Ashley Young has managed to build an incredibly negative reputation for himself over the best part of the last two years. But while the diving has become the only identifiable aspect of his game of late, the real issue is that he’s a player without purpose and without ability to merit his current position in the game.

David Moyes saw little use for him during that difficult early spell as Manchester United manager. Young is a player so out of form that the only two memories we have of him thus far this season are of him cheating to earn penalties.

Young was rightly questioned following his move to United in 2011 as to whether he was indeed good enough for such a step up. Martin O’Neill talked him up while both were at Aston Villa, stating that Young was comparable to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I wouldn’t place too much value in that; managers do and say various things to get the best out of their players. But Young’s alarming descent into the abyss should be incredibly worrying for himself, partly because Untied will eventually cut ties, but also because there may be a real shortage of clubs lining up to take him.

Over the past year, Young has displayed a lack of ability, adventure and perhaps even interest to stamp a mark on the right side of United’s attack. Even more worry is the fact that the other wingers in the United team were so out of sorts, more or less paving the way for someone to grab a starting spot with minimal effort.

Against Real Sociedad, a team who look out of their depth in the Champions League, Young looked unsure of himself, unable to run at the Sociedad backline and offer a consistent supply into the forwards. Under Alex Ferguson, Young was never good as an individual but he became part of an effective unit, raising his game elsewhere away from the goals and assists columns. Now, anything remotely positive is completely absent from his game. His last goal in a United shirt came in his first season with the club, in May 2012.

On the case of diving, there is no excuse. Where Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale’s actions have been quite pronounced in the recent past, Young has done nothing to make up for the disappointment held by others. Suarez and Bale are and were, respectively, leading names in the Premier League, with many citing the diving as aspects that needed to be stamped out of genuine high-end talents. For Young, he has no upside that will help to mask the uglier side to his game.

It’s not just that Young serves no purpose at United, but also that he seems to be unaccepted. Such is the disdain for diving in this country that his shortcomings as a player can’t really be overlooked until the opportunity to move him on comes along: most fans simply don’t like him.

A regular place in the United team looks a long way off, let alone a place in the England team. It’s a monstrous fall for a player to go from someone who was once considered world class by a previous manager to one who may struggle to find a top club with any real interest in his services in the future.

 

 Is Young's time with United at an end?

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