He became a fan favourite at Wimbledon and formed a formidable central defensive partnership with Andy Thorn, playing in the club's famous victory over Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final. After 99 appearances and 9 goals for Wimbledon, in 1990 he was sold to Crystal Palace for £850,000 (at the time a huge transfer fee for a 30-year-old). At Palace he continued his consistently reliable form, and Palace had previously signed Thorn in 1989 which meant the resumption of the Thorn/Young defensive partnership that had proved so successful at Wimbledon. Young was a mainstay in the team that finished third in the old first division (now the Premiership) and kept his place in the side until a falling out with manager Alan Smith at the beginning of the ill-fated 1994–95 season saw him dropped until the final five matches of that campaign.