Source: Telegraph
Aston Villa's Ashley Young gives wings to his club's top-four fantasy
It is, however, as good a time as any to play Sir Alex Ferguson's side given their number of injuries and Villa are looking good, very good. But most importantly, having endured a disappointing start to the season, Young is back to his best. [LNB]Arguably Villa's most prized asset, it is strange to think that it was only last season that Young properly announced himself on to the scene, terrorising his opposition with a right boot that seemed to have a satnav built into it. [LNB] Related ArticlesManchester United v Aston Villa: match previewCarew not joining FenerbahceJames Milner states England caseDowning pain game ends with goal for VillaAston Villa eye move for PennantSport on televisionThe awards came thick and fast: Player of the Month, twice, and then the PFA's Young Player of the Year. "That was a great honour, to be voted for by the other players," he says. "They had noticed how well I had been playing."[LNB]The problem with that, though, is the opposition start taking you a little too seriously. The 24 year-old was one of the most fouled players in the league last year, and the application of ice bags on his knees and ankles after each match has now become routine. More irritating for the player, though, is that opposing sides more often than not now deploy two, sometimes even three, men to mark him. [LNB]"It was the new year when teams started putting two men on me," Young recalls. "It does become frustrating. I laughed to myself [the time I first realised I was being triple marked]. There were actually three players around me. I was thinking 'what am I gonna do to get out of this?' It's nice to know that teams are worried about the threat. You have to figure out a way to break through." Easier said than done. [LNB]The season began, Young blew hot and cold, and there were doubts which would have been blasphemy a matter of months before over whether the winger had come up with a strategy to cope with the increased attention. Meanwhile James Milner began hogging the limelight on the opposite wing, and latterly the middle of midfield. [LNB]For a man getting accustomed to week-on-week eulogies, it could have been frustrating, but Young insists he is far from jealous of the attention his team-mate has received. "I'm delighted for him," he says, genuinely. "He deserves all the plaudits as he has been fantastic for us. It is nice to see players in the team doing well. There isn't any rivalry, there is competition for places."[LNB]The likes of Steve Sidwell and Nigel Reo-Coker will certainly hope so, but, orbiting Stiliyan Petrov, Young, Milner and Stewart Downing have looked so potent in the past two matches that it is hard to see manager Martin O'Neill changing things unless his hand is forced. [LNB]His midfield are continually on the move, looking to go forward with the ball at their feet, or tracking back to bail out their defence. "If you want to win football matches that is the sort of thing you have to do, even if you don't want to," Young observes of their phenomenal work-rate. "That has been ground into us by the management."[LNB]Downing's return to fitness has added another dimension to their threat, although it means Young has been asked to spend more time on the right. One would suspect that, with the World Cup coming up, switching positions would be irksome, but Young seems unmoved. [LNB]"I've not played on the right much, but I think I'm versatile enough to play there, on the left, in central midfield, or up front. Any position in the front six."[LNB]With that sort of confidence on display it would be easy to assume Young believes he will be on the plane to South Africa, but he will not admit it. "It is in the back of my head. Hopefully I will make it come the end of the season. I'm a person with ambitions; I've had a few caps and I want to add to that, but there are more important things, like the Premier League."[LNB]In fifth place, sandwiched between Tottenham and Manchester City, Villa are well placed. They looked unstoppable against Hull, but they face a true test today in Manchester. They want top four? Three points here, and people would really believe. Of course, the players already do. [LNB]"It is always going to be difficult, especially going to Old Trafford," Young cautions, "but we are full of confidence, and we never go to a place fearing the opposition. We've got players who can win matches on their own. We are a threat to any team." [LNB]
