Class of 92 vs Class of 2011 - Part 6/7

David Beckham during Gary Neville's testimonial in May 2011

David Beckham is regarded as one of the best midfielders in English history. His stunning right foot was and still is capable of sweeping 70 yard passes, curling free-kicks and wonderfully accurate crosses throughout his 18 year career.

The England midfielder was at Manchester United for 10 years, where he made the legendary number 7 shirt his own and won 6 Premier League trophies, 2 FA Cups and 1 Champions League trophy. He scored 86 goals in 399 games for the club and was even made captain of England while at Manchester United. His passing/crossing was without doubt his best attribute and has made him a legend worldwide. 'Becks' left Old Trafford in the summer of 2003 for the sunshine of the Bernabeu in a £25M deal after a row with manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ashley Young signed from Aston Villa in the summer of 2011 for an undisclosed fee. The tricky winger has enjoyed a fabulous start to life at Old Trafford, bagging 3 goals and 5 assists in his opening 8 games for the club.

Wide Midfielder vs Wide Midfielder
David Beckham vs Ashley Young

 

David Beckham started his career as a central midfielder capable of dictating the game due to his superb passing ability. He always stated that was his favoured position, but made his name on the right hand side of midfield for both club and country. His amazing accuracy made him a threat from set-pieces (both direct and indirect) and made him a key figure in the Manchester United and England sides for years.

Ashley Young started his career as a striker, using his rapid pace and good finishing to make a name for himself as an upcoming striker. He was signed by Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill as an out-and-out striker, but was soon moved out to the wing to use his great crossing ability and pace to better effect.

Although different types of players, both were wide midfielders (of some form) and both have the same strengths (to a large extent). I'll compare those strengths and see how the traditional wide midfielder has transformed into a regular winger playing slightly deeper.

PACE

DB: David Beckham was never renowned for his pace, but he was certainly no slouch on a football pitch. His game never relied on pace to beat players as he usually just shifted the ball to give himself a yard and hit a pass/cross/shot, but when he needed to he was able to take players on and won his fair share of foot races.

GRADE: 7/10

AY: Ashley Young's pace is possibly his greatest asset and he often uses this to his advantage. Regularly squaring up to the defenders and shifting the ball onto either foot he regularly outruns an opponent before playing the final pass to create/finish a goalscoring opportunity.

GRADE: 9/10

CROSSING

DB: Beckham's crossing is what has made him such a legendary figure worldwide in the world of sports. He has the ability to put a ball onto a silver platter for any team-mate and helped him to get an amazing tally of 44 assists in the Premier League during the 8 seasons he spent at Old Trafford.

GRADE: 10/10

AY: Young's crossing is an essential part of his game as an advanced winger. Often deployed on the left hand side he likes to cut inside onto his right foot and whip in crosses towards the goal and they're usually of very good quality. 

GRADE: 8/10

SET PIECES 

DB: David's set pieces are the reason he has legendary status within the sport of football and worldwide. His trademark free-kicks have often seen important goals scored and sometimes even great assists come from it. His most legendary free-kick, was in the final minute at Old Trafford for England vs Greece in a World Cup qualifier. He scored, England qualified for the World Cup. He missed, they didn't. The rest as they say, is history.

GRADE: 10/10

AY: Ashley has always been a set-piece taker at every team he's been at and seems to have taken on that role at Manchester United too. His free-kicks usually have a good end product, however there isn't enough consistency in them to put him on Becks' level. He also seems to do better with set-pieces where he crosses rather than shoots directly.

GRADE: 7/10

FINISHING

DB: David Beckham's finishing was top quality, although often he lacked the composure to finish chances. That's probably the one area of his game he could have improved when developing his game, as his best goalscoring season was 16 in 01/02 season.

GRADE: 7/10

AY: Ashley started his career as a striker, so his natural finishing ability is better than Beckham's. He naturally has an instinct to get into those goalscoring positions and finish chances which gives any side he's playing in that extra edge in an offensive sense as they possess a "goalscoring winger".

GRADE: 8/10

DECISION MAKING

DB: Goldenball's decisions were superb and he always seemed to make the best decision when in search for a goal or crucial pass. Often players get over excited with minutes to go and look for an extra goal, but Beckham knew when to retain possession and when to play the killer pass, making him a huge threat to the opposition.

GRADE: 8/10

AY: Young's decisions sometimes make you ponder, however they are regularly very good and are the best for the team. Sometimes he will pass the ball one time too many or try to cross the ball in too early but he will learn that with experience of playing the United way and will only benefit from finally playing games regularly for his country too.

GRADE: 7/10

TOTALS

DAVID BECKHAM - 42/50 

ASHLEY YOUNG - 40/50

So with Ashley Young about to enter his prime, he isn't far from emulating the legend that is David Beckham. Of course they are different types of players, but they both perfectly fit the teams they play(ed) in. Beckham was key to the success of his Manchester United team and Ashley Young will hope to be successful at Manchester United too. Beckham grasped legendary status at Manchester United during his 10-year tenure at Old Trafford, and Young will hope to replicate his success at Old Trafford in the coming years.