‘Moronic’ – Everton player had pop at Darren Ferguson for not playing Ashley Young’s son but Posh chief sla…
Ciaran Wiseman
5 – 6 minutes
Darren Ferguson defended his decision not to play Ashley Young’s son against Everton – while Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony branded the reaction to it ‘moronic’.
Tyler Young was an unused substitute for Peterborough as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to the Premier League team at Goodison Park on Thursday night in the third round of the FA Cup.
The Peterborough boss left Tyler on the bench, and denied the father and son a piece of history in the process
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The Peterborough boss left Tyler on the bench, and denied the father and son a piece of history in the processCredit: Getty
Both of the Youngs were benched to begin with but Young Sr was brought on in the 73rd minute.
Had Young Jr been brought on by Ferguson, it would have been the first time a father and son had faced each other in the competition’s history.
However, the Posh boss instead introduced Malik Mothersille as his final alteration in the 88th minute.
Young Sr spoke to talkSPORT alongside his son before the match, saying that to share the pitch with Young Jr would ‘eclipse everything’ in his career.
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The former England and Manchester United star did not hide his disappointment at being denied the chance to make history with his son, taking to X on Friday morning and writing: “GUTTED…”
In the immediate aftermath of the game, Ferguson – the son of legendary boss Sir Alex – explained his decision and admitted he had wanted to bring on the teenage midfielder.
But the need for a goal, with his side only trailing by one at the time of his final substitution, outweighed the historic significance of the moment.
He told reporters: “If the game had been 2-0 at that point I would have put him on, but it’s 1-0, I’ve got to get a forward on.
“We’re not a charity case, as much as I wanted Tyler to get on with his Dad.
“One of their (Everton’s) players had a bit of a pop at me, which is bang out of order.
“I’ve got to do what is best for our team and at that point, 1-0, I’m trying to get a result.”
The Toffees had been leading through Beto’s first-half strike before Iliman Ndiaye added a second from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
talkSPORT co-host Jamie O’Hara was among those to criticise Ferguson for not bringing on Young Jr.
The former Tottenham man told The Sports Bar: “He could have made a bit of history, done something amazing for the club, for the boy. You know, put him on. And, you know, give a moment for a father and his son.
“There’s more to just a football match. And it just… I’ve never liked Darren Ferguson… he just annoyed me.
“He’s on the bench. He could have just put him on, made a bit of history and, you know, give us something to talk about.
“He didn’t even put him on. He’s 2-0 down. If he’d still had three minutes left, I would have said, go on, get your kit on. Go and run on and have a… make history.
“And make history and have a couple of minutes playing on the football pitch with your dad. Because it’s never going to happen again.”
O’Hara added: “I’d be sitting there going, come on, mate, put him on. Just put him on. It’s a moment. It’s a special moment for someone.”
With social media awash with criticism of Ferguson on Friday – and some even calling for him to be sacked – that prompted Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony to launch a strong defence of his manager.
He declared on X: “This nonsense has to stop. My manger was 100% correct in his actions. This wasn’t some friendly or exhibition event.
“Tyler is doing fantastic with our 21’s & progressing phenomenally with bright future but bringing him on at that time considering circumstances around game with us one down with minutes left was not right thing for team.
“Putting stupid tweets out asking for him to be sacked is unintelligent & frankly moronic. In time even Ashley will appreciate this as opposed to his current feeling around it. Cheers.”
Young would have made history by facing his son
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Young would have made history by facing his sonCredit: Getty
Midfielder Young Jr has only made one appearance since joining Peterborough.
He signed for the League One side from QPR in the summer on a one-year deal.
Since his arrival, the youngster has played once in the EFL Trophy along with appearances on the bench in the league, Carabao Cup and now FA Cup.
It was an eventful day for Everton – who sacked manager Sean Dyche hours before kick-off.
There was also a safety meeting at 1pm to determine whether the match could go ahead due to adverse weather.
Veteran defender Seamus Coleman and club legend Leighton Baines were placed in temporary charge for the victory.
Everton fan breaks down in tears reacting to Sean Dyche’s departure in passionate talkSPORT rant
Ex-Toffees manager David Moyes is the frontrunner for the job having held talks with new owners The Friedkin Group.
Speaking afterwards, Baines said: “I don’t want to get too dragged into discussion about who the right man is.
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“All I can do is speak (about) David Moyes because I played for him, and he was a great coach to play for. He’s a good man.
“But as far as who’s the right man for the job and all that, I don’t want to get dragged into all that.”
