Why we didn't go for McCarthy as a cheaper, superior alternative will always baffle me.
Marouane Fellaini | 2013/14 Performances
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
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Fellaini was booked, so retrospective punishment is impossible.
ah yes, sorry Zabaleta.
it'll be interesting to see how he does in the WC.
has anyone yet answered that question about how he does for Belgium?
has anyone yet answered that question about how he does for Belgium?
I keep saying we won't get the best of Fellaini, especially against opposition that move the ball so quickly, playing him as a box to box midfielder.
On the ball, he just isn't the type of player who will play a massive part of our build up play to be a box to box midfielder, unless it's against team who play deep. His positioning as a number 8 somewhat baffles me at times too. Yesterday, more often than not, he found himself on the wing, leaving Carrick in the middle on his own, and very little players to pass to. I doubt this was a tactic too because he's done this in more than once this seaosn.
As a defensive midfielder, the position I feel we'll get the best out of him, his job will be to sit in front of the back four and distribute it foward, which is something he can do.
I just feel when he's got the responsibility of being our most advanced midfielder, he panics in possession and finds it hard to get back, especially against teams who are good on the counter. This won't happen if we play him as our deepest midfielder.
People may think I'm trying to justify Fellaini's average performances, although I feel he's been good since he's come back from injury, despite them being against lesser opposition. However, we got him for 27M so surely we have to try and get players with the right attributes to get the best out of Fellaini, otherwise it'll be 27M down the drain.
Personally, I feel if we get someone like Gundogan or Rakitic - players who are quick across the ground, dribble with the ball and dictate the pace of the game, just like Toure did for City yesterday, it would improve us vastly.
That said, like Gary Neville said yesterday, we need to address a few more issues before we just make loads of signings and expect it to all come into place.
On the ball, he just isn't the type of player who will play a massive part of our build up play to be a box to box midfielder, unless it's against team who play deep. His positioning as a number 8 somewhat baffles me at times too. Yesterday, more often than not, he found himself on the wing, leaving Carrick in the middle on his own, and very little players to pass to. I doubt this was a tactic too because he's done this in more than once this seaosn.
As a defensive midfielder, the position I feel we'll get the best out of him, his job will be to sit in front of the back four and distribute it foward, which is something he can do.
I just feel when he's got the responsibility of being our most advanced midfielder, he panics in possession and finds it hard to get back, especially against teams who are good on the counter. This won't happen if we play him as our deepest midfielder.
People may think I'm trying to justify Fellaini's average performances, although I feel he's been good since he's come back from injury, despite them being against lesser opposition. However, we got him for 27M so surely we have to try and get players with the right attributes to get the best out of Fellaini, otherwise it'll be 27M down the drain.
Personally, I feel if we get someone like Gundogan or Rakitic - players who are quick across the ground, dribble with the ball and dictate the pace of the game, just like Toure did for City yesterday, it would improve us vastly.
That said, like Gary Neville said yesterday, we need to address a few more issues before we just make loads of signings and expect it to all come into place.
I'd probably include Januzaj in that group, but the point stands. Hopefully Fellaini will come good (but not too optimistic about it.)
He became the darling of the transfer forum after his Duncan Ferguson-like performance against United last season. To be fair a tiny minority did point out he was a donkey... But there you go...
He is just not the right player for a 2-men midfield; so he always has to play out of position. He excels, when he plays has a free role in a 3-5 men midfield. He is lacking defensive consistency to play as 6 and he is not a playmaker, so he cant play the other part in a 2 player midfield. He is the midfield version of Rooney (obviously worse) and since you already have Rooney and Mata, he´ll never play in his best position. I dont know if he can adapt, but it surely will take time and its pretty hard to get used to a new role in a new club, when everybody around is struggling. Thats why I really dont like the the scapegoating. There are plenty of experienced players around him who should lead. Rio, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, RvP, (Mata) should be the leaders of this team, but they are all nonperforming/injured/bitching/moaning.
I am not happy that United bought him and I am not sure if he has the quality for United, but its certainly not his fault, that Manchester plays terrible and the alternative - Cleverly - is just terrible and doesnt have any excuses.
I am not happy that United bought him and I am not sure if he has the quality for United, but its certainly not his fault, that Manchester plays terrible and the alternative - Cleverly - is just terrible and doesnt have any excuses.
Come on now Fellaini
http://www.teamtalk.com/manchester-...aims-clash-with-Pablo-Zabalata-was-accidental
http://www.teamtalk.com/manchester-...aims-clash-with-Pablo-Zabalata-was-accidental
There's a box in a Daily Mail article comparing City's team to ours player for player based on what we paid for them. The fact that Fellaini cost more than Toure just hit me like a train. I think a lot of the criticism he gets on here is quite unfair but you cant escape the fact we need someone with considerably more quality in that position.
How much of a loss would you take on him if we decided to sell him this summer a la Liverpool and Robbie Keane? £10m at most for me. If we got a bid for £17m, I'd bite their hand off.
Im not in a hurry to ship him out to be honest. £17m might be an interesting offer but 1) it is almost unthinkable that he will go unless Moyes does and 2) he isnt exactly the solution to our midfield woes but neither is he by any stretch of the imagination our worst midfielder. Id keep him around but sign better players so he wasnt first choice.
Disgusting fans, support our own players for gods sake. He lashed out with his arm who gives a ****. Suarez bit a player at the start of the year as well as racially abused a player the year before, he dives every single week, liverpool fans still support him. He's our player lets try be better fans not spoiled brats who say he's not good enough for our holy club
We shouldn't be stooping to Liverpool standards.
It was a blatant elbow but there's no need to lambast him to such extents. People here were cheering when Evans gave Drogba the kungfu kick, and laughing when Scholes chopped down another player. Fellaini might be a bad player in the eyes of many but support your own player ffs.
Aye, people are very selective. If Januzaj had karate chopped someone in the windpipe his thread would be full of comments about how yer man had it coming.
Whatever we paid for him is meaningless- it's a sunk cost. If he doesn't have a place in the squad then flog him off to the highest bidder, regardless of what they offer.
He elbowed someone in the last game too and has done so on many, many occasions. It's nothing like Evans and much more cowardly and detestable than the sort of stuff Scholes did, IMO.
I agree with this. Fellaini is not the kind of player I like to support.
That's only because of how you think about Scholes.
I'm sure 99% of footballers would prefer to get clipped by a flailing elbow than taken out at the knees by a wild lunge with the ball long gone. In terms of lasting damage and risk to their career, the latter is far more dangerous.
I don't remember Scholes ever going in high. He went in hard and late often, but I don't remember him ever putting in one of those potential leg-breakers.
"Taken out at the knees" was probably an over the top turn of phrase. He definitely risked doing them lasting damage though. Even scything through someone's ankles can end a career.
If I relied on my career as a footballer to provide for my wife and kids, I'd far rather get an elbow in the chops than be on the receiving end of something like this.
I seriously doubt people were using words like "cowardly" and "detestable" on here at the time. More likely to be
smilies and comments about "good old Scholesy"I know Fellaini's notorious for using his elbows when he was at Everton, but he has cut down on those considerably ever since joining us. People here should just give the lad a chance instead of using that incident to support their case of shipping him out. He's not even reached 20 games for us for christ sake.
Scholes once tried to punch Xabi Alonso and tried to volleyball a goal against Zenit. Imagine if Fellaini did something similar.
"Taken out at the knees" was probably an over the top turn of phrase. He definitely risked doing them lasting damage though. Even scything through someone's ankles can end a career.
If I relied on my career as a footballer to provide for my wife and kids, I'd far rather get an elbow in the chops than be on the receiving end of something like this.
I seriously doubt people were using words like "cowardly" and "detestable" on here at the time. More likely to be
Not for me. That is the kind of challenge that happens in football and that I think most footballers accept - so long as you're not going in two-footed or over the ball.
Elbowing people in the face is not something I like to see.
What...that was as bad a leg breaker as you'll ever see. It's much more vicious, unneccesary and damaging than any elbow.
That can be turned around to, "he has not even played 20 games for us and yet has already done it 2-3 times."
But I agree, if that had been Scholes people would not have made such a big deal of it. Him being a useless, lazy lump for whom we paid 27.5 million pounds is what irritates people more than his elbowing, I feel.
What about Giggs shagging his sister-in-law?
You have to be kidding me. Look at the first replay. Look at the angle Reyes foot is bent at. Scholes didn't event pretend to play the ball either. A horrible challenge that would make any footballer (professional or otherwise) absolutely livid. In some of the leagues I played in Scholes would have got a smack in the mouth after (if not during!) the game for doing that.
I guess the argument would be a late tackle can always be defended as "clumsy" whereas it is harder to see an elbow as anything other than malicious.
Yes and no. Scholes made enough "clumsy" tackles over the years to remove any doubt that they were all accidental. He was a dirty little sod and we loved him for it.
If Fellaini can spray 40 yard passes and score volleys like Scholes, he can go and try to punch the Queen for all I care!
Yes Scholes was obviously malicious. But still, when looking at any one tackle in isolation, you could never be sure. They dont look as obviously malicious as an elbow.
I agree with you though, Im playing Devil's Advocate really, it is double standards.
I agree with you though, Im playing Devil's Advocate really, it is double standards.
If Fellaini can spray 40 yard passes and score volleys like Scholes, he can go and try to punch the Queen for all I care!
Well that's I guess the point. If Fellaini was actually a good player we would be more willing to overlook his nastiness.
I completely agree with that. That's what I said earlier. If that elbow had been by De Gea, no one would have been complaining. People would be saying that he is finally learning to give it back.
EDIT: I was not even bothered that he elbowed Zabaleta. That led to us giving away a silly foul when we were close to their box is what got on my tits.
I'm not even that bothered about the passes and volleys once he punches the Queen, tbh.If Fellaini can spray 40 yard passes and score volleys like Scholes, he can go and try to punch the Queen for all I care!
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I might use a different word to 'hate' but I essentially agree with the sentiment of this post.
"Taken out at the knees" was probably an over the top turn of phrase. He definitely risked doing them lasting damage though. Even scything through someone's ankles can end a career.
If I relied on my career as a footballer to provide for my wife and kids, I'd far rather get an elbow in the chops than be on the receiving end of something like this.
I seriously doubt people were using words like "cowardly" and "detestable" on here at the time. More likely to be
They'll shrug it off much more easily given it was Scholes but I think the majority of people would say that's a terrible challenge and not something they enjoyed seeing. I agree with your overall point to an extent but I do think consistent elbowing is something no football fan appreciates seeing no matter who the player is.
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