Why Ashley Young Was Most Surprising Manchester United Player in 2014/15 Season

Ashley Young's Manchester United renaissance began a long way from Old Trafford. It was the club's long pre-season tour of the USA in summer 2014 where he began to turn heads.

Young himself, speaking to Daniel Taylor of the Guardian, said: 

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The manager said very early on that he was going to make up his mind on his squad from pre-season. I scored a few goals. I played well and, since then, the manager has shown that he meant it.

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Bleacher Report's Lead Tactics Writer Sam Tighe called it at the time, writing:

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Young has used the pre-season tour of the USA and the International Champions Cup (ICC) to stake his claim for a place in the side as a multifunctional, versatile option.

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In a season full of surprises, some good, some bad, it is Young's turnaround that is the most remarkable. Under David Moyes, Young was hardly involved, playing around 1000 fewer league minutes than he has under Louis van Gaal, per WhoScored.com. 

And—unlike many of Moyes' decisions—few would have argued with him confining Young to the sidelines.

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Here was a player who had his merits—a likeable character with a fine work rate and a propensity to cut inside and curl the odd one into the far corner of the net—but who just did not seem to be cut out for United. He had been impressive at Aston Villa, and had a decent first season under Sir Alex Ferguson, but nothing spectacular.

It would have been no surprise at all if Van Gaal had moved him on.

Instead, Van Gaal has been true to his word, and Young's efforts in pre-season did enough to earn him a long-term role in the side. The efforts did not stop there. He has been prepared to do whatever his manager has asked of him, playing in defence, midfield and attack.

Indeed, Van Gaal told MUTV that he believed left wing-back was Young's "best position" (h/t the club's official website). 

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For most of the season, Young was quietly effective, doing his defensive job well, attracting some mild positive buzz. However, it is the last few months in which he has really shone.

In all competitions this season he has six assists and two goals. At the turn of 2015, he had just one assist, and no goals. Indeed, four of his assists and one goal have come in United's last seven games. Measured over the course of the season, his numbers are decent rather than spectacular, but his recent form nudges into the latter category.

Much of this has come with a change in role. Having built up his all-round abilities by playing elsewhere, his attacking play now has a different platform on which to build. In the same Guardian interview, he said "I think nowadays you have to think about football a lot more and about decision-making." That is showing on the pitch.

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It has been interesting to watch defenders struggle with Young. His tendency to cut inside is long established, but he has been mixing it up lately. On occasion he has been looking to beat his man on the outside and put in a left-footed cross. That appears to have created uncertainty in the full-backs trying to deal with him.

They can no longer be as sure of what he will do.

There have certainly been other surprises this season, both good and bad. Marouane Fellaini has been more effective than expected. On reflection, though, that is perhaps not such a shock. The manner in which he has played has been similar to his best Everton performances.

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On the less pleasing side, Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria have both endured seasons worse than any United fan would have hoped. There are mitigating factors there, which reduce the surprise. In Falcao's case, his long injury layoff meant there was always a chance he would struggle.

Di Maria's difficulty in adapting to the Premier League is hardly unique to him.

No, it is Young who has raised eyebrows the highest. In the past few weeks he has often looked as United's most potent attacking threat—against Manchester City, Crystal Palace and Arsenal, for example.

If you had told someone in May 2014 that this would be the case, they simply would not have believed you. As Young said at the end of his interview with Taylor:

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The last manager had his plans and I wasn’t in the team. A couple of times I wasn’t even on the bench. It was disappointing but that was then and this is now.

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Indeed it is. For Young, that "now" is so different to "then" is a very big surprise.