Why Moyes must sell flop winger to get back on track

With Christmas approaching and people around the country obliged to watch Love Actually for the umpteenth time, it seems only right that this piece should open with a plea to David Moyes, regarding Ashley Young, in the words of Andrew Lincoln’s character: “Enough. Enough now.” His dreadful performance in the week, in which he missed two simple chances before being substituted, was the rule rather than the exception of his time at Manchester United.

Young was unquestionably one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s stranger signings. Having spent years railing against the inflated fees paid for mediocre English players, Ferguson brought in the Villa midfielder for £17million in the summer of 2011. Certain footballing figures are doomed from the outset, victims of circumstance and preconceived notions about their identity. As much as Rafael Benitez was a perfectly acceptable appointment as an interim manager, the idea that he would be able to win round the Chelsea fans was foolhardy at best. If supporters have already made up their mind about someone or something, it’s very difficult to convince them otherwise. Young is in much the same boat.

He is a deeply unpopular figure, one of the most maligned United players in living memory. Many fans of the club pride themselves on something they refer to as “The United Way,” the sense that representing the team is a special honour. It is about attempting to win with style and embodying the philosophy of United’s first great manager. It is football taught by Matt Busby, the man who believed the game was designed to alleviate the boredom of the ordinary man on the factory shop floor five days a week. The responsibility of the club, first and foremost, was to entertain. Entertainment and sportsmanship, these were the defining ideals of football to Busby.

It seems fitting, given Young is the spitting image of Marlo Stanfield, to quote The Wire at this point: “How far we done fell.” If the likes of Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Bryan Robson personified The United Way, Ashley Young is its very antithesis. Poor under pressure, lacking an abundance of mental or physical strength and prone to diving in the area, Young is despised by many of those supporters brought up in a golden age of United stalwarts. It is true that the young Cristiano Ronaldo was also liable to go down in the box under the slightest contact, but there were enough flashes of genius to justify patience. Unfortunately for him, Young is no Ronaldo.

Last season was one of great possibility for Young. With Antonio Valencia and Nani out of form and favour respectively, a position on the wing was simply calling out for someone to make it their own. The acquisition of Robin van Persie meant not only did Young have a fellow Wire lookalike with which to bond (Nick Sobotka) but also a roster of four impressive forward players to combine with. Instead, despite all the goals the team scored, the wingers contributed next to nothing. Young’s goal for England against San Marino was a stark reminder of his exquisite finishes in the 8-2 defeat of Arsenal just a few games into his Manchester United career.

The game has changed a lot since the heady days of Andrei Kanchelskis, Lee Sharpe and Ryan Giggs marauding down the wings. In his latter years, Ferguson often opted to crowd the midfield in the bigger matches, preferring to stifle the creativity of the opposition rather than adopt a more gung-ho approach. One still has to wonder if this was more a result of necessity than anything else, a glaring indictment on the quality of the wide men available.

With the arrival of Wilfried Zaha, the tentative return to form of Valencia and Nani’s signing of a new contract, it is high time the club cut their losses and sold Young as soon as possible. It is quite clear he is not a Manchester United player in any sense of the term.