Smashley Young

Young is a Valencia-style signing - he's a good player who improves the squad but not the first XI.
 
I'm pretty pleased about this tbh.

Good player, will fit in, can offer us set pieces, goal threat. Plus it's another very good player to have in the squad.

I've got confidence that he will up his game, much like Valencia, play in a pants team and you can only play as well as the team will let you. He'll look like a star come next season
 
Why would United need Ashley Young?

Both Valencia and Nani are superior players, imo.

Rotation. Other than those two we only have Giggs and Park, Welbeck and Cleverly can play wide but it's not their best position.
 
Why would United need Ashley Young?

Both Valencia and Nani are superior players, imo.

You can't expect them to play every game. Having a player as good as them as backup is very good in my opinion. Plus we also have to allocate for injuries. What happens if one of them in injured?
 
:lol:
Not every signing he makes is a good one, lets be honest. Of course the vast majority of the time they are, but he has made mistakes.

what if you count only proven players that SAF watched them many times and discard all Bebe like signings that was made based on scout reports?
 
A Post on Villa Talk regarding Young

The problem for us with Ashley Young was he became a big fish in a small pond.

After an initial difficult 6 months Young developed and developed quickly and enjoyed a brilliant two years in which he was at times simply unplayable for us. We fell in love with his work rate as much as we did his tricks as he made mugs of full backs for fun and often with a smile on his face the like of which we hadn't seen in our colours since the days of Yorke.

Put simply Ashley Young was a breath of fresh air, that rare thing in football a player who made you get off your seat and on your feet for no other reason than someone got the ball.

Alas it wasn't to last though and the pinnacle came with that goal at Goodison and O'Neill calling him world class and from pretty much that moment things changed. Suddenly his star was rising and he was the name on the lips of far great clubs than ours as the likes of Real took a look.

Sadly his star rising coincided with the start of our decline, Villa sold players, lost momentum and eventually stagnated and so to did Young. While he remained depending on your opinion our best or one of our best two players in the time Milner was at the club his form began to dip, his swagger began to fade and we all started staying in our seats a little longer.

He was still the main man, still the star but his form was dipping and people started talking about opposition doubling up on him for a while then came talk of his over hit corners, freekicks and crosses. He seemed to spend more time holding his shin than beating people but still he remained the main man and still we depended upon him.

Eventually the lack of talent around him meant he would play every week regardless of form or fitness, regardless of how many crosses he over hit or how much that shin of his seemed to trouble him. He became in short too big for us, we could manage him or motivate him, we couldn't get the best out of him.

That isn't a critism of Young, he never ever lacked effort in our colours but there is a different between effort and real burning motivation. He had that once but over time it faded in our colours and as it did so did a touch of his form and class.

We haven't seen the very best of Ashley Young in quite some time now and we wouldn't again if he stayed until the end of his career sadly he is made for a bigger stage and for bigger things. Put in the Utd side, more will be expected more will be demanded and he will rise to those demands and expectations if he doesn't he won't play and that is what he needs and what we couldn't afford to do.

I was one of his biggest critics over his delivery over the last two season and I believe rightly so at times it was simply terrible but I know that he won't have the same problems in the future.

Sorry but not at all surprised to see him go, its been coming for 2 years. Sadly he isn't the first and he won't be the last star to move on to better things

It should be noted that this post was met with agreement from many posters.
 
It's Villa delusion, he's inconsistent and has gone backwards over the last couple of years.

Somehow I find it hard to believe that fans will over-rate players who are leaving their clubs. Usually it's the opposite.
 

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How are people moaning about this?

For 16m quid we have an established premier league and international who is English home grown and hungry to win and be successful.

Trust Fergie guys.
 
A Post on Villa Talk regarding Young



It should be noted that this post was met with agreement from many posters.

Judging from this those of us who are unconvinced by Ashley Young are in agreement with the Villa fans who have watched his every move, week in and week out, over the last few years.

I'm hopeful that being at United will bring the best out of Young, much as it has done for Valencia, but I am not prepared to say that Young is better than Nani or Valencia yet.

I also don't think it has ever been a choice between Young and Sanchez. United will get Sanchez if they can, even with Young already in the fold. Young was too useful a player, being English, to pass up at the price. Sanchez is on another level of ability. Udinese is in the Champions League. Aston Villa is not.
 
:devil: I'm late but, Welcome to Man Utd, Ashley Young!

I'm very happy with this signing. It seems like we've got a very good player at a good price. His abilty and versatility should give us extra combinations in attack and ensure we have the strongest wing contigent in the league. Hopefully the healthy competition between them should bring out top performances whenever they make an appearance. The opposition however should fear us even more on the counter attack next season because... speed kills.
 
Ashley young snubs city and liverpool to join manchester united’s history boys

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Sport | Football

ASHLEY YOUNG put making history ahead of making extra cash as he joined Manchester United after rejecting more lucrative offers from Manchester City and Liverpool.

Manchester United’s £16 million signing quit Aston Villa to sign a five-year deal at Old Trafford yesterday and become Sir Alex Ferguson’s second big-money arrival of the summer.

But it is understood mega-rich neighbours City, as well as rivals Liverpool, were prepared to pay the England winger more money to sign for them.

But Young, who has doubled his wages in a contract worth £120,000 a week, had always set his sights on joining the champions as they offered him the best chance of winning trophies.

After fulfilling his “childhood dream” of signing for United, Young now wants to be part of a squad who make history as they target a 20th top-flight league title next season.

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The opportunity to come and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world is one I couldn’t turn down
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He said: “The opportunity to come and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world is one I couldn’t turn down. It’s a chance to hopefully become part of history by helping to win the 20th title.

“It’s a prospect I always looked at from being a child. I’ve got that opportunity now so I’ve got to take it with both hands.”
 
A top signing IMO and always thought he was one of the best wingers about. Stats and interest in him prove it. I know we live in England and his name is just a plain, old, boring, Young on his shirt, not a fancy, unusual foreign name but he is a decent player.

Always had me worried about who would be left out of Nani and Valencia because they are top players too but SAF will probably play him LW and then its between Nani and AV for the right side. Surely SAF has seen how Nani seems better on the right wing and suffered a bit when Antonia came back. Set pieces have also been poor from us at time, which we all moaned about at various points last season. Think we had 16 corners away to West Ham and still had to come back from 2-0 down without scoring from any of them!!!!


Can't wait to see him play.
 
EXCLUSIVE: Why Ashley Young can be the next Ryan Giggs - by the man who gave him his big break

Published 23:00 23/06/11 By James Nursey

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Recommend (1)

Aston-Villa-Ashley-Young-cropped

It's just a few years since Ashley Young was desperately trying to prove himself at his local club.

Championship side Watford had their doubts about the speedy, but gangly and lightweight teenager and as a 16-year-old he was refused an apprenticeship.

Ashley Young: I joined United to win 20th title

Mark Lawrenson column: Can Ashley Young repay Manchester United by raising his game to their level?

But the Hornets’ coaching staff believed they had seen enough talent in the raw youngster to give him another shot, and to Young’s relief another six-month trial was offered.

Fast forward to 2011 and Young, now a star of the Premier League and jet-heeled England international, has repaid that faith in spectacular style with a move to 19-times champions Manchester United.

Now, after just over four years earning rave reviews at Aston Villa, the spotlight will really be on Young’s every appearance, and the pressure to prove himself will be greater than anything he experienced on the training grounds in Hertfordshire.

Aidy Boothroyd, one of those first managers at Watford to recognise that Young just be a special talent, has no doubt he will rise to the challenges ahead.

Boothroyd, manager of Watford from March 2005, when he took Young and his team-mates into the Premier League, reckons United have bought themselves a hybrid of Nani and Ji-Sung Park, a versatile player who can play on the wing or upfront, and will end up being Ryan Giggs’ long-term successor.

And Boothroyd is looking forward to watching the next chapter in Young’s career under Sir Alex Ferguson after he left Watford for Villa in January 2007 for £9.65m.

He said: “Sir Alex will have done his homework and won’t be taking a player he didn’t think could add to them.

“Ashley has the work-ethic Park has got and I think he has got some of the quality and unpredictability to beat a player and create like Nani and Luis Antonio Valencia have got.

“He is sort of a mixture or hybrid of them - plus he is British which makes a big difference.

“He has done very well since he left Watford, he has had a little taste of European football, he has had a little taste of international football and now he is going to go on the biggest stage of all.

“It is a real competitive environment he is going into but it is one I am sure he will relish and will do really well in.

“The most important thing you have to do at United after you have won is win again.

“That will suit Ashley as he likes to win games and is a winner.”

Under Boothroyd’s tutelage at Vicarage Road, Young established himself in the first team and steered the Hornets into the top-flight before joining Villa.

And Boothroyd is confident the Stevenage-born star will blossom further at Old Trafford.

He added: “Ashley can cope with the stage - things don’t faze him.

“He had so much belief in himself that given the stage he would provide the goods and he has certainly done that.

“He is really able to cope with the big stage which is the biggest compliment I can give him and probably the most important thing he is going to need at United.”

Young has consistently been one of Villa’s best players with numerous assists and has notched nine goals in each of the last four seasons.

He joined as a winger but has this season also turned into a versatile forward capable of playing off the main striker.

He was still overlooked by England manager Fabio Capello for last summer’s 2010 World Cup though.

But Boothroyd believes Young will use that as future motivation after he decided against penning a new contract at Villa Park to move on.

Boothroyd added: “He was really disappointed not to have gone away with England at the last World Cup.

“He’ll want to put that right and get in Fabio’s plans and make sure he is a main player for club and country.

“He is not a guy to rest on his laurels. He will want to be the best he can be.

“He will provide not only crosses and great deliveries at set plays but has the ability to play off the front or on the right or left.

“At United, the only players who tend to remain in the same positions are the two centre-backs, the goalkeeper and a midfield holding player.

“Everyone else is very flexible in how they attack and Ashley can fit into that because he is a multi-purpose footballer.”

England’s World Cup flop last summer has given Young more chances on the international stage this season and he has bagged two England goals.

Young heads to Old Trafford in his prime ahead of his 26th birthday next month.

But Boothroyd refuses to take too much credit for Young’s development, adding: “I am a big believer cream always rises to the top.

“All I ever did was give him a platform to perform. At 16 he wasn’t given an apprenticeship but was asked to come back on a six-month trial which he did.

“He earned his apprenticeship and I don’t think he has looked back since.”
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Read more: Manchester United Ashley Young can be the next Ryan Giggs says man who gave him his big break Watford Aidy Boothroyd Exclusive - News - MirrorFootball.co.uk
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May not have the x factor like Sanchez but means we can dedicate our transfer budget to midfield - we've already got 2 of the best wingers in the world - this just strengthens the squad and gives us another option - I think he'll really cone on at united like Valencia did

A good addition for less than the cost of one of Andy carrolls legs
 
This is a good point by Mr Boothroyd:

“He will provide not only crosses and great deliveries at set plays but has the ability to play off the front or on the right or left.

“At United, the only players who tend to remain in the same positions are the two centre-backs, the goalkeeper and a midfield holding player.

“Everyone else is very flexible in how they attack and Ashley can fit into that because he is a multi-purpose footballer.”
 
No risk signing really.

I've watched Young with a keener eye since speculation started about United being interested, and what's stood out most apart from his footballing attributes has been his work rate - much like Valencia. United is an ideal platform (quick counter attacking game) for his style.
 
Still don't get it.

We've signed a player who MIGHT slightly improve us in an area we don't actually need to improve in.

If the engine's broken, fix the fecking engine before you start spending all your money on stuff that already works fine.
 
Those who are questioning the wisdom of his signing due to already having Nani, and Valencia we play over 50 game a season. That's over a 100 games shared between 3 players. That's discounting him being able to play in the middle behind the striker.
 
Still don't get it.

We've signed a player who MIGHT slightly improve us in an area we don't actually need to improve in.

We were definitely light on the wings last season and Giggs is 37 fecking years old now. It's fairly obvious we need another decent winger in our squad.

If the engine's broken, fix the fecking engine before you start spending all your money on stuff that already works fine.

If you need a new engine you're best advised to shop around to make sure you get the best possible engine for your money.

Meanwhile, if you see a car stereo that looks like great value you'd be a bit of a spacker if you decided to let someone else buy it purely on the basis that you still hadn't sourced your new engine.
 
Young is a great buy, comfortable on both the wings plus did a very good job for Villa as a second striker. Nani was knackered at the end of last season.