Does Marouane Fellaini deserve to be with Manchester United?
Former Manchester United manager, David Moyes, signed Marouane Fellaini from Everton for a fee of 27.5 million pounds on deadline day. There were mixed feelings among United fans when that deal was struck.
Courtesy: Sky Sports
The majority of fans were not convinced that Fellaini was a good signing. Moyes defended Fellaini’s signing, saying that he’s player with great ability and strength.
Fellaini’s first season was a nightmare. He was regularly booed by fans during games. Even former United players were perturbed. Gary Neville said that the Belgium midfielder is not a United player and will never be a United player.
When Louis Van Gaal took over as United’s manager many fans predicted that Fellaini would be deemed surplus to requirements by the gaffer. To everyone’s surprise, though, the former Everton midfielder survived the scare. Van Gaal claimed in a press conference that Fellaini was an important player for the team.
The coach gave a tactical clue on how Fellaini could be used–as a striker in some games. The fans were still not convinced. Van Gaal’s decision to substitute Fellaini during the 1-1 draw against West Ham at Old Trafford was applauded by the fans. They liked that option.
Courtesy: Mirror.co.uk
But what really baffles me is how Fellaini became an important player under Jose Mourinho. Mourinho knew from the day he took over as United manager that Fellaini was unpopular among fans. So he adopted a tactical approach to convince them that Fellaini is not just a squad player, but a key player for the team.
Mourinho assigns definite roles to Fellaini whenever he plays. He uses Fellaini in front of the back four to nullify aerial threats when teams adopt that direct tactical approach. Mourinho also uses Fellaini as a striker to utilise his aerial strength whenever the team is searching for goal.
Have these tactics convinced fans that Fellaini has a place in the team? I’m not sure. In the absence of Rooney, Carrick, and Young, Mourinho surprised everyone by giving Fellaini the captain’s armband against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Twitter went into meltdown after that move. Fans branded Mourinho as ‘clueless.’ That response shows Mourinho that he has not been able to convince fans of Fellaini’s importance.
What do I think?
I don’t think Fellaini has the right quality as a midfielder for United.
But while Fellaini has received his fair share of criticism since arriving at Old Trafford, his attitude should be commended. He has refused to throw in the towel, like Angel Di Maria did. I believe that’s the reason Mourinho gave Fellaini a lifeline to resurrect his career.
Still, though, fans wonder what the future will hold for this Belgium-born midfielder. The club confirmed that Fellaini contract has been extended until at least the summer of 2018. With that development, Mourinho probably wants to hold onto Fellaini at least until next season–pending decisions about new players the club will bring in.
Courtesy: Sky Sports
I strongly believe that Fellaini has not proven that his doubters are wrong, although he has raised his stake. That’s good enough to keep him at the club a bit longer.
In all fairness–and based on the effort he has shown–I think Fellaini deserves more respect from the fans.
Let’s face it: United has had players over the years who are not deemed worthy of wearing the shirt. That includes the likes of Eric Djemba Djemba, Kleberson, Bebe, and David Bellion.
But none of those players was treated as harshly as Fellaini.
No matter how hard Mourinho tries to convince fans of Fellaini’s merits, they seem to have already made up their minds. So now it’s left up to Mourinho to deal with.
