Louis van
Gaal was quick to praise the fighting spirit of his Manchester United
team after Daley Blind has scraped a late - and barely deserved - draw
at West Ham on Sunday. '(United) showed a lot of resilience in the
second-half... I must say what spirit from my team,’ enthused the
Dutchman.But
the reality is that United have shown precious little 'spirit' or
'resilience' this season - with the notable exception of goalkeeper
David de Gea, who has bailed them out of trouble on many an occasion.
Despite
Van Gaal's praise, under his leadership
United have not won a single
game in the Barclays Premier League after conceding the first goal of a
match. 
This season
United have let slip the first goal of the game on eight occasions. The
best results Van Gaal's men have salvaged from these fixtures were
draws against West Brom, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Stoke and West Ham. The
other three games ended in defeats by Swansea, Manchester City and
Southampton.
It
is all a stark contrast from the halcyon days under Sir Alex Ferguson's
management, when United were famed for their fighting spirit, often
scoring decisive goals in the dying moments after the referee's watch
had ticked beyond 90 minutes.
'Fergie
Time' has gone down in legend. The most memorable of all United's
last-gasp goals are arguably Steve Bruce's two headers against Sheffield
Wednesday in 1993. The late double averted a defeat during a crucial
stage of the title race and kept United on course for their first league
crown in 26 years. Ferguson and his assistant Brian Kidd danced on the
Old Trafford turf in delight.
And
while they were not Premier League strikes, Teddy Sheringham and Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer's injury-time goals against Bayern Munich in the 1999
Champions League final may never be beaten for jaw-dropping drama or
sheer bloody-mindedness.
But even
after Ferguson's retirement, under the much-maligned David Moyes the Red
Devils managed to fight back and win from a losing position on four
occasions. And the Scot did not even complete a full season in charge at
Old Trafford.
United's
reputation as comeback kings reached its zenith during Ferguson's final
season at the helm. In 2012-13 they fought back to win from a losing
position on NINE occasions, the highest number during any of the Scot's
26 years in charge.
The previous best seasons for United fightbacks were in 1999-2000 and 2002-03, when six matches were won from behind.
Ferguson's United did, however, fail to win a single match when conceding the first goal during two full terms.
That
said, during one of those seasons United managed arguably their
greatest fightback of all - but not in a single match. Trailing by 12
points at one stage in 1995-96, United reeled in league leaders
Newcastle and left Kevin Keegan ranting how he would 'love it' if he
were to beat Fergie to the title. He didn't and nothing better summed up
the mental fortitude of the Ferguson era.
By comparison, a late draw at West Ham renders Van Gaal's claims to 'resiliance' somewhat feeble.
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