Boos ring out at Old Trafford after another goalless Manchester United

Manchester United’s Michael Carrick (right) and West Ham United’s Cheikhou Kouyate battle for the ball in the air during the Barclays Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester (pic:Martin Rickett/PA).

Manchester United drew 0-0 for the second straight home game and fifth time at Old Trafford this season as West Ham United frustrated the Red Devils in Saturday’s Premier League encounter.

‘We have created a lot of chances, more than the last matches.

“We have to score, we don’t score”. While United are still in the running in the league, sitting just three points behind surprise league leaders Leicester City, the style of football has shocked fans, pundits and even ex-players like Paul Scholes.

United then barely troubled West Ham for the rest of the first half.

Asked if he could understand the frustrations of the United supporters, Van Gaal replied: “Yes and no, because they can see that we fought until the end. That’s our problem”, said Van Gaal, as he stated the obvious once more.

“It is in every game like that because we are more dominating than our opponent”.

In a familiar performance from Louis van Gaal’s side, the hosts enjoyed most of the possession without creating many clear goalscoring chances, as Marouane Fellaini provided their main threat.

The Hammers struck the woodwork twice and Victor Moses should have scored when clean through.

United responded when Anthony Martial was denied by a close-range Reid block after Fellaini’s knockdown from Jesse Lingard’s delivery had provided the opportunity.

Holding midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin limped off in the first half in another injury concern for United ahead of what could be a must-win game at Wolfsburg on Tuesday to advance in the Champions League.

United are willing to pay big to bring in a marquee signing next summer – Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar have all been mentioned as targets – but there is a also a recognition that signing such a big name will be hard. They are all individuals who love to express themselves on the field, but they seem to have been strait-jacketed by Van Gaal’s rigid tactics.

It didn’t result in an injection of pace and penetration, though, as the tall Fellaini was deployed as the second striker.

“The question is shall Suarez score here or shall Aguero score here?” It was a little surprising to see the Dutchman not in the starting lineup and he will surely be there for United’s next game after making a real difference in the final 20 minutes.