Louis van Gaal is clearly starting to settle into his role as Manchester United manager as he celebrates one year in charge at Old Trafford.
A string of new signings this summer should see the team finally start to take shape in the Dutchman's vision, while life in the North West really seems to agree with him.
But what have we really learned about Louis van Gaal over the past year?
We know that his wife's hairdresser is a Manchester City fan after he apologised to her on TV after the 4-2 derby win in April. He also told us that it was the Old Trafford chef who explained to him the intense rivalry between United and Liverpool, while he often talks up the Chinese food that he regularly enjoys at the Wings restaurant in the centre of Manchester.
There are a few football-related things about the 63-year-old which we have come to find out, too, over the past year...
While Van Gaal was never a big proponent of a three-man defence prior to his spell in charge of the Netherlands, the success of the formation at the World Cup led him to replicate it in his early days at Old Trafford.
But it was largely with a more orthodox back four that United excelled through the autumn months and later as they took the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City to the cleaners in the spring.
Further forward, he has been similarly indecisive. Wayne Rooney's regularly changing role is reflective of his seemingly uncertain approach to what he truly desires of his side. Some might see this as proof of his flexibility but Van Gaal appeared to change his style after blocks of fixtures rather than choosing separate shapes for different challenges.
There was talk around the United camp after the season ended that Van Gaal would buy players during the summer that fitted into a clear vision for his side, but the additions of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, despite the already plentiful options in midfield, have given nothing away so far as to exactly how he sees the team lining up going forward.
One thing we do know is that he doesn't take kindly to any suggestion that his side play 'long-ball' football following the memorable press conference in which he produced a stats pack to disprove such an assertion from Sam Allardyce after the 1-1 draw at West Ham in February.
The 63-year-old has regularly spoken of his dislike for shouting and screaming on the touchline, believing it to be a largely futile exercise amongst the din of a melting pot atmosphere at a top-level football match. And that also translates to his man-management style.
Many speak of Van Gaal's approach to coaching as being similar to that of a drill sergeant, with a tendency to get right into the face of players when addressing them. Whether joking or scolding, the Dutchman can often be found at extremely close quarters with members of his squad.
Amongst the more experienced players in the squad there is an appreciation for such an approach but it can come across as being somewhat intimidating for the younger United stars.
Van Gaal is also an obsessive time-keeper and disciplinarian away from the training pitch. He has a thriving fines system in place, regularly penalising players who fail to appear on time for training, or ever when they arrive late at the dinner table.
And even meals are seen as a big deal for the manager, who insists on members of his coaching staff mixing with players when they eat. Fabio Capello was known to have a similar approach when he was in charge of the England national team but such a preference is in stark contrast to the days of his predecessor, David Moyes. The ex-Everton boss would steer away from the squad over dinner, sitting on a separate table with his staff to eat.
At Memphis Depay's unveiling on Friday, Van Gaal hung around afterwards to have a chat with a couple of journalists and was complementary of the British press pack. "You are nicer than the Dutch, nicer than the Spanish... the Germans are OK, though!" he joked.
But just five days later he was telling the same people that "you invent stories" after Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian had been introduced.
However, it appears that he has at least a happier relationship with the UK press than the one he had when in charge of the Netherlands at the World Cup last year.
Van Gaal's press conferences in Brazil were often littered with digs at the Dutch media for their criticisms and wayward judgements, with the coach responding more favourably to the international media than his compatriots.
At United, his relationship has been largely more fruitful but there are still pockets of discontent.
In one of their first meetings back in 1998, Van Gaal had actually asked Sir Alex Ferguson how he dealt with the press. Ferguson's advice to "not read it" clearly hasn't been taken up to the letter but his often-abrasive style to media engagements has earned him a reputation with some journalists for being "Fergie without the trophies".
A flurry of new additions last summer saw United spend the best part of £150 million but more signings have already been made ahead of the 2015-16 season at further great expense.
While not all of the arrivals of 2014 were instigated by Van Gaal, he has significant support to keep on spending until he thinks he has the right blend in his squad.
"Louis van Gaal has made a lot of changes," Sir Alex Ferguson told MUTV in late 2014, "but maybe he's doing the correct thing to clear the decks and build his own team because he's got the experience and the coaching ability to do that, and he's got the reputation to do that."
The need for the Dutchman to create his own imprint is clear, while Ferguson himself was known for his constant regeneration of the United squad, but there have to be question marks about the success ratio of those who have been introduced under Van Gaal's watch.
British-record signing Angel Di Maria was one of a number of players to struggle in their first season, with Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind also finding it difficult to settle. Radamel Falcao's loan deal did not justify the large fee and incredible £300,000 weekly salary, while Victor Valdes's January move quickly soured behind the scenes, judging by Van Gaal's comments on Wednesday.
Judgement of his transfer dealings should be delayed until at least after this summer's additions have had time to adjust, given his peripheral role in some of the moves made around the time of his arrival at the club, but the low success rate of the signings so far means that there will be a lot of pressure on the likes of Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger to get it right, and quickly.
For the second successive pre-season, Van Gaal had his squad in for double training sessions earlier in July as they got their preparation off to a gruelling start. Add in his intention to introduce evening training during the winter to come and his approach hasn't been a complete winner with the players.
While he tends to largely leave his trusted staff members to dictate proceedings during training sessions, Van Gaal is not scared to interrupt his coaches to give pointers to the players and explain the reasoning for certain drills.
He likes to have his say in a wider perspective, too, even if it means upsetting the money-men at the club. During his first season in charge he asked that extra Desso GrassMaster pitches – a mix of natural grass and artificial fibres – be laid during the close season for the youth teams to be able to get a feel for the same kind of surface being used at Old Trafford and on the first-team pitches at Carrington.
One downside of some of the renovations at the training ground this summer was Van Gaal's parking spot being lost as the first-team car park was at the centre of the changes. The Dutchman, though, is in the driving seat as United look to build for the future.
With his hand very much on the tiller on a variety of facets, Manchester United is finally becoming Louis van Gaal's Manchester United in a true sense.
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