United Held By Newcastle.

Newcastle United 3 Manchester United 3

United boring? Not on this evidence.

Manchester United let a two-goal lead slip through their fingers in a night of drama and controversy at St. James' Park.

Having done what they had failed to do on numerous occasions by scoring not one, but two goals in the first half of a game United then proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot by allowing Newcastle to fight their way back into the match after Rooney had looked odds on to have sealed all the three points with a wonder strike.

Paul Scholes noted after the weekend victory that United were boring to the core and was happy he wasn't playing in the current side. The fact is that United aren't exactly filling their fans with confidence even though they have won the last two games, just. Boring is not a word that can be used for this match which produced goals, debatable penalties and even an animated Louis van Gaal.

There was no rest for the wicked and that was the case for Man United, who on the back of their late, late win over Sheffield United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup were off to the North East to tackle Newcastle United in the Premier League looking for their third win in a row.

Managed by former United coach Steve McClaren the Magpies have had a torrid time this season and are rooted in the bottom three of the league and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the first time of asking by Watford.

Earlier in the season, The Magpies frustrated the hell out of the Red Devils at Old Trafford holding out for a 0-0 draw. Since then it seems that Man United has gone on to frustrate everybody with their style of play including former players.

The biggest problem remains a lack of goals which stems from the lack of chances being created in the final third of the pitch. Former United player Ray 'the crab' Wilkins would have loved to play in the current midfield as sideways is the latest United tactic.

To address the goal scoring problem van Gaal made three changes from the side that scraped through in the FA Cup out went Mata, Schweinsteiger and Borthwick-Jackson in came Young, Schneiderlin and Lingard. The starting XI: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Young, Schneiderlin, Fellaini, Herrera, Lingard, Rooney and Martial.

A minute's applause for the recently deceased former Magpies goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek preceeded the kickoff and this seemed to have a positive effect on the home side and their fans as they had the majority of the ball in the opening minutes.

Fellaini, playing alongside Schneiderlin in the midfield, started the game by conceding a few free kicks, then his ungainly style resulted in a rare first-half goal for the Reds as referee Mike Dean controversially turned the game on its head by awarding the visitors a penalty in the 9th minute after Fellaini had made a nuisance of himself in the opposition penalty area and Mbemba was adjudged to have handballed the Belgian's header.

It was captain Rooney, who coolly and calmly stepped up to slot home his third goal of the new year and his 240th goal for United to make sure his team started on the front foot.

A soft penalty to say the least, but United will take anything that goes their way at the moment.

The goal had the desired effect on United as they used the width of the pitch to stretch a suspect home defence with Martial looking the liveliest on the right-hand side of the attack.

Fellaini was booked after a foul in the Magpies' area after it looked more likely another penalty would be awarded for a handball by the defence.

Rooney went close to scoring his second after he was played through by Lingard but his effort went agonisingly wide. That was immediately followed by a great chance for the home side as once again De Gea, making his 200th appearance, saved his side this time with his legs from what would have been a certain goal by Wijnaldum.

Just before the half-hour mark, Herrera became the second United player to be cautioned for a clumsy tackle. This was followed by a penalty shout for the home side as Lingard clattered clumsily into Janmaat. Thankfully the referee waved play on. Then in the 38th minute, the United youngster made a name for himself at the right end when he finished a smart United move to make it 2-0.

The interchange saw Herrera feed Rooney, who after a clever switch played the ball brilliantly into the path of Lingard, who in turn finished off the move in some style by placing the ball through the keepers' legs then celebrated with a bit of 'Dabbing'.

Of course, it wouldn't be a United game without a slip up at the back and it came three minutes before half-time when Wijnaldum pounced on a poor Fellaini headed clearance to put the home side back into contention.

Newcastle's Coloccini tried his luck from distance and thankfully his blast went over De Gea's bar, then the ever lively Martial had a great opportunity to extend the lead on the stroke of half-time but after doing all the hard work he pulled his shot wide of the mark.

Half-time and after so many first halves without a goal United had two and it really should have been more as the home defence struggled with the visitors pace in attack.

Rooney was having one of his better matches of the season playing in the position where he should always be. He was aided by Lingard and Martial who at times made the defenders look pedestrian in comparison.

The second half got underway with van Gaal having made no changes to his side as they looked to build on the positives of the first half and put the game to bed as soon as possible without allowing the hosts back into the match.

De Gea once again proved how invaluable he is to the side when he was made to block a one-on-one effort by Sissoko. He must wonder at times what his defence is up to as they were easily deceived by the twists and turns of the Newcastle forward.

Van Gaal showed a rare moment of emotion on the bench as his anger boiled over when Lingard missed what has to go down as a sitter from a fantastic unmarked position inside the penalty box. The creative play from Herrera and Martial in the build up deserved a better ending. What a miss but hopefully it wouldn't come back to haunt Lingard.

On the hour mark, it was end to end football as both sides went in search of the all-important goal for different reasons. A Rooney run ended with him losing the ball before he could manage a shot and then the home fans leapt to their feet as Fellaini seemed to have brought down Colbeck. At this point, the match resembled a classic cup tie rather than a league game.

Van Gaal made his first change of the match when he replaced Lingard for Memphis. Hopefully, it wasn't for the miss a few minutes earlier if so, that would have been harsh.

Following the change, Newcastle attacked and were awarded a very debatable penalty when Smalling was penalised for wrestling Mitrovic to the ground. Up stepped Mitrovic to convert the spot kick to bring the scores level.

Maybe Mike Dean had thoughts of making up for his award of a penalty to United as it was a case of two players scrapping in the box. The forward quite clearly was doing the majority of the tugging as he had his hands round Smalling's throat at one point and looking at the defenders ripped shirt it was the wrong decision.

After the equaliser, it was Newcastle who could smell the fear within United's defence. They even managed to score a third, however, luckily for United it was disallowed for offside.

How would United react after seeing their two-goal lead evaporate in unfortunate circumstances?

Van Gaal had a plan of his own as he replaced Mata with his compatriot Herrera for the last fifteen minutes with the hope of dragging the visitors back into the lead. It certainly had the desired effect.

In the 79th minute Memphis collected the ball on the left wing then cut inside where he tried a shot which was only cleared into the path of Rooney, who rifled home a 20 yard drive to restore the visitors' lead. What a strike it was and it came at the perfect time to knock the stuffing out of Newcastle who were full of confidence following their penalty.

Fellaini had an excellent chance to put the game beyond reach, but his close range shot at the far post was saved by keeper Elliot.

The brilliant away support was in superb voice as they told Alan Shearer to cheer up and cheer up he did as his side equalised with a deflected strike by Dummett in the last five minutes to make it level at 3-3 and break the visitor's resolve.

Both teams ended the match looking for the winner but it wasn't to be and the final whistle blew on an intriguing game where the spoils were shared.

The missed chances that fell to Lingard and Fellaini did in fact come back to haunt the Reds as the match ended all square. It was a definite case of two points dropped by United after letting the lead slip through their fingers which was a shame as they had finally found a way to score but at the same time concede.

It really doesn't seem to be going van Gaal's way at the moment and there is a small matter of a trip to Anfield to face arch rivals Liverpool and their latest coach Klopp. Let's hope van Gaal and the players can build on the positives of this match by the time next Sunday comes around. At least man of the match Wayne Rooney has found his shooting boots after a double and an assist.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

'Krul' turn of events deny United.

Manchester United 0 Newcastle United 0

Following the euphoria of United's winning return to the Champions League, it was back to the bread and butter of the Premier League and the visit of Newcastle United to Old Trafford.

United welcomed former assistant manager Steve McClaren back to Old Trafford as the away team manager. McClaren, of course, was Sir Alex Ferguson's right-hand man in 1999 when United completed the historic treble and was revered for his coaching skills, but has not really hit the same heights as a club or international manager since then.

United's home record against Newcastle in the Premier League is almost 100% perfect as they have only lost once at home to the Geordies and that was as recently as 2013.

In last season's corresponding fixture, it was captain Wayne Rooney, who put in a man of the match performance scoring a brace and adding an assist in the 3-1 win. With all the criticism, he has endured at the start of this campaign, he would have wanted to repeat those exploits in this match.

Louis van Gaal had used an unchanged starting eleven in the last two victories against Aston Villa and Club Brugge but this time he decided that he would slightly tinker with the team selection as he looked to achieve a four match winning start to the season something that hadn't been done since 2011.

United's starting XI: Romero; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Januzaj, Memphis and Rooney. Subs: Johnstone, McNair, Valencia, Carrick, Herrera, Young and Chicharito.

Schweinsteiger made his first start for United in place of Carrick, who in turn would be on the bench alongside McNair, who had been recalled to the side because of Fellaini's absence as he served the last match of his ban. There was still no place for De Gea as Romero continued in his place and deservedly so.

First half: The away side got the match under way as they attacked the Stretford End. Luke Shaw made the first move forward as he collected the ball and attempted a low cross which was easily cleared this was followed by a shot from distance by Memphis which didn't trouble his compatriot keeper Krul.

A bright start from the red devils and a continuation of the attacking flair they had shown against Club Brugge.

In the first five minutes Rooney had been at the core of all United's attacks and even had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for a very close and debatable offside decision.

In the 10th minute, United won a free-kick in a dangerous area after Darmian was scythed down. Memphis left it for Mata whose effort was easily caught by Krull. With his track record of scoring from free-kick situations, Memphis has to step up and take control of the set pieces more.

Mata had a low drive palmed away at his near post by the impressive Tim Krull as United piled the pressure on the visitors penalty area and Rooney tried his luck from the edge of the box, but it was too weak to trouble the keeper.

After a quarter of an hour, the home team was in total control as Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin governed the middle of the park with authority and didn't allow the opposition to have time on the ball.

Darmian received United's first caution after catching Haidara late then the Newcastle forward had his name taken for a similar challenge on Blind in United's penalty area.

Memphis tried his luck in the 20th minute but decided to make it easy for the keeper by placing his shot rather than blasting the ball. This was followed by a close call for the reds as Newcastle nearly stole the lead when Mitrovic's dipping header alluded Romero but struck the crossbar. A real let-off for United.

Back on the attack Memphis almost opened up the visitors defence, but his final ball into the area was a little behind his teammates. The match was turning out to be an enjoyable one as Newcastle at least tried to create some chances, especially with the lively Mitrovic.

In the first half hour, Januzaj was having little or no effect on the proceedings and the game was crying out for a player like Herrera to help out the hard working Mata.

Blind's thunderous strike from distance almost took the head of a defender as United strived for the vital opener before half-time. Darmian ended a great United passing move by delivering  a delightful cross that Rooney only just failed to meet.

As the half progressed, you got the feeling that with no goal to show for the effort United had to be careful at the back as Newcastle possessed enough pace to trouble the defence but the confident Smalling and Co. kept any threat at bay.

United had one last chance before the half ended as Januzaj, Rooney and Mata attacked, but the young Belgian dithered on the ball and by the time Memphis had joined the attack the momentum had been lost.

Half-time 0-0 and for all their sweat United were all level at the end of a half that at the beginning had promised much but failed to deliver on the end result. The forwards came up against Tim Krul, who had excelled for Newcastle in goal with a string of fine stops and had a personal battle with his Dutch teammate Memphis.

The usually critical United manager would surely have had stern words for his team in the dressing room after the side failed to capitalise on their possession and would want to see an improvement in the second half.

Second half: United got the second half underway and it was their turn to attack the Stretford End hoping to have more luck in finding a way to beat a keeper who was on top of his game.

Within the first few minutes, full back Darmian made another excellent run into the Newcastle area and earned a corner for his industry and he was straight down the other end stopping an attack.

After ten minutes, the play had become fairly balanced as both sides tried to find a way through the resolute defences and you got the feeling it was going to take something special to break the deadlock.

Memphis went on a typical run towards the opposition area, but was upended by former red Obertan to earn a free-kick that he took himself and smacked the ball straight into the defensive wall. Memphis then collected the rebound and crossed to the far post where Smalling tried a looping header, but Krul once again collected easily.

Just before the hour mark Schweinsteiger, who was clearly feeling the effects of a heavy first-half challenge, was replaced by Carrick. Soon after Memphis had another effort deflected for a corner and the resulting cross found Smalling at the far post, but his shot was blocked.

In the 66 minute van Gaal decided to beef up his attack as he brought on Hernandez for the ineffective Januzaj. The Mexican last scored for United against the Toon, which was hopefully a good omen.

Mata's creativity provided Rooney with an opportunity in the 71st minute but the captain's turn and shot was well blocked, then a minute later Rooney returned the favour with a cross to the far post which Mata caught full on the volley only to see his effort fly well over the bar.

Hernadez had a shot that was almost deflected into the net by Memphis and since his introduction Carrick was helping his side turn the screw. In one attacking foray, Luke Shaw found himself in a shooting position but once again Krul proved hard to beat.

76 minutes of play and Valencia was brought on to replace Darmian who had once again shown his quality in the right back spot.

Tim Krul was turning on the heroics as he saved from Hernandez at point-blank range when a goal looked certain. It was going to take something extraordinary to beat the Dutch keeper today.

In the last ten minutes it was all the home side as they tried to grab the winner that would give them a perfect start to the season and three valuable points ahead of some tricky matches.

Valencia almost found a route to goal but his effort was blocked for a corner which was cleared for another. It was all United as the fans urged their side on for the last five minutes.

The closest United came was as the clock showed the 90th minute and Memphis floated over a corner that was met by Smalling's head, but as it wasn't to be United's day the ball was cleared via the last defender and the post. Then the away side went on the counter attack which was wasted as they had a three on two advantage.

There was still time just before the final whistle for Michael Carrick to blast a shot goalwards which was blocked for another corner.

That was to be the last action of the match and the game ended in a disappointing goalless draw.

This was one of those games that has been witnessed so many times down the years at Old Trafford where the visiting goalkeeper has the match of his life and the same was true for Newcastle's Tim Krul as you got the feeling that United could have played all day and still not got past the Dutchman. The visitors grew in confidence as the match progressed and had their own chances to win the match.

Two points were abundantly clear after this result one is that Januzaj is still under performing while Herrera's talent is being wasted on the bench and secondly United need an out and out striker but having said that even they would have struggled to get past Krul today.

On a positive note the team performed well and Italian full back Matteo Darmian once again produced a performance of a high standard earning him man of the match.

All this week the media and a section of fans have centered on United's failure to attract players such as Pedro and Otamendi who joined our main rivals Chelsea and City respectively. Louis van Gaal insisted that if he had wanted those players then he and Ed Woodward would have signed them.

However, it doesn't alter the fact that United desperately needs a striker that can bolster the forward line and add the goals on a regular basis together with a central defender to ease the burden on the likes of Daley Blind. Sure, Marcos Rojo is close to a return to first-team action, but if the team suffers from the injuries and poor defensive form as last season then this will be an issue.

Next up for United is the important away leg of the Champions League playoff in Belgium which they will take a healthy score line of 3-1 to thanks mainly to the efforts of Memphis and the late, late goal by Fellaini in the first match that will then be followed by a tricky away match at Swansea City in the Premier League.

Until then, thanks as always for reading.

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 pulls the strings for United.

Manchester United 3 Newcastle United 1

Welcome, and I would like to start by wishing all my readers a Merry Christmas.

After being given a day off on Christmas Day by Louis van Gaal to enjoy the festivities with their families, it was back to business at Old Trafford.

United welcomed Newcastle United on a day that has been kind to the Red Devils over the years. In fact the last time United lost a fixture on St.Stephen's Day was against Middlesbrough back in 2002.

United have won a total of 53 points on the 26th December, 15 more than the nearest side.

The team news saw no place for Angel Di Maria, being left out completely, possibly being saved for the Spurs match on Sunday. Once again Fellaini and Herrera were absent. Darren Fletcher was demoted to the bench after his average performance at Villa Park in the last match. This is how United lined up: De Gea, Jones, McNair, Evans, Valencia, Carrick, Rooney, Mata, Young, Van Persie, Falcao. The second start in a row for Falcao to give his partnership with van Persie another try.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was jovial, as it normally is for matches during the festive period, with the home faithful in fine voice.

The first half started rather sluggishly as both teams looked to shake off their Christmas Day celebrations. Falcao seemed to be the liveliest player for United making a few intelligent runs, one in which saw him clatter into the advertising boards, but thankfully he picked himself up unhurt.

The three United defenders McNair, Jones and Evans started nervously at the back yet again, especially Evans. Almost gifting a belated present to Newcastle, which fortunately they didn't accept. There was also a legitimate penalty claim by the Magpies after Yoan Gouffran and Juan Mata clashed in the penalty area, which was waved away by the referee.

Ashley Young was providing the best outlet down the left with some smart crosses, which were close to being converted by the strikers. Yet, as so often this season some of the breaks were halted by continuous back passing, which doesn't do anything for the nerves given the quality of our defence.

De Gea was on hand, not for the first time this season, to pull off a smart save after 19 mins to palm the ball over the crossbar for a corner.

On 22 mins some magic from Rooney, as he collected the ball in his own half, laid a pass to Mata, then continued his run into the penalty area, where Falcao unselfishly hooked the ball from Mata's cross into the captains path, who did the rest. A great move started and finished by an in form Rooney.

Rooney's and United's second came in the 36th minute, when the lively Falcao won the ball which released Mata, he gave a lovely pass inside to an unmarked Rooney, who had the simple task of finishing, which he gleefully did.

Half time and United led 2-0. Mata had been involved in both goals but it was Falcao who impressed with his energy and never give up attitude. He played a huge part in both goals even though he and van Persie were battling against a five man Newcastle defence, who were trying to play the offside trap at every opportunity.

Going forward the Magpies posed a threat with their pace against United's trio of centre halves, especially the talented Perez, who United would have to keep an eye on. Generally, United had been comfortable and deserved their half time lead.

The second half had United attacking the Stretford End of a rain soaked Old Trafford.

The fans didn't have to wait long for a third. Again Rooney was the inspiration on 52 minutes, with a delightfully judged chipped pass into the area, which was met by van Persie who headed across the goal into the net. Great skill and vision from Rooney who made it all look so simple.

With United enjoying a three goal lead and the players facing another match on Sunday, changes were inevitable. On the hour mark Fletcher entered the match in place of Carrick, who once again had a solid performance in the middle. Shortly after that Falcao was replaced by James Wilson. The home faithful showed their appreciation to the Colombian for his 100% effort towards the cause.

This in no way affected the rhythm of the team as United continued to enjoy the majority of possession. The only downside came when van Persie picked up a yellow card for a late and totally needless challenge, which he immediately acknowledged.

Again, Perez continued to be a pain for the United defence, calling on David de Gea to block a shot at his near post after the diminutive striker had confused a couple of defenders. Once he was substituted the main threat of the visitors had vanished with him.

It was great to see the return of full back Rafael, who came on for Valencia for the last quarter of the match to gain some valuable game time after a long time out.

With five minutes left to play Phil Jones gave away a penalty, which Cisse converted past a helpless de Gea. This meant that there would be no clean sheet for de Gea and United today. That was about the last action of the match as both teams didn't create anything of any note in the closing minutes.

This was a game that was controlled and won by man of the match and captain, Wayne Rooney. With his brace and assist he ran the show from his midfield position. Always the playmaker, everything came through him. He is looking more and more at home in the position van Gaal has entrusted to him. He seems to enjoy the responsibility the deeper role involves as it allows him to have more of a say in the tempo of the game.

Something that was good to see was the team play of United today. A good example of this was Van Persie, who was the designated centre-forward, unselfishly peeled off into wide positions at times for Rooney to run into the space from deep. a tactic which paid off especially in the first 45 minutes.

The next match on Sunday is away to Spurs. It brings down the curtain on United's year, a turbulent twelve months to say the least. But a year that is at least ending on a high, and gives us great hope for 2015.

It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, van Gaal buys in the January transfer window. Many names have been bandied around, and it will be fun to see which gossip turns out to be true. My wish list wish would be for a central defender and a midfielder. Vlaar and Strootman would do for a start, at least until the Summer.

Hope you all are having an enjoyable Christmas.

Thanks once again for reading.

Miles Dunton.