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Ashley Young has been causing a bit of a stir for the last few seasons now, but I’ve always wondered why. Aston Villa signed him for a huge price from Watford, and although he has produced from time to time, he never really did strike me as the future of English football. But it would seem Gerard Houllier has managed to get Young playing again, and against Blackburn he was at the heart of everything good. Maybe Ashley Young could be the future after all?

The 25-year-old was so prolific at Watford because he was the main man, deployed just behind the striker. At Villa, Young has often played second fiddle to the likes of Gabby Agbonlahor and had to be content with a place out wide. But against Blackburn, Young was given the armband, and played off a quality front man in Darren Bent and really looked the part. With Downing one side, Albrighton the other, Houllier seems to have found a system which is getting the Midlands club playing football – something the fans have been craving for years.

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We all know the ‘golden generation’ of English football passed their sell by date long before the abysmal World Cup showing of last summer. Everyone is talking about how the future of the national team is James Milner or Jack Wilshere. Why not Ashley Young? If Fabio Capello adopted the same sort of system used at Villa Park, Young could play off Wayne Rooney. England may then be in danger of actually attacking teams with a bit of pace and urgency. God forbid, I know.

First things first though for the Villa player – he needs to be playing at this level consistently. He played like a leader at the weekend, which is a trait I definitely didn’t see in him before, but it is certainly not a bad one to have. There has been talk of Young moving away from Villa Park at the end of the season (just as there seems to be at the end of every season) but I hope it doesn’t happen. He could go to Manchester United or Liverpool and become a bit-part player – a role which clearly doesn’t suit him. Young should stay at Villa and spearhead the new French regime. This season may be a write-off as far as the fans are concerned, but the Villains have every reason to look forward to next season – if Young stays.

What they don’t need is to lose their best player, again. I sincerely hope Young doesn’t get his head turned by the bright lights of a top four club because next season could be the platform for the former Hornet to lead Villa’s revival and cement himself a starting berth in the England side.

It seems a long way off, but there is no reason why Ashley Young can’t be a part of a successful future at Villa and for England. He’s matured and improved, now is time for the next step: a Young lion to lead the next ‘golden generation’? Watch this space…

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Ashley Young is hoping he has done enough to earn a new long-term contract with Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old winger has made 130 appearances for the Midlands club following a £12million move from Watford in January 2007 but has just 12 months remaining on his existing deal.

"Of course, if it comes about I'm more than happy to stay at the club," he said when asked if a new contract was in the pipeline.

"I'm delighted with how things have gone. I've enjoyed my time here, I've learned a lot since I've come in and I've got a lot more to learn."

Young scored in Monday's 3-2 pre-season victory at Peterborough United and has been pleased with Villa's preparations for the new campaign.

He continued:"The boys are getting their fitness there and it showed here, we're trying to feel our way into it and we'll be looking forward to the start of the season.

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"Of course we always set ourselves targets at the start of the season.

"We always look to do better than we did last season. We're going to sit down before the season and hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll do that."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

While the next football World Cup in Brazil may still be three years away, right now in New Zealand the Rugby World Cup is taking place. While some of the excitement may have gone out of the tournament now that England have been knocked out by France, there’s still plenty to talk and get enthused about.

One country in the world where the popularity of rugby is growing is Italy. Renowned as a country that loves football, rugby is becoming a bigger sport in Italy all the time and they are not only gradually starting to become more of a force in the Six Nations, but also on the world stage, too.

One Italian footballer who loves his rugby is Gianluca Vialli. The Italian made his name on these shores with Chelsea, and our very own Will Carling got to interview Luca on all things rugby and a bit of other stuff as well.

See who he thinks of when he thinks of rugby, aside from his wife’s brother, how far he thought Italy would make it in the tournament (I’m afraid he was a bit too optimistic on that one) and who he would like to play him in a film of his life; I’ll give you a clue, it’s a bald actor.

Here’s Italian football star Gianluca Vialli giving his Rugby World Cup 2011 prediction in This Is The Game Interviews, presented by Heineken…

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FIFA have begun disciplinary proceedings against six officials allegedly involved in fixing the outcome of two international friendlies in FebruaryFootball’s governing body said officials involved in last month’s matches which saw Bolivia play Latvia and Estonia take on Bulgaria in Antalya, Turkey, were now facing charges over the outcomes of the games.The games were organised by Footy Sport International, a Thailand-based company, and saw Latvia beat Bolivia 2-1, while Estonia and Bulgaria played out a 2-2 draw.The two games were played in front of only 100 fans and all seven goals came via penalties.Also causing confusion was the choice of officials for the Bulgaria-Estonia match, with reports from the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and Estonian Football Association citing the referee as Hungary’s Krisztian Selmeczi.But Hungarian referees’ boss Laszlo Wagner said the man who actually refereed the game was another Hungarian official, Kolos Lengyel.FIFA said in a statement that match officials had been charged in relation to the games, but did not identify those under suspicion.”FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against six match officials in relation to the international A friendly matches Bolivia-Latvia and Estonia-Bulgaria played in Antalya (Turkey) on February 9, 2011,” the statement read.”The proceedings were opened following an evaluation of all documentation and information received by FIFA, in relation to a possible match-fixing situation in these matches. The FIFA disciplinary committee will be in charge to deal with the matter.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Michael Kightly has confirmed that he faces a race against time to try and be fit for action at the start of next season.

The 24-year-old missed most of Wolves' first season back in the Premier League due to injuries and he is currently fighting back from tendon problems in both of his knees.

He told the Express & Star:"I don't want to set too many targets. I'd like to be back at some stage of pre-season, but it won't be the start of it.

"I'm feeling a lot more positive now and looking forward to cracking on with pre-season. I'd hope to play some part of a game in pre-season.

"But this injury is quite intense and something you can't rush back from. I've been out too long now to rush back and suffer a setback. To go back straight into that would put me back.

"Hopefully I can play some part of a pre-season friendly.

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"The rehab has been going well and the specialists are really happy. I had another injection a few weeks ago and had to rest it for a couple of weeks.

"Other than that, I've been working hard with the physios and have progressed massively."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has admitted that the club are keeping tabs on highly rated Sporting Lisbon striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel.

The 22-year-old moved to the Estadio Jose Alvalade from Utrecht in the last transfer window, but already is being linked with a move to a bigger club, with the Premier League champions one of his potential suitors.

The Dutch striker has made an electric start to his time with the Portuguese club, scoring six goals in his first six games, which has come to the attention of a number of leading European teams.

Despite remaining coy about a move for the forward, Phelan has admitted United are keeping tabs on the Netherlands international.

“We have obviously known Van Wolfswinkel for a long time. He is a young striker, very talented, who has been growing in the last few seasons,” Phelan stated to Portuguese newspaper Record.

“A club like Manchester United carefully follow many players all over the world.”

Sir Alex Ferguson has signed players from the Portuguese Primeria Liga before, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson ending up at Old Trafford after impressing in the country.

By Gareth McKnight

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Roma manager Vincenzo Montella was disappointed after his side threw away a two-goal lead against Parma on Sunday.For the ninth time this season, Roma dropped points from a winning position after Amauri’s late double salvaged a point for Pasquale Marino’s side at the Stadio Olimpico in the exciting 2-2 draw.The result leaves Roma in sixth position on the Serie A table, leaving them five points behind fourth-placed Lazio, who occupy the last of the Champions League spots.”We concede far too many goals in the final half hour,” Montella said.
“It isn’t a question of players or formation but simply a dip in concentration. This side has suffered this lapse all season and we must work to put this right.””I liked what I saw during the first half and this gives me confidence going forward,” he said.”After the break we were missing (David) Pizarro who is fundamental for our particular way of playing.””We believe a lot in the fourth place, very much and also after today’s result and today’s performance, because, I repeat, there were positive signals.”Roma are close to terminating the contract of Brazilian striker Adriano after he failed to attend a medical. The forward, who signed a three-year deal in June, has been in his home country to receive treatment on a dislocated shoulder and has repeatedly delayed his return to Rome.He finally arrived last week but did not turn up to an organised medical, infuriating club director Gianpaolo Montali.”It’s true, the player did not turn up and will be given a heavy fine,” Montali said.”We tried in every way possible to look after this man when he came to Roma, but now the problem is that he is unprofessional. Adriano is indefensible.”

Blackburn midfielder David Dunn has welcomed reports that Rovers could be interested in signing unsettled Stoke City striker James Beattie this summer.

Beattie has been told he can leave the Britannia Stadium should Stoke receive an offer in the region of the £2million they paid Sheffield United to sign him 18 months ago.

The 32-year-old has been out in the cold at the Potters since reports of a mid-season bust-up with manager Tony Pulis.

Beattie has been linked with a return to Ewood Park, where he started his career with a handful of appearances before moving on to Southampton.

Dunn, who himself left his first club only to return three years ago, is excited about a possible reunion with the bustling striker.

“I think the way we play he could be a good addition to the squad, so hopefully something might get sorted there,” he said.

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“I’m sure James is pretty keen on coming back home, but it depends on how much money the manager’s got and if he needs to shift a few around. We’ll wait and see.”

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It’s apparently open season on Liverpool’s 35 million pound man Andy Carroll, as critics seem to be lining up to have a dig at the big number nine. Is this criticism over the top, and is it simply due to his fee?

Clearly having the label of the most expensive British footballer in history is always going to leave you open for high scrutiny and inevitable criticism. However, the scathing manner of the criticism of Carroll has been a bit far fetched, particularly at such an early stage of the season. The fee and the media hype surrounding him, isn’t Carroll’s fault, and for a young player with everything to prove, it hasn’t helped his cause.

Carroll joined Liverpool with a serious injury problem, and he has struggled to regain full fitness since the injury. It was unfortunate for him, that he couldn’t hit the ground running, and he wasn’t fully fit when he played for the reds at the end of last season. He still doesn’t quite have his full fitness and match sharpness back, but he is certainly getting there with each passing week. He has obviously lost a lot of confidence after his injury problems, and it will be important for him to start building that up again.

It seems that Andy Carroll’s past mistakes are also counting against him, as critics continue to bash his lifestyle choices and even Fabio Capello has somewhat harshly chipped in with his thoughts on Carroll’s extracurricular activities. Critics are quick to suggest that he is wasting his talent, however this seems to have little bearing on his time at Liverpool, where nothing has come out to suggest anything other than the fact that he has got his head down at the club.

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Criticism of Carroll rather than other players also seems unfair, as Liverpool have not really played to his strengths as of yet. When Carroll is on the pitch they seem to revert to a manner of play whereby they hoof the ball downfield to him, which inevitably ends in nothing. They have yet to get the service or movement around him correct, they should be playing it down the wings and providing great service to Carroll in the centre, the return of Steven Gerrard should help Carroll out in this department.

To be fair to Carroll, he was unlucky not to score against Arsenal and had a perfectly good goal disallowed at Sunderland, if those two incidents had been slightly different, everyone would be raving about him, as the biggest hope for the future of English football, so we need to put things in a little perspective.

Carroll is in good hands with Dalglish, who will endeavour to get the best out of him, and his experience and know how will definitely be a help to Carroll. Liverpool have wrapped him up in cotton wool up to now to protect him from further injurys, but now is the time for him to be given a regular first team place so that he can fully regain his sharpness and match fitness, as well as his confidence.

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Carroll won’t get forever to prove himself, but we have to at least give him a fair chance, and the constant criticism of him is over the top and unjustified. The expectation due to the fee that he should have hit the ground running is harsh, and he should be judged by what he does on the pitch after a full season not four games.  Everything is now in place for him, he’s at a great club with a good manager, so now it is up to him, but he needs to be given a fair chance and that is not something he has been given so far.

Do you think criticism of Andy Carroll has been over the top? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter

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I saw Gary Neville in the Sky studio one match day last year – I think it’s the only time he has been there, I may be very wrong. He seemed harmless enough. He gave some opinions which seemed vaguely sensible, his moustache had gone, I quite liked his suit to be honest, and he didn’t say anything too controversial. His trousers weren’t as tight as Jamie Redknapp’s, and he didn’t say “you can’t raise your hands” a single time, but with a bit of media training that can be sorted out. If I didn’t know who he was, I’d say he seemed quite well suited for the role.

Sadly (or not), all this is irrelevant. Gary Neville could be the most eloquent man to walk the land since Oscar Wilde. He could have the charisma of Jack Nicholson, the style of David Beckham, the wit of a young Woody Allen, the oratory skills of Winston Churchill and the tactical insight of Herbert Chapman. It matters not one jot.

And it matters not one jot because Gary Neville doesn’t like a large chunk of the English population, and has said so publically. And more to the point, the feeling is mutual.

Very mutual.

“I can’t stand Liverpool, I can’t stand Liverpool people, I can’t stand anything to do with them.” reported in the Guardian.

So said Mr Neville once. Such was his vitriol of all things Liverpool in a interview once his dad had to step in to try and calm him down, turning off the interviewer’s tape recorder, to which Gary responded: “But I do hate them Dad.”

You might think this puerile hatred of a whole city and all its people  is a bit laughable and not worth worrying over. But this small matter would somewhat compromise his role as a neutral observer of football matches. Could you rely on Gary Neville to comment on how excellently Liverpool played or how City totally outplayed Manchester United (it’s a hypothetical question, ok?)?

To be honest, I’m not going to lose sleep over this decision. I don’t watch pre-match build ups, or half-time analysis – it’s the football, and the football alone that I am interested in. I couldn’t believe how sexist remarks from two football pundits dominated the news for over a week – it just wasn’t that big a story, THEY are not that big a story. But hey, maybe it would be quite good fun watching Neville squirm and have to compliment teams he hates. Maybe he’ll be the consummate professional and be totally unbiased. I can’t see it myself.

But last Wednesday the news came through that Gary Neville was retiring with immediate effect, mid-season. And the whole of Liverpool, half of Manchester and a fair swathe of the rest of the country simultaneously muttered “uh-oh”.

There’s bias in many studio guests – they often have affiliations with specific teams (usually playing that day), and so you might think it’s unfair to single out Neville. But when a player has been so public with his hatred of a set of football fans, it goes further than having a simple bias. It alienates viewers, and it compromises his ability to do his job properly, and professionally.

I can’t see Sky taking that risk. But if Dean Windass can be employed as a reporter, anything’s possible.  I have seen written and heard of at least a hundred people saying the day he becomes a Sky employee they will cancel their subscription – this seems like nothing more than bravado to me, and a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, but the anger truly is there at the thought of him being in the studio. Not that Sky would care, whoever they employ will outrage someone. And they appeared to be trying to soften us all up at the weekend by running an interview with Neville, which to be honest did him no favours.

Of course he may be kept away from teams he despises. And if Paul the Apostle could stop persecuting Christians and follow Jesus instead, maybe Gary can forgive Scousers and blue Mancunians and himself take on a road to Damascus journey and come out a changed man. (13:6 And he did come to a crossroads. And the Lord said seek forgiveness and make peace with your fellow man. And Gary did make peace, and great rewards were delivered from the sky, and from BBC too). Then again, I might pop up to the attic tonight and discover Lord Lucan hiding behind the immersion heater with a copy of Nuts magazine.

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The answer to me is clear. Been there, done it, bought the t-shirt, planted a flag in the centre circle. Speaks with honesty, knowledge, knows what he’s talking about, speaks his mind, and appeared to despise Richard Keys. He too had a moustache, but a proper one. Step forward, Graeme Souness.

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