The Devils dull display

Manchester United have disappointed again for their third league game in a row after a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United. With Louis Van Gaal re-iterating again to the press that he is content with his strikeforce, fans may not see eye to eye with the Dutchman's views. Whilst dominating possession yet again, they failed to make any of it count, with few clear cut chances the red devils failed to maintain their 100% record.

Battling Bastian: A decent display on his full start, however his team failed to make a breakthrough

With his full start, Bastian Schweinsteiger seemed to be quite a leader in the middle of the park today, and this reflected in the opening 20 minutes when United were all over Newcastle, the German international was dominating the midfield and the magpies struggled to cope. Memphis had the beating all day long of his fullback Mbemba, a makeshift right back who had been put there in place of the suspended Janmaat, which Memphis probably should've capitalised on. Haidara had a decent chance for Newcastle, the forward found his way through on goal after a superb touch from a through pass, only to be blocked by Daly Blind as he was about to pull the trigger.

The ball did hit the back of the net early on however, it seemed like Captain Wayne Rooney had finally ended his goal drought, only to be given offside, an extremely close decision indeed, but the correct one upon further replays. Juan Mata had a decent chance from a free kick, however nothing to trouble Tim Krul. Newcastle finally battened down the hatches and tightened the midfield around the 25 minute mark, stopping the flow of United attacks. New signing Mitrovic perhaps Newcastle's brightest spark in the first half, hit the crossbar from a looping header which gave Romero no chance. A let off for the home side.

The team from Tyneside managed to soak up all of the first half pressure, blocking numerous shots from Adnan Januzaj, Daly Blind and Memphis. We all hoped for a better second period.

More pain for Wayne: Despite a lively start, Rooney seemed to be again subdued.

The second half was more of the same, the home side dominated the possession without too much penetration, with Newcastle looking dangerous on the counter attack. Memphis seemed to be the driving force yet again, trying numerous shots cutting in from the left side, however they only seemed to hit the bodies of a resilient Geordie defence. Fabricio Collocini was no doubt the stand out performer on the day, the man from Argentina seemed to be blocking everything that threatened the Newcastle goal. Truly a rock at the back, alongside Taylor.

As time crept around the 60 minute mark, Januzaj was taken off for a more recognised striker in the form of Mexico international Javier Hernandez, a sign of intent from LVG. The introduction of Michael Carrick seemed to quicken play, Bastian Schweinsteiger went off to applause from the Old Trafford faithful, a promising performance from the former Munich man no doubt. More attacking changes were made from United as Antonio Valencia replaced Darmian as a more attacking fullback. Javier Hernandez was gifted the best chance of the game, one on one with Tim Krul, his left footed shot was saved by the keepers trailing leg. Deadlock still not broken. Chris Smalling had a header come back off the post and Juan Mata spurned a super chance way over the bar after a nicely worked cross from Wayne Rooney.

Even Luke Shaw had a shot saved, after a trademark run from a deep position, it just didn't seem like United's day infront of goal. In the 90th minute, Newcastle broke from a United corner, three on two with Blind and Shaw scrambling back, Cisse's right footed shot slid across the red devils goal mouth with new signing Florian Thauvin inches away from tapping in the for a late winner. Agony for the away end. 

The match ended 0-0, Manchester United finished the game with 70% possession and 8 shots on target, more disappointed home fans left the stadium after another un-convincing and frustrating display. The man of the match award going to Newcastle captain Fabricio Collocini. 

Unlucky Louis: The United boss wasn't pleased with his sides spurned chances

"We can be pleased with the performance, but not the result" The United manager stated in his after match interview. "We played fantastic as a team but did not make the right decisions in the final third" Van Gaal seemed rather pleased with the way his team performed, describing it as "One of the best in my period" however his reluctance to admit that he needs to add to his fire power may not sit well with some fans. Should we keep faith in LVG? Or do Manchester United need to go out and buy that Marquee, which may just give them a cutting edge for the season and make them genuine title contenders.