Marouane Fellaini | 2013/14 Performances

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The problem with playing him at the base of a midfield 3 is he has a tendency to run high up the pitch and support attacks. I personally think he's technically quite good and can produce some nice flicks in and around the box, but we'll be left defensively short playing him there and we will end up sacrificing the attacking ability of Herrera.

When he was partnering Witsel he would maraud up the pitch whenever they had the ball and would stay higher up when they didn't. I just don't think he would work in that role. I still stand by the fact he would be a useful plan B to bring off the bench when we need a goal. If anything, we should learn from City who only had plan A which was tiki-taka style and lost the league because teams had learned to sit in their box. They bought Fernandinho and Navas and won the league. Barca too can be used as an example.
 
Be a shame to see him go already, if rumours are true. I at least wanted to see him given a chance up until January under Van Gaal to see if he can turn things around. Van Gaal did actually say he wanted to see everyone in his system before getting rid. That said, according to Van Gaal, Fellaini is a no.10, and he has no chance starting in that position over the likes of Mata, Kagawa, Rooney, etc, so if he's not looking to play Fellaini in a deeper role, then there really is no place for Fellaini.
 
Blue always red said:
The problem with playing him at the base of a midfield 3 is he has a tendency to run high up the pitch and support attacks. I personally think he's technically quite good and can produce some nice flicks in and around the box, but we'll be left defensively short playing him there and we will end up sacrificing the attacking ability of Herrera.

When he was partnering Witsel he would maraud up the pitch whenever they had the ball and would stay higher up when they didn't. I just don't think he would work in that role. I still stand by the fact he would be a useful plan B to bring off the bench when we need a goal. If anything, we should learn from City who only had plan A which was tiki-taka style and lost the league because teams had learned to sit in their box. They bought Fernandinho and Navas and won the league. Barca too can be used as an example.
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Which is fine, but if under instruction NOT TO and to sit and hold, then he will. Surely nobody can be that dumb to ignore tactical instruction. I have a feeling Moyes encouraged him to do it, he liked his presence in the box. I'm sure LVG could improve him, but I can see why people don't have the patience.
 
Adam-Utd said:
Which is fine, but if under instruction NOT TO and to sit and hold, then he will. Surely nobody can be that dumb to ignore tactical instruction. I have a feeling Moyes encouraged him to do it, he liked his presence in the box. I'm sure LVG could improve him, but I can see why people don't have the patience.
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Of course this was encouraged. Marc Wilmots did the same thing in the world cup, and more or less said to Fellaini to not get involved in any of the build up, run straight to the box and wait for a cross. Silly tactics, in my opinion, and made Fellaini look a lot worse than he is.

In an Everton side where he played the deepest midfielder, although only playing 4 games, Fellaini showed he's actually not as bad on the ball than people make out to be, coming out as top passer in all games, which pretty much sums up Martinez's philosophy.


EDIT: Maybe Fellaini should have forgot about his holiday and reported to training as soon as possible to try and impress Van Gaal.
 
Hopefully his transfer will pave the way to a decent midfielder
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
Of course this was encouraged. Marc Wilmots did the same thing in the world cup, and more or less said to Fellaini to not get involved in any of the build up, run straight to the box and wait for a cross. Silly tactics, in my opinion, and made Fellaini look a lot worse than he is.

In an Everton side where he played the deepest midfielder, although only playing 4 games, Fellaini showed he's actually not as bad on the ball than people make out to be, coming out as top passer in all games, which pretty much sums up Martinez's philosophy.


EDIT: Maybe Fellaini should have forgot about his holiday and reported to training as soon as possible to try and impress Van Gaal.
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But it depends on what you expect from the holding midfielder and the type of passes he plays. Cleverley tops passing statistic tables for fun, by many feel he doesn't contribute enough incisive passes forward. I personally think Fellaini is a half-decent passer. His range is nowhere near Carrick's but there is one incredibly overlooked yet effective ball he plays regularly which is just inside the opposition midfielder. I can see Mata/Kagawa/Herrera loving that ball into them.

I think LVG has already said he sees Fellaini as a No. 10 hasn't he? Depends on whether or not he feels he can convert him I guess.
 
Blue always red said:
But it depends on what you expect from the holding midfielder and the type of passes he plays. Cleverley tops passing statistic tables for fun, by many feel he doesn't contribute enough incisive passes forward. I personally think Fellaini is a half-decent passer. His range is nowhere near Carrick's but there is one incredibly overlooked yet effective ball he plays regularly which is just inside the opposition midfielder. I can see Mata/Kagawa/Herrera loving that ball into them.

I think LVG has already said he sees Fellaini as a No. 10 hasn't he? Depends on whether or not he feels he can convert him I guess.
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I personally think it depends who he's playing next to. In my opinion, at times, Cleverley is criticized because when he gets into decent positions higher up the pitch, he often plays it safe. He wouldn't have that problem playing in the deeper role, and I very rarely heard people moaning about Cleverley being safe when he was partnered with Anderson - the player who give us the creative spark. Cleverley job as the more reserved midfielder out the two was to just keep things ticking over, which he did, and still does pretty well, in my opinion.

This is the role I feel Fellaini can play, providing he has someone like Herrera and Mata in midfield with him - two very creative players, while Fellaini breaks up play and distributes it to the more creative players.

De Jong hasn't got a great passing range, yet he was played over Clasie - a guy with a superior passing range to him. As we all know, De Jong was in the Dutch team to break up play and distribute it to Sneijder or Wijnaldum.

As for LVG saying Fellaini is a number 10, he did actually say that, and I mentioned that in my earlier post, however, Fellaini has already come out in the past and said he wants to play as a number 6.
 
Adam-Utd said:
I see no reason why he couldn't play the Fletcher role against LA or Inter.

If LVG can get Rooney playing fast 1 touch football then anybody has hope.
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Come on! Rooney can have some pub level performances and is slightly overrated by his fanbois. But surely you can see he is a talented footballer and technically good (not great, but still good)?
 
I'd be quite happy with £18 million for him despite it being at a loss.
 
Adam-Utd said:
Which is fine, but if under instruction NOT TO and to sit and hold, then he will. Surely nobody can be that dumb to ignore tactical instruction. I have a feeling Moyes encouraged him to do it, he liked his presence in the box. I'm sure LVG could improve him, but I can see why people don't have the patience.
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I think the problem with Fellaini holding is that his game is suited to a team on the backfoot where his physical presence helps to break up play. If you're the dominant team which we have been in each game then the role is more about control and distribution to which Carrick and Fletcher are a lot better than him at. I think that'll always hold him back as a holding player at a team that expects to dominate most games.
 
united_99 said:
Come on! Rooney can have some pub level performances and is slightly overrated by his fanbois. But surely you can see he is a talented footballer and technically good (not great, but still good)?
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I was joking really I love Rooney, but his 1 touch passing isn't his strong point.
 
if I could describe one moment with Fellaini that sums up his time here, it was when we beat Arsenal 1-0 at Old Trafford.

We were holding on, and he came on with something like 8mins to go.
A lot of us were actually worried that he was coming on.

Worried, at bringing a player bought for £28m on, to see the last 8+ mins out!!
 
Benitez is a clever tactician and I think he'd find different situations to use Fellaini. Decent move for him. I'd love to get the underrated Inler in exchange, but that won't happen. Good fit as Herrera's partner, though.
 
I wonder if Marouane ready to play for United. Mentally i mean. It's just he was involved with Belgium in 1/4 at WC, fair play to him, he has a right for extended leave, but given his situation, big money move, new manager, a really bad season, the need to prove himself, surely one would expect him to ditch the holiday and come to the US early if only to somehow impress the manager with attitude.
But that has not happened, so i think Fellaini himself is already kind of focused on leaving.
 
The Mitcher said:
I saw that they want to swap Mertens with him...urgh.
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He was frustrating to watch at the WC. Shooting far too much and not very well, not passing the ball and running into players.

If we can get £18m that is a fantastic sum considering. I still think he could of been good for 20 minutes against the park the bus teams, but his wages are far too high for that.
 
Lane said:
I wonder if Marouane ready to play for United. Mentally i mean. It's just he was involved with Belgium in 1/4 at WC, fair play to him, he has a right for extended leave, but given his situation, big money move, new manager, a really bad season, the need to prove himself, surely one would expect him to ditch the holiday and come to the US early if only to somehow impress the manager with attitude.
But that has not happened, so i think Fellaini himself is already kind of focused on leaving.
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I don't think it would be that simple. I would not be surprised if a lot of these players offered to come in, but Louis said no, to take the rest. Getting good rest between seasons is crucial for a player's long term health & fitness.
 
dirkey said:
I don't think it would be that simple. I would not be surprised if a lot of these players offered to come in, but Louis said no, to take the rest. Getting good rest between seasons is crucial for a player's long term health & fitness.
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Maybe still, he does come off with a "well, it's was not meant to be" vibe.
 
He's shit, on good wages and is clogging up a space in the team. I would take any offer for £12m plus, £18m I would fecking drive him to Naples myself. If you strip out the fact that Moyes loved him and spent £42m on him and you look what he offers, he's basically Tim Cahill in his prime. He's not worth any more than 15m objectively.
 
They're interested, get him sold... I mean, I was all for him sticking it out for another season and trying to prove himself... but if there's an opportunity to cut our losses, we should take it.
 
Lane said:
I wonder if Marouane ready to play for United. Mentally i mean. It's just he was involved with Belgium in 1/4 at WC, fair play to him, he has a right for extended leave, but given his situation, big money move, new manager, a really bad season, the need to prove himself, surely one would expect him to ditch the holiday and come to the US early if only to somehow impress the manager with attitude.
But that has not happened, so i think Fellaini himself is already kind of focused on leaving.
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Seems like LVG is so stubborn he will not give him the time or place. I do think his time is up, and VG wants to nail his final ruthless victory over Moyes, that fellaini reminds VG on how much of a broken team Moyes left the club in. And fellaini is that scapegoat in the moyes era
 
Adam-Utd said:
I see no reason why he couldn't play the Fletcher role against LA or Inter.

If LVG can get Rooney playing fast 1 touch football then anybody has hope.
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Because Fletcher is far better a footballer and is miles better with the ball at his feet.

Also, what? Rooney is incapable of 1 touch football? It's like you've never watched him for more than 1 game.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
Be a shame to see him go already, if rumours are true. I at least wanted to see him given a chance up until January under Van Gaal to see if he can turn things around. Van Gaal did actually say he wanted to see everyone in his system before getting rid. That said, according to Van Gaal, Fellaini is a no.10, and he has no chance starting in that position over the likes of Mata, Kagawa, Rooney, etc, so if he's not looking to play Fellaini in a deeper role, then there really is no place for Fellaini.
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Van Gaal sold Buttner and Bebe without giving them a chance. Not everyone's getting chances.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
They were more or less off before Van Gaal had come. Plus, neither of them cost 27.5M.
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You're right. Buttner bolted as soon as he LVG was confirmed as he felt he had ignored him over the years. Bebe was already set on Benfica. Hope this Fellaini deal goes through soon.
 
Knowing what van Gaal is looking to do in the preseason games, I just cannot see where Fellaini would fit into the system. He is not good enough with the ball and gets dispossessed too easily. He is better in rugged-type games but van Gaal's system will look to play around the physicality with quick movement and counters instead of getting down into the trenches.

I actually think he would do well in Serie A.
 
Eugenius said:
He's shit, on good wages and is clogging up a space in the team. I would take any offer for £12m plus, £18m I would fecking drive him to Naples myself. If you strip out the fact that Moyes loved him and spent £42m on him and you look what he offers, he's basically Tim Cahill in his prime. He's not worth any more than 15m objectively.
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Let's hope he doesn't accidentally discover this thread in the car.
 
Loublaze said:
You're right. Buttner bolted as soon as he LVG was confirmed as he felt he had ignored him over the years. Bebe was already set on Benfica. Hope this Fellaini deal goes through soon.
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Seems like VG is getting rid of the final few players years of the fergie and moyes era, in terms of the bad signings they made. Which fellaini bebe and butner are the perfect example
 
Oneunited26 said:
Seems like VG is getting rid of the final few players years of the fergie and moyes era, in terms of the bad signings they made. Which fellaini bebe and butner are the perfect example
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Zaha is should consider himself lucky to at least get his chance.
 
Oneunited26 said:
Seems like VG is getting rid of the final few players years of the fergie and moyes era, in terms of the bad signings they made. Which fellaini bebe and butner are the perfect example
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Only Van Persie to go then?
 
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