The last time I blogged, Manchester United was not in as much a 'mess' as it is right now. The club has suffered a thorough beating from the media and fans alike so much so that it could do without me adding salt to very painful wounds.
Granted, United could have handled deadline day better because it makes no sense to start negotiating with the Basque Athletic Bilbao on deadline day. Deadline day is hardly made for calling bluffs as it is the bidder rather than the seller that will suffer the bigger loss. The club has since denied a relation with the 3 wise impostors that turned up at LFP offices to allegedly tie up a deal for Ander Herrera.
Secondly, turning down players like Mesut Ozil is close to criminal in an age where world class players are hard to come by.
All the above notwithstanding, it must be noted, and crucially so that United did in fact manage to make a signing on deadline day. Marouane Fellaini is not the type of player that will set the blood boiling among fans at Old Trafford but it can be strongly argued that he was the one player that we needed.
Think about it; he is in essence a box to box midfielder whose best position is defensive midfield. He is also an option in attack when chasing the game in the same way Yaya Toure is for disgraceful our neighbours. Whereas we could have done with another creative player, if we have Fellaini doing the dirty work in front of the defence, you'd like to think that it should free Carrick, Rooney and Kagawa to create and or score goals. Did I mention that it is virtually impossible to defend against Fellaini?
To put it simple, the question that should be answered is are we better off with the Belgian than without him?...your guess is as good as mine.
Some would like us to believe that Fellaini is not United class/material and his play will be difficult to integrate in the team. That is only a problem if he is changing leagues and manager that have made him an international in a competitive Belgian side. As it stands, he remains in the EPL and is back to working under a manager that knows his qualities and how to best apply them to the benefit of the team.
Tom Cleverely would be a fantastic footballer in a side where he didn't have to do the unnatural job of wining the ball back. Fellaini frees him from that particular prison. Admittedly, David Moyes has a battle on his hands to use a side that is essentially similar to the one ridiculed last season to win the league when our rivals have strengthened, but it is also an opportunity to put himself in the reckoning of top managers if he keeps the club's place at the top of the country's premier championship.
Defeat at Anfield has left us playing catch up already. Obviously it is not yet alarm bells time but we now need to get the three against Palace after the world cup break and find away of not leaving the Etihad empty handed. We do have a good record there, so why not? Labels: REVIEWS, TRANSFER SPECULATION
