Elephants and footballers don't forget

I happen to think Ashley Young is the most mis-construed footballer at Villa Park.

There he was on Saturday evening, waltzing out of the doors of Villa Park like there was no tomorrow.

He paced through the 'mixed zone' - where reporters of TV, radio, evening, daily and Sunday titles all mix in their hope of an interview- uttering a "no thanks" under his breath when asked by one reporter for "a two minute chat".

It was sort of at the pace you or I would be walking at if we'd seen our bus pulling towards the stop, some 50 yards ahead of us.

You could have argued it was almost rude even though it happens a fair bit in this industry.

Anyway, it turned the air blue amongst some of the scribes. His name was mud.

But I think there was a reason.

There are the men who talk no matter what: the Martin Laursens, Brad Friedel's, Luke Young's and Curtis Davies.

Gareth Barry was firmy in that camp for eight years and now I think is finally stepping back into that frame.

Then there are those who say nothing. Marlon Harewood, for whatever reason, Gabby Agbonlahor has taken to keeping himself to himself for I do not know why, although over the coming weeks I will endevour to find out.

Ashley does the odd bit of media, but he's not a popular chap with some folk at all.

That's because his answers appear too, well, thought out, too rigid, too stone cold almost.

"When are you going to sign your contract Ashley?"..... "It's not about me it's about the team and getting three points"... sort of stuff.

The thing about Ashley is that he has a confident way about him.

On the pitch you see him shaking his head when a colleague misses a chance.

He can too often admonish an opposing full-back with a vocal blast of verbals.

He can too easily have a pop at a referee.

Off the pitch his clothes can be quite brash. There was a recent feature in the match programme: "Silver of Gold?" and I think he answered: "diamonds".

His manner can often seem dismissive.

But I think I have been wrong about him- and my opinion changed at Arsenal in the moments following that historic 2-0 win. I've said before he was almost in tears after that win.

And his demeanour seemed so fragile. Gone was the pretence of confidence. I was face-to-face with a human being after all, and a shy and polite one at that.

Only last week he gave a charming interview to the Mail up at the training ground.

So back to the incident of him steaming through the mixed zone after the draw with Fulham.

Here's my take on it.

John Carew is a close friend of Ashley's. John Carew was recently brought to task by a certain reporter who received a call off a certain supporter who spotted him out late one night, prior to the Ajax game.

That particular reporter just happened to be the one to ask Ashley Young for a spare two minutes.

Elephants might forget. But not footballers in this instance.

It reminds me of the call I took in the days following the home draw with Portsmouth. Following a night out in a bar in town there had been a heap of shennanigans.

I never printed a word. The individuals involved do not even know that I know. They still talk to me today- and in this job, that's pretty important.

As for Ashley? I shall speak to him perhaps next week before the Bolton game, or perhaps before Hamburg, or maybe I'll leave it til nearer Christmas- a London boy going back to West Ham on December 20th.