Ashley Young - tell it how you see it

[WikiVilla]

I'd like to see one last hurrah from him on the Right Wing, where he belongs

[PaulTheVillan]

I'd consider dropping Young & Gabby this weekend & giving Downing & Albrighton the wings.

I'd love to see an up for it Ireland or Bannan back in the side with Darren Bent upfront. Bent would thrive on his through balls better than Youngs over hit crosses.

[garyshawsknee]

I'd consider dropping Young & Gabby this weekend & giving Downing & Albrighton the wings.

I'd love to see an up for it Ireland or Bannan back in the side with Darren Bent upfront. Bent would thrive on his through balls better than Youngs over hit crosses.

I agree that Ireland at his Man City best would work great with Bent,but i think theres as much chance as Hodge being Taylors ambassadors assistant,than Ireland turning around his Villa career.

[Chris Smith]

I'd consider dropping Young & Gabby this weekend & giving Downing & Albrighton the wings.

I'd love to see an up for it Ireland or Bannan back in the side with Darren Bent upfront. Bent would thrive on his through balls better than Youngs over hit crosses.

I think dropping our best player for such a crucial match would be managerial suicide.

[Dave Cooper please]

Or if he did it and we won - managerial genius.

[Blackcountry Villa]

Sell the whinging, cheating, overrated little shit and sign N'Zogbia and Enrique. Our left side would be much much stronger than it is now, jobs a good 'un.

[lukey27]

Sell the whinging, cheating, overrated little shit and sign N'Zogbia and Enrique. Our left side would be much much stronger than it is now, jobs a good 'un.

Is that opinion

a) Perfectly reasoned and well thought through

or

b) Complete and utter gobbledygook and reactionary ill-informed nonsense

Hmm... I wonder

[enigma]

N'Zogbia is an even bigger whinger than Ashley. Constantly diving too. Decent player though but I honestly think he's a downgrade on Young.

[Blackcountry Villa]

Sell the whinging, cheating, overrated little shit and sign N'Zogbia and Enrique. Our left side would be much much stronger than it is now, jobs a good 'un.

Is that opinion

a) Perfectly reasoned and well thought through

or

b) Complete and utter gobbledygook and reactionary ill-informed nonsense

Hmm... I wonder

You tell me whats wrong with what i said then? He is overrated, he is a whinger and he is a cheat and if we sold him and signed those two our left side would be much stronger, i fail to see whats wrong with what i said.

It's not a knee jerk reaction with him either, i've been saying he's crap for over a year. Everyone keeps banging on that he should be back on the wing but he couldn't cross the road these days.

[Barry Shaw]

Sounds like it'sjust somebody's opinion. I too would take money for him now as he clearly demands to play where he wants to and has lost the form that made him a great prospect. Decent player but not world class so cash in and improve. I don't like his diving, mannerisms, moaning etc. but that isn't swaying my judgement as that is football nowadays.

[Meanwood Villa]

He's been consistently poor for us in the withdrawn striker role. He did play well for England there but that's not enough for me to keep on with it. Unfortunately it looks like GH will keep on playing him there indefinitely.

[Merv]

You tell me whats wrong with what i said then? He is overrated, he is a whinger and he is a cheat and if we sold him and signed those two our left side would be much stronger, i fail to see whats wrong with what i said.

It's not a knee jerk reaction with him either, i've been saying he's crap for over a year. Everyone keeps banging on that he should be back on the wing but he couldn't cross the road these days.

For me, whatever happens with Young we don't need a new left-winger; we need a second striker/No.10 type to replace him because that's where he's been playing this season. We play Downing left wing.

I wouldn't mind Enrique at LB though.

[luke95]

He has not been effective since April 20th 2008.

Thats pretty much the game he & Aston Villa peaked under MON , since then its been pretty much a downhill spiral barring a couple of good cup runs. 

[lukey27]

Ashley Young is not overrated, he's got everything to his game. This season has been awful, but Ashley is certainly not alone in the naughty corner.

His best position is wide left and if he goes in the summer, he'll be most effective playing there for whoever he signs for. Milner was most effective for us in a central position and was not as effective out wide, simple as that. If we were to finish the season playing three more orthadox central midfielders and Ashley wide left we'd see the best of  him again, no doubt. But Houllier doesn't seem to fancy that option.

People, though, who think we can easily replace our best players, seem to have forgotten very quickly about the James Milner shaped hole in our midfield which was patently obvious for the first half of this season.

[glasses]

He has not been effective since April 20th 2008.

Thats pretty much the game he & Aston Villa peaked under MON , since then its been pretty much a downhill spiral barring a couple of good cup runs. 

A downhill spiral? Two 6th place finishes and 2 trips to Wembley? Any way you put it is not a downward spiral. I can understand people saying we stood still, but to say it was a downward spiral is madness.

Young is our most influential player. Everything goes through him. Perhaps this is the problem. We need other options and style in the way we play. If the responsibility was taken away from him, and he could go back to being a winger, one of the best in the country by the way, we may see him shining again.

I want him to stay, and I want us to play him as a winger. In fact I want Houllier to start playing our players in their correct positions full stop.