Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young: The 'Deadly Duo'

In England’s recent 3-0 defeat of Bulgaria in the Euro 2012 qualifying match that put the Three Lions on top of their group, the Wayne Rooney-Ashley Young partnership up front was the hot topic of discussion. Rooney scored two goals, thus returning to splendid form for the national team, and Young was paired with him up front. The partnership is clearly a work in progress as the game showed, but given how the duo have worked wonders together for Manchester United this season, it makes it an intriguing topic of discussion as to how effective they can be for the national team.

Ashley Young’s dream start

Ashley Young has got off to a brilliant start at his new club Manchester United. Playing on the left side as a winger, he has no doubt done a brilliant job. The left wing position has been a significant one for Manchester United for the past many years, as it has been the main area for supply of goals for the team, given the number of excellent wingers that have been produced at Old Trafford; Ryan Giggs being the most notable product.

Taking over the position of the legendary Ryan Giggs is itself a huge responsibility for a player to carry on his shoulders. The magnitude of this can be understood by this analogy: Consider a new opening batsman being bought by Mumbai Indians in the IPL and he’s opening the batting instead of Sachin Tendulkar! That’s the amount of pressure Young must have been faced with when he was bought for a hefty sum of £18million and being paid £130,000 a week to play on the left wing. The youngster, though, has defied his critics and surpassed all expectations so far and is clearly enjoying his time at Old Trafford. He has already assisted 5 goals in United’s 13 goals this season so far, scored the winner against West Brom and the 2 goals in Manchester United’s 8-2 rout of Arsenal.

The Rooney-Young partnership

When Cristiano Ronaldo was around at Manchester United, he and Wayne Rooney formed a deadly partnership. Being part of the modern day version of the Holy Trinity which also included Tevez that made United world beaters, Ronaldo and Rooney had a telepathic understanding with each other that was simply a treat to watch when converted into beautiful explosive football. When Cristiano left United for Real Madrid, it was left to Wayne Rooney to spearhead the United attack, especially with Tevez also gone. With the entire burden on him, Rooney did marvelously well until the injury curse struck him and later the transfer drama unfolded. The bottom line is that United were over-reliant on Rooney and when he was out injured, the team suffered, especially with Dimitar Berbatov’s poor displays.

Then arrived the sensation named Javier Hernandez, Berbatov found his form and Rooney reinvented himself as a supporting striker, striking beautiful partnerships with the duo. The arrival of Ashley Young this season, though, is the mark of something different at the club compared to the arrival of previous wingers like Antonio Valencia. Despite being one of England’s brightest talents, Young has never really hit sky-high expectations though he has supplied some splendid crosses for Gabriel Agbonlahor at Aston Villa and was good at the club. By exceeding expectations after his surprise big club move to Manchester United, Young now offers a plethora of possibilities.

He has made good use of the left flank, has been supplying accurate crosses and also scoring goals when needed. What this does is that it reduces the pressure off Wayne Rooney, who was the key creative link especially in the second half of last season. While Wayne can continue to express himself creating chances for his supporting front-man, Young’s rise also allows Rooney to unleash his true potential at front. This has been evident in Rooney’s goals column, which includes most notably a hat-trick against fierce rivals Arsenal, while Ashley Young chipped in with a brace and some nice assists. Already looking as a dangerous partnership for Manchester United, this will also allow other United wingers and midfielders to play free roles, given that opposition teams will be looking to stop this ‘deadly duo’. Young’s ability to cut in from the left, interchange flanks, play up front makes United a very dangerous team in attack, given the amount of positional interchanging that is possible up front which can leave oppositions confused, just as it leaves fans dazzled.

How can the Three Lions benefit?

England are an enigma when it comes to international football. Despite having great talents in the Golden Generation of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, the impact of these players on the national side compared to their clubs is very little. The reason is lack of co-ordination between the players coming from different clubs, the lack of time to gel together. In Rooney and Young, England have a goldmine of a partnership to exploit. The duo would play around 50 games a season together for Manchester United, would be combining with each other on the field week in week out and would be sharing the same dressing room. Given that they will both be in the fold regularly for the national team, England have two players who can strike a telepathic understanding easily and bring an attacking flair to the side. Young was paired up front with Rooney since Danny Welbeck was injured after his call-up, instead of playing on the left as at United. If Fabio Capello can find a way to replicate the way Young and Rooney play at Manchester United, the Three Lions will be a major attacking force to be reckoned with.

When Ashley Young made a comeback to the Three Lions in the 2-2 draw against Switzerland, it was Rooney who was most delighted with his inclusion.

“He’s settled in really well and his performances have been great. Ashley knew a lot of the lads from England when he first signed and he’s a confident lad. He’s scored a couple of goals and had quite a few assists. I’m sure he’ll be a big player for us.”

With the influx of youngsters from Manchester United coming into the national side like Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Tom Cleverley, Rooney can resume the role of leading the charge for England like he does for his club. And Ashley Young will be his able general supporting him.

Edited by Zico