The roars around Old Trafford 90 minutes before kick-off boosted the mood on a grim, windswept Mancunian day. City had lost 2-0 at Stoke and United had the chance to go above their neighbours by beating West Ham United.
But United struggle to beat anyone at present. This hard-to-beat, hard-to-watch side of Louis van Gaal have the best defence in the league, the meanest seen at Old Trafford in two decades.
The problems lie at the other end as the Dutchman persists with a cautious, possession-heavy system which leaves frustrated supporters singing ‘Attack! Attack!’ most weeks.
Fifteen games in, United are fourth, the same position they finished last term. The 0-0 draw against West Ham was their fifth barren stalemate in nine matches. A quarter of United’s games have finished goalless this season.
They don’t have a single goalscorer in the Premier League’s top 20. Everton have three.
The game at Old Trafford against a West Ham side who had excelled away from home this season was not without merit and as manager Slaven Bilic pointed out: “This game deserved goals. It could have been 3-2 for us, 2-3 for them. You can’t say it was a boring game.”
United games presently do not finish with such scorelines, especially at home. United have only conceded a single goal there in nine domestic games, a brilliant strike by Liverpool’s Christian Benteke when Liverpool were 3-0 down. Oh, for the days of seeing four goals at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal thinks it is a spell his team are going through. He might be right and there is no serious movement among fans for him to be sacked. His statements can read like a man detached from the reality of what United fans are thinking. The United manager should be more optimistic, he should protect his players, too. But when phrases like, “I am pleased with the performance” are taken without context, they irk United fans.
READ MORE Van Gaal's search for the perfect No 10 may have to stop at Marouane Fellaini
Diego Forlan writes he has no doubt Gary Neville will translate his style to Valencia
Speaking after the game, Van Gaal added: “When you create this kind of chances [United had 21 chances, though just one was on target] you have to finish. I cannot say we play bad. We started well in the first quarter. After that it was an equal game. In the second half we dominated and created a lot of chances and you have to score. They could have scored also in the second half because it was a match against a very good, organised team. They defended on the 40 metres and this is difficult.”
United were without their main striker Wayne Rooney, the club captain injured. His absence will have pleased some fans who have been worried about his poor form, but the players who replaced him, Marouane Fellaini and Anthony Martial, could not score.
“My opinion about scoring goals is not only composure but also a lot of luck,” said Van Gaal. “I’m not so worried but we have to pass over this period. It’s too long we don’t score otherwise we could have been first in the league.”
He also praised United fans, saying: “They were supporting more than ever. It was a question of scoring our goal but we didn’t do that. I was disappointed, but we are always dominating our opponent.”
Though there were very audible boos and jeers from United fans at the final whistle, Van Gaal maintains he has positive encounters with fans.
“I think when I meet the fans on the street they are very happy with Manchester United and with me,” he said, “but you have to score…”
Those fans meeting any Manchester United manager on the leafy streets of South Manchester are unlikely to be anything but polite, regardless of the circumstances. They’d also like his team to score now and then. It doesn’t often have to six or seldom ten like the United fans’ song goes, but a goal would go down well, especially if it’s the only goal in Wolfsburg on Tuesday night, the Dutchman’s most important game since he came to England.
If United go out of the Uefa Champions League then Van Gaal will be left in no doubt about how fans feel, but he maintains absolute conviction in his philosophy.
Of the game in the Volkswagen Arena, he said: “We have to score so we must score. I think everybody knows that. We have to play against a very good team, but still we can do that. Today I thought we could do this, but we don’t have any luck.”
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
