Some of the Fellaini criticism reminds me of a spoiled rotten kid throwing a fit and calling a Christmas gift crap. No, he's not that precious Red Rider BB gun, but he'll do just fine in the squad.
For the life of me, I can't figure why it's such a big deal. When he hits good form, he'll be in the team. When it is best to play him (rotation, opponent, injuries, whatever) he'll play. LvG has options he just didn't last year, and the holdovers have another year of the system under their belt. We probably won't see hoofball like that again.
You will see him being a sticking point for 20+ yard passes, which is great now that United can field a team of players with a wide passing range. Blind's ball to Rooney v Ipswich comes to mind. It keeps the defense honest and creates space for the system to work. I won't be critical for stretches like last year, but there will be times when he comes on and does a job--maybe improves the team.
Fellaini and his periodic use is not going to drag United from its vaunted position to a low brow team. If we don't see more of last season's purple patch this year, maybe we can earnestly say the "attack, attack, attack" days are under threat--maybe the identity itself.
It's just a bit historic for me to treat Fellaini as the harbinger of doomsday boredome or to say he's a poor footballer. What he did at Everton alone makes that argument specious.
He's a squad player, and we are going to be fine.
Edit: I would hate to see United end up like Arsenal: a team of nearly identical, spineless technicians. Fellaini adds some grit and another skill set without being a totally blunt, one dimensional weapon like Andy Carroll.
