Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool

Amongst the turgid football offered up so far during the Van Gaal era, the one saving grace is that when it comes to the big games you know our team will compete. Let's not forget the last three months under Moyes where we all dreaded the clashes amongst team competing for the top four. And his record against our biggest enemy of all is right up there. Of course it does help when the Liverpool side you are playing are as poor as they were on Saturday.
As to the football, it wasn't really that much different I'm afraid. The first half was dire, we were poor and they were even worse. The saving grace was the set piece that Blind buried magnificently to open the scoring. If we hadn't have got that goal, and when we got it, who knows how that game would have panned out. Because for all our improvement in the second half, we still didn't really create many chances. The goalkeeper wasn't forced into many saves, in fact I can hardly remember a save he made for the whole ninety minutes if I'm honest.
So much for Van Gaal's assertion that we were well enough equipped up front. The hapless Rooney has an injury and Fellaini was picked at centre forward with predictable results. I'm not blaming the Belgian, as much as I don't rate him, he isn't and I'm sure wouldn't pretend he was a centre forward. He hasn't the pace, movement or touch. Of course our arses twitched a little when Benteke got his wonder strike near the end, but that fantastic strike from new boy Martial settled them right down again. As to what we can garner from his brief cameo, not much really, he hardly touched it until he got it when the game was stretched right at the end. I suppose that's not that fair, he showed that the big stage didn't overawe him and he showed he wasn't afraid to express himself. Not the time to get carried away yet though. The back four acquitted themselves well again, but to be honest they weren't up to much. I wonder if Benteke wishes he was back at Villa, he had no support and didn't look that interested either.
So onto the champions league, I've not really got a clue what to expect from us in this competition this season, tonight will give us an idea of how well we'll cope with the qualifying group stage. Fingers crossed.
 

Music
ASAP Rocky - At Long Last: I one reviewer describe this as pychedelic hip hop and couldn't really imagine what that would sound like, but after listening to it, that's a pretty good description. It's a very good album.

Giant Sand - Heartbreak Pass: I have a fair bit obout Howe Gelb and knew Giant Sand was the band he was in, but have never really listened to any albums of their's. If this is the standard, will have to listen to some more, pretty good stuff.

Hot Chip - Why Make Sense: The crtics have always seemed to praise all of their albums to the sky. But whilst I have always thought they were pretty decent, I have neve really thought they loved up to the hype. To me this is easily the best album they have made excellent.

Jamie xx - In Colour: A solo album from The XX man. Not sure it's that different from the day job, but it's a quality listen.

My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall: I know they have been going a pretty long time and have a fair catalogue, but I've only heard a couple of them. And yet i really liked both of those, in fact listening to this reminded me of just how good they are. Memo to self, must listen to more My Morning Jacket.

Tame Impala - Currents: His third album has been heralded as a departure, his "disco" album. It certainly is a sharp break from the preceeding to albums, not sure about the disco bit though. It's certainly more commercial and catchy, but I'm not really hearing the funk undertones of disco on this. It's a good album, still can't make my mind up, how good it is though.

The Chemical Brothers - Born in the Echoes: They have yet to make an album that I didn't like and a fair few were absloute classics. This is one of the better ones without being a classic though.


Back to philosophy on the next post, doh!

Swansea City 2-1 Manchester United

That scoreline is starting to sound familiar, I wish I'd have a had a couple of quid saver on it now. Despite the scoreline on Wednesday, I wasn't that full of confidence ahead of the game, this was always going to be far tougher. It's not a disgrace to lose to them at their place, but if we are to challenge for any kind of silverware we shouldn't be losing three on the bounce to them or indeed the four out of the last five it now stands at.
The new gameplan was in evidence, start at an ultra high tempo, pressing them deep into their own half. The only problem was, as against Newcastle if we don't get that goal it all peters out, and once they got into the game, we started to look more vulnerable than they had. We may have had slightly more chances than them in the first half, but their chances we all really good openings. All of us who'd doubted Blind was the long term man for the job at the heart of the defence, had our worst fears confirmed as the bullied him physically and for speed.
We took the lead when our play seemed to be going nowhere, but didn't take that long to lose it. And the less said about their winner the better. What I will say is Romero has been an accident waiting to happen since day one. And with yesterday's goalkeeping transfer shenanigans, the word farce doesn't begin to describe United's summer strategy on that front.
If we didn't think Rooney could get much worse after his first three premier league starts this season, we were made to think again. It must be obvious to anybody with a half decent pair of football eyes now, that he has "gone over the hill", he just can't run. Opposition centre half's will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing against him. For that matter, I can see a few teams licking their lips at the thought of playing against this Louis Van Gaal Manchester United. Unlike others I couldn't get excited about the signing of Scweinsteiger, why would Bayern get rid of somebody if they still "had it". So far he's done absolutely nothing to alter my view that Schneiderlin was the better buy.
That game against the mickeys is going to be a right barrel of laughs, despite their poor start and the disaster on Saturday, I wouldn't like to predict the outcome. The club is becoming a bit of a laughing stock on and off the pitch, who'd thought City fans would be able to start taunting us with the comedy club label.