Still Following the Trawler

There was a strong sense prior to kick off that United would struggle in Saturday's early kick off against Watford. The starting line-up, devoid of Martial and Rooney, looked peculiar without the presence of a natural striker, and if we needed that final push past the finish line and to turn to the bench for inspiration, then it would have to come in the form of 18 year old Marcus Rashford or 20 year old Sean Goss - neither of whom had kicked a ball for United's first team before. However Memphis, starting his first game since the Arsenal defeat in October and with a point to prove, set the pace after just 10 minutes when he volleyed Herrera's cross beautifully into the roof of the net. From then on, we bossed the game and actually produced one of our most confident attacking displays of the season. Although the opposition hardly threatened and struggled to break United's resilient defense (until Rojo's moment of madness that lead to the penalty, of course) this was...

1. Rooney and Jesse - while one continues to falter, the other continues to flourish Yet another poor display from Rooney, United's captain and most important player. A lot of has been made about van Gaal's tactics and the way the team lines-up working against Rooney and his style, but for me, given that we're nearly a third of the way into the season now and we're still talking about him and his lack of influence in games, while Martial continues to impress (this time playing up-front with Rooney in the withdrawn role), he clearly cannot impact games like he used to. On a positive note, Saturday's 2-0 win against a Stoke was largely a result of the brilliant display from local boy Jesse Lingard. Since he was given his debut by van Gaal on the first day of last season (the manager's first competitive game in charge of United) he exited his plans almost as quickly as he entered them - coming off injured after only 24 minutes of that game and going out on loan in ...

It was a different sort of United performance at Goodison Park on Saturday, one we haven't seen for a while. By lacking the usual over-reliance on possession football that the manager seems to be obsessed with, we appeared to produce a far more adventurous, confident performance rather - one devoid of lack-lustre, slow passing in favour of more attractive attacking football. Instead of the usual 60-70% possession that United seem to enjoy against teams outside the top four, the game ended 50/50. Naturally at times the opposition were granted greater freedom and time on the ball - especially on the left where Rojo looked poor (although he produced a peach of a cross for United's second) - however the flowing football and decent chances we created when we were in possession was the difference. In our four other away games so far this season United have averaged 60% possession...yet we lost half of those games while conceded seven and only managing to score five. Against Everton h...

To pinch one of football’s most over-used clichés – this was truly a game of two halves. What promised to be an utterly dull, anti-climactic United vs. Liverpool encounter was transformed into something special thanks largely to a couple of stunning goals late in the game. Firstly there was Benteke’s ludicrous overhead kick that give’s Rooney’s 'Premier League Goal of the 20 Seasons' award-winning effort vs. City in 2011 a run for its money. However the real story of the afternoon was the final goal of the game that came only minutes after Liverpool’s Belgian striker gave them a glimpse of hope by taking the game to 2-1. In a substitute performance reminiscent of Kiko Macheda’s debut against Aston Villa six years ago, Anthony Martial introduced himself to the Old Trafford faithful with a fantastic solo effort – making a total fool of Martin Skrtl in the process – and sealed a 3-1 win in what turned out to be an excellent victory win over our old rivals, one helped largely to ...

1. Memphis What a perfect performance from the new-boy. Two excellent goals ( he was unlucky not to get a hat-trick ), and he sealed the night with the vital cross that met the mop of Fellaini - a highly important goal that has enabled us to go into the second leg with a two goal cushion. United fans have been waiting for this sort of performance for a while. Not just from Memphis, who up until last night hadn't quite set Old Trafford alight with his skill and flair as we had hoped following his signing from PSV in July - however the sort of dominating performance from a young, gifted, passionate individual that we have been longing for since Ronaldo left in 2009. There is no point dwelling on the Di Maria saga any longer - that is all in the past - however for me the disappointment that it didn't go according to plan after his big-money move from Real last summer outshines the bitterness of his exit earlier this month. With Di Maria's arrival United had hoped for a return ...

1. Two wins out of two Our strong start to the season continued when we saw off Aston Villa last Friday evening with the sort of win we are rapidly (and annoyingly) becoming accustomed to. It was yet another ground-out, unattractive yet resilient performance - strong in possession (55%) however very poor in attacking prowess and creativity (only two shots on target). Of course, we'll take it if it means we carry on winning, however there were times our defence was stretched to the point you thought we were lucky not to concede. Had that been a Diego Costa/Alexei Sanchez-like player attacking the United goal, then we surely would have. So things certainly need to improve before we do start hitting the harder games. We need to remember that United do have a distinctly easier start to the season compared to our fellow title challengers - whereby Liverpool at home and Southampton away (both in September) are our toughest tests in the first seven games - therefore we need to capitalise ...

1. A great start to the season...but there's room for improvement Kyle Walker's o.g., after a well engineered United move, was enough for the win - one that has seen us gain an early advantage on Arsenal and Chelsea who both dropped points at the weekend. Yet United played pretty poorly at times, with Tottenham threatening the United goal far more than we did there's. As if it wasn't already obvious prior to kick-off that United needed needed strengthening in both defence and attack, then Blind's performance as a make-shift centre-back and Rooney's isolated, often lost, display up-front signaled more evidence for van Gaal and Woodward to get cracking during the remaining days of the transfer window. "Lucky United / "Unlucky Tottenham" was the general gist of the majority of post-match write-ups following United's season opener at Old Trafford. It took an own-goal to win us a game and indeed we were lucky to come out of the match with a clean s...

1. Fourth spot virtually secured With the win on Saturday afternoon, followed by Liverpool's inevitable inability to beat the best team in the country , United all-but secured a place in next season's Champions League (well...into the play-off's at least). We are now six points clear with only two games to go, however United's goal difference (14+ over Liverpool's) means it will take some seriously freakish results over the season's final two weeks to see Liverpool and United switch places...in other words, United have achieved their goal of reaching next season's Champions League after a season's absence, while Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers completely capitulated under the pressure that was placed on them thanks to last season's remarkable second place finish. Of course, there will be plenty of 'what if's' for United as some claim we massively underachieved due to the millions we spent improving the side last summer. What if Di Maria and...

1. Our successful system was disrupted thanks to so many injuries With Blind, Jones, Rojo and Carrick all out injured for a game which was always going to  be challenging, United had to reshuffle - bringing in players who have spent large periods of the season on the bench (and therefore have been out-of-the-loop in terms of their involvement in United's  recent revival), while playing some key players out of position (see 'Falcao and Rooney' below). In what has been a truly fantastic run of form for United we maintained our game-plan of keeping incredibly high levels of possession (71% at Stamford Bridge? How many other teams have achieved that in recent years??) however with the absence of so many key players - Carrick's influence in midfield being felt most strongly - our effectiveness in front of goal was almost entirely absent (only two shots on target out of 15 attempts). Our football at times was decent and we definitely deserved a draw given the number of attack...

1. Ashley Young Undoubtedly the stand-out performer in the derby. Two assists and a goal, as well as a performance that saw him combine a tireless work-rate with some crucial defensive cover for Blind. What a turnaround for the player who last season, along with Fellaini (see no.2), defined United's flaws and weak-spirit under David Moyes. 2. Fellaini On that note, it appears as though Moyes knew what he was doing all along! The most improved United player ever? I personally can't think of a player who has gone from useless to undroppable from one season to the next. On current form, he is perhaps our strongest and most unique asset as defenses just don't have an answer for his strength and power. It feels a little like he's become our Michael Carrick in the attacking area of the pitch - creating chances, releasing the wingers (his link-up play with Young was sublime) while controlling the flow of play. Yet another excellent and crucial performance from Fellaini. 3.  Un...

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it And so goes my rather unadventurous mantra on most things in life: from the cars I've owned that have been driven into the ground, to my timeless hairstyle. So how delighted I was to see van Gaal adopt the same logic with his line-up to face Liverpool yesterday! In sticking with the exact same XI that beat Tottenham a week earlier, LVG played Carrick, Herrera and the superb Mata in midfield while bravely keeping out Di Maria and extending Falcao's run of not starting a United game to four straight games. Don't get me wrong, it isn't great to see our two marquee signings of last summer struggle to get a game, but if it is for the greater good of the team - for now, at least - it's a no brainer. The last two matches have been fantastic to watch and I am delighted van Gaal seems to have finally found his winning formula, though his next challenge must be to get the best out of Di Maria and Falcao ensuring we maintain our curre...

1. Fellaini and Rooney With United's best performance of the season came Fellaini's best performance in a United shirt. Not only was he directly involved in two of the three goals, he was confident steaming forward, winning everything in the air and generally causing Tottenham's midfield and defense a real problem all afternoon. It is no coincidence that Fellaini's excellent game allowed the players around him to play with confidence as well - Rooney especially, who was so assured in the centre forward role, linking up brilliantly with Fellaini and Carrick. Surely no doubt now for LVG as to where his best position is now. 2. Carrick Another superb performance from a player that United have desperately missed this season. Kept out of the side largely due to injury, this was only Carrick's 13th start in the league (and first goal of the season) - yet with such a difficult run of games we'll all be praying that he can now remain fit and continue influencing matches...

1. Welbeck The reaction this morning has focused on Welbeck scoring the match-winner and the sight of his replacement in United's attack, Falcao, rotting uselessly on the bench. Ignoring the fact that Danny had an average game, when it mattered he was there to capitalise on a horrible error from Valencia and score the winner for his new team. Really, in what was a very tight game, it was exactly the sort of thing that was going to separate the two teams. And given how nervous United have appeared in defense this season, it was almost inevitably going to be United that would be on the end of it. A lot has also been made of his celebration - something I personally have no issues with at all. He is a Manchester United fan and loved playing for 'his' team, yet when the new manager made his thoughts on him and his future at United clear, there was only one option and that was to leave. I hope United fans have nothing but respect for him, and those who booed when he was subbed of...

Good. Champions. For the 19th time, United are crowned champions of England. Officially the most successful side in England, we stand alone on our perch. Bottle . A point I touched upon after the Chelsea game - the game that effectively won us the league and a performance built on balls of steel - but Wazza's ability to hold his nerve the way he did after stepping up to take that penalty was incredible. With the pressure an responsibility of earning the point that would reclaim the title, he stepped forward as the bravest man on the pitch and completely f**ked that ball up until it landed into that impossible region of hapless Robinson's goal. We just about deserved the point (although, performance wise, we were an embarrassing comparison to the side that turned out against Chelsea a week earlier). But in the greater scheme of things, it was a grafter result, the same way we grafted and thoroughly earnt this title. Number 19 wasn't the most glamorous, nor the most accompli...

...or five reasons why we deserve to be Champions. 1.  Not arrogant, just better. At times this season we've certainly shown that not to be the case. In fact, as a representation of our rather inconsistent season (in terms of performances), the past week is perfect. First up came the crucial encounter against Arsenal, where we completely failed to show up; not rising to the occasion and doing little to show the 'must need' status in a acheiving the win. Against Schalke in the week however, we fielded a weakened side (I'll get to that later) yet still managed to completely embarrass Ze Germans with some incredible, game controlling displays by largely disregarded players such as Gibson and Anderson. So which United were going to turn up days later against Chelsea, in the most important game of the season? Well, if there's one thing we love doing, that's dragging the fans through the most agonising of title run-ins, giving us the false sense of failure (as we did...

Good. Performance . When I first saw the line-up, heavily influenced by tomorrows league game - no Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Giggs, Rooney or Hernandez - I was confused. It looked as thought we were going into an insignificant 4th round Carling Cup game against second tier opposition, not a game that, if  we overcame the opposition, would see us enter the most prestigious continental cup final in the world. However, as with in the first leg, the quality that our opposition lacked provided our largely inexperienced side with a surprisingly straight forward encounter. Schalke have been  possibly the weakest, least challenging side we have ever faced in a Champions League semi-final, however our displays over both legs - the coherence we showed as a unit, our confidence and prowess in front of goal, and the solid defensive displays (even though two completely different sets of defenders were used for each game) - should not be ignored, nor disregarded due to the lack of a...

I Heard 'Em Say*... Henry Winter, the Telegraph Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. A distress signal lit up Manchester United’s efforts to inch towards the finishing line of the great Premier League race on Sunday. The leaders deservedly lost to Arsenal, giving Chelsea the chance of overtaking them when the top two meet at Old Trafford next weekend. Call it Summit   Sunday. Only three points adrift, Chelsea can rest up all week or work in training on sorting out their attack. United are otherwise engaged, focusing first on the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Schalke. Leading 2-0, United are expected to rotate with Sir Alex Ferguson indicating that Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen would start on Wednesday. Ferguson certainly needs his main men like Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez fit and firing for Chelsea’s epic visit. Absent with flu, Giggs’ supreme use of the ball was badly missed against Jack Wilshere and comp...