Young completes Man Utd move

[oldtimernow]

we will miss the original AY but not necessarily the reproduction one of the past 18 months in my opinion

[5ft811st2 Durham]

You can only say fair enough, he gave us good service, was the hardest-working player in every game he played even in the last season, and he does seem to have as much genuine affinity for our club as any modern player seems to be able to have. Unlike Barry and Milner, he hasn't taken the fast buck and the possibility of competing for success, but has gone to genuinely one of the top 3 clubs in the world where he's almost guaranteed success - and by the looks of things, may well be a key player for United's new team. Fair enough, thanks for everything and good luck, Ash.

And if Man U hadn't wanted him and City had, do you think he wouldn't have gone there?

The reality is that Young would have gone to any of the so called big six to get away from us.

[hilts_coolerking]

Best of luck to him.  On the whole he did very well for us and left without any fuss or bitterness.

As for us, I think £17M (if that's correct) is an excellent deal.  Needs to be spent though, and spent wisely.  That's quite a few goals and assists to replace. 

[Rip Van We Go Again]

As for us, I think £17M (if that's correct) is an excellent deal.  Needs to be spent though, and spent wisely.  That's quite a few goals and assists to replace. 

Could be replaced at a stroke by N'Zogbia.
Still think he's Newcastle bound though.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

I just hope he shows us the respect we deserve when he returns.

And I hope we show him the respect he deserves when he returns, although I doubt it.

Quality player on his day and we'll probably miss him more than we care to believe. I think he'll be a fantastic addition to their squad and he'll get his fair share of games and as others have said at least he has gone to one of the biggest clubs where he stands a good chance of winning a pot or two as well as increasing his already considerable bank balance.

Good luck Ashley Young.

[hilts_coolerking]

Could be replaced at a stroke by N'Zogbia.
Still think he's Newcastle bound though.

I think Albrighton will be good for goals and assists but I don't think we can expect a full season from him.  N'Zogbia is a good player but he'd be expensive and I'm not sure how much we'd see of young Marc if we bought him. 

[PeterWithesShin]

Not since Yorke left have I been this gutted about a player leaving. Not just because of his playing ability but he was pretty much the first of the bright young (excuse the pun) thing signings we made when the Bright Future seemed to be on our doorstep.

[Fin Feds Dad]

Good luck Ash.
Overall he has been superb for us. Never gave less than 100%.
Think we have been good for him too.
He will get a good ovation from me when he plays against us.
Think we need to make a good signing to soften the blow.

[cdward]

Yes, a signal that the end of the Bright Future dream is now in sight. A player that was bought to elevate us to top 4 status, has moved on, as we have moved backwards.
In fairness to Ash, he has followed a very good career path, that a lot of younger players would be well advised to follow.
Watford - Villa -England - Manu is a steady progression, i hope he does well, he gave his all for us, and never moaned (only at referees).
Good luck Ash, you will be missed, as we head towards the future with Alex McLeish.

[garyfouroaks]

Another good luck to Ash post.

We have made a profit on his sale, he played well for us, and has got a dream move to a club habitually winning honours. Nothing to knock there.

As others have said, it is the end of the Dream (Barry/Milner/Young) and I bemoan that.

Its notable that there is little hostility from fans on here, just an understanding that he would probaby have opted for Stcokport County rather than play for McLeish.

[glasses]

If some people had a problem with Ash for the petulance, and diving, and taking all of the set pieces, and wasting them, I don't get how the general opinion is that Nzogbia would be an ideal replacement/improvement.

[KevinGage]

As for us, I think £17M (if that's correct) is an excellent deal.  Needs to be spent though, and spent wisely.  That's quite a few goals and assists to replace. 

Could be replaced at a stroke by N'Zogbia.
Still think he's Newcastle bound though.

Different kind of players.  N'Zog is more direct and won't create as much, but I hope it's a deal we do nonetheless.   Albrighton as the genuine out and out winger with excellent delivery, Adam (or similar) sliding balls through to Bent and N'Zog pulling teams apart from out wide. You might contain one. It would be difficult to stop all three.

Reports are that he's available for a knockdown fee as he's in the last year of his contract. B-lose had a bid in the region of £10 million accepted last season. He could be going for as little as £6-8  million.

[Dave Cooper please]

Its notable that there is little hostility from fans on here, just an understanding that he would probaby have opted for Stcokport County rather than play for McLeish.

What on Earth are you on about, what understanding?
Ash has been off to Man Utd for at least a season, he wasn't going to sign a new contract whoever was manager, this has fuck all to do with bringing in McLeish and all to do with Ashley wanting to play for Manchester United in the Champions League.

[The Man With A Stick]

Good luck to him in his future career.  At least he never bitched and moaned, or led us all on a merry dance up the garden path before leaving, unlike some.

[eamonn]

My favourite player since he joined just because of his ability and how he could get you off your seat with one of those runs down the wing. I'll miss him but we've had a long time to get used to his pending departure. His failure to open contract renewal negotiations last autumn was the tell-tale sign. And to be honest, with Villa in a state of flux over the past 12 months and Ashley at the perfect age to step-up a gear, a move away has long had an inevitable ring to it. I'm just glad he's gone to the best club in the country and second best in Europe (not quite what I thought when Dwight made a similar move 13 years ago...but then I thought that we could still possibly compete with United then). Milner and Barry's moves left a sour taste. I mean Young has gone for the money as much as them I'm sure, but at least footballing reasons are also a sound motive too.

I don't think I can wish him luck (I'm sure he'll be crestfallen at that), simply because I don't really care about any team other than Villa, so it makes no odds to me how they or their individual players do. On a positive note, Ashley dictating most of our attacking play with more than a hint of him acting like he was the star player all the time (certainly moreso post-MON), was not a healthy thing. I hope the likes of Albrighton, Delph and Bannan, and any potential signings can now shine and collectively let their attacking talents make-up for the loss of Young.

Finally, good to see as with Barry and Milner, we've got a good deal and haven't been mugged at all (well, apart from the Ireland bit of the Milner deal but that could yet have a happy ending).