Landing the Big Fish : Ashley Young

     
            Friends, this week we're beginning a new Series titled "Landing the Big Fish" to discuss about all the Big acquisitions by the top European clubs, with the club's very own ardent fans explaining exactly who's their best buy of the summer and why.
          So for the very first post, we welcome Akash Nair, a die-hard Red Devil, as he talks about Fergie's summer dealings and who might end up as United's best buy this summer.
                                              

Ashley Young....the next United super-star in the making??

                                     

After  the mauling suffered at the hands of Barcelona at Wembley, plus the impending departures of some vital cogs of the first team, Manchester United FC needed some reinforcements…quickly.
The question was whether United had the money to invest and after  the circus by Rooney (the small matter of handing in a transfer request saying the club lacks ambition!!), this was going to be a summer which would clear some doubts.

The fans clearly wanted a midfielder(out of desperation) and a goalkeeper(out of necessity) and after numerous scouting reports,hard negotiations, some failed bids, countless spotting at airports and Bridgewater hospital and 2 months later we have a goalkeeper, a defender and a winger.

In David De Gea we have a 20-year old goalie with truckloads of potential, in Jones an inexperienced defender but a born leader ;a player who can marshal United’s and England’s defence for years to come, and in Young, we have an established Premier league winger. The best signing of the summer for me is Ashley Young.While DDG and Jones have lot of potential, whether they will fulfill it is another matter of fact. 

While much has been said about United’s need of a creative midfielder or a midfield destroyer,there is also a need for a left winger who can bomb down the flanks, put in crosses , cut inside and track back to help the fullback. This has been highlighted due to the fact that Ryan Giggs has become old now--old is an understatement—so much so that he is almost exclusively used in centre midfield by Ferguson as his pace has decreased. Some may argue that we have Nani or Park who can do the job in the left, but the fact is that none of them are primarily left footed.Nani tends to drift inside while deployed on the left forcing Wazza wide or Hernandez to run behind the fullback.

Technical  attributes of Ashley Young:

Young has searing pace, with a bucket-load of tricks to match. He's a great dribbler of the ball, who can tantalize the opposition. Even though being primarily right-footed, he has an excellent left-foot, which makes him an awesome "Inverted Winger" to have.Add to that his deadly Set-piece skills and pinpoint crossing, and you have a genuinely world-class winger in your ranks.

Mental attributes :

For a player who rose through the ranks at Watford offering to play without a contract just so that he can train, will and determination comes easily.
The desire to win is always there in a player who only has held the community shield aloft. 

Young is fast and deceptive, which is deadly attribute for someone who plays for a team known for super-fast counter attacks

                                             
The important thing for me is Young’s versatility.
He can play as left forward in a 4-3-3 ,as a second striker in a 4-4-1-1, on the right as well as the left wing, in the hole behind the front two in a 4-1-3-2.
This versatility opens the door for a revolving front 4 last seen during 07/08 season when the likes of Roo, Ronnie, Giggsy and Tevez  wreaked havoc.
Young was also employed by Gerrad Houllier in a more central role during his last season at Villa helping them to steer clear of relegation and also Fabio Capello’s England during the Euro 12 qualifying  campaign.
All this versatility won't be much visible during the initial stages of the campaign but it will be prominent during the latter stretches when games come thick and fast and injuries enter the picture.

If you still think he's not a Marquee signing United needed to formally replace the legendary Paul Scholes, just check out some of his stats in the English League.

• Ashley Young is10th on the list of all-time assist makers in the Premier League with 53 assists to his     name.
• In terms of assists per games, Ashley Young ranks 7th in Premier League history with 0.46 assists per game, behind Giggs, Bergkamp, Cantona, Fabregas, Henry & Beckham.
• Only Cesc Fabregas has more Premier League assists than Ashley Young since the 2006/07 season
• He has scored 62 goals and made 70 assist in 300 appearances in all competition.
• Ashley Young has scored 33 goals in the Premier League – 32 on his right foot, 1 on his left foot, 34.4% from outside the box & 37.5% from dead balls.
• From 07/08-10/11, Ashley Young has provided 30 dead ball league assists: 7.5 per year. #MUFC’s best Nani has averaged 4.25. Improvement.
• Young’s dead ball assist rate from the last 4 years of 7.5 per season is better than Beckham – who averaged 4.77 per season in his Man Utd career.
• He has only been sent off once in his premier league career.
•  Incidentally Young is also one of the most fouled players in the league, which creates more set piece opportunities  and also gets injured very rarely.

I m sure some United fans will still feel we could have done with an attacking midfielder in the moulds of Sneijder--- but that’s mainly from the need to match Barca after the dressing down they have given us last two times. It certainly would've added to the oomph factor, but the defeat was much more of a result of a midfield that was unable to initiate lightning fast counters which United are known for.And Young is much more likely to bring back those counters rather than a Sneijder or any such creative midfielder. 

Glory days are here to stay at Old Trafford. Let's just hope Ashley Young owns the left wing of United first team for years to come !!

Written by:

Akash R Nair