Marouane Fellaini | 2013/14 Performances

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Would Moyes have targeted him had he not coached him previously?

Surely, a manager often does like to bring "his players/preferred types" to the fold.

In four years, the club can drop 35m on McCarthy, the guy that replaced Fellaini.
 
I can understand why Moyes went for him. I can also sympathise with the price tag, we were really desperate for a signing, and a midfielder in particular.
Fellaini was brilliant for Everton, he just seems completely out of his depth at United. It was Moyes' first signing so it was always gonna be put under the microscope... Moyes probably would've hoped Fellaini would have been a solid signing. Nothing spectacular, but much needed bite added to our midfield. Unfortunately, he's just not shown himself to be a £10 million player, let alone a £27 million one.
 
Fellaini did alright today - nowt special but hardly deserves the slating he is getting
 
MrMarcello said:
Would Moyes have targeted him had he not coached him previously?

Surely, a manager often does like to bring "his players/preferred types" to the fold.

In four years, the club can drop 35m on McCarthy, the guy that replaced Fellaini.
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That's what the most worrying thing is, the fact Moyes worked with Fellaini for what, 5 years? Every manager makes mistakes in buying players, but Moyes can have no excuse with this one. He knew Fellaini inside out, knew exactly what he was getting, and sanctioned a £27 million pound deal. There's no hiding place on this one.
 
Sell him at the end of the season. It would be better to do that then have him waste years here like Anderson.

Moyes knows Fellaini so why did he sign him? Moyes is showing a distinct lack of judgement.

Under Fergie we were champions. Under Moyes we are disjointed.
 
Sam said:
That's what the most worrying thing is, the fact Moyes worked with Fellaini for what, 5 years? Every manager makes mistakes in buying players, but Moyes can have no excuse with this one. He knew Fellaini inside out, knew exactly what he was getting, and sanctioned a £27 million pound deal. There's no hiding place on this one.
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That's not fair really. You can't blame Moyes for pursuing a player who was his best performer, alongside Baines, for the previous five seasons.
 
How good he was for Moyes at Everton should have been irrelevant I think. Unless he was absolutely ridiculous of course, which he wasn't. They were a top ten club nothing more, never won anything, never played in the Champions League and never even beat any of the top 4 away from home in over 11 years under Moyes. We needed a a high quality, proven central midfielder.
 
Kid Cunto said:
That's not fair really. You can't blame Moyes for pursuing a player who was his best performer, alongside Baines, for the previous five seasons.
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But he played, and excelled, in a completely different role at Everton. He was behind a striker, effectively playing as a target man. Even Silent Witness mentioned that his best attribute there was his ability to bring the ball down out of the air with his chest. If he buys Baines, he's not gonna chuck him upfront and then wonder why he's looking completely lost is he?

Obviously Moyes saw enough in training to believe Fellaini's also good enough to play as a traditional centre mid and is worth an outlay of £27 million, however, both those decisions are looking very very questionable at the moment. The only time he's looked even remotely comfortable for us is when he's been pushed further forward, and had the ball hoofed towards him.
 
More useless than Andy Carroll??? :(

Most who have seen him, would have known he isn't going to fit here. Only desparateness and the need to back Moyes had people even a little optimistic.
 
He's just a very average player, we knew this when we bought him and to make it worse I think the pressure is getting to him as the price tag was silly and he was the only signing we made.
 
In fairness, a hell of a lot of people predicted that Fellaini would be out of his depth in footballing terms, but the counter argument was that he'd stop us being a soft touch - how wrong they were. Is there some sort of hex on United players, performed on them when they come through the door, that turns them into complete and utter fannies? With a few exceptions, we're a proper soft team these days.
 
Thought he could be good, but he's been utterly shit so far. Can only pass to defenders, offers absolutely nothing forward except for a few headers, lose ball constantly, either by shit passing or after being pressed by the opponents, has no sense of positioning whatsoever. Probably the worst United midfielder I've ever seen. And yes that includes Djemba twins :wenger:
 
Every time Rio/Evans got the ball from De Gea, nobody from our midfield drops back a bit to collect the ball and try to build up attack from there. We thought we got a decent defensive midfielder who could sit in front our defence and keep the ball with simple passes. But he's not even doing that.
 
reelworld said:
Every time Rio/Evans got the ball from De Gea, nobody from our midfield drops back a bit to collect the ball and try to build up attack from there. We thought we got a decent defensive midfielder who could sit in front our defence and keep the ball with simple passes. But he's not even doing that.
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That's because both Fellaini and Cleverley hide. The most important job for a midfielder is to provide a passing option for team mates. Even fecking Ando does this.
 
Doesn't pick up runners, gives away posession, doesn't create space, doesn't make himself available, gives away silly fouls. The guy has been utter shite so far. I didn't mind the huge transfer fee because I thought we were getting a dependable player who would do a job. Every time he plays we look like we are playing with 10 men.
Needs to get his head down and work for his place or he'll be labelled as one of United's greatest ever flops.
 
Really needs to pick it up, and he can't exactly have the excuse of needing time to settle in England.

If he doesn't turn it around then I think we should just cut our losses and ask Everton if they'd like him back for a reduced fee. Perhaps as a swap incentive for someone like Barkley or Mirallas.

But really, I hope it doesnt come to that.
 
Fellaini can't possible be out of his depth. He's playing against the same teams, in the same league. And for those who think he only played well as an attacking player, that's just not true. True that people started noticing him more because he was getting goals when played further forward, but he was also very competent in the deeper role. Right now he is nowhere near what he did for Everton, regardless of the type of midfield position.

The problem he's facing is mostly psychological. He has the ability to do well here, but just seems a bit overawed at the moment. He didn't set his transfer fee, so people should stop beating him with that stick. He needs support more than anything else, from the manager, the team and the fans.
 
Fergie's gum said:
Doesn't pick up runners, gives away posession, doesn't create space, doesn't make himself available, gives away silly fouls. The guy has been utter shite so far. I didn't mind the huge transfer fee because I thought we were getting a dependable player who would do a job. Every time he plays we look like we are playing with 10 men.
Needs to get his head down and work for his place or he'll be labelled as one of United's greatest ever flops.
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i also noticed that he runs away from the ball, there was a moment in the first half when Evans wanted to give him the ball and Fellaini just run past him.

Seriously, was of space. makes Ando look like a proper option in midfield.
 
Rood said:
Fellaini did alright today - nowt special but hardly deserves the slating he is getting
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Yeah, thought the same. I never expected too much though with him being partnered by Cleverley, who has been utter pants all season (too). Did his job, needs a more mobile midfielder beside him IMHO.
 
What does he do? He can't tackle without fouling, he lets other midfielders ghost past him, doesn't provide himself as an option for a pass, and when he does get the ball he does absolutely nothing with it. I have defended Fellaini so far and still hope that he'd come good, but I'm seriously doubting it more and more with each passing game. Yesterday was one of his better games, and he was still poor.
 
The positive for me if I had to pick one, was that for the first time we actually looked for him at set pieces.
 
Now I'm telling myself that his performance yesterday is one of many more to come, anything better would surprise me highly and please me a lot. I never expected anything different than what he's produced, I used to feel bad about being linked with him but this is so much worse now to see him play.
 
Sunny Jim said:
The point is - given our need of quality in cm, other options, transfer fee he is one of the worst signings can remember.
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You're judging him very quickly are you not?
Worst signing? Granted he's been average so far, but give the man time to prove himself before you label him with that.
 
Getsme said:
You're judging him very quickly are you not?
Worst signing? Granted he's been average so far, but give the man time to prove himself before you label him with that.
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Fellaini is an established PL player and also an experienced international player, should he really need more time, can he he really be excused for his inept performances?
 
Getsme said:
You're judging him very quickly are you not?
Worst signing? Granted he's been average so far, but give the man time to prove himself before you label him with that.
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Im jugging him on a basis of few seasons in EPL. Im juding on him in comparison to Robbo, Keane, Scholes, Ince. We all know what standards are required in this club and if anybody thinks Fellaini will ever reach that highets is a fecking idiot ( Im not refering to you mate)
 
Nate Dogg said:
Fellaini is an established PL player and also an experienced international player, should he really need more time, can he he really be excused for his inept performances?
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Many big players have made the transition and found it tough. It's a new environment, it's not as easy as people think.

I'm not a fan of the signing but anyone judging him already really doesn't know much about football.
 
fatboy said:
Fellaini can't possible be out of his depth. He's playing against the same teams, in the same league. And for those who think he only played well as an attacking player, that's just not true. True that people started noticing him more because he was getting goals when played further forward, but he was also very competent in the deeper role. Right now he is nowhere near what he did for Everton, regardless of the type of midfield position.

The problem he's facing is mostly psychological. He has the ability to do well here, but just seems a bit overawed at the moment. He didn't set his transfer fee, so people should stop beating him with that stick. He needs support more than anything else, from the manager, the team and the fans.
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Playing for United and playing for Everton are completely different things. The expectations, the pressure, the other teams' approach to the games are all different. Darron Gibson has done pretty well for Everton in central midfield since signing for them and he was woefully out of his depth at United.
 
Eric'sCollar said:
Many big players have made the transition and found it tough. It's a new environment, it's not as easy as people think.

I'm not a fan of the signing but anyone judging him already really doesn't know much about football.
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Yeah but those who doubted the wisdom of signing him were told that he's PL proven and Moyes has known him for years and both are huge advantages. Turns out all that was worth feck all.
 
He's carrying an injury as well, although I have no idea about how much a wrist injury can hamper the ability of a person to play football. I am hoping that is the reason for his initial shiteness for United.
 
fatboy said:
Fellaini can't possible be out of his depth. He's playing against the same teams, in the same league. And for those who think he only played well as an attacking player, that's just not true. True that people started noticing him more because he was getting goals when played further forward, but he was also very competent in the deeper role. Right now he is nowhere near what he did for Everton, regardless of the type of midfield position.

The problem he's facing is mostly psychological. He has the ability to do well here, but just seems a bit overawed at the moment. He didn't set his transfer fee, so people should stop beating him with that stick. He needs support more than anything else, from the manager, the team and the fans.
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The fact that he is overawed like you said, tells you that he's out of his depth (for the moment at least).
 
Fergie's gum said:
Doesn't pick up runners, gives away posession, doesn't create space, doesn't make himself available, gives away silly fouls. The guy has been utter shite so far. I didn't mind the huge transfer fee because I thought we were getting a dependable player who would do a job. Every time he plays we look like we are playing with 10 men.
Needs to get his head down and work for his place or he'll be labelled as one of United's greatest ever flops.
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Just about sums it up really.

Early days but I've been a bit shocked at how far off the pace he's looked.
 
Kid Cunto said:
I can understand why Moyes went for him. I can also sympathise with the price tag, we were really desperate for a signing, and a midfielder in particular.
Fellaini was brilliant for Everton, he just seems completely out of his depth at United. It was Moyes' first signing so it was always gonna be put under the microscope... Moyes probably would've hoped Fellaini would have been a solid signing. Nothing spectacular, but much needed bite added to our midfield. Unfortunately, he's just not shown himself to be a £10 million player, let alone a £27 million one.
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I don't think the Everton fans qualified his stay with them as brilliant.
 
Siorac said:
Yeah but those who doubted the wisdom of signing him were told that he's PL proven and Moyes has known him for years and both are huge advantages. Turns out all that was worth feck all.
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Don't know if you have been told or not but us fans opinions mean feck all. Always have, always will.
 
Sunny Jim said:
Im jugging him on a basis of few seasons in EPL. Im juding on him in comparison to Robbo, Keane, Scholes, Ince. We all know what standards are required in this club and if anybody thinks Fellaini will ever reach that highets is a fecking idiot ( Im not refering to you mate)
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I appreciate that.
However is it fair to judge him against players of that of quality, he's not that type of player and never will be unfortunately. Personally, I think it's fair to judge him on his own ability and what he offers the team, we paid far to much for him, that's not his fault and he can't be held accountable for that what he can be held accountable for is his performances and so far they have been below par.
He frustrated the hell out of me yesterday, however I noticed he was being unfairly penalised during 50/50 challenges, he also looked uncomfortable on the ball, he had the look of a man that hadn't quite figured out his role yet.
I can understand the fans frustrations, however he was never going to be the answer to our midfield problems.
 
As I said when we signed him he'll turn into a backup/squad player that we'll throw on if we are looking for a goal with 10 mins to go - shove him behind the strikers and he'll be quite useful.

His best performances have always been him causing problems with his height. Putting a player whose biggest attribute is his height in an area of the pitch where it is most irrelevant is baffling. May as well put De Gea in central midfield because of his shot stopping ability.
 
Getsme said:
I appreciate that.
However is it fair to judge him against players of that of quality, he's not that type of player and never will be unfortunately. Personally, I think it's fair to judge him on his own ability and what he offers the team, we paid far to much for him, that's not his fault and he can't be held accountable for that what he can be held accountable for is his performances and so far they have been below par.
He frustrated the hell out of me yesterday, however I noticed he was being unfairly penalised during 50/50 challenges, he also looked uncomfortable on the ball, he had the look of a man that hadn't quite figured out his role yet.
I can understand the fans frustrations, however he was never going to be the answer to our midfield problems.
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I agree with you. Refs seem not to like him at all, be it in Europe or in EPL.

All in all reasonable post :)
 
There are only 2 ways to get the best out of Fellaini. Either play a 3 man midfield with him shielding the back 4 or play him behind the striker like Moyes did at Everton. However that won't happen because it would mean shifting Rooney from his best position. I'd rather we keep Wayne happy. Fellaini is not a good enough player for us to reengineer our team. He's not good enough to be starting in midfield for a club of United's stature. He a decent back up option though. I doubt he would have cost 27 mil if he been bought from any other league. There's always a premium for any player who has had couple of decent seasons in England.
 
mic.m said:
There are only 2 ways to get the best out of Fellaini. Either play a 3 man midfield with him shielding the back 4 or play him behind the striker like Moyes did at Everton. However that won't happen because it would mean shifting Rooney from his best position. I'd rather we keep Wayne happy. Fellaini is not a good enough player for us to reengineer our team. He's not good enough to be starting in midfield for a club of United's stature. He a decent back up option though. I doubt he would have cost 27 mil if he been bought from any other league. There's always a premium for any player who has had couple of decent seasons in England.
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If we did play him in a 3 man midfield at least we could play Kagawa there as well and then play RVP, Welbeck and Rooney up top. But we won't do this as United have to play with wingers in a 442
 
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