Ranking Manchester United's Top 5 Players for 2015

2015 has ended and Manchester United will be hoping for a much better calendar year ahead.

In assessing who has played well for the club in the past 12 months, the weighting is obviously more favourable for players who have been at Old Trafford for the whole time—only one of the names selected here was a new arrival in 2015. 

This was a challenging list to assemble and only the top two can be unequivocally happy with their performances. The lack of consistency in individual performances throughout the course of the year is one of the reasons Louis van Gaal's words sounded so hollow when he claimed, per Richard Tanner of the Daily Express, that United had had a good year barring December. 

In truth, United had a deeply average year, barring a short period between late March and early April. 

Here are the players who managed to raise their heads above the general mediocrity most often.

Anthony Martial

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Anthony Martial has to be on this list in spite of the counter-argument that his place should go to someone who has played the whole year, because he has brought so much excitement since he arrived. 

Time and again the bright spot in a very dull season, Martial's close control has helped him carve out chances for himself and others an a manner not often seen on a football pitch.

The sky would appear to be the limit for the 20-year-old, and if United can ever become a functional attacking unit during his time with the club, it will be fascinating to see what kind of impact he can make. 

Other candidates for this spot included Juan Mata, but he has simply had too many ineffective or anonymous games to feature.

Marouane Fellaini was also considered, but he had long spells out of the side and plenty of games in which his lack of technical ability and excessive aggression let him and the team down.

Martial is thus able to steal in and take fifth spot courtesy of his performances in the last three months of the year.

Ander Herrera

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It is hard not to imagine Ander Herrera being higher up this list if Van Gaal had played him more often. 

He has had a pretty good year as a whole in spite of the manager's baffling decision to exclude him from the starting lineup at the start of this season.

The first part of the year saw Herrera feature heavily and standout performances included his brace against Aston Villa and his superb support role as Mata tore Liverpool apart at Anfield. 

This season, Everton was a highlight as his return to the team brought with it a goal and an assist. 

Only his lack of involvement—and the odd poor game this season—prevent him from challenging further up the list.

Daley Blind

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Daley Blind nudges just ahead of Herrera because of his consistency, but his place high up this list is as much an indictment on the rest of the squad and Van Gaal's lack of success as it is a credit to the Netherlands international. 

That is not meant as a slight against the versatile Dutchman who has exceeded expectations at centre-back. He may have cost United with his occasional positional naivety against Swansea City and Bournemouth this season, but he has also dealt with numerous opponents well. He also adds a great deal to United's possession play with his incisive passing.

Blind also performed well for much of the back end of last season, when he mostly played at left-back. There was the odd poor game—Liverpool away, for example—but his speed of thought made up for his lack of physical pace. He formed a fine partnership with Ashley Young during that spell. 

It is also worth noting that he has recently been assigned corner-kick duty, which has considerably improved United's threat from those situations.

Chris Smalling

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Chris Smalling's excellent form this season should come as no surprise given his fine displays at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.

It was his partnership with Phil Jones which had United looking more solid last season, while Smalling is now linking well with Blind, each playing to their strengths. 

The England international has captained United on several occasions in the absence of Wayne Rooney or Michael Carrick and has clearly grown into a leadership role. 

One of the few unadulterated success stories of the Van Gaal era at United, Smalling has been the Red Devils' second-most impressive player in 2015 by virtue of his consistent level of excellence.

David De Gea

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Sadly, No. 1 remains an easy choice. The only player in United's lineup with a realistic chance at a spot in a world XI, David De Gea has been the Red Devils' best in 2015.

His save from Glenn Murray in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in May, which more or less assured Champions League qualification, was described by the Telegraph's Jim White as defying "all known laws of physics." That is something De Gea gives the illusion he can do almost at will. 

Countless brilliant saves, an ever-improving ability to marshal his area and deal with crosses were just some of the facets of his game over the past 12 months.

De Gea's 2015 has been spectacular, and the Red Devils would be considerably worse off without him. He is the clear choice for the year's best United player.

Here's hoping one of his outfield colleagues takes it in 2016, because that will surely signal an improvement in United's fortunes.