Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea

Okay it was another 0-0, and it was game we didn't really deserve to win, a point a piece was reasonably fair I thought. But that performance had something of what I would recognise as Manchester United about it.
At half time I noted that whatever that was, it wasn't the philosophy, playing at pace, players not robotically under orders not to do this and not to do that and most importantly to this red, players seemingly being allowed to dribble and take men on.
Fair enough this attacking impetus made us a lot more vulnerable at the back, but that's because we aren't good enough at the back. I'd sooner watch that United than the one we've had to suffer for the rest of the season. It shouldn't be a team or squad good enough to win the league, but if allowed to play like that we would have a pretty good chance of making the top four.
But is it going to last? It looks like we're stuck with Van Gaal for the rest of the season. Again whatever that performance was, it wasn't one of a Van Gaal side. What has happened behind the scenes, was this game a one off, or will his ego get the better of him as he realises he's here to the end of the season? So many questions and no fucking answers!
As to the game we started it well, with Mata hitting the bar a couple of minutes into the game. De Gea had to make a fantastic save at the other end of the pitch moments later, but United started at pace, which they have always done under Van Gaal. But this time there was end product, well chances and exciting football at least. We were unluck with the two chances that hit the woodwork. Though I'm not his biggest fan Herrera did a decent job as a number ten, Schneiderlin brought a bit of solidity to our spine and Martial played like the player that had excited us so much during those first few games.
Yes it petered out during the second half and Chelsea missed the chance of the game when Matic blazed it horribly high and wide, but even then we did create chances. Herrera had one great chance after more good work from Martial on the left. Rooney a harder one near the end. The substitutions were as oddball as ever and Depay didn't help his cause with his brief cameo.
That Swansea encounter actually has me looking forward to a game for the first time this season, as much to see if the shackles have come off or whether the process is firmly back in the saddle!

Stoke City 2-0 Manchester United

Was there any red who expected anything else other than three points to the home team. He dropped Rooney for tactical reasons, replacing him with Fellaini and Herrera alongside Carrick. Straight from the kick off, a long ball was produced looking for the head of Fellaini, so we started with plan B. As a pointer of things to come, the big Belgian didn't win the header.
Of course as we trudged off 2-0 down at half time it was time for Rooney to warm up and time for plan A that changed very little. Yes we had more possession but as at Arsenal earlier in the season, it was all about the home side dropping deep and trying to catch us on the break., not any tactical genius on the part of Van Gaal. In fact they had one excellent chance to catch us on the break only for Arnautovic to inexplicably fall flat on his arse. That should have been a United player, it would have been more fitting of just how inept our players and management are at this moment in time.
The first goal that we gave away was just totally pathetic, just what was Depay doing or even thinking. He really has started to go the wrong way very fast. I hope those rumours of United trying to bring Januzaj back from his disappointing loan spell at Dortmund were true and come off. As for today, he really can't be in the starting eleven.
Mind you with all today's stories off the absolute shambles behind the scenes at the club, who'd predict anything. If it really is true that Van Gaal offered to resign after the Norwich debacle, Woodward really does have something to answer for. We seem to be a club virtually giving up on the season, never mind the title, never mind the top four. It seems totally nuts in the business terms that Woodward is supposed to understand, let alone the football side he so patently doesn't. What is going to happento that Adidas deal that was his supposed crowning glory if we crash out of the top four for the second out of the tird years with Woodward in charge of the football club. What is a good result today, I'm fucked if I know, surely even if we won, he still has to go!

Manchester United 1-2 Norwich City

They think it's all over, it is now, no not the 1966 world cup final Van Gaal's reign at Manchester United, there's no coming back from this, it's just a matter of time before we see the back of the philosophy once and for all. He's lost the players, the crowd and seemingly the Glazer's, I always thought it would happen sooner, rather than later. Despite Woodward's ludicrous quote that they were more focused on the premier league than champions league success, the increasing chance that we would fail to clinch a champions league spot is what will have done for him in the end.
The game followed the usual template almost to a tee, United started strongly, but never mind score a goal hardly tested the goalie. The away team found their feet about half an hour into the game and then scored a goal on the counter attack. Our defence did not cover itself in glory, I've said it before that our supposed improved defensive solidity is a myth. Blind had a bit of a shocker at left back and Jones and Smalling weren't that much better. Young had a decent game, he was the only one in a red shirt really busting a gut all afternoon. Which was fucking ironic having recently been sent to Siberia by the Dutchman for who knows what.
What got me was just how poor that Norwich team was. I don't care that they have been unlucky against some of the teams near the top of the table, a good team would have battered them out of sight. For those first twenty minutes they were nervous, some of their players couldn't play simple passes, they were there for the taking. Of course for this United set up, under this manager, there is probably no such thing as a team there for the taking.
The second Norwich goal was as bad as the first as our midfield and back line just opened up and offered itself up. It seemed to me that at that stage the players said enough with the philosophy and just went for it. So it was at least it became match you couldn't accuse of being dull. It did though show us that we really aren't anywhere near the level we should be aspiring to. I don't know whether singling out players is called for, but the return of Rooney didn't help our cause. Once again his lack of pace was there for all to see. I watched Wilson playing for Brighton earlier in the day and whilst he didn't have a great game, he showed far more than Rooney has all season long.
Anyway, the rumour mill suggests Van Gaal is already facing the chop, depressingly for this red though, all rumours seem to hint at Mourinho taking over. That would have been my last fucking choice, it's not much fun being a red at the moment. If we end up with the special one whilst City get Guardiola, I think Woodward might has well get updating his CV, because City will bet getting the better deal there.

Bouremouth 2-1 Manchester United

I know I wasn't on my own in half expecting Saturday's result, still fuck me, it really is a horror show watching United at the moment. Injuries before the game, injuries during it to Lingard, one of the better players at the moment obviously don't help. But it all stems from the manager I'm afraid. Philosophy, bizarre team selection, Jones can't get into the side ahead of McNair at centre half or Varela at right back, even Blind come to that. Blind consistently picked at centre half when it's almost always a disaster waiting to happen.
The use of substitutions which has been almost laughable since day one, gets more bizarre by the game. Mata having one of his better games brought off on Wednesday for Powell, on Saturday Fellaini having one of his better games and looking like our only likely option to get a goal for most of the match brought off for Powell. And then Jones brought in the dying seconds for McNair when we were desperate for something going forward. The excuse being McNair was injured, he wasn't that bad, he could have stayed on and Young, again inexplicably left on the bench could, no should have been brought on. There has been many a red who have suggested that Young has done something to upset Van Gaal. I thought that was a conspiracy too far, that Van Gaal had just gone back to his preference for left footers at left back. But the refusal to bring him on twice in a row when he was the obvious substitution makes me thing the conspiracy theorists are right.
It's hard to pick out what was the worst aspect of Saturday's display, but I think I'll have to go for the way we just completely capitulated after they took the lead for the second time. The only team who then looked likely to score was Bournemouth. At least we put up a bit of a fight after that freakish opening minute corner kick opening goal, but there was hardly anything after ex red Josh King gave them the lead. It did indeed look as if he has lost the dressing room.
I had been in the camp that was willing to give him till the end of the season before packing him off to his retirement pad in Portugal. Not any more, the sooner he is put out of his misery the better. We are going to struggle to finish in the top four with him in charge, never mind win any silverware.. And just as important I don't want him in charge of signing new players. His record on that score had been very patchy, it's not as if the players he seems to fall out with are players that were here before he came, half of them are his players.
This was supposed to be the easy run of games that saw us maintain a challenge for the league title. Since Fergie left the hot seat, there has been no such thing as an easy run of games, but we really have now sunk right back to Moyes levels of incompetence. It is all a fucking big mess.

Music

Amp Fiddler - Bassmentality 3: A pretty good mini album from the US  funk/soul/jazz artist, I'd imagine he's pretty good to watch live.

Drinks - Hermits On Holiday: Well I like White Fence, but this miles farther leftfield than Tim Presley's dayjob. But I fucking love it, not that I'll be amongst the multitudes there. I really don't know how to describe it, you wouldn't call it a guitar album, but it is I think!

Dungen - Allas Sak: Another fine album from the Swedish other wordly rock band who incorporate everything but the kitchen sink into their sound, and yet still manage to make tunes you could almost hum, almost!

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizards - Quarters: I remember talking to an old school friend who returned from Australia where he now lived. It was a few years back now, but I mentioned the lack of a music scene putting me off ever wanting to live there. That was then and this is now, there's fucking loads great Aussie bands of all different genres and this is yet another quality outfit. Grateful Dead meets Frank Zappa, quality.

King Midas Sound - Fennesz - Editions 1: A classy collaboration between electronica and guitar, it veers towards an ambient kind of sound at times, at others tuneful.

Low - Ones and Sixes: This returns to the slower pace that proceeded their last couple of albums. I did really like their last couple of albums, but whilst this probably took longer to get into it's just as good in my book.

The Libertines - Anthems For Doomed Youth:A welcome ruturn for one of the best rock groups these islands have produced post britpop, a good return but no standout tracks and not enough quality to call it a triumphant reurn, a decent , but not outstanding album.

Wolfsburg 3-2 Manchester United

Well the bluffer's bluff has well and truly been called, if ever an event showed that far from being in actual control, he's just making it all up as he goes along this match was it. Given the injuries before and during the game, the result on the night wasn't any disgrace, it was the other five matches that constituted that.
Let's get one thing straight, this was a piss easy group that if Van Gaal and his philosophy have any place in the 21st century, United should have breezed through. Instead we had the usual mind numbing football, questionable results, and then the real shocker, that last twenty minutes against PSV, where knowing a win would send us through, Van Gaal had us playing as if a draw was enough and it was actually PSV who looked to more likely to get a winner. And I'm sorry that PSV Eindhoven team is no great shakes, to put it mildly. I've got nothing against that club, but I'm hoping they get pitted against one of the big clubs in the next round, we'll see just how good they are then.
At least we went out with a bit of a bang, maybe United deserved a draw, the chances we had, on another night we might have won. But as I've said a few times recently, that defensive record is misleading. Part of the reason it has been so good in domestic football, is because we are set up not to concede at the expense of ceative attacking football. Even then more often than not, in most matches De Gea is called upon more often than he should be to pull off world class saves.
His substitutions once again, were borderline nuts. I'm not the biggest fan of Mata, but for once in a big game he was slap bang in the middle of things. But I think a case can always be made for taking him off, but for Nick Powell? This is a lad that has hardly played for a year, just a couple of games in the under 21's recently. He also didn't cut up any trees at Leicester City on loan. And then in such a crucial game he's put slap bang in the middle of things. Borthwick Jackson was also hard to understand! Alright the young kid didn't really do anything wrong, but at the time we needed to score and he had Ashley Young on the bench. It's as if with United actually really going all out for it during that second half, Van Gaal couldn't bring himself to follow suit. Am I alone in feeling he must have hated watching that match as much because United fucked the philosophy off in a must win game as much for the actual result. Let's put it like this, I'm expecting another possession based boreathon at Bournemouth on Saturday and none too confident that we'll get the three points either.
So Thursday night Channel 5, fucking marvellous, that's really going to help our top four hopes, you can fuck title talk off, there is no fucking chance of that!

Manchester United 0-0 West Ham United

Another 0-0, though to be fair this was one of the more entertaining 0-0's you'll watch, it wasn't a great game, but as far as these things go under the present regime, it was tolerable fare. Bilic probaly got it right after the game when he said that his side could have lost 3-2 or even won 3-2.
That was fair enough, his side hit the woodwork a couple of times in the first half and had a couple of great chances in the second half. But the majority of the chances created during the second half were created by United, but our players had left their shooting boots at home, only one shot on target. And talking of that one effort, it was a pretty good move and probably deserved to be finished off by a goal and shoud have been. Fellaini isn't my cup of tea and never will be, but he did have a decent game, even if his inclusion meant a more direct style of football. He should have buried that chance though.
United started reasonably well, Lingard who was badly missed last week I thought, seems to be the player given license to dribble ( irony alert, Wilson's goal for Brighton! ) and he used that luxury well causing trouble down the left. If only his overlapping lelft back Darmian had been up to speed. He did the overlapping bit well but his crossing was poor, very poor.Martial didn't have a bad game, but he has become a shadow of the player we saw during those few games. Is there a forward that Van Gaal and his coaching staff can't turn to shit?
Out of nowhere though West Ham then went on to the woodwork twice, one of those efforts the result of a De Gea clanger. That defensive record will go to the dogs if he lost form, I still think it's down to luck plus De Gea's brilliance as much as anything Van Gaal has brought to the club.
United coasted through the first twenty five minutes to half an hour of the second half creating the odd chance. Unlike last week thought, they did have a real go at the end and should have scored at least once. But the fact is, we didn't and I didn't really have much confidence that we would. Despite Woodward's bluster yesterday, his briefings are a joke, he really is clueless if he thinks United fans will tolerate this for another season, United at present are a big fucking mess.