Why Manchester United need Fabregas, and not Cabaye or Fellaini

Manchester United need a midfielder. It’s not a secret, nor is it rocket science. Things have been said about this, things have been written about this. There have been various media reports about the new manager’s plans, but there has been no denying the first statement.

Manchester United need a midfielder, and a top class one at that.

David Moyes, having confirmed that he is looking for a midfielder to add to the current squad, has only given the media another chance to start a few more transfer rumours.

The current status

United’s current squad: it has some good midfielders, midfielders who have fared well in the recently-concluded, and ultimately successful, league season.

But, it lacks any serious depth and quality for action in the UEFA Champions League. Where does the current midfield stand against the best sides in Europe? Barcelona or Bayern Munich maybe? It certainly won’t be a good showing based on what Bayern did to Barca last season.

Yes, football is not a game of such calculations and the results are far from confirmed based on just other results as those, but at this time I certainly don’t want to pit Cleverley or Anderson against the likes of Xavi, Schweinsteiger, Iniesta or Javi Martinez.

Where will the newcomers fit in?

Of the current options at Manchester United, Michael Carrick is a sure starter. Last year, he had one of the best seasons for the club and was arguably the best midfielder in the league winning a place in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year. He completed a staggering 2,397 passes in the league last season, having an average of 67 successful passes each game.

His Manchester United team-mates also voted him as the club’s Players’ Player of the Year. It’s safe to say that his place in the side is not under any danger.

The incoming midfielder, will be the partner to Carrick in the centre of midfield. He will be the focal point in the attack to feed the strikers – provide them with chances to finish while Carrick plays a deeper role, displaying his full range of passes.

Who can it be? Fabregas, Cabaye or Fellaini? Here are a few stats.

Passing

Carrick’s average successful passes stand at 67 per game with an accuracy of 88%. Fellaini has a 79% passing accuracy and just over 41 passes completed/game. Cabaye is even further down with just over 34 passes completed per game and an accuracy of 80%. Fabregas, however, has a much higher passing accuracy with 89% and completed just above 61 passes each game.

One look at the Key Passes column evinces that Cabaye is leading the rest by a massive difference. 51 Key Passes in 26 games is significantly higher than Fabregas’ 39 and Fellaini’s 35.

With top class finishers like Robin Van Persie and Hernandez in place to finish off the chances created, Cabaye could have a bucket load of assists.

Having said that, for the sheer number of passes Fabregas completed in comparison to Cabaye (1,966 v/s 894) in just 184 extra minutes, hands the advantage to Fabregas. This, because what United need is someone who can link the midfield and attack well. Fabregas with an average pass length of 15m will be more suited to United’s possession based style of play than Cabaye who has an average pass length of 24m and accuracy of 80%.

ADVANTAGE: Fabregas > Cabaye > Fellaini

Goals

Apart from the involvement in the passing, his direct involvement in the goals as well, is much higher than either of Cabaye or Fellaini. Fabregas had a direct involvement [goals + assists] in a total of 33 goals last season in all competitions for club and country. In similar respect, Fellaini ended up with 19 and Cabaye only managed a total of 9.

ADVANTAGE: Fabregas > Fellaini > Cabaye

Discipline and defensive contribution

Comparing their discipline, Fabregas is once again the winner. He committed 35 fouls and suffered 35 fouls. Cabaye committed 41 fouls but was on the receiving end of only 13 fouls. But Fellaini has the worst record here, committing 79 fouls and suffering 47.

United, last season, were seen to be a very disciplined side, with only a single red card in their entire league campaign. With the way United play, you would expect that Fabregas is the perfect choice again.

But, in this case, Fellaini will bring something to the team that has arguably been missing since the departure of Roy Keane during the 2005/06 season. United have been missing a midfielder who can do ‘the dirty work’, to get into the tackles fearlessly and knock the opponent off the ball. Someone in the Roy Keane mould, who they haven’t quite managed to replace.

Fellaini has a huge presence on the field and his huge physique means he is not easily bullied off the ball. Last season, he won a total of 276 duels in the league, significantly higher than both Fabregas [112] and Cabaye [78].

If United indeed do go for Fabregas, however, the defensive midfielder will be the position Carrick plays in. With him not having to go forward to support the attacks, we can expect him to have a much better defensive contribution and focus on his best position – as a deep lying playmaker.

Discipline

ADVANTAGE: Fabregas > Cabaye > Fellaini

Defensive Contribution

ADVANTAGE: Fellaini > Fabregas > Cabaye

European Review

Fabregas is the clear winner in this category. He has been playing at the very highest level his entire career, ever since he turned professional with Arsenal when he turned 16. He is a World Cup and double Euro winner with Spain, and has won a few trophies with FC Barcelona including the La Liga.

His experience of winning trophies and playing at the highest level will help him get settled in quickly at United, with ex-teammate Robin van Persie already here to help him in that respect as well.

Cabaye and Fellaini, on the other hand, have no such prior experience. Cabaye has won the Ligue 1 once, but apart from that, he doesn’t have enough experience at the very highest level in Europe. Both, however, have proved themselves well in the Premier League and are looking like vital players for their respective clubs.

ADVANTAGE: Fabregas > Cabaye > Fellaini

Having compared them on various accounts, it’s clear that Fabregas comes out on top from the three midfielders who have been extensively linked with United in the past few weeks. He’s the leading player in 4 out of 5 categories that we compared him in, and looks the best fit for the Manchester United midfield.