Fellaini arrived from Standard Liege as our holding player and it didn’t take long to realise that wasn’t his best position.
He wasn’t disciplined enough, he didn’t get involved in the game enough and he probably wasn’t a good enough passer.
However, if you got the ball to him in and around the penalty area, he was almost impossible to compete with.
“I remember the first derby he played in well – because we almost came to blows! It was after Liverpool beat us 2-0 at
Goodison.
“Something happened late in the game after Tim Cahill had been sent off and back in the dressing room, Felli got in my face, pointing at me. I went mad at him and shouted: “Come on then! You and me outside now!” I was proper angry at him for trying to front me. Hibbo got between us in the end.
Temperatures were high.
“I don’t know if he thought he could have a go at the little guy but, having lost a derby, I wasn’t in the
mood to back down. When I deal with things, I deal with it myself.
“On the pitch, if someone is kicking me, I won’t immediately react but will keep my cool and try to get them back later in the game.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Say no more