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With many predicting that Ashley Young will leave the club for pastures new this summer, just how badly would Villa miss their wing wizard if Manchester United and Liverpool come calling. Although Young has played his part this season, fans and players alike voted his teammate at international level, Stewart Downing as the club’s Player of the Year as the former Middlesbrough man’s consistent performances have eclipsed those of the sought after 25-year-old on numerous occasions this term. Add to that the emergence of undoubtedly the brightest spark in Gerard Houllier’s first 4 months in charge, Marc Albrighton, and it starts to look as though cover for Young is ready made.

It is by no means a certainty that the ex-Watford youngster will depart this summer but looks increasingly likely as the season draws on. This year Ashley has been deployed as a second striker for much of the campaign, to mixed reviews from the Villa faithful, many of whom still believe he plays best as an out-and-out wide man. The record signing of Darren Bent will have been a clear indicator to the club’s want-aways that the boardroom are looking to progress from this dreadful season and the England striker has become Villa’s top scorer in just 15 appearances, which tells a story in itself.

Young is second fiddle to Bent in the goalscoring ranks with 9 goals but when you consider that only 3 of those have been in open play it hasn’t been the most profitable season for Young, who in my opinion has never recaptured the form which saw him win the Premier League Young Player of the Year award in his first full season at Villa Park. Despite this, Young has contributed to more goals (goals/assists) than any other, interestingly at a far higher rate than Downing. However, I believe Albrighton is the future. A young local lad and a diehard fan who wears his heart on his sleeve, and his debut season stats back that claim emphatically.

Stat Attack

Ashley Young

In all competitions for Villa this term, Young has made 38 starts, netting 9 goals, 4 of which were penalties, and setting up a further 13. These 22 goal contributions have come from 3450 minutes of game time, meaning he either scores or assists a goal every 157 minutes, a record not to be taken lightly. In the Premier League, Young has a pass success rate of 72%, the worst of the 3 players being analysed. The 25-year-old takes an average of 2.2 shots per game, Villa’s highest by some margin, and makes an average of 2.27 key passes a match, also a team high.

Stewart Downing

Downing started this season in fine goalscoring form but has scored just once in his last 20 league appearances, taking his tally in all competitions to 7 having scored in his previous 17 league outings and once in the League Cup. The winger is the only of Villa’s outfield squad to have played every game this term and has become a fans favourite playing from either flank with his quick counter-attacking and delicious deliveries. The 26-year-old has assisted 9 goals, totalling 16 goal contributions this campaign, 6 fewer than Young. His prolonged run in the team has also meant that he has played significantly more game time, 3624 minutes to be precise, meaning he has a contribution rate of 1 in 226.5 minutes. Downing’s pass success rate is superior to his two comparable teammates having completed 77% of his efforts. He takes an average of 1.6 shots a game in the league and makes 2.24 key passes a match.

Marc Albrighton

This is where Villa fans should get excited in my opinion. Marc Albrighton lit up the pre-season fixtures under O’Neill and was given his chance in the Premier League by Kevin MacDonald, the reserve team coach that had nurtured him for the past few years. He made an instant impact, stealing the show from James Milner in his last game for the club, setting up the dearly departed to cap off a 3-0 home win over West Ham. The 21-year-old did not stop there and went on to win Villa’s Player of the Month award for four of the opening 5 months during a pretty dismal time on the field elsewhere. Since the New Year the young winger has been given a lengthy break having been a mainstay during the 2010 months.

In all competitions the Tamworth born midfielder has made 23 starts of his 33 appearances for the club. In that time he has netted 6 goals and provided a further 10 assists, totalling 16 goal contributions, equalling Downing. However, due to the fact that he has played a bit part for the latter part of the season he has amassed just 2090 minutes of playing time. This shorter spell in the side gives Albrighton a goal contribution rate of 1 every 131 minutes, far away the best of the team, and all in his debut first team campaign. Impressive!

By no means am I saying that these stats are indicative of Albrighton being better than Downing and Young but they are significant. Young’s impressive goal contribution rate is also something that the fans should bear in mind despite the star man not having had his best season with the club. Player of the Year Downing’s stats are the least impressive in terms of goal contributions but don’t underestimate the team’s reliance on his consistent quality, something which Young lacks in my opinion. All in all I’d love to see both stay and feel that Downing will, however, I think it may be time to cash in on Young with interest levels soaring and Villa will no doubt be hoping that a bidding war pushes his price tag closer to the £20m mark than £10m.

Martin Laurence is a new bi-weekly guest columnist for Stats Corner. As we as contributing to Aston Villa Life, Martin also owns his own website Aston Villa Blog. Every other Thursday, Martin will be writing for us, and AVL’s Matt Turvey will be guest writing for Aston Villa Blog. You can find Matt’s article for Aston Villa Blog here

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