Just because a player was once brilliant on the pitch doesn't mean he'll be brilliant off it in the front offices. See: Zinedine Zidane. "Kaka has already signed for Real. I would be happy if he were to take my number, the No 5, I would not be jealous." Oops. Kind of moots that whole 'Monday decision', [.

Sir Alex lines up Ronaldo replacement #17!

The Rumour

Manchester United are being linked with Aston Villa winger Ashley Young.

The Mirror says the 23-year-old is known to be unsettled at Villa Park following the sale of the club's prize asset Gareth Barry.

Chelsea are keen on his services as are Manchester United

The Source: (Daily Mirror as reported on Tribalfootball.

Ryan Giggs and Ashley Young walk away with trophies Given that I had already had a lengthy rant on this subject, I was going to try and let the PFA Awards go without too much comment. But the sight of Ryan Giggs and Ashley Young holding trophies has proven too much. As I have previously said, Giggs [.

The summer transfer market is now open. You know what that means, don't you?

Links with nearly every star under the sun (c. Kaka). Yes, wonderful links to wonderful players; links which are promptly denied or deleted with extreme force. Some of these rumors, mind you, have substance ...

Why are they bothering having a Young Player Of The Year vote this season is beyond me as Stephen Ireland is head and shoulders above every other candidate playing in the Premiership this season. Ireland has been in magnificent form since the season started and with everything going on at Manchester City on and off [.

Rafa interested in exciting winger.

Are Liverpool preparing to splash the readies on Aston Villa's Ashley Young?

It couldn't be sure, irritable readers, but the Mill then thought it might have seen a bloke with what looked like an Aston Villa crest on a bruise-coloured jacket passing a letter containing Enochian script that could have given the impression Martin O'Neill and Rafael Benítez are on the verge of doing business pertaining to Ashley Young.

Según publicó el diario The Independent el pasado domingo, Cristiano Ronaldo se pondrá a las órdenes del campeón olímpico de 100 metros lisos en Pekín 2008, el jamaicano Usain Bolt, para mejorar aún más su velocidad punta. Los entrenamientos que compartirá el portugués con Bolt tendrán lugar en unas instalaciones cercanas a Londres, semanas antes de [.

As we near the end of what has been and still is an exciting season in the EPL, the various gongs and awards are being given out. As usual, they create plenty of controversy, particularly in the case of Ryan Giggs, who was named Footballer of the Year despite only starting 12 league games this season.

Aston Villa Biggest Ins: Stewart Downing should give Ashley Young a run for his money at left midfield once he returns to full fitness. Fabian Delph is an investment for the future in the midfield. Habib Beye will provide cover at the back. ...
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"This squad is virtually the same as last season, so I believe it is good enough to mount a title challenge." says Benitez.Did he mean to say that Liverpool did not win the title last season so they have virtually no chance this season too? Liverpool is too dependent on a few main players and will do poorly if they don't perform.

El que sonará para reforzar al Real Madrid en este mercado de invierno, se entrenará con Michael Johson, uno de los mejores atletas de toda la historia del deporte. El que fuese el hombre más rápido del mundo declaró que Young tiene "un gran margen de mejora en su velocidad". Por ello, él se ha [.

Gabi gets spooked It is difficult to tell whether Ashley Young's pre-match motivational shoulder rub on team-mate Gabriel Agbonlahor helped him prepare for the match or left him wondering if he was going mad. Watch and all will become clear.

I've wondered for a long time what it is that managers see in Stewart Downing, particularly England managers. Since his first call up in February 2005, Downing has been pretty much been a regular in the England squad, but why? I don't understand how one player can have gained 22 caps without ever making an [.

Reports in the English press suggest that the Premier League challengers are looking to bring the winger Ashley Young to Stamford Bridge in the summer. Chelsea are poised to make a bid for highly-rated Aston Villa winger Ashley Young when the transfer window re-opens in the summer, according to reports in the English tabloids.

A report suggests that Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers could be raided this summer by Spurs, who are expected to allow a number of players to leave in order to fund the deals and transfer Ashley Young and Roque Santa Cruz. According to a report in the British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur are set [.

Since the turn of the year, Aaron Lennon has been in outstanding form. His club exploits have been rewarded with not just an international call up, but a place in the starting eleven in England's last two matches, the latter being a competitive qualifier. This is just rewards for Lennon as he has been absolutely [.

It is 2.57am in New Zealand as I write this, and I have an alarm set for 6 o'clock to get a ferry in the morning. However, having just seen Everton robbed of three points by Aston Villa feat. Howard Webb I feel compelled to expel some of the frustration that is coursing through me [...]

It's Manchester United who dominate this years shortlist for the PFA player of the year award. Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edwin van der Sar have all been put forward, along with Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard. Vidic is strong favourite to claim the award, despite a drop in form of late; he's helped by the fact the voting took place a few weeks ago.

If today's PFA Player of the Year shortlist shows us anything, announcing the player of the year with almost 6 weeks of the season left looks a stupid decision. With only Steven Gerrard not from Manchester United on the six player shortlist, it just shows how quickly things in football can change.

Will it be enough to get the deal done?

The Rumour

Tottenham are hoping to steal a march as both Chelsea and Man United duel over primary big-money targets such as Franck Ribery and David Villa.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is willing to send Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley to Villa Park in exchange for Young.

So now Ashley Young is demanding that Aston Villa add to the team? Just who the hell is Ashley Young anyway? He wins a few caps for the English national team and now is in the position to demand that Villa have to sign players to satisfy him or else he wants to be sold to another club? This is not a team-oriented player and if I were Martin O'Neill I would seriously consider selling him if I could get a good offer.

Ahoy-hoy. You may have noticed an eerie silence descending over AANP Towers in the last fortnight. Apologies – ‘twas initially intended as no more than a short break for an All-Action Stag Weekend (the impressive casualty list including A&E for the stag, a broken limb, a black eye, two lost phones, one lost wallet and a lost passport).

The unfortunate downside of modern technology means that any armchair fan can now comment on any team without actually seeing the game. As I type this, I'm listening to Radio 5 and Liverpool "fans" are calling for the head of Benitez. "The worst display I've ever seen from a Liverpool team" shouts one fan who obviously missed the F.

He looked terrible against Wigan but brilliant against Liverpool.
Go figure.
Is he back to his best?
In a World Cup year you could do much worse than taking a punt on Aston Villa's Ashley Young.
With a price of just 8.3M (down from 8.5M at the start of the season) and favorable fixtures coming up over the next month, this surely would not be a case of "chasing last week's points.

So, apparently my choice to keep Shay Given wasn't the greatest ever. Who saw Darren Fletcher scoring a brace coming ahead of time? If it had been Rooney scoring more than the one, I'd have been completely good with Given's performance but it wasn't to be. A very interesting weekend though. It would appear that ManYoo will have trouble defending their title.

Title race back on, blah blah blah, Aston Villa torn apart like a dingo on a newborn, yada yada yada, England expects ahead of international week—wait just one minute there, pal. It would be safe to say that Villa is a sort of stand-in England B side in the Premier League, at least according to the [.

Pick up yours today If like Ashley Young you dream of being swept off your feet by a tall, dark, handsome man with a penchant for lap-dancing clubs, the key to your success is to provide an easy tap-in for John Carew. Much like the one Young gave Carew against Hull City last night. [...]

Aston Villa will need to make a couple of stellar signings to match Ashley Young's ambition and avoid losing their most ­valuable asset this summer. The England international is concerned at the club's direction in the wake of Martin Laursen's retirement and Gareth Barry's decision to join Manchester City, and unless ­Martin O'Neill can recruit [.

My goodness it's an arid, barren football landscape at this time of year. Admittedly there is the Confederations Cup (what the devil is that strange buzzing noise at all the South African stadia?), and the Under-21s are doing a sterling job for Queen and country, but once again at White Hart Lane the week has been characterised by the ethereal presence of rumours rather than any concrete developments.

Who needs wit when you could have a 'y' Poor old Curtis Davies. The Aston Villa defender was caught out being interviewed by Sky Sports News when he realised he didn't yet have a friendly surname-related nickname for new team-mate Stewart Downing. But Curtis soon improvised and christened the winger with a brand new moniker.

Gallery, images, photos and pictures of The Netherlands match v England Friendly match, August 2009. Includes David Beckham, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young, Charlton Cole, Jermain Defoe, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Robert Green, Ryan Babel, Rafael van der Vaart, Robin van Perise and Dirk Kuyt images, photos and pictures.

(Davy expects African sides to edge traditional Latin and Continental powers, but fancies England for the Cup. Below he discusses the likely England squad, highlighting what he expects to be the historic contribution of England's black players.)
To be King in Africa, a useful prerequisite is to be a Black Prince.

With World Cup fever catching the nation after a very favorable draw, I thought this week should be dedicated to 2010 in some way. I thought long and hard (that's what she said....) about what to do, but i settled on picking ten players that are on the fringes of a place on Capello's bench.

Villa's five-man attack? Fabio Capello is among the most important of a host of people to note that Martin O'Neill has collected at Aston Villa a three-pronged attack which could serve England well for the next decade. Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and James Milner have (when they weren't busy accidentally scaring each other) been on fire [.

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Some footballers are bright, but I don't think Gabby Agbonlahor has ever been accused of being amongst the select few. Or if he was, now would probably be a good time to take him out. Sheer genius catch by Soccer AM's 3rd Eye as Gabby receives a pregame shoulder rub from a ghost. A ghost [...]

It was the 88th minute of the game and Aston Villa were 2 goals up against Stoke City. Nobody saw a comeback coming, probably not even Stoke. But out of the blue the Potters popped up with 2 goals and drew the game. This all took place at Villa Park on Sunday in what turned out [...]

Why can't Stewart Downing show us the form that makes him such a sought after player when he pulls on the England shirt? There is no doubting that at Premier League level, Downing is one of the most dangerous and creative players in the country but after Saturdays performance against Slovakia, it's clear to see [.