Gabby and Ash.........Frauds?

[barrysleftfoot]

   Bear with me.

   It struck me last night that these 2 in partic, have led us down the road of false enthusiasm.Neither are going to be as good as I, you, every one hoped/Believed.

  AYoungs total failure to understand, and appreciate whats going on around him, and failure to pick out a pass, or the right pass, or evenmake the right choice of a shot or a pass, means he can't play in the free role behind a lone striker.His lack of goal scoring, and getting in the right positions, whilst playing in this role also means he can't play there.How many goals this year in open play?

  Put him on the wing, is he now better than he was 2 yrs ago.Can he pick a cross,or  pick a player out?Has he got as good a cross as Albrighton....who can cross, and can pick a player out.Time to stop relying on him and trying to appease him by playing him where he wants to, and not where benefits the team?For me yes.


  Gabby.......probably more of a disappointment to me........does he care?What are his attributes apart from pace?
  Went up front last night after Heskey was sent off, and failed to hold the ball up once.Never had an attempt all night, lacks movement, lacks a touch, has stagnated?Has been found out?More worryingly does'nt seem to want to develop as a player.


  For me last night, what summed up Villa for me, and what summed up our problems, and also vindicated GHs comments about team glory before personal glory, was when it was still 0-0, Ashley broke foward with Heskey and Gabby, heskey made a good run to the near post, was unmarked, and Ash shot straight at the goalie.Not good enough, too selfish, we deserve better.

  Hope i'm wrong, but i fear these 2 are never going to be as good as i hoped bthey would be.

[dutchvilla]

I agree that they're not playing well and that A Young can be very frustrating, but over the last 3-4 years, they are the players that other teams have been afraid of. Villa are at their best when these two are working well together. The challenge is for GH to get them to rediscover their own form and the almost telepathic relationship they seem to have had at times.

[adam#1]

Gabby was excellent at holding up the ball last season after he bulked up. This season Houllier has told him to lose the muscles, and play as a left winger. He's also had a season of injuries and illness.

Young - yes I do wonder whats going on. The press have intimated that he's playing in the hole at his own request, but he does seem to be a better player form the wings to be honest. He had a poor game last night, but has generally played well this season. I think his crossing is usually good.

[eastie]

Gabby will never be a prolific goalscorer and his finishing needs to improve hugely- as for ash , much better on the wing but we have had the best out of him 2 yrs ago- I would not begrudge him the move he seems to want!

Albrighton may turn out to be the best of the lot - hopefully!

[villasjf]

I think Ash shoud have been right wing and Gabby down the middle with Downing on the left, its down to the manager and coaches i am afraid.

[supertom]

Sadly agree.

In Ash's case, I think he needs a move now. At which point he'll kick on to fulfill his promise, or he'll be one of those nearly but not quite players. IMO he's been on a steady decline since MON's world class tag.

As for Gabby I think it's a case of a limited player that MON got the absolute best out of and a bit more. Pace is still his best attribute, but he's chipped away a few yards to add beef.

I'd move on Ash while we can get money. Gabby is still useful, but I think he may become an impact player, unless we find a manager who's style is more matched to Gabby's game, and who can get that extra 10% out of him.

[PaulTheVillan]

I'd keep Gabby, I don't think he'll be a bad apple. He's useful, but he could be a better player if he improved his off the ball movement & finishing.
If we get a £20m bid for Young, I'm afraid I hope we sell him.

[Olneythelonely]

Gabby is the last person we should be pointing fingers at. What's he supposed to do when being played on the left wing?

The title of this thread is also a blatant attempt at attention seeking.

[gti2win]

everyday of the week ash is a more important player for us than gabby in my opinion, gabby has nothing to his game apart from pace, his footballing brain is very poor, no awareness of whats around him, if hes got time to think when heading in on goal you know more often than not hes gonna cock it up, even simple passing seems to be an issue for him, although that could be said for a few players at the moment! On the plus side he is villa through and through.

Ash for me works hard every game, always looks like he cares, and i wouldnt blame him if he was to move on, but i would want to see him sold, as for gabby i think he needs to move, life is too comfortable here for him, he will never provide the goals we need to move on unfortunately.

[Olneythelonely]

everyday of the week ash is a more important player for us than gabby in my opinion, gabby has nothing to his game apart from pace, his footballing brain is very poor, no awareness of whats around him, if hes got time to think when heading in on goal you know more often than not hes gonna cock it up, even simple passing seems to be an issue for him, although that could be said for a few players at the moment! On the plus side he is villa through and through.

Ash for me works hard every game, always looks like he cares, and i wouldnt blame him if he was to move on, but i would want to see him sold, as for gabby i think he needs to move, life is too comfortable here for him, he will never provide the goals we need to move on unfortunately.

I've never read a post so wrong.

[Merv]

I like both players but we certainly haven't got the best out of either of them this season. Young's not bad in this floating role, but I prefer him wide and that's where he should be - either left or right depending on whether we go with Albrighton or Downing in the side. TBH, I'm not sure he's going to be as good as I thought he was a couple of years back: doesn't look the part at international level and can't see him making it at Man U or Arsenal... right now Spurs and City have better attacking options too. But he's still good enough to be one of our key, if not the key, player. One thing you can never accuse him of is lack of effort. One of the hardest-working forward players in the league.

Gabby? He needs to be playing centre-forward. That's it. Not left wing. He's not huge but he can hold the ball up. He needs to be in and around the box, end of. I'm hoping he'll get a few games there now with Emile out.

[gti2win]

everyday of the week ash is a more important player for us than gabby in my opinion, gabby has nothing to his game apart from pace, his footballing brain is very poor, no awareness of whats around him, if hes got time to think when heading in on goal you know more often than not hes gonna cock it up, even simple passing seems to be an issue for him, although that could be said for a few players at the moment! On the plus side he is villa through and through.

Ash for me works hard every game, always looks like he cares, and i wouldnt blame him if he was to move on, but i would want to see him sold, as for gabby i think he needs to move, life is too comfortable here for him, he will never provide the goals we need to move on unfortunately.

I've never read a post so wrong.

Its my opinion, and i can assure you i am not alone with it, but thanks for the reply

[sfx412]

Gabby will never be a prolific goalscorer and his finishing needs to improve hugely- as for ash , much better on the wing but we have had the best out of him 2 yrs ago- I would not begrudge him the move he seems to want!

Albrighton may turn out to be the best of the lot - hopefully!

Strange that Gabby has led our goalscoring charts for most of the seasons he's been in the first team, then

[barrysleftfoot]

  I can assure you its not attention seeking olney.......its frustration and concearn.


  Like everybody on here, i have my views and beliefs on football.2 years ago i was convinced that Gabby was developing nicely, and would be Englands No 9 at the 2010WC, and that Ashley would develop into the a wonderful attacking wide player, like Nasri.

  What happened?

  Gabby.........has'nt developed in the last 12 months, yes he played wide last night, but Bardsley was marking him.....BARDSLEY.Never got past him once either with or without the ball.Is obsessed with his bulk, his manager tells him to lose it, he says he'll think about it.Does'nt find enough space in and around the penalty area, does'nt know how to utilise his pace.What worries me about Gabby is that he gives me the impression he no longer takes advice, and consequently won't develop to the player he could become.

  Ashley works hard, puts plenty of effort in, tries hard, is in some ways a good team player, but wheres the quality?Has'nt got as good a cross as Albrighton, has'nt got as good a shot as say Downing.He should be OUR Nasri/Arshavin/VDV, is he any where near that quality ......no.He is now 25/26, is he going to improve, get more goals, create more, is he going to be as good a player as we all thought he was going to be 2/3 years ago.......NO.

  Ash was no worse than Downing, or NRC, or Petrov, ........but i expect more from Gabby and Ashley, and for us to get out of this situation have got to perform, now neither did last night, and to be honest have been very sporadic all season.

[adam#1]

Gabby will never be a prolific goalscorer and his finishing needs to improve hugely- as for ash , much better on the wing but we have had the best out of him 2 yrs ago- I would not begrudge him the move he seems to want!

Albrighton may turn out to be the best of the lot - hopefully!

Strange that Gabby has led our goalscoring charts for most of the seasons he's been in the first team, then

Agreed. I think he's lost his way this season through injury illness and poor management.