Post by Golden_Boy™ on Jan 24, 2007 10:09:19 GMT -1
ASHLEY YOUNG took a moment to pay tribute to the Watford fans and everybody at the club as he said his farewells at Vicarage Road this week.
"Watford means a lot to me. I've been here since I was ten and come all the way through the ranks to get to the first team so I've enjoyed everything I've done here, every year has been a different challenge and I just want to thank everybody for all the help and support I've had at this club."
The 21-year-old has had to get used to seeing his name featuring prominently in the newspapers over the last month as speculation on his future has reached fever pitch.
"I was always aware of the speculation in the papers about my future", he said. "But I just wanted to play football and I managed to always keep my mind on training and playing games throughout the last couple of weeks."
Now that he has moved on to Villa Park, rest assured that Watford's will still be the first result he looks out for on a Saturday afternoon.
"Of course, Watford will be the first result I look out for. I've been here since I was a young boy so the club means an enormous amount to me. On top of that, both of my younger brothers are still here so I'll be keeping an eye on them and their progress."
Villa boss Martin O'Neill charmed Ashley into joining the Midlands giants and the Stevenage-born front man admitted that he saw plenty of Aidy Boothroyd on the Northern Irishman's style.
"There are similarities between Martin O'Neill and Aidy. If you talk to anyone about Martin, you won't hear a bad thing. Every manager in the league respects him and his man-management makes him someone that players want to play for. I took to him immediately and now I can't wait to start playing for him."
Following in the footsteps of Graham Taylor in swapping Vicarage Road for Villa Park, Ashley will also hope to mirror the former Hornets' boss next career move - from the Midlands to the England set up.
"I've been involved with England under21s and I hope the move to Aston Villa will help to get to the next stage of winning my first full international cap", he confirmed.
Saturday presented a peculiar dilemma for Ashley as Watford took on Martin O'Neill's side at Villa Park but he opted to stay away from the fixture.
"I didn't go to the game on Saturday because I thought it was more respectful to not go. I saw the highlights on Match of the Day though and spoke to most of the squad after the game.
"I was at the training ground this morning to say my goodbyes. It's such a tight-knit bunch that we'll all keep in touch. The friendship will always be there."
Ashley's rise has taken many by surprise - 12 months ago there weren;t many people outside of Watford who knew about his talent - and the man himself admits that things have moved faster than expected.
"12 months ago I couldn't have imagined what was going to happened to me. I'm just concentrating on football now and my career at Aston Villa. Martin O'Neill wants me at the club and has high hopes for me. I've got my own ambitions and Aston Villa are a club that is moving upwards, aiming to be a top six club and play in Europe. I believe we'll achieve that."
Despite the hype, Ashley is never one to get stressed, as he admits himself: "I've been laid back about everything this month, that's how I deal with everything really. Now, I can't wait to get started."
There will be a couple of familiar faces in the Villa dressing room when Ashley starts training, as he explained. "I knew Gabriel Agbonlahor from his time with us last season and he's also been away with the under 21s and I've played with Luke Moore too so it should be easy to adjust."
Before leaving, he wanted to save a final thank you to the Vicarage Road fans who have seen him grow from boy to man.
"The fans have been brilliant to me ever since I first got into the first team and the manager and the staff have also been great. I'll take nothing but good memories from my time at Watford and truly wish the club all the success they deserve in the future."
GOOD LUCK ASH - ALL THE BEST
"Watford means a lot to me. I've been here since I was ten and come all the way through the ranks to get to the first team so I've enjoyed everything I've done here, every year has been a different challenge and I just want to thank everybody for all the help and support I've had at this club."
The 21-year-old has had to get used to seeing his name featuring prominently in the newspapers over the last month as speculation on his future has reached fever pitch.
"I was always aware of the speculation in the papers about my future", he said. "But I just wanted to play football and I managed to always keep my mind on training and playing games throughout the last couple of weeks."
Now that he has moved on to Villa Park, rest assured that Watford's will still be the first result he looks out for on a Saturday afternoon.
"Of course, Watford will be the first result I look out for. I've been here since I was a young boy so the club means an enormous amount to me. On top of that, both of my younger brothers are still here so I'll be keeping an eye on them and their progress."
Villa boss Martin O'Neill charmed Ashley into joining the Midlands giants and the Stevenage-born front man admitted that he saw plenty of Aidy Boothroyd on the Northern Irishman's style.
"There are similarities between Martin O'Neill and Aidy. If you talk to anyone about Martin, you won't hear a bad thing. Every manager in the league respects him and his man-management makes him someone that players want to play for. I took to him immediately and now I can't wait to start playing for him."
Following in the footsteps of Graham Taylor in swapping Vicarage Road for Villa Park, Ashley will also hope to mirror the former Hornets' boss next career move - from the Midlands to the England set up.
"I've been involved with England under21s and I hope the move to Aston Villa will help to get to the next stage of winning my first full international cap", he confirmed.
Saturday presented a peculiar dilemma for Ashley as Watford took on Martin O'Neill's side at Villa Park but he opted to stay away from the fixture.
"I didn't go to the game on Saturday because I thought it was more respectful to not go. I saw the highlights on Match of the Day though and spoke to most of the squad after the game.
"I was at the training ground this morning to say my goodbyes. It's such a tight-knit bunch that we'll all keep in touch. The friendship will always be there."
Ashley's rise has taken many by surprise - 12 months ago there weren;t many people outside of Watford who knew about his talent - and the man himself admits that things have moved faster than expected.
"12 months ago I couldn't have imagined what was going to happened to me. I'm just concentrating on football now and my career at Aston Villa. Martin O'Neill wants me at the club and has high hopes for me. I've got my own ambitions and Aston Villa are a club that is moving upwards, aiming to be a top six club and play in Europe. I believe we'll achieve that."
Despite the hype, Ashley is never one to get stressed, as he admits himself: "I've been laid back about everything this month, that's how I deal with everything really. Now, I can't wait to get started."
There will be a couple of familiar faces in the Villa dressing room when Ashley starts training, as he explained. "I knew Gabriel Agbonlahor from his time with us last season and he's also been away with the under 21s and I've played with Luke Moore too so it should be easy to adjust."
Before leaving, he wanted to save a final thank you to the Vicarage Road fans who have seen him grow from boy to man.
"The fans have been brilliant to me ever since I first got into the first team and the manager and the staff have also been great. I'll take nothing but good memories from my time at Watford and truly wish the club all the success they deserve in the future."
GOOD LUCK ASH - ALL THE BEST
