Jose's Winning Start

Wigan 0 Manchester United 2

This was not just any old run of the mill pre-season friendly this was a match that all Man United fans had been eagerly anticipating since the announcement of Jose Mourinho's appointment as the new manager.

There was certainly more focus on the manager by the fans and the press than the action on the pitch. As the away support blasted out Mourinho's name relentlessly the cameras followed his every move and gesture as he spent more time on the touchline than van Gaal had in his entire spell as United manager and there was no clipboard in sight.

On the pitch there were many important landmarks, Mkhitaryan and Bailly made solid debuts, Wilson made his return from loan and many academy players were given a run-out with the chance to impress their new manager.

But none were more important than the fact that defender Luke Shaw played his first match for the Red Devils since the horror injury he endured ten months ago to the day. Shaw didn't look like a player who had overcome a serious injury as he never shirked from some crunching challenges. All credit to the 21-year-old and let us hope that this will be his season and one that he fully deserves.

On the game front, United won at a canter and Mourinho made full use of his available squad to ease them through what in all fairness was a training exercise designed to increase fitness levels. There will be tougher clashes ahead during the tours of China and Sweden.

Will Keane will hold the distinction of being the first player to score under Jose Mourinho's reign and his goal was followed by a superb strike on the turn from the impressive Andreas Pereira to make the result a comfortable 2-0 victory over a Wigan side who never really tested goalkeepers Sam Johnstone and Joel Pereira.

New signings Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly slotted in nicely and judging by their performances the fans will be licking their lips for the rest of the season.

With Mourinho reportedly keen to keep his squad for the new season down to a minimum it will be interesting to see how many players from this friendly will still be at Old Trafford come the end of the transfer window, especially when you consider all the big name players who featured in the Euro 2016 tournament have yet to return.

Many of the youngsters will simply return to the under 21's or academy, but it is highly likely that some of them will face more loan spells away from the club or even be released. With the anticipated strike force quartet of Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Martial and Rashford to be the preferred choice of the manager then it's doubtful that scorer Keane and James Wilson will want to hang around.

The same can be said about the defence. With the return of Shaw and the acquisition of Bailly, what does the future hold for the likes of Rojo, McNair, Blackett and some of the many young defenders that played at the back during last season?

United seem to have an abundance of players to call upon in the attacking midfield slots. However, it is the defensive midfield area that needs reinforcing as Carrick and Schweinsteiger will not be able to play a whole season due to age and inevitable injuries so with just Schneiderlin to call upon there is a need there.

Mourinho obviously has a plan and we will all have to wait and see what transpires, but for now it's a first win for the new man in charge and there is a positive vibe once again around the club as they embark on their pre-season tour of China and a little matter of the coming together of Jose and Pep.

The good times seem to be back and long may they continue.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United's Boys to Men.

I'm sure almost every Manchester United fan has dreamed about scoring the winning goal in front of the Stretford End to earn the Reds a vital victory. Well, imagine not only doing it once, but twice.

Marcus Rashford must have been pinching himself the morning after his dream debut against Midtjylland as he realised exactly what he had achieved. Not only had he helped his side into a mouthwatering last 16 clash with arch rivals Liverpool, but he had also put his name in the record books as United's youngest scorer in European competition an honour previously held by the one and only George Best.

Not bad for a local lad who thought he would be on the bench hoping to get a run out for the last few minutes. Fate has a strange way of showing its hand.

It has been a season in which United have had to rely on the youngsters at the club to help out the first team due to the heavy loss of players due to injury and boy have they risen to the challenge. Jesse Lingard is the main example, a product of the United system, he has enjoyed an extended run in the side and has not let himself down not only performing well but contributing with five goals.

The main positions that have needed the most cover have been in the full back spots and they have been admirably filled by the likes of Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Donald Love, Guillermo Varela, Joe Riley and a late cameo by Regan Poole against Midtjylland.

In attack, James Wilson obviously didn't grab van Gaal's attention and was allowed to join Brighton on loan and it was a surprise that the manager recalled Will Keane as cover in the attack in place of Wilson. Andreas Pereira has been used fleetingly but has been involved in the full squad set up for a while.

And that's the main point getting the young players involved as much as possible with the first team. They might not play every week, but the fact that they are training and travelling with the more experienced players is a crucial component in any young players development. It's imperative they learn how to be a Manchester United player on and off the field.

In the first leg in Denmark and against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup, there was a bench full of academy and reserves, including the recalled from loan goalkeeper Dean Henderson as cover for Romero. Valuable experience even if they didn't manage to get involved in the matches.

It's been a mixed bag for the academy teams this season with a change in coaches after a poor season, which saw Paul McGuinness depart after years involved in the progress of many players.

With former graduate of the famous class of '92 Nicky Butt now in charge of the academy it guarantees that the young starlets' feet will remain firmly on the ground as he will lead by example and ensure his young charges do not get carried away with the fame that will surely come their way.

The reserves have had a better season sitting pretty at the top of their league and it's that side that has provided the main cover for the first team. With the likes of James Weir receiving rave reviews for his overall contribution this season, it won't be long until a few more young stars of the future will be knocking on the door of the first team.

Many negatives have been said and written about Louis van Gaal's tenure as manager of the club. However, one thing is for sure he has not been afraid to give the youth a chance. It can be argued that as he didn't sign covering players in the transfer window then he has had little or no choice but to turn to the youngsters.

The main thing is once they have been given the go ahead the players have responded well and at no point seem overawed by the step up to the first team. It's so refreshing seeing them clearly enjoying themselves and obviously playing for the club rather than their wallet and long may that enthusiasm last.

It looks like the latest batch of young talent off the production line is bright at Old Trafford and long may the tradition of nurturing talents like Rashford, Lingard & Co. continue to flourish for many more years to come.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United Tame The Shrews.

Shrewsbury Town 0 Manchester United 3

After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of FC Midtjylland in the Europa League here was a chance for van Gaal and his beleaguered side to put some passion and a semblance of pride back into their game.

Playing against the lowest ranked team still left in the FA cup and with a tasty home tie against West Ham awaiting the winner in the quarterfinals should have been incentive enough for the Red Devils to ease through the 5th round.

With so many players injured van Gaal once again turned to a mixture of experience and youth with a starting XI comprised of: Romero, Varela, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, Memphis and Martial.

United got off to a quick start in their changed strip of all white as they won a corner in the first minute. Blind's delivery was met by the head of Smalling, but the captain's header was over the bar.

Memphis tried a couple of long range efforts but each shot only just managed to stay in the small ground, which was bouncing with noise from both sets of fans. A true cup tie atmosphere.

It was after ten minutes that the Shrews keeper Leutwiler was first tested and that was from a low drive from Memphis that he managed to palm to safety. It was all United without the final punch.

Herrera tried his best to kick the ball out of the stadium, but failed as his shot only reached row W. Maybe he and Memphis had a side bet on who could belt the ball into the car park first.

After twenty minutes and the home side were holding out against United who just couldn't find the killer touch to warrant all their possession. Same old story of the season. But even United would find it difficult not to carve out a clear-cut chance in the remaining seventy minutes, surely.

The away side were awarded a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty area which was taken by Memphis, but on the way to goal the ball struck the back of Martial's head and went out for a goal kick. It looked like the ball was on the way to the corner of the net. It totally summed up United's play at the moment.

Martial then almost turned the tie in United's favour with a show of quick feet inside the area and a shot which was saved by the keepers legs then cleared off the line by Grandison. That was by far the closest United had come to taking the lead.

Then up stepped skipper Smalling in the 37th minute to do what his forwards couldn't and scored the goal the team badly needed. It started with a strong headed challenge by Schneiderlin that fell nicely into the path of Smalling who had stayed upfield following a corner.

The defender showed calmness under pressure and struck the ball into the ground and on its way towards goal it took a deflection and looped into the goal. 1-0 ahead and you would expect the Red Devils to put this game to bed as soon as possible. They continued to attack and the pressure paid off right on the stroke of half-time.

It became 2-0 to United as Shrewsbury gave away another free-kick in a dangerous position on the edge of their area and, this time, up stepped Mata to deliver a perfectly placed shot bent over the wall and into the back of the net to put the tie beyond any doubt. There was a claim that three United players were standing in an offside position between the wall and keeper as Mata struck his shot, therefore it could be claimed they were obstructing Leutwiler's view as he was rooted to his line.

Half-time and United were comfortably leading a tie they had controlled from the first whistle even if at times they had made it look more difficult than it should have been.

Shrewsbury had not troubled United at any time but had been fairly overzealous in some of their challenges which the referee would have to keep an eye on in the second half. The image of the half had to be the smile on van Gaal's face when Smalling put his team 1-0 ahead.

United started the second half and van Gaal made one change to his side by giving a first team debut to young full-back Joe Riley who replaced Borthwick-Jackson at left back.

The away side picked up where they had left off in the first half by immediately going on the attack and caused panic in the home defence and won an early corner.

There were two close attempts on goal within minutes as first Memphis showed his determination with a run and shot that flew inches wide then Martial watched his close-range header go agonisingly wide.

Just after the hour mark, United sailed into a three-goal lead through a smart finish by Lingard, who put the ball away on the half-volley at the far post following a delightfully flighted ball by Herrera. The move was started with a huge throw out by Romero which caught the home defence well and truly on the back foot.

Within minutes of the goal wand with clearly an eye on two important games coming up van Gaal decided to withdraw Mata and replaced him with Pereira.

With twenty minutes left on the clock van Gaal made his final change of the match by giving Martial a well-deserved rest and put Keane on up front.

Lingard almost grabbed his second, however, he got the ball tied up to his feet before he could get away a shot.

Once again the away fans were in fantastic voice making the majority of the noise inside the stadium of just over 9,000 spectators.

Will Keane's first taste of action almost saw him score the fourth goal, but his left-footed strike hit the post. Unfortunately for the young forward it was his last taste of action as he had to leave the field with what looked like a groin strain. So, having used up all their substitutes, United had to see out the final fifteen minutes of the match with only ten men.

The home side did, at least, have an attempt on goal as late as the 84th minute, which United's defence managed to clear. Suddenly Shrewsbury had a belief that they could score as Ogogo had a totally free header which he directed across the goal and wide. In all honesty, Romero should have picked the ball out of his net after the striker was left unmarked and in a great goal scoring position.

At the death, Memphis was still trying to get his name on the scoresheet but the keeper managed to block his close-range effort.

Cole came close for the Shrews with a shot that only just went over Romero's bar. You wonder what would have happened if Shrewsbury had played the whole match with as much energy as they had shown in the final ten minutes.

Full-time 3-0 and, in the end, a job well done by United. If not scintillating football is was a vast improvement on recent results and sets up a mouth-watering home tie in the quarterfinals against West Ham United. But let us not forget that this was a victory against a Football League One side and there will be tougher teams ahead. For United it was a step in the right direction.

Next up is the small matter of the return tie against FC Midtjylland and another chance for van Gaal and his team to reignite the season and make amends for the first leg.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United Fail To Deliver.

Sunderland 2 Manchester United 1

In a match that at least on paper United should have won fairly easily ended in a defeat which not only leaves top four qualification in the balance, but also throws fresh doubt on Louis van Gaal's position as manager.

Outplayed, out-thought and outgunned by a Sunderland side fighting for their Premiership survival United offered little in the way of ideas of how to compete with the Black Cats.

Coming into this match United's Premier League away record against the Sunderland was impressive, having played fourteen and won nine of them and having only lost one. So, a victory was definitely on the cards for the Red Devils bearing in mind the style of attacking play they had put on in the last three games and the fact that Sunderland has been struggling for most of the season.

Under new manager Sam Allardyce they have started to put a run of form together and pulled an unlikely draw out of the hat away at Anfield last week after falling behind by two goals.

After sticking with the same side for the last two matches van Gaal decided a slight reshuffle was needed and chose this starting XI: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Mata, Lingard, Rooney and Martial.

The manager made only one change to the starting eleven and that was to rest Fellaini completely as he brought Schneiderlin back to the midfield to partner Carrick.

The surprises were on the bench as there were three youngsters called up to join the first team and they were defender Donald Love, midfielder James Weir and striker Will Keane who netted five goals against Norwich City last week in an under 21 match. In fact, the U21s are now leaders in their league above, ironically, today's opponents Sunderland.

Sunderland got the game underway on a bitterly cold afternoon and before any of the players could get warmed up the hosts took the lead from a Khazri free-kick that went through everyone and caught De Gea off guard as he dived late and was unable to stop the ball creeping in at the far post.

Great start for the home side after only three minutes not so much for the visitors but there was still a long way to go in the match and more than enough time for United to put things right.

It was almost 2-0 for Sunderland after ten minutes when the ball was bubbling around De Gea's six-yard area only for Defoe to thankfully miss kick his shot under pressure from Smalling.

United had played in some decent balls into the opposition area without being able to cause any worry to former red O'Shea and his defence. They were also guilty of giving away needless free kicks while attacking in the final third. So far, this was not the same United side that had performed well in the last three outings.

In the opening half an hour Sunderland was on top of the match and had created the better chances, including a fair shout for a penalty against Schneiderlin. It seemed that the wind had been knocked out of United's sails by that early goal.

Mata had the first clear chance on goal for United with a snapshot from the edge of the area which was fired directly into the keeper's hands.

Ten minutes before the break Darmian was involved in a collision with goalscorer Khazri which clearly caused the Italian defender immense pain in his right shoulder that forced him off.

Then all the away fans raised the roof as Anthony Martial scored a sublime equaliser five minutes before half time. It all came from a passing move that ended with Mata firing a rasping drive that the keeper Mannone could only parry into the path of Martial who dinked the ball over the keeper into the net. A lovely finish which brought United right back into the game.

Before the restart, Donald Love replaced Darmian at right back to make his first team debut for United. With his surname and tomorrow being Valentines day it could have been a writer's dream for the headlines.

Half-time and it ended 1-1 thanks in no small part to Martial's awareness in front of goal. His quickness of feet is a joy to watch and the way he executed the little chip over the keeper shows how much confidence he has in his own ability.

The equaliser was the only bright spark on an otherwise dull display from United and with Darmian leaving the play with a shoulder problem, it could prove very expensive indeed with games coming thick and fast. The players were well below par and would drastically have to lift their game in the second half.

United started the second half with two youngsters Borthwick-Jackson and Love in the full back positions and no further changes.

Rooney had been fairly quiet in the first half and started the second by having his name taken for a careless trip on Cattermole.

It was Sunderland who started on the front foot and Defoe almost caused Blind to score an own goal which gratefully didn't happen as the ball squirmed past De Gea's post with the keeper beaten.

Mata became the next United player to be cautioned after he had bamboozled himself lost the ball and tripped up the defender. To be honest, it was a harsh booking as the ref should have laughed it off along with everyone else. Then Carrick gave Marriner no option but to book him after he fouled M'Vila right under the ref's nose.

Not a good start from United who were all at sixes and sevens and needed a straight head to guide them through this rocky period of play.

There was a very dangerous moment for United when N'Doye was put clean through the away defence and he struck his shot well when in a one on one position with De Gea but not for the first time this season the Spaniard stuck out his size 9's and saved a certain goal.

On the hour mark van Gaal made a change in attack when he replaced Lingard with Memphis who was celebrating his 22nd birthday.

United's passing had been terrible all day with Mata being the main culprit when in a forward position and Carrick comes a close second.

The Red Devils had De Gea to thank again as he pulled a save from his vast repertoire by tipping over a drive from close range by Kone. There are not enough adjectives to describe United's keeper at the moment he really is on top of his game.

As the final ten minutes approached the visitors enjoyed a spell of pressure, which resulted in a string of corners that had no end result as the Sunderland defence cleared them all too easily.

Disjointed could be used to describe United's play in this match as they looked at times like they had never played together before.

Van Gaal stated that Memphis had had his confidence boosted by his appearance for the U21s in midweek but that confidence was nowhere to be seen as he shot weakly towards the goal when he should have blasted it into the back of the net.

After being denied by De Gea earlier, Kone broke United's hearts by putting the Black Cats back into the lead with a header that somehow went under the keeper's body on the line. The winner was unfortunately put down as a De Gea own goal which was a shame as he had pulled off some fine stops prior to the goal.

Five minutes on the clock and with his side trailing van Gaal tried his last throw of the dice by replacing Schneiderlin with Keane in an attempt to save the game.

Memphis tried his luck with a curler that the keeper managed to punch away as United tried to save face. This was followed by O'Shea, who clearly hand balled a Memphis shot, but the referee only awarded a corner much to the disgust of Rooney and his teammates. There were a few shouts for penalties throughout the game and maybe Marriner felt he couldn't award one when he didn't give the others.

Full time and it ended in a 2-1 defeat that has left a very bad taste in the mouth. A result that has to go down as one of the worst of a season of many not so much for the fact that United lost against a team that has been struggling near the bottom all season but more for the fact that they performed so poorly.

United failed miserably to take an advantage in the race for a top four position with all the top four teams playing each other over the weekend. A victory would have seen United close the gap over City to just three points. However, once again van Gaal's side just didn't turn up for a fight.

There are only twelve Premier League matches remaining that will define United's season and they will surely have a strong bearing on whether Louis van Gaal will still be at the helm come next season. Failure to finish the campaign in one of the coveted top four positions will only add fire to the rumours surrounding the impending arrival of the self-proclaimed special one Jose Mourinho.

There is a backdoor chance of qualification for the Champions League via the Europa League, which starts this week with a first-leg tie away in Denmark against Midtjylland.

The quandary for van Gaal and his team is how seriously they take the tournament as on the one hand, it's the only European competition United have yet to win and along with the FA Cup it is their only realistic chance of silverware. On the other hand, a sustained run could hamper their league form through fitness and more injuries.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.