[ZDwyr]

I thought he was quite poor for the majority of the match, though showed plenty of strength in the final 15 mins when we pretty much tried to launch every ball his way.

Pussied out of the duel with Demichelis when Rojo ended up getting injured, gave the ball away for the situation that 2 sec later ended up with Smallings brain fart, lucky to not award Manchester City a daft penalty. Too slow on the ball, too clumsy.

Probably because if he didn't it would have been a potential broken leg. Demichelis came sliding in with a high foot - it could (probably should) have been a f.k. to us.

Whether Aguero is a cnut or not is not really the question.

I was talking to the way Fellaini had a go at him verbally - not the initial challenge. Aguero has a history of stamping on players and leaving the foot in, so I have no issue with Fellaini showing some nastiness towards him. So Aguero being a cnut was relevant for my point.

These 2/3 games are about the best he can do though. Not a long term idea that looks like a lot of fun. Really limited footballer. Awful decisions, average in possession. Won't hit a ball that well (WBA goal) ever again.

Absolute nonsense. He has been really good in possession lately and has a decent strike on him.

I'm throwing it out there.

I have more confidence in him than Herrera. We just look more solid with him in the side.

Me too.

could have conceded 1-2 pens, missed a great chance, always gonna be ponderous in possession, encourages the hoofball just by being there

We didn't hoofball and besides we had 10 men, did you expect us to slice them up? Yeah he missed a chance but it's unfair to write him off for that because lots of players miss chances in matches.

 

[ZDwyr]

Fellaini played well, but we sacrifice our style and offesnive football for that. With Herrera, we were more fluid and created a lot of chances, but were more open at the back. With Fellaini, we are more solid, but we dont create anything. We kick a lot of times the ball towards him and hope for the best. I dont know what that means for our long term future under van Gaal.

We also played against poorer opposition and so it was easier to create chances.

 

[Acquire Me]

Man of the match for us today imo.

 

[Steven Seagull]

He certainly looks fitter and sharper to me this season.

 

[IceDevil]

Maybe i'm crazy but that was his best performance since he was signed, IMO.

 

[Manucho the boss]

Looks like the press are going after him for the spit at Aguero.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ident-Manchester-City-hero-Sergio-Aguero.html

He got away with the Zabaleta one at OT last season but as usual he seems to have learned nothing.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/m...-united-man-spat-at-man-citys-pablo-zabaleta/

 

[Isotope]

I don't get it. We are starting to look that we can compete with two of the best teams in the league. Just when our midfield look solid with Fellaini play his part, some just want to pick it apart again.

Herrera-Blind-Di Maria combo couldn't compete (and sometimes overrun) by Sunderland and Leicester ffs!

At least, Fellaini earns his place, and we should give him more chance to see how he progress.

 

[Kazi]

I want to see all four of them play in a midfield diamond, with Falcao and Rooney up top.

 

[shamans]

I don't get it. We are starting to look that we can compete with two of the best teams in the league. Just when our midfield look solid with Fellaini play his part, some just want to pick it apart again.

Herrera-Blind-Di Maria combo couldn't compete (and sometimes overrun) by Sunderland and Leicester ffs!

At least, Fellaini earns his place, and we should give him more chance to see how he progress.

This. We have a real backbone now.

 

[Rafabio]

We have a midfield now and he's playing a crucial role there.

But how do we fit in Afropuffs, Blind and Herrera?

 

[Devil may care]

A couple of decent games and you'd think he's morphed into Redondo the way some are posting about him. For the record we have never seen a Blind/Di Maria/Herrera midfield trio with 2 wide men in front of them in a proper 4-3-3 so it can't be judged.

 

[Mockney]

He's done well in the last two games, which are two of the toughest opponents he'll face all season. You have to give him credit, because it's due. But it worries me that his mere presence naturally encourages a sizeable increase in long ball tactics. I'm stuck between wanting him to do well, and worrying it's impossible to play him without making our game more reductive by default.

 

[izec]

A couple of decent games and you'd think he's morphed into Redondo the way some are posting about him. For the record we have never seen a Blind/Di Maria/Herrera midfield trio with 2 wide men in front of them in a proper 4-3-3 so it can't be judged.

This.

He's done well in the last two games, which are two of the toughest opponents he'll face all season. You have to give him credit, because it's due. But it worries me that his mere presence naturally encourages a sizeable increase in long ball tactics. I'm stuck between wanting him to do well, and worrying it's impossible to play him without making our game more reductive by default.

and this.

 

[Galactic]

We have an alternative for midfield formation now.

If we need more protection to the back four, Fellaini-Blind is a good combo in the centre. Carrick-Blind is another option. For a more attacking approach Herrera can come in for Fellaini or Carrick.

I am intrigued to see a Fellaini-Carrick-Herrera combo behind ADM-Falcao/RVP-Rooney. Not a good balance I must admit.

 

[Gannicus]

Fellaini has done a decent job for us the last few matches but this gambit has to come to an end. Herrera is the vastly better footballer and gives us so much more going forward.

If we need to resort to longball at the end, or shut things down, we can always bring Marouane on.

No rocket science degree required for this one, mates.

 

[caid]

I dont know if its managers instructions or the player choosing to do it
but i kind of hate that when the balls goes over the half way line he moves up next to the striker
waiting for the long ball.
Im sure it'll have its place but i kept seeing that for the first 30 mins of todays match and it irritated me.
When he sits in midfield and moves the ball around he does the job really well. Hes even decent at one touch football.
He was probably our best midfielder after we went down to 10 men (all 3 were pretty good imo actually)
The extra height at set pieces and just when the ball comes in for a cross or whatever is a great bonus.
But ...
When your losing a cm and the option of a short pass from the vast majority of the play to have a target man you can hoof the ball up to it just seems like a terrible trade off.
If hes being used like that then i wish we'd play him as a no.10 so when di maria or whoever picks the ball up on the edge of our box, hes up front, available for a quick pass already.
It has its place and that'd be the best way to take advantage of it.
But if hes playing cm i wish he'd stay deeper more often, as he did after we went down to 10 men.

Hes been much better the last couple of games though and he certainly has his uses.
I'd bring herrera back (or as well as) next game tough personally

 

[CLARiiON]

I was talking to the way Fellaini had a go at him verbally - not the initial challenge. Aguero has a history of stamping on players and leaving the foot in, so I have no issue with Fellaini showing some nastiness towards him. So Aguero being a cnut was relevant for my point.

If Aguero "deserves" nastiness, then what does Fellaini deserve? A fecking medal?? The point is simple - Fellaini is an idiot.

 

[Pexbo]

FWIW I was actually laughing at myself yesterday for being impressed with his chest control. He brought the ball down and held it up really well on a number of occasions and in a game where possession is key, it was a very valuable tool.

 

[Kostur]

If Aguero "deserves" nastiness, then what does Fellaini deserve? A fecking medal?? The point is simple - Fellaini is an idiot.

That red card after two fouls against Sociedad in CL is a fantastic contribution to this collage created by a 12 year old kid. Ladies and gentlemen, the first player ever to get a red card after two yellows.

A couple of decent games and you'd think he's morphed into Redondo the way some are posting about him. For the record we have never seen a Blind/Di Maria/Herrera midfield trio with 2 wide men in front of them in a proper 4-3-3 so it can't be judged.

Di Maria can't play both on wing and in midfield at the same time so we're not going to see it anyway. If anything, it'd be midfield trio like today with Rooney, Blind and Herrera or Blind, Herrera and Mata. With ADM on the wing, just like in last three games.

 

[IwatUwat]

Best game by quite some distance, looked good and confident with the ball at his feet which was brilliant. Shame he missed the big chance with his head. But although slow (Which will not change) that was his best game by a fair way IMO. Hope that continues.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He's done well in the last two games, which are two of the toughest opponents he'll face all season. You have to give him credit, because it's due. But it worries me that his mere presence naturally encourages a sizeable increase in long ball tactics. I'm stuck between wanting him to do well, and worrying it's impossible to play him without making our game more reductive by default.

That's definitely a risk but didn't see it happening against City or Chelsea. Not until we were really desperately looking for a goal, which usually involves big hoofs into the box no matter who's playing. Up until that point, Fellaini was mostly playing the ball on the deck.

We definitely played long ball football a lot more frequently in the first few games of the season, when Fellaini wasn't involved.

 

[Massive Spanner]

He's playing well but it just shouldn't be at the expense of Herrera, who is clearly a better player, that's my only real issue here.

 

[Kostur]

That's definitely a risk but didn't see it happening against City or Chelsea. Not until we were really desperately looking for a goal, which usually involves big hoofs into the box no matter who's playing. Up until that point, Fellaini was mostly playing the ball on the deck.

We definitely played long ball football a lot more frequently in the first few games of the season, when Fellaini wasn't involved.

Was about to bring it up, it looks as if people forgot what kind of tumescent shit we were playing with 352 and Evans/Blackett's constant hoofs.

Yesterday we've reverted to it because we were a man down, City had an advantage in midfield and would intercept most of our passes up front especially when our defence and midfield look horribly disjointed. Moving it like we did yesterday was easily the safest option not to get killed on a counter. Something like this didn't happen against Chelsea where we were chasing the score as well but didn't have to do it with 10 men and a fecking CM in CB.

 

[charleysurf]

He's playing well but it just shouldn't be at the expense of Herrera, who is clearly a better player, that's my only real issue here.

Herrera should be the better player but didn't show it last time he played. Hopefully that was just due to the ribs though.

 

[Cassidy]

Herrera should be the better player but didn't show it last time he played. Hopefully that was just the injury though.

He showed it ALL the previous games he played in.

 

[charleysurf]

He showed it ALL the previous games he played in.

Like Swansea? I don't realy care if Herrera or Fellaini plays, as long as whoever plays does well. But foolish to say that Herrera has always been top class in every performance.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Was about to bring it up, it looks as if people forgot what kind of tumescent shit we were playing with 352 and Evans/Blackett's constant hoofs.

Yesterday we've reverted to it because we were a man down, City had an advantage in midfield and would intercept most of our passes up front especially when our defence and midfield look horribly disjointed. Moving it like we did yesterday was easily the safest option not to get killed on a counter. Something like this didn't happen against Chelsea where we were chasing the score as well but didn't have to do it with 10 men and a fecking CM in CB.

We actually avoided route one quite a lot yesterday. In that 15 minute spell in the second half, most of our good work was done with the ball on the ground. And Fellaini heavily involved.

 

[GE]

Thought he was very good. One of our better players. It's obvious his confidence has had a massive boost. Pleased for him.

 

[charleysurf]

We actually avoided route one quite a lot yesterday. In that 15 minute spell in the second half, most of our good work was done with the ball on the ground. And Fellaini heavily involved.

Somehow had City so pinned in that route one was far from necessary. aaargh a goal from it would have been so great...

 

[Chaky_Best]

Pleased for him, because it benefits our team, but I think that he plays because his styles suits the big games we had and the encessity to add steal in a unbalanced team. By the way, it's going to be interesting to see where he will play when Herrera will be back and when Falcao will start to compete with RVP upfront.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Somehow had City so pinned in that route one was far from necessary. aaargh a goal from it would have been so great...

To come back and draw at the Etihad from a goal and a man down would have been huge. And we nearly bloody did it. Fine margins.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Herrera should be the better player but didn't show it last time he played. Hopefully that was just due to the ribs though.

It quite clearly was due to the ribs. There's no comparison for me, Fellaini has shown he definitely has his uses but Herrera's a much more complete midfielder than him. In fact, he's our best midfielder (and one of Spain's best last season), I hope he gets put back in the team soon.

 

[NK86]

I dont know if its managers instructions or the player choosing to do it
but i kind of hate that when the balls goes over the half way line he moves up next to the striker
waiting for the long ball.
Im sure it'll have its place but i kept seeing that for the first 30 mins of todays match and it irritated me.
When he sits in midfield and moves the ball around he does the job really well. Hes even decent at one touch football.
He was probably our best midfielder after we went down to 10 men (all 3 were pretty good imo actually)
The extra height at set pieces and just when the ball comes in for a cross or whatever is a great bonus.
But ...
When your losing a cm and the option of a short pass from the vast majority of the play to have a target man you can hoof the ball up to it just seems like a terrible trade off.
If hes being used like that then i wish we'd play him as a no.10 so when di maria or whoever picks the ball up on the edge of our box, hes up front, available for a quick pass already.
It has its place and that'd be the best way to take advantage of it.
But if hes playing cm i wish he'd stay deeper more often, as he did after we went down to 10 men.

Hes been much better the last couple of games though and he certainly has his uses.
I'd bring herrera back (or as well as) next game tough personally

I mentioned exactly this. However I think it's manager's instructions as he would not be this dumb to bum rush into the box even when we are down to 10 men.

 

[charleysurf]

It quite clearly was due to the ribs. There's no comparison for me, Fellaini has shown he definitely has his uses but Herrera's a much more complete midfielder than him. In fact, he's our best midfielder (and one of Spain's best last season), I hope he gets put back in the team soon.

We'll see if VG agrees with you soon enough.

 

[Kounan]

I don't get it. We are starting to look that we can compete with two of the best teams in the league. Just when our midfield look solid with Fellaini play his part, some just want to pick it apart again.

Herrera-Blind-Di Maria combo couldn't compete (and sometimes overrun) by Sunderland and Leicester ffs!

At least, Fellaini earns his place, and we should give him more chance to see how he progress.

Herrea, Di Maria and Blind didn't play against Sunderland.

 

[Cassidy]

Like Swansea? I don't realy care if Herrera or Fellaini plays, as long as whoever plays does well. But foolish to say that Herrera has always been top class in every performance.

He actually played well against Swansea from what I remember

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I find this spitting thing hilarious - if you need suuuuper sloooooow mooootion to try and prove something, it's probably incorrect.

 

[Cassidy]

I like his performances this season, looks like he can be a good player for us. Shows he has got come good character that even though fans decided to boo him, he can come back and put in decent performances. Those fans should be ashamed of themselves

 

[ZDwyr]

If Aguero "deserves" nastiness, then what does Fellaini deserve? A fecking medal?? The point is simple - Fellaini is an idiot.

Well, if a City player had done it to Fellaini I am sure City fans would have had no problem with it because they see Fellaini as deserving it too? One of those images was ridiculous, his sending off in that CL game was poor refereeing.

 

[Adam-Utd]

A good performance again. Held possession well, supported the attack when he could and also made some great last ditch tackles when needed.

He adds that size and strength we really lacked the last few years. When he went 50/50 with Toure and came out on top, that's exactly what he can bring. Gutted that he missed that header from the free kick, it's usually his bread and butter!.

The signs are positive though, he is improving every match.