Areas Where Manchester United Are Actually Better Than Last Season

On Monday, we looked at the areas in which Manchester United were worse off than they were last season, but the latest task is more pleasant. In spite of the frustration that many supporters feel about the difficulties facing United's attack, there have been significant improvements elsewhere.

Louis van Gaal is closing in on the halfway mark of his three-year contract, and there is a pretty good argument to suggest he is around halfway through the rebuilding process he embarked upon when he took the reigns in the summer of 2014.

Let's take a look at what is going well.

Squad Balance

United's squad has changed a huge amount since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. During David Moyes' reign, the club appeared to experience significant difficulty in acquiring their targets, but Van Gaal's time in charge has seen a much busier metaphorical arrivals lounge.

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Of the 18 players involved in the matchday squad on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion, eight arrived under Van Gaal's tenure, and three were youngsters given their first-team debut by the Dutchman. He has thoroughly reshaped the squad.

The hit rate he is enjoying with his signings is impressive, too. Angel Di Maria did not succeed at Old Trafford, and Radamel Falcao's loan was a failed gamble.

Memphis Depay is struggling to make an impact thus far, and Matteo Darmian—after his very impressive initial displays—has struggled of late. Victor Valdes' acquisition has obviously not worked out.

However, Darmian and Memphis have plenty of time left to impress, and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Anthony Martial have all done so already.

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The perennial problem area that was Sir Alex's midfield has been soundly fixed. Defensive options have been bolstered. Young players with bright futures, players in or approaching their prime and senior leadership figures—all these boxes are ticked. Defenders, midfielders and strikers—again, all areas covered.

There have, of course, also been a significant number of departures—the clearing out of unwanted squad players has created a lean group that Van Gaal is prepared to supplement with academy graduates.

Of course, there is work left to be done. Van Gaal himself said, per Jamie Jackson of the Guardian: 

"

I have said already in my first year many times we need speed and creativity on the wings. You have seen that now we play with Jesse Lingard and he is not the most speedy winger in the world, and Juan Mata is also not the most speedy winger in the world. So we must first [address] that problem and then we can see how we play and how we are in balance with playing with speedy wingers.

"

Even with that caveat, though, a cursory glance at the squad shows that things are better than when he arrived. His successor will certainly be grateful for the work Van Gaal did to United's roster.

Defensive Stability

While the team's structure might be making the Red Devils a little tough to watch, it is certainly making them tough to beat. They have not conceded a goal for 555 minutes—a rebounded penalty—other than during a penalty shootout.

As ever, this is partly down to the excellence of United's 'keeper, but David De Gea has not had to demonstrate his Superman impression with such regularity.

There are fine margins involved here, of course. Saido Berahino and Seydou Doumbia probably should have scored for West Bromwich Albion and CSKA Moscow respectively, for example. 

Against Crystal Palace, United lost some of that defensive security and were lucky none of Palace's 10 attempts were converted. Similarly, a lapse in the early going against Wolfsburg at home meant the Red Devils made life difficult for themselves.

In general, though, United have looked defensively solid. The structure has supported that solidity. In Van Gaal's 4-2-3-1, the "2" has almost exclusively been formed by two of Michael Carrick, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger.

Of those, none are bursting box-to-box midfielders who charge ahead of the ball when United are in possession. On those relatively rare occasions where United lose possession of the ball, there are frequently plenty of red shirts already behind it.

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Of course, the possession itself is a powerful defensive tool. The other team cannot score if United have the ball. And have the ball they do. Against West Brom, it was 62.9 per cent. Against CSKA, 68.5. Even against Manchester City, the Premier League leaders and the division's most potent attacking force, it was 56.9. 

Possession is not an end in itself, but it does make it tricky for the opposition to beat De Gea when United hog the ball.

And on those occasions on which United do lose control of games, there have been some excellent defensive performances on show. At the time of writing, Chris Smalling has surely been United's player of the season. He has been consistent and steady in his leadership of the back four.

He has also popped up with crucial interventions at key moments, as he did to prevent Doumbia's shot from ruining United's evening against CSKA. His personal performances have certainly been something that has improved over last season.

The Possession Game

This season, United are executing better on Van Gaal's instructions. The manager acknowledged in his press conference after the West Brom victory that fans want the side to be better in attack against deep-lying defences.

That may be understating just how dissatisfied fans are with the style of play. It is a frequent topic of conversation in and around the ground, on social media and anywhere United fans gather. It reached a head against CSKA Moscow when fans booed Van Gaal for taking Martial off and replacing him with Marouane Fellaini.

However, whether the fans are enjoying it or not, United are definitely executing better on Van Gaal's instructions than they were last season. They keep the ball effectively, and when they lose it, their shape is compact. They seek to make openings in defences by switching the ball around, attempting to draw an error from the opposition defence.

It may not be particularly entertaining, and it has varied from effective to frustratingly blunt over the course of the season, but there can be no doubt that the squad are better at it than they were a year ago.

Points on the Board

That improvement is primarily evidenced by the fact that United are currently five points better off than they were after 12 games last season. They are 11 points closer to the top spot than they were this time last season thanks to the lack of a runaway leader this time around.

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They are also top of their Champions League group; though there is no direct comparison to that from last season, it is nonetheless significant that the improvements in United's league form have come whilst they are also juggling European responsibilities.

Ultimately, it is not clear whether the balance has swung too far and whether United's defensive excellence has come at too great a cost to the entertainment value and effectiveness of the attack.

Van Gaal will ultimately be judged on whether he can bring success. He certainly looks closer to doing so than he did this time last season.

All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com. 

Quotations obtained first hand except where otherwise stated.