This time last year I really hated seeing him in the team. I thought he was clueless, cumbersome and completely killed any pace and fluidity in our attack. He really is one of my favourites now. If van Gaal gets things right he will only be a squad player, but there are few squad players that can offer what he can. Brilliant attitude too - one of the few in the team that you can call fiercely competitive. Him and Hernández as super subs is pretty fantastic tbh.
27
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 33
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 6
- Status
Remember when you said he was an excellent midfielder? I am not sure if it was you, but I remember an Everton supporter on here said he was an excellent midfielder, but the season under Moyes where he played that role, he was incredibly poor.
Anyway, I did call him a word similiar to shit, but that was because he was a very very average midfielder and I said he was a better second striker or target men.
Incredibly useful player to have for the last 20 minutes of a game, defensively or attacking.
He's a useful player to have.
Doesn't mean you'd want him in the starting XI week in and week out, but as a squad player he's excellent. You can use him as LVG did today to change the game when you're chasing a goal or looking for a commanding aerial presence. He's also capable of stepping in to the starting XI and putting in a quality shift when required. Technically he's not the greatest, but he is solid at maintaining possession and getting the ball to more creative players.
Doesn't mean you'd want him in the starting XI week in and week out, but as a squad player he's excellent. You can use him as LVG did today to change the game when you're chasing a goal or looking for a commanding aerial presence. He's also capable of stepping in to the starting XI and putting in a quality shift when required. Technically he's not the greatest, but he is solid at maintaining possession and getting the ball to more creative players.
He is a very good midfielder - for Everton he could play in that role as a 2 or a 3 man midfield. At United playing in a 2 man midfield was possibly a step too far for him but he's still been very good for you in a box-to-box role at times. Best suited at United in a 3 man midfield, or as a second striker.
1) Fellaini and Mascherano would probably both get sent off.
2) Against Barcelona I think Louis we'll do a Netherlands vs Spain, set up his team to defend and so use Young as LW, invite them on and then a long ball quickly to get Rooney and Memphis in a 2 v 2 situation with Pedro and Young running up quickly to support. Fellaini would be interesting but it's hard to pass quickly from deep and get it somewhere close to him, it's probably easier to pass it somewhere in all that space.
From what I have seen, I would gladly assert the contrary. The season we played under Moyes, he played in that midfield role and even the likes of Scholes was aghast with some of his performances and why he was not played as a second striker. In a three man midfield at the tip of the three, he will be great as he can be a bully in our midfield aswell(e.g. suffoco), but as a natural central midfield or holding midfielder, he is average and I can not see that changing as his footballing attributes holds him back from excelling in that role.
He barely had to move when that cross came in it was that good 
.
.I agree with this. He was decent in a 3 man midfield at times last season.
Another important goal that he has scored. I have a feeling that (despite the red card) van Gaal has a lot of trust in Fellaini to do the job he asks. Moreso than some other players in the squad.
I thought that last season he was excellent in a 3-man midfield alongside Herrera, with a dedicated holding player behind him.
Guy has been setting the place on fire and the haters come out with "well... he's still a crap midfielder". He had some good games in midfield last season as well. Even for Everton he regularly played well in the middle of the park.
It doesn't matter for us since we have really good midfielders, but people will do anything on here to discredit the big man.
It doesn't matter for us since we have really good midfielders, but people will do anything on here to discredit the big man.
Some people do not want to hear the truth, I understand. The fact is that Fellaini best performances has come from him playing as a number ten in a tip of a midfield three or second striker since his Everton days. If you can give me fact that showed he was better as a midfielder not as a 10 or a second striker, I would gladly admit that I was wrong which rarely happens.
I do not want to be a party pooper, but I have to defend my integrity since I clarified that he was average before. I am just glad Van Gaal figured out how to use him properly, which is ironic since Moyes knows him best and failed to use him properly.
The best player in the world at what he does. If we use him the right way, no team in Europe would be able to handle him.
OK...
Figures. So appropriate.I was waiting for the influx of "xxx has tagged you" alerts as soon as I saw it go in.
Just gone and poured myself another Pina Colada to celebrate
Something has gone terribly wrong if this is the case more often than not. Still, nice to see the big man score.
Well you say yourself that his best performaces came playing in a midfield 3 so I dont really understand this comment? He has actually very rarely started any games as second striker for us, he has ended up further upfront at times when we have been chasing games but the games he started last season were virtually always as a midfielder, albeit an attacking one.
Using him up front feels like the sort of cheap exploit you find in FIFA. It's jammy as hell, but it fecking works.
i cry everytime he scores a goal.
He's a "last 20 mns" player to me.Ha!, actually you could be right, great guy to have on the bench to change things.i cry everytime he scores a goal.
How is it 'jammy'?
I didn't have an issue with constructive criticism as much as with the continuous attacks by some people even after good displays by him. If a player, any player for that matter, is playing well, then let him roll. His first year with us wasn't good and I don't think that there is much debate about that. But, how many players had a good season under Moyes? I mean, heck, we finished 7th in the table. For some, he was an easy target, and for others he seemed as a symptom of the bad Moyes' reign at Old Trafford.
But, he progressed and showed what a true professional player should do: work hard and wait for your opportunity, which he did since the WBA game last season. What's truly amazing about him though is that his goals are always important. I actually can't remember a goal of him where I said "well, the game is over any way". He is always there when you need him. I'm also encouraged by the fact that, as with WBA last season, he didn't need much time today to get going-- played 10 good minutes and scored a goal. The defense seems to panic when he is around and that is really a weapon that we should be utilizing throughout the season. How many teams can play with the likes of Rooney and Hernandez up front, on one hand, and with a fellow like Fellaini, on the other? The flexibility that he brings to our attack is priceless!
I guess the question moving forward will be how and when to use him. Well, if we qualify to the UCL and don't lose so early in the cups , then we will have more games to play this season. With 50+ games, we can offer him enough chances in the starting lineup and as a sub.
Maybe jammy isn't the right word, but swinging crosses in at a player like Fellaini will always feel like a cheaper way to get goals and to win games for someone like me, who prefers turning defences dizzy with good attacking play, quick passes and skill.
Not that I'm complaining. I went primal when that third goal went in today. Such an important goal to have before the away leg.
As of right now, would have him over Rooney and I don't like Fellaini at all.
Would rather see someone up there making their presence known, able to hold off a man and bring others into a game. And if Memphis can launch whipped crosses like that, Fellaini will actually score goals too.
Sure he's no striker, but the captain barely looks like a footballer at the moment.
Would rather see someone up there making their presence known, able to hold off a man and bring others into a game. And if Memphis can launch whipped crosses like that, Fellaini will actually score goals too.
Sure he's no striker, but the captain barely looks like a footballer at the moment.
I said the tip of a midfield three which can basically be seen as the number ten or second striker. E.g.
Holding
Box to box - number 10(tip of the midfield three)
Or
Holding - box to box
Number 10(tip of midfield )
Box to box - number 10(tip of the midfield three)
Or
Holding - box to box
Number 10(tip of midfield )
Defending it was shaped as a three, but attacking he was the targetman(second striker) or forward destroyer as this article describe.
http://thefalse9.com/2015/03/fellaini-revels-in-his-new-forward-destroyer-role.html
He started the mass majority of our game in that forward destroyer role under Van Gaal, whereas under Moyes he started much deeper where his performance was not as good.
Deserves to be here.
Good sub performance. 10 minutes and 2-3 decent chances, one converted.
I agree with this. He mostly played in an attacking position, not as a second striker.
His position changed a lot between and within games. For example, against West Ham, we pushed him up front while chasing the equaliser. In the 2nd game Liverpool, he drifted a lot backwards and defended virtually every set piece they had towards the end of the game. In the first Liverpool game, he played in a defensive position (a la Carick). In our big win against City, he played in the left wing in an attacking position in the Young-Blind-Fellaini triangle. It's actually hard to think about a player who played in multiple positions as he did last season.
What was his seven fingers celebration all about?
Well I dont agree with that statement in the first place, being part of a midfield 3 is not the same role as second striker (I prefer to avoid the term 'number 10' as it means different things in different formations). Check the average position charts from last season and most of the time there were 3 players (usually Young, Mata and Rooney) further forward than Fellaini, and Fellaini was often in line with Herrera, that is why to me it was very much a midfield role and not a second striker at all.
Later in the season we rarely set up like your 2nd formation anyway, it was virtually always the former with 1 holiding player and then 2 more midfielders in front of him and those 2 had both attacking and defensive responsibilities. This season is different as LvG has decided to play with 2 more defensive midfielders and then 4 attacking players including a second striker
True indeed, in fact players under LvG often shift around even within games as he has different set ups depending on whether we or the opposition have the ball. People remember Fellaini being around the box so they decide he was playing off the striker, when in reality it is not that simple and he is often covering a lot more of the pitch and putting in a defensive shift when needed.
Being part of the midfield three can mean you can be part of the forward role. If you are are familiar with the term suffoco, that is basically a second striker who joins the midfield while defending to add number in midfield. As I already stated that is what Fellaini does at the tip of the midfield and that was the role he played most of the time for Van Gaal last season, which is why his performance was noteworthy.
If you believe he is a better midfielder than he is a second striker or number 10, then your opinion is that similiar to Moyes who came to that same conclusion and made Fellaini look like a comedy show during his tenure.
Used tonight exactly how I think we should always use him, great hail Mary option, his lay-off and run to get into position was very good.
Put him on top with Pedro, Memphis and Mata behind him and let Schweini play those long balls to him all day long. He will chest it, head it, to anyone around him!!
Love his attitude, he really looks like a player who does not want to get sidelined regardless of big name signing we do. Plus it is just the start of the season. If we get into CL, he will get more playing time in cup competitions.
Love his attitude, he really looks like a player who does not want to get sidelined regardless of big name signing we do. Plus it is just the start of the season. If we get into CL, he will get more playing time in cup competitions.
That's the thing that I noticed the most. I think he clearly loves being a United player -- wouldn't surprise me of he was a supporter as a kid.
Not the most elegant player we have ever had to grace OT but you can't fault his efforts. Gary Neville of the Afro world.
He has grown on me.
Those who slated him before last season were made to reluctantly eat their words. Even before this season starrted, those same fools went to slating him again, I guess in a hopeless attempt to convince themselves that they were right afterall. Guess again, you were wrong, Fellaini IS United quality. GTFI.
I've said before that I think he should be played as a target man. I believe that even more now that we've got a functioning midfield.
Fellaini has a good touch and good technique, but slow feet and a lack of vision. The only position that makes sense for him is one in which he plays with his back to goal and lays off simple passes. We wouldn't necessarily need to play high balls to him, either. His upper body strength is good enough for him to hold the ball up for the likes of Depay, Mata and (possibly) Pedro to make runs past him. The passes would be relatively easy that high up the pitch. He could be brilliant.
Even if we're only playing one up front, I still think we'll need at least 3 strikers. That's always the way international squads have been picked. Rooney, Fellaini and Hernandez should be our 3.
Fellaini has a good touch and good technique, but slow feet and a lack of vision. The only position that makes sense for him is one in which he plays with his back to goal and lays off simple passes. We wouldn't necessarily need to play high balls to him, either. His upper body strength is good enough for him to hold the ball up for the likes of Depay, Mata and (possibly) Pedro to make runs past him. The passes would be relatively easy that high up the pitch. He could be brilliant.
Even if we're only playing one up front, I still think we'll need at least 3 strikers. That's always the way international squads have been picked. Rooney, Fellaini and Hernandez should be our 3.
Must have been a reference to 'Karl Pilkington sees the seven wonders of the world', or an Idiot Abroad which they named it, him being a Manc and all that. Probably his fave tv show.
He can be our false 9 but he offers something that is very unique in football.
- Status