I completely agree, when we are quick to get to opposing players and give them as little space as possible, that's when we are at our strongest defensively and usually leads to breaking out from the back more often. I've seen this happen last season, probably only a handful of times. Usually when it happens we win comfortably, I can't understand why we aren't doing this more. Maybe it's a tactical thing on our part.
Two things I moaned about last season was this and our corner taking ability.