Joey Barton blasts at ‘disgraceful’ fuss over Everton v Peterborough controversy
Joey Barton has backed Darren Ferguson’s decision not to bring Tyler Young on as a substitute during Everton versus Peterborough on Thursday.
The Posh boss had a chance to make history during their FA Cup clash on 9 January, with father and son duo Ashley and Tyler Young starting on opposite benches, but only the former being substituted on.
However, Ferguson has caused a lot of controversy after using all five of his substitutions and leaving the 18-year-old midfielder on the bench, missing the chance to play against his father as the Toffees won 2-0.
With a post calling the decision “disgraceful”, Barton took to X [10 January] to say: “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. 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.”
Everton v Peterborough FA Cup clash causes controversy
Barton is often hammered for his opinions in the public domain, but it is hard to argue with this point. Of course, it would have been a nice moment to see a father and son make footballing history.
However, given the circumstances on that specific day, with Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman taking charge following Sean Dyche’s exit, there was no time for messing around on the pitch.
Getting through to the next round of the FA Cup is a huge deal, especially for clubs such as League One Peterborough, with a potential payday on the line.
With the Toffees only leading 1-0 until the eighth minute of added time, Ferguson had every right to put his better players on the pitch first before even thinking about making history with the Youngs.
There is unlikely to be another moment like this for quite some time, and hindsight shows that putting the youngster on would have caused little harm, but the proceeding fallout is just ridiculous.
In other Everton news, one player’s agent wants to strike an exit deal as the stance from Goodison Park emerges.
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