Even in victory, these are strange times at Old Trafford. The natives are restless and it will take more than a win over the 10 men of Sunderland to convince them that all is well at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. Supporters booed when Jonny Evans passed the ball back to his goalkeeper David de Gea in the first half. They made no secret of their disapproval in the second when Van Gaal took off Radamel Falcao immediately after he had won a penalty. Until then, United had struggled to land a glove on a stubborn Sunderland side who played with Lee Cattermole sandwiched between two banks of four. Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-0 but Louis van Gaal still has a lot to do before the natives are happy . Gus Poyet isn’t the first to try it at Old Trafford and he certainly won’t be the last. But the way United struggled to break down their opponents for so long was not lost on their fans. They chanted ‘4-4-2’ when United laboured to victory at QPR in January, and ‘attack, attack, attack’ here after Evans had sent a long pass back to De Gea. The frustration is never far from the surface. One can sympathise with both Van Gaal and the supporters whom he is paid to please. At times this season United’s performances have not only fallen short of the cavalier football under Sir Alex Ferguson, they have been positively joyless. An exercise in attrition. Wayne Rooney celebrates his opened alongside Ashley Young as Manchester United beat Sunderland . While Van Gaal has tinkered with his tactics and personnel, the outcome has been largely the same. The 2-0 win over Sunderland followed an equally uninspiring 3-1 win over Burnley on United’s last home appearance when Chris Smalling scored two of the goals. Despite spending more than a £150million last summer on a squad that was far from shoddy in the first place – bringing the likes of Angel di Maria and Falcao with him to Manchester – the Dutchman has clearly struggled to make United a sum of their parts. Di Maria was awful here, Falcao full of running but offering little threat until he won the penalty with his last contribution of the game. Angel di Maria yet again struggled to impress for Manchester United and was subbed at half time . A generation of fans brought up on the thrills and spills of the Ferguson era are having to make do with something altogether less entertaining and a lot of them simply don’t like it. Even Van Gaal admits he is surprised they have been so patient at times. ‘In Barcelona, the white handkerchiefs would have come out,’ he said in December, reflecting on his first six months in English football. ‘In Bayern Munich, they would have been whistling. In Amsterdam, Ajax, they would have been shouting for my “friend” Cruyff. Here they stand up and applaud. Unbelievable.’ A relieved Manchester United celebrate Wayne Rooney's opener against Sunderland at Old Trafford . That goodwill has since become a little strained, but here’s the question. Performances or points? Ferguson delivered both but, for now, United fans may have choose one or the other. Van Gaal has been hired to get United back into the Champions League. They are in third place with 11 games to go and through to the FA Cup quarter-finals after losing just two of their last 21 games. The alarming decline of the David Moyes era has been arrested, at least in terms of results. Van Gaal has won a trophy in his first season everywhere else, and you wouldn’t bet against him doing it with United at Wembley in May. Just don’t expect the FA Cup final to be a classic. Rooney looks at Sunderland defender Wes Brown as Brown is sent off after he was shown a red card . If there’s any consolation for supporters, Van Gaal knows they deserve better. He has talked before about finding the ‘perfect game’, about the players needing time to buy into his ‘philosophy’ before it all comes good. In his programme notes for this game he wrote: ‘The signs in training, and also in some of the matches, show me that we are improving. What we are striving for now is that good all-round team performance when everything clicks into place. I am sure it is not far away.’ On the evidence of this performance, some fans will remain unconvinced.
Two goals from Wayne Rooney earned Manchester United all three points .
But the hosts were yet again far from impressive in victory at Old Trafford .
Big money signing Angel di Maria was hauled off at half time of the win .
Radamel Falcao also struggled to impress upfront for the Red Devils .
Even in victory, these are strange times at Old Trafford. The natives are restless and it will take more than a win over the 10 men of Sunderland to convince them that all is well at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. Supporters booed when Jonny Evans passed the ball back to his goalkeeper David de Gea in the first half. They made no secret of their disapproval in the second when Van Gaal took off Radamel Falcao immediately after he had won a penalty. Until then, United had struggled to land a glove on a stubborn Sunderland side who played with Lee Cattermole sandwiched between two banks of four. Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-0 but Louis van Gaal still has a lot to do before the natives are happy . Gus Poyet isn’t the first to try it at Old Trafford and he certainly won’t be the last. But the way United struggled to break down their opponents for so long was not lost on their fans. They chanted ‘4-4-2’ when United laboured to victory at QPR in January, and ‘attack, attack, attack’ here after Evans had sent a long pass back to De Gea. The frustration is never far from the surface. One can sympathise with both Van Gaal and the supporters whom he is paid to please. At times this season United’s performances have not only fallen short of the cavalier football under Sir Alex Ferguson, they have been positively joyless. An exercise in attrition. Wayne Rooney celebrates his opened alongside Ashley Young as Manchester United beat Sunderland . While Van Gaal has tinkered with his tactics and personnel, the outcome has been largely the same. The 2-0 win over Sunderland followed an equally uninspiring 3-1 win over Burnley on United’s last home appearance when Chris Smalling scored two of the goals. Despite spending more than a £150million last summer on a squad that was far from shoddy in the first place – bringing the likes of Angel di Maria and Falcao with him to Manchester – the Dutchman has clearly struggled to make United a sum of their parts. Di Maria was awful here, Falcao full of running but offering little threat until he won the penalty with his last contribution of the game. Angel di Maria yet again struggled to impress for Manchester United and was subbed at half time . A generation of fans brought up on the thrills and spills of the Ferguson era are having to make do with something altogether less entertaining and a lot of them simply don’t like it. Even Van Gaal admits he is surprised they have been so patient at times. ‘In Barcelona, the white handkerchiefs would have come out,’ he said in December, reflecting on his first six months in English football. ‘In Bayern Munich, they would have been whistling. In Amsterdam, Ajax, they would have been shouting for my “friend” Cruyff. Here they stand up and applaud. Unbelievable.’ A relieved Manchester United celebrate Wayne Rooney's opener against Sunderland at Old Trafford . That goodwill has since become a little strained, but here’s the question. Performances or points? Ferguson delivered both but, for now, United fans may have choose one or the other. Van Gaal has been hired to get United back into the Champions League. They are in third place with 11 games to go and through to the FA Cup quarter-finals after losing just two of their last 21 games. The alarming decline of the David Moyes era has been arrested, at least in terms of results. Van Gaal has won a trophy in his first season everywhere else, and you wouldn’t bet against him doing it with United at Wembley in May. Just don’t expect the FA Cup final to be a classic. Rooney looks at Sunderland defender Wes Brown as Brown is sent off after he was shown a red card . If there’s any consolation for supporters, Van Gaal knows they deserve better. He has talked before about finding the ‘perfect game’, about the players needing time to buy into his ‘philosophy’ before it all comes good. In his programme notes for this game he wrote: ‘The signs in training, and also in some of the matches, show me that we are improving. What we are striving for now is that good all-round team performance when everything clicks into place. I am sure it is not far away.’ On the evidence of this performance, some fans will remain unconvinced.
to victory at QPR in January, and ‘attack, attrition. Wayne Rooney celebrates his opened – bringing the likes of Angel di Maria and Falcao Maria yet again struggled to impress for Manchester United and was subbed at half time . A against Sunderland at Old Trafford . That