It was yet another disappointing performance at home. Yet another disappointing result at home. Manchester United’s misery continues and already people have started to doubt the managerial caliber of David Moyes.
There are plenty of talking points from that match and one of them was the ineffective presence of midfielder Marouane Fellaini. Those who have watched the game will agree that the Belgian international clearly was outplayed by the Southampton midfielders and especially by young Victor Wanyama.
Southampton under Mauricio Pochettino loves to play a pressing type of football. Their midfielders are quick to close down the opposition players and that’s why teams that have slow paced midfielders always tend to struggle against them. For example, they pressed high and hard against Liverpool – a match where Lucas and Steven Gerrard failed to dominate the midfield – and earned a deserved victory at Anfield.
Fellaini has a strong physical presence no doubt but football is increasingly becoming technical these days and therefore it begs a question that whether he is at all a Manchester United quality? He is a good footballer, no doubt, but is he that good enough to represent a club like United for a fee nearly in the region of £30m?
Well, people can say, he is just taking his time to adjust to the new club but one also must understand that a) he is not new to the Premier League and b) certainly not new to David Moyes’ philosophy and systems.
Fellaini was never the first choice midfielder of Man Utd. Only after failing to land Cesc Fabregas and Ander Herrera, United went for him in the 11th hour. Of course, this is a huge step for him and will be given sufficient backings and time to develop but he’ll have to improve his game to meet the standards set by other world class players at this iconic club.
Michael Carrick is a typical regista, Tom Cleverly more of a metronome in the team, while Anderson is agile, energetic and industrious, but what Man Utd really lacks is a proper creative midfielder. Fellaini has played and excelled as an attacking midfielder before at Everton. Then again, it was Everton and not Man Utd. Has Moyes made a big mistake by signing him? Most importantly, is he really a Manchester United quality? Share your views below…
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