Next two games define our season, admits Fellaini
MAROUANE FELLAINI could not have made the importance of this week any plainer for Manchester United. ‘It is the future of our season,’ he said before pointing down towards his shorts. ‘We need to play with . . .’ He didn’t have to add the final word, cojones.
United’s dismal 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Thursday night represented a new low for Louis van Gaal and his team, and there is strong competition.
It seemed inconceivable that the club of Busby, Best, Ferguson and Cantona could roll over so lamely on their first European night at Anfield, but it happened.
The response in today’s FA Cup quarter-final against West Ham and the second leg of their Europa League tie against Liverpool has to be right, otherwise civil war will ensue at Old Trafford between the pragmatists who want Jose Mourinho to take over, and the idealists who favour Ryan Giggs.
Fellaini is fast emerging as one of the key figures. There is a leadership vacuum while Wayne Rooney sits out matches with a knee problem and the 6ft 4in Belgian is happy to dish out the verbals to his team-mates, condemning them for a lack of workrate on Thursday.
‘In the first half, we didn’t respect the game plan of the manager enough,’ he said. ‘That’s why we conceded a lot of chances. We didn’t press well.
‘I think the second half was much better and we had more possession. Our plan was to press. We didn’t do well so we changed. Now, Sunday will be a massive game.’
Fellaini’s concerns are well-founded. Although United’s major problems this season have been creative, they are also vulnerable in conceding chances when they do not have the ball.
Statistically, they have enjoyed more possession than any other Premier League team (57.5 per cent) but rank just 12th for shots on target (108) while David de Gea is the 11th-busiest goalkeeper, making 65 saves.
United have not won the FA Cup since 2004 and ending that run will give Van Gaal some ammunition against his many critics — Paul Scholes among them — even if the Glazers will not regard it as compensation for missing out on the Champions League.
‘We have to forget the first leg against Liverpool and focus on the next one,’ says Fellaini. ‘It’s a big game against West Ham for a place in the semi-final of the FA Cup. Everyone knows it’s big. We’re playing at Old Trafford and we have to win.
‘The fans will play a massive part. I hope they will help us go forward and score goals because we need it on Sunday, and in the second leg against Liverpool. We need the fans more than ever now. I hope they are behind us.’
That will depend largely on which United turn up. The one that beat Arsenal 3-2, inspired by 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, had the Stretford End roaring like the old days. But if it is an insipid display, typified in the 1-0 home defeat by Southampton in January, you feel the Theatre of Dreams will turn on its own.
Van Gaal has important selection decisions to make. Juan Mata is suspended so the Dutchman needs to find a new No 10. After five starts in a row, can he really pick Rashford again?
Fellaini believes talk of loud voices in the dressing room is irrelevant. The solution must be collective.
‘I don’t think it is about the leaders,’ he said. ‘We all have to do better at it. All the players should be leaders. Against Liverpool, there are always lots of duels. In the first half we were not ready.
‘Liverpool don’t play again until the second leg but we do. We have the quality and physical strength to deal with it.
‘The FA Cup is very important in this country. And every trophy is important for this club. We have to win something.’
Fellaini will also hope there is no fall-out from his apparent late elbow on Emre Can at Liverpool.
Van Gaal’s public protestations that the team are improving under his stewardship are looking increasingly out of touch with reality. He hopes that despite the gloom, the United ‘family’ will rally round for two huge games at Old Trafford, where United have won six of their seven matches in 2016.
‘We didn’t lose too many matches at Old Trafford, so we have to keep that belief — especially the players,’ he insisted.
Even if United squeeze past West Ham, and it’s a big if, the two-goal deficit to Liverpool looks a mountain to climb.
Can insisted Liverpool will not be looking for a goalless draw to see them through. After showing much more energy than United at Anfield, he said: ‘We have to keep going in the same way. We have to press and play to win. We don’t want to defend for 90 minutes, we have to try to score again.’