Fellaini | Mou: "It's easier for Galatasaray to get me than Marouane. He is too important to me."

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Do think he's a bit of a scapegoat.

Absolutely hate it when he plays midfield, totally ruins any fluidity but on the flip side; if 3 consecutive managers saw route one lump-it-to-Felli football as the go-to plan b option then it probably speaks more about the creativity (or lack thereof) in our midfield.
 
Fellaini is not a type of player you would really want on your squad.

But he is definitely a type of player you would NOT want on the opposing team.

This alone is a great attribute a player can have. He is not the most technical and skillful player, but his aggression alone can have a negative influence on opposing teams, especially those with weaker mentality or consisting younger age players.

Yes, he has been yellow/red card prone in the past, but if Mourinho can tame his aggression just enough to avoid those silly cards, he may be more useful than we think.
 
BenjaminP said:
But he is definitely a type of player you would NOT want on the opposing team.
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Depends if the ref will spot the elbow to the face and decide to show red.

Keep him away from a deep, creative role and pray the ball will end on his head, in oppo's box.
 
Tomuś said:
I wouldn't be too surprised if these were the same posters who were calling Valencia all the names under the Sun a couple of years ago. If back then you tried to defend him using the 'Every single manager trusts him and they know better than you lot' you would be called either Valencia loverwith no ambtion for your team to develop or Nani hater (as I did despite rating Nani as a great winger albeit not always consistent) FFS. After a few years ppl finally discover that this good ol' Tony is actually not that bad, which they will with Fellaini eventually - some already have.
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Yeah it's the same thing, i think it got something to do with the already imagined picture of the player, one mistakes from the player and everyone is on his case. People on here is far from open minded
 
Pleased with this :) Fellaini pretty much single handedly won us the trophy that got us into this season's Champions League. He's not a perfect player, but he's one of the few players in the squad these past couple of seasons to show he has that never say die attitude of a United player. Deserves to stay. We need him to stay.
 
Spirit of Solskjaer said:
Pleased with this :) Fellaini pretty much single handedly won us the trophy that got us into this season's Champions League. He's not a perfect player, but he's one of the few players in the squad these past couple of seasons to show he has that never say die attitude of a United player. Deserves to stay. We need him to stay.
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I don't normally respond directly to othe posters but OMG Felani, whilst better under Mou should never have become a Utd player and should be ditched ASAP, he is a donkey at best, whether or not he has a good attitude doesn't come into it... If felani is where we are at player wise then Mou's ambition may not be as lofty as we would ghope for
 
Zed 101 said:
I don't normally respond directly to othe posters but OMG Felani, whilst better under Mou should never have become a Utd player and should be ditched ASAP, he is a donkey at best, whether or not he has a good attitude doesn't come into it... If felani is where we are at player wise then Mou's ambition may not be as lofty as we would ghope for
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OMG, Felani. Hey, hey, one, two, three. Marvellous post. A donkey at best. Great stuff. Dazzlingly brillant contribution. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
 
Zed 101 said:
I don't normally respond directly to othe posters but OMG Felani, whilst better under Mou should never have become a Utd player and should be ditched ASAP, he is a donkey at best, whether or not he has a good attitude doesn't come into it... If felani is where we are at player wise then Mou's ambition may not be as lofty as we would ghope for
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The minute he's in oppo's box with a player putting a decent cross, his game suddenly gain a whole new dimension. Perhaps, it's also a task for manager to use him properly as it showed few times. Just sayin.
 
Zed 101 said:
I don't normally respond directly to othe posters but OMG Felani, whilst better under Mou should never have become a Utd player and should be ditched ASAP, he is a donkey at best, whether or not he has a good attitude doesn't come into it... If felani is where we are at player wise then Mou's ambition may not be as lofty as we would ghope for
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Good well-founded arguments, you've obviously put a lot of thought into forming your opinion of him :)
 
Mockney said:
Moyes bought him and knew his style, and aside from Mata - who was clearly more of a PR influenced panic buy than any shrewd foresight on Moyes part - everything about our current situation stems from his uniquely disastrous tenure. I'll admit it's unfair on Fellaini as a person to have shouldered this symbolic burden for 3+ years, but it's an inescapable truth that Fellaini as a player is ground zero for our post-Fergie decline.



That's all nice and well in theory, but a side like United can't maintain their status on good old fashioned grit and good will alone. This is the club famed for the free flowing football of the Busby Babes, the lazy, partially fulfilled talent of George Best, the self destructive ego of Eric Cantona and even the self important glamour of Beckham and Ronaldo. This isn't a club that's attained it's elite global status by tolerating an ethos of bland, honest, try hardary.

You could attend any non-league game and hear the fans tear strips off their players for not being good enough, even by their lowered standards, so while I understand the honourable 'salt of the earth' ethos youre promoting, I can't help but find it a naively poor fit for football, and in general, let alone for one of its most famous and romantically attractive clubs.

And sure, I agree some of the reactionary personal bile directed at Fellaini is daft and OTT. But id still disagree with the idea he should be beyond reproach just for trying hard. We could have an entire team full of likeable passionate try hards, but if we ever want to retain our status as one of the biggest and most prestigious clubs in the world, we need to hold our players to higher standards than that.
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I think you've missed the point, I'm not saying he is a typical UTD player especially not like the the ones you've mentioned above. All I'm saying is we can't expect him to turn into something he ain't just because his at UTD.

Moyes was the biggest mistake the club has made and because of it we have fallen well behind. We should have got
Mourinho then and not fecked about with Moyes and Mr Philosophy.
 
I don't care what culture we are trying to build, but the fact that fellaini struggles so much to advance the ball forward..a basic task of any midfielder...means that he is substandard especially considering that he doesn't make up his shortcomings significantly anywhere. He doesn't belong here whether as a starter or as a back up and this is very damning of Mourinho for him to think otherwise.
 
Obiorahking_ said:
I don't care what culture we are trying to build, but the fact that fellaini struggles so much to advance the ball forward..a basic task of any midfielder...means that he is substandard especially considering that he doesn't make up his shortcomings significantly anywhere. He doesn't belong here whether as a starter or as a back up and this is very damning of Mourinho for him to think otherwise.
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He does play it forward sometimes. He done it yesterday a few times.
 
Jaybomb said:
He does play it forward sometimes. He done it yesterday a few times.
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In pre season... tell me when he can do it consistently in games that actually matter. The guy is garbage and I really do hope we do away with him.
 
I still think he'll be gone before the end of the transfer window. But at 10m they are having a laugh. At that price we might as well let him run down his contract. Having another body in the squad is more valuable than the money on offer.

At the same time I think that if we are serious about keeping him, surely we are going to offer him a renewal. A 2-year deal seems fair.
 
Obiorahking_ said:
In pre season... tell me when he can do it consistently in games that actually matter. The guy is garbage and I really do hope we do away with him.
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He's not instructed to do that. Carrick is. Fellaini breaks up play and dispossesses people... he almost always gets his head on the end of a set piece.

Look at the games with your hater glasses off and maybe you'll see that. If Mourinho sells him, who the feck is gonna do what he does? We'll be exposed in the middle. Unless we get Matic but I guess he'll be the new scapegoat when things start going wrong.
 
When even Van Gaal and Mourinho find use for Fellaini, then it suggests there's more to it that we purely what see on the pitch. For all his shortcomings they must be impressed by his work in training and/or his attributes. It's not pretty, but lumping it up to Fellaini to control is a very viable tactic. Of course there's times when playing Fellaini backfires, and he's not a secret weapon or anything. But I feel the moments when he has been there to deliver are not given the same recognition as his failings.
 
Jaybomb said:
He's not instructed to do that. Carrick is. Fellaini breaks up play and dispossesses people... he almost always gets his head on the end of a set piece.

Look at the games with your hater glasses off and maybe you'll see that. If Mourinho sells him, who the feck is gonna do what he does? We'll be exposed in the middle. Unless we get Matic but I guess he'll be the new scapegoat when things start going wrong.
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Sorry did you just state that Marouane Fellaini, a central midfielder, was instructed not to advance the ball forward.....? Sorry but that has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard considering that Herrera plays the same role as Fellaini and has no problem playing the hall forward.

Did you also just say that if we sell Fellaini we are going to be exposed? Where? On the bench? Fellaini at the end of the day is an alternate to Herrera and Pogba. If we sell him, like we should, we should simply replace him or promote one of the younger guys.
 
Jaybomb said:
He's not instructed to do that. Carrick is. Fellaini breaks up play and dispossesses people... he almost always gets his head on the end of a set piece.
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Mourinho instructs a central midfielder not to play it forward? Huh?

First off you don't know that and secondly it seems unlikely.

Jaybomb said:
Look at the games with your hater glasses off and maybe you'll see that. If Mourinho sells him, who the feck is gonna do what he does? We'll be exposed in the middle. Unless we get Matic but I guess he'll be the new scapegoat when things start going wrong.
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Jesus you're going on about haters glasses, you need to take off your rose tinted ones. You would swear you were talking about one of our best and most important players. It's Fellaini.
 
Rada said:
It's funny how bunch of armchair fans think they know better than our previous and current 3 managers :lol::lol::lol:
You should all go and make a job application :lol::lol::lol:
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Only 1 of them is still our manager. And he's spent a lot of money on other midfielders

He was David Moyes big money signing. What happened to that guy?
 
Ekeke said:
Only 1 of them is still our manager. And he's spent a lot of money on other midfielders

He was David Moyes big money signing. What happened to that guy?
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There it is again, of course Mourinho spends money on other midfielders because Fellaini isn't the best midfielder, seems like all Fellaini haters have got this idea that people that don't want him out, think he is a world class complete midfielder that should start every game and play every minute possible, and he even should be the captain.
Mata is also one of Moyes' big signing, yet not single person want him out despite him not playing great in every game, and at times he literally offers nothing, so yeah.
 
Zed 101 said:
I don't normally respond directly to othe posters but OMG Felani, whilst better under Mou should never have become a Utd player and should be ditched ASAP, he is a donkey at best, whether or not he has a good attitude doesn't come into it... If felani is where we are at player wise then Mou's ambition may not be as lofty as we would ghope for
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'ghope for' is so good it should really exist. Alright I admit, I googled it just to check it didn't.
 
I like Fellaini. He put in some excellent performances last season, during the second half of the year in particular.

My issue is that with him as an option, 3 managers in a row have been unable to resist the temptation to resort to hoofball tactics late on during matches we are behind or level in.

United under Fergie were renowned for attacking with quick, dangerous but patient and intelligent football right until the death. We were famous for late goals and comebacks.

It's just frustrating to watch us pretend to be Jackie Charltons '94 boys in green only with less composure whenever we need a goal. It's not Fellainis fault his managers can't resist it but he's the obvious candidate to bear the brunt of such frustration.
 
Rada said:
There it is again, of course Mourinho spends money on other midfielders because Fellaini isn't the best midfielder, seems like all Fellaini haters have got this idea that people that don't want him out, think he is a world class complete midfielder that should start every game and play every minute possible, and he even should be the captain.
Mata is also one of Moyes' big signing, yet not single person want him out despite him not playing great in every game, and at times he literally offers nothing, so yeah.
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What on earth are you talking about? You made a big song and dance about 3 managers using Fellaini.

2 of those managers failed and were sacked.

1 is here and has spent £130 million on other midfielders.

Not a good point.
 
kirk buttercup said:
Go back through the squads for the Last 30 years you will find a whole host of Mediocre players he is not the first (even in fergies teams). He is not my first choice but I tell you what he always gives 100 percent never whinges or moans even though fans are willing to jump on his back every time he does something wrong . He also gives a different option . I'm not his biggest fan but I think he deserves a little more respect, after all he is a United player regardless if some people on here want him to be or not.
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I understand your point, I just disagree with it. Just because he is a United player doesn't mean he should be a United player. He is something different but with him there Mourinho is always likely to go to a defensive, physical game when there is no need. He takes up a place that could be used by somebody far more gifted. If we were to use him in his best position he would be decent. But we're not. He'll continue to play as a central midfielder and to be fair, he really isn't up to it. Fergie never had a squad player who was that limited that played that many games.
 
OneUnited24 said:
Say what you will about him. He's effective as a plan b
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I disagree with this as well. He's not effective as a plan b. Sometimes he can be but more often than not, he isn't. He is cumbersome and seems to slow down our attack anytime he is involved. Bringing him on to defend with when 1 up with 20 minutes to go always winds me up because he is liable to give away needless fouls and give the ball away constantly. If he was used the way he was at Everton he could be useful but we have far too many superior players who play in a similar position that he just isn't going to. He is nowhere close to good enough to be in a United midfield.

And with the players we have bought, there is no need for him now. Lukaku automatically takes over as the beast up front who will do what Fellaini does best only much better. We have Matic who can actually tackle, pass and control the ball.

He will have an odd good game but more often than not, he is clearly the weakest link in our team. Clearly.
 
The importance of our height and strength in this era of football cannot be undervalued. Playing against opposition who press high agressively for 90mins is impossible unless you have either extremely confident and techincal ball playing defenders, or strength up field in which you can play the ball over their line of pressing players and get the ball up the field into space.

We saw it work against quite a few teams last season when we were struggling, it's a tactic that LVG failed to utilise effectively, and was one of our biggest downfalls.
Fellaini is imperative for it, and Jose knows how to bring the best out of him.
 
MadMike said:
Not the thread to talk about this to great extent but a small deviation might be acceptable.

They sent a King to lead in a highly risky mission. When the position was no longer defensible and the pass had to be abandoned, a rearguard had to be formed that would stall the Persian advance and protect the retreating army from being cut down by the chasing Persian cavalry. The Spartans along with the Thespians and the Thebans decided to stay back and hold the Persians till the rest of the force retreated safely. And thus they died to the last man including the Spartan King.

It's obviously very rare in history that a King would stay and fight a losing battle to allow for soldiers to escape. It was this sacrifice that elevated Leo's status. It was however an epic (no pun intended) feck up to choose to defend that pass when there was a flanking route through the mountains.
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My point still stands.

Most people with a passing knowledge of history think it was 300 Spartans, and only 300 Spartans. They don't know about the 1,000 odd slaves the Spartans took with them, or the Thebians or the Thespians. Or the other greeks that went.
 
Nucks said:
My point still stands.

*Most people with a passing knowledge of history think it was 300 Spartans, and only 300 Spartans. They don't know about the 1,000 odd slaves the Spartans took with them, or the Thebians or the Thespians. Or the other greeks that went.
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Exaggeration. Even the movie which stretched the truth a lot indicated that not only 300 Spartans defended the narrow pass.

And of course the Spartans took their helots. Soldiers travelled heavy back then.

This is not on the scale of "the western allies liberated Europe, and the Soviets were an afterthought".
 
Nucks said:
My point still stands.

Most people with a passing knowledge of history think it was 300 Spartans, and only 300 Spartans. They don't know about the 1,000 odd slaves the Spartans took with them, or the Thebians or the Thespians. Or the other greeks that went.
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Sure, I don't disagree. I just explained why Spartans took all the glory. They led the mission, sacrificed a King (one with a penchant for dropping epic one-liners in typical Laconic style, no less) and died to the last man to save the others. If anyone was going to take it, it was them let's be honest.

It's not right that they took all the glory, but since all people involved are looong dead I'm sure they don't care. Plus, anyone with even a passing interest in history that has bothered to at least read the wiki entry for the Battle of Thermopylae, knows what's up.

P.S. Helots did not fight in battles. They were not armed. There is no glory for slaves, sadly.
 
adexkola said:
Exaggeration. Even the movie which stretched the truth a lot indicated that not only 300 Spartans defended the narrow pass.

And of course the Spartans took their helots. Soldiers travelled heavy back then.

This is not on the scale of "the western allies liberated Europe, and the Soviets were an afterthought".
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Well put, I think. As far as historical injustices go, these two don't even compare.
 
stevoc said:
Mourinho instructs a central midfielder not to play it forward? Huh?

First off you don't know that and secondly it seems unlikely.



Jesus you're going on about haters glasses, you need to take off your rose tinted ones. You would swear you were talking about one of our best and most important players. It's Fellaini.
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Like it or not, he is one of the most important players. And it's not just me saying it either, it's Jose.
 
Obiorahking_ said:
Sorry did you just state that Marouane Fellaini, a central midfielder, was instructed not to advance the ball forward.....? Sorry but that has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard considering that Herrera plays the same role as Fellaini and has no problem playing the hall forward.

Did you also just say that if we sell Fellaini we are going to be exposed? Where? On the bench? Fellaini at the end of the day is an alternate to Herrera and Pogba. If we sell him, like we should, we should simply replace him or promote one of the younger guys.
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Herrera and Fellaini have completely different roles. Especially under Mourinho.
 
So he's valuable because three managers like him and cannot be wrong. Well, those managers have taken us through some of the worst league seasons in recent history and broken a bunch of negative records along the way, with a generous sprinkle of bad decisions. But there's no way they can be wrong about big Fella.
 
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