[simonhch]

Can never make my mind up about him. He's got great heart and decent technical ability. He does a lot of things really quite well, but I just don't think he's exceptional at anything. This is why, moving forwards, I don't think he can ever really be a first choice pick for a club with elite standards. He's very good at keeping the ball moving, but has a long list of 7/10 attributes. He's a good #6 and a good #8, but a part of me wishes he was an average #6 and a great #8 or vice versa. As it is, he provides quality rotational depth, but as a first teamer just doesn't possess either enough top drawer ball winning, creativity, playmaking, or goal scoring quality to earn a place in our best XI.

He'll get tons of games due to his deep skill set, and brilliant attitude. But Fellaini, who matches him for heart, is better in both defensive shielding, and providing a goal scoring threat from midfield, despite being technical inferior on most levels. He also provides a considerable asset in set piece situations at both ends of the field. In a midfield 3 with Matic and Pogba, I'd start Mkhitaryan over him nearly every day of the week, because he is a far superior ball carrier and playmaker, who is essential to rapid counter attacking transitions. He'll be a vital player for us, due to the sheer volume of games this season; because, as Fergie proved (time and again), it's about how you use your squad over the course of the season.

The guy is a consummate professional, a very good footballer, a natural captain, and versatile. But he's not top drawer, elite, or world class in any specific role. That, for me, is a bit of a problem.

 

[SteveW]

Sick of seeing this guy messed about so much. First LVG and now Jose's started it. Gone from many peoples choice as captain to a benchwarmer without doing a thing wrong. Fellaini has done nothing to merit starting ahead of him. Hopefully he has a great game tonight and cements his place in the team. We're a better team when he plays.

 

[Womp]

Playing or not, my favourite player in the team. The passion he has for this club is unmatched.

 

[barmyarmy]

Playing or not, my favourite player in the team. The passion he has for this club is unmatched.

Mine too. The guy just loves the club and want to be here even while not playing regularly

 

[Pexbo]

Sick of seeing this guy messed about so much. First LVG and now Jose's started it. Gone from many peoples choice as captain to a benchwarmer without doing a thing wrong. Fellaini has done nothing to merit starting ahead of him. Hopefully he has a great game tonight and cements his place in the team. We're a better team when he plays.

Nonsense.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

Sick of seeing this guy messed about so much. First LVG and now Jose's started it. Gone from many peoples choice as captain to a benchwarmer without doing a thing wrong. Fellaini has done nothing to merit starting ahead of him. Hopefully he has a great game tonight and cements his place in the team. We're a better team when he plays.

I'm a big fan of Herrera but I disagree. Against Southampton he was supposed to get some balance in midfield and prevent us from being overrun, but he failed to do that. I think he needs a run of games to get back into form, but there is no denying that his passing has been conservative and his impact minimal so far. I think it's just a matter of time before he steps up and gets used to playing alongside Matic/Pogba.

As for the bolded part, Fellaini is playing some of his best football for us this season. Along with that, he follows manager's instructions to boot and offers an aerial threat in the box. He's definitely ahead on merit, though I doubt Herrera will let it last.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Turning into Mourinho’s Ramires. Which is not a bad thing at all.

 

[SteveW]

Nonsense.

Is it?

I think Fellaini is a good player and doesn't deserve the stick he gets. But he does his best work in attacking areas. He's better as a number 10 than as a 6 or an 8.

As an out and out central midfielder Herrera is more dynamic and has better passing range. And he was our best player last season in that position. Fellaini while being useful in both boxes hasn't been as good as Herrera as an actual central midfielder. Which is the position they've been battling for in recent games

 

[Brightonian]

Fellaini does benefit from a much lower bar, at least amongst fans. A great game from him is seen to go against the narrative so it gets a lot of attention. Last season Herrera hardly put in a performance that wasn't great, so for him the opposite is true - it's his weaker performances that get noticed. One great game seems to earn Fellaini the right to start three more. One average game apparently condemns Herrera to the bench for three.

Fellaini has his uses, but Herrera is the better player and the better midfielder by some distance. Also a lot of what Mourinho likes Fellaini to do overlaps with what Matic and Pogba bring to the table, variously, whereas Herrera isn't much like any of our other midfielders.

For me it's only a matter of time before he works his way back into the regular starting line-up somewhere.

I'm a big fan of Herrera but I disagree. Against Southampton he was supposed to get some balance in midfield and prevent us from being overrun, but he failed to do that.

If he'd started, we wouldn't have been overrun in the first place. In fact, if Mourinho had even had the sense to make the change earlier, when we were starting to really lose control around 50-55 minutes in, instead of once we'd completely lost the plot, we might have been able to wrestle control back. But there's not much one man can do coming on after the entire team has already gone to pieces.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Is it?

I think Fellaini is a good player and doesn't deserve the stick he gets. But he does his best work in attacking areas. He's better as a number 10 than as a 6 or an 8.

As an out and out central midfielder Herrera is more dynamic and has better passing range. And he was our best player last season in that position. Fellaini while being useful in both boxes hasn't been as good as Herrera as an actual central midfielder. Which is the position they've been battling for in recent games

Last season Herrera’s role was much more similar to Matic’s; closing players down fast, intercepting passes and quickly distributing the ball to his teammates. Matic does all of what Herrera does but has a better sense of positional discipline. He’s like a hybrid of Herrera and Carrick.

Herrera would be asked of a different role when playing with Matic compared to what he was doing with Pogba all of last season. We wouldn’t need him to sit back and do what he was good at last season as Matic is already covering that role. It makes more sense to partner Matic with a player that’s more of an attacking threat than someone who already has his qualities. Whilst his passing range is better than Fellaini’s, I still don’t think it’s that good, however the ability to release the ball quickly is what I like about his passing. I feel today is a huge opportunity for Herrera to show a different side to his game, if he can do that he’ll make his way into the XI just as Ashley Young did.

 

[SteveW]

Last season Herrera’s role was much more similar to Matic’s; closing players down fast, intercepting passes and quickly distributing the ball to his teammates. Matic does all of what Herrera does but has a better sense of positional discipline. He’s like a hybrid of Herrera and Carrick.

Herrera would be asked of a different role when playing with Matic compared to what he was doing with Pogba all of last season. We wouldn’t need him to sit back and do what he was good at last season as Matic is already covering that role. It makes more sense to partner Matic with a player that’s more of an attacking threat than someone who already has his qualities. Whilst his passing range is better than Fellaini’s, I still don’t think it’s that good, however the ability to release the ball quickly is what I like about his passing. I feel today is a huge opportunity for Herrera to show a different side to his game, if he can do that he’ll make his way into the XI just as Ashley Young did.

OK. But he's more suited to this role than Fellaini who's a number 10 being shoehorned into central midfield because he's useful for set pieces. A team needs to have two genuine central midfielders imo. Fellaini generally struggles in the role. His best moments happen when he plays further up.

 

[#07]

 

[K2K]

Sick of seeing this guy messed about so much. First LVG and now Jose's started it. Gone from many peoples choice as captain to a benchwarmer without doing a thing wrong. Fellaini has done nothing to merit starting ahead of him. Hopefully he has a great game tonight and cements his place in the team. We're a better team when he plays.

This lazy generalisation again.

Mourinho has played Herrera as his primary CDM last season .

This season Matic is playing that position and it is he who Herrera has to displace.

The unpopular Fellaini is just an easy target for the Herrera fanboys when it's Matic actually taking the position Herrera would normally play under Mourinho

 

[SteveW]

This lazy generalisation again.

Mourinho has played Herrera as his primary CDM last season .

This season Matic is playing that position and it is he who Herrera has to displace.

The unpopular Fellaini is just an easy target for the Herrera fanboys when it's Matic actually taking the position Herrera would normally play under Mourinho

You seem to be confused. I'm objecting to Fellaini starting ahead of him as the other CM. I've explained why I feel he's more suited to the role.

Misreading my points and branding me a fanboy, makes you far more guilty of making lazy generalisations.

 

[ivaldo]

Second goal we've scored directly from his interception high up the pitch. He and Matic have absolutely dominated the midfield tonight.

 

[izec]

Very good today

 

[charlenefan]

Excellent tonight, hope him and Matic continue that kind of form on Saturday

 

[el3mel]

People were starting to get very harsh on him recently tbh.

Great game and I love his combination with Matic.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Dont know how to explain this without sounding too negative but...He kind of passes the ball too quick..a lot!

So many times he has time to turn and look up but will rush to the nearest guy to him. Its even more annoying because I know he has a good final ball on him.

Needs to improve his awareness. Matic on the other hand is fabulous at knowing when to rush a pass and when to take a touch.

 

[ivaldo]

Dont know how to explain this without sounding too negative but...He kind of passes the ball too quick..a lot!

So many times he has time to turn and look up but will rush to the nearest guy to him. Its even more annoying because I know he has a good final ball on him.

Needs to improve his awareness. Matic on the other hand is fabulous at knowing when to rush a pass and when to take a touch.

Like his first time pass for the Micky goal?

 

[roonster09]

Very good performance.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Like his first time pass for the Micky goal?

Which backs my point up...

If he looked up more he would be splitting defences on a regular basis.

 

[ivaldo]

Which backs my point up...

If he looked up more he would be splitting defences on a regular basis.

He's a player that likes to pass and move and inject pace into the game. Everything he does is at 100mph and that's why he's great. It's why he had such a good game today, it's why he made more tackles than any other player in the premier league last weekend, despite only playing 27 minutes. Yeah occasionally he could calm it down but moving the ball quickly creates an awful lot of space.

 

[arnie_ni]

Dont know how to explain this without sounding too negative but...He kind of passes the ball too quick..a lot!

So many times he has time to turn and look up but will rush to the nearest guy to him. Its even more annoying because I know he has a good final ball on him.

Needs to improve his awareness. Matic on the other hand is fabulous at knowing when to rush a pass and when to take a touch.

I know what your talking about but its always a good habit to get into playing the way you face, drop it off and move.

Sometimes its almost as if he just needs someone to shout "time, turn".

There was a very noticable occasion once in the second half close to the edge of their box he got it from blind i think, popped it off to matic and made a 5 yard sprint to receive it.

If he turned he could have slid a ball down the side of the defense for martial to be one v one.

The one touch pass and move is great 95 percent of the time. It injects pace and can create holes in the opposition defense, but sometime if he just took that touch and turned he could be in a great attacking position himself.

He doesnt like playing back to goal. Play the way your facing to keep the ball is always a good motto

 

[yfoFC]

But Fellaini, who matches him for heart, is better in both defensive shielding

Who came up with this myth that fellani is better than Herrera in the defensive side of the game?

I present to you Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:
This match against cska in which Herrera and matic we're intercepting and dominating the midfield for fun

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Should play with Matic until Pogba returns imo. Fellaini a fantastic plan b but Herrera integrates with the team better imo.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

Great today. Him and Matic worked well particular with 3 defenders behind them. Hope to see a good performance against Palace as well.

 

[Devil may care]

He's a much better fit with Matic, buzzing around ahead of him looking to win it higher up and shuttle it to the forwards.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

So much better today. Can only echo the above posts. Got to start next to Matić again.

Then hopefully some recoveries during the international break.

 

[Sylar]

Dont know how to explain this without sounding too negative but...He kind of passes the ball too quick..a lot!

So many times he has time to turn and look up but will rush to the nearest guy to him. Its even more annoying because I know he has a good final ball on him.

Needs to improve his awareness. Matic on the other hand is fabulous at knowing when to rush a pass and when to take a touch.

I get what you mean. But sometimes I think its a combination of the player whos passing to him to inform him or Herrera to have a look before he receives the pass (like Scholes/Carrick used to do).
I think him next to Matic is a great platform for 4 attacking players ahead of them to run havoc and interchange.

 

[Number32]

Dont know how to explain this without sounding too negative but...He kind of passes the ball too quick..a lot!

So many times he has time to turn and look up but will rush to the nearest guy to him. Its even more annoying because I know he has a good final ball on him.

Needs to improve his awareness. Matic on the other hand is fabulous at knowing when to rush a pass and when to take a touch.

He was calm with the ball in Van Gaal era but Mourinho probably didn't like that.
I think Mourinho ask him to pass the ball quickly because he's not athletic enough to keep the ball like Matic.

 

[Cheesy]

Should play with Matic until Pogba returns imo. Fellaini a fantastic plan b but Herrera integrates with the team better imo.

Yeah, Fellaini's been solid but Herrera's a far better footballer. Superior player on the ball, but is also a hard enough worker as well if that's what Mourinho's looking for.

 

[Cheesy]

He was calm with the ball in Van Gaal era but Mourinho probably didn't like that.
I think Mourinho ask him to pass the ball quickly because he's not athletic enough to keep the ball like Matic.

Yeah, LVG pretty much demanded that all his midfielders be calm and conservative in their passing, with the aim of minimising risks and trying not to lose the ball. Even if we weren't actually really doing anything with the ball when we had it.

Herrera's perhaps someone who's sort of erratic in a sense; will occasionally be reckless but makes up for that by making important contributions and posing a threat from midfield. Mourinho allowed him to thrive a bit more last season, and it ended up being his best year for us.

 

[Scorpy]

He's a much better fit with Matic, buzzing around ahead of him looking to win it higher up and shuttle it to the forwards.

Agreed. It's a much more fluid combination in the middle, which allows us to transition faster from defense to attack and also makes us less predictable.

 

[Oldham]

Fantastic tonight

 

[Womp]

Love him

 

[ChaddyP]

love his pressing ability. was quite good today.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

How many interceptions did he have today? Like 100?

Love Ander.

 

[barmyarmy]

love his pressing ability. was quite good today.

He is one player in the team who can easily beat press from opposition with a simple one two.

 

[Mibabalou]

He was absolutely fantastic tonight.

Ill look up the stats tomorrow but I thought he was pretty much perfect tonight. Pressed high, can't remember many passes he misplayed tonight.

Him and Matic for Palace for me.