Once And For All Fellaini Is....

[Everton_Worshiper]

Pfft, he's developing at a phenomenal rate in all aspects. I was talking more about his adeptibility from the change of football style more than anything. If you put a bunch of british kids in a match against a bunch of brazilian kids would they play in the same way? The way they play in belgium is a different tempo and style to playing over here, and given that he was a DM, he's probably not used to the pace of the british game, or what is being asked of him. If you play players out of a position they're comfortable in and force them to adapt they can fail at first because it's like playing in a completely different game.

 

My opinion is I'm glad he is here, he is a young, raw talent, he will not be dropped because he has great potential and he has been vital to us so far this season. The kinks in his play will be iorned out over time and I can see him being at this club for a good few years yet. He is good at winning the ball, he holds it up well, he has a powerful shot and he's already scoring goals. There may be downsides to his game, but they're outweighed by the good sides, and he will keep getting better as time goes on.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am glad he is here too and I will love the day he proves me wrong - can I forsee that day at the moment, no. I have no doubt he will get better but I do not see the "top of his scale" as being as high as others in the age group/position e.g. Fabregas.

[The Regulator]

Don't get me wrong, I am glad he is here too and I will love the day he proves me wrong - can I forsee that day at the moment, no. I have no doubt he will get better but I do not see the "top of his scale" as being as high as others in the age group/position e.g. Fabregas.

 

well this is it isn't it, he's being compared with people like fabregas, world-class players that are in his age group, because of the price tag, when the price was because of his potential value to the club in the future, he may not be earning that 15mil at the Mo, but he definately will it's just a matter of patience. I think this is where I disagree when people say he is not playing up to the level we expect because frankly we're expecting too much too soon. We were playing shit, had a razor thin squad, and what we really wanted was our own Moutinho. We all had this idea that when we got moutinho he would revolutionise the squad and lead us to victory, but he never came and we had fellaini instead. Fellaini was never going to bring the squad to greatness by himself, but we play better with him than without and that's my argument. Yes he may not be consistent and yes he may not be at the same level as Fabregas but in the long run we have secured someone who could be a great mdifielder and the ammunition to fire us up the table.

 

It may have been a panic buy but for £4m we could have done a lot worse than Screech.

[Heather_6]

i like fellaini, he seems pretty decent

[chicagoblue]

Don't get me wrong, I am glad he is here too and I will love the day he proves me wrong - can I forsee that day at the moment, no. I have no doubt he will get better but I do not see the "top of his scale" as being as high as others in the age group/position e.g. Fabregas.

 

That's a ridiculous comparison. If you want to compare someone to Fabregas it should be Arteta, who probably fares even less favourably at the moment.

 

Fellaini doesn't have many comparisons in the Premier League at the moment, and maybe that's why so many blues are unsure of him. Moyes seems to be trying something new here, and obviously it'll take a while for this to come together.

 

I think if Moyes had wanted to keep on with what we'd done last year he could very easily slot Castillo into Carsley's spot and we'd be much the same, if improved slightly going forward and hampered slightly on defense. So not only do we have a very young new player playing in a new position but we also have a team struggling to adjust around him.

 

I for one think it'll pay off and I think we've already seen Fellaini improving. He does need to work on a few things, most importantly his tackling and running, but I'm quite sure we'll all be praising the big bastard in a short while.

[marcopaulo]

i agree with the regulator i mean hes already done what cahill usually does and won us points he won the game against bolton and got us back into it against man u. people expect so much cos he cost almost ten times what cahill did the fact is that we had to pay that cos of the modern footballing climate and he will be class. i mean if he was 28 and not doin it id agree but he'll be here for a long time to come. did gravesen stand out as much straight away? no he didnt then became one of best midfielders we've had in recent years. hes been our best midfielder and doin far more than the rest of them and why should he run his arse off box to box when someone else is meant to be coverin the defence? carsley never got in the area did he but fellaini does so hes not a defensive mid i dont care what he says(think ive already said this but oh well)

[carlmc25]

FFS, listening to some of you chat rubbish is like listening to those whinging bar stewards in red constantly bleating on about their players 'not being good enough for Liverpool'... leave the dissing their own to them lot, fellaini is one of us now and I for one think he has been great so far this season, he adds bite and physical presence in the middle of the park, he can pass the ball, and he's dangerous in the opposition box... some of you lot want the moon on a stick!

 

Incidentally, talking of snivelpool, some of my red's mates have said how good they think fellaini has looked for us and how they wouldnt mind him in their team... bear in mind these are lads that would never normally dream of saying anything remotely complimentary about a Blue, and scoffed at the Yak for 'only scoring 20' last season... so he must be doing something right...

 

Oh, and finally, on the subject of pace in the Prem... Viera, Keane, Petit, Alonso, Makelele, Scholes, Speed (later in career anyway) - not exactly blessed with bundles of pace were they, yet they all had what you might call decent careers in centre mid. have a word.

There's a difference between not being fast and being unbelievably slow, players like Keane and Vieira were real athletes, when Keane started to lose his pace then he got put in a sitting role who hardly ventured forward and he was nothing like the player he was initially. That's what happens when players get older, they lose their pace and generally become less effective, unless they are defenders or goalkeepers. Fellaini is not just lacking in pace - most of our players are only moderately quick, we have little in the way of genuine pace throughout the side, Yobo aside - but he is incredibly slow, that is a worry as it is not something that can be fixed, you either have pace or you don't.

[EFC-Paul]

You cant compare him with Fabregas both are worlds apart in terms of style and play, thats one of the reasons i would in my opinion class him as a niche player and there are not many 6ft4 midfielders in the Prem and generally its Defenders or keepers that are that size and have next to zero ball control due to there size.

He's more in the mould of a Viera type player and given time im sure he will play a big part in our future i may be wrong like but from what i can see he has no reason not to become and develop into a very good player.

Edited December 10, 2008 by EFC-Paul

[DonKey]

Seems like opinion is very much divided on Mo. Personally I think he has improved game on game (apart from Wigan), and has added a lot to the side. Fair enough he has got a hell of a lot to live up to with the price tag, but he didn't ask to be signed for that much.

 

In terms of 'he's not as good as other players', when Viera first came to the Prem he didn't exactly immediately set the world alight. Same with Petit and a couple of the other names mentioned. Another example (albeit in a different position) is Thierry Henry(10.5 mill (1999)). It toook him so long to string some decent performances together, and now he's viewed as one of the best players ever to grace the Premiership.

 

How easy would it be to walk into a team that is winning, that is full of confidence, that is playing good football and join in with that? Answer, simple. It is much harder to play in a team that is struggling for confidence and form and actually stand out.

 

I believe that Fellaini will go on to be an excellent acquisition for us in future seasons. I also agree that at £15m Standard must have had big windows on the office (to see us coming). What's done is done, and the kid will come good!

[Everton_Worshiper]

That's a ridiculous comparison. If you want to compare someone to Fabregas it should be Arteta, who probably fares even less favourably at the moment.

 

Fellaini doesn't have many comparisons in the Premier League at the moment, and maybe that's why so many blues are unsure of him. Moyes seems to be trying something new here, and obviously it'll take a while for this to come together.

 

I think if Moyes had wanted to keep on with what we'd done last year he could very easily slot Castillo into Carsley's spot and we'd be much the same, if improved slightly going forward and hampered slightly on defense. So not only do we have a very young new player playing in a new position but we also have a team struggling to adjust around him.

 

I for one think it'll pay off and I think we've already seen Fellaini improving. He does need to work on a few things, most importantly his tackling and running, but I'm quite sure we'll all be praising the big bastard in a short while.

 

LMAO...erm so comparing him to someone who is Spanish is more relevant? Is Fabregas a midfielder, is Fabregas the same age, is Fabregas in the Premiership...it is ridiculous comparison to you because the difference in quality is huge, which is exactly my point.

[jamiemaher85]

There's a difference between not being fast and being unbelievably slow, players like Keane and Vieira were real athletes, when Keane started to lose his pace then he got put in a sitting role who hardly ventured forward and he was nothing like the player he was initially. That's what happens when players get older, they lose their pace and generally become less effective, unless they are defenders or goalkeepers. Fellaini is not just lacking in pace - most of our players are only moderately quick, we have little in the way of genuine pace throughout the side, Yobo aside - but he is incredibly slow, that is a worry as it is not something that can be fixed, you either have pace or you don't.

I can understand your gripe abut pace but as i've stated before he is no slower than the majority of our squad. in comparison with anichibe he looks like road runner, cahill and arteta are also two other players who completly lack pace. If you are going to criticis Fellaini about pace then these players need to come under greater scrutiny. Fellaini is playing in a central midfielder and a key part of there game does not need to be pace. Cahill who plays attacking mid should have pace, arteta who is supposed to operate down the wing should have pace, vic who plays upfront should have pace, fellaini is in one of the parts of the park where pacce does not need to be a huge facet of his game. As long as he is using the rest of his strengths then he can get away without the need to sprint around all the time, other players, i.e wingers and forwards, are the players who should be the ones making the runs and the ones with the pace. we can't expect every player of ours to have perfect attributes in every department, but the fact is that they don't need to be perfect in every department. Fellaini may not be the fastest player, neither is he the slowest, but he times his runs well and his timing in the box is very good. if a player has good timing then they can operate without pace, that is why Cahill has done so well for us in the past.

[carlmc25]

I can understand your gripe abut pace but as i've stated before he is no slower than the majority of our squad. in comparison with anichibe he looks like road runner, cahill and arteta are also two other players who completly lack pace. If you are going to criticis Fellaini about pace then these players need to come under greater scrutiny. Fellaini is playing in a central midfielder and a key part of there game does not need to be pace. Cahill who plays attacking mid should have pace, arteta who is supposed to operate down the wing should have pace, vic who plays upfront should have pace, fellaini is in one of the parts of the park where pacce does not need to be a huge facet of his game. As long as he is using the rest of his strengths then he can get away without the need to sprint around all the time, other players, i.e wingers and forwards, are the players who should be the ones making the runs and the ones with the pace. we can't expect every player of ours to have perfect attributes in every department, but the fact is that they don't need to be perfect in every department. Fellaini may not be the fastest player, neither is he the slowest, but he times his runs well and his timing in the box is very good. if a player has good timing then they can operate without pace, that is why Cahill has done so well for us in the past.

I totally disagree though, although Cahill and Arteta are no Aaron Lennon, I personally think they are far quicker than Fellaini. Arteta possibly lacked a little pace to play successfully on the wing anymore, but he has more than enough to play in CM and the fact that he DID play on the wing so successfully for about 12 months (prior to the last 12 months!) shows he must have some pace as otherwise he would never have been able to operate out there - I mean do you honestly think Fellaini could do anything out on the wing? I don't think Cahill is slow at all and Anichebe looks pretty quick to me, in the match the other day he looked a bit off it but that was possibly because he was injured and also knackered, plenty of times last season in Europe he showed decent pace. We don't have a really fast team, Yobo aside, but I think there is only Fellaini who I consider to be really slow. I like the guy but for me, it's a worry as every other slow midfielder I can think of (Hamann, Keane in his later years etc) could only play the one role and that was sitting in front of the back 4 - where Fellaini is not getting played and on performances so far, most of his skills seem to be in the opposition box. He has definitely given us some much needed height and his play on the ball is fairly decent, although hardly Fabregas in quality, and he has definitely improved virtually week on week so I'm hoping he will go on to become an Everton legend, but as I said, I have some concerns on his workrate/speed.

[marcopaulo]

find another 20 year old who is as good as fabregas in the premiership? you'll be strugglin the guy is in a class of his own for his age and position so no point comparing them two is there. also no pace oh well carsley didnt and neither does cahill so if he does either job he can do it aswell or better

[jamiemaher85]

I totally disagree though, although Cahill and Arteta are no Aaron Lennon, I personally think they are far quicker than Fellaini. Arteta possibly lacked a little pace to play successfully on the wing anymore, but he has more than enough to play in CM and the fact that he DID play on the wing so successfully for about 12 months (prior to the last 12 months!) shows he must have some pace as otherwise he would never have been able to operate out there - I mean do you honestly think Fellaini could do anything out on the wing? I don't think Cahill is slow at all and Anichebe looks pretty quick to me, in the match the other day he looked a bit off it but that was possibly because he was injured and also knackered, plenty of times last season in Europe he showed decent pace. We don't have a really fast team, Yobo aside, but I think there is only Fellaini who I consider to be really slow. I like the guy but for me, it's a worry as every other slow midfielder I can think of (Hamann, Keane in his later years etc) could only play the one role and that was sitting in front of the back 4 - where Fellaini is not getting played and on performances so far, most of his skills seem to be in the opposition box. He has definitely given us some much needed height and his play on the ball is fairly decent, although hardly Fabregas in quality, and he has definitely improved virtually week on week so I'm hoping he will go on to become an Everton legend, but as I said, I have some concerns on his workrate/speed.

I see your points about concerns over his pace, but i thnk that concerns over his workrate are a little harsh, i don't see any problems with is workrate all, he puts in more than cahill does at the moment. He does flag towards the end of games but that is Moyes who should be taking him off and resting him a little, everyone here knows that he flags at the end of games so i don't see why moyes persists with him al game, anyway.

 

As for the pace issue, i know he couldn't operate on the wing, but we don't need him too. I know that he isn't that fast but the fact of the matter is that he doesn't need to be for the position he is, and as i said before his timing is good so at least he can compencate for lack of pace with a knowledge of when to make the runs and how to use himself effectivly. He is a large strong player and cause problems for the oppositions, you can definatly tell that he causes alot of intimidation.

 

Finally, the comparisons with Cesc are pointless (this is not solely directed at you carl) Cesc is a class above most players in the league, even world, the only thing you can compare between them is age and few players have achieved what cesc has and become the player cesc has in such a short time

[carlmc25]

find another 20 year old who is as good as fabregas in the premiership? you'll be strugglin the guy is in a class of his own for his age and position so no point comparing them two is there. also no pace oh well carsley didnt and neither does cahill so if he does either job he can do it aswell or better

Carsley did have pace though, he man marked Gerrard out of a couple of derby's. He definitely lost a touch of his pace in the last couple of years, but in no way was he slow, he was still far quicker than Hamann or Fellaini.

[marcopaulo]

wasn't really quick though and in last couple years as you say he lost it he was still awesome. just think the lad is expected to do 2 jobs and he cant

[Blue4Ever]

Him and arteta have taken our team to the next level with there performances lately, fellaini doesnt need pace and to be perfectly honest theres alot slower players in our team, all I would like to see from him more is aggression on the pitch. I would like to think every midfielder in the premiership is scared of him and thats something he could make happen.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Blue4Ever

[Bill]

he's drifted out there the last 20 minutes of the last two games, if u have concerns over him u cannot be watching all our games, him and arteta have taken our team to the next level with there performances lately, fellaini doesnt need pace and to be perfectly honest theres alot slower players in our team, all I would like to see from him more is aggression on the pitch.

 

He already has more yellow cards than any other player in the squad, if he adds agression to his stupid tackles he'll end up suspended for half the season.

[MikeO]

[/b]

 

He already has more yellow cards than any other player in the squad, if he adds agression to his stupid tackles he'll end up suspended for half the season.

 

He was sooooo close to getting through the City game without a yellow....90th minute I think .

[flaminfox]

HE IS NOT A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD PLAYER i am really getting irritated about people complaining do people even watch the games he is always up front

[MikeO]

HE IS NOT A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD PLAYER i am really getting irritated about people complaining do people even watch the games he is always up front

 

So he says he's a defensive mid and you say he's not .

 

Let me just think about it a minute and I'll decide who I think is in the best position to judge .

[EFC-Paul]

Haha beat me to it Mike

[flaminfox]

I have heard david moyes say he is not and have you watched an everton game he plays up from -.- so much for being an everton fan if he says it than he is not a very bright lad

[wakeyblue]

what ever he is hes playing really well i didnt min d him getting booked saturday as it looked like the kid was on a run and to give a foul away there was better then the edge of the area he is improving hes come into a side that started really poor but are digging there heels in now and hes looking good

[Everton_Worshiper]

I have heard david moyes say he is not and have you watched an everton game he plays up from -.- so much for being an everton fan if he says it than he is not a very bright lad

 

What position the player thinks he is comfortable at playing and where the manager wants him to play are two different things.

Just look at Lescott, JLo says he is a Centre Back but Moyes always plays him at Left Back.

[StevO]

Carsley did have pace though, he man marked Gerrard out of a couple of derby's. He definitely lost a touch of his pace in the last couple of years, but in no way was he slow, he was still far quicker than Hamann or Fellaini.

 

you are just happy to lie to make your point stick aren't you?

Carsley never had "pace" he wasn't always slow as fuck, he still isnt, but to say he had pace is just blatantly wrong. and Gerrards hardly lightening is he

[Blue4Ever]

you are just happy to lie to make your point stick aren't you?

Carsley never had "pace" he wasn't always slow as fuck, he still isnt, but to say he had pace is just blatantly wrong. and Gerrards hardly lightening is he

sorry steve but gerrards got more pace than people think, the only players we have that are quicker are probably Yobo and Vaughan.

Edited December 17, 2008 by Blue4Ever

[chicagoblue]

sorry steve but gerrards got more pace than people think, the only players we have that are quicker are probably Yobo and Vaughan.

 

 

Doesn't OPTA or someone keep stats on pace? They ranked AJ first last year no? I bet we can settle this issue.

 

Also, don't see how he's a defensive midfielder at all, he'll be a box to box player that can tackle once he's fully settle, but for now he's more of an attacker than a defender in the games i've seen (most every one this season).

[aaron]

I read that Aj was fastest at one point on the Nike website, but it said he was faster with the ball than without. must be a mistake surely?

[StevO]

sorry steve but gerrards got more pace than people think, the only players we have that are quicker are probably Yobo and Vaughan.

 

im not saying gerrards slow, im saying hes not a player who will scare you with his pace, agbonlahor, walcott, real pace. hes quick, as any attacking player should be, but id be suprised if he was quicker than cahill even.

[carlmc25]

you are just happy to lie to make your point stick aren't you?

Carsley never had "pace" he wasn't always slow as fuck, he still isnt, but to say he had pace is just blatantly wrong. and Gerrards hardly lightening is he

er what? Gerrard is damn quick, he may not be Theo Walcott but apart from possibly Torres he's probably the quickest player in the Liverpool team. He's one of the quickest central midfielders in the league (in fact I can't think of anyone quicker) and Carsley kept with him, Carsley was not slow at all and did have pace. He may not have had the pace to play on the wing (although he did play there on occasions, as did Steven Gerrard when he scored about 20 goals in a season - not bad for a 'slow' player on the wing) but as we are talking about central midfielders here then yes, he did have pace for that position.

 

So no, I'm not happy to lie as that's not what I do, so stop being a tit and actually think about what I'm saying rather than automatically disagreeing with it.