Marouane Fellaini Gives Everton Hopes Of Top Four

By Arjun Some
12 years Ago

Every year come end of the season, fans across the country get busy musing about their teamai??i??s performances in the preceding nine months; itai??i??s a period when the fans either rejoice or lament based on the teamai??i??s standing in the final league table. Itai??i??s also the period when one likes to reflect on how things may have panned out had certain events played out differently during the course of the season.

For Everton fans, participation in this annual exercise must bring about a similar set of emotions as experienced by Bill Murrayai??i??s character in the cult-classic film Groundhog Day on waking up every morning. Like Phil Connors found himself forced to live the same day over and over again, year on year Toffees fans find themselves wondering what if their team had started the season like they finished it. It has become perhaps the most enduring feature of the Premier League ai??i?? edging out the stereotypes like Manchester United scoring in injury time and Wigan snatching survival from the jaws of relegation ai??i?? that Everton would make a wretched start to the season only to embark on a scintillating run of form post Christmas.

But something strange is happening at Goodison Park this season. Everton are breaking the stereotype and actually winning football matches in late summer and fall. Before the surprise defeat to Reading this week, they had accumulated 20 points from 11 matches. To put it into context, the only time during David Moyesai??i?? ten previous seasons in charge, that the Toffees had bettered that haul was in 2004-05 and we all remember how things turned out that season.

The state of Evertonai??i??s finances has long since put David Moyes in a proverbial straitjacket when it comes to dealings in the transfer market. After years of practice though, the wily old Glaswegian (is there any other kind, by the way?) has mastered the technique of working on a shoestring budget. In the dog eat dog world of football transfers, such technique often involves profiting from othersai??i?? misery and Everton, in this regard, has looked to capitalize on the sorry state of affairs at Rangers by cherry-picking two of their most high profile forwards in Nikica JelaviAi?? and Steven Naismith for A?6 million and free respectively.

The capture of JelaviAi?? especially was something of a coup. The man who had plundered 30 goals in 45 appearances since joining Rangers in the summer of 2010 was strongly linked to Evertonai??i??s neighbours Liverpool in January but come the end of that transfer window the Croatian was seen donning the blue jersey of Merseyside rather than the red. Since his transfer, JelaviAi?? has underlined his credentials as a lethal predator in front of goal by scoring 11 in 15 games in the second half of last season. And if there were any murmurs of the striker being afflicted with the second season syndrome, a further 5 goals in the league this term has put such whispers to bed. His ability to produce a shot without taking a touch in the box makes him a nightmare for defenders to play against. He can finish with either feet and can challenge aerially with the most dominant of defenders. When in form ai??i?? truth be told heai??i??s never really been out of it since moving south of the Hadrianai??i??s Wall ai??i?? JelaviAi?? can be easily compared to the top strikers in Europe.

Another new signing whoai??i??s starting to win the hearts of Goodison Park faithful is Kevin Mirallas. The Belgian attacker had a prolific two year spell in Greece where his goals ensured Olympiacos won the league title on both occasions and was snapped up by Moyes for a fee of about A?6 million. Moyes has used him in a wider role till now than what he was used to in Greece and while it may have resulted in the Belgian unable to replicate his scoring streak, he still has managed to earn rave reviews for a number of classy displays on the wings. He was by far the stand out player in the madcap first half of the Merseyside derby this season giving a torrid time to young Liverpool right back Andre Wisdom. The fact that the Anfield club was able to exert greater influence in the second half after Mirallasai??i?? injury enforced substitution at halftime was no coincidence.

But while the recent signings have played the part, the man who can claim most credit for Evertonai??i??s blistering run of form this season is Mirallasai??i?? international teammate, Marouane Fellaini. Till last season, the standout feature of Evertonai??i??s record signing was his Afro hairstyle rather than his performances on the pitch. But this season, after Moyes has redefined his role by pushing him further up the pitch in support of JelaviAi??, Fellaini seems to have been gifted a new lease of life. Freed of the shackles of responsibility that comes with the role of the tough-tackling midfield enforcer, the Belgian seems to enjoy his new found freedom in a more advanced role and has not held back from expressing himself. While his physical stature means he is an obvious threat when it comes to crosses and long balls, Fellaini is more than just a mere target man looking to provide knockdowns for others to run on to. The big man has a range of subtle tricks up his sleeve which can catch defenders unaware ai??i?? his flick to set up JelaviAi??ai??i??s winner against Sunderland, a case in point. But the facet of his game that he has improved most is his goal-scoring. Incredibly, the six league goals he has scored this season equals the total number scored in his first four league campaigns with Everton. He set his stall out in the opening game of the season against Manchester United where he absolutely battered an out-of-position Michael Carrick all throughout the game and grabbed the only goal of the game. On such days, Fellaini is simply unplayable and thankfully for Everton such days have been frequent in number for them this season.

But for a club of the stature and financial standing of Everton, the harsh reality is that such performances are bound to attract unwanted attention to their asset. While Chelsea are long-standing admirers of the Belgian, his form this season has reportedly alerted the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid. The player too has, tantalizingly, refused to play down the rumours of an impending exit from Goodison. But as long such talks do not affect his performances on pitch, which evidently is not the case, Moyes would care a jot.

While it may be too much of a stretch to brand Everton as a one-man team especially with the likes of Leighton Baines and Leon Osman impressing in their respective roles ai??i?? deep down inside, Moyes will know that Fellainiai??i??s decision to either stay or leave in the January transfer window may be difference between the coveted fourth spot and a respectable top half finish in the league. With the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham showing signs of frailty, this season may represent as good a chance as any for Everton to reach the financial promised land i.e. Champions League football.

On his part, Moyes is making all the right sort of noises with regard to Fellainiai??i??s importance to Evertonai??i??s targets this season.

“Everybody knows where he is, if clubs want to come and watch him they can but there will be a big price on his head. I’m not in the mood to keep the fight going all the time because I’ve had to do it with a lot of players over the years. You might say Everton have lost good players but have actually gone on and improved. We sold [Mikel] Arteta and others and we all felt really down when they went but we’ve had to pick ourselves up and find others, and the players we’ve got here at the moment have shown that we can. Fellaini knows what I think and vice versa. More than anything he’d love to take Everton into the Champions League and that’s what we’re both trying to achieve.“

For now the club and itai??i??s manager would do well to put talks regarding Fellainiai??i??s future on the back burner and concentrate on football matters at hand. Before the January transfer window, Everton will have to host the London trio of Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, in addition to the small matter of making a trip to the home of the champions Manchester City. Such an exacting schedule will surely represent a severe test of Toffees credentials for challenging for a top four finish. Come January, Everton will be relying on their manager to pull off yet another transfer coup, only this time it may not involve a hitherto unsung player arriving but rather an Afro haired big Belgian not leaving the club.

Categories: Editor's Pick, Features
Tags: Everton Marouane Fellaini

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