Manchester United preseason tour reveals improving squad still has holes

One popular explanation for why Manchester United finished fourth last season was because of the substandard quality of the defence. The counter argument to that was to look at how few goals the team conceded (37), which was one more than Arsenal, one fewer than City and just five more than champions Chelsea.
So, if it couldn't be the fault of the defence, then the attack must be to blame. There were certainly more statistics to support this argument, with United scoring just 62 goals, their second-lowest tally in Premier League history. Wayne Rooney, who spent plenty of games playing in midfield, was the club's highest scorer with just 14 goals in all competitions. This was the lowest number for United's top scorer since Frank Stapleton's 13 goals in 1982.
Whoever was to blame, should alarm bells be ringing for United fans, given that Louis van Gaal hasn't signed any central defenders or any forwards this summer? Particularly when you consider that strikers Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao have left the club, there surely is still work to be done when it comes to building a squad capable of competing on all fronts.

If the preseason is anything to go by, particularly looking at the formation Van Gaal used against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, then maybe the manager believes some of the problems of last season have been solved by him playing two holding midfielders


Against Barcelona, Bastian Schweinsteiger was injured, but for PSG, he was allowed to come in to a deeper role in midfield alongside Michael Carrick. The idea for the season ahead, presumably, is that these two can protect the defence, allowing the attacking players to get on with their job. As we saw last season in the games against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City toward the end of the season, with Carrick just in front of the defence, the team played fantastic football and were worthy winners.
Last season, the club's defenders weren't good enough, so the tactics employed attempted to compensate for their shortcomings. Playing five at the back, or the obsession with keeping the ball at all costs, had dire impacts on the quality of the football played, but helped United concede fewer goals. The huge emphasis placed on not conceding meant the attack suffered, and the likes of Van Persie and Falcao, whose best days are behind them, needed more help than they were given to score freely.
That said, it probably would have been easier to sign a top-class defender than soldier on with ill-fitting pieces if Van Gaal is under the impression that Phil Jones and Daley Blind are the best defensive pairing on offer, as is the suggestion from them both staring in the past two preseason games.
To be fair to Blind, he does boast an exceptional passing range, as was displayed best against PSG with his long pass from inside his own half that landed at the feet of Juan Mata in the opposition box, with the resulting goal getting wiped off by the offside flag. But in terms of United having a commanding and experienced centre-half, Blind isn't the figure many United fans want to see in defence.
While not as surprising as Blind, the expectation was that Chris Smalling was an obvious starter, so how did Jones get in the starting lineup?

Phil Jones has struggled on Manchester United's preseason tour, and it appears it will cost him his place in the starting XI.

On the break, Jones was outrun and out-muscled by Blaise Matuidi, which saw United go 1-0 down. Jones lacks football IQ and technical ability, but one of the things he does have going for him is his strength, so it was strange to see him concede such an opportunity. Minutes later, and not as much of a shock, Zlatan Ibrahimovic crept in to the box undetected by Jones and put PSG 2-0 up. Following the game, Van Gaal confirmed Luke Shaw, Blind and Matteo Darmian would start the season's opener, suggesting that Smalling will replace Jones.
It's not all doom and gloom for United, though, with some of the younger players giving hope for the season ahead.
Memphis Depay -- who has the legs of Roberto Carlos, according to Ashley Young -- has looked very lively during the preseason. He's been a tad greedy on occasion, opting to shoot when a teammate may have been in a better position, but if he is to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo he can probably be forgiven for the odd self-indulgence. His free kick against PSG was very Ronaldo-esque, with it dipping just in front of the goalkeeper and being hit with so much force that it was spilled. The amount of resultant tap-ins we saw when Ronaldo was taking free kicks like that should give United supporters something to look forward to.
Andreas Pereira has been brought on in the second half of all the preseason games and has immediately injected pace and creativity. His crossing is arguably better than anyone's in the squad, judging by the balls he's put in during these games in the U.S., and his shooting isn't too shabby either. His feet are so quick and we've seen him confidently take players on in the box throughout the preseason, sending the defender one way, then another, before getting the ball over to a teammate.