Young days away from joining Man.Utd

[Rudy Can't Fail]

After tonight, I can see Ferguson looking for somebody better than Ashley. Either that or he'll give up ever trying to win the Champions League again.

[Dave]

Like whom?

It's not like he can go and buy Messi or Villa.

[Somniloquism]

The Bent deal wasn't typical though.

Certainly we haven't raided them for their star players in the past (well I suppose Sorensen and McCann, but they did actually want/need to sell as they had just gone down).

First Yorke and now Young. With Barry and Milner going to the other Manc lot. It's as if we're a finishing school or summat.

I understand the economics of the deal, I'd just rather we didn't sell to that lot (or the Redscouse/Tottingham).

You do realise there has been 13 years between those deals.

The only way we can stop these deals happening is to win things consistently and as Ronaldo (and almost Tevez and Rooney) showed, even that isn't a guarantee of keeping your best players. Until then we will have to resign ourselves to the fact of being a "finishing school or summat".

[olaftab]

Get in Sebastian Larsson on a free, will be on half of what Young was on. Try and nab Joey Barton for peanuts and you have twice the player Reo-Coker is. See if we can make a bid for Scott Dann and pinch Shay Given and I dont think we have a bad team there.

                                        Given

Walker (loan)    Collins                    Dann             L.Young

                        Makoun                  Delph

Larsson                                                               Downing
                                       Barton

                                        Bent
                                         

No not Larsson and Barton. One is a complete donkey and the other one a complete thug and neither good enough to improve our team.

[London Villan]

The issue is is the fact that our best players don't feel we can compete... Barry, Milner, Young and Downing... all bought into the 5 year plan and now are all off to compete for honours, which we have fallen back from competing for.

That is what has to be addressed.

[supertom]

I really don't think he'll become a top player for them. I know a few Utd fans and they'd have Nani and Valencia in their side over Ash, any day of the week. I agree too. He's hit the skids in the last couple of years, maybe even 3 years. This season has been mediocre by his standards, and that's being generous.

I'd have thought Fergie would have a player on the way up. Saying that, Ash could well flourish. Potentially he's better than Valencia. But he's 26 now. He's got time left, but he's not gonna get much better Imo. I think, sadly, he'll underwhelm.

[Somniloquism]

I don't know how he will play. But Ash's best perfomances this season has mostly been in an England shirt. It makes me think he still can play well and has chosen not for us or he likes it better when the game is not just all about him as the main attack so he can play naturally as he isn't marked as much.

[Dante Lavelli]

"The king is dead", "long live the king...... Agbonlahor, at least he wants to play for Villa.

I was thinking this might be the key to our success.  Not Gabby exactly but to maintain any longterm momentum we might need to play one or two more home grown players even if they're not anything more than premiership standard.  They're less likely to want to leave plus the fact that they're free, well cheap, means we can spend more elsewhere.

For example, Ridgewell probably isn't quite up to scratch but had we played him left back we could have saved 6-8m on Warnock which could have been invested elsewhere. 

It's a risky strategy and will require additional investment and faith in the youth set-up but ultimately if you poach a Young (from watford) or a Downing (from boro) then realistically we cannot be surprised when they're poached from us. 

[Dante Lavelli]

Like whom?

It's not like he can go and buy Messi or Villa.

Hazard at Lille?

[ozzjim]

I think Fergie will buy more than just Young though. Nani, Young and Valencia would see him covered wide. Berbatov and Owen are likely to go, so that would leave him lighter up front. If he signs Sneijder, Young and Nasri say - the 3 he seems to want the most, then he is simply replacing Giggs, Scholes and the forwards with younger models.

[Salsa Party Animal]

He need to finish the Beckham's youth generation and Van De Saar as well, and replace them with new models.

[adrenachrome]

Also it will have occurred to Fergie that if he plays Ash on the wing and the opposition stick two defenders on him, this will leave one of his other attacking players free. It never seemed to work that way for us, but there you go.

[john e]

Think Ashley young will be a big hit at utd if he goes,  better player than Valencia and nani and will improve no end in a quality side,

[Caiphus]

Sir Alex got Valencia scoring, I don't see any reason why he wouldn't improve Ash's game also, and those improvements would happen just from being given a concrete role and being brow-beaten into being more direct again.
Getting Ash in still won't solve Sir Alex's problems in central midfield though which is the real issue.

[Holte L2]

Berbatov and Bent would be perfect. Straight swap pleaasssee