Is the Villa winger destined for a starring role next season?
We’re heavily linked with Ashley Young of Villa. Forgive me for stating the obvious. But we are.
Every report for the last three weeks has told us that the deal to wrap him up is “just days away”, and blogs, tweets and fan forums , albeit quite calm at the moment while he’s getting hitched, have been getting quite excited at the prospect. But why? What do we know about Ashley Young?
Is he really the man who, could be, our marquee summer signing? I’ll be honest – I really don’t know much about him. I’ve seen Villa games on TV where he’s probably played, but in all honesty I couldn’t tell you if his name was on the team sheet or not. Not being negative about him at all, but I don’t recall watching a Villa match, and him being an outstanding player – wowing me senseless and getting me to think: “I wish he was at United”. Same as I wouldn’t know if Carlos Cuellar was playing in the same match.
So this gets me thinking about the current players we have at Old Trafford who plays in Young’s position. Nani, Giggs, Valencia, Park. Do I think he’s better than them? Well, Giggs is getting on…but is utilised in central midfield a lot. I want Nani in the team most weeks. Yes he can be a bit headless chicken sometimes, but we all know that he creates, he scores, he penetrates, and he’s our most flair player of the moment. Rumour has it he’s on his way…if he does go, whoever he signs for’s gain, and our loss. Tony V. Does this guy ever get anything wrong? Barely. He’s a fighter, as well as someone who beats the full back, crosses accurately, and you feel safe with him in the team. Park is a yappy little terrier who puts in the mileage, spots the passes and is quietly a key player. From my knowledge of these guys, including the potential new signing…I’d choose all four of them over Ashley Young.
So now I look at his other Villa team mates, and his England call ups over the last 12 months. Young and Downing are the Villa wingers. I don’t rate Downing, and think he’s probably punching above his weight at Villa anyway. But then I ask why has Downing been continuously called up for England, and had a lot of game time…and Young been left out, in the under 21s, or on the bench for England for the best part? So I look for the answer to the people who know him better than I do. The users on the Aston Villa fan forums. I wonder what they say about the want away winger? He doesn’t get the most positive reviews from some of the Villa faithful to be fair. I get the impression that on his day he can be electric, but more often than not he’s “erratic”, “hasn’t got any ideas” and they think that Villa should cash and invest the multimillions elsewhere in the squad before the real Ashley Young gets found out. None of this points at Young being the type of player we need to bolster a squad who are always competing for the title, and fight to the bitter end to get in to the Champions League final.
It seems a bit of a flat signing to me, hyped up in the media, and making reds as giddy as scousers over the return of King Kenny.
But then there’s this. The United factor. The ‘finishing school’ for those players who are about to become the next big thing, but need the coaching and the step up to top four and European level. And this is where United’s less than illustrious big money signings have then gone on to become Fergie’s shrewdest signing since the last one. So, Ashley Young…what to make of it?
Well, I would have hoped that our main signing this summer would have been an established player, with experience of winning medals on the big stage, and being able to bring the team on a bit. And that may still happen. But if Young is our biggest transfer of the summer, are we really kicking on from last term? I hope he develops over a season, and that United fans don’t get carried away with the way he is portrayed by the press and expect him to be an instant hit. Because Ashley Young isn’t a world beater.
Yet.
Ashley Young is another OVER-RATED player, and he’s not a quality player that good enough to play for us really.
I’ve heard news that SAF will sell Nani which if it’s true, this will be a very bad move. Nani is the best player for us. He’s the most skillful and talented player since the departure of Ronaldo. Nani, with his tricks and dribbling skills, can beat and go pass opponents easily. His best position is simply on the right which I believe that most of United fans also think that Nani is a much better player than Valencia.
If SAF want to sell Nani in order to find money, we should sell Valencia instead. Players like Gibson, Brown, Evans, Anderson, or Carrick can also be sold if the money is right. If we need a LEFT WINGER, Eden Hazard is a very much better player really.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M1WvItGN0U
Eden Hazard, similarly to Ronaldo, can play on both sides but prefer to play on the left. He is younger, quicker, much more skillful, and rated as top talented around the world. Currently, Hazard is wanted by Barca, Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Liverpool. However, for Young, apart from us, no other clubs really want to sign him really.
Worst. Argument. Ever…. I’m not even going to bother to pick out the many incorrect points…..
Ashley Young on the left is better than Nani on the left, no debate there.
Nani & Valencia will be fighting it out for the right hand side i would assume, maybe even Nani rotating from right to left as and when needed.
Getting Young can only make us stronger.
Take a look at his set pieces from last season. They are appalling (and I’m a villa fan).
Enjoy.
You are spot on. Young is a good premiership player, although by no means outstanding. I went to over 30 games home and away last year and he only stood out at West Ham who were nearly down by then.
I’d still like him to stay at Villa but he’s no where near the standard required for a side challenging at the very top at home and in europe. So if we can get £20m then i’ll be very happy.
Obviously you all know best because Sir Alex knows nothing and is bound to be wrong about Young.
if fergie had invested after winning the champions league we would be where barca r now
He’s a good player, thats it. O’Neill hyped him up to the hilt and he believes it. Barry, Milner were sorely missed when they left, Downing would be a big miss too …. but for me Young has been over hyped to the point some Villa fans don’t see it. He spends more time on the ground, cheats worse than Nani, can’t beat a man, his crosses are hit and miss, his free kicks are hit and lots of misses, his penalties are the worse I’ve ever seen, he constantly loses the ball and runs round like a headless chicken. this sounds like his agent is doing his best to get a move to Utd. There is no way he would improve Utd in a million years, Nani, Park and Valencia are all three times the player Young is. but if we get £18m for him we should laugh all the way to the bank and buy a couple of quality up and coming players.
Man Utd will not be making any marquee signings in midfield, that is certain. We are skint, fact, The yankee owners will never sanction over the odds spending. Your Sneijders, Modrics etc we can wish all we want, if those marquee midlield payers ( which we absolutely need) are going to any English clubs, it will be to the money of the Arab owned City or Russian owned Chelsea. Trust me on this one.
Reason that we are getting him is because of new rules introduced by fa or something which says that we have to have a certain amount of British players in our squad to qualify for playing. Even if that wasn’t the case, i would still want him as he and Nani are practically the same players and we can utilize them in a rotation every 2 weeks or so so that we get the best out of them both.
Got to disagree with a lot of Villa fans posting here. I think ashley Young is a class act and will be a massive player at United (a la Yorke). I am disappointed he is going, if you really don’t want him I would be delighted if he stayed at VP..The problem for us is that players become England Internationals whilst at Villa, but because we can;t crack CL, they move on..Barry, Milner, Young…hopefully not Downing and Bent…Very hard for clubs around the 5-9 mark to progress
That main post is so wrong on so many points it’s not funny. Do you actually watch football ?