Sir Alex Ferguson’s son Darren has been criticised for denying Ashley Young a piece of FA Cup history on Thursday night.
Young, 39, was a second-half substitute in Everton’s 2-0 win over Peterborough, who had his 18-year-old son Tyler on their own bench.
In the 154 years of English football’s oldest competition, no father and son had ever competed against each other, until a potential scenario unfolded at Goodison Park.
However, Tyler was an unused substitute as the League One side exited the FA Cup in the third round following goals from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye.
Ashley expressed his disappointment with a single word, ‘GUTTED,’ on X on Friday morning, having previously mentioned that it was his ‘dream’ to play alongside his son. Fans showed understanding towards the former Manchester United player, with some suggesting that Darren’s success in the sport was mainly due to his famous father.
‘It’s quite ironic how Darren Ferguson owes his career in football to his Dad but prevented Ashley Young from experiencing the opportunity to share the pitch with his son Tyler,’ commented one fan on X.
Ashley Young (left) did not get the chance to play against his son Tyler (right) on Thursday
Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson has been criticised for not using Tyler off the bench
‘Darren Ferguson has blood on his hands for not bringing on Tyler Young to play against his Dad Ashley Young tonight,’ another X account added.
‘Not bringing on Tyler Young to play against his dad (Ashley Young), is pretty poor from Darren Ferguson,’ another supporter stated.
Meanwhile, one X user was perplexed by Darren’s decision making as they asked: ‘Why didn’t Darren Ferguson let Ashley Young’s son come on for the last couple of minutes when they went two nil down?’
‘Out of order mate, no harm throwing him on for last 10,’ another fan replied to Ashley.
Sir Alex was in the stands to watch his son’s team in action, but did not get the chance to see another father-son combination make history.
Roy Keane, who left Manchester United after falling out with Ferguson Sr in 2005, has criticised the legendary Red Devils boss in the past for giving his own son a ‘lucky’ break in football.
Darren was on United’s books as a player and won a Premier League medal in 1993, despite struggling to break into the first team before leaving to join Wolves the following year.
Keane accused Sir Alex of being overly generous towards family members during his time at Old Trafford, and then helping Darren out when he turned to management.
Keane said: ‘Darren Ferguson won a medal. He was very lucky.
‘His brother was the chief scout for Manchester United for a long time. I’m surprised his wife wasn’t involved in the staff somewhere.
‘Darren was [the manager] at Preston North End and lost his job. He had a couple of young players on loan from Manchester United. Guess what happens the next day?They’re pulled out of Preston.
‘Is that doing the best for Manchester United? Do me a favour.’
One fan felt Darren’s behaviour on Thursday proved Keane’s point.
‘That t*** Darren ferguson just proving Roy Keane right that the Fergusons are all about themselves and not their clubs. Darren Ferguson has a premier league medal btw but Tyler Young couldn’t make history and play against his dad when they had already lost,’ they wrote.
Sir Alex Ferguson was in the crowd at Goodison Park but did not see another father-son combination make history
Roy Keane has previously accused Sir Alex of giving Darren a ‘lucky’ break in football
Darren (right) won a Premier League medal under Sir Alex (second left) despite struggling to break into Man United’s first team
Darren defended his decision to not use Tyler in his post-match press conference as he insisted that he didn’t want Peterborough to look like a ‘charity case’.
‘It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I’ve got to do what I think is best for the team,’ Darren explained.
‘As much as I wanted Tyler to get on, if the game had been 2-0 at that point I would’ve put him on, but at 1-0, I had to get a forward on. I’ve got to try and get something out of the game and do what is best for my team.
‘One of their players had a pop at me which was bang out of order. We are not a charity case.’
But it was not just Young Sr and fans that were left disappointed by Darren’s actions.
According to The Times, Everton players were also angered that the Young family did not get to create history, with the evening ending on a sour note despite the Toffees finally getting a win on the board after a poor run of form.
