That says more about the team than it does Fellaini. Can't fault his effort but he's gash. Squad player, yes. First pick, no. I do admire you and UIR'S efforts in trying to pursuade everyone he's the answer to our problems because he shinned one in yesterday. Bravo.
Regardless of whether he occasionally has a good game I'm astonished that anyone would actually want Fellaini to play for United. His technical ability and style of play screams of a mid table club which given the resources and money available we really shouldn't aspire to be. The manager who brought him in had a mid table approach to the game and was pilloried for it during most of his time at United. Yet his one major summer signing is being heralded as some kind of gem who doesn't deserve criticism. It's an upside down, back to front opinion! It's a bit like when Graham Taylor tried to convince the England fans that Carlton Palmer was an international footballer!
How and when did I suggest he is the answer to our problems? My point is, if every player did their fkn job as Fellaini has done lately, we won't be in this position. We are quick to judge Fellaini regardless of his performance. People were still slating him yesterday until he was taken off then they were like "oh fk!". Tell me if that makes sense! To then suggest that Fellaini's performance somehow deserves no credit shows how irrational we have become. He raised his game, stepped up, yet here we are arguing if he earned the right to play in the team this week. We need to accept the fact that he is a Man United player and he puts in a shift even with his limited technical abilities. There is a reason why he makes the team for Belgium. Just sayin'! He surely cannot be that bad for the "too good" United. As I said in my other post; if he is the only player willing to fight to stay in the team, then give me 11 of him and I would play them everyday and night.
I neither called for him to be taken off nor moaned when he was. I simply stated, correctly, that he's not good enough. I also pointed out I've nothing against him personally, so it's unfair on him that he's being discussed in this way to be honest. He's a talking point because he's an indicator to how bad we are under van Gaal and that there's now an acceptance of mediocrity from some. Not by me though, sorry. You can join in with a certain someone and try to twist my words to suit whatever argument you choose but it won't work, I know what I said and I know what I meant. I don't blame Fellaini for our failings, just to make that perfectly clear. If he's deemed to be of United standard though then those standards have slipped too far.
To imagine that Fellani is the standard to which our other players should aspire is both laughable and a sign of how far we have fallen. Fellani is, and always will be, a mid-table elbows and head man, nothing more. He was fine in the Everton team, but does anyone honestly imagine that any of the other top teams were remotely interested in him when Moyes plucked him from obscurity - of course not, and to imagine that there is no other player we could buy who is better than him is also nonsense. In my view he should be one of the first to go in place of a genuine ball-playing midfielder. Anyone who believes that Fellani is our best player and therefore immune from criticism is having a laugh and deluding themselves as to the gravity of the problems at our club
And does that mean anything? Cleverly scores. Even O'Shea, Evans, djemba djemba all have their moments.
Well they don't as they don't play for United. Fellaini does though and he seemed to be note interested in scoring than some of our players have all season. Which says a lot about the others. And before you mention restricted, did Martial look restricted to you yesterday while dancing through Bournemouth, twice? Or did that not happen? What about the nifty one twos we saw on the edge of the box. Never happened? Funnily enough for the past 2 games we've been unable to pass for **** and lost. I get the feeling van Gaal might have know what he was doing, far from perfect but he clearly saw where we were lacking, defensively speaking anyway. He kind of missed the gaps on attack but betterto not spend on a stop gap, I guess.
I get u. Let's look at it this way. It is one thing to play well and not win, that is understandable. But it becomes ridiculous when the team plays bad week in week out and becomes unbearable especially when the team has spent a lot of money. We have been embarrassing to watch throughout the season. I can say we comfortably won only once this season. It is no secret that we are able to play our passing game when teams sit back, even then we still can't score and the manager complains opponents are sitting back. But our opponents are wiser now, they no longer sit back because they know we are shyte, so they get at us and it becomes worse for us.
What exactly is this standard that you speak off? The same standard that meant Anderson started a Champions League final for us? The same standard that supported the work ethics of O'Shea, Cleverley, Brown, P. Neville, Darren Fletcher, Louis Saha? Are those guys the "United Standard"? Nothing against those players but the point is that many are quick to use this imaginary "United" standard in an argument. I would quickly suggest that United Standard is simply putting in your shift with decent effort. We have never been the galacticos, but the effort was always there. If you are out of form or seen not to be giving 110%, you get benched regardless of what your name is. This was the mantra of Fergie's era. Strong and solid work ethics!!! It was how Fergie made warriors out of what looked like ordinary men on paper. This is exactly why the smaller teams are now turning the bigger teams inside out. They put in the fkin shifts like warriors while the bigger teams always talk about how much more they need to spend. In close, I am not twisting your words by any means. I am simply pointing out the flawed logic used to create these so called standards. If a player is wearing a United shirt and showing that he cares more than anyone on the pitch, then he is the epitome of what a United player should be.
We could well be top of the league and in the last 16 playing as we were. People got what they wanted but expected an immediate change. We can barely pass and our possession in the mere 50s. Now were direct and have loads of shots. Turns out they didn't want that. They actually wanted us to win, because losing is never good. How mad is that. Awaits denials.
The team is losing confidence and its down to the manager. For the most part of the season we have been passing the ball around and no result. Teams were sitting back and it made it look like we are good at the passing games. Recently teams have trted going at us which has made the manager's tactical inability obvious.
The players you highlight above were indeed mediocre ( or geniuses as LVG would call them) but the point is that they played in teams with stellar talent all around the pitch, teams that could afford the introduction of afew 'squad players' and it not affect the overall performance of the team. What we have now is a squad with doubtless talent - but no team. They are all worried about LVG and adhering to his flossiffy instead of letting rip on the pitch
So you're now suggesting that LVG caved to the wishes of the fans and abandoned his Feelossofee? I don't think he has but if you believe that then you must think he's quite a coward.
Passing around with no results? Eh? Our results were perfectly fine not so long ago. We've been lucky that those around is have been as poor as we have in recent weeks but we've definitely changed the way we play. There's far far less passing it about as you call it. We see less of the ball too, which isn't helping us as we are clearly suspect to teams that counter. You know the moaning about how compact we were. Turns out there was a valid reason for this, as we have seen recently. We don't like it when teams run at us. Now don't go thinking I was happy with the boring stuff. I wasn't. I merely understood why and the need for it. Which is being proven. Injuries of course play a part but be aware that every side from the first team to the kids plays the same way. Changing it will require relearning, which is why we are seeing now. Spots of good play, spots of terrible play. I would have kept is as it was. To much of a risk for no rewards.
I think he has, to an extent. Maybe nky as you put it but he's tried it and seen no results. Fully expect a return to a safer style until we address our issues. And yes, O would consider that cowardly. Which would make more sense than half the stuff you claim he is cowardly for, which usually are very risky, like playing unexpected players. Still, the word cowardly is being thrown around as easily as the word xenophobic.
Nope. We couldn't keep playing like that as other teams had completely sussed us hence the spate of goalless draws. Also we had to win against Wolfsburg so playing for a draw would have been daft, it was **** or bust.
Lads, can I ask a serious question? Who do you think is worse at this stage of the season, you or us? Yes, I know that you are ahead of us in the league, but most punters were predicting that would be the case at the start of the season, so we cannot go on that fact, alone. Relatively speaking, are we worse than you?
Sussed. That would mean they were beating us. Teams look like they have us sussed now though, because they are beating us. The 0-0 draws suggest we were defensively sound, therefore the opposition clearly hadn't sussed out how to score, yet lacking up front.
Nope. I've said he's a coward for playing defensively at home to West Ham. I've said he's incompetent for his team selection and substitutions against Bournemouth. As has been said to you several times UIR when you start making up stuff about what other posters have supposedly said then you've kind of fallen on your sword.
