Saying he improved in the second half cannot be used as a compliment, we could have brought on Doris the tealady and she would have been an improvement on that first half.
27
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 31
- Goals
- 7
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 7
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
He's been great in the past 2/3 games but today he went through the floor. Now he needs to find his way through the rubble, get to the stairs, and climb his way up again.
Absolute dog shit performance. He won't play Sunday
Horrific performance. Was that an elbow at the end too? Sky showed only one replay.
If Fellaini played in Spain he'd get sent off every game. Ramos is a saint compared to this thug.
He should be kept as far away as humanly possible from our own goal.
At no point have I tried to "justify" his performance - I gave him a 4 on the player ratings (admittedly with hindsight I would maybe have upped it to 5). He had a poor day, but;
*he was being played in a position which is definitely not his best
*the entire team was playing poorly
*he was arguably our best midfielder (ie better than Mata and Herrera who were both anonymous all game)
*he improved in the second half as the game went on and made some good contributions defensively
So again, bad game, but nowhere near enough to merit the level of pure vitriol in the matchday thread (which was what my original post in this thread today was referring to).
Not a good game from Fellaini today, although I felt he had a better second half. He's definitely a confidence player, though. His first touch of the game was a poor one, and I felt from there he looked pretty nervous. Hoping he can pick it up for Liverpool, because prior to this, he's shown people that he can put in good performances against the top sides. We just need to scrap this 352, in my opinion.
You'd see him sent off as often as you see players in Spain booked for diving.
Especially when it's diving for a penalty. Out of sheer curiosity, have you seen Fonte's elbow on Herrera? Or Mane's studs up tackle on RVP? Not that it justifies Fellaini's dirty work.
He will play
He's useful in some situations but he's far too sloppy and wreckless to be a consistent starter for us, very poor today. Should be used sparingly.
Perhaps it's simply a case of him being better suited to the diamond, or generally a more conventional formation. Although he probably looked the worst player on the pitch, he certainly isn't the only United player to look much worse in the 352.
Thought he came out fighting in the second half and even though it wasn't as good as his recent performances he was better.
He is awful as a holding midfielder. No 2 ways about that. Really was a dreadful performance especially the first half.
Once Blind comes back from injury he'll be on the bench. Herrera, Blind, Carrick are comfortably a few levels above him. Useful to have as a squad player though in certain roles and was in good form before this.
Once Blind comes back from injury he'll be on the bench. Herrera, Blind, Carrick are comfortably a few levels above him. Useful to have as a squad player though in certain roles and was in good form before this.
Now how is this for a really controversial theory:
In the first half, Fellaini ended up looking so bad because he was one of the only ones really showing for the ball, and thus when he HAD the ball he had no real options.
And no, this isnt me trying to deflect the blame for a poor performance, but merely a theory owing to the fact that in the first half the likes of Mata and Rooney were completely anonymous - Fellaini seemed to get quite a bit of the ball (and lost it a lot of the time) so he was obviously getting into positions where he could receive it - if other players were doing the same and giving him some easy options for the passes, maybe he would have done better?
In the first half, Fellaini ended up looking so bad because he was one of the only ones really showing for the ball, and thus when he HAD the ball he had no real options.
And no, this isnt me trying to deflect the blame for a poor performance, but merely a theory owing to the fact that in the first half the likes of Mata and Rooney were completely anonymous - Fellaini seemed to get quite a bit of the ball (and lost it a lot of the time) so he was obviously getting into positions where he could receive it - if other players were doing the same and giving him some easy options for the passes, maybe he would have done better?
maybe the least creative player in the league, and when he can't do the simple things he's useless.
Showing for the ball doesn't explain his inability to make simple five yard passes under no pressure. Technically he's poor and being closed down affects him but tonight he was sloppy even when not under any considerable pressure.
@Walrus, give it a rest, man. I know you have self-appointed yourself as Fellaini's crusader on this website, and I am sure he would be thrilled with it. But your posts are getting boting now.
Fellaini was fecking terrible today. There is no two ways about it.
Fellaini was fecking terrible today. There is no two ways about it.
Nice theory, partially it sounds about right because he's made more passes than Carrick today ( with not all that bad completion, probably made up for it in the second half, ended up with 84% success rate ) but the latter was sent to defence. But hey, we're playing it from the back and for that reason Michael was moved to that 3-men-pile-of-shit.
Match to forget really. I blame the 352 for everybody's inability today.
Aaaaaand you're getting silly now.
I agree he was sloppy and gave the ball away too much, but I have to say he is normally pretty good at retaining the ball under pressure - that has been one of his key strengths so far this season for me.
Yep, he looked all over the place in the first half, nothing was going right for him at all and in fairness he wasn't the only one either but he improved or began to gain control of things in the second half. He's on the back of few very good performances in recent weeks though so I wouldn't be calling for his head or anything yet.
Under pressure his size helps him to shield the ball but in my opinion he's just not a top level midfielder and never will be. Technically he's ridiculously lacking.
My post was meant to be tongue-in-cheek and I blame LVG for tonights performance as I have said in several threads, but 84% completion isnt actually that bad, especially considering how bad he and the entire team were in the first half.
I hadn't thought of it this way, but your post makes sense to me, and you're right, he didn't shy away from the ball as too many of his teammates did.
He wasn't as bad as perusing this site would have people think. He was poor in the first half and decent in the second. Only RvP and DDG were good. The rest were average or below average. Fellaini was slightly below average all things considered. What annoyed me was that he struggled in the air against the likes of Wanyama; that's what he's there for, to win the long balls. He mostly won them in the second half in defense though, so that helped slightly.
Its not really a criticism. It isn't his game to be creative. He doesn't make incisive passes or clever dribbles. He usually does the messy stuff and the fundamental stuff right. When he doesn't do it though, he doesn't offer anything.
Why don't you relax
I was referring to his size/strength/ability to shield the ball when I said he is good under pressure. Ignoring tonight, most of his games this season I have been impressed by his ability to receive the ball in potentially problematic areas and manage to hold off an opponent and release the ball well to a teammate.
Technique? Its pointless trying to argue anything after tonights performance but in general I wouldnt go so far as to say that he is "ridiculously lacking" - obviously he is never going to be a Paul Scholes type of player, but I would hope that in his other games this season he has shown enough to dispel some of the myths about his technique.
Today, the shit Fellaini turned up as opposed to the dominating all-round behemoth we've been witnessing over the past few games.
He was in Wanyama's pocket all night long, and it was one of those nights where he could've even been outjumped in the air by a three foot hobbit.
He was in Wanyama's pocket all night long, and it was one of those nights where he could've even been outjumped in the air by a three foot hobbit.
So I havent gone completely mad then, that is good.
Even on that form, I couldn't really give a shit when the opposition hit a long ball forward because he's on the pitch. Some shocking passing but he was definitely a factor in us not looking under too much pressure towards the end.
I wouldn't use my support as evidence of your sanity if I were you.
Hmm...touché.
Horrible first, completely decent second.
Thought he was just about passable in the second half, if I'm being generous. He was completely pass-unable in the first half - dreadful.
Last edited:
I Think that the 352 really exposes our deficiensies in midfield and attack. Affected Fellaini tonight aswell, he needs more support in order to function.
hold your horses.
Fellaini was so bad last season that a decent performance in the last 3 games looks like some kind of improvement . which is not.
Showed his limited attributes today. He was the player to get the ball off the back three and that simply doesn't suit him at all. He isn't good enough on the ball and a passer for that job.
- Status