Lets not forget Shinji.
Marouane Fellaini | 2013/14 Performances
- Thread starter RonaldoVII
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I feel a little sorry for him to be honest, because this hits the nail on the head for me. I mean I'd still happily see him sold, but never nice to see someone's career take such a dive in the space of 12 months. Can't blame him for taking the opportunity when Moyes handed it to him.
Vp is actually talented lol
I hope he goes to Napoli, and that is not because I think he's as terrible a player as he's usually portrayed to be. Yes he has looked out of place a few times over here but he's a pretty useful player if used in the right system that suits him. Sadly that system is not going to played under LvG and there really is no use of him at United. The only position he can play at over here is CM, unless all of Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj are injured, which is something that probably will never happen. More than the position, it is the tactics that need to revolve around him, he's not the greatest with the ball at his feet, not aware enough of the players around him to participate in the fluid stuff we have seen in the tour so far and not threatening enough individually. The only way he's any useful is the way Everton used him, hoofing it up and using his physical presence and good aerial ability. That's not what we have in mind, and not what I hope to see at United, so it is better for all parties involved that he goes to Napoli. I don't watch them enough to say how well he will fit there but they've got Rafa who's never shy of going Route 1. 
Is he gone yet?
Really? Sadly?I hope he goes to Napoli, and that is not because I think he's as terrible a player as he's usually portrayed to be. Yes he has looked out of place a few times over here but he's a pretty useful player if used in the right system that suits him. Sadly that system is not going to played under LvG and there really is no use of him at United. The only position he can play at over here is CM, unless all of Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj are injured, which is something that probably will never happen. More than the position, it is the tactics that need to revolve around him, he's not the greatest with the ball at his feet, not aware enough of the players around him to participate in the fluid stuff we have seen in the tour so far and not threatening enough individually. The only way he's any useful is the way Everton used him, hoofing it up and using his physical presence and good aerial ability. That's not what we have in mind, and not what I hope to see at United, so it is better for all parties involved that he goes to Napoli. I don't watch them enough to say how well he will fit there but they've got Rafa who's never shy of going Route 1.
Sad for Fellaini
Still at the club, and according to the media... It's going to be a loan with us splitting his wages with 50/50, that's not a great deal but neither is keeping him.
Would prefer a cash permanent deal, to get rid of him.. Italien clubs are mad for the loan deals
Would prefer a cash permanent deal, to get rid of him.. Italien clubs are mad for the loan deals
Ah, ok. Yeah, true enough. Happily for us United fans though
Reads like a bit of a non-story really. His leaving would leave us light in deeper midfield options, unless someone was stone-wall coming in I don't think it would be a good idea to get rid of him just yet.
Getting rid of him won't get us a new signing. People think if we sell Fellaini, we'll get Vidal or some other big CM. No we won't. Our midfield signings don't depend on Fellaini.
If we sell Fellaini, thats one less CM on our roster. We're stuck with 2 aging CMs and Cleverley... Besides, This might all be media rubbish and LVG might like Fellaini. He hasn't played under him yet, so why write him off so quickly? Look at Ashley Young. He's rapid in the WB role, who would have ever thought that? Maybe Fellaini would make a decent holding midfielder or even a backup striker if we want to spam crosses into the box. Just BE PATIENT.
If we sell Fellaini, thats one less CM on our roster. We're stuck with 2 aging CMs and Cleverley... Besides, This might all be media rubbish and LVG might like Fellaini. He hasn't played under him yet, so why write him off so quickly? Look at Ashley Young. He's rapid in the WB role, who would have ever thought that? Maybe Fellaini would make a decent holding midfielder or even a backup striker if we want to spam crosses into the box. Just BE PATIENT.
I think it's the other way around. Getting a new signing would be the better option if it were to come to that. I think it would be madness to just get rid of him without having somebody else ready for the squad. Van Gaal has not seen the youngsters that aren't on tour I would assume that he's not going to utilize them just yet.
With Carrick, Fletcher and Fellaini we're still fairly light in the defensive midfield department. Cleverley was asked to do to much defending last year and Herrera isn't a pure out and out DM. His skillset would be better utilized as the utility with less emphasis on getting bogged down with excessive defending.
goldie
If the options were..
a) Sell Fellaini and bring in no one
b) Keep Fellaini and bring in no one
I'd still sell him.
a) Sell Fellaini and bring in no one
b) Keep Fellaini and bring in no one
I'd still sell him.
I agree. He isn't even a central midfielder and I would rather see us recoup some money than have him as 5th choice.
his inability to pass effectively make him an non-option for Van Gaal - i hoped he'd have a good world cup but one very good header aside he looked very limited.
lack of mobility and a passing range of about 10 yards - if Van Gaal turns him around as an effective midfield player in a passing and attacking side I will truly accept Louis as my Lord and Saviour
lack of mobility and a passing range of about 10 yards - if Van Gaal turns him around as an effective midfield player in a passing and attacking side I will truly accept Louis as my Lord and Saviour
Option 1:
Play him as a CM: lacks technique, passing ability, work rate, lacks speed.
Option 2:
Play him as CDM: lacks work rate, makes insane amounts of fouls, sloppy passing, lacks the drive to go forward if far behind
Option 3:
Play him as a 10: Good receiver, bad passing, ruins half the attacks by making fouls, subpar finishing, fantastic heading.
Option 4:
Play him as a striker: YOLO
For me only option 3 is viable, but that also just means that our football level will be send back to the stone age.
Play him as a CM: lacks technique, passing ability, work rate, lacks speed.
Option 2:
Play him as CDM: lacks work rate, makes insane amounts of fouls, sloppy passing, lacks the drive to go forward if far behind
Option 3:
Play him as a 10: Good receiver, bad passing, ruins half the attacks by making fouls, subpar finishing, fantastic heading.
Option 4:
Play him as a striker: YOLO
For me only option 3 is viable, but that also just means that our football level will be send back to the stone age.
I think that is best. You've shot yourself in the foot twice already regarding his ability for Belgium and for Everton and I think that is enough. But I will open a separate dialogue regarding below;
Just on this idea, I agree it was completely rubbish as well. The way Belgium used the ball with their wider players taking players on and interchanging with the forward and with Fellaini was a bizarre one. Fellaini seemed to have no involvement in intricate buildup but when the advantage line was broken he would just rush up the field ready for a cross into the box.
This had to be an instruction from both managers (Moyes and Wilmots). It worries me a little because that is not way to utilize him going forward. If he was told to do that then fine that was him just following orders and doing it on the pitch. If Van Gaal was to remove that mentality for him and focus him on a disciplined technical role then I don't see why he couldn't at least put up a pass mark or exceed that. For all the fans desperate to believe that he is barely even a footballer, I think that we could get some use out of him apart from a more advanced role. That is why the 'can't tackle' statements are just plain wrong. For example Van Gaal comes out tomorrow and says 'No we need Fellaini to stay and fight for his place at United as cover in every midfield position'. Logic would have to dictate that you would look at his defensive ability and see that as viable. Look at his aerial control and deem it useful but look at our system as a backdrop and say 'lets not try and squeeze him into that kind of role' or 'lets not warp our system to fit this in'. The only real logical step is to give him a pure defensive role in deeper midfield and allow the attack to function in front of him and win ball, recycle possession and not really get forward all that much.
This is a role for me that he is capable of playing and playing well, speculatively speaking.
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Why is it wrong?
Surely you can understand why i think hes terrible at it?
I've provided examples in which he's embarrased himself trying to, so your going to have to give a bit more detail as to why you think he can
Sorry im just having a hard time following your logic.
I'm glad he'll no longer be our problem too much longer.
He had the highest success rate for ground duels last season for United and he rarely played in a primary or limited defensive role.
Was this supposed to be the 'examples of him embarrassing himself trying to tackle'?
A single world cup game in which we agreed he was playing a bizarre role. Which you yourself say 'is an extreme example because he was particularly crap that day', then some ludicrous statement about not seeing a clean won tackle in 20 games? I mean come on yourself.
The guy needs to go. He's killing our swag just being in the team. Does.not.fit.in.
I don't think he suits us and it definatley was a mistake to buy him and pay as much as we did and it will the best for him and for us if he is moved on as fast as possible. Yet he is a far better player thanmost on here are giving him credit for (and not just as a number 10), in fact the level of abuse and hate he receives from some on here is truely disgusting and so disrespectfull towards a United player. I really can't imagine any player at this club getting so much stick from our fans for like absolutley no reason at all. Really there are so many worse players (in many different aspects) in our squad that we have kept on for years and shown respect towards than him. The only explanation I can give for it is that people really see him as the shitmark Moyes left on our club or something instead of a United player that deserves support and a minimum of respect. It is like pople have projected all their frustration and hatred that Moyes caused towards Fellaini, if any player embodies the black sheep concept it is this guy and I really feel sorry for him for that.
And those same people were cheering Moyes's fecking name during the whole plane fiasco and after the losses against West Brom, Newcastle, Everton, Swansea etc...
Not really. Numbers wise we're fine. Just the quality isn't there, and as a midfielder he offers us nothing compared to the others. If we signed Vidal, then we'd have 4 back up midfielders, and more then likely 2 of them would never play. There is literally no benefit to having Fellaini in the squad, unless we start hoofing the ball, which we won't.
And with Young, it's because he's in a new position, but technically he isn't that bad of a player. He's got a good touch and pass and is a hard worker so he could fit in, despite us all hating him as a winger. Fellaini has a shit touch, isn't a very good or clever passer, is slow, is poor defensively and is lazy, or at least is always caught ball watching or a few steps behind the play. He'll serve no purpose under Van Gaal other then wasting wages.
You can't say this then not mention why. What we paid for him should have no bearing on judging his performances. Until he's given a solid once-over with the rule by Van Gaal and either stays or goes it can't be deemed as a flat out 'mistake' yet.
Can you please elaborate why he doesn't suit United?
When we sign Vidal we'll cross that bridge. Logic dictates that he will be surplus to requirements and be moved on, that is an acceptable impasse to speculate on. Saying he offers literally nothing to the squad is just ridiculous. I don't get that at all.
Exactly some people on here got a heavy case of the double standards syndrome.And those same people were cheering Moyes's fecking name during the whole plane fiasco and after the losses against West Brom, Newcastle, Everton, Swansea etc...
Fellaini has excellent touch and it's one of his strongest points. I don't know what you're talking about.
Where is this "poor defensively" thing coming from? He has great interceptions and actually fights for the ball.
Of course it's got a bit to do with Moyes, Fellaini is now the embodiment of all that was wrong with Moyes' time here. Zero quality, zero technical skills (oh, sorry, "chesting") and in order to bring the best out of him you need to change from playing actual football to playing route one hoof ball. His short range passing is embarrassingly bad, his long range passing is non-existent, his tackling is clumsy at best and resembles ABH at worst. His heading ability is shocking for a guy of his size and half of the time he's called up for a foul as he led with his elbows anyway.
He has absolutely nothing to offer this club and should be shown the door as soon as possible to go another step towards fixing the mess Moyes created.
You mean fixing the mess Ferguson created.
His touch on his chest is excellent of course, but his touch otherwise is nothing special. It's shit in terms of taking a touch and moving with it though, it's not all about killing a ball. It takes a lot more ability to take a touch and with that first touch put it in a position away from the defender and in a place where he can move right away.
Defensively though he just isn't that great. He fights for it sure, but he's always a few steps behind the play. Positionally he's very poor, always makes him chase backwards because he's caught out of position. It's not all about the numbers he puts up, but he's just not very good and disciplined defensively.
The mess which made United champions 2 times in his last 3 years?
You're on a wum mate.
Yep, left us in a pickle 10 points clear as Champions and our 5th title in 7 years.
The things he is strong in aren't vital to the type of football we'd like to play and the things he is weak in are. That is not to say he couldn't be of good use to another team that likes to play a different kind of football. You want Fellaini to flourish you play him in a 3-man midfield and give him some attacking freedom, you put him in a 2-man midfield and he'll struggle. We generally play with 2 CM that need to be allround, good defensively, good controlling, good passing, contributing to the attack, box to box players, Fellaini lacks the mobility and passing skills but most importantly tactical awareness to effectively play such a difficult role. On top of that his lack of techincal quality makes him to prone to losing the ball to play in such a role (atleast for a club that is playing on top level of european football). Yet he has other qualitys that make him a decent midfielder. His trackrecord of scoring goals and assisting is quite good, his chest controle is the best in the game, he is a fantastic header of the ball, he is physically so strong that he is a handfull for any player that has to duel him and he can bring a good aggressiveness to the game aswell. In no way did we see the best fellaini yet at this club, but if we are going to force him in a role that doesn't suit him in a 2 man midfield we'll just never get the best out of him. I don't think he is a LVG type of player and I don't think he'll make any steps forward by staying here in fact I think he'll regress and I don't think he'll ever be a vital player for us. So best for both parties to nip this in the bud and split ways.
The 'embodiment of the Moyes era' argument is exactly why fans spouting this type of 'Zero technical ability, Zero quality' nonsense over and over should be ignored and moved along. They'll never grasp the concept beyond the usual stereotype responses (in this case, elbows, fouls, awful at football) of a footballer adapting or adjusting his game for benefit. Wayne Rooney has had spells of it for his 10 year stint, Tom Cleverley is a recent victim of it and Ashley Young has had a big dose of it. The fans inability to put aside these lazy and pointless reasons to attack a player gets tiresome very quickly.
The fee, the single Everton season where he played up the park, the chest control, the Moyes era are all just barriers for people to hide behind and take pot shots at him. It's all well and good to take a short sighted stance of 'get rid' and use off-field reasons to justify it but it takes a pretty grim fan to actually want to act on it. I can't imagine what supporting United like that would entail.
If the 'mess' is the midfield then Sir Alex certainly played his part. Regardless of the success (which always seems to be referred to whenever anyone doesn't completely blame Moyes for everything) the midfield was poor.
Moyes just made it even worse... somehow.
Moyes just made it even worse... somehow.
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Fellaini will stay. And he will surprise under a great coach. He could be the new Young.
If we sign another CM then he will go probably. If we don't then i can see him staying.
And he's not completely rubbish either. Doesn't fully fit at United, but can play a squad role and do better under a structured Van Gaal team.
And he's not completely rubbish either. Doesn't fully fit at United, but can play a squad role and do better under a structured Van Gaal team.
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