Richard Keys savages ‘nepo baby’ Ferguson over Ashley Young history vs Everton
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson has been slammed by Richard Keys for preventing Everton full-back Ashley Young from playing against his son Tyler in the FA Cup.
With the two sides meeting in the third round of the FA Cup at Goodison Park on Thursday night, both players were named on the bench for their respective sides.
Had they both got on the pitch, it would have represented the first time a father and son pairing had played against each other in the competition.
But while Ashley Young did get off the bench for Everton with 17 minutes to go, his son remained an unused substituted for Peterborough, leaving the elder of the pair highly disappointed.
Now Keys has hit out at Posh manager for his handling of the situation, suggesting some of the chances he has had in the game have been due to his dad being legendary Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Taking to social media to give his thoughts on Tyler not getting on the pitch against his dad at Goodison Park, the former Sky Sports and current beIN Sports presenter wrote:
“There’s no defence for the decision Darren Ferguson made last night. None at all. We all wanted to witness that little piece of history. How sad a nepo baby let it pass.”
Darren Ferguson had the right not to play Tyler Young vs Everton
Football Insider Opinion
When Ferguson made his final substitution in the 88th minute of the game, Peterborough were still only trailing 1-0.
They therefore still had a chance to pick up a positive result against an Everton side two divisions above them in the football pyramid.
Not only did that mean a big coup may have been on the cards, but it could also have opened the door to another big draw in the next round that could have given the club a major financial boost.
As manager, Ferguson has to do right by his whole club, so bringing on a stronger option than 18-year-old Young, who has played just 28 minutes in the EFL Trophy in his senior career, was surely the right thing to do.
Of course, everybody would have liked to have seen history be made at Everton in that game by having a father and son on the pitch together for the first time.
Football though is a results game first and foremost, and so given the way the game played out it feels harsh to blame Ferguson for the fact that such a moment did not materialise.
Indeed, it feels remarkable that this is being talked about as much as it is when you consider the managerial drama also going on at Goodison following the departure of Sean Dyche on Thursday.
In other news, an update has emerged over whether Everton will punish Neal Maupay.
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