Not particularly. Some of the comments in the last two pages are a bit ridiculous though. Pointless scapegoating of one player whose side were out possessed, out played, and didn't have the quality to to win the tournament in any case. I'm happy with Young's contributions during his first year at OT.
Smashley Young
- Thread starter Red Defence
- Start date
^ this.
I would love it if everyone of our so-called average/poor players had contribution stats as good as his.
I would love it if everyone of our so-called average/poor players had contribution stats as good as his.
He's been getting that all season though. It's nowhere near as funny as the Carrick hate, turned "Roy is insane to not take Carrick, he's England's best midfielder" narrative.
Football fans are fickle idiots.
Amen.
better for united than for England. welcome to international football.
I don't see people pointing out Walcott, though. Coming on after what, 60 minutes? Supposedly fresh, with orders to go at them. Doing feck all, both offensively and defensively. Bar that one, shite cross to Carroll which went off the pitch.
Young's main problem for me is that he tries to dribble out of trouble when defending. He's never been able to dribble past people. He has one trick, which is a drop of the shoulder, and from day one in the Shield I was banging on about how rubbish he was at it. But going forward it's merely frustrating. When defending (as England have largely been doing) it's dangerous, and infuriating. He gets away with it at United because we dont often spend long periods desperately trying to keep possession. If he'd played vs Barca at Wembley, he'd have been slaughtered on here.
He has a few big performances per season but is generally very frustrating. His stats looked OK by the end of the season but he got 4 assists and 2 goals in the 8-2 against Arsenal playing against that terrible Arsenal youngster.
That kind of sums him up
Part of the reason that he it might seem he is being made a scapegoat on here is that it's a United forum, so obviously we'll speak about our own players more. Milner was probably even worse but we aren't going to make a thread about him just to say he played shit..
There is no dodging the fact though that he has a very poor tournament, and probably should have been dropped. That is obviously going to draw some discussion and criticism, which is fine. Conversely if he played well then this thread would be full of praise.
Walcott was shite.
In fact, bar the back four (who also had some wobbly moments) the whole England team - starters and subs - was shite. One of those games where England reverted to type and very good players looked like pub footballers.
Who cares about Walcott? he doesnt play for us.
To be fair fans from other clubs seem to be scapegoating him before todays match, at least in my experience. The general rule of thumb is that a United player is responsible for the demise of England, a Liverpool player is the one who galiantly tried to win the tournament on his own. Same bollocks, different tournament!
Again, it's fickleness. Walcott got a rep as a super-sub vs Sweden, and kept it. Much like Welbz, who's been forgiven his usual erratic finishing because of the back heel. I could've imagined Welbeck being a "why did we play him?" type of pub ramble nonsense topic without it. But because of it, he's now got his own England song.
Such is the nature of summer tournaments, and the 3, 4, 5 max games England play that all you really need to do is contribute one great thing, and you'll become exempt.He came closest vs Ukraine, but pete's opinion of him has some substance, and is his undoing in that kind of scenario. He probably would've scored a 'cut inside right foot curler' against Germany had we won the shootout, and been a hero, but he never got there.
I think it might have been Pogue who said it earlier, he's a winger. Not an amazing one but a pretty good one. And pretty good wingers can look awful if their things don't come off. Giggs was booed for a season, etc etc.
Walcott got few minutes but scored a goal and made another. Young did feck all squared apart from bottling a pen by just smashing it.
Definitely, Mockney. But I'm amazed by such drastic fickleness. Before the tournament: 'feck England, only United' 'I don't want any of our lads going there with that shite set of players'. Afterwards, those United fans are buying ABU's nonsense AND let it interfere with given player's performance for his club!
Young had this middle period, also interweaving with niggling little injuries when he was average. Apart from that he was at least good. Not in bits, but in general.
Young had this middle period, also interweaving with niggling little injuries when he was average. Apart from that he was at least good. Not in bits, but in general.
We've got Nicholas and Kaggy next season. Not to worry.
We are in safe hands.
We are in safe hands.
It's a good thing he emulated it today. Non-existent, literally.
Young through all crap he did today at least fought and helped defensively.
If history is to repeat itself he's firing us to glory next season, while being booed everywhere we go.
But today at least he was hopeless. Worse than Young and Milner who was worst of all imo.
Young was shite warmed up in all 4 games and bottled his pen.
Young and Rooney basically got England to the Euro's with their goals and assists in qualifying so I couldn't give a feck what people say about them now.
Englands problem was being unable to keep the ball in the midfield and being too rigid when the 4-4-2 was never going to work against the Italian set up
Englands problem was being unable to keep the ball in the midfield and being too rigid when the 4-4-2 was never going to work against the Italian set up
I didn't know England were playing 4 games tonight. And you're repeating yourself with that peno. Continue and your arguments may double, triple and so on.
England played 4 games in the tournament and Young was shite in all of them. He also bottled the pen by just smashing it.
Young was poor in all games, that much is true.
Did he take a penalty vs Italy? If he did he probably scored confidently.
C'mon Pete, one more time
Did he take a penalty vs Italy? If he did he probably scored confidently.
C'mon Pete, one more time
I admire his bravery to take a penalty but in all honesty he probably shouldn't have. When you're playing badly then things generally go against you
Nope, wasn't poor against Ukraine. And was keeping exactly to the level of the rest in all others. Walcott on the other hand actually managed to go below that, which is saying something. Especially considering he managed to do that in England's poorest game. 
And he probably didn't want to take penalty today.
And he probably didn't want to take penalty today.
Walcott is a super sub who isn't flexible enough to fit into Woy's two banks of four tactics as Young is.
I still think we signed Young as a competent squad player who would replace Park in his role as a hard working winger. Hodgson effectively played him in that way, Young's poor form meant he offered nothing going forward. He only played all 4 matches because the only viable alternative from the start would have been Stewart "no goals and no assists" Downing.
I still think we signed Young as a competent squad player who would replace Park in his role as a hard working winger. Hodgson effectively played him in that way, Young's poor form meant he offered nothing going forward. He only played all 4 matches because the only viable alternative from the start would have been Stewart "no goals and no assists" Downing.
Poor tournament, but let's be honest Mockney and others are right where has he "feck them" attitude gone? He Hasn't been my favourite player this season but he has been more than good enough and sadly the Euro's haven't worked out for him. Young is and will remain a very good footballer but sadly it didn't work out for him this tournament.
Didn't think he was so bad in the first few games but had a shocker tonight. I agree with the comments about him being more of an inside forward than a winger, he's there for quality touches in the final third, direct bits of play. I thought he was pretty good defensively for us this season but sitting so deep in a poor team he can get exposed as his interplay's not the greatest (I'm brain dead so am grasping for the right term, or one that makes sense: he's better at the final ball than keeping it simple) & like Milner he's not the outlet a team like that needs on the wings, so they end up looking worse players than they really are.
Aside from Walcott's cameo, it wasnt a good tournament for any England wideman not just Young. And few of their teammates.
He had quite a poor tournament. I was really disappointed in him after showing us what he's capable of. We needed more of the Ashley Young who takes players on from the wings, delivers crosses consistently and isn't afraid to curl shots in from the edge of the box. Alongside Rooney and Welbeck I was hoping the Man Utd connection would contribute something for England, but it didn't really happen.
The penalty miss may haunt him for a while but when next season comes around we'll get his mentality right again.
The penalty miss may haunt him for a while but when next season comes around we'll get his mentality right again.
Walcott vs Young is like genital warts vs arse boils, there's no winner. Both have spells where they play well and when they don't they are usually terrible.
Young is a solid squad player for us who will hopefully see less game time next season with Kagawa here.
Young is a solid squad player for us who will hopefully see less game time next season with Kagawa here.
He was pretty gash for England during the tournament, but then, playing for England has this strange ability to make players play really shit, and not one single player in that England squad plays to the levels they play at for their clubs. Apart from Andy Carroll. And Scott Parker. And James Milner.
Young sure seems to blow hot and cold. Was fantastic against Arsenal in the 8-2 win, looks a different player now though.
Whereas Walnutt didn't even have the balls to put his hand up to take one in the first place.
And if Young places the ball and the keeper saves it, everyone says "should have just smashed it down the middle".
He was poor throughout the tournament.
For all the screaming about Downing being in the squad that happened on here....
For all the screaming about Downing being in the squad that happened on here....
Eh? What's Young's poor tournament got to do with Downing.
If anything it reinforces how utterly shit the latter player is when he's not once considered despite Young clearly performing well below par in the position he's supposed to cover. Never even got off the bench. Complete waste of a squad number.
If anything it reinforces how utterly shit the latter player is when he's not once considered despite Young clearly performing well below par in the position he's supposed to cover. Never even got off the bench. Complete waste of a squad number.
He was below his usual standards in the tournament, but his stats are comparable to Nani and Valencia, despite playing less minutes and having a mid season dip in form. He will get better next year.
Because people were losing the mind over a player who never saw the pitch while the hometown favorite spent quite a bit of time being about as bad as Downing would have been.
4 of those assists and 2 of the goals came in the 8-2 against Arsenal. He seems to have a few big performances a year and then be woefully inconsistent for the main part. He is what he is though which is a good squad player at the top level.