The_Rev Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 He started the diving around 2009/10 for us when he lost his ability to beat a man. still one of footballs mysteries how United bought him I guess they were hoping he could recapture the form he showed for two and a half seasons between 2008 and 2010. He was one of the best players in the league for quite a long time (didn't he win three player of the month awards in 2009?) but he looks a shadow of himself now. We would probably be a better team if he was still here but I think a lot of people at the Villa feel Ashley Young is the perfect example of selling a player at the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SikhInTrinity Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Charlie Nicholas made a great point, forget his diving, what has happened to the player who used to terrorise full-backs and whip crosses in. Watched him a few times now, and his play is predictable, he just lays it off to Evra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 thats the thing, his crossing for a wide man has gone absolute down the drain, as mentioned above he was devatating for a period from 07-09 and im sure was one season he had most assists in the league. now his crosses are either hitting 1st man or horribly floated yards over the bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avfc96 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 When he first played for United he was playing really well. I remember he scored 2 worldies against Arsenal when they beat them 8-2. He looks **** woeful at the moment though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 It's a shame, because as much of a ratbag he is now, he used to be loved by the Villa Park faithful. He was a tremendous player for us, who embodied everything good about that era. I don't think he made a bad choice by leaving Villa when he did, but I think United were a step too far for him. Would have done well at a club like Spurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 7, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted November 7, 2013 It's not intended as a defence of him but it's not unreasonable to suggest that the few and far between performances he gets in that United side make it very difficult to get any kind of form going. At Villa he played week in week out and probably felt a valued and important part of the team. It's got to be difficult from a form point of view to be a fringe player in any side knowing that you're out more often than you're in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 worldiesಠ_ಠ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Steve Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 It's not intended as a defence of him but it's not unreasonable to suggest that the few and far between performances he gets in that United side make it very difficult to get any kind of form going. At Villa he played week in week out and probably felt a valued and important part of the team. It's got to be difficult from a form point of view to be a fringe player in any side knowing that you're out more often than you're in. Plus, the team was largely built around Young, he had Barry's intelligent passing out to his feet on counter attacks, given his pace and crossing he was devastating. Young was always a player that loved to play his best when he knew the cameras were on him, he loved being the central pillar of our side. At United, he's not that, even in the big games he's regressed, both in his crossing and corners (which he was never very good at). It's like watching two different players. Rather than improve on his predictable running at defenders and cutting inside, he started to dive more and more. It started here but got so much worse at United and to the point where he's a liability to his team. Nobody expects a devastating run and cross from him, more expectation of when he will dive. Truly, I can't fathom why he's not improved, he certainly had good players around him at Villa when we were riding high but his lack of consistency began to show towards the end. An enigma of a player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Had he stayed with us, he'd be a regular in the England side and a top player. But he got greedy. Same old story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Nah, he just got found out. Happens to a lot of young players. Those that can adapt make it, those that don't... perish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers13 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Had he stayed with us, he'd be a regular in the England side and a top player. But he got greedy. Same old story. He also won a league title there. It's really hard to turn down a move to a top club, and it's not just about money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The_Rev Posted November 7, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted November 7, 2013 Had he stayed with us, he'd be a regular in the England side and a top player. But he got greedy. Same old story. If Manchester United come in for you and you turn them down to stay at Villa then you are an absolute fool. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 plus if stayed he wouldnt have been a top player as he was found out in his last 18 months here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Had he stayed with us, he'd be a regular in the England side and a top player. But he got greedy. Same old story. Hodgson doesn't pick Villa players. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 5 points off the lead now, people writing them off should have known better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 11, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted November 11, 2013 5 points off the lead now, people writing them off should have known betterIt's November. You write as if we're already wrong Let's see how it plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 well was some people saying Moyes wouldnt even get to January Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 11, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted November 11, 2013 well was some people saying Moyes wouldnt even get to January IIRC the worry at the time was that if their form didn't improve*, we wouldn't get to enjoy it for much longer. Thankfully their form has improved so we'll get to enjoy it now. First 6 games PPG = 1.17 Next 4 games PPG = 2.50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I'm still not totally convinced. Their midfield is weak. They are very reliant on Van Persie and Rooney. Yes they got a 1-0 win against Arsenal but Arsenal had just come back from a massive win against Dortmund. They were without their best defender and they won by getting men behind the ball. That's not what we associate with United teams. West Brpm proved teams don't have to go to Old Trafford and fear them this season. Top 4 maybe but title not for me. Liverpool are a better bet than United. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 really? United have played that way since Ronaldo left and have not been a great attacking team the media like to portray them as especially in the big games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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