'Undroppable' Marouane Fellaini Has Become Symbol of Manchester United's Season

It was never supposed to be like this. Marouane Fellaini was supposed to end up as the outcast at Manchester United, unsuited and unnecessary under Louis van Gaal, and it was Radamel Falcao who was going to ride into town and act as the catalyst for the club to reclaim their Champions League status.

Yet as the Premier League season enters its crucial final phase and United attempt to hold onto the all-important fourth position they currently possess, it is Falcao watching from the sidelines and begging for an opportunity as Fellaini grows in importance and value to his manager—proof, if more was needed, that predicting anything in football is a foolish endeavour.

“It is only the player [who has made this happen]," as Van Gaal said on Friday, per the club’s official website. "The manager, staff and the players are helping him, but he is the main reason, by himself."

A year after he sparked Internet derision for a particularly aimless sequence of play against Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League quarter-finals, Fellaini is preparing to continue his recent run of impactful performances as United look to realise their Premier League ambitions against Aston Villa on Saturday.

It is an impressive turnaround, especially considering how difficult he often found his first season at Old Trafford. Fellaini's signing—for £27.5 million on deadline day of the summer window—was perceived by many to be a panic buy and interpreted as David Moyes turning in desperation to a player with whom he was familiar after missing out on his preferred targets, Ander Herrera and Thiago Alcantara.

With Fellaini struggling for form under Moyes, and Moyes eventually being dismissed, it was assumed that the 27-year-old—all knees and elbows and odd angles, lacking the finesse usually expected of a United player—would never make it under the new man in charge.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The appointment of Van Gaal, a manager characterised by his focus on tactics and discipline, seemed to confirm that assumption for many. The Dutch boss did not use Fellaini initially but, over time and aided by the poor form of others, has gradually been persuaded by his particular charms. Van Gaal continued:

"

Another thing I've said many times is that he was late back when I first saw him [because of the World Cup]. I'd heard a lot about him, and from the first training session, he did what I asked of him. I said 'you have to do this' and he was open and wanted to perform that. I'm not surprised [by his form].

He had an unlucky season [last season] because he was injured and ill a lot of times, but when he's been fit he's always played for me, more or less. I was looking for balance in the team, and he can bring that.

"

"Van Gaal told me, 'Prove yourself and we'll see.' Now they are counting on me," Fellaini recalled, per the Daily Express. "There were never any real doubts. I was injured at the beginning of the season and then returned. The coach gave me confidence and I proved myself in a few matches.

“It took a while, but now I can finally enjoy things."

In recent weeks, when Fellaini has been playing off Wayne Rooney as part of an unlikely tandem, United have finally found an attacking fluency that had evaded them for much of the season. Suddenly, the man few expected to last much longer at the club is one of the first names on the teamsheet.

“Of course, I can change things depending on our opponent,” Van Gaal acknowledged. “But at the minute I can't change him when he's playing like this.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Cue the "Undroppable" headlines. Fellaini has scored four times in 12 league starts for United this season, the most recent goal coming in the 3-0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur, in which his aerial threat and ability to link play quickly undermined a visiting side who seemed overawed by the occasion.

It is a credit to him that he has continued to have that sort of impact over 90 minutes, having initially made his case to Van Gaal from the substitutes’ bench. On more than one occasion, the manager turned to Fellaini to change the flow of games that were slipping away from United—most notably against West Ham United in February, when his introduction and the consequent change in United's style infamously led Hammers boss Sam Allardyce to make a “long balls” jibe that sparked a fierce response.

Van Gaal might continue to protest otherwise, but even if Fellaini was being used as something of a battering ram, it was undoubtedly effective. Promoted to the starting XI soon enough, those same qualities remained in evidence, but his positional discipline and harrying of defences have helped United look a far more cohesive unit. His physical presence gives United the requisite steel when more flighty players such as Juan Mata and Herrera are on the pitch.

Fellaini may not have been considered a typical Van Gaal player, but it seems he is very receptive to the coach’s demands and diligent in his attempts to fulfil his wishes. That has been another secret of his success, much as it has been for Ashley Young. Fellaini added:

"

The coach is very strict, but that's good. We needed such a coach. Last season we had a bad season. We even missed European qualification. We needed a coach who would put some players' feet back on the ground.

If he says something, you should do it. Otherwise you'll fly out of it [the team]. If he has to take you off the pitch when the game hasn't been going on for more than 30 minutes he'll do it. Or during half-time. Fortunately, it hasn't happened to me yet.

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Alex Livesey/Getty Images

It has happened to many others. Some have earned their way back into favour, such as Herrera and Mata, while others, such as Falcao, have yet to. Perhaps it remains the case that a United side in which Fellaini is deemed “undroppable” is a United side that lacks the class of years gone by, but that should not detract from the effort and performances that were put in to get him to this point.

If United do achieve their aim and qualify for next season’s Champions League, they will do so with Fellaini having been a crucial component and symbol of their approach: not always pretty, not always as artistic as we are used to but invariably very effective.