Examining Marouane Fellaini's Impact at Manchester United

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Marouane Fellaini’s £27.5 million move from Everton to Manchester United was the only tangible result of the Red Devils' unhappy transfer window. Now, three-and-a-half months after the move, Bleacher Report review the Belgian’s impact at Old Trafford.

As in my recent article examining Samuel Eto’o’s impact at Chelsea, I am going to evaluate this move considering the team’s requirement before the transfer, the expectations that accompanied the midfielder to Manchester and the player’s performance since the move.

Requirement
The debate has raged as to what kind of midfielder Manchester United required (and potentially require still). The general opinion during the summer was certainly that someone or something was needed, but there was little consensus as to what exactly that something was.
With United likely to field two wide players, Robin van Persie and then Wayne Rooney behind him, only two midfield spots are there to be influenced by David Moyes.


Assuming that Michael Carrick is to take one of those roles if fit—the midfielder has earned a much broader recognition for his talents in recent seasons—the question has almost boiled down to what kind of player is required alongside Carrick, behind Rooney and RVP.

Had Darren Fletcher not endured such a torrid time with injury and illness, this might not have been an issue at all. The decline of Owen Hargreaves, still only 32, is also a relevant caveat to this discourse, while Phil Jones is not at his best alongside Carrick.

Some have suggested, therefore, that United’s key requirement this summer was a ball-winning midfielder who could bring presence and strength to the centre of the park. The likes of Fernandinho, Paulinho and even Mathieu Flamini have all enforced this area of the field for United’s rivals in recent months, and a similar solution was advocated by many for the Red Devils.

Bleacher Report’s own Allan Jiang, writing in March 2012, posited Etienne Capoue and Yann M’Vila as potential names who could realise “Sir Alex Ferguson’s No. 1 priority.”

Others still suggested that a creative midfielder would be the answer to United’s midfield weaknesses.
The pursuits of Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara seemed to indicate that this notion also held weight in the minds of the United hierarchy, particularly considering the declining influence of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

Someone like Ilkay Gundogan could offer a creative touch as well as the energy to contrast and complement the more reserved Carrick. It seems to be becoming clearer and clearer that Tom Cleverley, for all his neat work, is not the answer.

While the exact nature of the would-be saviour’s role has been debated, though, his quality has not.
WhatCulture! published a list of World Class midfielders Ferguson “must sign," for example, and Thom Drake of the Daily Mail suggested that United “scouts have been handed a remit to look for world-class players in every position, although creative midfielders remain the priority.”

Someone like Fabregas, or even Mesut Ozil, who was rejected by United, would not only contribute to the team on the field, but he would also go some way to helping the club rediscover its lustre and aura.

In the context of the club’s recent history, however, I would also add that a requirement of this move was that Fellaini make a swift and noticeable contribution within the first few months of his time at the club.
United’s transfer window had been a fairly undignified affair before Fellaini’s deadline day arrival. A loan move for Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao fell through, Leighton Baines was pursued with no success and they were beaten to Alcantara by Bayern Munich. Cesc Fabregas was chased publicly in a potential signing that never looked like happing, while the club was also made to look vulnerable by Chelsea’s bold attraction to Wayne Rooney.

The club had even failed to secure Fellaini before the minimum release fee clause expired in his contract. Ultimately, United ended up paying £4million more than they ought to have done had a deal been agreed to a month beforehand.

This was a summer when United’s reputation was on the line, when transition from hierarchy, manager and era needed to be managed with the most competence possible. When Moyes needed to establish himself as the main man, the rightful heir, it was a chance for the Scot to reinforce Sir Alex’s decision to recommend him.

As his sole signing, as an expensive signing and as an acquisition from Moyes’s former club, Fellaini became, in the words of The Guardian's Barney Ronay, the player “destined to stand as a barometer, mascot and general totem of early Moyes-ism.”
Expectation
Upon securing the deal, Moyes, who initially brought Fellaini to England with Everton in 2008, described his new charge's qualities, via BBC Sport:

He is a player with great ability and strength and I think he will make a real difference to our squad. He can play higher up, if we need it, behind the striker or as a defensive or holding midfielder. In any position in the middle of the field he’s comfortable.

Moyes acknowledged the squad’s deficiencies in the centre of the park and preferred to suggest that Fellaini’s versatility would be his key contribution.

The player himself was clear about his intentions during his introductory Manchester United press conference, when he declared that he was looking to make the same impact as Roy Keane, United’s great captain and midfield general.
This seemed to suggest that Fellaini was looking to provide the bite, the presence and the strength along Carrick that many had suggested was missing.

Standing at over 6’4", this doesn’t seem an altogether foolish notion, and Fellaini does possess many of the physical gifts required in a midfield destroyer. However, it ignores the fact that at Everton, Fellaini’s finest hours and most influential performances came when he was playing ahead of the midfield, behind a centre-forward.
From this position, the Belgian could use his exceptional physique and fine upper-body strength to win the forward balls and forge a platform upon which his side could assault the opposition area.

Certainly, according to Ronay, Fellaini could do a “good, half-speed job as an all-round defensive midfielder," but the evidence of the last few years suggests his best position is as a withdrawn target man.
This reality affected the success of the transfer from the off.

At United, considering the presence of Rooney and the frustrated Shinji Kagawa behind him, Fellaini was always unlikely to get the chance to perform often in the role that made him such a valuable asset to the Toffees.
If he has been bought as the defensive quality in the midfield, then it is a transfer that risks diluting, even shelving the player’s key merits.

However, beyond this, a central midfield of Carrick and Fellaini—a man who, let us not forget, is a seasoned Premier League performer—ought to at least be competitive and threatening.
But was that ever going to be enough at Old Trafford, and could that ever be enough for a player who cost a whopping £27.5 million?

Performance
It is hard to put a positive spin on Fellaini’s opening months as a Manchester United player, particularly considering the club’s requirements and the expectations that accompanied the tremendous transfer fee.
He certainly hasn’t shown a smidgen of Roy Keane’s influence and has generally failed to impose himself on contests and assert himself within fixtures.

He looked like a little boy lost as Manchester City tore United’s midfield to shreds and wholly humiliated their cross-city rivals earlier in the season. His flailing elbows and niggling fouls were once again on show in the Champions League, when he was dismissed for two yellow cards against Real Sociedad. His performance in the 2-2 draw with Cardiff was widely criticised by United fans, who have begun to demand more of their expensive purchase.

As expected, Moyes asked Fellaini, according to the Mirror's David McDonnell, “to play a deeper-lying midfield role, one in which he has to curb his natural attacking instincts for a more defensive approach." This simply hasn’t worked, and with Rooney flourishing behind the striker, the Scot is unlikely to move his new signing to his favoured position anytime soon.

The Belgian’s stats haven’t been dismal. His season pass success rate is 88.5 percent, while at the end of November, his tackle success rate was an admirable 86 percent. He hasn’t been a creative or offensive force though and hasn’t scored or assisted once in his 14 appearances to date.

Fellaini, therefore, is proving to be neither the creative midfielder nor the defensive midfielder United were seeking in the summer. He is, instead, a withdrawn target man who is being forced to play a different role than the one he is used to.\

Bearing in mind the stature of player United needed during the window, the acquisition of Fellaini felt very underwhelming. Bleacher Report’s Jerrad Peters admitted that the Belgian wasn’t world class, and the Metro indicated that Fellaini must improve to be considered of “United class.” So far, the midfielder has done little to change the perception that he just might not be good enough for the elite level.

B/R’s Sam Tighe was one of few commentators who actually argued that the former Everton man was world class. But still, he also admitted in the same article that the player was only “near-world class.”
There are caveats to Fellaini's underwhelming performance, however, which ought to be mentioned.
Fellaini has been playing with a wrist injury that requires surgery, something that may have resulted in the muted performances we have witnessed.

Similarly, it is never easy to fit seamlessly into a side that is underperforming as blatantly as United. There is a sense of transition around the club. And unfortunately, Fellaini has not escaped unaffected.
The time that it is taking Fellaini to adapt to his new surroundings is concerning, and to date, it’s hard to write much that is positive about his impact. However, I have confidence that he will come good.

He will naturally take time to re-adapt to a more conservative role in the midfield. But once he does this—and perhaps enjoys the benefit of better players alongside him—then I believe United fans will begin to see a return on their expenditure.