It’s the 85th minute. You’re a goal down in a big match. Let’s say it’s the Champions League. Your team needs something different, something more direct. The opponents are tiring. Their defenders are on their last legs, and you’re ready for one last barrage of attacks. You look at the sideline. You rub your eyes with disbelief. The hearts of the opposing defenders sink. Marouane Fellaini is coming on to bring you back from the brink. The full-time whistle goes. You’ve just beaten the group favorites. Almost entirely thanks to one man and one man only.
ScapeGOAT
Marouane Fellaini is associated with the worst part of Manchester United today: boring football. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, United played a style of direct attacking football. They were fast-paced and easy on the eye. Under David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and now Jose Mourinho, they look lost. They seem slow and lazy. The fans absolutely hate this style of play. They long for a return to the olden days when Giggs and Ronaldo were terrorizing full-backs and Rooney and Berbatov were bagging lots of goals.
The fans like to attribute all of the Red Devils’ problems to Fellaini. Because he’s the player that the managers look to for route-one goals, many supporters despise him. This is entirely unfair. According to Football Reference, Fellaini averaged a goal every 177 minutes in the Premier League. That’s a superior rate to Roberto Firmino and only slightly behind Jamie Vardy. Fellaini isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing player to watch, but he’s effective as an impact substitute.
Part of the master-plan
Manchester United have been strong when it comes to late goals and comebacks this year. Five times they’ve conceded the first goal and come away with a result. They’ve also scored two goals in injury time this season. Although Fellaini has had more starts this year than in previous campaigns, his clutch factor is still obvious on the pitch. When they start lobbing crosses into the box with only a few minutes left, Fellaini is the target man. Not £70m Lukaku or £85m Pogba, but Marouane Fellaini – and with good reason. All you need to do is watch any United game, and you’ll see how much disruption he causes in the box. Defenders aren’t sleeping on Marouane Fellaini, but they still can’t lock him down.
Some attributes go beyond stats. Players such as Toni Kroos, Paul Scholes, and Sergio Busquets may lose some recognition because their goals and assists columns are lacking, but if you watch them, they’re simply amazing. The eye-test is an important factor when watching Fellaini. He works hard trying to get the ball and will overpower any defender to get a shot off.
Keep sleeping on Marouane Fellaini
Real United supporters want people to keep sleeping on Marouane Fellaini. He’s more effective that way. All he needs is a decent cross and a smaller defender, and you can bank on a goal. Even if that goal isn’t his, you’ll know his presence in the box will be a huge factor in the ball finding the back of the net.