Manchester United’s start to the season has been, in the eyes of many, uninspiring and lacklustre. Two narrow 1-0 wins hardly fill you with confidence, but this is arguably exactly the start Louis van Gaal’s team needed.
Rewind twelve months and United began the 2014/15 season in, quite frankly, disappointing style. A shock 2-1 home defeat to Swansea City was followed by poor results away to Sunderland, Burnley- both draws- and of course, unforgettably, at Leicester City. Not only were the opening games filled with nervy, limited performances, the team were unable to turn them into positive results. Something was missing, something that could be attributed to a sea of change at Old Trafford. A new manager had arrived late following his World Cup excursions and there was a host of changes in the playing personnel. Also, perhaps, the shocking disappointment of the David Moyes era still lingered on, a shaken confidence was embedded in the psyche of the club and its players.
That was the biggest challenge that Louis van Gaal has faced, making the club great again by making the players believe that they were good enough. Without Sir Alex Ferguson, there was a leadership void that unfortunately Moyes was unable to remotely fill. Someone needed to come in and steady the ship and steer it back toward its route to glory. Results last season gradually improved but rarely did the performances match the standard of greatness gone by and of the quality possessed in the dressing room. Most pleasing to see was a return of the battling, fighting spirit in a United side not seen since Ferguson. They might not play well but they were still capable of winning matches. That sort of belief had left with Ferguson but has started to return under van Gaal.
The glaring problem from last season was that, generally, United regularly produced below-par performances and won many matches they perhaps didn’t deserve to do so. Win playing poorly now and then and it’s called ‘playing like Champions’, they are often the results which make the difference between first and second place. Deliver those sort of performances every week and you start to worry. Simply put, play like that every week and you won’t win trophies. Performances and results such as a home loss to Southampton, or the aforementioned draw to Burnley, occur all to often. There is a lack of spark and inspiration in the play and your luck will eventually run out.
This season, the performances have arguably been of little improvement on last season. The opening day victory over Tottenham Hotspur was courtesy of a fortunate own goal, you couldn’t see United scoring throughout the game, and the win at Villa Park was the performance of a team that never really got going. A generally positive pre-season and initial transfer market recruitments has been undermined by losing Angel Di Maria and the growing crisis in the goalkeeping department. There is also concern that despite a large number of squad changes and a significant outlay, that the club hasn’t been active enough in the market. But for all the problems facing the manager, whether you agree with them or not, United are in a positive position.For a start, United have won six out of a possible six points. Last season they began on the back foot and were always playing catch up. This year they’ve started perfectly. The performances haven’t been marvellous but there’s plenty of positives to be taken from them. For all the mystery and controversy surrounding the goalkeeping situation, Sergio Romero has stepped in and done all that can be asked of him. Forget all the if’s and but’s that came with his surprise inclusion against Spurs, the Argentine has delivered calm and confident performances that offer stability in the position. The two clean sheets also suggest a tougher and stronger United than last season.
Ahead of Romero, there has also been a settled back four that has risen above criticism, bizarrely before they had even played and has looked assured and solid in the opening fixtures. Chris Smalling looks to have grown in stature and commands the defence whilst his partner Daley Blind has shown that intelligence and positional ability is as valuable as strength and physical power in the position. Luke Shaw appears to have overcome the fitness issues hat dogged him last season and in Matteo Darmian, United have a full back who is the definition of efficiency. Louis van Gaal deserves enormous credit for moulding that defensive group and for keeping with his vision despite the criticism it has faced. Supporters are crying out for a central defender to be bought in but how many world-class defenders are out there? Smalling is showing signs of developing into one and Blind looks a perfect partner and suits the way van Gaal wants his side to play. In a creative, attacking sense, the side has been lacking. That can be attributed to it being the start of a new season and many players still searching for their rhythm. However, the midfield has been dominant and combative, Morgan Schneiderlin has shown tremendous athleticism to complement either Michael Carrick or Bastian Schweinsteiger, two players with outstanding influence and vision – and although Wayne Rooney hasn’t started brightly- he doesn’t usually come good until October anyway- Memphis Depay is still settling in and Juan Mata is shaking off the rust that comes with the start of a new campaign, the quality United have going forward will come good eventually. Therein lies the real positive of their winning start to the season. They have provided themselves with a platform. Even though they have stumbled out of the blocks, the attacking players have produced match-winning momenta that didn’t quite happen at this stage last season. And when the team do hit top form, they won’t already be effectively out of the title race.
The start of a season is always slow and stuttering, Ferguson’s sides always came good post-Christmas, but it is a case of keeping pace and ensuring your rivals remain in touching distance. United probably do require another forward thinking individual considering the number of competitions they are entering, but it would be great to see that faith placed at the feet of young starlets Adnan Januzaj, James Wilson, Andreas Pereira and Jesse Lingard. There’s nothing better than seeing your own academy graduates come through and those lads are certainly good enough and deserve a chance to prove it. It is after all the United way.
Let’s look at these opening 1-0 wins, not as a stagnant, insipid performances which set a worrying tone for what lies ahead, but view them as a hugely positive start to a campaign that is highly promising. If we can have a team still settling in and picking up victories, then when they are bedded in we will start seeing the performances to match. Who knows, we might look back on these two results as those of champions? This is a good side full of top players and there is no limit to what they can achieve. They could be building toward something special.
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