Nothing prompts a kneejerk reaction quite like football. Dimitar Berbatov was getting a hard time because he failed to score in his first three matches for Manchester United, only for the Bulgaria forward's detractors to look silly when his fourth appearance yielded two goals and his fifth showcased the vision that convinced Sir Alex Ferguson to part with a club-record £30.75million.

And Rafael Benítez's decision to buy Robbie Keane, Berbatov's former strike partner at Tottenham Hotspur, was being questioned, despite several encouraging performances from the Irishman, before Liverpool's £20.3million signing ended his goal “drought” by scoring at the eleventh attempt.

But even Keane and Berbatov might count themselves fortunate not to have been subjected to some of the fierce criticism aimed so prematurely at Marouane Fellaini, another record buy, across the road at Everton. A demoralising 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Merseyside derby last month was always going to trigger a few wild reactions on the Everton message boards and forums, but even allowing for the fact that emotions were running high, the sight of the Belgium midfield player being dubbed the club's worst signing seemed ludicrous.

Fellaini may have had a shaky start to his Everton career, but few of his new team-mates have covered themselves in glory this season and the truth is that the Belgian, who was signed from Standard Liège hours before the close of the transfer window last month for a club-record £15million, has been made the scapegoat for the club's troubles.

Aside from the difficulties that come with moving to a country whose language you do not speak, Fellaini has suffered from playing in a team lacking balance, devoid of the confidence that was a fixture en route to a fifth-place finish in the Barclays Premier League last season, and for the fact that David Moyes, the manager, failed to find a replacement for Lee Carsley, the midfield anchor man.

Indeed, Everton fans may not see the best of Fellaini, who proved such a menace to Liverpool during the two legs of Liège's Champions League third qualifying round tie in August, until another destructive midfield player has been signed.

Fellaini is 6ft 5in, so it has been easy to view him as some sort of enforcer, but with no one else to assume that role, Everton will have to rely on the 20-year-old to provide industry and invention in midfield, at least until January, when Moyes can buy again.

“People might think he [Fellaini] is another Lee Carsley, but he definitely isn't,” Moyes said. “We have not had the right balance in midfield since the start of the season, but I think he has done well so far. He is comfortable in possession, is not embarrassed by the ball and has given us a bit of presence for a start, which we were short of.”

Everton's predicament may be improved when Moyes ends speculation about his future by signing a new contract. That is expected to happen before the club's next match, away to Arsenal in the league, a week tomorrow, when Fellaini will get another opportunity to prove his critics wrong.