Terrace Talk: Man United: Great Spring Offensive fast running out of ammo

This week, over the water, Britain is agog. What will the nation decide? It’s too close to call: It may even be several weeks before we get a definitive answer to the question in front of us.

So, after all the debates, and polls, and vicissitudes of the current campaign: Does Van Gaal deserve to govern Manchester United for another term or not? Old Trafford seemed to be tilting towards a hung parliament on Saturday, as its voters witnessed a third defeat without a goal, and cringed as they heard a post-match Louis talk about how “difficult” the task at hand had been. “Difficult”. For Manchester United. Against West Brom. At home. Sheesh.

There is one crumb of mitigation to be had, though, in the suggestion I have picked up that the shocking death of Rio Ferdinand’s young wife may have been a factor. I am told Rio himself spoke to several of his old teammates on Saturday morning and that there was, understandably, a downbeat atmosphere in the run-up to kick-off. Nevertheless, as one colleague muttered darkly in the pub, “had that been Moyes in charge today, we’d have been slaughtering him.”