[Ryan7]

Good performance from him today. Didn't look out of his depth against a big team for a change. Almost grabbed the equaliser as well.

 

[shamans]

Yeah. That's fair. He was all over. As an attacker though I think he's more dangerous in an advanced role.

That's a good chart. From someone like him that's what I want to see. Just go all over the place and be a an annoyance to the opposition.

 

[thepolice123]

Thought he was crucial in help us match Chelsea today. The physical presence he gave us today was quite invaluable. One of the reasons why Chelsea couldn't assert there famous pressing game on us.

 

[bosnian_red]

Was great I thought. Marked Fabregas out of the game and did well on the ball for the most part. Probably his best performance at United.

 

[Dunk]

One of our top three players on the pitch.

 

[No11]

Was our best player, simple as that.

 

[sullydnl]

Agree with those who have said Fellaini's all round game is underrated here, he proved at Everton that it was at least good enough to function as a midfielder at PL level. That isn't to say he's technically excellent or anything near it but neither is he the talent vacuum some people like to portray him as.

That said, his defensive capabilities were seriously overrated before he came here too so at least there was a nice balance to people's misconceptions of him.

 

[Shamwow]

Agree with those who have said Fellaini's all round game is underrated here, he proved at Everton that it was at least good enough to function as a midfielder at PL level. That isn't to say he's technically excellent or anything near it but neither is he the talent vacuum some people like to portray him as.

That said, his defensive capabilities were seriously overrated before he came here too so at least there was a nice balance to people's misconceptions of him.

He has his moments, there was a really nice flick on he did in this game for Januzaj to run on to for instance.

 

[Moonred]

He was very good today, nullified chelsea's superior midfield mostly. Played box to box, any criticism is just cognitive bias.

 

[Rowem]

What game did you watch exactly?

Sesme like some people just wont let go, some even wont say he's been good.

I watched the same game as you. I gave my opinion and explained why. I was in no way derogatory towards Fellaini nor people who rated his performance - I was in no way degrading of Fellaini as a player overall.

For the record, compared to most of this forum I am far from a Fellaini detractor. However I hate it when he is deployed as a box-to-box midfielder as he plays it in a way that I completely disagree with, and I personally find that frustrating to watch. If you have a problem with that then explain yourself - don't make ridiculous sweeping, personal assumptions and make smug, dismissive posts.

 

[MUFCpiffgawd]

He was very good today, nullified chelsea's superior midfield mostly. Played box to box, any criticism is just cognitive bias.

This 4141 formation might be the perfect formation for Fellaini. He had a great game. And if you are familiar with my (negative)opinion of him then you should know how good a game he had.

 

[charleysurf]

Probably deserves to play versus City, and could use his physicality. But not sure where he fits. This as a front 6?

Rooney RVP/ Falcao

Fellaini ADM Herrera
Blind

 

[LARulz]

Excellent performance. Putting himself everywhere and causing chaos.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

He was brilliant today, kept Fabregas quiet all game and definitely deserves to start next week against City.

 

[Amar__]

Why? He was United's best player.

He just isn't doing what I think central midfielder should do. Pretty simple things really, as a midfielder he should be controlling the things, be more involved in the build up and not just waiting for every situation to run in the box for us to hoof the ball instead of being available as an option for the pass. Blind had 58 passes, that's almost 20 more passes than him, Smalling and Rojo almost had double passes than him, all with more accuracy. As a central midfielder for Manchester United that shouldn't happen IMO, so I have no idea how can he get MOTM from some people for this.

Just to be clear, he wasn't bad, but I just can't understand how he can get MOTM for a average performance like this.

I think some people form opinions on players before they've set foot on the pitch.

Well sometimes that's the case, but not always and not in my case. Whenever someone isn't happy with Fellaini some of you think it's because that person doesn't like him.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

He is so, so poor defensively and off the ball.

He kept Fabregas extremely quiet and competed well with Matic. I'm not sure what more you could expect of him defensively today.

 

[Scorpy]

Thought he was our best player tonight and did a great job on keeping Fibreglass quiet. His link-up play was good as well - didn't slow us down and kept things thicking.

Credit where it's due - he was great against WBA and now against Chelsea. He deserves to keep his spot in the team for the City game, especially when we'll need physicality in midfield. Lining up with a midfield of Blind, Mata and Herrera against Toure, Fernando and Fernandinho would be suicide.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

Surprising performance by him, it was very pleasing to see.

 

[Cheesy]

I did and still do believe. I was in the newbs then and had a thread about how Fellaini will be an important player for us.

He'll perform like this again but in 5-10 games he'll have one crap game and all of you will shite on him again.

If you're insinuating that's what happened with him so far then that would be incorrect. If he performs regularly then he won't be shat on for one bad game.

 

[PlayerOne]

He was good today and I do like that he goes into the box but IMO he does it too often, when we get the ball in their half he just runs into their box and just stands there, IMO a midfielder needs to do more than that. Would make a good player in a three man midfield though.

 

[acnumber9]

He played well but he completely switches off at set pieces. People walk away from him.

 

[ADJUDICATOR]

He was alright. Nothing really that was outside the range of ability that is already expected of him, but evidently Chelsea weren't man enough to give him a challenge.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Probably deserves to play versus City, and could use his physicality. But not sure where he fits. This as a front 6?

Rooney RVP/ Falcao

Fellaini ADM Herrera
Blind

--------------------Falcao----------------------
Di Maria-----------Rooney-----------Januzaj
----------------Blind----Fellaini---------------

-------------Falcao----Rooney---------
-------------------Fellaini---------------
----------Di Maria-------Herrera-------
--------------------Blind-----------------

-----------------------------Falcao---------------------
Di Maria----Rooney/Herrera-----Fellaini-----Januzaj
-------------------------------Blind----------------------

all have their merits and weaknesses. And then there's Carrick still to come in as well. First time in a long time I've felt like we've had good competition for places through the midfield/attack. Lots of players, including Fellaini, deserve to start at the moment which can only be a good thing.

 

[Ixion]

He was decent and that's a couple of promising games in a row, good for him. Defensively I think we're weaker with him in the side but he is doing better with a more forward role.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

I watched the same game as you. I gave my opinion and explained why. I was in no way derogatory towards Fellaini nor people who rated his performance - I was in no way degrading of Fellaini as a player overall.

For the record, compared to most of this forum I am far from a Fellaini detractor. However I hate it when he is deployed as a box-to-box midfielder as he plays it in a way that I completely disagree with, and I personally find that frustrating to watch. If you have a problem with that then explain yourself - don't make ridiculous sweeping, personal assumptions and make smug, dismissive posts.

Dont be such a drama queen, my 2nd sentence wasnt about you in particular.It sasnt dismissive or smug or sthing.

Today he wasnt frustrating to watch, quite the opposite, played a box to box mid and played very good, kept it simple, connected defense and final 3rd well and defensively was on mark to.

 

[shamans]

--------------------Falcao----------------------
Di Maria-----------Rooney-----------Januzaj
----------------Blind----Fellaini---------------

-------------Falcao----Rooney---------
-------------------Fellaini---------------
----------Di Maria-------Herrera-------
--------------------Blind-----------------

-----------------------------Falcao---------------------
Di Maria----Rooney/Herrera-----Fellaini-----Januzaj
-------------------------------Blind----------------------

all have their merits and weaknesses. And then there's Carrick still to come in as well. First time in a long time I've felt like we've had good competition for places through the midfield/attack. Lots of players, including Fellaini, deserve to start at the moment which can only be a good thing.

Second from that or the third one is what I want to see

 

[Henrik Larsson]

He's a really strange player, obviously enjoyed him today. Will be very interesting to see if Van Gaal can get some tactical awareness into him. Seemed to know what he was doing more than usual for us today, although he still had a typical Fellaini-style game.

Herrera is a better and more creative passer, scored two nice goals for us too. But I reallly wouldn't know who to chose versus City. If Yaya is playing and has a good game, even Fellaini can't really contain him. And if I had to choose between a struggling Fellaini and Herrera letting the ball do the work, might go for the latter. Especially with Rooney back, we need good football, not Fellaini's present upfront.

On the other hand I wouldn't mind it at all if he played against City.

 

[Boycott]

Excellent performance

 

[Cheesy]

Why is guarded praise understandable? If a player puts in a good performance then you should be able to praise that performance. If he had played badly today then I really doubt that people here would be holding back on criticising him on the grounds that he had a good game on Monday.

Im going to repeat something I have said several times - Fellaini was signed on the last minute of deadline day, he had no preseason and played half of last season with a wrist injury. He was seen as a "Moyes Man" and was also presented to us as the CM signing that we desperately needed, when most were expecting a Kroos, Thiago or Fabregas. We paid over the odds as well.

None of that is Fellainis fault, but pretty much from day 1 he has had the fans on his back and against him. He was not a popular signing and most fans made up their minds on him very quickly. Last season was an unmitigated disaster, and for most of the squad that seems to be good enough grounds for writing off their performances - "because the entire team was shit last year." Yet with Fellaini this logic isnt extended to him - his performances last year were purely because he is apparently rubbish, even though - as explained above - he had more mitigating circumstances than most of the squad (no pre-season, playing with an injury etc).

I could go on, but honestly im not going to waste my time because when it comes to trying to defend Fellaini on here, it is like talking to a brick wall.



edit: As others have said though those who are so surprised that Fellaini can actually control the ball well, pass well, tackle well etc - obviously didnt watch him at Everton. His all-round game is massively underrated on here.

People can recognise what's he done today, and can recognise that he's played well, so stop with the "brick wall" shite. It's my personal opinion that Fellaini is a fairly average footballer and that he's not what we need long-term, but he's playing well at the moment and I'm happy for him to be played because he isn't outright terrible and can be effective. I understand you rate him more, and that's fine - you've got every right to feel that way. You're not going to go anywhere in a discussion if you just write off everyone who isn't suddenly jumping on the Fellaini bandwagon as someone who's just refusing to listen. He's hit some decent form, but he has to actually sustain that now.

Being brought in last minute wasn't the problem. It didn't help him (you're spot on with that), but many felt from the start that he just wasn't what we needed. His technical ability and all-round game is better than what he's generally shown so far, but it's still fairly average in comparison to the level we aspire to reach. He's not a terrible passer, but he's not the sort of player who can be relied upon to control a game either, as Carrick has done in the past, or players like Blind and Herrera are arguably capable of doing. He can control a football, yes, but he's playing in the Premier League. The vast majority of players can control a ball, but I'm not particularly convinced that Fellaini is very comfortable or controlled when he's on it. He was better today, but again, that doesn't suddenly swing the entire consensus on him.

A good performance today, but I'm not going to get carried away with it. That doesn't somehow mean I refuse to praise him or that I'm a brick wall, because I'm acknowledging his positives.

 

[OneUnited24]

If that amazed you then you never watched him play as a box to box midfielder at Everton then.

Why was he rubbish?

 

[Kevin]

I told you what a monster of a player we bought. A shame Moyes did not fit him in well at a big club. I am very impressed with him and happy for myself.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

He just isn't doing what I think central midfielder should do. Pretty simple things really, as a midfielder he should be controlling the things, be more involved in the build up and not just waiting for every situation to run in the box for us to hoof the ball instead of being available as an option for the pass. Blind had 58 passes, that's almost 20 more passes than him, Smalling and Rojo almost had double passes than him, all with more accuracy. As a central midfielder for Manchester United that shouldn't happen IMO, so I have no idea how can he get MOTM from some people for this.

Just to be clear, he wasn't bad, but I just can't understand how he can get MOTM for a average performance like this.




Well sometimes that's the case, but not always and not in my case. Whenever someone isn't happy with Fellaini some of you think it's because that person doesn't like him.

Strange. I think he did all those things. Against WBA he ran to the box too much. Today not.
It wasnt an average performance by any means.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Decent game. Looks like he's been instructed not to assault opponents and play football. His passing is very good, and his first touch is top notch. He really helped us win the midfield battle for the most part of the game. Played a big part in winning the aerial ball for the equalizer too. No complaints. I hope he can kick on and be a useful option.

 

[Rowem]

Dont be such a drama queen, my 2nd sentence wasnt about you in particular.

Today he wasnt frustrating to watch, quite the opposite, played a box to box mid and played very good, kept it simple, connected defense and final 3rd well and defensively was on mark to.

My main problem with your post was the open line. "What game were you watching?" Arrogant and patronizing. Would you talk like that to someone in person in response to them explaining their opinion?

Why the feck are some people completely incapable of conversing in a civil matter on the internet. (Oh, but I don't mean you in particular)

If you didn't find Fellaini frustrating that's great for you. I did, as he lumbered slowly away from where he should have been and waited for a long ball. Call me crazy but I actually like my midfielders to contribute to build up play and to help work the ball into dangerous positions. If Fellaini could do that and arrive into the box late and cause problems, great. Him standing in the box whilst we try to maneuver the ball into a crossing position is ineffective and we will not score enough goals with this tactic.

 

[JackXX]

Really good again. Van Gaal has found him a position in this squad and I think he can be a very useful player for us.

 

[An Irish Red]

My main problems with him have always been how poor he is at tracking runners and how often he switches off defensively. With Blind playing deeper that's not as much of an issue.

He did well today.

 

[Yorkeontop]

Was he assigned to Fabregas? I didnt know the big guy could that.

 

[Escobar]

Fair play to him. He had a specific job to do today and he did it well

 

[Mali_Zeus]

My main problem with your post was the open line. "What game were you watching?" Arrogant and patronizing. Would you talk like that to someone in person in response to them explaining their opinion?

Why the feck are some people completely incapable of conversing in a civil matter on the internet. (Oh, but I don't mean you in particular)

If you didn't find Fellaini frustrating that's great for you. I did, as he lumbered slowly away from where he should have been and waited for a long ball. Call me crazy but I actually like my midfielders to contribute to build up play and to help work the ball into dangerous positions. If Fellaini could do that and arrive into the box late and cause problems, great. Him standing in the box whilst we try to maneuver the ball into a crossing position is ineffective and we will not score enough goals with this tactic.

Oh come ooon, it wasnt that bad.

I saw the game completely different. He'd done a very good job in midfield and contributed to our play a lot. As opposed to WBA game he didnt just run for headers, quite the contrary he did what a mid should do and did ti very good.
But I guess we saw different things. Fair enough.

 

[DWelbz19]

Decent performance. Did very well in the first half, sort of fizzled out in the second half. Wouldn't mind seeing him play as the advanced midfielder in a diamond, with Rooney+1 as the strikers.

 

[Lynk]

So happy for him, valuable squad player to have