The Rise of Daley Blind at centre back and why he should partner Chris Smalling

Sergio Romero granted ESPN FC an interview in which he said he hadn't given up reclaiming the goalkeeping position from David De Gea. According to the Argentine: "Nobody is the owner of any position in football". This statement may be very true because of injuries and or loss of form, but let's ask ourselves this question, would anyone start a fit Romero over a fit David De Gea? Most accomplished teams have a settled first eleven, this is very important because it allows the players to build chemistry and complement each other on the field of play. Manchester United's defence has been the best in the league conceding just 8 goals and whilst keeping an impressive 8 clean-sheets in 12 matches but some questions still remain. One of those is about the identity of the player to partner Chris Smalling (who has been the best in the league). Should it be Daley Blind or Phil Jones?

How Daley Blind ended up as first-choice centre-back for Manchester United in the latter part of this summer still remains a mystery for most fans especially despite the spending spree. Even Legends like Rio Ferdinand had doubts about the Dutchman's ability to effectively play in that role. Ferdinand earlier in the season said Blind wasn't bought as a centre-half and that he was the weakest link in the United defence. According to him, although Blind reads the game really well and he is a "natural all-round footballer", he would struggle to deal with pacy and powerful strikers in the league. However, students of Van Gaal philosophy were not so surprised with Blind latest position. In fact, in the book The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax coaches, Van Gaal was quoted as saying "In modern football the two centre-backs have really become the playmakers.The No. 10, behind the strikers, can’t be called a playmaker any more because the space in which he operates is too restricted. Today’s playmakers are to be found in the middle of the back four".

Van Gaal, by giving that role to Blind, apparently sacrificed attributes that are considered vital for Premier League centre-backs —aerial presence, physical strength and pace for the play-making skills of the 25 year old. Things may not go right all the time as we found out in the defeat against Swansea and also against Wolfsburg because at 5-foot-11, there will be times when Blind lack of physique and pace would be apparent. Against Swansea, Blind was outmuscled by both Andre Ayew and Gomis for both of Swansea's goals. Also, In the champions league game against Wolfsburg at Old Trafford, the Dutchman was drawn out of position and couldn't track his man for David Caliguiri's opener for Wolfsburg. Yet, this has not deterred the Dutchman from forming an encouraging partnership with Chris Smalling. The pair have conceded just 8 times in the 10 games they have started next to each other. So far, Blind has done extremely well with the purely defensive side of his game that he has earned the plaudits of other United legends such as Gary Neville and Jaap Stam. Even Liverpool Legend, Jamie Carragher has been impressed. 

Much was made in the build-up to the United-Aston Villa clash as a potential battle between Blind and Rudy Gestede. In the end, Blind wasn't troubled aerially despite his small size. Same thing happened with Benteke when United came against Liverpool, but the Dutch international didn't do badly.  Against Liverpool, his smart thinking and intelligent positioning allowed him to clear the ball off the line twice preventing Liverpool from equalizing immediately after United had scored.

There was a moment against Club Brugge where Blind looked to have lost his man on the counter-attack. However, just as it appeared to be dangerous for United, the 25 year old   used a superb combination of body positioning and strength to unbalance the attacker and recover the ball. 

Based on the way we play and the way teams set up their defences against us. Having a defender who can bring the ball out of defence and supply key passes is an added luxury, one that other first team centre-backs, Jones and Smalling, do not possess. Blind's left foot is capable of providing long defence splitting passes, a great illustration being the raking, faded pass that allowed Juan Mata to set up Memphis Depay's goal against Sunderland. Another was his pass for Memphis Depay's second goal against Club Brugge.

Defending has evolved, it's no more about brute strength and how fast a defender is, it's rather the ability of that individual to limit the time, space and options available to the opposing attacker. I also know Van Gaal likes to pick his squad based on the opposing team's strength and weakness, but surely Chris Smalling would benefit from some much needed stability. Jones may be strong and powerful but he is prone to making big mistakes, against Paris Saint Germain we saw glimpses of that. In conclusion, i think Daley Blind should be given the nod over Phil Jones to partner Smalling.

Statistical analysis of Manchester United so far

In a season where Louis van Gaal's men have been criticized from many quarters and serially given no chance of winning the league, Manchester United are just 2 points off the leaders going into the international break. Call this a mirage or anything you want, but the facts suggest that the Red Devils are quietly getting better every game. History shows that the last time United started comparatively better was in the 2012/2013 Premier league season, which coincidentally was Sir Alex Ferguson's last season in charge. The Reds gathered 27 points in their first 12 games on their way to being crowned champions.

Manchester United's haul of 24 points in 12 league matches is 5 points better than at this stage in the 2014/2015 season and 3 points better than in the 2013/2014 season. By this stage last season, Louis Van Gaal's men were 13 points adrift of leaders and eventual champions, Chelsea, and as such were effectively ruled out of the title race. Have the Red Devils improved this season? Absolutely, the points build-up seems to agree. After all, 'it's the three points that matters'.

United kept their fourth successive clean sheet in their 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion and have the best defensive record in the league. In 1080 minutes of football last season, United had already conceded 15 goals (7 goals less than the total they have conceded this season). The Red Devils have also kept 8 clean-sheets in 12 games (in contrast to the 3 they kept last season in the same amount of games). It's common knowledge that David De Gea had to pull ridiculous saves to rescue United from losing points on numerous occasions in the 2014/2015 season following costly defensive blunders. This season, however, defensive errors seem to have scaled down. A total of 11 errors with 2 leading to goals was conceded last season as compared to the 4 errors conceded this season. On top of that, Romero (who kept the first 4 games) and De Gea have had to make a combined average of 2.4 saves per game compared to De Gea's average (3.0) last season. Clearly, this shows that the defense has improved.

Chris Smalling has arguably been the best central defender in the league this season. Credit must be given to the English International for rising up to the challenge after being singled out as the odds on favorite to be sold after his sending off against Manchester City last season. His ability to read a game has improved tremendously well, he has made a total of 24 tackles, 26 interceptions and 75 clearances. These statistics are only bettered by Jan Vertonghen. What is more impressive is that the 25 year old has matured into that leader that the club severely locked after Vidic and Ferdinand left, organizing the defense efficiently Strangely enough, Louis Van Gaal, the United gaffer keeps referring to him as 'Mike', maybe even he is surprised at how good Smalling has become. 

It's not only Smalling, Daley Blind has also been good in a position where initially he was uncomfortable. The Dutch international's ability long balls to play long incisive balls from defense has added more bite to the team's attack. Let's not forget that it was the Blind's exquisite long ball that allowed Malta to set up Depay's goal against Sunderland. The fullbacks, Darmian and Rojo (who came into the squad after have been decent. Remember that Rojo, who, according to reports, had fallen out with Van Gaal, only came into the side after that horrific injury to Shaw. They have provided width on both flanks without putting a foot wrong in their defensive duties. The defense has ensured that the Manchester United's results don't suffer despite team's inability to score too many goals.

Chants of "Attack! Attack! Attack!" has been heard in recent games. Such has been the frustration of the Manchester United fans, who not long ago were rated as the best support group in England. Seven teams have scored more goals than Manchester United (16) this season and 15 teams have taken more shots per game. In fact, this season United has scored fewer goals and averaged fewer shots per game than in any of their 3 previous campaigns. A drop in scoring chances created per game from 10.8 in Van Gaal first season to the current average of 7.5 suggests that the problems of the United attack go beyond underperforming strikers. 

Manchester United rank 17th in the Premier League for the number of chances created (90), only West Bromwich Albion has created fewer. It's fair to say Manchester United's attacking potential has steadily declined since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Last year, at this stage, the Reds had created 129 chances. That's 39 more than the output seen this season. The fact that United has taken a higher percentage (49%) of their shots from outside the penalty than in any of the previous three season's highlights the inability of Louis van Gaal's men to effectively break teams down. 

 One top journalist thinks that Van Gaal has prioritized the defense over attack and that he is protecting the team's 'Champions League place' rather than going for the title. Whilst there may be some elements of truth in that statement, I have to state categorically clear that the United attack has been inconsistent and frustrating so far. To sum up, the defense and midfield look good, however the attack still looks inadequate to challenge for the title.  

Sir Alex Ferguson's blueprint (Part 2)

On the second installment of this series, I take a look at the next thing, the great Scotsman did after he had built the 'foundations of Manchester United.

Dare to Rebuild Your Team

Even, in the period of great success, Ferguson worked tirelessly to rebuild his team. He is credited with assembling five distinct league-winning squads during his time at the club that continued to win many other trophies. Ferguson realized that apart from the fact his players were aging, it was actually very difficult to motivate players who had won a lot in their careers. He also believed every successful team had a timeframe. That was why there needed to be a re-shaping or rebuilding. Ferguson said "Although I was always trying to disprove it, I believe that the cycle of a successful team lasts maybe four years, and then some change is needed. So we tried to visualize the team three or four years ahead and make decisions accordingly"

The now 72 year old's thoughts and subsequent actions were driven by a keen understanding of where his team stood in the cycle of rebuilding and the player's life cycle. He defined the 'player's life cycle' as "how much value the players were bringing to the team at any point in time". Cutting players off irrespective of the personal attachments was part of the talent development management process. The process also involved getting the right players in.

The analysis of a Ferguson's player transfer activities revealed his unique ability to spot talent. In the last decade, Manchester United have won the English Premier league five times. What is more remarkable is that before Ferguson retired, the club had spent less on incoming transfers than its rivals Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool did. One factor accounted for this; the continued commitment to young players. Those under the age of 25 constituted a far higher share of United’s incoming transfers than most of its competitors. The likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, David De Gea who now feature for the first team were bought by Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson, on a few occasions, dished out huge amounts for established superstars, such as the Robin van Persie and Edwin Van Der Saar.

Young players were given the needed time and necessary conditions to succeed while most older players were gradually phased out. Most older players were sold, however a few were kept around to guide the younger ones help carry the culture of the club forward. Ferguson said "the goal was to evolve gradually, moving older players out and younger players in. It was mainly about two things: First, who did we have coming through and where did we see them in three years’ time, and second, were there signs that existing players were getting older? Some players can go on for a long time, like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Rio Ferdinand, but age matters. The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy—but all the evidence is on the field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to ask yourself what things are going to be like two years ahead"

Look forward to the third part of this series which will focus on 'how Sir Alex Ferguson set very high standards for his players' until then thanks for reading