Okay, yeah, he’s been playing rubbish but maybe he’s effective.
Not so.
Marouane Fellaini is a big lump of a nuisance and, whilst he might have his uses, they’re not amounting to results for Manchester United. In fact, they’re having the complete opposite effect.
We all saw him play for Everton, we’ve seen a few moments of tidy intrigue from him at Old Trafford even, but van Gaal, this season especially, has decided to just use him as a huge awkward man. Kick the bloody thing into him, that sort of thing.
But it isn’t a safety net and it isn’t even a tactic apparently worth doing.
United have lost eight times this season – if you include their penalty to defeat at home to Middlesbrough in the League Cup.
All eight times, the Belgian midfielder has been playing.
Coincidence? Maybe so. It doesn’t exactly account for the fact that they haven’t lost once when Fellaini hasn’t been playing.
Put simply: Marouane doesn’t play, United don’t lose.
Man United are yet to lose any of the 12 games when Marouane Fellaini hasn't played this season. They've lost 8 of the 20 games he's played.
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 12, 2016
Ah, but Louis plays him in all the big games, against the tough opposition. Is that what you think?
A glance through United’s defeats this season would tell you differently.
Here are the eight sides who have beaten the Red Devils so far in the 2015/16 campaign:
Swansea
PSV
Arsenal
Wolfsburg
Middlesbrough
Bournemouth
Norwich
Stoke
Not exactly a minefield.
Is the common denominator big Fellaini? Well, they never lose when he doesn’t play.
