As much as Jamie Young enjoyed his time at Western United, when a club like Melbourne City came calling for his services, it was hard to say no.
At 38, the veteran goalkeeper is set to embark on his 10th A-League season after returning to Australia in 2014 following 12 years in England.
Young is no stranger to success, having won the A-League championship with United in 2022 as well as a host of individual awards for his goalkeeping deeds during a seven-season spell with his hometown club Brisbane Roar.
“I had great experiences with all the clubs I’ve been with, and being here at City now at this stage in my career speaks volumes in terms of how I’ve progressed in the A-League,” said Young, who added that he “wasn’t necessarily looking” to leave United.
“It was just one of those situations where I was coming off contract, and Melbourne City came and offered me a deal.
“I had a great time at Western United. Maybe they wanted to go in a different direction. It’s hard to speak on what their intentions were, but when a club like Melbourne City want you, you have to seriously consider it.
“You only have to look at what they’re doing on the field, and then you hear all the reports of how they operate off the field, and you think, ‘Yeah I want to be part of that’.
“I don’t want to compare clubs but the reason why Melbourne City has worked so well is because they can see the devil in the detail and the high level of accountability that’s important.”
By a quirk of the competition draw, Young – who has taken over the City goalkeeper’s spot from Tom Glover, who is now at English club Middlesbrough – will play his first A-League game for his new club against United at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Sentiment won’t be an issue for the experienced custodian.
“When I was playing with Brisbane it was a bit different because I was from there and that was a really special place for me,” he said.
“I don’t think it’ll be a weird one for me against Western United. In any given game, you know you want to beat the opposition not because of who they are but because you’re playing elite sport.”
United coach John Aloisi said Young was “a pleasure to work with”, with the pair also having been together in a similar mentor-player capacity at the Roar.
“We’ve got some great memories together, and ended up winning a championship together, but now we’re on opposite sides and I’m sure he’s focused on his job, and we’re focused on ours,” Aloisi said.
“It’s always nice to come up against players you’ve coached as long as they don’t play well against you, so I’m hoping Jamie doesn’t have a good game against us.”
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