[prath92]

It is for any club who is planning to play football and not hoof ball. In matter of fact according to the media Sunderland were the only one interested in him this year.

I also think that Mou has yet to decide whom he rates or whom he doesn't. Bastian was a goner because he's on a massive salary and you don't keep a reserve on that salary irrespective on who he is. The rest are still being scrutinized

And no, he wasn't good. He failed to intercept a header which nearly costed us a goal, his passing was pretty ordinary and he was too slow to backtrack. I don't blame him of anything really. He's a no 10 in a team that play direct football. He should be playing with a team like that

Sunderland were highlighted simply because people asked David Moyes directly. Lot of teams would love him. Couple of seasons back Napoli wanted him for instance. I'm sure many teams can play normal football with him in the team. United and Belgium never played hoofball and he was a part of both teams and often playing. Maybe you don't know how that could be possible but I'm sure there are people who actually know something about football who could manage it. I think a lot of posters said he played well apart from that mistake that led to the goal but did we ever play hoofball? So this myth that he is good only for hoofball tactics is well and truly wrong.

The last part sums your attitude. He broke up play quite a lot especially in the first half. Even his mispass was the result of him intercepting a pass. So you bringing up one instant where he didn't intercept but ignoring the multiple times he did shows your ability in judging a player. Not sure if that's for Fellaini alone or for players in general though.

 

[Jaybomb]

The fact that so many managers favour him says a lot.

Maybe some fans just don't understand football?

 

[devilish]

Sunderland were highlighted simply because people asked David Moyes directly. Lot of teams would love him. Couple of seasons back Napoli wanted him for instance. I'm sure many teams can play normal football with him in the team. United and Belgium never played hoofball and he was a part of both teams and often playing. Maybe you don't know how that could be possible but I'm sure there are people who actually know something about football who could manage it. I think a lot of posters said he played well apart from that mistake that led to the goal but did we ever play hoofball? So this myth that he is good only for hoofball tactics is well and truly wrong.

The last part sums your attitude. He broke up play quite a lot especially in the first half. Even his mispass was the result of him intercepting a pass. So you bringing up one instant where he didn't intercept but ignoring the multiple times he did shows your ability in judging a player. Not sure if that's for Fellaini alone or for players in general though.

The only big club who bid for him was us. Napoli wanted him but they wanted him on silver platter (half his salary paid on us, a 1 year loan with a ridiculous buying clause etc). No big club had ever bid to him prior to us signing him and we wouldn't have signed him on the first place if we didn't had Moyes. The guy isn't good in playing football (however his physical characteristics makes him a decent no 10 for a certain style of football) and is massively overrated (all Belgian players are tbh). You only have to see them play against Italy in the Euros. Italy's CM is ordinary but they literally schooled them.

He's not a midfielder he's a no 10 and can be effective in a style of football. Unfortunately we don't play that sort of football

 

[devilish]

The fact that so many managers favour him says a lot.

Maybe some fans just don't understand football?

Well Moyes rated him. LVG tried to get rid of him, he failed and then he kept playing him because he planned on having a ridiculously small squad. Its too early to say if Mou rates him or not. We're set to spend 100m on a midfielder which speaks volumes on what he thinks about our CM

 

[devilish]

That's not the point, Fellaini seems to be offering more than Carrick and I don't think we can get rid of Carrick, Bastian and Fellaini while bringing in only Pogba as a replacement.

Fellaini is better then an ex player. I would rate Fellaini ahead of today's Keane, Robson and even Rijkaard. Are you happy with that?

I think we've got too many players who are not adequate for the role assigned to them. For example we still need a defensive midfielder TBH. Unless TFM doesn't step up we will buy one next season unless.....Mou sees Fabinho as DM

 

[Smoking_Owl]

The fact that so many managers favour him says a lot.

Maybe some fans just don't understand football?

This.

There's a perception that Fellaini has a poor touch and is akward on the ball because of how he looks. Any time he miscontrols a ball, it sticks out more because people are expecting it to happen because of his gangley look. When someone like Matic (for example) miscontrols a ball, it doesn't register with people as much.

But objectively, it isn't true. Fellani's control is quite good, his passing is adequate and he has a ton of other excellent attributes. He's a very good footballer and it's not one bit surprising that Mourinho wants to use him as Jose is able to judge things objectively and does not base his assessments on the wisdom of the crowd.

 

[devilish]

This.

There's a perception that Fellaini has a poor touch and is akward on the ball because of how he looks. Any time he miscontrols a ball, it sticks out more because people are expecting it to happen because of his gangley look. When someone like Matic (for example) miscontrols a ball, it doesn't register with people as much.

But objectively, it isn't true. Fellani's control is quite good, his passing is adequate and he has a ton of other excellent attributes. He's a very good footballer and it's not one bit surprising that Mourinho wants to use him as Jose is able to judge things objectively and does not base his assessments on the wisdom of the crowd.

what tons of other excellent attributes does he have?

 

[Smoking_Owl]

what tons of other excellent attributes does he have?

Good in the air(both offensively and defensively), excellent chest control, great physical presence, goal threat, a committed player who will do what the manager asks of him etc.

Excellent player.

 

[Charlie Foley]

I'm not sure I'd say 'excellent' but there are certain things he is good at, and he brings quite a bit to the table that we otherwise sorely lack. It can help to have a bit of a bastard in the team.

This year, with Valencia, Bailly, Pogba, Fellaini and Ibra making up half of our outfield players at times, we're not going to be so easy to bully.

 

[TMDaines]

Watching the game live yesterday it was clear that he and Ibra together will be an absolute nightmare for many teams. It felt as if every time Valencia got the ball in a position where he was looking to cross, both of these guys drifted to the back of the box and sooner rather than later one of them was going to get a solid chance. Leicester are decent at dealing with high crosses, but others will struggle with these twin towers continually attacking the back post.

As an arch-pragmatist, Mourinho will love having Fellaini.

 

[devilish]

Good in the air(both offensively and defensively), excellent chest control, great physical presence, goal threat, a committed player who will do what the manager asks of him etc.

Excellent player.

He's not that good in air (especially defensively). His excellent chest control makes and goal threat are practically useless in a deeper role (He scored just 3 goals last season) and you expect every United player to be committed else he should be on the way out. I wonder if managers ask him to elbow opponents. Id say lets get rid of him and add a proper DM who will allow Herrera and Carrick more space to play in their role. That's what we need after all.

 

[Marcelinho87]

I thought Fellaini played well and felt for him with the mistake as he did all the hard work breaking up the play.

It wasn;t an intentional thing like with the elbows, he just underhit it which can happen to anybody, and hey maybe the pitch was slow like Mourinho said?

 

[devilish]

Watching the game live yesterday it was clear that he and Ibra together will be an absolute nightmare for many teams. It felt as if every time Valencia got the ball in a position where he was looking to cross, both of these guys drifted to the back of the box and sooner rather than later one of them was going to get a solid chance. Leicester are decent at dealing with high crosses, but others will struggle with these twin towers continually attacking the back post.

As an arch-pragmatist, Mourinho will love having Fellaini.

I think you are confusing things up. Big Sam signed with England and not Manchester United.

Also we will soon sign Pogba a 6.3ft player whose actually bring more to the game then just being tall

 

[Gerald G]

He's not good enough on the ball to be playing in a 2 man midfield. His passing is not good enough and he seems to take so long to actually pass the ball. Trying to dictate play with Fellaini playing in the middle just doesn't work.

 

[Smoking_Owl]

He's not that good in air (especially defensively). His excellent chest control makes and goal threat are practically useless in a deeper role (He scored just 3 goals last season) and you expect every United player to be committed else he should be on the way out. I wonder if managers ask him to elbow opponents. Id say lets get rid of him and add a proper DM who will allow Herrera and Carrick more space to play in their role. That's what we need after all.

Fellaini has been far more effective thatn Herrera and it's not even close.

Herrera is the most overrated and unjustifyingly loved United player since Berbatov. If he had come through the youth ranks (like Lingard) and not cost ~£30m from Bilbao, many of the same people would be declaring him not good enough and calling for his sale.

 

[NK86]

Fellaini is better then an ex player. I would rate Fellaini ahead of today's Keane, Robson and even Rijkaard. Are you happy with that?

I think we've got too many players who are not adequate for the role assigned to them. For example we still need a defensive midfielder TBH. Unless TFM doesn't step up we will buy one next season unless.....Mou sees Fabinho as DM

See, I am not a fan. But unless we get someone in apart from Pogba, Fellaini is a good squad option. He wasn't all that bad yesterday either. Once Pogba comes in and if Mou has the balls the drop Rooney, we would have been far better.

 

[devilish]

Fellaini has been far more effective thatn Herrera and it's not even close.

Herrera is the most overrated and unjustifyingly loved United player since Berbatov. If he had come through the youth ranks (like Lingard) and not cost ~£30m from Bilbao, many of the same people would be declaring him not good enough and calling for his sale.

Stats say otherwise. In the EPL Fellaini scored 1 goal, he created 11 chances, he won 45% of his challenges and had a pass accuracy of 83% (14m average pass). Herrera scored 3 goals, he created 21 chances, he won 45% of his challenges and had a pass accuracy of 84% (15m average pass).

However I cant blame you for thinking that Fellaini did better because that's what was seen on the pitch. In an unbalanced side which lack inches and physicality its very normal for jack of all trades who provide just that to look better then specialists. The latter are more dependent on others to provide traits that they tend to lack.

Having said that do you think that a healthy top quality squad would have Fellaini in their team? Can you see Fellaini playing with Bayern, Real or the treble winning Manchester United? Its time we stop papering the cracks by relying on jack of all trades and sort the issues one an for all. This team need 1-2 top quality DM which would provide the leg work while allowing the likes of Herrera, Pogba and Carrick to focus on their role.

 

[PepsiCola]

Herrera is the most overrated and unjustifyingly loved United player since Berbatov. If he had come through the youth ranks (like Lingard) and not cost ~£30m from Bilbao, many of the same people would be declaring him not good enough and calling for his sale.

Not his thread but I think Herrera has started to look much better the last two games against Leic and Everton. He looks better on the ball, under pressure and has played some nice passes (the one to Valencia yesterday stands out, we wouldn't hear the end of it had it been Rooney or Carrick).

I'm optimistic with Herrera this season, think he will improve.

On topic. If fellaini is to be kept he must be a squad player and nothing more. I really don't rate the guy, seems to always pass the ball backwards (got a nice assist though).

 

[devilish]

See, I am not a fan. But unless we get someone in apart from Pogba, Fellaini is a good squad option. He wasn't all that bad yesterday either. Once Pogba comes in and if Mou has the balls the drop Rooney, we would have been far better.

I agree with us getting another CM (unless Mou thinks that its time to unleash TFM). However the solution to our CM is not Fellaini. As Mou said we need specialists ie 2 players who can fight for a DM role (Schneiderlin and Matuidi?), 2 deep lying playmakers (Carrick and Herrera) and two no 10s (Pogba and Rooney). Pogba can play in a deeper role if needed. Fellaini in midfield is more of a consequence of a midfield that lack balance rather then a solution to it

 

[Escobar]

Good in the air(both offensively and defensively), excellent chest control, great physical presence, goal threat, a committed player who will do what the manager asks of him etc.

Excellent player.

as if that would be an attribute that should highlight any professional football player. Physical presence is mainly fouls and elbows and goal threat I just dont see

 

[Litch]

Felliani might divide opinions and has his limitations but who doesn't. He'll make his mistakes like yesterday but again who doesn't. I think he's a shoe'in and more effective than any of the current crop of midfielders....everybody wouldn't want him in their team yet hate playing against him.

 

[Ole90+3]

I agree with us getting another CM (unless Mou thinks that its time to unleash TFM). However the solution to our CM is not Fellaini. As Mou said we need specialists ie 2 players who can fight for a DM role (Schneiderlin and Matuidi?), 2 deep lying playmakers (Carrick and Herrera) and two no 10s (Pogba and Rooney). Pogba can play in a deeper role if needed. Fellaini in midfield is more of a consequence of a midfield that lack balance rather then a solution to it

Schneiderlin and Matuidi are not defensive midfielders. Herrera is not a Deep Lying playmaker. Is that the point you are trying to make, that we have the wrong type of players for the roles we want them to play?

For the midfielders we currently have in the squad, a midfield 3 would certainly be the best option. We need to replace Carrick, and we've needed to do this for several years now.

 

[devilish]

Schneiderlin and Matuidi are not defensive midfielders. Herrera is not a Deep Lying playmaker. Is that the point you are trying to make, that we have the wrong type of players for the roles we want them to play?

For the midfielders we currently have in the squad, a midfield 3 would certainly be the best option. We need to replace Carrick, and we've needed to do this for several years now.

DMs aren't and shouldn't be Robbie Savage's clones at least at this level. I think hardworking players with decent positioning who can pass the ball like Matuidi and Schneiderlin could do the job.

Herrera will either adapt as a deep playmaker or leave. I still think that he can do the job if we add a hardworking no 10 and we strengthen the defense.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

I'm not a fan of his and think he should be sold.

He was actually pretty good yesterday though I thought, aside from the terrible mistake.

 

[Ole90+3]

DMs aren't and shouldn't be Robbie Savage's clones at least at this level. I think hardworking players with decent positioning who can pass the ball like Matuidi and Schneiderlin could do the job. Herrera and Pogba will be covering the deep lying playmaker role for the time being (Pogba is better off as no 10 but we've got Rooney there). Rooney and Mata will have to cover the no 10 unless Mata is sold. If Mata is sold, I can see Mou moving quickly to either Fabinho and Matuidi and move Pogba in his natural role

You're talking about specialist players. Schneiderlin and Matuidi are not specialists DM. Could they do a good job there against most of the teams in the league? Probably. They are specialist box to box midfielders. They are best utilized in a midfield 3, with a natural deep play maker i.e. Carrick, Busquets, Alonso.

We won't need 2 deep playing midfielders for most games.

 

[MThomas]

Had a fairly good game.

Isn't very good with the ball at his feet.

Shouldn't be in the starting lineup.

Will probably be a decent player under Mourinho

Should never have signed him in the first place.

 

[devilish]

You're talking about specialist players. Schneiderlin and Matuidi are not specialists DM. Could they do a good job there against most of the teams in the league? Probably. They are specialist box to box midfielders. They are best utilized in a midfield 3, with a natural deep play maker i.e. Carrick, Busquets, Alonso.

We won't need 2 deep playing midfielders for most games.

Mou tend to love having the perfect balance in CM. He achieves it by having 2 defensive minded players where one is slightly more physical then the other (ex Zanetti-Cambiasso and Khedira-Alonso) with a creative option (ex Ozil or Sneijder). If he can't achieve that then he will fine tune it by having a more defensive midfielder (Makalele or Matic) partnering a more attacking minded option (Fabregas and Lampard) and then expect the AMC to go deeper and contribute more (ex Oscar or Gudjohnsen).

I can see Mou trying to achieve that sort of balance in our midfield. He may either achieve it by going option 2 ie having Matuidi/Schneiderlin and Pogba/Herrera with Rooney having to sacrifice himself more as no 10 or else he will get Schneiderlin-Matuidi with Pogba as no 10. Of course we wont have the same 11 week in week out and there will be space for other players and lineups as well. However I still think that Mou is aiming to add another CM into this team.

 

[togg]

He's powerful and aggressive. You do need players like that in a squad.

 

[Lowkey]

If Fellaini was playing against West Ham at the end of last season. We would be in the champions league now and City would not.

 

[John Keiler]

I think he looked petrified to actually to anything with the ball yesterday - to me all he wanted to do was get rid of the ball as soon as it came to him and when on goal a couple of times he decided to pass instead of shoot. Perhaps the constant opprobrium heaped on him [including by me] is getting to him.

 

[NK86]

I agree with us getting another CM (unless Mou thinks that its time to unleash TFM). However the solution to our CM is not Fellaini. As Mou said we need specialists ie 2 players who can fight for a DM role (Schneiderlin and Matuidi?), 2 deep lying playmakers (Carrick and Herrera) and two no 10s (Pogba and Rooney). Pogba can play in a deeper role if needed. Fellaini in midfield is more of a consequence of a midfield that lack balance rather then a solution to it

If we get Matuidi, then there may be some merit to letting Fellaini leave (although I would keep him this season as a back up option when we are trying to defend or score late).

 

[devilish]

If we get Matuidi, then there may be some merit to letting Fellaini leave (although I would keep him this season as a back up option when we are trying to defend or score late).

I think we're trying to fit too many square pegs in round holes. Its nothing personal towards Fellaini TBH. A substantial number of our players are like that (Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Blind, Darmian, Valencia etc)

 

[NK86]

I think we're trying to fit too many square pegs in round holes. Its nothing personal towards Fellaini TBH. A substantial number of our players are like that (Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Blind, Darmian, Valencia etc)

I understand what you are saying but a big issue is players the last season seemed to be forced to do certain things without being able to express much beyond their designated task. I think we will see a big difference this season.

 

[Beachryan]

I thought he was the anti-Fellaini yesterday. He was decent at intercepting, kept the ball well and provided a good shield, particularly against Okazagi.

But, his short passing was off - once notably - and his defensive heading in our box was poor. They could/should have scored twice from long throw ins that went into his area, that he didn't touch. To be fair, Ibra was even more useless, but given we had both of them on the pitch, it was worrying how dodgy we looked defending corners and throw ins.

We should keep him, however, for a few reasons:
1. We're not going to get much money for him
2. He's a happy squad player, and useful against physical teams
3. He's a good desperation option off the bench - far better than just throwing a CB up there

 

[devilish]

I understand what you are saying but a big issue is players the last season seemed to be forced to do certain things without being able to express much beyond their designated task. I think we will see a big difference this season.

I think so too. I also think that the more time passes the more we will focus on specialised players and the more we will shift away on players like Fellaini. Many think that specialised players = world class players which isn't necessarily the case. If you take the treble side CM as an example surely we have Scholes, Keane and Beckham who were absolute class in that role. However we also had the likes of Butt who wasn't world class but who was pretty efficient in breaking the opposition team creativity. In the years to come Phil would take that same role.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Even after the mistake, he had the mentality to carry on, and in my opinion, continued to have a good game. Strong mentality is important, especially at a big club like United, and Fellaini shown that.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

In games with low technical quality and it's all just hustle and bustle, he can sometimes do ok.

 

[NK86]

I think so too. I also think that the more time passes the more we will focus on specialised players and the more we will shift away on players like Fellaini. Many think that specialised players = world class players which isn't necessarily the case. If you take the treble side CM as an example surely we have Scholes, Keane and Beckham who were absolute class in that role. However we also had the likes of Butt who wasn't world class but who was pretty efficient in breaking the opposition team creativity. In the years to come Phil would take that same role.

I agree. Maybe Fellaini can do a decent role as a box-to-box and this season is definitely one where he needs to show he can do it consistently else we need to move on the likes of him and Herrera and concentrate on giving those chances to younger talents coming through our ranks while getting in good specialist experience to compensate.

 

[shamans]

This.

There's a perception that Fellaini has a poor touch and is akward on the ball because of how he looks. Any time he miscontrols a ball, it sticks out more because people are expecting it to happen because of his gangley look. When someone like Matic (for example) miscontrols a ball, it doesn't register with people as much.

But objectively, it isn't true. Fellani's control is quite good, his passing is adequate and he has a ton of other excellent attributes. He's a very good footballer and it's not one bit surprising that Mourinho wants to use him as Jose is able to judge things objectively and does not base his assessments on the wisdom of the crowd.

This is true.

You can see how some people don't understand Fellaini at all when they start critisizing his first touch. imo his touch is very good. You can critisize him for other things like brain fart moments and lack of mobility but touch and strength are his strong points.

 

[MancFanFromManc]

I've been one of his biggest critics since he joined, and he gave me enough ammo yesterday to keep me ranting about him until the transfer window shuts. Come on agent Moyes pleeeeease take him back, pretty please, gwan gwan gwan.....