Reaction to Chelsea: Sometimes Louis Just Can't Win

I read much of the social media reaction to United's draw with Chelsea yesterday with some mirth and a small dollop of dismay.

Admittedly many shared my own view, welcoming the spirit in which United approached the game, tempered by inevitable regret that we just weren't able to see it out.

Others seemed to see it differently and it was hard not to detect in their reaction a clear sense of double standards.   Lingard, having had many of the United Twitter contingent calling for his head at half time, would not of course been on the pitch to score his wonder goal had they had their way.  At full-time many of the same observers were lambasting Van Gaal for having the temerity to do what they'd been asking him to do and take him off.

Interestingly, their rationale appeared to be that, in bringing on Memphis for Lingard, we'd taken off a player more suited to defending a one goal lead, replacing him with one more likely to go out and attack.  The manager had done, in other words, what they'd been asking him to do all season.  

And that's to leave aside the inevitable conclusion from anyone paying attention to the game that Lingard, before he came off, was clearly tiring.   'So bring on Herrera instead' they might have screamed.  But that would have meant taking Mata out of his central role, something else they've been screaming at Van Gaal to do all season.

I do think that, with regards to certain sections of the United support, the Reds boss is in a position of damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.  I've certainly been critical of him myself this season, but I'll applaud any United manager when he attempts to win and win in the right way.  That's unquestionably what he did yesterday and, when he does that, he deserves far more from us than nit-picking on the sidelines from those who don't have to answer to anybody for their erratic and inconsistent views.