Ashley Young

[MoetVillan]

He didnt celebrate like someone who was on his way to Liverpool when he set up the winner

[austin]

End of this season we will sell ashley young. Next season we will sell downing.

Barry, Milner, Young, Downing.

Anybody else spot the depressing pattern to all this.

[avfcpg]

He didnt celebrate like someone who was on his way to Liverpool when he set up the winner

Wouldn't read too much into that. Winning a game in the last minute, setting up the winner, adrenalin pumping.

Am sure a few said the same about Barry when he celebrated a goal, ironically at West Ham as well.

[Monty]

End of this season we will sell ashley young. Next season we will sell downing.

Barry, Milner, Young, Downing.

Anybody else spot the depressing pattern to all this.

Wow. I imagine that post to be delivered in a listless monotone, perhaps as a solitary, silent tear slides down the nose.

[Mazrim]

End of this season we will sell ashley young. Next season we will sell downing.

Barry, Milner, Young, Downing.

Anybody else spot the depressing pattern to all this.

Is it that only the first two have happened?

In all seriousness, I wouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves.
Players come and go. We just have to keep the quality coming in and making best use of whatever we get for the players when they leave.
We didn't miss Barry in my opinion, we certainly have missed Milner, we may or may not lose Young and we may or may not replace him adequately. Let's just see what happens first.

Obviously, we all want Young to stay (apart from the odd cretin).

[Concrete John]

End of this season we will sell ashley young. Next season we will sell downing.

Barry, Milner, Young, Downing.

Anybody else spot the depressing pattern to all this.

It's not a pattern that should be of concern as much as it is the reasoning behind this, which is that the players think they'll win more elsewhere.  And of course the wonga.

Spurs were in a similar position a frew years ago losing Berbatov and Carrick to Man Utd, but now they can keep hold of their better players as they're in the CL.  And that's the key for us to be able not so much to keep our batter players, but to stop them wanting to leave! 

[supertom]

Ash is hitting form at the right time. Obviously, playing where he's best really helps. Ged pulled a boner by playing Gabby and Young out of position for so much of the season. We look so much better when Young is out wide, and also when Gabby plays in the middle.

Had we played to peoples strengths more often this year, we'd be a lot more comfortable than we are. I don't think we'd be pushing top 6, but we'd be within touching distance of Everton I reckon, and have top 8 sewn up.

I really hope he stays. As he's shown fleetingly this season (part form, part tactics), he's our most talented player by some distance. Replacing him will be tough. I hope that he values being the big dog of a team more than just picking up a big paycheque to play for one of the big boys with a lot less regularity, and notoriety. He won't have as much impact for City as he does here, as Milner knows. Same goes for most of his other suitors, like Utd and Chelsea, maybe even Spurs if he's there along with Bale and VDV.
Liverpool I do worry about. Depends if they have that cash ready at hand. But I think he'd be superb for them, and just what they need.
However could he ever be a Kop legend? I don't think so. Could he be a Villa legend? Without question. We'll see.

Finish on a flourish, and try to pass 50 points (O Neills first season total), and he might feel there's enough potential here that we can challenge again, with the right backing. He might give us one more year. Fingers crossed.

[SteveD]

I don't think Young will go for the money, it will be to win things. We haven't won a trophy for 15 years, and now have given up on what was probably only anyway a forlorn punt at the Champions League. He would easily fit into Man Utd's squad - I think Liverpool are beneath him - and if we got a big fee for him I'd say thanks and good luck. He was brilliant on Saturday. Just a shame we probably won't see another season of him and Bent together.

[Fuse]

I think there is still the chance he will sign another contract with us. I also think that if he says he won't that Randy might decide to keep him for next season unless we get a massive bid - £25m+ for him. If we keep him next season and can sign some decent defenders I see no reason with the attacking players we have that we couldn;t give the Champions LEague qualification antoher tilt.

Randy knows how important Young is. If we could only get himt o sign another contract I think the lift it would give would be immense.

At some point if we really do haveambitions we have to stop selling our best players.

[BedsVillain]

End of this season we will sell ashley young. Next season we will sell downing.

Barry, Milner, Young, Downing.

Anybody else spot the depressing pattern to all this.

Is it that only the first two have happened?

In all seriousness, I wouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves.
Players come and go. We just have to keep the quality coming in and making best use of whatever we get for the players when they leave.
We didn't miss Barry in my opinion, we certainly have missed Milner, we may or may not lose Young and we may or may not replace him adequately. Let's just see what happens first.

Obviously, we all want Young to stay (apart from the odd cretin).

Spot on! Spurs went through a long period of selling their best players and reinvesting the money wisely and it didn't do them any harm in the long run. As long as we follow the same model I won't have a problem with it.
I don't want Ashley to go, but I think he will this summer. But I also think there will be a bit of a bidding war for him so we can push up his price above and beyond the norm for a last year of contract.
Say we get £15-18m for him and then spend £12m on Gervinho or £8-10m on Dimitri Payet, position covered and money left over to spend

[fredm]

SAF has watched Young himself personally on numerous occassions, he is Utd bound I fear

Tend to agree and to be honest I wouldn't begrudge him a move to them - genuine opportunity to win stuff rather than just padding out his bank balance

Read an article that said Ash would be going to Man U as he has seen how continental refs in the Champions League take notice when players are fouled much more than english refs in PL do.  He feels that he would be more appreciated and obviously Man U would get a hell of a lot more free kicks!!!

[Dante Lavelli]

I probably didn't explain myself very well. I don't want to sell Downing (or young). But in order to keep young we'll have to offer him big bucks. Therefore this money will need to be recovered elsewhere.

I think the opportunity cost of keeping young and losing downing would be worth it. Unfirtunately we cannot afford to keep both in my opinion.

[eamonn]

He didnt celebrate like someone who was on his way to Liverpool when he set up the winner

As much as he's probably my favourite player, Ashley's celebration looked like that of someone filled with a bit too much self-importance. Rather than running over to Gabby to celebrate, he looked to lap-up the adoration of the Villans behind the goal for creating the goal. Cupping the ear, showing the name on the back of his shirt etc.
Nowt really wrong with that, especially when you deliver the goods, but if he goes to a bigger club I think he'd feel a tit doing the ''worship me'' routine every time he scores/makes a goal.

[Concrete John]

I probably didn't explain myself very well. I don't want to sell Downing (or young). But in order to keep young we'll have to offer him big bucks. Therefore this money will need to be recovered elsewhere.

I think the opportunity cost of keeping young and losing downing would be worth it. Unfirtunately we cannot afford to keep both in my opinion.

I think we can.  It's an issue of the overall wagebill and by losing some non-playing high earners (Beye, Sidwell, Davies) and replacing them with the kids (Lichaj, Bannan, Clark), a process we've already started, we save enough that the required wage rise for Ash is affordable, unless he's after Man City scale wages.

[Chris Smith]

He didnt celebrate like someone who was on his way to Liverpool when he set up the winner

As much as he's probably my favourite player, Ashley's celebration looked like that of someone filled with a bit too much self-importance. Rather than running over to Gabby to celebrate, he looked to lap-up the adoration of the Villans behind the goal for creating the goal. Cupping the ear, showing the name on the back of his shirt etc.
Nowt really wrong with that, especially when you deliver the goods, but if he goes to a bigger club I think he'd feel a tit doing the ''worship me'' routine every time he scores/makes a goal.

I think you’re reading too much into a spontaneous reaction to a last minute winner in a vital game.

I got a call a couple of minutes after the goal and couldn't string two words together I was so hyped up, I imagine for those involved it was 100 times that.