We Miss Fellaini

[Roboc7]

Fellaini and Young make a good and dangerous partnership. I say give it a go. Rooney needs to be dropped if his poor form persists imo.

They are a good partnership and if our ambition is to finish fourth we could do a lot worse but neither are good enough to get enough goals and assists to turn us into title contenders.

In fairness the same may go for our attacking players but we have try and aim higher than fellaini and young, playing the ball to fellaini, feeding the wide players and crossing it in won't work week in week out. It's what you do when you arent good enough to do anything better and last season we weren't good enough to make anything else work.

Also worst pointing out that he doesn't dominate all midfielders, coquelien for instance had no problem dealing with him, neither did Everton who bullied him in fact. Put an opponent against fellaini who isn't up for the battle and and he will be unplayable but that will only happen a few times a season. There are plenty of players who are up for dealing with him and they will have a fairly good chance of stopping and limiting his impact.

 

[NK86]

I think it's you that's having a laugh if you can't remember Carrick getting injured against City, meaning, no, we didn't have the same midfield after the City match. Carrick was, and still is, a major part to how we played when we went through that good spell last season.

So basically it was Carrick who was so pivotal and that his absence alone caused our form to go pear shaped. Then what is the point of putting that statement in the Fellaini thread because he sure as heck did not provide guile or scoring ability to our team seeing how poor we were in terms of creativity and didn't provide much steel either seeing that we were bullied by Everton and to some extent West Brom in 2 out of the next three games.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

So basically it was Carrick who was so pivotal and that his absence alone caused our form to go pear shaped. Then what is the point of putting that statement in the Fellaini thread because he sure as heck did not provide guile or scoring ability to our team seeing how poor we were in terms of creativity and didn't provide much steel either seeing that we were bullied by Everton and to some extent West Brom in 2 out of the next three games.

Carrick was pivotal, but I think the three of them complimented each other really well, and like I said, had a mixture of everything. When Carrick was removed from that midfield it didn't look the same, and I guess it would have been the same if Fellaini or Herrera got injured.

 

[NK86]

Carrick was pivotal, but I think the three of them complimented each other really well, and like I said, had a mixture of everything. When Carrick was removed from that midfield it didn't look the same, and I guess it would have been the same if Fellaini or Herrera got injured.

Well that is assumption that Fellaini was as important as Carrick for our form. Nothing to prove it though.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Well that is assumption that Fellaini was as important as Carrick for our form. Nothing to prove it though.

My initial point was that I want to see the midfield three we saw at the back end of last season (Carrick, Herrera, Fellaini), meaning no one was necessarily more important than another, but the three of them complimented each other really well.

 

[Rood]

He scored some important goals (Draw against West Brom, Win against Palace, crucial 2-1 goal against Manchester City), which is mint. At the start of the season he was as miserable as he was in the first season, utter dross. Performance wise he only started looking decent towards the end of the season when we used him for all that he's worth, long balls that he can chest down and play forward.

That's complete bollocks - he was injured at the start of the season and didnt really play at all until coming on at half time at WBA, where he literally changed the game for us and then he was picked regularly including a MOTM performance in the next game at Chelsea, so the idea he was dross at the start and only played well at end of season is simply untrue.

Im not sure where exactly he would play in the current set up though, but I would prefer us to go 4-3-3 anyway

 

[marlowe78]

We can certainly survive without Fellaini but I think people are mistaken to think he isn't a good player to have. I've noticed that in our first two games this season we really have no midfield presence for balls in the air. Many of the balls won in that area of the pitch happened when Smalling moved forward to stop the advance. I also think Fellaini s underrated with his passing, he doesn't do anything brilliant but he makes good decisions with the ball and initiated goals for us several times last year. Against the Stokes, West Hams, etc. I think he's very useful.

 

[Man of Leisure]

Not sure what you've been drinking, but his first match winning goal was against Crystal palace, at the end of the season. He did however score the first goal against Stoke, which we ended up winning 2-1. He was very good against Chelsea. Not very good against City, not very good against Crystal Palace and so on (Not very good, or not good, is a common theme for him)

His third match of the season in 2014/2015 was away against WBA, where he scored to make it 1-1 (ended 2-2)

Not sure what you're on about.

Not sure about your wankfest over Fellaini either.

Ah, you are the same bloke that reckons it's a good idea to hire Giggsy as our next manager That does explain things

Don't mind that silly little Walrus. Wee lad is a bit special. In addition to thinking Giggs should be our next manager and Fellaini should be leading our attack, he thinks buying Schweinsteiger was a mistake. They keep him around for the lolz.

 

[MThomas]

That's complete bollocks - he was injured at the start of the season and didnt really play at all until coming on at half time at WBA, where he literally changed the game for us and then he was picked regularly including a MOTM performance in the next game at Chelsea, so the idea he was dross at the start and only played well at end of season is simply untrue.

Im not sure where exactly he would play in the current set up though, but I would prefer us to go 4-3-3 anyway

The WBA match was his third involvement in the PL that season. Scored the 1-1 goal, which was great, apart from that he didn't do much apart from just being on the pitch. Man of the match against Chelsea where he was good, after that he went back to being his usual self. Fellaini only started looking good and comfortable towards the end of the season when he started playing where he played for Everton and the only position he's ever looked decent in.

If anything he's proved the skeptics right, Fellaini isn't a defensive midfielder, he never will be. He's an attacking option and thats it. Never in a million miles what we needed at the time

Handy to put on when we can't hold on to the ball and need to boot it forward, flick it forward to a striker etc, hoof and pray, he's Robert Huth with an afro.

 

[Cheesy]

I'm not particularly sure where Fellaini would fit into our team at the moment. He's not going to play as a defensive/central mid; we have those positions covered with Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger and Carrick now.

He was often effective in a more attacking role last season, but with Depay and potentially Pedro on the way in, I struggle to think how he's going to get back into the side again in an attacking role. Januzaj played centrally yesterday, for example, and did fairly well. Mata can offer plenty centrally, and LVG has used Depay in that role a few times.

The only role that leaves is for Fellaini as an out and out striker, which won't happen, since he's not a particularly prolific goalscorer. Even if Rooney has a terrible season, I'd go with Hernandez as our main striker ahead of Fellaini.

Fellaini offered us a lot at certain points last season, but I don't feel like we've really missed him. We've won both our games, even if only 1-0, and I'm not sure that Fellaini would've offered much to improve us massively, even if he'd offer something very different.

 

[Garethw]

I'm not particularly sure where Fellaini would fit into our team at the moment. He's not going to play as a defensive/central mid; we have those positions covered with Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger and Carrick now.

He was often effective in a more attacking role last season, but with Depay and potentially Pedro on the way in, I struggle to think how he's going to get back into the side again in an attacking role. Januzaj played centrally yesterday, for example, and did fairly well. Mata can offer plenty centrally, and LVG has used Depay in that role a few times.

The only role that leaves is for Fellaini as an out and out striker, which won't happen, since he's not a particularly prolific goalscorer. Even if Rooney has a terrible season, I'd go with Hernandez as our main striker ahead of Fellaini.

Fellaini offered us a lot at certain points last season, but I don't feel like we've really missed him. We've won both our games, even if only 1-0, and I'm not sure that Fellaini would've offered much to improve us massively, even if he'd offer something very different.

Fellaini will be a great option from the bench for the last half hour or so of games where we are struggling to break teams down.

 

[Rood]

The WBA match was his third involvement in the PL that season. Scored the 1-1 goal, which was great, apart from that he didn't do much apart from just being on the pitch. Man of the match against Chelsea where he was good, after that he went back to being his usual self. Fellaini only started looking good and comfortable towards the end of the season when he started playing where he played for Everton and the only position he's ever looked decent in.

If anything he's proved the skeptics right, Fellaini isn't a defensive midfielder, he never will be. He's an attacking option and thats it. Never in a million miles what we needed at the time

Handy to put on when we can't hold on to the ball and need to boot it forward, flick it forward to a striker etc, hoof and pray, he's Robert Huth with an afro.

the usual boring and lazy myths being rolled out here

3rd involvement? Due to injury He made 2 minor sub appearances before his game changing introduction at WBA and then went on to be one of our most consistent performers in the mid part of the season and was then integral to the best football we played all year in that March/April run.

and he actually mostly played for Everton in quite different roles (upfront just behind the striker or as part of a 2 man midfield) than where LvG deployed him (one of the attacking 2 midfielders in a 3) so really you have got it all wrong. The only thing I would agree on is that he is not a DM.

He might get a run out against Brugge as he can play in Europe so lets see where LvG wants him to play this season.

 

[ken11]

Where IS Fellani? Injured?

 

[Organic Potatoes]

Where IS Fellani? Injured?

Suspended.

 

[Sultan]

Football fans have gone mad. Rooney has a couple of bad games and some on here are proposing to replace him with Fellaini?

 

[MAME DIOUF 32]

I think he served a very valuable purpose last season but we've replaced him with something a lot better. We shouldn't need the battering ram approach now

 

[Ish]

he's Robert Huth with an afro.

That bit made me laugh

An expensive Peter Crouch you say?

My opinion on Fellaini remains the same - he was 1 of our best performers last season, but if you're striving to be amongst the best in Europe - he's a level below what you should have in your stating lineup.

He's a good squad player though. Albeit, extremely expensive, but that wasn't his fault. Hes a extremely effective "plan b".

 

[ThanksBoss26]

That bit made me laugh

An expensive Peter Crouch you say?

My opinion on Fellaini remains the same - he was 1 of our best performers last season, but if you're striving to be amongst the best in Europe - he's a level below what you should have in your stating lineup.

He's a good squad player though. Albeit, extremely expensive, but that wasn't his fault. Hes a extremely effective "plan b".

Sums it up perfectly for me.

 

[pierrethesnack]

That bit made me laugh

An expensive Peter Crouch you say?

My opinion on Fellaini remains the same - he was 1 of our best performers last season, but if you're striving to be amongst the best in Europe - he's a level below what you should have in your stating lineup.

He's a good squad player though. Albeit, extremely expensive, but that wasn't his fault. Hes a extremely effective "plan b".

Sums it up perfectly for me.

Ye, good post.

 

[MThomas]

the usual boring and lazy myths being rolled out here

3rd involvement? Due to injury He made 2 minor sub appearances before his game changing introduction at WBA and then went on to be one of our most consistent performers in the mid part of the season and was then integral to the best football we played all year in that March/April run.

and he actually mostly played for Everton in quite different roles (upfront just behind the striker or as part of a 2 man midfield) than where LvG deployed him (one of the attacking 2 midfielders in a 3) so really you have got it all wrong. The only thing I would agree on is that he is not a DM.

He might get a run out against Brugge as he can play in Europe so lets see where LvG wants him to play this season.

It was his third involvement: 25 mins against Swansea and 15 against Everton, then 45 against WBA. 1, 2 , 3. Third involvement, didn't say third full match. He played well against Chelsea, but his main job was to keep another player quiet and thats easier than standing out (Phil Jones man marked Ronaldo out of the match against Real Madrid, halleluja he's still not a good midfielder), he then went on to be consistently average until his performances against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City, and then he went on to be rather useless for the remaining matches (apart from that winning goal, which was useful).

His main role for Everton wasn't very different from where Van Gaal used him towards the end of the season after the success we had with it against Tottenham, Liverpool and City. Formation was different, but the role he served was pretty much identical and it's the only role he should have.

Any attempt to give him more defensive duties while playing deeper has been an utter disaster.

He would've been handy to put on towards the end against Villa, someone that would hold the ball up instead of Rooney just being useless. Unfortunately that says more about Rooney than how useful Fellaini is.

 

[ZDwyr]

I think he served a very valuable purpose last season but we've replaced him with something a lot better. We shouldn't need the battering ram approach now

This kind of stuff is a bit disrespectful to be honest. He is far, far more than a "battering ram." I would argue that he is a better footballer than Rooney on current form, and possibly Hernandez too. See no reason why he wouldn't be a better #9 than both of them.

 

[Pyroblazer]

We finally have a good midfield, so no, rather play Herrera. But we could use him as striker if Rooney doesn't improve.

 

[NK86]

This kind of stuff is a bit disrespectful to be honest. He is far, far more than a "battering ram." I would argue that he is a better footballer than Rooney on current form, and possibly Hernandez too. See no reason why he wouldn't be a better #9 than both of them.

Being a better player than Rooney in his current form and being good enough to play there for us are two very very different things. If LVG thinks Rooney is not good enough to do the work of scoring enough, he better go out and buy someone than play Fellaini there.

Fellaini is not mobile enough to get behind the defense of a team, not the player who will run the channels and drag defenders out of position, his dribbling is non-existent and he is not someone who will score a ton of goals.

I really cannot wrap my head around the fact that people want him as our #9 and then have an issue when people rightly call him a battering ram, because he does not provide much else apart from providing knock downs to our other more technical players in the build up.

 

[Rood]

It was his third involvement: 25 mins against Swansea and 15 against Everton, then 45 against WBA. 1, 2 , 3. Third involvement, didn't say third full match. He played well against Chelsea, but his main job was to keep another player quiet and thats easier than standing out (Phil Jones man marked Ronaldo out of the match against Real Madrid, halleluja he's still not a good midfielder), he then went on to be consistently average until his performances against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City, and then he went on to be rather useless for the remaining matches (apart from that winning goal, which was useful).

His main role for Everton wasn't very different from where Van Gaal used him towards the end of the season after the success we had with it against Tottenham, Liverpool and City. Formation was different, but the role he served was pretty much identical and it's the only role he should have.

Any attempt to give him more defensive duties while playing deeper has been an utter disaster.

He would've been handy to put on towards the end against Villa, someone that would hold the ball up instead of Rooney just being useless. Unfortunately that says more about Rooney than how useful Fellaini is.

Ye but the point is that you said he has been useless last season until the WBA game, when the reality is that he was injured for virtually the whole period before that so was barely involved.
I dont agree that he was consistently average either, apart from 1 or 2 average games (Stoke) he was consistently one of our better players - in fact teams started changing their whole system just to deal with him which is part of the reason he did not have as much of an impact at the end of the season.

I actually dont really want to see Fellaini playing upfront as an alternate option to Rooney, but I think LvG may well end up using him there.
I prefer to see him playing in the midfield role where he did all his best work last season but we obviously have a lot more competition for midfield places now and in the current system the advanced midfield roles that Herrera and Fellaini played last season dont even exist.

 

[Beachryan]

The ONLY thing that Fellaini would improve upon at the moment is ball retention from long clearances. If we'd stop hoofing it at Depay, Rooney and Mata - who between them are about Fellaini's height - we wouldn't even have that problem.

He's an excellent option to have, great plan B material, but he's not good enough to be a plan A for a top club.

 

[711]

The ONLY thing that Fellaini would improve upon at the moment is ball retention from long clearances. If we'd stop hoofing it at Depay, Rooney and Mata - who between them are about Fellaini's height - we wouldn't even have that problem.

He's an excellent option to have, great plan B material, but he's not good enough to be a plan A for a top club.

He isn't, but looking at the alternatives I would still give him a go. At least we have goal chances when he's on, compared to two games with hardly a one.

 

[MThomas]

Ye but the point is that you said he has been useless last season until the WBA game, when the reality is that he was injured for virtually the whole period before that so was barely involved.
I dont agree that he was consistently average either, apart from 1 or 2 average games (Stoke) he was consistently one of our better players - in fact teams started changing their whole system just to deal with him which is part of the reason he did not have as much of an impact at the end of the season.

I actually dont really want to see Fellaini playing upfront as an alternate option to Rooney, but I think LvG may well end up using him there.
I prefer to see him playing in the midfield role where he did all his best work last season but we obviously have a lot more competition for midfield places now and in the current system the advanced midfield roles that Herrera and Fellaini played last season dont even exist.

Consistently one of our better players, good one, it's become sort of a "lets say it enough times and eventually people will start to believe it". Apart from that Chelsea match (i'm surprised some of you didn't order a Fellaini special dvd of it), he was Fellaini from the season before. Blind must still be having nigthmares about playing next to him. He was excellent against Tottenham, Liverpool and City, they didn't know how to handle him. Chelsea handled him easily, same with Everton, West Brom, Crystal Palace and even Arsenal, against Hull he got sent off after 18 mins on the pitch..

He's a £28mill "handy to have in some cases" player.

Mint.

 

[sunama]

I'd love to see Fellaini up front. He certainly can't be worse that Rooney.
Rooney will play every game this year (if fit/healthy), so he could maybe play as No.10 or even in midfield.

 

[sunama]

He's an excellent option to have, great plan B material, but he's not good enough to be a plan A for a top club.

But, 3 shots on target, in 180 minutes, tells me that Memphis, Mata, Rooney, Januzaj are not good enough to be plan A for our club, either.
And lets not forget that plan B (ie. Bastian and Herrera), have resulted in 0 shots on target.
To put this in context, our competitors: Chelsea who are not playing well right now, have had 6 shots on target, in 180 minutes. Man City have had 15. We had 3.
Fellaini definitely has something to offer, I think.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

We can certainly survive without Fellaini but I think people are mistaken to think he isn't a good player to have. I've noticed that in our first two games this season we really have no midfield presence for balls in the air. Many of the balls won in that area of the pitch happened when Smalling moved forward to stop the advance. I also think Fellaini s underrated with his passing, he doesn't do anything brilliant but he makes good decisions with the ball and initiated goals for us several times last year. Against the Stokes, West Hams, etc. I think he's very useful.

Totally agree with you. He can still find a place in a midfield three if LVG isn't too stubborn to revert to it.

 

[Rozay]

We don't.

 

[ZDwyr]

Being a better player than Rooney in his current form and being good enough to play there for us are two very very different things. If LVG thinks Rooney is not good enough to do the work of scoring enough, he better go out and buy someone than play Fellaini there.

Fellaini is not mobile enough to get behind the defense of a team, not the player who will run the channels and drag defenders out of position, his dribbling is non-existent and he is not someone who will score a ton of goals.

I really cannot wrap my head around the fact that people want him as our #9 and then have an issue when people rightly call him a battering ram, because he does not provide much else apart from providing knock downs to our other more technical players in the build up.

Disagree with the bold bits. I don't think they are very different things at the moment. If we don't sign another striker and Rooney is our #1, then saying Fellaini would be better there is a relevant thing to say. Is he going to be one of the best strikers in the world? No. But until we actually have a striker who is 'Manchester United level' then I think he would be better than Rooney. Definitely would drag defenders out of position and run channels IMO.

 

[Cnaiür urs Skiötha]

I don`t think Fellaini will play as striker. However, if we continue to play like the first 2 games he will easily get a starting spot as 10.

 

[Striker10]

Disagree with the bold bits. I don't think they are very different things at the moment. If we don't sign another striker and Rooney is our #1, then saying Fellaini would be better there is a relevant thing to say. Is he going to be one of the best strikers in the world? No. But until we actually have a striker who is 'Manchester United level' then I think he would be better than Rooney. Definitely would drag defenders out of position and run channels IMO.

Like when he ran through the Spurs defense you mean? Clearly he's not really that type of striker but we need something. Hernandez needs minutes too so hopefully he'll feature soon.

 

[RikRuud]

He is an important member of the squad and we have missed certain aspects of his game in the first 2 games. Hopefully will make an appearance at some point tomorrow evening.

 

[Rood]

Consistently one of our better players, good one, it's become sort of a "lets say it enough times and eventually people will start to believe it". Apart from that Chelsea match (i'm surprised some of you didn't order a Fellaini special dvd of it), he was Fellaini from the season before. Blind must still be having nigthmares about playing next to him. He was excellent against Tottenham, Liverpool and City, they didn't know how to handle him. Chelsea handled him easily, same with Everton, West Brom, Crystal Palace and even Arsenal, against Hull he got sent off after 18 mins on the pitch..

He's a £28mill "handy to have in some cases" player.

Mint.

People already believe it, it is just the last few who are slow to catch on to why LvG clearly rates him - just look at his ratings from games last year on here, he got 3 MOTM awards (Chelsea, QPR, Preston) and none of them were even that run of games you mention where he was also excellent. He also featured several other times in the top3 players on other games, which is why it is clear to many that he was consistently one of our better players.

 

[adexkola]

My opinion on Fellaini remains the same - he was 1 of our best performers last season, but if you're striving to be amongst the best in Europe - he's a level below what you should have in your stating lineup.

This comment has become the vogue statement regarding Fellaini. As if we have many players who would walk into or compete with the first teams of Barcelona, Bayern, et al, and Fellaini is the millstone on our neck dragging us down into the depths of mediocrity. Let's see.

Attack: Er...
Midfield: Schweinsteiger. Herrara?
Defense: Er... Smalling and Darmian?
Goal: DDG

So why is it that this comment only comes up frequently when Fellaini is discussed?

 

[Walrus]

This comment has become the vogue statement regarding Fellaini. As if we have many players who would walk into or compete with the first teams of Barcelona, Bayern, et al, and Fellaini is the millstone on our neck dragging us down into the depths of mediocrity.

Yeah, its certainly one of the more common "arguments" used against Fellaini. Its pretty much completely a nothing statement, as if to say that Fellaini must be so bad, and so obviously bad, that no actual justification is needed. Clearly it isnt that obvious however, given the discussion in this thread and the fact that LVG hasnt just sold him to a Championship side.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

This comment has become the vogue statement regarding Fellaini. As if we have many players who would walk into or compete with the first teams of Barcelona, Bayern, et al, and Fellaini is the millstone on our neck dragging us down into the depths of mediocrity. Let's see.

Attack: Er...
Midfield: Schweinsteiger. Herrara?
Defense: Er... Smalling and Darmian?
Goal: DDG

So why is it that this comment only comes up frequently when Fellaini is discussed?

It's an absurd kind of statement to make, because Fellaini is already our player. I could understand people saying that we shouldn't buy a player because they're not going to help us compete with the best teams, but that doesn't apply here. He is already a United player, and has proven himself to be effective. He doesn't need to be Maradona to deserve a place in our starting lineup, he just needs to perform better than his competition at the club, which is certainly not impossible.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Hope the big man gets some game time tomorrow.