Smashley Young

Ekeke

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Signs of life with his 2 goals. In his first season his goalscoring was his big contribution and it looks like scoring has got his confidence back
 

Rado_N

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People knock him as being not good enough for the club and other such nonsense. The last 2/3 games he's showing what he can do with that confidence that a few good, well-taken goals can give you. He's clearly not a useless player and while it's early days in his 'recovery' he's showing that yes, he is capable of performances good enough for a place in the United squad.

The way some people go on it's as if the guy shouldn't be playing league football.

Well he was shit until his goal the other night, so he's got maybe 40 minutes or so now of looking half decent. For 18 months or so before that, he wasn't doing good enough to be at United.

If he turns it round, great, but it won't make those who called him shit when he was shit wrong.
 

Rowem

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He's had two shots that have gone in. However, he's been absolutely diabolical all season and his general performances considerably worse than both that of Nani and Kagawa, both of which are demonstrably better footballers.

Young still has no future here as far as I see it and he should still be sold in January unless these injuries get very bad. He's not good enough; we need to improve on the likes of him.

Zero chance of him being sold in January. He might well be off in the summer, but he has 6 months to pull a rabbit out of his arse. It's motivation for him and that will be useful for us as he will be used this season. Kagawa and Nani have done even less on the left than Young.
 

NotoriousISSY

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Well he was shit until his goal the other night, so he's got maybe 40 minutes or so now of looking half decent. For 18 months or so before that, he wasn't doing good enough to be at United.

If he turns it round, great, but it won't make those who called him shit when he was shit wrong.
Exactly. Sure there might be a good player in there but if he hasn't been showing it then people were entitled to say it. And now he's scored a couple of nice goals...I'll note that too.
 

DevilRed

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Terrific goal struck into the top corner. His confidence is at an all-time high which is good timing because we need every squad player to contribute during the hectic Christmas period. Glad to see our goals coming from different players rather than just our strikers.
 

Dargonk

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Good goal from him today and looked decent for the brief time he was out there. Seems he has got a bit of confidence again after the goals, so hopefully he can improve his game and kick on for us
 

Isotope

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City, Arsenal and Liverpool don't have better backup winger than Young. Why would we need to upgrade a backup winger?
 

Kag

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Zero chance of him being sold in January. He might well be off in the summer, but he has 6 months to pull a rabbit out of his arse. It's motivation for him and that will be useful for us as he will be used this season. Kagawa and Nani have done even less on the left than Young.
Of course he could leave. By all accounts, he, Anderson, Fabio and Buttner are all heading for the exit door. All of Valencia, Nani, Kagawa, Welbeck and Adnan are ahead of him in the pecking order and he's played about an hour of league football since October. He isn't needed unless Nani and Danny are badly injured. As for your claim in regards to his form on the left being superior to that of Nani and Kagawa when on the left, I don't even know what that's based on. He hasn't played due to his awful games at the beginning and the other two have been better, although still not good enough. They are, however, better than Young.

I don't think anything has changed and nor should it. We have to improve out wide and Young should be the first to leave. If not now, then certainly the Summer.
 

Rowem

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Of course he could leave. By all accounts, he, Anderson, Fabio and Buttner are all heading for the exit door. All of Valencia, Nani, Kagawa, Welbeck and Adnan are ahead of him in the pecking order and he's played about an hour of league football since October. He isn't needed unless Nani and Danny are badly injured. As for your claim in regards to his form on the left being superior to that of Nani and Kagawa when on the left, I don't even know what that's based on. He hasn't played due to his awful games at the beginning and the other two have been better, although still not good enough. They are, however, better than Young.

I don't think anything has changed and nor should it. We have to improve out wide and Young should be the first to leave. If not now, then certainly the Summer.

No, there is zero chance of him leaving in January. None. Zilch. Diddly squat.
 

Kag

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I'm not sure what accounts you've been reading but Moyes seems pretty happy with Buttner.
If Buttner is still at the club come February I'll... I don't what I'd do. Thankfully, he'll be gone too. I may sound harsh right now but this whole "oh, player x played well, he's back!" and "right, he's got 6 months to play for his career" stuff is exactly the reason that Anderson is approaching a testimonial and our midfield is a mess.

Frankly, Young isn't good enough. It's far more likely he'll get a start and play like the fairly average player he is, then we're back to the start. I am actually pleased for him, believe it or not, but I think Moyes has to be ruthless.
 

DocRockter

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He clearly wasn't bought here to beat Barcelona but to keep us well above the likes of West Ham and co and thus giving the best XI some rest.. He's a good player when things are going well and when we want to kill the opposition out but not when it's against a tougher team who can also turn the game quickly..
 

Ryan's Beard

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If Buttner is still at the club come February I'll... I don't what I'd do. Thankfully, he'll be gone too. I may sound harsh right now but this whole "oh, player x played well, he's back!" and "right, he's got 6 months to play for his career" stuff is exactly the reason that Anderson is approaching a testimonial and our midfield is a mess.

Frankly, Young isn't good enough. It's far more likely he'll get a start and play like the fairly average player he is, then we're back to the start. I am actually pleased for him, believe it or not, but I think Moyes has to be ruthless.
I agree, Buttner should be off along with Anderson and I wouldn't lose sleep if we shipped out Young. It seems like Buttner is favoured over Fabio unfortunately though and I'm not sure if he'll be off.
 

DevilRed

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I agree, Buttner should be off along with Anderson and I wouldn't lose sleep if we shipped out Young. It seems like Buttner is favoured over Fabio unfortunately though and I'm not sure if he'll be off.
Its one thing to ship people out, but you've got to replace them too...Hard to see us signing one quality player in Jan, let alone three.
 

Ryan's Beard

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Its one thing to ship people out, but you've got to replace them too...Hard to see us signing one quality player in Jan, let alone three.
To be honest if we shipped Ando and Buttner out I'm not sure they'd need replacing. What would we lose? :lol: I'm sure Fabio couldn't be worse than Buttner even if he actively tried to, and surely we have someone we could bring through (or recall) who could give us what Anderson gives us.

Dumping Young in January would be daft, I agree there.
 

Joemo

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I'm not sure about Young now. In the past I've called for him to be sold, but if he can pick up his confidence, which must have been at rock bottom before these last two goals, then there's no better winger who plays a squad rotation role than Young. Obviously there should be a gradual improvement in the side as time goes by, and if we could sign a fantastic winger, thus making Valencia back up and Young redundant, then he should go. But with the amount of games we'll have through winter and on wards with the CL qualification, we'll need players like Young to step up and play like he has done the last two games.
 

Waldner

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Well he was shit until his goal the other night, so he's got maybe 40 minutes or so now of looking half decent. For 18 months or so before that, he wasn't doing good enough to be at United.

If he turns it round, great, but it won't make those who called him shit when he was shit wrong.

No, but it will make those who claim that he isn't good enough to be a squad player here wrong.

He's shown glimpses of what he can do over the last few matches. I think he's been devoid of confidence for so long that most people here have forgotten just what he's capable of. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt - he's clearly trying hard and I think he deserves one chance of rediscovering his form before everyone loses hope with him.

People should be happy that he appears to be back to his best - by the looks of things people are still grumpy about it and want him gone. I don't understand it.
 

Smores

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He's capable but if his confidence is so up and down he's never more than a backup. I don't think we should sell him even in the summer, sort the other positions out first.
 

Ryan's Beard

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No, but it will make those who claim that he isn't good enough to be a squad player here wrong.

He's shown glimpses of what he can do over the last few matches. I think he's been devoid of confidence for so long that most people here have forgotten just what he's capable of. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt - he's clearly trying hard and I think he deserves one chance of rediscovering his form before everyone loses hope with him.

People should be happy that he appears to be back to his best - by the looks of things people are still grumpy about it and want him gone. I don't understand it.
The problem I have (and I assume others, too) is that he is, at his very best (which he's still a way off I think) good enough to be a squad player for United. He's 28 though and he's starting far too often for a "squad player". He isn't good enough to start for us and at his age it's debatable whether he's keeping down younger talents. We need to improve vastly across our entire midfield and Young is part of that issue, definitely.
 

Smores

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Also I think Moyes deserves credit if he has managed to instil some belief in the lad.
 

bosnian_red

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Great finish for the goal. He's always had a good shot on him, his confidence was just so low before that he didn't try anything, at all. He's still not good enough for this level, but he can be an okay squad member if he keeps up the last 2 games. That's what you expect from squad players. To actually make a bit of an impact when they play, rather then be completely useless. Hope Moyes doesn't get tempted to start him though.
 

Isotope

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Also I think Moyes deserves credit if he has managed to instil some belief in the lad.
Obviously. Young was two times Premier League team of the year. So, he's obviously was very good player for the league, and credit to Moyes if he can found his past form.
 

bosnian_red

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The problem I have (and I assume others, too) is that he is, at his very best (which he's still a way off I think) good enough to be a squad player for United. He's 28 though and he's starting far too often for a "squad player". He isn't good enough to start for us and at his age it's debatable whether he's keeping down younger talents. We need to improve vastly across our entire midfield and Young is part of that issue, definitely.
I find the entire idea of squad players here pretty weird to be honest. IMO we should have a clear starting 11 as everyone has, but your squad players should be basically under the age of 24 who can become future starters, for the most part. It's okay to have a few squad players, but we have way too much at this moment. Look at Bayern for example. Their "squad" players consist of players like Shaqiri and Thiago, mixed with a few solid back up players.
 

Ryan's Beard

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I find the entire idea of squad players here pretty weird to be honest. IMO we should have a clear starting 11 as everyone has, but your squad players should be basically under the age of 24 who can become future starters, for the most part. It's okay to have a few squad players, but we have way too much at this moment. Look at Bayern for example. Their "squad" players consist of players like Shaqiri and Thiago, mixed with a few solid back up players.
You need a few experienced heads who can come in and plug gaps but for the most part I agree with you.
 

Hannibal

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Despite his goal and decent cameo, he still annoys me and I still want him out. There is something very annoying about him.
Obviously, you want him out for non-footballing reasons. A passive observer might think you are a racist!
 

Tomuś

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We finally have three wingers who can play at a decent level for three games in a row. Good.
 

Ole'sbodyguard

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Just seen his goal. Very composed finish.

If he's producing these types of cameos and performances, no reason why he can't be a part of the first team squad. His first season was decent/good, whereas last season was a none event.

He needs to start making goals next and getting his corners/set pieces as that was always his asset with Villa.
 

hp88

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He will come in handy over the next few months, January and February look busy so I reckon we will see him start domestic cup games and continue to come on as a sub during leauge games.
 

Van Piorsing

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The moment Moyesy said about making changes in near future, almost the same moment Young starting to show glimpses of something more than just being present on the pitch. It's still not enough and still far from his old Villa form but he at least trying to prove something.

Player worthy of playing in Manchester United must show this way of football through almost entire season and the truth is Young failed to achieve that at Old Trafford. People can try and defend him through countless excuses about his unfortunate injury streaks but that won't change the fact that so far he isn't the United material.

If boss shall decide he's staying for more years and in the same time it will mean that United won't pursue finding someone clearly better on his position, it's only going to be honest disappointment from my side.

Don't like sounding cynical and jaded but even Fergie in a longer way failed to inspire him to become a better player and despite recent jaw dropping goals it may be too late for him.

Only on a present moment - Well Done, Ashley Young. Let's see if he can keep going like that in nearest future.
 

Ole'sbodyguard

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He will come in handy over the next few months, January and February look busy so I reckon we will see him start domestic cup games and continue to come on as a sub during leauge games.
I agree, he is probably going to feature frequently in the cups.

However, I'd start him in our next league game. Valencia cannot play every game, Nani's injured and Young is looking much better than he did.

Other than Januzaj, the starting positions for the wingers are up for grabs for anyone who can put some decent form together.
 

Brwned

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I find the entire idea of squad players here pretty weird to be honest. IMO we should have a clear starting 11 as everyone has, but your squad players should be basically under the age of 24 who can become future starters, for the most part. It's okay to have a few squad players, but we have way too much at this moment. Look at Bayern for example. Their "squad" players consist of players like Shaqiri and Thiago, mixed with a few solid back up players.

Van Buyten and Pizarro aren't particularly young.
 

Sandikan

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Cracking goal, real quality strike,

Classic bus analogy, no goals for ages, then 2 in half a week.

That's the standard for him now.

Am sure he'll start one of the next 2, as it's 2 games over 3 days, so long may this quality striking continue!