Marouane Fellaini at Manchester United: Tactical analysis

Marouane Fellaini

So, after all the hubbub, the dithering and the frantic scrambles, Marouane Fellaini has made his way to the hallowed ranks of Manchester United. But, that’s old news now, right? In the midst of all the fanfare and the grumbling, the moans of discontent from the United fans and the talks of the club losing their way in the market, the most important question lays unattended; namely, what does Fellaini bring to the table?

Physicality:

Let’s get the facts out of the way first: Fellaini is a strapping lad and at 6 feet and 4 and a quarter inches tall, he definitely adds an aerial edge to any team.

Add to that his build and it’s easy to see why his contemporaries and fans alike label him as a “beast” of a player. While not as technically proficient as some of the other names linked to Old Trafford, he is unquestionably one that adds a physical presence to a midfield sorely in need of it.

The matches against Chelsea and Liverpool demonstrated United’s need of something different at the centre of the park. The midfield looked stretched to contain Liverpool’s triumvirate, and Gerrard, Lucas and Henderson, while not threatening, themselves, did keep United from playing any significant pass down the middle. But more on that later.

Style of Play :

Fellaini’s style of play involves playing short, if rather unimaginative, passes and moving into space to await the return ball. He is also adequately adept at making valuable dummy runs, affording teammates the opportunity to move into prime attacking space.

Though neat on the ball, Fellaini himself is not a skilful dribbler, à la Kagawa. He relies more on his physical prowess and dogged determination to not give the ball away, when in one-on-one situations.

Also, he’s the type of player greatly appreciated at United, a hard worker who’s always ready to put in a shift. Moyes’, and earlier Ferguson’s, penchant for using players such as Antonio Valencia and Park Ji-Sung in important matches is testimony to that.

One negative aspect of Fellaini’s play is, of course, his habit of fouling the opposition. This is a statistic borne more out of his enthusiasm while attempting to win the ball back rather than the presence of a mean streak.

Saving the best for last is his ability in the air. While at Everton, Moyes often played Fellaini behind the striker, and used long-ball tactics to put-off opposing defences. One can’t see how the same tactic, if used often, will make the United fans happy, though it is a good back-up tactic while chasing a match in the dying minutes of the match. He would also be a threat in a dead-ball situation.

Positional Play:

As pointed out by Moyes, Fellaini is a pretty versatile player, capable of playing anywhere in midfield. He can play deep, alongside Michael Carrick, providing the English international some much needed cover in the middle of the park, or right up behind the striker, in the role of the traditional “number 10″.

As said by Moyes himself, “He can play higher up the field if we need him to, just behind a main striker. He can play as a defensive or holding midfield player. In fact he is comfortable in any position in the middle of the field.”

Judging from a neutral perspective, this is exactly what United need. The match against Liverpool especially highlighted the dearth of options United possess in midfield.

Given Moyes’ inexplicable decision to leave Kagawa out of the squad entirely, United looked unimaginative and clueless as to how best to go about opening up Liverpool’s stubborn defence.

Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtlel ensured that United went goalless in consecutive league matches for the first time since 2009.

Impact:

The most obvious short-term impact this signing makes is making United genuine title favourites once more. Early season predictions all but ruled out United as a title contender, instead preferring to bestow the moniker of “early-season favourites” on Chelsea and Manchester City. Both these teams had added more depth into their squads with addition of some quality players, so it’s not too hard to see why they were hailed as title contenders. It also gives Moyes the freedom to implement different formations.