought the second CM that Moyes wanted then there would not so much focus on him needing to be the answer to all midfield problems. But that's the way it's going to be until January at least.

Such a ridiculous comment. I don't see how Fellaini's perceived quality is dependent on us buying another midfielder. People would be over the moon if he was effective in breaking up the play, winning the ball back, and making our midfield more 'solid'. Nobody is expecting Fellaini to be creative which us what a second CM would be.

 

[sullydnl]

Thats nonsense. No one expects him to be a creative force. We did think he could run and tackle though.

I think people are going beyond that in their criticism. He's being made a bit of a scapegoat for other flaws in our team. Watch for the rest of the season, this thread will get bumped after every bad result, even if it's lack of creativity that costs us rather than a lack of whatever Fellaini is supposed to provide.

Beyond that, his mobility, positional sense and defensive intelligence weren't a given before we signed him, at least as far as I was concerned. He'll improve but, as I said earlier, these flaws aren't exactly a surprise.

 

[charleysurf]

Such a ridiculous comment. I don't see how Fellaini's perceived quality is dependent on us buying another midfielder. People would be over the moon if he was effective in breaking up the play, winning the ball back, and making our midfield more 'solid'. Nobody is expecting Fellaini to be creative which us what a second CM would be.

But a lot of the criticism is because muppets are upset they didn't get a more technical player, a Carrick alternative. Just look in this thread. If they had that then people would be more patient with Fellani, accepting that he was not bought to be a new Carrick.
Even if he was fully up to speed defensively he'd be getting criticised for not being a Herrera, or whoever the new Iniesta is next month.

 

[alastair]

Fellaini can tackle, but that's not what top teams need really. They need someone who can intercept, start off moves and always be available for a pass.

If you look at Bayern, Martinez does these things. Fellaini just isn't good enough for this standard of football in that position, and to spend £27.5m is quite unreal. It shows an immense lack of understanding about what a team needs to win the top competitions.

 

[bosnian_red]

I'm not really all that surprised by his performances so far. I was completely against him coming and I said back that that I don't think he's any better then Cleverley in center mid, and I thought Cleverley was more suited to us anyway. What I did think though was that he'd be pretty good defensively, which thus far he hasn't really been. Still time for that, but I can't see him being anything better then back up for Carrick, which is very disappointing when you look at how much we spent.

 

[TheReligion]

I'm absolutely amazed to see a player being totally written off after playing no more than a couple of games/minutes at a new club.

Cringeworthy.

 

[charleysurf]

I'm absolutely amazed to see a player being totally written off after playing no more than a couple of games/minutes at a new club.

Cringeworthy.

Ha, he was written off before he even played a game. Thank feck the people who go to games will give a player a month or two!

 

[LR7]

But a lot of the criticism is because muppets are upset they didn't get a more technical player, a Carrick alternative. Just look in this thread. If they had that then people would be more patient with Fellani, accepting that he was not bought to be a new Carrick.
Even if he was fully up to speed defensively he'd be getting criticised for not being a Herrera, or whoever the new Iniesta is next month.

No it isn't. That's what you seem to want to think. If Fellaini was effective in his role in breaking up the play making tackles, interceptions and adding solidity to our midfield he wouldn't be getting criticised. He was decent in the first half against Leverkusen at doing exactly that and duly got praised for it and you can check back in this thread. People were optimistic then, even the ones who weren't originally keen on him. His performances since though have been nothing short of awful and people are rightly pointing that out not wishing he was some creative maestro. I haven't seen one person moaning that he didn't put in enough crosses or through balls or dribbles. It's not what they expected of Fellaini and he isn't being wrongly judged on what a second CM would have offered.

 

[TheReligion]

Ha, he was written off before he even played a game. Thank feck the people who go to games will give a player a month or two!

The new Moyes era is showing up a few bellends I must say.

 

[sullydnl]

Ha, he was written off before he even played a game. Thank feck the people who go to games will give a player a month or two!

Yeah, because fans who go to games are never idiots.

People are writing Fellaini off because they didn't think he was good enough before we signed him. Were they supposed to reset their opinions to zero just because we signed him? Giving him time is right but if he starts off by confirming every doubt you have about him you're hardly going to be happy.

 

[charleysurf]

No it isn't. That's what you seem to want to think. If Fellaini was effective in his role in breaking up the play making tackles, interceptions and adding solidity to our midfield he wouldn't be getting criticised. He was decent in the first half against Leverkusen at doing exactly that and duly got praised for it and you can check back in this thread. People were optimistic then, even the ones who weren't originally keen on him. His performances since though have been nothing short of awful and people are rightly pointing that out not wishing he was some creative maestro. I haven't seen one person moaning that he didn't put in enough crosses or through balls or dribbles. It's not what they expected of Fellaini and he isn't being wrongly judged on what a second CM would have offered.

At what point did I say his performances so far could not be criticized? That he did not need to improve?
Show me.

My point is only for those who have written him off already. Those who say he will never improve. And the pattern with those posters seems to be that they are pissed we did not get Herrera.

 

[charleysurf]

The new Moyes era is showing up a few bellends I must say.

I actually posted on here way back that the only advantage of a wilderness season or two is that it would (eventually) cull the bellends on forums a bit.

 

[LR7]

At what point did I say his performances so far could not be criticized? That he did not need to improve?
Show me.

My point is only for those who have written him off already. Those who say he will never improve. And the pattern with those posters seems to be that they are pissed we did not get Herrera.

In the 'which midfielder should Moyes buy' vote thread, Fellaini was far down the votes. He was very few peoples first choice and as such the majority of this forum will have preferred someone else. He wasn't an unknown quantity. He is a PL proven player and people had watched him play for Everton. Their opinions on him are based on more than a couple of games for us. And if they don't think he is good enough that is fair enough.

 

[charleysurf]

In the 'which midfielder should Moyes buy' vote thread, Fellaini was far down the votes. He was very few peoples first choice and as such the majority of this forum will have preferred someone else. He wasn't an unknown quantity. He is a PL proven player and people had watched him play for Everton. Their opinions on him are based on more than a couple of games for us. And if they don't think he is good enough that is fair enough.

No, having seen all the shit Carrick got, all those opinions saying that Fellani can never be a good player for United carry about as much weight as a Jamie Redknapp sound bite. Players can improve.
Time will tell. Maybe he'll improve, maybe he won't. We will know by the end of the season.
I hope he does. I want any player we have to improve. Because we only have the squad we have. I'm sorry the hipsters don't.

 

[NinjaFletch]

People are going overboard, I think.

Against Leverkusen and today I thought Fellaini's presence on the pitch made a noticeable difference to us as a defensive unit. It was no coincidence that Fellaini going off directly contributed to Shahktar being all over us and scoring.

Yes there's problems with Fellaini that you could have seen coming a mile off, his mobility for example and the fact we paid too much for him. But I think we have to be realistic and drop some of the arrogance and realise that as a player there are situations where he is going to be very useful, I know that a lot of people on this website don't like holding midfielders because Ferguson didn't, but that's what Fellaini can do for us

Moyes and him need to be realistic and recognise his limitations tough, he's never going to make it as a box-to-box midfielder here.

 

[Mister Ed]

Not sure how the Glazers will trust Moyes with their money for the next transfer move based on Felliani's performances so far. Plus the fact that most people try and buy cheaper but not in Felliani's case.

Makes Bebe seem like a snip now at 8 million squids.

Give him some fecking time !

 

[LR7]

No, having seen all the shit Carrick got, all those opinions saying that Fellani can never be a good player for United carry about as much weight as a Jamie Redknapp sound bite. Players can improve.
Time will tell. Maybe he'll improve, maybe he won't.
I hope he does. I want any player we have to improve. Because we have the squad we have. I'm sorry the hipsters don't.

I'm pretty sure every single united fan would be over the moon if Fellaini goes on to become a world beater. Even the ones dishing out the most criticism right now, but they haven't seen anything this far, from his time at Everton or his (short) time with us to make them believe he will ever be a good enough player for us. All people can judge him on is what they've seen from him so far.

You need to realise that those expressing their opinion that they don't think he is good enough and or will ever be, is not the same as not wanting him to improve.

 

[Mister Ed]

He's coached him long enough that he should know this by now. He's shite. He's not worth anywhere what we paid for him, and I agree with the view that if we couldn't get our main targets we should have just kept the £30m and invested it when the right players were available.

He knows more about Fellaini than anyone. He wanted him bad, he paid over the top to get him. Either he is the shitiest coach that ever lived, in which case we are doomed, and Fellaini is the least of our problems, since this is the guy that Fergie has put his trust in to lead us, and which we gave a 6-year deal to do so. Or either you Fellaini slammers are all terribly overexaggerating, and just need to be a bit patient and give him some fecking time to adjust to: the club, the expectations, the playing style, his new teammates and wait with your judgement until he gets into his best form.

 

[charleysurf]

I'm pretty sure every single united fan would be over the moon if Fellaini goes on to become a world beater. Even the ones dishing out the most criticism right now, but they haven't seen anything this far, from his time at Everton or his (short) time with us to make them believe he will ever be a good enough player for us. All people can judge him on is what they've seen from him so far.


You need to realise that those expressing their opinion that they don't think he is good enough and or will ever be, is not the same as not wanting him to improve.

No, those saying they want to vomit when they see him in the lineup ( see the match thread) do not hope he improves. They have have made their mind up. They don't want to give him the chance to improve. They'd probably be delighted if he did his cruciate, or any other reason he could not play.
That's the level of bellend I am referring to. It's a level of shit you don't see on RAWK.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Does anyone else remember that useless pair we signed, vidic and evra I think they were called? They had a terrible first few games for us, good job we judged them quick and got rid.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Does anyone else remember that useless pair we signed, vidic and evra I think they were called? They had a terrible first few games for us, good job we judged them quick and got rid.

Difference being we didn't know much about them two. The majority here had seen plenty of Fellaini before he joined United.

I'm not one for jumping on his back, or getting rid this early, but that comparison doesn't really stand here. You have to consider the vast majority didn't want Fellaini, and he cost a bomb. He's one of our most expensive players ever, that depresses me a little.

 

[lem8sh]

Does anyone else remember that useless pair we signed, vidic and evra I think they were called? They had a terrible first few games for us, good job we judged them quick and got rid.

Ya because they had played in England for years hadn't they.

 

[Sarni]

The issue I have with Fellaini is that I'm not sure at all if there's anything he's particularly good at. I find it hadd to believe that he's going to be a good defensive midfielder due to lack of mobility and generally poor defensive awareness, his movement and technique isn't good enough for an attacking midfielder and his energy isn't sufficient to make him a box to box midfielder.

He's basically a decent player whose limitations prevent him from turning into someone who's actually useful enough for a top club. Hopefully I'm wrong but I think he might struggle to make an impact here long term.

 

[ciderman9000000]

Difference being we didn't know much about them two. The majority here had seen plenty of Fellaini before he joined United.

I'm not one for jumping on his back, or getting rid this early, but that comparison doesn't really stand here. You have to consider the vast majority didn't want Fellaini, and he cost a bomb. He's one of our most expensive players ever, that depresses me a little.

Carrick then.

 

[sullydnl]

Does anyone else remember that useless pair we signed, vidic and evra I think they were called? They had a terrible first few games for us, good job we judged them quick and got rid.

Big difference. Most people hadn't seen enough of Vidic or Evra to have a pre-existing opinion, so criticising them purely on their early United form would've been really stupid. Most of the people criticising Fellaini now did have a pre-existing opinion on him, that he wasn't good enough. They're not making a judgement based on the few games he's played for us, they're making a judgement based on everything they've seen of him over several seasons.

Most of the people who didn't think he was good enough when we signed him said "I hope he proves me wrong". So far he's done nothing to prove them wrong, so why should their opinion have changed?

 

[LR7]

No, those saying they want to vomit when they see him in the lineup ( see the match thread) do not hope he improves. They have have made their mind up. They don't want to give him the chance to improve. They'd probably be delighted if he did his cruciate, or any other reason he could not play.
That's the level of bellend I am referring to. It's a level of shit you don't see on RAWK.

So you're kicking up a fuss over something one poster said.
Most people criticising his performance tonight or suggesting they don't think he is good enough for us don't actually wish he did his cruciate, the might wish we hadn't bought him in the first place though, and that's fair enough. He doesn't have to be everybody's cup of tea.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Carrick then.

Difference being Carrick had a good start to life at United, and a very good first season in which he made the midfield spot his own alongside Scholes.

 

[Sarni]

Carrick then.

I was delighted with Carrick signing in 2006, I didn't think him alone would have been enough to win the league and wanted a defensive midfielder to go with it (preferably Senna with whom we were heavily linked at the time) but I had no doubt that Carrick would improve us.

He basically went on to impress from the very beginning.

 

[Brophs]

Difference being Carrick had a good start to life at United, and a very good first season in which he made the midfield spot his own alongside Scholes.

Well let's see where we are at the end of the season, then. It's only been half a dozen games odd. I've seen much worse players train on and become much better players for big clubs. At the very least let's give him a chance to fail.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Well let's see where we are at the end of the season, then. It's only been half a dozen games odd. I've seen much worse players train on and become much better players for big clubs. At the very least let's give him a chance to fail.

I agree completely. I won't judge him on a few games, I also don't buy into the comparisons with Carrick, Evra and Vidic.

 

[charleysurf]

He basically went on to impress from the very beginning.

No he didn't! At least not to so many knowledgeable posters on here!

Christ, tonight I have found out that Uniteds away games in Europe under Fergie were always full of swashbuckling attacking football, and Carrick was never written off as not United quality by posters on this forum!

 

[Sarni]

No he didn't! At least not to so many knowledgeable posters on here!

Christ, tonight I have found out that Uniteds away games in Europe under Fergie were always full of swashbuckling attacking football, and Carrick was never written off as not United quality by posters on this forum!

We won the league having finished some distance behind Chelsea the season after he joined and went on an amazing run playing some beautiful football during the first few games after his arrival. He was the main man behind our most impressive win that season, possibly the best European performance anyone gave that season. He went through a rough patch a year or two after that season finished but he was basically faultless for the first year or two.

 

[Mickeza]

No he didn't! At least not to so many knowledgeable posters on here!

Christ, tonight I have found out that Uniteds away games in Europe under Fergie were always full of swashbuckling attacking football, and Carrick was never written off as not United quality by posters on this forum!

We also found out in the summer that David Gill was the best Chief Executive in the history of football who never missed out on a player ever.

 

[charleysurf]

We won the league having finished some distance behind Chelsea the season after he joined and went on an amazing run playing some beautiful football during the first few games after his arrival. He was the main man behind our most impressive win that season, possibly the best European performance anyone gave that season.

Go back and look at the posts on here when he was signed and in his early games. Maybe you were a fan of his and gave him a chance. Plenty didn't.
I'm not saying Fellani will become as useful as Carrick. Given that he was introduced to a much better squad than this one it's less likely. 'm just saying it is an example of a player improving over time at United, and we should at least wait some months to see if it happens in this case.

So those who have said they want to vomit when they see him in a United lineup are cnuts, and I stand by that.