Another way I'm acknowledging seeing an improvement is in my own view of the players and the team.
Roll back to when I first joined on here I remember posting somewhere that for the first time in my 34 years supporting this club I found myself without any on-field heroes. There had never been a time where I found myself not liking almost anyone (DDG aside) that was playing for us. The reasons for this were various, some justified and some not but all the same, I had a very real apathy regarding pretty much all the guys wearing that shirt week in week out.
Roll forward now to present day:
DDG - Not quite the player he was a few years ago clearly, but I still love this guy, top keeper, OUR keeper.
AWB - Can't remember the last time I enjoyed watching a RB make so many amazing tackles. His commitment cannot be questioned.
Maguire - Overpriced? Yes. Worth the money? Not sure. But this guy is a brilliant CB and will be ours for the rest of his career in my opinion. He's the most natural captain we currently have.
McT - Whether he will keep improving and become a top level CM is one thing, but he has rolled his sleeves up and given our midfield some real steel. Love him.
Fred - What a story he's having. Came with a big price tag, struggled, had a very unsympathetic and hard manager but now look. His attitude simply cannot be questioned. He has come back to the point where he is now one of the first names on the team sheet and it's brilliant to see.
Dan James - I don't need to say more. What a bargain. What an engine. Currently my favourite player and he has made such a difference to the balance of our team it's astonishing.
Rashford - For me the jury is still out on what he will become. But fair play to him, he clearly loves this club and puts in a shift every time he goes on the field and has become our most prolific current scorer.
Romero - Best No2 in the world! Handsomest too!
Manager - Say no more. He may be here long term, he may not, but he's looking like the right man for right now.
This is also without saying, WIlliams, Garner and Greenwood are looking fantastic prospects and I hope they eventually make the step up to first team regulars over the next couple of years.
So in a nutshell, instead of gritting my teeth and loving Utd out of loyalty during some pretty average years, watching some pretty average players literally taking the p*ss wearing our shirt, now I have some heroes again. Sure, some of them may not be world class but that doesn't matter. I can see what they are trying to do and how much they are trying.
Ole has done a great job in some respects, reshaping the team by getting rid of some and bringing in 3 great signings, bringing some good old fashioned United'ness back and letting some of the young guys get a chance, but I also am one that feels he has been massively out of his depth at times and I think if we hadn't got some of the results we have recently, he would be under massive pressure rolling into Christmas.
But, I've said before, there are only two ways of getting out of being out of your depth. One way is to drown. The other is to learn to swim bloody quickly and survive. Recent signs are that Ole falls into the 2nd category and I really hope that's the case and this new team, that has players I actually like, does well and keeps improving.
Have we improved in terms of league position and win %? No, of course not. Have we improved in terms of our squad, mood, playing style and general United'ness? Yes, and anyone who thinks otherwise is very wrong.