FERGIE TELLS WINGER TO WATCH HIS STEP AFTER ‘DRAMATIC FALL’
SIR ALEX FERGUSON last night warned Ashley Young that he is in danger of being branded a diver after the Manchester United winger won his second controversial penalty in the space of a week. Ferguson described the way Young went down over the outstretched foot of Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark as a ‘dramatic fall’ and the incident led Newcastle defender Ryan Taylor to call him the ‘biggest cheat in the league’. It followed another hotly-disputed penalty at Old Trafford eight days ago conceded by QPR, who had their captain Shaun Derry sent off for an innocuous challenge on the England winger. Asked if he was worried that Young is getting a reputation for going down too easily, Ferguson said: ‘In the last week or two, yes. I’ve never seen that in him. It’s not a habitual thing in him. He was brought down, he just made the most of it. ‘It was a dramatic fall. He overdid the fall but it’s a penalty, there’s no doubt about that and I don’t think they can have any complaint because he has taken him.’ Young has been awarded more penalties than any other Premier League player in the last two seasons. Taylor immediately took to Twitter, writing: ‘Ashley Young is an absolute DISGRACE. He’s the biggest cheat in the league. His antics are a joke....’ It left Villa still in danger of relegation and their manager Alex Mcleish with a sense of grievance. ‘I didn’t think it was a penalty,’ said Mcleish. ‘It was a very soft decision.’ Ferguson urged caution in the title race with four games to go. He added: ‘My experience tells me that there’s always something that’s going to bite you on the bum so hopefully we can avoid that.’ Even though Rooney scored twice, he was substituted in the 74th minute with Ferguson accusing his striker of being ‘careless’. He said: ‘Wayne has to play on the edge of a game when it is really close and competitive. When the game gets to that casual bit, he is worse than the rest of them. He gets really casual about it. He was careless.’