United Rue Missed Chances

Manchester United 1 Stoke City 1

Manchester United failed to capitalise on their opportunities and even a splendid opener by Martial wasn't enough to earn all three points against Stoke.

United headed into this league match in a buoyant mood after three wins in a row that even though had been achieved without setting the pulses racing at least pointed Mourinho and his side in the right direction.

The night before the match came the sad news that former United and Stoke forward David Herd had passed away, so it was a fitting fixture to honour his memory and both sides wore black armbands out of respect.

Mourinho chose the same starting XI that blew away Leicester City in the first half last time out in the Premier League: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Bailly, Blind, Pogba, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, Rashford and Ibrahimovic.

Once again Rooney would have to be resigned to a place on the bench alongside a recovered Martial as the manager perservered with Rashford. Mourinho clearly wanted to continue to explore the midfield partnership of Pogba and Herrera as it had worked so well against the champions.

United kicked off and immediately attacked the Stretford End with Pogba feeding a clever little ball through to Ibrahimovic, who looked odds on to score as he tried to lift the ball over the keeper but Grant stood firm and blocked the Swede's effort. Not a bad start for a keeper making his first Old Trafford start.

The early pace of United up front with the likes of Rashford and Lingard seemed to cause the Stoke defence worries and if not for some poor passes they could have easily got behind the defenders.

Antonio Valencia received an early yellow card for a rash challenge on Pieters on the right touchline.

Stoke had their own chances to upset the applecart, including a golden opportunity that was wasted by Cameron, who only had to find a corner but instead fired straight at De Gea.

At the other end, it was Pogba's turn to hide his face in his hands after he inexplicably fired his shot wide after some brilliant one touch football in the build up.

In the opening twenty minutes the crowd had seen three great chances squandered, but at least it was entertaining.

Teenage sensation Rashford stormed into the area and was unlucky not to pick out a teammate with a low cross from the byline.

United's diminutive Spaniard Mata tried an audacious chip from the edge of the area that the keeper just managed to tip over the bar. From the resulting corner, Pogba rose unmarked but guided his header wide.

It was a promising start from the home side who were comfortably in control and kept probing away at a deep lying Stoke defence.

Brilliant attacking play down the left-hand side by Ibrahimovic almost ended up with Lingard opening the scoring as he met the cross well enough to score. However, the keeper managed to intervene and it went out for a corner. Fantastic approach play by Ibrahimovic and it deserved a goal.

Next up it was Lingard's turn to become the provider as he delivered a delightful cross from the right which found Ibrahimovic at the far post and his first-time volley was blocked by Shawcross.

The chances were now coming thick and fast and surely it would be only a matter of time until United found the all important breakthrough.

That breakthrough would have come if Pogba hadn't have slipped before lining up a shot after another flowing move involving Ibrahimovic and Rashford.

There was a moment when Smalling was embarrassed with a nutmeg by the skillful Shaqiri down by the corner flag but Bailly bailed out his defensive partner with a clearance from the resulting cross.

Half time and all square at 0-0. United had moved the ball around well and showed good movement off the ball and would have been ahead if it hadn't been for some good saves by journeyman keeper Lee Grant.

The visitors got the second half underway with United unchanged from the first period.

Stoke won an early free kick delivered by Shaqiri that was met by the head of Indi and tipped over acrobatically by De Gea. The effort wouldn't have counted as the offside flag had been raised earlier.

United immediately went down the other end and won a corner that Mata took and as it was cleared Herrera tried to replicate his goal against Northampton Town but this time the shot lacked both power and direction.

The match had restarted in a scrappy manner and Herrera was lucky not to receive a red card after a high challenge on Allen in the centre circle. It was Allen who then almost opened the scoring as he tried to bend the ball into the corner but De Gea was equal to it.

Ibrahimovic also got his name into the referee's book for an alleged elbow on Shawcross.

On the hour mark, the match had become pedestrian which suited Stoke more and needed an injection of urgency from the Red Devils if they were to earn the win.

United were guilty of conceding a succession of free kicks thirty yards from goal which gave the visitors numerous chances to deliver threatening balls into the box.

As Mourinho organised his substitutions Herrera let fly with a shot that kept low and whisked just wide.

The changes Mourinho made were Rooney and Martial on for Mata and Lingard with just over twenty minutes of the match left.

Ibrahimovic picked the ball up deep and when there was nothing on in front of him tried a shot himself and it almost paid off as the ball was only a whisker away from going in.

The breakthrough finally came in the 69th minute from a brilliant strike by Martial who had started the move down the left, then played the ball to Rooney on the edge of the area who was dispossessed by a defender, but luckily for United the ball fell nicely back into the path of Martial who curled a delightful ball into the far corner of the net that the keeper had no chance of saving.

The goal was reminiscent of the one he scored against the same opposition last season.

It was that man Martial who was making all the difference since his arrival on the pitch as once again he created the next chance. He never gave up the chase for the ball inside the area as first he then Ibrahimovic and finally Blind were left frustrated by the defence as the ball ricocheted around the area.

It was all out attack from the Reds as Ibrahimovic had one chance blocked, then another saved by Grant in goal.

Stoke had all hands on the pump to thwart United's hope of a second goal and their patience paid off when they managed to snatch an equaliser in the 82nd minute with a goal from nowhere.

De Gea showed he is in fact human when he only managed to parry a low shot away from his goal line that was flicked back into the six-yard box over him and two of his defenders and there was Allen on hand to tuck the ball into an open net.

It was noticeable in the build-up to the goal that De Gea had a chance to collect a deep cross but elected to leave it for his defenders who then proceed to give it away and that move led to the goal.

Mourinho made his last change of the day by introducing Memphis for Herrera.

Rashford now playing on the right crossed a ball that was met with a firm header by Pogba which crashed against the bar.

With four minutes of injury time added Rooney took over the corner and free kick duties and to be honest his deliveries were poor, to say the least.

Full time and United were the victims of their own undoing as they allowed Stoke to commit a smash and grab raid to share the spoils.

This match was a difficult one to assess as United had done enough to win it in the first hour, but once they took the lead allowed Stoke to claw their way back to earn a vital point. On any other day, both Ibrahimovic and Pogba could easily have scored a double each but it wasn't to be.

The visiting keeper, as is so often the case at Old Trafford, had a game to remember and deserved the Man of the Match award.

Once again we now head into another international break and then the fun really starts with United up against Liverpool, City and Chelsea before the end of the month. Those are the matches that United can't afford to make the same mistakes in as they did against Stoke.

Until then thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United Crisis Is Cobblers

Northampton Town 1 Manchester United 3

Manchester United returned to winning ways against Northampton to book themselves a derby date at Old Trafford.

It took them an hour to do it, but they did eventually overcome the plucky League One outfit thanks to goals from Carrick, Herrera and Rashford.

It hadn't been the best of weeks for Mourinho and his men as three successive defeats had cast a shadow over the club and raised questions about some of the player's commitment to the cause.

Disaster is too strong a word to be used at this early stage of the season. However, a defeat in the EFL away at Northampton would have had alarm bells ringing.

A lot of the blame for the defeats has been firmly planted at the player's feet and quite rightly too as many of them have not performed to the level expected at the club. So it was interesting to see how Mourinho would approach this match against the League One side.

Only two players Smalling and Rooney kept their places in the starting XI: Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Carrick, Memphis, Herrera, Young and Rooney.

The United captain had been chosen as the main striker and Mourinho expected only one thing from him and that was goals and if he didn't deliver there was a strong bench including Ibrahimovic and Rashford.

United kicked off inside a packed Sixfields stadium under some pressure, but with the great away support behind them.

Rooney had the first clear chance of the game with a weak shot inside the area. United won the first corner of the match after a couple of minutes from a deflected shot by Herrera.

It was Rooney again, who was guilty of missing an open goal after a cross was played into the danger area from the right. The skipper inexplicably side-footed his effort wide when it seemed easier to tuck the ball away.

After five minutes United had enjoyed 75 percent of the possession with the majority of the attacks coming from build up play by Young on the right wing, but it was a cross this time from the left by Rojo that was whisked across the six-yard box that only needed the slightest of touches from someone.

The away side were awarded a free kick inside the area after the home side were guilty of a back pass just before the twenty-minute mark. Depay rolled it into the path of Rooney, whose shot was blocked by the wall only for it to find Carrick loitering on the edge of the area.

He calmly hit the ball first time and managed to send it flying into the top corner of the net. That was Carrick's first goal since March 2015 and a welcome one it was too.

In the ten minutes following the goal United stroked the ball around in a confident fashion and totally dominated the play with Northampton struggling to get a sniff of the ball.

Rooney had a headed goal ruled for offside on the half hour after Fosu-Mensah had seen his effort rebound off the bar.

United didn't have it all their own way however, as the home side almost pulled level with a cracking drive from former red academy player Gorre that stand in keeper Romero had to push over the bar.

In fact, it was Northampton who pulled their socks up and began to find another gear as they piled on the pressure and it paid off five minutes before the break when they won a penalty after Blind clumsily brought down Hoskins after a combination of Rojo, Fosu-Mensah and Schneiderlin failed to clear the ball from their own area.

Revell stepped up and sent Romero the wrong way to level the scores and gave Mourinho plenty to think about during the break.

Half time and all square after United were guilty of allowing the League One side back into the game after some terrible defending. At 1-0 everything looked fairly routine for the Reds, but not for the first time this season they shot themselves in the foot which made for an interesting cup tie.

Northampton got the second half underway with Mourinho deciding against making any changes at the restart.

The home side were put on the back foot by the Red Devils as Young tried his best to create openings down the right flank.

It only took Mourinho ten minutes to change things around with Rashford replacing defender Fosu-Mensah and Ibrahimovic coming on for the hapless Memphis, which meant Young switched to the wing back position to make way for the forwards.

Herrera was unlucky with a firm strike that smacked against the post. That was the closest United had come after the substitutions as they made life difficult for themselves by giving the opposition hope which in turn lifted the home crowd.


As the match entered the final twenty minutes player of the night Herrera finally found the back of the net after he hit a brilliant right-footed drive that gave the keeper no chance and handed the visitors the lead.

Fellaini entered the fray for the last fifteen minutes in place of Schneiderlin to offer a different variety to the play.

They say that you should never give up a lost cause and that was certainly the case as United increased their lead to end the tie as a contest.

It was Herrera, who from the half way line hooked a hopeful ball high into the air and as it fell from the skies it looked, for all intents and purposes a routine clearance for keeper Smith, but as he raced out to the edge of his area there was Rashford bearing down on him at speed.

The sight of the young forward rushing towards him caused the keeper to panic and he completely mistimed his attempted clearance and Rashford reaped the rewards and blasted the ball gleefully into the empty net.

It was a pure opportunist goal by the impressive striker and one that ensured United would progress into the next round. It was also a landmark goal for the youngster as he has now scored on yet another debut.

United saw out the game and in the end dispelled any talks of a crisis to book a place in the next round which threw up a mouth-watering home draw against Manchester City and an early opportunity for Mourinho to gain revenge over Guardiola.

Even with the win, Mourinho will know that some of his players underperformed once again with Rojo the weakest link in defence and up front Memphis failed to impress and one has to wonder how long the manager will put up with the winger.

Rooney also did little to quieten his critics after a lacklustre display on a night when goals were expected from him.

Not for the first time in his fledgling career, Rashford had a huge impact on the result with an assist and a goal of his own as his eagerness showed the older heads how pure enthusiasm can change a game in an instant.

The hope for the future is that he never loses that desire to play the game as it should be played when others around him have forgotten as they have aged.

One player who did roll back the years with an assured performance in midfield was Michael Carrick. His contribution proved that he still has what it takes as long as he gets enough rest and before people get carried away it was against lower opposition, so the question will be whether or not he can sustain that level on a regular basis in the Premier League.

The Man of the Match award has to be handed to Ander Herrera, who never gave up at a time when others around him wavered. His strike to put his side in the lead was sublime and the Spaniard does seem to enjoy an away cup tie as it's not the first time in his United career that he has kept the club in a cup competition.

Next up is the visit to Old Trafford of the current champions Leicester City who United defeated in the Community Shield last month. However, we can expect a different type of game at the Theatre of Dreams.

Until then thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

United Left Frustrated By Feyenoord

Feyenoord 1 Manchester United 0

After making wholesale changes to his starting line-up it wasn't exactly the start Jose Mourinho wanted in his first European tie as United manager as his side fell to their second defeat in a week.

Hopes were high as Manchester United returned to the scene of Sir Alex Ferguson's first European triumph as United's manager. It was at the De Kuip stadium that the Red Devils enjoyed a glorious victory by defeating Barcelona 2-1 to lift the old European Cup Winners Cup back in 1991.

Their attention was now fully focused on the Europa League and a tricky opening group match against Dutch side Feyenoord, which would be the shortest trip for Mourinho's men in a group that will see them face longer journeys to Turkey and The Ukraine.

United departed Manchester with a squad that didn't include rested captain Rooney and injured Shaw but still had a side capable of seeing off the threat of the Dutch team.

Mourinho's starting XI for his first European match as manager of the side: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Bailly, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Pogba, Mata, Herrera, Martial and Rashford.

Only three players started the game from the eleven that played in the derby so there was a chance for Smalling to partner Bailly in place of Blind and defensive duo Rojo and Darmian replaced Valencia and Shaw.

In midfield, Pogba remained but he had a new partner in Schneiderlin with Herrera and Mata in support.

Up front, the impressive Rashford was handed his first start of the season alongside Martial.

The opening ten minutes was a cagey affair with both sides weighing each other up until the home side tested De Gea with a curling shot from the edge of the area by Berghuis. The United number one was alert to the early threat.

The rock in the United defence Eric Bailly took a knock to the thigh as he cleared his lines and stayed down for a worrying few minutes. He was thankfully able to continue after running it off.

A surging run from Herrera was halted by a foul which Pogba took but his effort on goal was easily saved by keeper Brad Jones.

United's first real chance fell to Martial in the 24th minute following good work from Darmian on the right side of the penalty area. His cross was low and hard and as it fell to Martial you felt it was goal-bound until it flew inches past the post.

The bright spark in the United side was the recalled Ander Herrera, who was covering every blade of grass on the pitch as he helped both the attack and defence.

Feyenoord had a slightly aggressive style to their play, which was shown in the number of free kicks they conceded as they tried to bully United out of their rhythm.

Record signing Pogba failed to stamp his authority on the game as he was dispossessed far too easily on a few occasions.

As the home side saw more of the ball the home supporters raised the atmosphere as they sensed their team were in the ascendancy this, in turn, prompted Mourinho to urge his players to calm down as he watched from the touchline.

As the half entered its final ten minutes it has to be said that United's play had been passive with no real threat in attack.

Mata almost got onto the end of a headed flick-on but that was as close it got as the half ended in a boring goalless draw.

Half time and not a lot to talk about as both sides struggled to get out of third gear. Neither keeper had been troubled and Mourinho will have to gee his players up if they are going to take control of the match and impose themselves further up the field.

Rashford cut a lone figure up front as he lacked any decent service and when he did gain possession he gave it away far too easily. The more he plays the quicker he will improve his all round game as his potential is immense.

At the start of the second half, Pogba slotted in higher up the pitch clearly looking to become more involved in the play than he was in the first forty-five minutes.

In fact, it was Pogba who tried a speculative effort from long range five minutes after the restart, but his shot was high over the bar. An effort more in frustration than anything else as there was nothing else happening in front of him.

By the 55th minute the pace of the game hadn't picked up and it badly needed an infusion of energy from somewhere as Ibrahimovic started to warm up down on the touchline.

Pogba once again tried his luck from distance but his shot was wide of the mark.

After the hour mark, Mourinho had seen enough and made a triple substitution by bringing on Ibrahimovic, Memphis and Young in place of Rashford, Martial and Mata.

A message of intent had been made by the manager as he sensed the game was there to be won. Immediately following the changes the three substitutes almost created a goal as Young did well on the right and delivered a cross to the far post that was met by the head of Ibrahimovic and Memphis almost connected with the ball.

As the match entered its final fifteen minutes it was a match even in chances, but with United edging the amount of possession without managing to create any clear-cut openings.

Ibrahimovic did manage to rise the highest to another Young delivery from a free kick, but the big Swede directed his header too high.

Under fire Memphis showed the lack of confidence in his game at the moment as he fired a volley high into the jeering crowd. That summed up United's night.

Then Feyenoord took the lead on the counter with a goal that should have been ruled out for offside during the build up. Jorgensen was allowed to play on and crossed from the right and found an unmarked Vilhena in the box to fire easily past De Gea.

It was shocking defensive play by United who seemed to stop for the offside flag that never came and ended up conceding a sloppy goal.

To their credit United did go on the attack immediately after conceding and it was Smalling who almost benefitted from a neat flick from Ibrahimovic but his shot was blocked by a crowd of defenders.

Memphis failed to impress again as his free kick, which should have been aimed at a host of teammates in the box, was high wide and handsome.

As the clock hit 90 minutes Ibrahimovic took over the free kick duties and fired a thirty yard effort hard and goal bound that the keeper did well to get his body behind.

It was then the turn of Herrera, who was just about to pull the trigger until a late tackle on him denied him the chance of grabbing an equaliser. That was the last piece of action on a night that will not linger in the memory as there was absolutely nothing memorable in United's play whatsoever.

An opening defeat in the group stage isn't a disaster. However, there are tougher matches ahead and if United do in fact want to add this trophy to their museum showcase then Mourinho will have to put a bomb under his players.

Too many players that were given a chance to shine by Mourinho were off their game, including the recalled defending trio of Smalling, Darmian and Rojo. Maybe it was down to rustiness as they have all lacked valuable game time.

Mata and Herrera huffed and puffed without creating anything of substance. Pogba has yet to hit his stride and he played with a new midfield partner in Schneiderlin who did his job well enough after a spell on the sidelines.

Up front Martial has yet to hit the heights of last season and you would expect a player of his quality to hit top form soon. Rashford failed to live up to the hype surrounding his recent exploits, but he is young and will hopefully learn from the bad games as well as the good ones.

Ibramovich and Young did manage to lift the tempo of the game slightly when they were brought on. On the other hand, there is the matter of Memphis who once again failed to give his manager any reason to call on him anytime in the near future. He may drive a Rolls Royce but he is playing like a clapped out banger.

Two defeats on the bounce now and Mourinho will have to pick a side capable of beating Watford in the Premier League to avoid a hat-trick of defeats.

Until then thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Manchester United Season Review 2015/16

He came, he saw, he failed to conquer. Louis' reign as the Manchester United manager came to an end 48 hours after lifting the FA Cup.

He was fired by the United board for not achieving the aims of the club mainly the failure to qualify for Champions League football next season.

Van Gaal has departed without anybody being any the wiser on what exactly the Dutchman's philosophy was. All he has left is a legacy of tactical ineptitude that bemused the fans and left them frustrated.

Louis van Gaal came to United in 2014 saying all the right things, but ended his second season, saying all the wrong things. Of course, the fans' expectations are high we are talking about Manchester United after all but to say that we put too much expectation on the team is ridiculous, to say the least.

The Dutch coach arrived at the club with an impressive CV after many successful years in club football and at the helm of the Dutch national squad. However, in two full seasons his philosophy got us absolutely nowhere, in fact, in the league they even went one step backwards.

Last summer Old Trafford was all abuzz with the marquee signings van Gaal had made, including the German international Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton, little-known Italian defender Matteo Darmian, exciting young prospect on the wing Memphis Depay, Argentine keeper Romero and the most expensive teenager at the time Anthony Martial.

Out of those summer buys only Martial proved his full worth as was evident on his scoring debut against bitter rivals Liverpool. That scoring form continued throughout his debut season ending up United's leading scorer with 17. A total that sounds low until you consider that he spent the season out on the left wing.

Schneiderlin also performed admirably as did Darmian, but the others not so much. Schweinsteiger spent the last two months out injured and Memphis endured a torrid season blighted by a dramatic drop in confidence which meant he spent most of his first season on the bench. Romero played the first six games until De Gea's new contract was signed then he managed only four more appearances.

Van Gaal, like a lot of the players, talked up a good game especially in his famous press conferences. But when it came to the important part they failed to deliver time and time again on the pitch. Ten defeats in a league season is simply unacceptable.

The biggest problem had to be the distinct lack of goals that cost us a top four place as we ended the season on equal points with Man City who enjoyed a far greater goal difference.

In total United scored only 49 goals in the Premier League, which is the lowest achieved by a United team since the 1989-90 season, 46. The top scorer in the league was Anthony Martial with 11. Therein lies the problem. For all the possession they enjoyed the main problem was the inability to put the ball in the back of the net especially when you consider Wayne Rooney scored the only hat-trick of the season in August against FC Club Brugge in the Champions League qualifier.

In the past, all the players contributed to the goals for column, but this season, the highest scoring midfielder was Mata with 6 and the defenders only managed two goals between them. On the subject of the defence it was one of the meanest in the league conceding 35.

At Old Trafford, the visitors only managed to score 9 times. This was down mainly to the partnership of Smalling and Blind and of course the brilliant De Gea who rescued his team on countless occasions.

Playing players in different positions, also had the fans scratching their heads in disbelief and at times amusement. Young, a winger, as the main striker while Martial, a centre forward, was on the wing. Rooney was utilised more in the midfield where he had some decent games. But Paul Scholes he is not and his scoring ability was wasted there.

Some players were used sparingly during the season and others too much. Herrera often had to take a back seat to Felliani and Carrick looked off the pace at times.

Goalkeeper David De Gea picked up his third player of the year award in a row and this shows how inadequately the outfield players grasped the manager's tactics and were left to play without any urgency or in a cut throat attacking style.

It wasn't all doom and gloom. United did play well against the so called big teams, including a double over bitter rivals Liverpool, a tremendous performance against Arsenal at home, beating City at the Etihad and the 3-0 win at Goodison which was probably the best away performance of the season. And they ended the campaign with their 12th FA Cup win and their first silverware for three seasons.

However, it was the inability to put the lower sides to the sword, especially in defeat to the likes of Swansea, Bournemouth, Sunderland and relegated Norwich after dominating in those games that hurt the most. Newcastle, also relegated, held United to two draws. Lost points that had an adverse effect on the final league position.

The fact that Leicester City have been crowned Premier League champions shows that there has been a shift in power from the standard big four. It will be interesting to see how the Foxes fare next season along with West Ham, Spurs and Southampton who all brought a breath of fresh air to the league.

If there is any consolation in finishing fifth in the league it is that Chelsea and Liverpool will miss out completely on Europe after both had replaced their managers and still failed to deliver.

As regards United's endeavours, or lack of, in Europe that didn't go so well either. They finished third in what looked a fairly easy group and ended up in the Europa League where they were eventually knocked out by Liverpool after basically a no show at Anfield in the last 16 first leg.

The terrible double leg fracture suffered by Luke Shaw early in the campaign was a major blow to the United defence, but it did signal the rise of the youngsters to be given a chance by van Gaal in the first team.

There is one thing that van Gaal can take from his two-year tenure and that is, he brought the youngsters through from the lower ranks and gave them their chances in the first team. However, it has to be said that was due mainly to necessity rather than choice. He had released Adnan Januzaj and James Wilson on loan before the new year and didn't make any cover signings during the January transfer window, so in effect he had no choice but to turn to the reserves and Under-18's academy players.

The first of those introduced to join by now regular and cup final hero Jesse Lingard was Cameron Borthwick-Jackson at full back then the likes of Love, Varela, Poole, Weir and the great young talent Fosu-Mensah also had opportunities presented to them due to many injuries in the defence. Marcos Rojo missed a huge chunk of the season after shoulder surgery and the same went for Antonio Valencia.

It has to be said that the youngster that had the biggest impact on the side had to be 18-year-old local lad Marcus Rashford. Talk about a Roy of the Rovers introduction to life as a Man United hero.

Two debut doubles in two matches against Midtjylland in the Europa League and Arsenal in the Premier League had the fans and media foaming at the mouth at this talented goal scorer who clearly wasn't daunted by the prospect of playing regularly for the first team.

The United reserves retained their League Champions crown which speaks volumes for the work that the coach Warren Joyce did to bring such a talented group of players together and become a feeder for the first team.

So, another chapter in Manchester United's illustrious history has come to an end and now it's time to turn the next page. One that will hopefully see our great club return to where it belongs and knock Leicester off their perch. Over to you Jose!

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Rooney Runs The Show.

Manchester United 3 Bournemouth 1

The final day of the season is not usually known for its drama off the pitch, but on it. That was exactly the case at Old Trafford on Sunday following the bomb scare that caused the stadium to be cleared and the match to be rescheduled.

After the suspect package had been discovered the security staff have to be praised for the calm way they conducted the evacuation of 75,000 people in such an orderly fashion.

However, questions have to be raised at the club in regards to the way a suspect package had been left unnoticed for four days. And the security company that left it there have to be dragged over the coals for their ineptitude.

The last league game of the season eventually saw United welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford after the understandable postponement of the match on Sunday.

This rescheduled match meant two things. Firstly,  United knew that barring a victory of 19 plus goals, there would be no Champions League football next season. Secondly, it would interrupt preparations for the upcoming FA Cup final against Crystal Palace this weekend.

How would these factors effect van Gaal's team selection from the one he chose for the original game? The answer was it didn't as he picked the exact same eleven: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick, Rooney, Lingard, Mata, Martial and Rashford. In came the recalled trio of Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick and Lingard at the expense of Rojo, injured in training, Schneiderlin, ill and Herrera who started on the bench.

In all honesty, there was very little to say about the first half as it had been pretty much unremarkable until Rooney gave the fans something to cheer as he netted his 100th Premier League goal at Old Trafford in the 43rd minute.

The captain had the easiest of finishes as he buried the ball into the back of the net after Martial and Mata had played a neat one-two with each other and the former produced a cross that Rashford stepped over which left Rooney able to pounce. One down, only 18 to go.

Before the opener the closest the sides came to raising the pulse of the fans was when Carrick almost got a touch to a Rooney delivery from a free kick and at the other end, Pugh had an effort blocked by Valencia. The match had that feeling of a pre-season friendly written all over it.

At least at the start of the second half, both sides had decided to make a go of it with Rooney eyeing up a shot that was blocked and Mata who went to ground in the penalty area after being caught from behind but referee Jon Moss waved play on.

The visitors had their moments when Pugh and Wilson tried their luck from the edge of the area but would need to do better to beat De Gea.

Carrick was the next player to jolt the fans into life as he blasted a swerving, long-distance drive against the crossbar.

At the centre of United's attacking forays were Martial's quick feet on the left and the precise passing of Rooney from his midfield position.

Somehow the score remained 1-0 after a spot of football pinball inside the Cherries box after great play by Rashford. The ball just wouldn't go in after every shot was blocked by the defenders.

United had found the desire to kill the game off and Valencia came close with a cracker of a shot that Bournemouth keeper Federici brilliantly saved with his fingertips.

What a difference the two halves were proving to be.

The home side had another penalty shout when Lingard was brought down. However, the referee wasn't interested in the appeals of United.

The visitors did manage to put the ball in the net, but to their disappointment, Wilson was correctly ruled offside. It was a reminder to United that one goal might not be enough.

Right on cue Rashford made it 2-0 in the 75th minute. The move started with a delightful ball played deep into the box by Rooney which was headed back into the danger area by Valencia and there was Rashford to fire a low shot into the net and celebrate his call-up to England's provisional squad for the European Championships.

Van Gaal made three substitutions in the last ten minutes with Herrera, Memphis and Young replacing Mata, Rashford and Martial. And it was the forgotten man Young, who produced the icing get on the cake in the 87th minute with United's third goal of the game after great work from the man of the match, Rooney. He beat the defence with a well-timed chip to provide Young with the easiest of chances to score to which he duly obliged.

The match had time for one more twist when in added time Smalling managed to put the ball into his own goal which denied De Gea a share of the league's golden glove, much to the Spaniards dismay judging by his reaction.

After an anti-climatic first half at least the players brought the game to life in the second half. Rooney pulled the strings from his midfield role and provided a master class of passing combined with his never say die attitude when chasing back.

The main objective apart from the win was to not sustain any injuries before the cup final. In that respect mission accomplished.

United had chances so many times this season to make sure they booked their seat at the caviar and champagne table of the European elite and only have themselves to blame for ending up picking up the scraps in the Europa League.

Have we witnessed the van Gaal farewell at the Theatre of Dreams? Which in all reality has turned out to be nothing less than a nightmare for the coach who arrived with such high expectations following an impressive career across Europe. However, once again the season has fallen short for the club under his so-called philosophy.

Surely the time has come to put everyone, including van Gaal, out of their misery. No matter what happens in the FA Cup final the board have to find the right person who can take United in a new direction or witness the further demise of our great club.

Thanks for reading. Next stop Wembley.

Miles Dunton.