Marouane Fellaini image 27

Marouane Fellaini Belgium flag

2015-16 Performances

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5.1 Season Average Rating
Appearances
33
Goals
4
Assists
1
Yellow cards
6
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Maxii said:
I think he's good, but he'll never be more than a squad player here unfortunately. Not that I dont rate him, but he doesn't fit into out style of play at the moment.

But I hate the fact that any time he comes on the majority of people instantly start whining about how shit he is and the "oh, here comes the only backup plan we have, lump it to Fellaini" bullshit. He's done really well every time he's played this year, and he couldn't be further from just a head up front we aim for. He has the best chest control of anyone I've ever seen, and it helps bring others into play when he's on and his passing is actually pretty good. And I know we lost on penos in an otherwise terrible game, but he was the best player on the pitch against Middlesborough.

A low point in the past few years was when he was booed by our own fans at Old Trafford in the friendly against Valencia, and I was fecking delighted for him when he scored to shut them up. He'll always be viewed as another one of Moyes' mistakes by a lot of fans so I'd say it's best for him if he moves on. He'd be a massive signing for a lot of clubs. I'd actually be sad to see him go though.
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Agree with this entirely.
 
I think it's been beneficial he has missed the last couple of games because when we have needed goals we have kept playing our football rather than just shoving him forward and hoofing the ball which seems to be how we use him ow. He doesn't impact the game in that role because he can't bully centre halves like a lot of people think he can, his best work comes when up against full backs and midfielders.

I don't see any point in selling him in January, not even sure who would be interested in him that he would actually want to join anyway but I think writing is on wall for an exit in the summer unless he can actually find a role where as an impact sub he has a positive effect, team has moved on and left him behind.
 
I think this will be his last season with us, he showed some really good attitude last season when we were in a really bad place as a team but at the end of the day he is not good enough for the level we want to be at.
 
Good shout for the worst individual performance of the season.
Awful
 
I bet he was fouling people at his own christening.
 
What's the point of a plan B if it hardly ever works? We end up playing worse than before he came on. All he does is give away freekicks and chest the ball down before conceding possession. It's like we're deliberately crippling ourselves.
 
Overreactions aplenty, standard for the Fellaini thread.

He did badly, I am on the way to the match thread to give him a 5 (along with much of the rest of the team), but of course because it is Fellaini people will go over the top. He was stuck up front with no service except for huge long diagonal balls from Rooney, and nobody (except sometimes Martial) within 20 yards of him. Furthermore, the PSV coach made a good substitution by bringing a third CB on, in order to deal with him.

The question I am asking is why, with PSV bringing on a 3rd CB, we still couldnt have any meaningful possession in the attacking third.

Anyway, didnt do well, nor did Martial, Lingard, Rooney, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin or Memphis (basically all of the attack and midfield).


Edit: To clarify the above, our tactics and the way we attempt to utilise Fellaini, is prehistoric. He comes on, we stick him up front and start hitting long balls to him. I hate seeing that sort of football as much as anyone else, but it angers me all the more so because Fellaini's best performances for United, Everton and Belgium have always come when he is deployed a bit deeper, like a box-to-box #10 sort. We saw it last season playing 4-3-3 with him, Herrera and Carrick, but this season we just stick him up top (or as a holding midfielder) and hit it long. Horrible.
 
He didn't even look like a footballer out there today. One of the worst sub appearances I've seen from a United player I can remember. Just awful.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Why does our management seem to think he's good in the air?
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Because he is, and he saved us multiple times last year. Today he had terrible service, and in fact play 15 minutes in the midfield. Blame those who don't how to cross.

MThomas said:
Nobody is pinning all the blame on Fellaini, simply stating the obvious, which is that he's an absolutely horrible player. It'll be fecking mint to see him play for Newcastle next season
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It's not obvious. Just see 2014-15.

Plus, he just came back from an injury.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Why does our management seem to think he's good in the air?
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!!
Go to bed mate, forget about tonight.

All Fellaini is, is being good in the air!

But not from balls launched 60 yards from sh!t angles.
 
ManUtd1999 said:
Because he is, and he saved us multiple times last year. Today he had terrible service, and in fact play 15 minutes in the midfield. Blame those who don't how to cross.
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Nah he's fecking dreadful.

Never wins a header and even if it does he has no control over where it goes.
 
Walrus said:
Overreactions aplenty, standard for the Fellaini thread.

He did badly, I am on the way to the match thread to give him a 5 (along with much of the rest of the team), but of course because it is Fellaini people will go over the top. He was stuck up front with no service except for huge long diagonal balls from Rooney, and nobody (except sometimes Martial) within 20 yards of him. Furthermore, the PSV coach made a good substitution by bringing a third CB on, in order to deal with him.

The question I am asking is why, with PSV bringing on a 3rd CB, we still couldnt have any meaningful possession in the attacking third.

Anyway, didnt do well, nor did Martial, Lingard, Rooney, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin or Memphis (basically all of the attack and midfield).
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He was in midfield when he came on, considering he was a replacement for Schweinsteiger.

Even when he was up front though, he was torrid. He consistently is on the verge of committing a foul, and was just really shite in the air for a player who's massive. The whole point of bringing him on was as an impact sub, but he offered nothing.
 
That might have been his worst performance for us.

Not blaming him though. He's asked, at first, to slot in at CM which he's clearly got no business doing except against bog standard opposition when we're in total control, in a game where more tempo was needed.

Then he's asked to try and make something of hopeless hoofballs up front with no-one even bothering to contest the second balls.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Nah he's fecking dreadful.

Never wins a header and even if it does he has no control over where it goes.
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Never ever use the word "never" when you're wrong. If you say that he "never wins a header" then you probably have NEVER seen him playing... oooops, see, I misjudged you, just like you missjudged him.
 
Fellaini should come on to add another dimension to the attack not to fundamentally change how we play- it's something that has to be addressed as it's tactical much more than something Fellaini is doing as the team noticeably changes.
 
marjen said:
That might have been his worst performance for us.

Not blaming him though. He's asked, at first, to slot in at CM which he's clearly got no business doing except against bog standard opposition when we're in total control, in a game where more tempo was needed.

Then he's asked to try and make something of hopeless hoofballs up front with no-one even bothering to contest the second balls.
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Exactly, how many good crosses did we have in the last 20 minutes? How many did Young, in particular, provide him?
 
I thought it was going to take some effort to move Rooney at Villa Park from the top of the list of worst individual performances of the season, but Fellaini has managed it.

Just hopeless.
 
Absolutely horrific display for him today. I'm usually quite lenient towards Fellaini but he does not deserve to play after that disaster of a performance.

What did he even do?
 
Ash_G said:
Fellaini should come on to add another dimension to the attack not to fundamentally change how we play- it's something that has to be addressed as it's tactical much more than something Fellaini is doing as the team noticeably changes.
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The problem is though that it's hard for Fellaini to come on and not change the way you play. He's just such a different type of player that he's inevitably going to have that sort of impact on the side. Especially when he's replacing someone like Schweinsteiger, and he's a much more direct player playing in a side who often likes to go for more possession based play.
 
Cheesy said:
He was in midfield when he came on, considering he was a replacement for Schweinsteiger.

Even when he was up front though, he was torrid. He consistently is on the verge of committing a foul, and was just really shite in the air for a player who's massive. The whole point of bringing him on was as an impact sub, but he offered nothing.
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I didnt think it was a bad idea bringing him on for Schweinsteiger (who was having a terrible game and for me was worse than Fellaini over the course of it) - changing to a single holding midfielder and putting Fellaini next to Rooney in a more advanced position, great! But that never seemed to be our strategy.

It just annoys me (but doesnt surprise me) how people overreact and exaggerate on here. He had a bad game, no doubt about it, but it isnt Fellaini's fault that other players (such as Rooney) insist on just smashing long, hopeful 60 yard passes to him.

I dont think Fellaini is as bad in the air as people here make out, but there arent that many players who can do anything in those circumstances. If we actually bothered to work the ball into decent positions to cross it (like Young did when he came on - unfortunately at this point Fellaini was still playing CM) then we might actually make some chances, but instead we just hoof it from deep and abandon any attempt to actually work the ball forward. Its all the more frustrating when we normally spend the game before Fellaini comes on spending too much time working the ball, and dont take enough risks.

marjen said:
That might have been his worst performance for us.

Not blaming him though. He's asked, at first, to slot in at CM which he's clearly got no business doing except against bog standard opposition when we're in total control, in a game where more tempo was needed.

Then he's asked to try and make something of hopeless hoofballs up front with no-one even bothering to contest the second balls.
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This is a more concise and better version of what I have been trying to say most likely.
 
For a supposed big man he loses too many headers. For a supposed strong man he loses too many second balls. He can't pass more than 5 yards. He can't run fast. So what exactly does he add?

To think we were going to go with him as our second choice forward had we not signed Martial last minute.
 
LVG: Hey big boy I need a goal.
Fellaini: Ok. I'm striker?
LVG: Yes...wait no. Hang about the half way line for 15 or so minutes first. Then people will think it's a tactical switch instead of desperation.
Fellaini: But coach we'd have wasted most of the half.
LVG: Don't fret. I've scheduled the little midget to come on in the 83rd minute. Then WE GO FOR IT!
 
Said after the Watford game it was a benefit that he was out injured because we kept playing football instead of just lumping the ball to him.

He was absolutely useless today, tactics have to share some of the blame but mata should have been brought on before him, awful decision from LVG to sub him on.
 
Was a truly awful (I can't even bring myself to say performance) appearance today, completely disinterested, no fight, no effort. Just went through the motions.

I actually think he's a valuable member of the squad, if not good enough to be a regular but he really was awful tonight. Was crying out for him in that second half. we needed a bit of fight and a physical presence yet he let a lot of people down in my opinion.
 
Walrus said:
I didnt think it was a bad idea bringing him on for Schweinsteiger (who was having a terrible game and for me was worse than Fellaini over the course of it) - changing to a single holding midfielder and putting Fellaini next to Rooney in a more advanced position, great! But that never seemed to be our strategy.

It just annoys me (but doesnt surprise me) how people overreact and exaggerate on here. He had a bad game, no doubt about it, but it isnt Fellaini's fault that other players (such as Rooney) insist on just smashing long, hopeful 60 yard passes to him.

I dont think Fellaini is as bad in the air as people here make out, but there arent that many players who can do anything in those circumstances. If we actually bothered to work the ball into decent positions to cross it (like Young did when he came on - unfortunately at this point Fellaini was still playing CM) then we might actually make some chances, but instead we just hoof it from deep and abandon any attempt to actually work the ball forward. Its all the more frustrating when we normally spend the game before Fellaini comes on spending too much time working the ball, and dont take enough risks.
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There's not particularly a lot of exaggeration, though. People are saying he had a shite game. Which is fair, because he was.

I don't see what's particularly ridiculous about us launching long balls to him, because his height and physicality mean that it's supposed to be something he's inherently good at. It's part of why we use him. He just constantly fouls people, though. He was hopeless tonight.
 
Walrus said:
It just annoys me (but doesnt surprise me) how people overreact and exaggerate on here. He had a bad game, no doubt about it, but it isnt Fellaini's fault that other players (such as Rooney) insist on just smashing long, hopeful 60 yard passes to him.
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How can this annoy you? He is useless at almost everything else other than using his physicality, and even a) he's not very good at it and b) that's not the style of play that fans want to see.
 
Joemo said:
How can this annoy you? He is useless at almost everything else other than using his physicality, and even a) he's not very good at it and b) that's not the style of play that fans want to see.
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Not only do fans not want to see it, but it's not the style we play. Considering LVG's preference for possession football, Fellaini's coming on just felt incredibly bizarre. It's like LVG just has a couple of non-possession based options who are terrible, in order to convince us that we all actually do like his style of play.
 
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