Marouane Fellaini’s average passing accuracy – 83%. Marouane Fellaini’s buck passing accuracy – 100%.
The Manchester United midfielder has been the most criticised player at Old Trafford this season and he has an inkling as to why he comes in for such ridicule from his own fans.
In an interview with The Telegraph this week, Fellaini explained that he sometimes blames David Moyes for the flak he picks up from the terraces.
“My family care more than me (about the criticism),” said Fellaini. “I am a professional, so I have to deal with it. I try not to listen. Sometimes it is difficult, but that is football and playing for a big club. Sometimes I don’t understand it. Why me? I don’t know.
“Sometimes, I say yes it is because I joined with David Moyes, sometimes I say no. The truth is I don’t know. I know one thing, a lot of people know I work hard on the pitch and for me that’s the most important thing.”
Fellaini was one of Moyes’ first signings when he succeeded Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager and his performances on the pitch were often described as reflective of the struggles of Moyes in the dugout.
But those same performances have carried on into Louis van Gaal’s tenure.
Much of the stick he gets nowadays is due to the fact that he seems to be used out of position so very often, which admittedly isn’t his fault, and the Belgium international has admitted that he isn’t being utilised in his preferred position by van Gaal but that he is happy to play anywhere to help out the team.
“When your manager asks you to play in a position, you have to do it,” he said. “When we played against Liverpool at the start of the season, I was asked to play as a striker. It wouldn’t be my choice of position, but I had to do it and we won the game. You have to just get on and deal with it.
“My best friends always say to me: ‘think about yourself first’ and tell me to be more selfish. But I’m not like that. I am a professional, I am of service to the club and to the manager. My favourite position is at number six or number eight, but I will never have a problem with a manager because I do my job. When the manager asks me to do something, I do it.”
