Ashley Young is not yet good enough for Man United - but he'll help England beat the Swiss

By Mark Lawrenson

Published 00:10 04/06/11

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Ashley Young is established for England - but not ready for Manchester United.

Young has only produced at club level in flashes of brilliance rather than on a consistent basis, even for Aston Villa.

He is all set to go to Old Trafford this summer and, in fairness, he may get more of the ball, more possession and more service there.

But he still needs to improve an extra 20 per cent to be able to contribute properly in the sort of company he will be keeping.

Without doubt, his Villa and England team-mate Stewart Downing is a better crosser of the ball than Young. Downing's deliveries are first class - much more accurate.

Young has lightning pace, can use either foot and operate on both flanks but when he plays on the left he often looks to cut back inside onto his other foot, and that tends to give the full-backs time to recover.

For a player at a top club, his final ball and goal ratio can both improve - although working with Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez will improve him.

If United can get Young on a decent deal because he only has one year left at Villa then it is good business for Sir Alex Ferguson.

However, Young is far from being the ready-made world-class talent that United need to take them to where they want to go.

All that said, Young is improving and growing in confidence for England and is blossoming in Fabio Capello's new-look formation.

Everyone has been crying out for Capello to be more attack-minded and expansive for the past two years.

It's good in attack with a 4-3-3 and can quickly turn into 4-5-1 when England are under pressure and need to defend.

The traditional 4-4-2 is out of favour in international football and Capello has caught up with the times and also shown a more attacking flair with his recent selections.

Darren Bent has really deserved his chance. He is tailor-made for the lone striker role, can score goals and lead the line.

The formation means England can have a player either side of him - either Theo Walcott or James Milner on the right - and Young on the left.

That gives the team an attacking threat, plenty of options and utilises their strengths, especially once Wayne Rooney is available again after his suspension.

We saw out in Switzerland that today's opposition are distinctly average and England should win very comfortably.

The only worry is that this is a game too far. The season has been long and, if anything, the match seems to be pretty low on the priority list.

But it is vital for England, Capello and the players know that.

A good result should put them firmly in control as they try to qualify for Euro 2012.

With England's attacking threat, Capello's men should win the game comfortably - at least 2-0.

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