There are better defensive midfielders available then.

Clrnc wrote:

Not in for Rooney at all? There goes Geoff reputation

I am really not keen on Fellaini at a high price. He would only be useful for us as a defensive mid and his disciplinary record is shit. If we make him our record signing, I am certain it will compromise on other targets so not keen at all

Bit pathetic how St. Geoff responded by RTing his minions posting old stuff that Ornstein got wrong. (Not much)

Clrnc wrote:

Not in for Rooney at all? There goes Geoff reputation

I am really not keen on Fellaini at a high price. He would only be useful for us as a defensive mid and his disciplinary record is shit. If we make him our record signing, I am certain it will compromise on other targets so not keen at all

Its a tough call. He's way over priced no matter where he plays. AM, DM whatever you could do better for £20m. However he is a handful and he has been in good form this year. I find him a tough player to judge. His touch and close control are terrible too yet he seems to get away with it. I do think the refs would be harsher on him if he played for us too.

You can't just judge him solely as an AM or DM though because he's both rolled into one. Thats part of the appeal for me. Add in his PL experience, his age, the physical presence he would add - there aren't many players out there who would bring so many different qualities to the side.

asajoseph wrote:

It's not good at all until the Grenier rumour gets binned

who do you want asa? fellaini is one of the few decent midfielders we've been linked to.

QS - his first touch is fantastic, as good as it gets, if its played in the air to him.

His chest control is miles ahead of any other player I can think of. With him and Giroud challenging all long balls we could be winning a lot of aerial duels.

Why I'm excited by this is we've seen very clearly that our midfield excels when its balanced not when we shove our 3 best players in it. Cazorla/Wilshere/Arteta was upstaged by Rosicky/Ramsey/Arteta, and even more so by Cazorla/Rarmsey/Arteta.

I expect big things from Jack next year, and I think against the right teams he and Cazorla could make a great pairing in an inverted 3 man midfield. But having Fellaini here provides an even more diverse set of midfielders, and he offers the physical presence that we often lack.

I'm of the belief our AMs don't do enough to get into the box and finish off moves. Sick of seeing just Giroud in the box when our wingers/fullbacks are crossing it. With Fellaini as a CM/AM you can be confident of another body in the box.

TL,DR - I'm excited not because Fellaini is of the highest quality, but because his attributes/flexibility would provide us with the options we've been missing (rotation, adapt midfield to opposition, etc.)

MistaT wrote:

QS - his first touch is fantastic, as good as it gets, if its played in the air to him.

His chest control is miles ahead of any other player I can think of. With him and Giroud challenging all long balls we could be winning a lot of aerial duels.

Well I meant with the ball to feet. Its true he is exceptionally strong in the air, which is another pro for signing him because I do feel like we lack height.

Giroud isn't great at winning those long balls though. I really just want him on the subs bench next season no matter what else happens.

He could be as influential as Toure is at city, who can play behind the striker or with Ramsey/Arteta.

Fellaini doesn't have the same mobility as Toure.

I'd rather we spent 20m on Fellaini than not spend at all. 45m on this guy and Rooney is happy times for me. I can't sit here complaining about spending a lot of money on one or two players when our biggest risks are not spending any money at all or spending too much on a bunch of guys who will not add anything at all to the club (a al Gervinho)

I agree, big spending clubs tend to pay over the odds for players. You can't have it both ways unfortunately.

I see him very useful as a CDM/CM in the 4231 we play. More defensively than offensively. We will be needing some height next season with all those crosses from navas and likes!

ebouefan wrote:

Clrnc wrote:

Not in for Rooney at all? There goes Geoff reputation

I am really not keen on Fellaini at a high price. He would only be useful for us as a defensive mid and his disciplinary record is shit. If we make him our record signing, I am certain it will compromise on other targets so not keen at all

Bit pathetic how St. Geoff responded by RTing his minions posting old stuff that Ornstein got wrong. (Not much)

Ornstein is about as reliable as the next man. Journalists/rumour mongers only know what they are told and it's often not the truth.

I'm sure he's better than most . But of course he can be mislead.

I'm sure that he isn't.

The BBC doesn't live and die by rumours and sensation, so they won't mention everything they have heard, however they are equally as likely to be 'out of the loop' as any other journalist.

He's definitely quite accurate on deadline day. I've seen it.

May be he's got pals at the FA office where deals are registered. Hard to go wrong on deadline day, then.

More points of contact for leaks on deadline day; of that I'm certain.

I'm sure the bloke has got a few things right in the past because he is a journalist but I have no reason to believe him over anyone else (in fact, today I have good reason to believe that he is misinformed). I don't even know who he is to be honest.