FLVillan Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 I'll take what "career-over-at-25" Reo Coker says with a pinch of salt.... Trying to look at this from a neutral/logical perspective, I saw a significant decline in James Milner at the Dippers this year - looking very much off-the-pace and out of place when he's been called upon. Almost felt bad for him a few times (except he played for the dippers so that's not an option).... I'd hate to see that happen to Young here at Villa, and as such he'll be remembered well for his performances, still able to put in top performances, rather than being rolled out as a desperate measure and being seen as a liability. I imagine he (Young) was on very good money, and Lange/Unai will look at things from a financial standpoint and know that we can bring in someone 10-15 years younger, on similar or lower money.... Professional sports is a business whether we like it or not... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) 34 minutes ago, stewiek2 said: He got rid of our Ash and big daddy Nas tombestone piledrivered him out the club for it! ACKSHUALLY shouldn't that be Jackknife Powerbombed him out of the club, HMMMMM? Edited June 13, 2023 by GarethRDR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 11 minutes ago, TheStagMan said: Ash has given us good service during his second stint - and he has kept himself in amazing condition. To be able to play at the intensity he played at, at his age is remarkable. That said, it seems a good place to part company, we are about to rebuild for the future and cannot carry anyone. Ash left us when he could do better, we are now leaving him now we can do better. Business decisions, perfectly stated! If it were a choice between keeping him for sentimental reasons versus getting in a player better than he is now, then new player every time. And even if we bring in a 28 year old it gives us a player who is TEN years younger.... Yes, he has experience and words of wisdom to offer the younger players, but we have others who can do that. Exactly. And let us not forget that all the talk about his value in this area was put forth by our previous, clueless, inexperienced manager who over-relied on that aspect. I wish him well wherever he goes. So long and thanks for all the fish. Great Post. Couldn't have put it any better.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) This one could have been resolved one way or another before the final game and we all could have had a send off so yes it is disappointing. Like Downing as Boro. 12m 100s of appearances. Euro final. Waived a clause entitling him to a new deal. Dropped down took a paycut to get them promoted and they released him without so much of a phonecall. So no players shouldn't show loyalty because the second you are deemed worthless they won't show you an ounce of respect. Edited June 13, 2023 by rodders0223 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 5 hours ago, TheStagMan said: If it were a choice between keeping him for sentimental reasons versus getting in a player better than he is now, then new player every time. Yes, he has experience and words of wisdom to offer the younger players, but we have others who can do that. In your first part Stag, it depends who that new player is though to a certain degree? On your second part, Ash is a player of vast experience and has shown he has still got it at this level too. No one else in our squad has that same level of experience as he has imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 6 hours ago, Tom13 said: Interesting. I wonder if he was as disappointed as we were when Ash left us for United at his peak? That's not a dig at Ash, just a reminder that ruthlessness works both ways. Good point this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 10 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Nige! Been a while since I've heard from him. Appalling footballer. He did the "I should be playing for a CL club" then moving to a small club thing way before Bacuna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen_Evans Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Keyblade said: He did the "I should be playing for a CL club" then moving to a small club thing way before Bacuna. I remember NRC ruining a counter attack at home to Everton in his first season and I wondered what Martin O’Neill was playing at. NRC could barely control the ball and never looked comfortable even kicking the thing! In hindsight it should have told us a lot about the manager at that time. Back to Young, once upon a time I would have been glad to give him a dose of his own medicine. But he won me over second time around and it seems better to part on a high then see him suddenly decline. I did want one more goal in front of the Holte though - shame! Edited June 14, 2023 by Stephen_Evans Missing word. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villanmac Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 We barely conceded a goal in the last 10 games yet i can recall him being at fault for two of them. He did have a great season, having him stepping at left back when we only had Digne and at right back for Cash was massive for us. But now we need a new right back, we already have two left backs. In the cold light of day its the right decision. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagMan Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 17 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said: In your first part Stag, it depends who that new player is though to a certain degree? On your second part, Ash is a player of vast experience and has shown he has still got it at this level too. No one else in our squad has that same level of experience as he has imo. Well, of course, but my expectation is that we will not be replacing him with someone from the U21 team. There are plenty of other experienced players in the team and we should be replacing him with a top player to be our first choice who will have plenty of experience in his own right. Yes Ash has lots of experience, but his age is against him and his salary will not be small. Absolutely the right decision to part company. Right way to do it? Not sure, but the focus had to be on that last game and we had to win it, so I am glad we didn't take out eye off the ball with sentimentality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 I wonder if the radio silence his end is because he is mulling over to go someplace else for one more season or to retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono62 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 I reckon he's been offered the CEO role. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 23 hours ago, rodders0223 said: This one could have been resolved one way or another before the final game and we all could have had a send off so yes it is disappointing. Like Downing as Boro. 12m 100s of appearances. Euro final. Waived a clause entitling him to a new deal. Dropped down took a paycut to get them promoted and they released him without so much of a phonecall. So no players shouldn't show loyalty because the second you are deemed worthless they won't show you an ounce of respect. Pure speculation, but.... I honestly think the decision was made based on whether we made it into Europe or not. If we had not, it's potentially 10-15 games less next year, and they probably saw Young as adequate cover for 40-45 domestic games. Now that we are in Europe, it's more games, more travel, and requires different tactics. It's also entirely possible that Unai was promised funding for a new fullback if we made Europe..... As we are not privy to conversations between club/player/agent, we could also speculate that he was demanding to stay on top-level wages while accepting a diminished on-pitch role. We can recall that Alan Hutton took a significant pay cut to stay. Maybe Young wasn't willing to do the same? We will probably never know... I honestly do not believe that the club deliberately did something to avoid giving him a "send off." After all, we witnessed a brilliant video and on-pitch send-off for a goalkeeper who played about 10% of first team games over a ten year period, most of which were in the lower division. If the club does that for Jed, then no reason to think they wouldn't have done something similar for Ashley. Downing was/is a word-removed, so no comparison for me.... 99% of players are loyal - to playing at the highest level they can, to their families, and to securing their financial futures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson1 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 PSG bound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 4 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: I wonder if the radio silence his end is because he is mulling over to go someplace else for one more season or to retire. I think his radio silence is two-fold - one because he was off on holiday with his family as soon as the season ended. If he's like me, when going holiday he will switch off completely and focus on a nice mental break while focussing on his family... And two, because perhaps he doesn't feel unfairly treated at all and is not going to make public statements to jeopardize his prospects of a short-term deal elsewhere to finish off his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 1 hour ago, TheStagMan said: Well, of course, but my expectation is that we will not be replacing him with someone from the U21 team. There are plenty of other experienced players in the team and we should be replacing him with a top player to be our first choice who will have plenty of experience in his own right. Yes, Ash has lots of experience, but his age is against him and his salary will not be small. Absolutely the right decision to part company. Right way to do it? Not sure, but the focus had to be on that last game and we had to win it, so I am glad we didn't take out eye off the ball with sentimentality No, you're right. I would say like for like if possible and slightly younger would be the way to go. I hope we do find and sign the ideal replacement that can offer the experience he has. Champions League, Europa League etc. and what he has done in the game combined with the managers/coach's that he has worked with. The problem is his age and salary (not sure how much he was on p/w) are against him like you say. However, I think if we cannot find that suitable player to replace him in what he offers then it wouldn't harm to try and get him back for a further 12 months if all parties could agree suitable terms. Imo, I honestly think he will has more to offer this club in us moving forward (even if it's only for another 12 months) and I wouldn't be against him returning if it materialised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Apart from being a top professional, he is also seemingly a big presence in the dressing room, fans love him and he can play multiple positions while helping along the kids who may be retained for Europe. I’d love him to sign another 12 months. The mods here normally operate at the speed of light when moving topics into the correct forums, I do wonder if they are privy to ongoing negotiations with Young, hence it remaining in this section? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 6 minutes ago, av1 said: The mods here normally operate at the speed of light when moving topics into the correct forums, I do wonder if they are privy to ongoing negotiations with Young, hence it remaining in this section? He's still a Villa player until the 30th of this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 30, 2023 Moderator Share Posted June 30, 2023 I'm still mentally putting him in my squad for next season, realising he's gone and then shaking my head in disappointment 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke313 Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 Moved to other football before his contract is even up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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