His lack of mobility is just ridiculous. If he goes up the pitch, not only does Carrick get back faster, so do Rooney and Welbeck, then a long pause before Fellaini finally appears in the picture. After a woeful first half, he was much better in the 2nd, though you do have to wonder about his game intelligence when they scored; surely he has to see the danger?
Marouane Fellaini | 2013/14 Performances
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Look at Carrick's passes though. All of his failed passes were long balls to get the pressure off or attempts to start a counter.
That's based on tonight? Bizarre. He was acceptable in the first half, effective in the second. Poor for goal but not the only one. Fair enough if we don't want this guy to succeed.
Poor here.
Maybe it's the camera angle, but he looks to be running towards Mandzukic and the ball, as opposed to tracking Schweinsteiger, which is unbelievably stupid
To be fair, poor though I thought he was, he did improve in the second half.
Frustrating player. Always seems to react to things that little bit too late.
Doesn't deserve a place in the team for the game in Munich, though Moyes may well pick him for tactical reasons (i.e. his ability to push forward for long balls).
In a purely DM role I'd prefer Jones in any big game.
Frustrating player. Always seems to react to things that little bit too late.
Doesn't deserve a place in the team for the game in Munich, though Moyes may well pick him for tactical reasons (i.e. his ability to push forward for long balls).
In a purely DM role I'd prefer Jones in any big game.
I hate his nonchalance - I don't know whether it's psychological, or whether it's the sheer strain of having the strangest body known to man, but he never seems to run.
Yes, people pointing out that he was crap on the internet is going to prevent him from succeeding. He was terrible tonight, just as he was against City and Liverpool. Should we lower our standards so he's able to meet them? It seems quite a few have already.
in some way i thought he did just enough to close the bayern midfielders when they got the ball. what he was doing when we or he has the ball however...
poor marking for the goal though...
poor marking for the goal though...
I can't remember all his passes but I don't think Carrick had a great game in possession either. But yeah, I agree he's a better passer than Fellaini - it's why I highlighted Carrick specifically, as Fellaini can't have been too poor on the ball if he's more accurate than a passer like Carrick.
Bayern pressed so hard in the first half particularly that it was hard for all our players when they received the ball. They were all giving it away to some extent, Fellaini less so than most. I don't think he played well today, but he's proven to be a decent passer since his return from injury - a lot better than some give him credit for. He's actually pretty progressive with his passing usually.
Poor here.
Jones and Ferdinand are clearly more at fault there.
Maybe if he had been closely to begin with but where he came from was right inside channel.
The passing stat proves just how blind and agenda driven some posters are in here.
Way too slow to everything! He was not that bad however he really is a number 10 
He has shown improved form recently against mediocre opposition (Villa and West Ham) but he was found out again today against more classy opponents. He is a decent player who is improving but I find it very hard to believe that he is the man to lift our midfield anywhere close to City's or Bayern's level. I just can't see it.
Ferdinand's 50 million years old ffs, we've just signed Fellaini to answer our midfield woes
Cool story bro
I thought he had a poor game and should've been dubbed. Someone like Cleverley would have been better in that game I reckon.
Don't think he was hugely at fault for their goal - if you watch the replay he was only just back around the area when the ball came to Schweinsteiger. Wasn't like he had been dawdling there for 5 mins and then let Schweinsteiger go.
Don't think he was hugely at fault for their goal - if you watch the replay he was only just back around the area when the ball came to Schweinsteiger. Wasn't like he had been dawdling there for 5 mins and then let Schweinsteiger go.
Ok. Again, I'm watching a totally different game. Thought in the second half he was pretty tidy in possession and was a genuine presence in the middle. Marching to the beat of a different drum again.
Nope, he was the trailing player. He was Fellaini's man.
Because he can't. We signed a player who cannot run basically.
Anybody who though that Fellaini would be enough for us to compete against the likes if City, Bayern is mad.
He's an awkward presence in midfield, gets stuck in and provides steel. He had something we've lacked in recent years in my opinion.
But he isn't a superstar ball player. We need at least one midfield player who can dictate the tempo of a game and link defence and attack - like Scholes used to.
Fellaini can't and never could have done that job. Carrick is a better candidate but is found wanting at the highest level.
Fellaini will be a useful player, but we need far more than that and have done for some time.
Useful for what exactly? He doesn't dictate the tempo and he doesn't score goals.
He should have made more of an effort for the goal but he's not the only one at fault, he was way up the pitch and another player backed away leaving that space uncovered.
Honestly thought he did okay today, lost the ball a few too many times but no surprise considering the opposition. Im sure he'll improve with a preseason
Like many before him he gets overslated due to some not rating him.
Honestly thought he did okay today, lost the ball a few too many times but no surprise considering the opposition. Im sure he'll improve with a preseason
Like many before him he gets overslated due to some not rating him.
Makes for some depressing reading. Many actually think he's class.
Yes, Defenders should do their job first and foremost, Ferdinand gave up and was positioned shockingly and Jones was far to slow to front up the oncoming attacker. Basic defensive stuff.
Fellani could have tracked no doubt, but he was coming back from midfield way out of position, Jones should have seen the danger and closed it down.
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I thought he was ok tbh, yeah hes not Zidane i think we know that but he did enough. his recent performances have been very commanding (against West ham, Villa etc) hes improving in the league but lets remember hes never really played in the CL before especially against opponents like Bayern.
Think that's unfair, a lot of the people criticizing him tonight are among those who'd normally hold back. Saw a lot of the journalists who were covering us tonight point out how poor he was too, as well as a fair few neutrals. Not everything is down to bias, sometimes a player is just poor.
He "adds steel", "is an aerial presence" and is a "tidy passer" (read: very limited range of passing and ambition).
In my opinion, he's shite.
I was happy enough when we signed him. I was wrong.
I was happy enough when we signed him. I was wrong.
He wasn't as terrible as people are making out. Yeah he had a bad game, he was noticeably and frustratingly poor in the first half but I thought he picked it up in the second half.
Did anyone see the time he attempted to run with the ball and simply lost control with every touch til it went out of play? Towards the end of the game. It was embarrassing. This is why we need someone like Carvalho
Many here? Really?
These are some of the worst teams in the league, and he wasn't commanding in any of them. Fletcher was better than him against West Ham for one. Do you remember the complete lack of building from midfield in the first half at Villa? He was fairly good against Crystal Palace etc but is proving a liability against any half decent side.
He should be bringing long balls down on his chest at Upton Park every other weekend. I seriously despise the fact that he plays for us.
Nah, nearly everyone accepts how limited he is.
People are just so used to defending him from unfair criticism that they've fallen into the trap of defending him from some fair criticism tonight. He was indeed out of his depth.
I dont agree with that at all im afraid, away at West ham i thought he was great and looked like a dominant force in the middle. He continually won the ball both in the air and on the ground and helped some of our better players (Mata, Kagawa, Rooney) get the ball in dangerous areas. Palace he was also very good indeed and did well. Ill hold my hands up i didnt see the whole of the Villa game as i had a match of my own on Saturday so shouldnt have included that in the list but bar the City and Liverpool games (Where everyone was awful) hes been improving rapidly.
He was his man. He must track back.
Very well then. Moyes is forcing him down our throat. Fletcher would've been much better in possession.
I have been willing to give Fellaini time but I think tonight showed he isn't cut out for football at the highest level. I think he can do a job for us in the PL and is a handy option but if he is a squad player we haven't half paid a lot for him.
He improved tonight after the first goal though, but his constant giving away of possession was annoying.
He improved tonight after the first goal though, but his constant giving away of possession was annoying.
To be honest, at the moment, I just don't think he has the mentality to play for Manchester United. He seems like a player who is nervous to be playing at Old Trafford in a United shirt, and in-turn, doesn't really look confident in anything he does.
When he's got time and space, he's fine... in the second half, Bayern (bizarrely) let him just bring down DDG's long punts, which is his natural game and something he could probably do in his sleep - fine... but when he's put under a bit of pressure, or he's challenged by the opposition, that little bit of panic seems to set in, and he just doesn't look strong, composed or confident in the slightest. This was exemplified by the occassions where he seemed to refrain from challenging for balls in the air - or just not challenging strongly enough in general. There was a cross in the second half from our left hand side that went to the back-post, where Fellaini was lurking, and - even though he had a bit of a run on I think Alaba - he didn't put in any meaningful challenge whatsoever to try win that header and score a goal.
Counter this with Vidic, who has such a maniacal desire to win the ball, and confidence in his ability to do so - that he rarely loses a header in the air.
I remember watching Fellaini come to Old Trafford with Everton and bully our players up and down the pitch... that bully is nowhere to be found at the moment.
When he's got time and space, he's fine... in the second half, Bayern (bizarrely) let him just bring down DDG's long punts, which is his natural game and something he could probably do in his sleep - fine... but when he's put under a bit of pressure, or he's challenged by the opposition, that little bit of panic seems to set in, and he just doesn't look strong, composed or confident in the slightest. This was exemplified by the occassions where he seemed to refrain from challenging for balls in the air - or just not challenging strongly enough in general. There was a cross in the second half from our left hand side that went to the back-post, where Fellaini was lurking, and - even though he had a bit of a run on I think Alaba - he didn't put in any meaningful challenge whatsoever to try win that header and score a goal.
Counter this with Vidic, who has such a maniacal desire to win the ball, and confidence in his ability to do so - that he rarely loses a header in the air.
I remember watching Fellaini come to Old Trafford with Everton and bully our players up and down the pitch... that bully is nowhere to be found at the moment.
Yeah, Fletcher would probably have performed better but Moyes was obviously looking for Fellaini to push forward at times as an aerial threat. Fellaini didn't do it particularly well but that's something Fletcher or Jones wouldn't be able to provide at all. So, considering what he wanted tactically, I can see why Moyes picked him. Fellaini just didn't do that job well enough imo.
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