Reds Midfielders Making Their Mark

So how many of you backed Marouane Fellaini or Daley Blind to bag goals against the Baggies?

The identity of Manchester United’s scorers in Monday’s 2-2 draw in the Midlands may have surprised many fans, not least because for both players it was their first goal for the club. Fellaini notched his maiden strike at the 24th attempt, Blind got there much quicker in game number five.

As for their wider significance, the goals mean the Reds have now had eight different scorers in eight league games, an encouraging spread for Louis van Gaal. The other marksmen who have found the net thus far are, less surprisingly, the strikers Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao, and the creative forces operating behind them in the form of Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata.

At this stage in 2013/14, only four names had appeared on United’s scoresheet in the Barclays Premier League – van Persie, Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj.

This time last year, Januzaj was heralded as the new hope for United after he opened his goals account with a brilliant brace at Sunderland. Twelve months on, and the young Belgian – a squad-mate of Fellaini’s in the World Cup – was having something of a reboot with his first start of the 2014/15 season after several cameo outings from the bench. He might have done better with a rebound when van Persie hit a post at The Hawthorns but former Reds winger Lee Sharpe said on MUTV, "I still love Januzaj" - he's clearly excited at the prospect of more appearances for Adnan on one flank and Di Maria on the other.

Such attacking tactics could extend the list of scorers even further, especially if the centre-backs and full-backs can find a way to join in the fun. Marcos Rojo headed off-target from a corner and Rafael fired over West Brom’s bows with a shot that he won’t dwell on when he watches the DVD. But both will know the day job of defending comes first; for them the next clean sheet will be more satisfying than their first strike of this campaign – especially if they happen to achieve that shut-out in either of the next two matches against league leaders Chelsea or local rivals Manchester City.

In the meantime, it’s heartening to see so many of the players in the heart of the team – the midfield – contributing goals to the cause. It’s something that Sir Alex Ferguson had demanded more of in his final years as manager, when age was catching up with his most prolific of engine-room exponents Paul Scholes.

Louis van Gaal will also want a return from the middle of the park, even with one of the most expensive strike-forces in world football at his disposal.