It’s all change for Reds’ durable duo
ASHLEY Young should finally get a second chance at the League Cup winners’ medal that United denied him.
Seven years is a long time in football, and there are just four survivors from the team that took to the field the last time the Reds reached the final of this competition in 2010.
Of those four, only Antonio Valencia is likely to start against Southampton tomorrow, while the others are competing for bench spots. Father Time is a cruel master. Young and Valencia are now playing under their fourth permanent manager at Old Trafford, and have found reinvention the key to longevity.
It is easy to forget now, but while the current incarnation of Aston Villa can be found languishing in the lower echelons of the Championship, the 2010 version were one of the most exciting young sides in England.
Pushing for top four under Martin O’Neill, Young lined up against United at Wembley as one of the more influential pieces of an attacking unit also featuring Stewart Downing and James Milner at the height of their powers.
It was Young’s perfectly-timed ball for Gabby Agbonlahor which led to Nemanja Vidic conceding an early penalty, and he was one of the Villa players angrily clustered around referee Phil Dowd demanding to know why the Serbian did not receive an early bath.
It took him little over a year before he was helping to destroy Arsenal having convinced Sir Alex Ferguson he should be wearing the red of Manchester.
But since the legendary boss retired, there are few positions in which Young has not featured. And while team-mates have come and gone, the former Watford man remains.
Rumours aplenty circled about his future, Jose Mourinho has made it clear he values Young’s presence too much to sell – unless the player himself forces the issue.
A starter against Blackburn and SaintEtienne, Young’s performances full of defensive energy and attacking threat should have been enough to earn him a place in the squad at Wembley.
But those showings have come at right-back, supporting more creative team-mates. Young’s reinvention has only been eclipsed by Valencia.
Bought as a dynamic winger to help replace the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ecuadorian is now one of the first names on the teamsheet in defence and has been rested in recent games to ensure he is raring to go in the showpiece final tomorrow.
His name has to be in the conversation for United’s Player of the Year so far.
To an extent, their hands have been forced by the growing rarity of out and out wingers in the game. Mourinho’s attempts at a return to 4-4-2 at Leicester only lasted a few minutes.
But their success at adaptation is something that Wayne Rooney has struggled to emulate in his later years.
Able to play a more complementary role when Ronaldo was putting opponents to the sword under Ferguson, he has been ineffective when trying to drop back into midfield to prolong his career.
Mourinho has talked often about his want of specialists, but that hasn’t been the case for most at United this season.
Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Daley Blind, even Eric Bailly have all turned out in various different positions under his management.
And as players age, systems change, and new philosophies are ushered through the door, reinvention and adaptation should not be dirty words. Valencia and Young may not be the swashbuckling wingers of old. But both have had distinguished United careers and could add another medal to their respective hauls tomorrow.