Making a case for Ashley Young

Young has scored two goals in his last 5 games this season

The festive season of December certainly brought some magic to the feet of Manchester United winger Ashley Young. The 28-year-old had a forgettable start to the 2013-2014 season with allegations of diving and inconsistency topping the list. Young was panned by football critics in every game that he played and was even dropped for a while by manager David Moyes.

The midfielder undoubtedly possesses a special talent and can give opponents a headache when he hits high gear, but the Red Devils supporters rarely got to see the best of him during the 2012-2013 season and during the first half of this campaign. All that seems to have changed now and Young has emerged as one of United’s best players in recent matches.

The England international was brought in the summer of 2011 for a fee of around £20 million from Aston Villa by former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who beat off competition from Liverpool for the players signature. Young began his first season at Old Trafford brightly and had a good debut in the dramatic Community Shield game against Manchester City and even contributed an assist in the 3-2 victory.

The midfielder kept up his good form and scored on his league debut against West Brom and managed to bag a brace in the 8-2 thumping of Arsenal last August. Young continued his consistent form with an impressive brace against Tottenham on 4th March 2012 and scored his final goal of the 2011-2012 season in the away match against Blackburn Rovers.

In spite of such a promising start to his career Young’s form dramatically dipped in the 2012-2013 season. The player was constantly accused of diving to win penalties in many games, including the one against his former club Aston Villa and was shunned by the football community.

Young’s situation did not improve when he was labelled as ‘wasteful’ on the ball by many football critics. The midfielder was one of United’s biggest liabilities and finished the season with a single goal, a far cry from his first season’s feats.

The 2013-2014 begun badly for Young, who was once again accused of diving in the match against Aston Villa and was even condemned by Manchester United managed David Moyes for his behavior. Young then gave a string of inconsistent performances before being dropped from the squad by Moyes. Things began to look increasingly grim for the player and Young was linked with a Manchester United exit in the upcoming transfer windows.

The game against Stoke City on 18th December was a confidence booster for Young. The winger was excellent in the game and was a constant threat the Potters. Young managed some excellent crosses for United and managed to score a superb goal against Stoke which was eventually the match winning goal.

The Englishman continued his strong performance in the next game against West Ham United and once again managed to find the back of the net in a 3-1 victory. These 2 goals gave Young the boost he needed and the winger put up some excellent performances in the games that followed.

The player was a key man in the 3-2 win against Hull City on Boxing Day and was one of United’s standout players in the yesterday’s match against Stoke City. Roy Hodgson is sure to be watching the midfielder who might win a starting place in the England team when they head to Brazil for the World Cup next year.

Young seems to have finally regained his Aston Villa form which won his the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2009. If the player keeps up his performance then he could have an important role to play for United this season. If the old problem of inconsistency doesn’t crop up he will be on the list of the Most Improved Players instead of the Players Who Should Leave list.