This Stat Proves That Manchester United Are Much Better Off Without Marouane Fellaini

Published on: 04 December 2016

Marouane Fellaini cost Manchester United two points within two minutes of his introduction at Goodison Park on Sunday when his clumsy penalty box challenge on Idrissa Gana Gueye allowed former team-mates Leighton Baines to snatch a 1-1 draw for the Toffees.


The cumbersome Belgian is not the most popular player amongst United fans and Squawka have crunched the numbers to pass a damning indictment on the 29-year-old's impact on his side's results.

Man Utd's Premier League win % since the start of 2015/16:

With Marouane Fellaini = 34.4%
Without Marouane Fellaini = 60.8%

Says it all.  pic.twitter.com/3vwTX3cwUQ

Since the start of last season, stretching back to Louis van Gaal's time in charge at Old Trafford, the Red Devils have won little over a third of matches with the lanky Belgian on the pitch.


Obviously there are other variables at play with such statistics, but a win percentage of over 60% - much more satisfactory for a club of United's stature - brought about by Fellaini's removal from the first team is quite a stark contrast.

Leon Osman: "When he played for us we wanted Fellaini as far away from our box as possible." pic.twitter.com/yhnAkKGAJN

In truth, from the moment he was signed as a panic buy by David Moyes on transfer deadline day in 2013, Fellaini has never looked like a Manchester United player.


He is an effective and awkward player in a direct system of play, in and around the opposition penalty box, as he showed in his Everton days, but is nowhere near the technical level required to play in central midfield for a side of United's aspirations.

Congratulations to @Fellaini on reaching 100 appearances for #MUFC! #EVEMUN pic.twitter.com/LEdMtU5FRE

Many United fans will wonder how the 29-year-old has managed to make 100 appearances in the famous red shirt, so far surviving under three different managers, when many thought Moyes' swift departure would see Fellaini exit Old Trafford too.


Fellaini's presence in midfield makes United too ponderous and deployed further up the field, he encourages a long-ball game for which his team-mates are poorly suited, and in any case, is not sufficient to take United where they want to go.

Fellaini should be offered to Sunderland or Hull City for free, as a Christmas gift.

On top of that, the Belgian has a tendency to invite pressure onto his team by giving away silly fouls and worse, to see red and catch opponents with elbows and very late challenges.


Not many Red Devils followers will be hoping Fellaini joins the 200 club at Old Trafford. In fact, for some, making it 101 would be too many.

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