The "Young Don" Ashley Young

This season I am predicting that a 23 yr old midfielder will take the premiereship by storm and he will not be from Portugal. Instead he will hail from jolly old England and go by the name of Ashley Young. The end of last season saw Young make a transition from a quick paced left wing midfielder with an affinity for dribbles and stepovers down the sidelines to a ghosting attacking forward that supplied his fellow forwards with awe inspiring crosses and took deadly shots on goal. As he grown into his new role more goals came in for Aston Villa and they continued in this pre-seasons Inter Toto Cup where Young performed an impressive run into the box before hitting the ball into the back of the net with a mesmerising shot. The talented midfielder will be the key figure in setting up Aston Villa's attack in the upcoming season that sees them competing in the UEFA Cup.

Research on Young has informed me that he is of Jamaican descent, and I am sad that he decided to play for the English senior team. With that being said Young hails from Stevenage England and is the product of Watford Football Club where he spent 7 yrs. He was originally a member of the Academy but was released due to a lack of performance and worked his way back in favour with the club. During his time in Watford he made 98 appearances in the Senior team and scored 19 times. This included a goal on his debut as a substitute. During his time at the club he began to develop into a midfielder that created assists. In 2005/06 season he a substantial role in Watford's promotion to the Premiereship. That season he scored 15 goals in 40 appearances. This display attracted attention from clubs in the Premiereship. Watford rejected a number of offers from other clubs during this period. In January of 07 they finally gave up and sold him to Aston Villa for an estimated 9 million pd. He then made his presence felt at the club by scoring on his debut against New Castle.

It was not until his first full season that manager Martin O'Neill began to see Young's true potential. Last season he provided 17 assists and 8 goals. Most of his goals came at the end of the season when O,Neill gave him the freedom to move around the attacking space. He then transformed into player similar to Cristiano Ronaldo creating a "grey" area between midfield and forward. He seems to have grown into this role and is embracing it full heartedly. This should provide Villa with increased attacking options. During the first part of the season his game was quite predictable, despite difficult to contain. He would move along the left wing beating defenders with his pace and ball control and then crossing the ball into the box. This changed in the latter part of the season. Instead of staying on the left he began to move all about creating openings. He also started to take more shots on goal. Young also is also effective in dead ball situations. He has provided precise free kicks directly at goal or supplied into the box and also takes most left side corners for Villa. As a result of his relentless work Young was voted into the 07/08 team of the year. I believe that this year should see even more improvement of this promising young talent.