Recently on Bleacher Report a man called Ricky Santillan wrote a piece on Ashley Young called 5 Reasons Ashley Young Is a Terrible Signing.
Whilst not everyone has taken to the signing of Young, most are willing to give him a chance before completely writing him off. When we were linked with him initially I admit I was not over the moon, whilst a good player I wasn’t sure how much he improved us in terms of the wider scope of the game.
Of course he would make us even stronger in the league but what about Europe?
Of course looking at it now, this is quite a flawed stance. Young is a talented player and offers us another option both wide, centrally as well as from dead ball situations. There have been a number of good pieces written on Young by various United blogs about his merits and it’s promising that most of us are willing to wait and see how he turns out before passing judgement thus the 5 Reasons Ashley Young Is a Terrible Signing blog seems quite strange.
Some of the reasoning as to why is short sighted and verges on silly so I thought I would have a look at just how ‘terrible’ he is going to be.
United Have Better Wingers on Their Squad
“With Nani, Valencia, Park, and Giggs you wonder why United would waste their time on another winger and pay ?17 million for a rotational player who is probably going to end up on the bench for most of the season.”
There can be an argument made for more wingers at the club even if it isn’t the most obvious area to strengthen.
Giggs, as we saw in the Champions League this season, has more than taken to his central role whilst playing Park out wide is usually a decision that isn’t based on his offensive abilities as a winger.
It is hardly a ‘waste of time’ as Santillan states because this season has shown us anything can happen and preparation is key. Nobody could tell that Valencia would be out for such a long spell after his injury in September whilst Nani could have been out for way longer following that horror tackle from Jamie Carragher.
The signing of Young will ensure that we are better prepared for any hiccups that may occur.
With that being said, Young isn’t just a winger. He can also be deployed centrally as he was last season by Villa so to argue there are better wingers at the club is a disservice to Young.
He’s a Good Player, Not Great
“But is he the kind of game-breaking player that will help United finally topple Barcelona (or even Madrid) if they were to face off or in the Champions League?”
Barcelona have undoubtedly set the standard for which teams need to strive for and this was some fan’s problem when the rumours of our signing him began to show real substance.
The answer simply is no as there is no single player that will help Man United topple Barcelona. Had we signed Ronaldo back the answer would be the same as even at Real Madrid, a team Santillan clearly rates as better than ours, he hasn’t been able to do so.
Manchester United rarely buy ‘great’ players instead we make them, the list of players who have grown at Old Trafford is endless and most recently we can point to Hernandez who is being spoken of as one of the games best finishers whilst Chris Smalling is undoubtedly becoming one of the games most promising young defenders.
Young may not be a ‘great’ player now but come the end of the season what are the odds that he will have upped his levels of performance and changed Santillan’s mind?
Will It Hurt Ashley Young’s Career?
“There is no doubting that Young has the ability to be a key member of the English squad, considering he does have a few caps, but would it have been better for him to go play for say, Chelsea, Man City, or even the club that also wanted him, Liverpool?”
A move from Aston Villa to Manchester United will have undoubtedly raised Young’s profile in the game as it has so many other players.
There is a chance making the step up may not work but this is the case at any club but he will be given the credit for trying his hand at the best club in England rather than settling in an attempt to ensure comfort.
A number of clubs have been named here as better option for Young but are they really?
Seeing as Santillan seems intent on classing Young as a winger the obvious answer is Chelsea don’t really play with wingers. They may employ wide forward men but in the same way he faces competition for a place as a winger here he would face competition as one of the front 3 there.
Man City is another team mentioned but again would they be a better option? All you have to do is look at Adam Johnson who for me is one of England’s better wingers yet struggles to get into their team and has already spoke of not being afraid to leave Man City in search of more playing time.
Had he gone to Liverpool for me that would have shown a lack of ambition. Yes there is prestige in playing for them but what do they offer him? Whilst there is talking of Dalglish rebuilding the team they are currently out of all European competition so as a player looking to make the best of themselves you would want to join a team where you will have to force your way in but be able to test yourself against the cream of Europe.
Young Isn’t So Young Anymore
“How many good years will he have left? Who knows? He is definitely in his prime, but will his peak come sooner than expected?”
This is one of the sillier points raised as at 25 (turning 26 next month) Young is FAR from old. If he wants to look at it as age I could simply call it experience. For example he is at an age where he won’t need to be babied into the team, although he hasn’t played at a team as big as United I wouldn’t think at 26 he will be over awed the way an 18 year old could be.
All though United have employed a strategy of buying players a lot younger recently, this is a non point for me.
Money Better Spent Elsewhere, Primarily the Center Midfield
“Manchester United’s finances are limited, and the purchase of Young leaves less money for a CDM, CM, and/or CAM.”
We have been lead to believe United don’t have two pennies to rub together so the fact we have spent an estimated £32m leads me to believe there is money to spend and it will be spent as seen fit. If the signing of Young means we won’t be able to sign players in other positions then it means we also won’t be getting a goalkeeper which is 100% unlikely.
Sir Alex isn’t a novice at this, he will know how much he has to spend and what areas need strengthening. Having lost Scholes and Hargreaves I would think that Sir Alex has something in mind to cover the center of midfield whether it is a new face or a promotion in the team.
The signing of Young was not a spur of the moment thing, we’ve been linked with him for a while so I’m sure Sir Alex will have budgeted, taking into consideration his signing. There is also a chance players will also be people on the way out of the club to top up our funds so if finances are needed there is a good chance there can be gotten.
All of this has been a response to some of the points raised in the Bleacher Report blog, I haven’t even got into the good things Young will add to the team. He hasn’t even pulled on a United shirt yet and already people are trying to pull him down, I’d prefer to see how he performs before passing judgement.
Totally agree, some alleged United fans need to get over themselves. Young is an excellent young player, quick, tricky, hardworking and with a first class assist rate (better than anyone in the United team over the last 3 years). Neither Nani nor Valencia look comfortable on the left but Young has excelled there for Villa, so Fergie obviously sees him as a Giggs replacement which is definitely a position that we needed to fill. There’s plenty of time left for central midfield and I have no doubt the manager will be bringing in a new face before the end of the transfer window, but to criticise an exciting new signing just because we didn’t get a central midfielder first is idiotic. Personally I think Young will be great for United, having a pacey winger on both sides makes the team less predictable and gives the opposition a much bigger headache. I suspect that the people being most critical will be the most quiet when the season is under way.
I read the ricky’s article, he’s not the greatest writer. He seems to think bringing in Modric or Sneijder will help us compete with Barcelona. I was a bit negative about young at first but now he’s with us I’m right behind him. Fergie knows a thing or two about the game so who am I to judge.
Ashley Young can be an excellent signing for us. People don’t realise that Nani isn’t that great on the left. Young will provide us with that width we have lacked from the left side of midfield. He is at a great age now to make an impact. He is 2nd only to Fabreags in terms of league assists in the last 4 years. That speaks volumes for the player. I think for £16-17 million it’s good business.
Also he is English, and I know some people don’t care about things like that, it does make a difference. Man Utd explored the possibilities of signing Alexis Sanchez as well, but after the Young deal was all pretty much secured. That makes me think we had hoped to get both players. That tells me Ferguson is conscience of not have too many foreign players in the squad, and the need for balance. We have lost Nevile, Scholes, Hargreaves, and now very likely Gibson, Brown and O’Shea. That’s a lot of British players to lose in 1 year.
like the signing. need a LW – and someone to be a threat at set pieces and hit good corners. Also – wondering if we’ll see some more of nani in the centre? he could creat some havoc there.. either way we are strenthening the squad with a talented player. would love a strong CDM and were laughing. fuck man city by the way.
Let’s see him first in the next 5 to 7 games if he will be like torres before we kill him
I think he’s a waste of money – but that opinion is from someone who thought Chicarito was a bad signing – hope I’m wrong again. Still worried about midfield though.