Some players, regardless of how long and varied their careers are, become known for a solitary act. This can be utterly glorious, like the Cruyff turn, or an act which can obscure all that's good, like Zidane's headbutt in the World Cup final. When he eventually shuffles off this Premier League coil, Marouane Fellaini will be remembered for his flailing elbows more than anything (although Manchester United fans will not forget the grim level of disappointment which he has brought to Old Trafford in the last two seasons).
Jamie Carragher writes in his Daily Mail column this morning that he hopes that Marouane Fellaini and his endlessly stray elbows never nudge their way onto the consciousness of the Premier League ever again. Following the news that both Fellaini and Robert Huth would serve three-game suspensions for Fellaini's latest act of elbow shithousery in last weekend's game at Old Trafford, Carragher has questioned why Huth should serve a ban for pulling Fellaini's hair, while also denouncing the fact that the Belgian will be available for the FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace on May 21:
It can't be right that he will be available for Manchester United's big day against Crystal Palace on May 21. My personal hope is that we would never see him playing in the Premier League again.
Three games is not a sentence that will prove a deterrent to Fellaini. He is a repeat offender and it has gone beyond the point now where people can attempt to defend him by saying he is a tall lad who is using his arms for leverage.
Look at the incident with Huth again: Fellaini takes a glance around and sees where Huth is before swinging. Yes, he may have been provoked but the Belgium international knew what he was doing. Had he connected firmly, the Leicester defender could have been left with a broken cheek or jaw.
He is a menace in the worst possible sense. I don't use that term lightly but he is not a Manchester United player in any shape or form.
I was never convinced he would fit in at Old Trafford when he left Goodison Park and have never been given reason to change my mind. Yes, he's a good player with some qualities but he is absolutely not United standard.
Carragher does admit that while other players have been guilty of egregious acts - Cantona, Suarez, and Carragher himself, on Nani - these were one-offs, and Carragher apologised for his appalling tackle on Nani. Fellaini, however, is a repeat offender, and has shown largely no repentance or contrition.
