Joey Barton has defended Darren Ferguson after the Peterborough boss opted against bringing on Tyler Young during Thursday night’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Everton.
Goals from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye propelled the Toffees through to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Yet the result wasn’t the big talking point, with Ferguson sparking a backlash after failing to beat on Young – despite his father, Ashley, coming off the bench for Everton earlier in the match.
Plenty, including Richard Keys and Jamie O’Hara, have condemned Ferguson for his controversial call.
Joey Barton has defended Darren Ferguson after the Peterborough boss opted against bringing on Tyler Young during Thursday night’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Everton
PA
Yet Barton, writing on X, has now defended the Peterborough boss.
Reacting to a post that called the 52-year-old’s decision ‘disgraceful’, the former Newcastle, QPR and Manchester City star said: “Have to disagree.
“You get on the pitch on merit, not because your dad plays for the other team.
“Ferguson’s team were 1-0 down and still in the game. He made substitutes to try and get back in it.
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Have to disagree. You get on the pitch on merit. Not because your dad plays for the other team.
Fergies team 1-0 down and still in the game. He made subs to try and get back in it. By the time EFC made it 2-0, he’d already used hind subs chasing an equaliser.
Forget sentiments… https://t.co/WblUKVJ2gH
— Joey Barton (@Joey7Barton) January 10, 2025
“By the time Everton made it 2-0, he’d already used his subs to chase an equaliser.
“Forget sentiment. History must be earned. I applaud a manager for doing what’s right for his team, not pandering to outside noise.”
Ferguson revealed that an unnamed Everton player ‘had a pop’ at him for leaving Young on the bench.
He insists that is ‘bang out of order’, however, and explained his decision by saying that he had to put the team first.
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“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,” he said.
“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.”
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Not everybody has been impressed, however.
Keys, who anchors BeIN Sports’ coverage of Premier League matches, said: “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.”
And talkSPORT pundit O’Hara, who previously represented Tottenham, fumed: “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.
Darren Ferguson has faced a backlash after not bringing Tyler Young off the bench in Peterborough’s defeat to Everton on Friday
PA
“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.”
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