Manchester United v Southampton: Premier League – as it happened
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Version 0 of 1. 5.59pm GMT17:59 Right, that’s about that - thanks for your contributions and company. Bye-bye. 5.52pm GMT17:52 Full-time: Manchester United 0-1 Southampton Well played Southampton - a perfectly executed gameplan. They negated United almost entirely, and when their opportunity came, they handled it with intelligence and composure. Anyone who doesn’t consider them as threat for the top four, consider again. As for United, Van Gaal needs to determine his best team - one with his best players in their best positions, I’d respectfully suggest - and stick with it. And if he can make some decent subs, that might help them too. In the meantime, Southampton go above them, into third place. Updated at 6.02pm GMT 5.51pm GMT17:51 90+5 min Tadic does very well along the left by-line, diddling two men, and though he can’t do anything further, play remains in that area and Southampton eventually win a corner. They’ve so got this. 5.50pm GMT17:50 90+4 min Southampton are exceedingly comfortable - nothing is happening. 5.49pm GMT17:49 90+2 min United are hitting long balls at Fellaini, tribute to how well Southampton are controlling them. 5.48pm GMT17:48 90+1 min Tadic is hurt in a conflab with Jones, and staggers off - Southampton will fancy him back, because they’ve used all their subs. 5.47pm GMT17:47 90 min There shall be five added minutes. 5.47pm GMT17:47 90 min Van Gaal has positively affected very few games from the bench this season - most recently, at Stoke, they got worse when he removed Falcao, and today, the hooking of Van Persie doesn’t appear to have helped much. 5.45pm GMT17:45 88 min Lovely from Tadic, taking possession from Ward-Prowse along the left and measuring a ball behind United’s defensive line for Pelle. He watches it onto his foot, and lashes a low shot wide of the far post. 5.44pm GMT17:44 86 min Southampton are defending deeper now, and break with Tadic - but he overruns, United break, and botch their way to a left-wing corner. Rooney takes it - understandable when Van Persie and Falcao are on the pitch, now not so much - and hits towards the near post. Nothing happens. 5.42pm GMT17:42 84 min United hammer at the best chest in world footballTM, and Fellaini controls, sending wide to Valencia. He cuts back a cross that finds Mata, arriving on the edge of the box, and he clumps a shot into the ground and on the bounce, that loops wide of the right-hand post. Updated at 5.49pm GMT 5.40pm GMT17:40 84 min This has been an exceptional defensive effort from Southampton - they handled losing Alderweireld, and they’ve ceded only two serious chances. It does not, however, say much for United’s imagination, nor Van Gaal’s deployment of his resources. 5.39pm GMT17:39 82 min Imagine how good a keeper Fraser Forster would be if he had eyes. 5.37pm GMT17:37 81 min Change for Southampton, Reed replacing Davis. 5.37pm GMT17:37 80 min Another chance to United, Mata skipping past two challenges at inside-left and flicking wide to Herrera, who finds Blind outside him. The cross is good again, and finds Mata arriving around the six-yard box - all he has to do is use its path to turn past Forster, but instead gets underneath and skies the finish. Updated at 5.38pm GMT 5.36pm GMT17:36 78 min Carrick is booked for a foul as United turn it up, and come as close as they have all night - Blind shovels out a cross from on the left by-line, and Forster misjudges its flight, able only to paw out to Mata, arriving behind the far post. He connects well, shooting hard and low - it looks like it’s going in - but it flies wide of the far post. 5.34pm GMT17:34 76 min What is Van Gaal not doing right?” asks Katura Anderson. Well, he’s not got a grooved, cohesive team, but he doesn’t seem any closer to the best formation or line-up than he was when he arrived. The best football United have played was at Leicester, but he dispensed with the system he used - a diamond, with Herrera right and Di Maria left - when a makeshift defence conceded four times in 20 minutes. 5.32pm GMT17:32 75 min Fellaini is already causing trouble, catching Davies showing off 40 yards out. He concedes the foul, and United look for Rooney from the free-kick - for a second, it appears as though the ball is dropping to him, and then it doesn’t. 5.30pm GMT17:30 72 min Di Maria leaves, Fellaini - or Scaffolding as he’s known in my circles, unsightly functional apparatus torn down as soon as the house is built - arrives. He’s upfront alongside Rooney. Expect sophistication. Updated at 5.31pm GMT 5.26pm GMT17:26 GOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Southampton (Tadic, 70 min) Excellent play from Southampton, this - Pelle heads a long punt from Forster down to Ward-Prowse, and the two of them plus Tadic huddle around it just outside the box. Though they never quite have the ball under control, they’re strong enough to keep United from winning it, Ward-Prowse riding two tackles and finding Tadic. He waits, drawing two defenders, then manufactures a split second to ease a clever pass right for Pelle, who, on the angle, aims a low right-footer that clangs the near post and breaks for Tadic inside the box, left of centre. With Blackett on the line, he shows composure and accuracy, sliding past him for what may well be the winner. He’s then booked for being happy. Updated at 6.11pm GMT 5.25pm GMT17:25 68 min “When was the last Premier League game when neither team could muster a shot on goal?” asks Mark Hammon rhetorically. “When I was a nipper the Dutch were known for their attacking nous. This is just pants.” Maybe - Southampton have the best defence in the league, and are showing why. But yes, it’s fair to expect more of United, given the players that they have. 5.24pm GMT17:24 67 min Valencia barrels forward, exchanging passes with Mata and winning a throw. United have Southampton pinned back, but can’t find a way through, so do some more passes. 5.22pm GMT17:22 66 min Surely it makes more sense to call the position back-wing. 5.22pm GMT17:22 65 min Luke Shaw again fails to complete 90 minutes, departing for Tyler Blackett. He goes to left centre-back, with Blind now hanging out at wing-back. 5.21pm GMT17:21 64 min “It’s a fair cop, confesses Matt Dony. “Enna Cooper has given me a well deserved chronology ass-whooping. If Valencia is Kick Off 2-esque, then the Stoke game earlier put me more in mind of Speedball 2. I’m off to listen to some Alice In Chains.” That helmet Michael Carberry wears minds me of Speedball - an interesting name for a computer game played by kids who like the Blues Brothers. 5.19pm GMT17:19 63 min I’m assuming that Rooney is now up-front for United. Tadic comes on for Elia, presumably a like-for-like exchange. 5.18pm GMT17:18 61 min Di Maria slams over a flat cross from the left, right-footed, and Rooney stretches hard, only just missing his connection. The flow of play is rather like that in the first half. Updated at 5.42pm GMT 5.18pm GMT17:18 61 min Herrera, shirted, replaces Van Persie, grimacing. Updated at 5.31pm GMT 5.17pm GMT17:17 60 min Southampton try to bring on Tadic, only to discover that he doesn’t have a shirt. Chuckles and consternation in equal measure in commentary. 5.17pm GMT17:17 60 min Talking of nicknames and Southampton, it is an outrage that Adam Lallana has not a terrace chant to Crocodile Rock nor Gypsy Woman. 5.15pm GMT17:15 58 min Van Persie loses possession to Fonte, so wallops him across the back of the knees, earning a booking. 5.15pm GMT17:15 57 min Blind aims a low pass into Van Persie, who flicks up - or whose touch flicks up - thusly facilitating a hook over the shoulder for Di Maria, skidding into space. Pursued by Clyne and Gardos, he doesn’t quite move the ball into space, and Gardos does excellently to nip it away from him. 5.13pm GMT17:13 57 min Could someone please confirm that Sadio Mane’s dressing room nickname is Sassassadio, and he has a terrace chant to match? Thanks. 5.12pm GMT17:12 56 min More passy-passy from United, fairly whatever, until Shaw and Di Maria manufacture an overload and the latter’s low cross is cleared. 5.11pm GMT17:11 54 min Lovely from United, forced by Southamton’s harrying to move the ball quickly from centre to left, where Shaw can’t progress - the closing down has been exceptional so far. United keep possession, though, and Carrick sweeps wide to Shaw, whose low cross is slammed into touch close to halfway. 5.10pm GMT17:10 53 min Elia gives the ball away to Blind, chases frantically to retrieve and Blind waits for the inevitable foul. This gives United a free-kick 30 yards out, just left of centre-, and Rooney bends it towards the centre of the box where Jones imparts an excessive quantity of frontal lobe, sending a header well high. Updated at 5.23pm GMT 5.08pm GMT17:08 51 min “If Valencia’s a Kick Off 2 player, then surely he just needs to master the art of chasing his own lob towards the goal and heading it in from close range,” reveals Michael Morris. “Indefensible if I remember right. I can’t understand why this tactic isn’t more widely used by the top teams.” I started something I couldn’t finish, typical me, typical me, typical me. Updated at 5.08pm GMT 5.07pm GMT17:07 49 min Southampton win another corner on the right, Dowd warning Smalling, and again he and Smalling grapple as the ball arrives in their yard, Smalling there first to head down. United clear, but they’re under pressure here. 5.05pm GMT17:05 48 min We see footage of Smalling all over Pelle - he’ll do well to keep getting away that, and in the meantime, United break with Di Maria, pulling right. He slides into the path of the onrushing Van Persie - or tries to, instead directing it behind him. 5.04pm GMT17:04 46 min Southampton begin well again, the ball rick o’shea-ing of Di Maria’s shin and allowing Ward-Prowse some space. Right of the box, he shoots low, forcing Smalling to block, and it’s a corner. It comes to nothing, Carrick relieved when the ball flies over Fonte’s head as well as his, but Saints come back, a cross from the left aimed at the unmarked Pelle, Shaw dhalsimming into a block as he swings his left foot at it hard on the swivel. Excellent defending. 5.02pm GMT17:02 46 min And off we go! 5.02pm GMT17:02 “If only Valencia could” begins Ronan Leonard - a sentence one could end in a multitude of ways. “If only he could master the classic long looping goal from just inside the opponents half like in Sensi, a goal that me and my best buddy agreed to stop scoring against each other. ng looping goal from just inside the opponents half like in Sensi, a goal that me and my best buddy agreed to stop scoring against each other,” reveals Ronan Leonard. I’m out of my element here, but wasn’t there a similar diagonal shot thing in Striker on the SNES? 4.57pm GMT16:57 “Did Di Maria really cost 50% more than Sanchez? Looks overpriced even at par” reckons Allan Castle, getting all financialtermy on our collective asses. He’s a different player, not playing in his best position coming back from an injury. United needed him so paid what he cost - a good thing, on balance, given the likely use of the money otherwise. 4.55pm GMT16:55 Half-time email, with Enna Coooper: “Didn’t the the Go-Bots come after Transformers, whereas Sensible Soccer took the Kick Off template and improved on it? Chronologically speaking, wouldn’t the more appropriate grunge comparison be that Sensible Soccer was the Mudhoney to Kick Off 2’s Green River?” Ah, 90s grunge. Once we were happy pretending to be unhappy pretending to be happy pretending to be unhappy. 4.51pm GMT16:51 An interesting first half, that, but one that failed quite to ignite. after an excellent start, Southampton found themselves unable to win the ball high up the field, or to pass their way there, so spent the majority of time defending - very well. Though United gradually improved, finding more space as the half progressed, they failed to create a single suitable chance. They weren’t blunt enough to demand a change, but if Ronaldo Koeman doesn’t alter something, it’s hard to see the balance of play changing. 4.47pm GMT16:47 Half-time: Manchester United 0-0 Southampton Updated at 5.03pm GMT 4.46pm GMT16:46 45 min United continue to probe, Di Maria collecting possession from Jones at inside-right, and with Van Persie drawing men away, opts not to find him but to shoot, dragging wide of the near post. Meanwhile, Mark Turner reckons we might enjoy seeing Roberto Mancini poleaxed. 4.44pm GMT16:44 44 min “Ah, Kick Off 2. The Go-Bots to Sensible Soccer’s Transformers. The Stone Temple Pilots to Sensible Soccer’s Pearl Jam. I miss my youth...” says Matt Dony, crying into his inappropriate Um Bongo. 4.43pm GMT16:43 41 min Lovely from Rooney, who powers inside and outside two challenges, arriving at the edge of the box, dead centre, before flicking a pass left to Van Persie. His first touch is magnificent, turning the ball from behind him directly into his stride, and he shoots low, hard and across Forster - but Clyne extends a leg to block, diverting it into the air and allowing Forster to collect, under “pressure” from Mata, poised to tap in should he drop it. Updated at 4.55pm GMT 4.41pm GMT16:41 40 min Southampton find a pocket of space on the right, but United press them into passing back to Forster; they’re finding it hard to threaten. 4.39pm GMT16:39 38 min Van Persie closes Gardos down - please do not adjust your sets, that did indeed happen - and blocks his attempted clearance, lifting a pass into space for Di Maria. Scurrying after it and cutting inside onto his left foot, he can’t muster much in the way of shot, but United are looking confident now. 4.37pm GMT16:37 37 min Quiet period for Southampton - they’re still defending well, but not crafting as much going forward. But the enjoy a passage of possession, ended by Shaw sliding in on Clyne, emerging with a limp. Oddly, he seems ok. 4.36pm GMT16:36 35 min Valencia cajoles a foul from Bertrand, at inside-right - he’s booked. 25 yards out, Di Maria makes to arc the free-kick towards the back post, but scuffs it into the wall instead. Horrible, horrible. Updated at 5.14pm GMT 4.35pm GMT16:35 33 min Valencia - who reminds me of a Kick Off 2 player, able to run very fast in a straight line, but unable to turn in possession - runs very fast and hard in a straight line. Gardos tackles well. 4.34pm GMT16:34 33 min “Really missing Herrera’s fluidity out there thus far,” reckons Mike Walker. “Helps connect and involve - Mata and Rooney especially.” Couldn’t agree more - same’s so of more or less every United supporter I know. But it’s not easy to argue with Van Gaal. I imagine it’s partly a physical thing, partly a tendency to fade in and out. 4.32pm GMT16:32 31 min “Are we allowed to point out that it’s a fairly poor game yet?” asks Mark Turner. “All huffy and puffy and some neat little skills. But I’m yawning.” Of course we’re allowed - and fair enough. I’m quite enjoying it, but, looks like it could develop into something fairly decent. But Southampton defend very well, so United, who’ve had most of the ball, are struggling to create chances. 4.30pm GMT16:30 30 min Rooney breaks into space, and in front of him, Van Persie makes the angle for a pass - not hit properly, but the kind of circumstance United are planning to bring about. 4.30pm GMT16:30 29 min Valencia pressures high up the field and wins a throw, transferred to Mata and then Blind, left of centre. He has a look and curls a ball into space between Clyne and Fonte for Di Maria, who races towards it, pauses, and in that pause, loses the flight. 4.28pm GMT16:28 27 min Wanyama wins a corner on the right, laid short, returned, returned again, and then Davis clips to the far post, where Fonte has lost Carrick. He heads over the top, but that was a warning. 4.27pm GMT16:27 26 min “He’s admired because he can tackle and pass,” says Martin Tyler of Schneiderlin - skills once crucial to midfield play, now a bonus. How many other generals are there in world football? Schweinsteiger is one, Strootman another, Ander Herrera might become one too, but mainly, it’s all attacking and defensive prefix-excuses. What a nonsense. Updated at 4.27pm GMT 4.25pm GMT16:25 24 min Talking of Roberto Duran, he spoke good English, but refused to do so in public as, it not being his first language, he wasn’t perfect at it, which he felt showed weakness. I believe the technical term is “badass”. 4.23pm GMT16:23 22 min Dowd fails to award a foul against Smalling, in low and hard on Elia, then warns him “no more”. 4.22pm GMT16:22 20 min Alderweireld departs, and there’s a kerfuffle about whether the ball needs to be kicked out, returned, all that. United return it to themselves, Carrick sweeps right-to-left to find Di Maria, and he performs a one-two with Van Persie before shooting hard, low and wide. Gardos is on. 4.19pm GMT16:19 19 min Trouble for Southampton: Alderweireld stretches, cutting out a ball with Di Maria haring in behind, and immediately waves to the bench, then waves arms in fury and frustration. He’s not long for this game. Updated at 4.33pm GMT 4.18pm GMT16:18 18 min Old Trafford is pretty loud this afternoon, a by-product of the Moyes, er, era. Talking of which, St Mary’s; the best of the new grounds, in mine. 4.17pm GMT16:17 16 min Carrick lifts a lovely ball over Bertrand for Valencia on the touchline, who does likewise for Jones. He touches into space, but can’t quite keep up with it, so Southampton clear via goal-kick - but that was pleasant play. Updated at 4.36pm GMT 4.16pm GMT16:16 15 min Van Persie robs Schneiderlin, who lunges and fouls. United take the free-kick short, as though they’re about to resume passing, but then Rooney lumps an aimless lump onto Fonte’s forehead, and Southampton clear. 4.14pm GMT16:14 14 min “According to Tyler, Valdes getting off the bus in front of De Gea is ‘significant’ as he wants to get in front of De Gea in team selection.What if he is just coach sick and needs to sit near the front?” asks Gazza Brown. An excellent question; what if he’s just really sad, and likes talking to the teachers? Exactly. 4.13pm GMT16:13 12 min After a good few minutes for United, Southampton press forwards - they’re playing a diamond, with Elia “in and around Pelle”. Yes. They win a free-kick 45 yards out, on the right touchline, and Fonte isolates Carrick in back-post vicinity - Carrick does well to concede a corner, which comes to nothing. Good, fast game so far. 4.12pm GMT16:12 11 min “I always quite liked 3-5-2 ...including under Hoddle,” emails Thomas Gunn. “You need fast, intelligent, ball-playing defenders though and Smalling and Jones just aren’t good enough. I had high hopes for Evans but not convinced.” The pace of Evan’s regression has been alarming, and agreed on the defenders - Rojo might be capable. But the lack of overlaps is still a problem, as strikers end up leaving the box to help, so that when the ball does come in, there’s no one there. 4.10pm GMT16:10 9 min “’A player like Carrick needs pictures, pictures ahead of him...’” emails Charles Antaki. “I had to look it up, but this is a decent example of anadiplosis by Glenn Hoddle; let’s see if Carrick can bear the weight of more classical Greek rhetoric as the game wears on. Or just misplace a few passes.” Updated at 4.15pm GMT 4.09pm GMT16:09 7 min The corner is no use, but United win the ball back and find Di Maria on the right, just outside the box. He shimmies and diddles, escaping Bertrand and Ward-Prowse and making the angle for a shot, spanking a low one that flies wide of the far post. 4.07pm GMT16:07 6 min Schneiderlin wraps arms around Di Maria, who falls over; free-kick to United, 25 yards out, just by the left corner of the box. Rooney whips it in, but Smalling it beaten to the header, and then Carrick arcs over a cross from just outside the box on its right. This time, Smalling wins the header, nodding across for Van Persie, and Alderweireld does extremely well to concede a corner. Updated at 4.46pm GMT 4.06pm GMT16:06 5 min Bit of possession for United - Di Maria is playing inside, it seems, with Rooney in midfield despite not being a midfielder. 4.05pm GMT16:05 4 min This is an excellent start from the visitors - United have mustered barely a touch, and are being pressed all over. In particular, this might not work for Juan Mata, who struggles in fast, physical games. Why, it’s almost as if Jose Mourinho knows something. Updated at 4.30pm GMT 4.03pm GMT16:03 3 min Southampton win a free-kick on the left and pile men into the box. It’s curved in high, and Rooney heads clear, but Southampton maintain pressure, winning a throw. That’s cleared, but they keep United boxed, forcing Mata to juggle and hook away over his head. 4.02pm GMT16:02 1 min More Southampton pressure. Clyne bangs a low one into Pelle, who lays off adroitly and back into his stride as Blind chugs in pursuit. He bursts into the box, and drills a low shot just wide of the far post - on target, and De Gea was naewhere near. Updated at 4.02pm GMT 4.01pm GMT16:01 1 min Southampton go long, and De Gea fails to charge out to clear. For this, he suffers the ignominy of a telling from Chris Smalling. 4.00pm GMT16:00 1 min Southamton kick-off. Yo DJ pump this party. 4.00pm GMT16:00 It is United against Southampton, and it’s live. We’ve gone for an accumulator, and who knows which way the games are going to go. Etcetera. 3.58pm GMT15:58 Housekeeping: Luke Shaw used to play for Southampton. 3.57pm GMT15:57 “A player like Carrick needs pictures, pictures ahead of him ... if he sees pictures, he’ll play passes.” Hoddle on Hoddle Carrick 3.55pm GMT15:55 The Southampton players are tunnelled. The short, back and sides are short back and sided. 3.51pm GMT15:51 Three at the back; I don’t get it. No overlaps, simple balls into the corners causing undue mayhem, Glenn Hoddle’s a fan. 3.49pm GMT15:49 “Francesco Totti (aged 38) has scored twice for Roma against Lazio this afternoon. He’s a touch raw, but the potential of the lad is phenomenal,” says Kevin Porter. Yes, he’s got some ability. Wonder if anyone’s riffed on his surname yet. 3.48pm GMT15:48 Email! “Looking at the team sheets I’m wondering if the two most tactically innovative managers in the league this year might both be playing four four two,” ponders Ben Wilkinson. I’m not sure - it seems like United are going three at the back, with Blind next to Jones and Smalling. Have that, Daley. Southampton will start 4-2-3-1, I reckon, but I reckon the players will run around and stuff. 3.45pm GMT15:45 The managers say very little, though are asked very little. Van Gaal reckons it’s harder to pick a team with a lot of players available, but no one bothers to wonder what Falcao’s up to. We also don’t know who’s playing where. Koeman wants pace upfront, and for Elia to get into the swing of things. 3.41pm GMT15:41 Classic this fixture: a young Ryan Giggs makes a young Barry Davies purr. 3.40pm GMT15:40 End of an era: today sees the sale of the last ever Red Issue, one of United’s three fanzines. Ferociously intelligent, erudite, puerile, uncompromising, impassioned, supremely written and impeccably sourced - or, put another way, everything a fanzine should be - it has fought for the rights of supporters for a generation. If your team has such an organ, support it, love it, cherish it. Updated at 3.54pm GMT 3.35pm GMT15:35 Classic this fixture: Ryan Giggs juggles the ball to the penalty spot, misses, and Southampton eliminate United from the Cup at Old Trafford. 3.29pm GMT15:29 So, what does it mean? Well, to begin with, Robin van Persie is a very lucky man. Having played well just once this season, and hardly at all since January 2013, Radamel Falcao’s absence leaves him undropped. And Van Gaal was thinking about it too, saying on Friday “wait and see if he is in my line up”, “he is always in my line up, till now....now you have to wait and see”. He is. Ander Herrera, on the other hand is not - despite paying £28-oddm for him just a few months ago, Van Gaal does not appear remotely convinced by his qualities. United’s best player last weekend, he is dropped this, for a bloke who’s not played since November, and is not at all dissimilar to another already all the side. Elsewhere, Jonny Evans is dropped for continuing uniform awfulness, Di Maria returns from the start, Valencia returns, and Fellaini is on the bench. Quite how the team will line up is impossible to predict. For Southampton, things are simpler. Their new loan signing, Elijero Elia, is preferred to Dusan Tadic, Nathaniel Clyne makes it, Jack Cork does not, and Sadio Mane is injured, not away with Senegal. Crucially, Morgan Schneiderlin, absent when the teams last met, is back and nicely grooved. Updated at 3.42pm GMT 3.17pm GMT15:17 Teams are here! Manchester United (5-3-2, 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1): De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Carrick, Di Maria, Blind, Mata, Rooney, Van Gaal Persie. Subs: Evans, Herrera, Fellaini, Valdes, McNair, Blackett, Wilson. Southampton (4-2-3-1 or so): Forster; Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand; Wanyama, Schneiderlin; Steven Davis, Ward-Prowse, Elia; Pelle. Subs: Kelvin Davis, Gardos, Long, Tadic, Isgrove, Reed, Targett. Referee: Phil Dowd (Hunky) Updated at 3.18pm GMT 3.00pm GMT15:00 Preamble There is nothing we will not say to avoid aggravation and blame. This is because we are human beings, genetically hardwired to pursue the path of least resistance, and to cheat at everything possible; there is not a single field of endeavour at which which people will not, have not, and do not cheat. Similarly, what with humans being humans and all, convention dictates that we term these aforementioned sayings as “excuses”, rather than “lies” - consider, for example: the wrong type of snow; I didn’t inhale; just researching a role; my washing machine flooded my flat; ooooh my hayfever; we’re country! So far this season, though, Louis van Gaal has asked for patience, he has otherwise refrained - though this has been made very easy for him. After the Moyes to-do, United supporters are glad simply to have him, while a quite spectacular injury list has done much of his talking for him. And, in the meantime, the direct competition has been so poor that, somehow, United are still in third place. The football, however, has been almost uniformly rotten - never more so than when they met Southampton at St Mary’s, the teams’ talents combining to produce one of the most magnificently awful games you could ever hope to see. And now, we go again. Ronald Koeman, on the other hand hand - they say he doesn’t like Louis van Gaal, did you know? - has a slightly different take. In his book, managers asking for time are simply making excuses, a view he has earned the right to take. Replacing Mauricio Pochettino, he immediately seized control of a listing squad and augmented it with players who required no time to settle in - despite their apparent inferiority to those whom they replaced, and those in other squads. The manner in which they performed is to the shame of many. But now, like United, they are where they are, so it is what it is; there is no excuse for not finishing in the top four, and Van Gaal and Koeman - they don’t like each other, apparently - know precisely that. Eyes down, this will be good. Kick-off 4pm Updated at 3.06pm GMT 3.00pm GMT15:00 Daniel will be here shortly before the 4pm kick-off … But this is what the Manchester United manager has been saying in the buildup to the game. If Louis van Gaal has steadied the Manchester United ship in his first six months at Old Trafford, then consistency at home has been key to climbing back into the top four of the Premier League. This time last year United had lost four times at Old Trafford. This season they have suffered one defeat, by Swansea on the opening day, and 25 points from a possible 30 at home compares favourably with 12 collected on the road from the same number of games. Factor in the consideration that Van Gaal has rarely been able to field a settled side, let alone work out his best one, because of all the injuries United have had to deal with since his arrival, and the coach ought to be satisfied with entering the new year in third place. Van Gaal, though, does not consider himself the sort of coach big clubs hire just to be satisfied. “I want more as a manager,” he said. “I always want the perfect game and we haven’t played it yet. I expect more attacking quality from Manchester United. Not because they are Manchester United and have a tradition for it but because I have. I am the coach and that is the type of football I like to see. I always expect more attacking quality from the teams I coach and Manchester United will improve, you shall see.” Click here for the full story |