Steve, there in no way Moyes will sell him this summer... In fact there is nothing like cutting the losses. He is a really good player albiet in his role: a 5-man midfiled with him and Cahill or him and a lone striker is his current position ? he excels at that, scrapping in the hole, winning headers, having both the extra time and the vision for a pass that is required in that congestion.

However, he is not still a ?engine? player, he does not really have those "keep the play moving" skills... and he also lacks the awareness and does get pushed of the ball easily.

Personally, I really like Felli, but maybe is the Duncan-type player, one who polarizes opinions. Also, why should he care about his price tag? Its not his fault, had we bought him in 07-08 he may have cost £6-7M. That's the club's fault, not his.

And I look at his chats with Moyes really positively: he is 21, raw, and he wants to improve his performances. That is really nice to know and I am sure he will. Whether he will ever be a £15M player is out for debate, but he is certainly a really good player in his role.

Just wait for the amount of people that will defend him now because of his goals...

I do feel he has shown glimpses of talent but he has been thrown in at the deep end at 21-years-old in the most demanding position in the most demanding league in the world. At any other team, he would be slowly nurtured in ? not that I?m criticising Moyes as he?s proved us wrong with many a signing.

He may yet come good but I would swap him for Moutinho in a heartbeat and I believe Moyes would too. We can?t afford to carry players considering the size of the squad, especially central midfielders. I think Moyes could have looked closer to home for that position. But I?m afraid he has to take a lot of blame for yesterday's defeat. Let's face it, if there?s one player in the Premier League you?d bank on to keep that freak Crouch quiet from set pieces it?s Fellaini.

But I can?t see us cruising through the rest of the season if we have a midfield consisting of a headless chicken who can only seem to kick the ball with his heel, the aforementioned passionless beanpole, and a winger who, upon recieving the ball, runs around in a circle waiting to be tackled. Hell, the best player in that midfield is the player who has been abused from pillar to post since he joined, yet outshines all of our "creative" midfielders.

Yeah, imagine that hey Steve, I mean pointing out that he has scored some important goals, cheeky bastards these Evertonians aren’t they?

I?m sure Moyes wanted Moutiniho rather than Fellaini. He isn't consitent enough at the moment. He his having good halves and poor halves. I would like to see him run more in a game and be more creative.

Steve Burns... you might be saying something interesting... if only I had the faintest idea who the fuck you were talking about?

Okay, Beanpole = Fellaini
Headless heel-kicking chicken... Osman??? Never heard that before.
Winger running in circles... Pienaar?
Best player... Neville?

Everybody goes through hard times at some point in all walks of life, his performances have probably not been as good as he would have liked and he might be having doubts about himself.

All footballers go through it especially young players. He just needs to be mentally strong and battle his way through it. When he comes out the other end he will be a much stronger individual for it and a much better player.

It's all down to Moyes's man-management to try to give him confidence and belief, and make sure he works hard with him over the summer, then I think we will see a star in the making.

Personally, I hope Fellaini succeeds but he just doesn?t seem the Everton "type" if you know what I mean. Let?s face it, we are a team of grafters and battlers, often scrapping a win or a draw and doing this on a consistent basis. Players like Jagielka, Lescott, Osman, Cahill and Neville typify the Everton cause. Rodwell already looks the part. Even Yakubu with is lazy ways kinda fits the mould, being the premier league journeyman that he is.

Fellaini, on the other hand, just seems like a fish out of water amongst these boys and I?m really not sure what Moyes had in mind with him... Still, he may (and let?s hope he does) go on to be an Everton hero like our Timmy. But then again, he may end up like some of Everton?s other big money signings, plying their trade where pastures are greener...

I think he?s crap.

He lacks all of the most important assets of a modern day Premier League midfielder ? he can?t tackle, has no pace and doesn?t read the game well. He can pass but you never see him lay anything off first time a la Arteta.

Scott ? you sound like Hansen or Lawrenson dismissing us as ?battlers?. We may be hard to beat and hard working but our best players ? Arteta, Cahill, Yakubu, Rodwell, Lescott, Baines, Neville, Saha, Pienaar and Jags ? all have a bit more class than you give them credit for. Last season and for 50 per cent of this we have played some of the best quick tempo and incisive short passing football in the league.

Roll on next week...

My opinion of the Fellaini buy was the fact that we had been linked with lots of players of note including Moutinho. DM was in the USA with Roundy and then suddenly Wyness resigned!! No one had been bought and the fans were revolting!!

Suddenly at the 11th hour we spent a lot of dosh on... Fellaini!! ...who has NEVER been worth his price tag.

He is a greenhorn with the same potential as other youngsters we have, namely Rodwell and Gosling. He was without doubt a panic buy to placate the fans because the manager was abroad when supposedly negotiations were being handled by Wyness... the demise of Wyness caused a rush buy and I reckon that a lot of money was squandered.

I sincerely hope we don't try to buy Jo either!! We could have had the likes of Arshavin long ago before he became wanted after the Euro championships, for less than Fellaini... Also Palacios and N'Zogbia would have been better buys... Just look at those two compared to Fellaini???

He may make good someday but not this season he won't ? he lacks pace and stamina for a midfield player and is better played up front where he doesn?t have to run about so much.

More disturbing to me though is the lack of fundamental skills that all top sides have, eg: Ball control and passing ability. What we do have is graft and triers without Arteta and that's about all!!

Chris - I?m not saying that we are an average team or that our team is not composed of class players, but let?s face it, the majority of our team wouldn?t cut it at the Sky 4.

am proud to be a blue but at the same time, I realise our limitations. A quick tempo, short passing game is great but how often does that lead to stunning goals? A lot our goals come from set pieces, which is fine but the link-up play through the midfield to the final third often goes missing. We also haven?t beaten the Sky 4 on a consistent basis and I can?t recall when we beat a team of United?s calibre by more than one goal for a while.

I love Everton for what it is. I?d much rather be a blue than my glory hunting Sky 4 mates, but I also know that we ain?t the best in the league and would struggle in the Champions League.

As for Fellaini, I like Trevor?s panic buy conspiracy theory... but then again, how often are conspiracy theories proven to be true??

Can I just clarify something: are we going to have this debate about Fellaini after every game?

I think we should at least leave it to the end of the season to judge the guy one way or the other.

Fair comment Scott - I think you?re right. Just felt you were getting sucked into the ?Everton are a hard working / well organised bunch aren?t they?? mentality of the patronising media...

We should all expect the best and hold our hands up when the boys in blue meet our expectations, or on the other hand fail miserably, like Saturday.

Let?s hope Tim is fit soon!

Nothing like one defeat (with an injury-beleaguered team) to start a pile of Toffeewebbers clambering for their keyboards, calling Fellaini shite, Osman shite, Moyes shite. This is the same Fellaini the same posters were moaning about getting suspended for the Liverpool games, presumably because they felt his presence would be missed in the team. Many of these posters were likely the ones who all last season (and the start of this season) were slating Phil Neville ("can?t pass, shite in midfield, right back only, worst player in a blue shirt ever") too ? now look at him. Ever notice how when we stop giving players unjustified abuse their form picks up? Funny coincidence that...

Sean, just about the only thing I think we should wait on until the end of the season would be Player of the Season, yet we?ve already had a post about that!

After a match, we will have debates on here about how the game went and such issues as whoever didn?t pull their weight ? it?s part of the post-match analysis that is, when you think about it, one of the main roles of this website.

Unfortunately, there are some who don?t like post-match analysis, and want it suppressed. Please don?t advocate for such things not to be discussed on here. Thanks.

Methinks Felli is suffering from altitude sickness. His afro disturbed the air flowing around his head which allowed him to run and jump easier than it is. Now his corn rows mean no airflow disruption and he is struggling to run and jump!

I thought you were all overcomplicating this, but Chris Jones hit the nail on the head, Fellaini is crap. I firmly believe that if we had played Rodwell, instead of Fellaini, we would have won that game at a canter.

Jingoistic I know, but here is some more irrational venting, Portsmouth are now my number one hate team. They were cynical and filthy. The right back twated our most mobile player on the pitch, Pienaar, right in the base of the spine with is huge knee. A wheelchair move.

May they all rot in hell (aka 1st division) except curiously, Crouch. I actually like him. He works hard, does the simple things well, ie, outjumping people four inches smaller than him (ie, everybody) and shows skills that someone in that frame has no right to show, plus I believe that he is infrequently injured.

I?d sign him for £10 million when Portsmouth get relegated (offer 8). Simple maths, a guaranteed 10 ? 15 goal a season player & take pressure off those around him.

Plus, while were at it, Rory Delap. Better than Fellaini and Osman in current form.

A bit of an off-the-wall rant that.

I believe Fellaini is class, the challenge for Moyes and Round is to hone his talents in a positive way, where they are applicable in the Premier League. Patrick Vieira was collecting cards like Panini stickers when he first came to these shores but Wenger helped channel his talent (and size) to our game.

If Fellaini can’t adapt to the Premier League he can’t adapt anywhere with his elbows game, the refs here are far more lenient than the continent. At 6’4" he has better feet than most in the squad (see how he cushioned the ball for the Stoke goal as one example). Losing him is stupid!

I think we will see a much improved Fellaini next season after he has had a full pre-season under his belt. He is after all only 21 so it is expected that his form will be a bit up and down in his first season of Premier League football. I think it?s a bit harsh to write him off just yet. I can?t think of many other 21-year-olds setting the Premier League alight this season, albeit in their first year.

For a club with ’no money’ to blow £15million on one player, I would expect that player to be able to pass well, shape a game, do the unexpected and get us a few goals. I don’t expect a ’cult figure’ who is ’one for the future’.

I really hope that next season, Fellaini blossoms into the player we want him to be, but on the evidence thus far, he looks like a moderately-talented trier.

It’s not his fault we paid what we paid, but if I buy something expensive I expect it to do more than the cheaper stuff.

It might help if he had a settled role, but Moyes could be forgiven for thinking that he’s tried him in a few areas without proving anything.

This summer if we have ’no money’, or say £15 million, why not buy 3 or 4 grafters who can chip in with the odd goal instead of buying an expensive one. Might sort out our thin squad issues...?

Trevor Lynes wrote "We could have had the likes of Arshavin long ago before he became wanted after the Euro championships, for less than Fellaini".

I don?t know how many times I?ve said this but we could not have afforded Arshavin?s wages!! It wasn?t like we saw him first or were the only club in Europe who were aware of his talent. We lose out on players (some good, some bad) because, even if we can match or better the transfer fees offered by other clubs, we can?t compete with a number of clubs on the player?s wage...

I still wish we had paid out for Fernandes! Surely he would have been cheaper than Fellaini anyway...

Hoping we finally bring in Moutinho in the summer though.

I thought the price paid for Fellaini was 15M Euros and not £15M. Apparently at the time, this equated to about £12.8M. In addition, the initial payment was said to be £3.8M with the rest being paid in installments (as is the Everton way).

These aren’t my figures, I have just read them on TW before in other Mailbag threads and I thought I would add this to the debate.

As for my opinion on him as a player. I think he needs more time to settle in. He has played some good games this season and that is after being thrown in at the deep end in a new country, a much tougher league and being unable to communicate with most of your team mates. The injuries to the squad have also meant that he has not had a consistent position which I guess has also added to the difficulties he has had settling in. I think the jury is still out, but we should at least see how he gets on after a full pre-season and a year or so learning the language.

Give him back to Liege and ask for Dafour in exchange (plus a few more Euros I guess).

If only Moyes hadn’t wasted £15m on Fellaini and made 2 or 3 sensible signings in the summer and had us ready for the start of the season we would have won 4th place no problem. All this talk of needing money and Moyes blew £15m!

I?m sorry, but some of these posts are way off the mark. What I see is Moyes trying to do in the summer was to buy a box-to-box midfielder with a lot of physical presence but, by mistake, he buys an attacking midfielder. Fellaini is NOT a defensive midfielder, but a guy who plays in the Cahill role just as Varun mentioned in the first post.

Every time Fellaini is pushed back, he doesn?t play well, and when he is pushed forward, he does. You can see the Stoke game as the best example, he has a great half when he is pushed forward, during the second half, pushed back, played awful, and then during the end, pushed forward again and scores!!!

I?m not sure if Fellaini can cut it as a box to box midfielder, but he sure as hell did it for Liege. I just think the Premier League is too fast for him, and maybe once he gets used to it, he?ll play better. But I?ll bet that will happen in at least 2 seasons, and £15 million quid on a player to play well in 2 seasons' time does not sound too good for me.

For now, I?d just keep playing him forward, as he is a nuisance up there, and at the same time, especially in pre-season, Moyes and his coaching staff needs to work with Fellaini to help him gain the awareness, positioning to cut it at this level.

Marouane’s 21.

Whereas Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar are, respectively, 28 and 27.

I read a lot of "stuff" on here but rarely post. However, I did feel the urge to comment on the Fellaini debate. I think he is a young player who is still tying to find his way in the Prem. We have to give him a full off-season with the squad and judge him 15-20 games into next season.

all entitled to opinion but to me hes brett angel with a wig strolling around a field lost.