How did either of these end up at Manchester United?
A couple of years before Jose Mourinho tried to turn United into a basketball team, David Moyes was appointed manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson thought it would be a good idea to make Moyes his successor. The most successful manager in history reckoned the man whose greatest achievement in football was leading Everton to fourth place eight years earlier would be a good United manager. Moyes thought it would be a good idea to sign Marouane Fellaini, a player who wouldn’t have gotten within a thousand miles of the team during their glory years.
They're looking more like a Mourinho team https://t.co/7T4P9Rbgk2
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) August 10, 2017
Mourinho likes that Fellaini is tall, carries out instructions and is an option to go from playing direct to very direct. And so the Belgian midfielder enters his fourth year as a United player.
He has made more appearances for the club than Robin van Persie and Jaap Stam.
Moyes has been speaking about Fellaini, and in doing so, summed up how unsuited both he and the Belgian were for the club. According to the former Sunderland manager, Fellaini is “vital” to the club and he’s a “modern day footballer.”
Despite what some might say, Marouane Fellaini is a useful option for Jose Mourinho, writes @SmnLlyd5 https://t.co/xnooWZFHaP
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) August 10, 2017
“He was never someone who was going to play in all the games at United,” Moyes told ESPN.
“He was someone that was there, his size is a problem to the opposition, it’s also something which helps you, Manchester United you’ve seen many times now have used him a more advanced role. As you rightly said, if you look at the games that he played under Louis van Gaal and now under Jose Mourinho, he’s vital. He’s a modern day footballer, he covers a lot of ground, he’s a decent passer without being a great passer, he can get you some goals, he helps you out in both boxes with his stature and he was something which we didn’t have at Manchester United and he was a player who was brought in to add to the squad.”
Reacted better this time https://t.co/RYYXIpvbP6
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 9, 2017
Moyes’ comments on the 29-year-old midfielder would leave you scratching your head.
- Why would he spend almost £30m on a player who wasn’t “going to play in all the games”?
- David de Gea is “vital” to United. The best compliment one can pay Fellaini is that he’s useful.
- Maybe he’s a “modern day footballer” in Moyes’ world, but the Premier League and the Champions League isn’t the old Division Two.
- Moyes says Fellaini is a “decent passer without being a great passer.” Since when was decent ever good enough for United?
Here’s Roy Keane pass the ball.
Here’s Fellaini:
https://twitter.com/SportsWithJoel/status/887212154075488256
According to Moyes, Fellaini “was something which we didn’t have at Manchester United.” Which is true, and probably with good reason.
It’s admirable to see Moyes stick up for his old player, but his comments just highlight how unsuited he was to be United manager, and further convey how unsuited to Manchester United Fellaini is.
