You’d be hard pushed to say Marouane Fellaini’s stint at Manchester United has been a successful one.
Having followed former Everton boss David Moyes to Old Trafford three years ago, the Belgian has regularly been on the wrong end of stick from United supporters with the club struggling to look anything like the side Sir Alex Ferguson left behind.
But Fellaini has an unlikely admirer in the shape of former United skipper Roy Keane.
An assistant manager with the Republic of Ireland, Keane was asked about Fellaini ahead of the Euro 16 meeting with Belgium.
History tells us that Keane is not afraid to deliver brutally honest assessments of players and managers alike. With this in mind, his response might be a surprise to many.
“I like Fellaini,” he said. “I thought the criticism he had when he went to United was a bit over the top.
“I think it was just because he came in at the last minute when David Moyes was there and fans were maybe quick to jump on his back.
“I saw him a few times live, when United weren’t great, and thought he done okay. But he seemed to be the scapegoat for the fans.
“We saw him recently scoring some important goals. I like him. I liked him at Everton and I think he’s a good player for Man United.
“The criticism he’s had – I think he’s more of a scapegoat than anything else. Which can happen when a new manager brings in certain players and the new signings get criticism [when results are poor.]
“If anything, they should have been criticising the experienced players at United who weren’t helping him out or who weren’t helping out the new manager. But that’s another story.”
