Ashley Young is flying again.

With the announcement, last summer, of Louis van Gaal as the new manager of Manchester United there must have been a few players at Old Trafford instructing their agents to start looking for pastures new.

Among those, was possibly Ashley Young who had endured a torrid season under David Moyes as had most of the team.

Having been brought to United three years previously in 2011 by Alex Ferguson his career started well enough that season with some encouraging performances and eye-catching goals. He was outstanding in the 8-2 demolition of Arsenal at the start of his Old Trafford career contributing with a double.

His encouraging start was brought to an abrupt halt when he suffered an injury that kept him out until February 2012. In his absence, United had been knocked out of the Champions League and had to compete in the Europa league.

Although he chipped in with goals in the remainder of the season he wasn't quite the same player as when he had arrived.

In Ferguson's last season as manager, 2012-13 Young made a total of 18 appearances and didn't find the net once. His season was blighted by accusations from all parties about his unsportsmanlike diving in the oppositions area for penalties. It became a regular event and certainly didn't bring him any sympathy from the United fans.

Once Ferguson had stepped down it was the turn of David Moyes to try and bring the best out of Young but the new problem for Young was the form of a certain Adnan Januzaj.

Januzaj made more appearances than Young that season and chipped in with one more goal than him. To rub it in the teenager even replaced Young as a substitute to make his league debut.

It was frustrating to watch Young play as he clearly had so much talent, but he seemed to be struggling with his form and even the diving question raised its ugly head and once again blighted his reputation.

So, with yet another new manager entering the arena last summer the writing seemed to be on the wall for Young along with other players including Fellaini. Young had even lost his place in the England set up since being involved in the 2012 Euro's.

However, here we are coming to the end of the season in which United look to have claimed a priceless fourth place in the Premier League thanks in no small part to the performances week in week out of Ashley Young.

Originally used as a left wing back in Louis van Gaal's dreaded 3-5-2 formation at the beginning of the season Young never gave up or complained about how difficult he was finding it and how frustrating it was to play in that position.

He was cautioned for diving against Sunderland back in August which van Gaal must have reacted strictly to as there has been thankfully no repeat of it since.

Once the manager saw sense and realised that his side wouldn't win anything with that setup and reverted to a more traditional four at the back and wingers Young was off and flying.

So far this season his has made the most Premier League appearances of his United career, 24 and contributed with 4 assists and 28 shots netting twice. However, it's not his goals that have impressed it's his wing play that has made him one of United's success stories this season.

Like his teammate Fellaini who had also endured a tough season under Moyes, Young has been rejuvenated under van Gaal and is finally repaying the loyal supporters with some sterling displays.

His work rate down the left against Crystal Palace in United's latest victory summed up his transformation and earned the win and a valuable three points. It could also see him recalled to the England squad. He deserves nothing less.

Even with the imminent arrival of Memphis Depay I still feel that Young has a lot to offer United and it could be Adnan Januzaj who becomes surplus to requirements and loaned out next season.

If so, how the tables have turned.

Update: Ashley signed a new 3 year contract at United on August 7th 2015.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

A bridge too far for United.

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

Chelsea grabbed the points after being outplayed by a dominant Manchester United.

After the euphoria of beating City in the Manchester derby here was a true test of how far United have come under the guidance and philosophies of Louis van Gaal.

On the back of six straight wins in the Premier League, United travelled to the capital full of confidence.

Chelsea, who will only have themselves to blame if they are not crowned champions, welcomed the Red Devils to Stamford Bridge for a re-match against the Dutch master and his Portuguese protege.

The first meeting between LvG and Mourinho ended in a stalemate after a late, late equaliser for United by Robin van Persie back in October.

There was bad news for United in the build up to the match with four players ruled out with differing injuries. Michael Carrick, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Daley Blind were all left back in Manchester.

The team that Louis van Gaal chose still had a strong look about it though: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw, Rooney, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young, and Falcao.

Subs: Da Silva, Di Maria, Januzaj, Van Persie, Valdes, Blackett and Pereira.

Wayne Rooney was used in midfield in the absence of Carrick. That gave Falcao the chance to impress in the starting line-up after being on the bench in recent matches. With only a handful of games left to convince the manager and the fans that he has a future at Old Trafford.

Robin van Persie was handed a place on the bench after recovering from his ankle injury alongside Angel Di Maria.

In the bright London sunshine, United started the match.

Three minutes in and the first chance of the game fell to Wayne Rooney. Luke Shaw broke down the right and pulled a great ball back for the captain who let fly with a shot that most of the crowd, and De Gea, thought had gone in but was just wide.

Great start by United just what was needed.

Three minutes later and defender Shaw had a blast from the edge of the box which was blocked on its way to the goal.

It wasn't until the seventh minute that Chelsea had half a chance which De Gea managed to save for a corner.

In the first ten minutes, it was United who had started the better of the two sides especially down the left with Shaw and Young.

The away fans were in fine voice as always as they tried to spur their team on.

After 11 minutes and it was all United as Herrera tried his luck from distance but pulled his drive wide.

A minute later young defender Paddy McNair tried brought the ball confidently out from defence and fired a shot just wide.

On the quarter hour mark, Shaw won a corner after excellent work down the left flank. A bright start from Shaw in his first match for a while.

You got the feeling that United had to capitalise on their possession and grab a goal before Chelsea got their game together. United were by far the dominant team but they just needed that final ball to be of better quality.

Ander Herrera was having a great match in the middle of the park and the majority of United's creative play came through him.

Chelsea definitely looked out of sorts as United pressed up onto their defence. However, the home side seemed content to let United come at them.

In the 25th minute, Mata broke on down the right and produced a cross which was crying out for a red shirt to get on the end of it but the danger was cleared.

Two minutes later saw Chelsea's first real chance on goal for Oscar but his effort was blocked by Fellaini.

Just before the half hour Falcoa gave away a needless free-kick in a dangerous area which Drogba shot straight into the wall.

Ander Herrera continued to dictate the United attacks from deep, providing Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini the freedom to find pockets of space.

Drogba went through the back of Herrera but received no caution.

After 34 minutes as the ball travelled towards United's penalty area De Gea rushed out and looked to have handled the ball before clearing, but luckily the referee and his assistants didn't notice.

Then in the 37th minute a major blow to all United's domination as Chelsea scored through Eden Hazard. He received a neat back-heeled pass in the area from Oscar and gave De Gea no chance one on one. A goal of similarity to Mata's effort against City last week.

United let it slip having enjoyed the majority of possession.

Straight after the goal Herrera went down the other end of the pitch and won a corner.

In the 40th minute, Falcoa was unhappy after a tussle with John Terry. On further inspection, the Colombian was right to be annoyed as Terry quite clearly clobbered him with a forearm smash to the back of the head, but as it was Terry the referee saw nothing untoward.

Eden Hazard was proving to be Chelsea's danger man as he got more involved in the game following his strike, but to United's credit they kept plugging away at Chelsea.

As the first half ended it was all United with great approach play but with no penetration and they were unlucky to be behind from Chelsea's only real chance of the match but showed that they have the quality in the team to turn it around in the second half.

Manchester United began the second half as they had finished the first with controlled possession.

Unfortunately, Radamel Falcao was not having a productive day up front and once again seemed to be struggling to impose himself on the game.

51 minutes into the match and Chris Smalling did well to break up a Chelsea attack after Rooney had lost possession far too easily. Rooney was most definitely needed up front.

Two minutes later Drogba was up to his old tricks again as he fouled McNair to earn himself a yellow card then as his team countered he failed to put away a chance to make it 2-0.

United were so on top of the game it was like they were the home team and Chelsea had parked the bus in front of their goal and waited for the counter attacks. It was frustrating to watch and must have been even more frustrating for the players.

In the 56th minute, Ivanovic was cautioned for a foul on Shaw on the edge of the area. Mata delivered the resulting free-kick but it sadly came to nothing.

On the hour came a speculative shot from McNair which was well saved by Courtois and then Mata came close to converting a Shaw cross.

It was still all United but with no goal to show for all their efforts. As Falcao was producing another dull performance surely it was only a matter of time before Louis van Gaal made the changes needed to turn the match around.

After 62 minutes, Oscar was booked for a foul on the ever impressive Herrera.

Shortly afterwards yet another United attack as Shaw crossed, Fellaini laid the ball off to Rooney whose shot was blocked for a corner.

With less than 25 minutes to play Falcao had his first effort on goal but was wide of the mark.

Rooney did his best in midfield but was sorely missed at the spearhead of the attack.

Louis van Gaal decided on a double substitution in the 69th minute as Mata and Young were replaced by Di Maria and Januzaj. I would have preferred to see Robin van Persie introduced instead of Januzaj as the Dutchman would have been more of a threat than the young Belgian.

70 minutes on the clock and there was Falcao in the box producing a snapshot that was blocked at close range by Cahill.

Since the changes that were made by United Chelsea enjoyed more of the ball.

Falcao's best chance came in the 76th minute as he was put through by the lively Shaw but hit the outside of the post with a thunderous left- footed shot.

Shaw, who had impressed on his return to the team today, was replaced for the final ten minutes by Tyler Blackett. I think Shaw had literally run himself into the ground against his boyhood club.

Into the last ten minutes and it was still all United as they desperately searched for that all-important equaliser.

In the 82nd minute, a Di Maria corner was narrowly headed over by Rooney.

You got the feeling that with Chelsea's defensive tactics and United's inability to convert their chances that it was not going to be the Red's day.

Into the 4th minute of injury time and controversy as Herrera was booked for a dive in the area when he was obviously clipped by Cahill for a certain penalty.

However, the referee had decided that the Spaniard had deliberately tried to deceive him for a spot kick. Both players came head to head in a heated end to the match.

Final score 1-0 to Chelsea.

In a game that was totally dominated by United, it is still unbelievable how they managed to lose the match against a Chelsea team whose only real chance on target was the goal. But if you don't score you end up with nothing, which is exactly what happened.

All credit to the Red Devils for going there and trying to win the match. If not for a lack of finishing in the final third it would have been a totally different result.

Man United deserved more from the game but only have themselves to blame for not capitalising on the possession they had in abundance. Falcao once again flattered to deceive in another tepid display that will not endure him to van Gaal's future plans.

Sure, United weren't helped by some key injuries, especially to Carrick, but they showed their newly found collective spirit and can take heart from their display and hold their heads up high.

Next up is a tricky away trip to Goodison Park to face Everton. I fully expect the duo of Rooney and Fellaini to be fully pumped up to face their old team and for United to come away with the three valuable points needed in their quest for runners-up spot.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

FA Cup of woe for United.

Manchester United 1 Arsenal 2

This was the clash of the FA Cup giants a meeting between the two most successful clubs in the illustrious history of the competition as both teams hold the record of 11 wins each.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger had many memorable battles in the cup spanning over fifteen years, but this was Louis van Gaal's first taste of a cup match against the Frenchman.

He of course has already tasted success over the Gunners in the Premier League but could he replicate that feat and take United one step closer to bringing a trophy to Old Trafford in his debut season.

United have played Arsenal a total of 14 times in the FA Cup and have won: 7 drawn: 2 and lost: 5. In fact, Arsenal haven't beaten United in any competition since May 2011 and United had lost only 2 matches of the last 22 so the records were stacked in the home teams favour.

With no Robin van Persie or Jonny Evans to choose from van Gaal made only one change to  the Manchester United starting line-up by bringing in Luke Shaw in place of banned Evans.  The starting XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Herrera, Di Maria, Fellaini, Young and Rooney. Subs: Valdes, Rafael, Jones, Carrick, Januzaj, Mata and Falcao.

There was a recall for Rafael to the bench which was the first time he has been involved in the first team since the beginning of January.

Once again there was no place in the starting line-up for Juan Mata who surely must feel what his compatriot Ander Herrera went through a few months ago by not being able to get a place in the team and misfiring Colombian Falcao was also left on the bench.

The match started with a full house in fine voice with almost 9,000 visiting fans adding to a great atmosphere inside the Theatre of Dreams.

The match started at a quick pace with end to end attacking football and within the first two minutes Arsenal had their first chance when Sanchez almost opened up the home defence.

One minute later Young was upended on the left wing by Bellerin, who became the first player booked by referee Oliver.  From the resulting free-kick Rooney whipped over the ball but as with many set pieces this season it came to nothing.

Six minutes in and United won their first corner a good delivery which just evaded all the waiting players but on a positive note the home team had started well by moving the ball around with confidence.

Shaw had a chance to break out after an Arsenal corner but failed to bring the ball under control, unlucky as that would have been a great chance for a counterattack as Arsenal had committed so many players upfront for their corner.

Young was causing the right back Bellerin all sorts of problems down the left wing and won a second free-kick which once again Rooney took but to no avail. I would much rather see our captain take up a position in the box to get on the end of the crosses rather than take them himself.

In the 12th minute Smalling slipped the ball through to Fellaini in the box but the Belgian opted to try and take too many touches when the best option would have been to have a shot with his left foot, a definite chance gone.

Some errant passing, which has been a problem for most of the season, began to appear in United's play which allowed Arsenal to create a few chances that luckily they couldn't take advantage of.

After 18 minutes, United's assistant manager Ryan Giggs made his way to the touchline to make his feelings known. No doubt asking his players to step up the pace and stop giving the ball away in dangerous positions.

In the 20th minute, Young was played in by Fellaini but lost his footing as he was about to shoot and the ball sailed wide. Arsenal forward Chamberlain also wasted a great chance for the visitors at the other end by not being able to keep his effort down.

After 25 mins it was turning out to be an open cup tie with chances for both sides but with United being guilty of wasteful passing and it proved their undoing as Arsenal took the lead when their left back Monreal slipped the ball past de Gea after being left totally left unmarked in the penalty area. A terrible goal to concede by United and first blood to the Gunners.

But the lead lasted only four minutes when in the 29th minute after a flowing passing move by United the ball ended up with Di Maria on the right wing and in turn he crossed the ball into the danger area where that man Rooney was waiting unmarked to meet the cross with a fierce header that gave Szczesny no chance.

In equalising Rooney had kept up his fantastic goal scoring record against Arsenal as that was his 14th goal against them and it proved without a doubt that his best position for the team is up front.

Shortly after the goal there was another wicked delivery from Di Maria that the keeper nearly made a total mess of before collecting at the second attempt.

Young showed the confidence in his play of late by constantly trying to take on the defenders down the left in an attempt to assist his forwards.

United's first of six yellow cards came after 36 minutes when Herrera was cautioned after a foul following sloppy work from Di Maria.

In the 40th minute, Rooney almost returned the favour for Di Maria after bringing down the ball with a deft touch and chipping it up for the Argentinian who just couldn't capitalise on the opportunity. Almost immediately, a chance again fell to Di Maria after a great ball from Valencia but Szczesny saved at his near post.

Just before the end of the first-half the excellent de Gea saved a free-kick down low then it was back down the other end as Fellaini tried his luck with a shot which lacked the power to trouble the keeper.

The two teams went in at half-time locked at 1-1 with United conceding a shocking opening goal but all credit to them by finding a quick reply. When United played direct they looked very dangerous but Di Maria looked a little nervous when given chances on goal and just needs to get his game back on track.

Louis van Gaal made two changes at half-time with Carrick and Jones replacing Shaw and Herrera. The experience of Carrick was indeed needed but quite why Jones came on for Shaw I'm not sure.

United attacked the Stretford End as they looked for an early goal to give them some breathing space in the match. Michael Carrick won a free-kick almost immediately but once again Rooney put over a poor delivery when he really should be on the receiving end of the set pieces.

Di Maria chased a through ball in the 51st minute and was unlucky not to be awarded a foul on the edge of the box as he was clipped on the back of the leg, but the referee was unable to see it clearly. Then the action went down the other end but thankfully de Gea was alert to a deflected effort on his goal.

The match had certainly opened up and it really was anybody's game to win.

Over the next ten minutes, the game got bogged down in midfield with both sides guilty of giving the ball away and both set of players making mistakes especially Fellaini who was booked after two successive fouls. Young quickly followed Fellaini into the book after a clumsy tackle.

On the hour, Fellaini spotted Di Maria well and it looked a certain goal but after doing all the hard work he pulled his shot wide.

Then disaster in the 61st minute as Valencia, after a short pass from Jones, played a suicidal back pass to de Gea which United old boy Danny Welbeck latched onto and had the simple task of placing it past the Spaniard. A terrible mistake to make by Valencia and made all the worse by Welbeck being the scorer. Also, Jones has to take responsibility as he only had to hoof the ball away rather than play it to Valencia.

On 64 minutes, Rojo was booked for a dangerous foul which could have been a lot worse than it turned out to be. One minute later from a corner by Di Maria the ball eventually fell to Smalling six yards out, but it came off his knee and went over the bar as the goal was gaping.

The impressive Young delivered a delightful ball from the wing that was met by Fellaini, however, his header was saved by the keeper low at his near post.

With 20 minutes left Valencia almost made his bad night even worse as he gifted Arsenal a free-kick in a dangerous position by bringing Sanchez down on the edge of the box but de Gea saved the resulting free-kick.

Van Gaal made his third and final change after 72 minutes when he replaced Rojo with Januzaj presumably to protect Rojo from receiving a second caution but why throw on Januzaj when someone like Mata would have been a better choice if not just for his experience but also his knack for picking a defensive lock.

Two minutes after the substitution the crowd witnessed a brilliant one handed save from the player of the season David de Gea low at his post. It was a truly world class save from a world class player. Contract?

Then in the 75th minute there was more bad news for United as Angel Di Maria was booked for diving then as he ran after the referee to explain his innocence he grabbed the back of referee Oliver's shirt and was immediately sent off. A strange decision as the same official did nothing after seemingly being head-butted by Man City keeper Hart earlier in the season.

This was now an uphill struggle for United to claw themselves back into the match.

A surging run from Jones ended with a handball by Arsenal right on the edge of the penalty area but as usual Rooney elected to take it himself and couldn't direct his effort on target.

Fellaini became the target man for the long ball into the area. Is this what United have been reduced to trying to pick out the tallest guy on the pitch in the hope he can get his head on it.

In the 86th minute Januzaj became the second player to be booked for diving as he tried to fool the officials when he ran into the area and fell far too easily to ground when he really should have stayed on his feet and tried to create something. I'm still not convinced about the young Belgian and his decision making in games borders on the selfish and this booking backs that up.

The one player I would pay credit to for his work rate is Ashley Young who never stopped trying to start attacks as well as chasing back to help with defensive duties when called upon to do so.

With five minutes of added time left United, with only 10 men, found the going tough and Sanchez almost added a third but for the fingertips of de Gea.

Full time and a very disappointing loss at home and with it the teams last chance of silverware this season. I honestly thought that it would be our year for the cup but in the end it wasn't to be and we will not be going to Wembley.

Now all the focus must be on finishing in a Champions League place and to achieve that United have to get through some big matches between now and the end of the season.

Starting with Spurs at Old Trafford on Sunday. This will not be easy especially when you consider the goal scoring run that Harry Kane is on and the way our defence has been playing lately odds on he will score.

To use an old cliche every match from here until May will be a cup final for United I just hope that the players can pick themselves up from this morally disappointing defeat and push on hard for that all important top four finish then come the summer the manager can clear the decks of all unwanted players and bring in the new quality that we badly need especially in defence.

Thanks for reading what in the end was a difficult piece to write.

Until next time.

Miles Dunton.

Better late than never for United.

Newcastle United 0 Manchester United 1

In the build up to this match, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal described the battle to finish in the top four and gain a Champions League place as a 'Rat Race'. I would rather call it a 'Cat Fight' as there are five teams fighting over the milk but only two of them will get the cream.

With only 10 matches to go following this round of weeknight matches only United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Southampton have a realistic chance of grabbing the last two prestigious places at the top of the European table. Which teams will end up eating with the elite remains to be seen but a failure to qualify would be seen as a disaster.

United traveled to St James' Park knowing only a win would suffice as the other teams around them were starting to pick up momentum and points.

The only absentees were Robin van Persie and Luke Shaw but it still meant the manager had the advantage of picking from a strong squad of players and this was his starting XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Evans, Rojo, Blind, Herrera, Di Maria, Fellaini, Young & Rooney. Subs: Lindegaard, Jones, McNair, Carrick, Mata, Januzaj & Falcao.

Van Gaal made only one change to the side that had started against Sunderland at the weekend and that meant Fellaini was in and Falcao demoted to the bench. Angel Di Maria kept his place even though he has been out of sorts in recent displays and Juan Mata was once again named as a substitute.

Within a minute of the start the Reds broke forward through captain Rooney and with three against two he played the ball through to the speedy Di Maria but his first touch let him down and the move quickly broke down. A good start from United but I wonder if a more confident Di Maria wouldn't have wasted such a good opportunity in front of goal.

After a quality display against Sunderland Ashley Young took his time finding his feet on the left and gave the ball away a couple of times in the early stages of the match.

Newcastle won the first corner after five minutes when Di Maria lost the ball in attack far too easily this was quickly followed by another wayward cross-field pass from the Argentinian which almost set Newcastle on their way but they wasted their chance.

The home side had a good shout for a penalty after a coming together between Smalling and Riviere but referee Taylor waved play on. A big let off for Smalling who would have been in serious trouble if the decision had gone against him.

In the opening fifteen minutes, former United player Obertan was seeing plenty of the ball, probably far more of it than he saw when he was at Old Trafford.

In the 14th minute, Herrera sliced an effort wide after Rooney had held the ball up well in the penalty area. At this point in the match, United were pressing and a through ball over the top from Daley Blind almost found Rooney on the end of it but keeper Krul managed to get to there first.

Talking of Blind I've been impressed with his work rate this season and even though he was guilty of some early errors you can't fault his willingness to get stuck in.

United's first corner didn't come until the 21st minute and was taken by Young from the right which Fellaini rose high to get to but couldn't achieve any direction or power on it.

Shortly after there was some good combination play on the right wing between Di Maria and Valencia to get the ball across but it was too high even for Fellaini.

Rooney had a great chance to put United ahead as the Magpie defence stood still waiting for an offside flag which didn't come and the forward collected the ball from Young's touch, span and just put his effort out for a goal kick. A great chance missed but at least the Reds were making the effort.

On the half hour after a mistake by Newcastle Di Maria nicked the ball of the left back and then played it into Rooney who couldn't quite get it under control before Krul gathered. Another chance went begging and it looked like being one of those nights.

In the first 30 minutes United were totally in control and Rooney and Di Maria were the liveliest players on the pitch and their efforts had been unfortunate not to have earned a goal.

In all honesty, the home side were rather dull and lacked any ambition or ideas which made it easier for United. They did manage a shot in the 35th minute which forward Cisse blasted well wide of David de Gea's goal.

Five minutes before half-time Young whipped over one of his trademark right-footed crosses which Di Maria sent back over from the right but no-one was there to get on the end of it.

Then Johnny Evans and Cisses had a spat, literally, in the center circle which they continued for the next few minutes, on closer inspection they both had a kick at each other after the ball had gone and were both fortunate not to receive yellow cards or worse after they were seen exchanging bodily fluids.

A great cross from Valencia in the 43rd minute saw Fellaini rise the highest to power a header goal-wards which Krul palmed out into the box where Herrera was waiting to pounce, but the ball sailed over his head.

With a minute of normal time left de Gea got a hand to the ball as Riviere bore down on his goal. In fairness, the striker did start to tumble to the ground as de Gea approached but that takes nothing away from the keepers' bravery diving at the feet of a couple of players. Another area of de Gea's game that he has vastly improved on.

Half-time and all square at 0-0. United had played better than in recent matches and had managed a total of five shots but due to a combination of poor finishing and the keeper Krul they had failed to capitalise on their superiority. They had also survived a strong penalty claim from Newcastle.

No changes were made by van Gaal at the beginning of the second half as United started brightly and after two minutes Marcos Rojo tried his luck from distance only to see his effort just go over the bar.

On 49 minutes Newcastle created their best chance as a ball over the top beat the offside trap but de Gea came to United's rescue yet again as he spread himself to save a header from Riviere at the far post. This was followed by a corner that was cleared from the danger area by Smalling. Not for the first time this season United were living dangerously and were saved by the outstanding de Gea.

Then by far United's best chance of the game came at the other end when two efforts were missed by the Reds in the same move. First Fellaini chested down and had his volley saved then Young failed to score from the rebound.

Rooney did manage to put the ball in the net in the 56th minute this time he was adjudged to be offside but on closer inspection it was a very close call.

Chance after chance came and went and it seemed all United needed was someone with a calm head to convert one of them.

On 58 minutes, Adnan Januzaj joined the action in place of a very unhappy Di Maria who could easily be seen mouthing his displeasure under his breath. To be fair, he had played well, certainly better than against Sunderland.

United received their first caution in the 59th minute when Rojo was booked for upending Obertan.

After an hours play, it was proving to be a frustrating evening for United as too many attacks came to a halt for offside decisions or all they couldn't convert possession into clear-cut chances.

Januzaj tried to stretch his legs down the right but was scythed down by Gutierrez who earned himself a yellow card.

67 minutes into the match and Cisse squandered another great chance for Newcastle as they counter attacked, but he pulled his effort well wide when he should have done a lot better. United let the home side create too many chances and needed to re-stamp their authority on the game and get the goal which would keep the noisy natives quiet and surely win the match.

After 74 minutes, Rooney did well to get up above the defenders to meet another cross by Ashley Young that almost deceived Krul but he managed to scramble it clear. That was a decent effort by Rooney who was looking like the only United player able to break the deadlock.

Jonny Evans tried to bring some surprise into the attack by showing some initiative and rushed forward with the ball unchallenged right up to the opposition box, but nothing came from his hard work. At least he tried I suppose.

Januzaj didn't create many chances from the right and I began to wonder if Di Maria was right to moan about his earlier substitution.

In the 80th minute van Gaal brought on Mata for Fellaini who had been industrious and had a couple of chances but a change in United's tactics was needed plus a fresh pair of legs for the last ten minutes.

Valencia became the second United player to be booked after being played into trouble by Januzaj.

United's last throw of the dice came with less than two minutes on the clock when Michael Carrick made a welcome return after injury by replacing Rojo.

Then in the last minute the winner came to send United fans all over the world into a frenzy. After great work from Rooney who chased a lost cause in the penalty area to cause confusion in the home defence, which in turn made Krul miskick the ball straight into the path of Ashley Young who calmly slotted the ball over the line to the obvious relieve of van Gaal who sprang out of his seat and punched the air in delight.

There in Young we at last saw the steady head needed to win the match. That was Ashley Young's first goal since his effort against Cardiff City in January 2014  and didn't he choose the right time to come up with the winner and he deserves the accolades as he has been exceptional this season.

Of course, United kept us on the edge of our seats by almost conceding an equaliser from the restart but that man de Gea was there again to save United with a great stop at his near post.

Even though Young scored the winner there is no doubt who won the match with his pressing of the defence in the build-up to the goal, captain Rooney. His persistence in chasing the ball created the winning goal out of absolutely nothing. It was a good lesson in never giving up a lost cause especially when you consider he didn't even touch the ball he just kept biting away at the defenders until they made the all important error.

Keeper David de Gea proved yet again that he has been the most outstanding player this season and the hope that his new contract will be signed very soon is as high as ever.

In the end it was a massive result for United who deserved the points although Newcastle had their chances the only worry was that it would end all square but thankfully that wasn't the case and United came away with the three very valuable points after other teams around them had also all won.

Next week, it's the return of the FA Cup and the much-anticipated match against Arsenal at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals. In the past, this tie has produced some humdingers over the years and I expect the same type of clash next Monday. However, being the cautious type I will take a drab 1-0 win for United and safe passage into the semi's, but as you and I know that is just not going to happen with United, so be ready for a clash that will have our bum's twitching and nerves jangling right until the end.

Thanks again for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Rooney at the double.

Manchester United 2 Sunderland 0

'We cannot deny that at this moment we don’t have a striker who scores 20 goals in the season.' These were the words uttered by Louis van Gaal prior to the match against Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Well, the truth is he does have that striker right under his nose, Wayne Rooney, who proved yet again that his best position in the side is up front where his goal scoring talents belong. His performance against Sunderland should be enough for the manager to keep him there. However, with van Gaal you never know.

After the disappointment of last weeks defeat in Wales, it was back to Old Trafford and the visit of the Black Cats from the North East. Now we enter into the last 12 matches of the Premier League so it was critical to start on another unbeaten run of matches.

There had been some bad and good news on the injury front during the build up to the match with Robin van Persie's ankle injury expected to keep him out for the next few weeks but on the positive side Michael Carrick was training again and was to be included in the squad.

Louis van Gaal's main headache with the team selection was who he would use in the attack as many fans were calling for a Rooney and Wilson strikeforce with others in the Rooney and Falcao corner. In the end, the manager went for the latter.

United's starting eleven: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Evans, Rojo, Blind, Herrera, Young, Di Maria, Rooney and Falcao. Subs: Lindegaard, McNair, Carrick, Fellaini, Mata, Januzaj and Wilson. This side meant five changes for United, with Valencia, Smalling, Evans, Young & Falcao all returning to the side and Fellaini dropped to the bench.

Ander Herrera was most definitely back in the good books as he started yet again but there was not such good news for Juan Mata who has now not started a league game for six weeks, when he was hauled off at half-time against QPR.

It would be interesting to see how United's two center backs Evans and Smalling would perform after coming under scrutiny so many times this season

United started the match attacking the Scoreboard End and facing two former reds in the Sunderland defence Wes Brown and John O'Shea.

Ashley Young started brightly down the left trying his luck with a few early crosses which resulted in a couple of corners the last of which taken by Di Maria was met by Rooney with his head but lacked both power and accuracy.

On 5 minutes Sunderland broke through the middle with Wickham who was allowed without challenge to take the ball a long way into United's half and let fly with a shot that David de Gea thankfully pushed away for a corner.

Shortly afterwards, Rooney gave the ball away deep in his own half and Defoe pounced and tried his luck from distance thankfully it was nowhere near the target. Yet again poor passing and a lack of defensive cohesion in the opening ten minutes made Sunderland look better than they really are and gave them a foothold in the match.

In the 12th minute Falcao made a good claim for a penalty after he seemed to be shoved to the ground inside the area but referee Roger East waved play on and as the ball was cleared Young hit a thunderous volley which went wide but deserved better.

Rooney and Falcao were simply not on the same wavelength as a couple of touches they attempted to each other came to nothing. At one point in the opening exchanges, Falcao was bustled off the ball from which Defoe was given yet another sight of goal this time he was on target but the impressive de Gea was equal to it.

The most infuriating aspect of the game in the early stages was that all the visitors chances originated from United's mistakes and the errors were really basic in nature.

After 19 minutes, it was the turn of Di Maria to misplace a pass straight into the path of the Sunderland attackers which amounted to nothing serious in the end but that's not the point. It's worrying having the defence make mistakes without our world class talent joining in.

As the game evolved you could see that Wes Brown had Falcao totally in his pocket and was marshaling the Colombian well.

At last in the 27th minute a great move down the right started by Di Maria when he played the ball out wide to Antonio Valencia who in turn lashed in a wicked cross which was met at the far post by the impressive Young who let fly with a shot that O'Shea managed to get a touch on and in doing so diverted the ball onto the crossbar and out of danger.

Now United started to get going mainly through Di Maria who won a free-kick 30 yards out which he elected to take himself but ended up going too high over the bar. This season United's set pieces have been really terrible with the record signing being the biggest culprit.

Ashley Young was the star of the half and went close with a typical right footed curler in the 34th minute.

In the 37th minute, another free-kick and this time Rooney fancied his luck but it was easily turned over for a corner by keeper Pantilimon. From the resulting corner, Rojo had a snapshot which almost found it's way through to goal.

Five minutes from half-time and again great work from Young as he crossed low into the box to exactly where Falcao should have been but for some reason the Colombian had run backwards away from the play and the hard work of Young was wasted.

A break from Di Maria in the dying moments of the half ended with the Argentinian electing to pass to Falcao which was a mistake as he should have picked out Young who was totally unmarked inside the box, yet again a poor selection from Di Maria which has been the story of his play of late.

Brown and O'Shea must have been very pleased how the half ended after they had not allowed Rooney and especially Falcao a clear chance on goal proving that experience, not class can win matches.

Half time and at 0-0 it had been another disappointing display from United with a lack of imagination in their game. Everything smacked of desperation which led to panic moments which in turn gave the visitors more chances than they could have believed they would have had.

Falcao spent most of the first half on his backside after being brushed off the ball far too easily and his positioning play was woeful. The only positive was the performance of Ashley Young who tried to instill some urgency into the attacks and was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet.

A quiet crowd as there was really nothing to cheer about even though they did try to rally the team by shouting Attack! Attack! Attack! but that clearly wasn't heard by the players.

Louis van Gaal decided to make a change at the start of the second half by bringing on Adnan Januzaj in place of Angel Di Maria. After under performing in his previous outings, this was a great opportunity for the Belgian to prove his worth.

Right from the start Jonny Evans put a stop to a Sunderland break in the first minute by sticking out his foot just at the right time.

Blind started a good passing move straight down the middle exchanging one-twos with Herrera and Rooney eventually the move broke down but it showed the quality that Blind has as he quietly goes about his job in midfield.

In the 52nd minute there was a move that summed up United's lack of communication as there was a rare misunderstanding between Young and Rojo as the England international played a ball to the space on his left where he thought his colleague would be running into but Rojo had in fact stopped running completely.

After an hour of play van Gaal had seen enough of Falcao and ordered his second Belgian substitute Fellaini to warm up. As he was doing this Valencia won a free kick on the right that Rooney swung over and it was headed clear only to the waiting Januzaj who connected really well but couldn't keep it on target, better from United.

Then in the 63rd minute the complexion of the game changed completely. As Falcao, who was about to be taken off, turned well in the area but was impeded by both Wes Brown and John O'Shea which resulted in a penalty.

Afer a comical few minutes Wes Brown was given his marching orders but took a long time to leave the pitch as he argued correctly that it was, in fact, his defensive partner John O'shea who had committed the foul, not him.

Some two minutes later captain Rooney stepped up and blasted the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.

That was the last action Falcao would see as he was hooked off by van Gaal and replaced with Fellaini. Apart from winning the penalty he had done absolutely nothing of worth and I will be surprised if he is not sent back to Monaco at the end of this season unless he starts contributing more to the team.

Good old Ashley Young was still running his socks off down the left-hand side and pinging crosses over into the danger area one of which Januzaj was unlucky not to connect with properly. If any player deserved a goal or assist it was Young.

Leading 1-0 and playing against ten men United started to play with less panic and more confidence by passing the ball around well and in the 72nd minute it almost opened up for Fellaini but he blasted the ball high and wide.

In the following ten minutes, United had corners, free-kicks and crosses to try their luck with but nobody could find the direction to trouble the keeper. Both Smalling and Rojo tried with their heads but to no avail.

On many occasions, Januzaj had the chance to provide telling crosses but selected to shoot from tight angles which clearly infuriated his forwards. He should watch and learn from the likes of Young who had spent all the match trying to set up his teammates rather than chase glory.

The second goal came in the 84th minute when Wayne Rooney scored his second by latching on to a rebound off the keeper with his head from close range after one of those shots by Januzaj. 2-0 and no way back for Sunderland.

With that in mind van Gaal brought on Mata for goal hero Rooney for the last five minutes with one eye on the Newcastle match in midweek.

In the dying seconds, the whole ground thought that Herrera had added a third after Fellaini had missed a great chance but as the ball was put back into the area the Spaniard was just offside. Unlucky for Herrera as that goal would have kept up his good recent scoring record.

In the end a win and three very valuable points gained by United who temporarily moved up into third place in the league. This was a match which on paper seemed fairly straight forward but due to the home team's own mistakes wasn't. Until the penalty decision it was difficult to see where the goals would come from.

The United players seem shackled and lack the ability to express themselves and play with a freedom that would rip opposing teams apart. Maybe when they have the guarantee of Champions League football under their belt they will be released from the tactical responsibilities and finish the season in true style, we can only hope.

If man of the match Ashley Young and captain Wayne Rooney can keep fit and continue in this vein for the run in then United have a chance to finish in one of the Champions League places. The brace were Rooney's first Premier League goals in 2015 and at last he's back in the position where he is the most dangerous but for how long only the manager knows.

Next up is a tricky away trip to St James' Park to take on Newcastle United on Wednesday evening but with Rooney firing again I fully expect United to grab all three points as he has an impressive record against the Magpies having netted 11 times in 18 matches.

Then it's the return of the FA Cup and a big chance to pile the misery on Arsenal who looked terrible against Monaco in the Champions League. It was very pleasing to see former Red Devil Dimitar Berbatov grab a goal against the Gunners in that match.

Thanks again for taking the time to read.

Miles Dunton.