Dion Dublin brands Eric Young a 'coward' over 1992 tackle that derailed his Manchester United career

Dion Dublin has revealed he still harbours deep resentment towards former Crystal Palace defender Eric Young, more than three decades after a reckless tackle fractured his left fibula and derailed his Manchester United career on his Old Trafford debut in September 1992.

Speaking on the In The Mixer podcast, Dublin was unsparing in his assessment of Young. “I can’t stand him. He’s a coward. A coward,” he said. “He never apologised. I can’t stand the geezer.” Dublin added that he has never spoken to Young since the incident and has no intention of doing so.

The challenge came during United’s home fixture against Palace on 2 September 1992. With the ball fed to Dublin near the halfway line, Young went in with what Dublin describes as a scissor tackle — his left foot planted, his ankle pinned to the ground as he attempted to turn. The result was a fractured fibula and severe ankle ligament damage that kept him sidelined for around six months.

The timing proved catastrophic for Dublin’s United ambitions. While he recovered, Sir Alex Ferguson signed Eric Cantona from Leeds United, and the Frenchman quickly established himself as the focal point of the attack. Dublin managed just 17 appearances for the club before departing for Coventry City, never getting the extended run he had anticipated.

“On my Old Trafford debut, I broke my left leg. That was kind of my career really finished,” Dublin said. “I did play afterwards, but some geezer called Cantona turned up and there was no way back after that.”

Despite the setback, Dublin went on to forge a highly productive career elsewhere. He shared the Premier League Golden Boot in the 1997-98 season — alongside Michael Owen and Chris Sutton — while at Coventry, and retired in 2008 with 230 career goals, 111 of them in the top flight.

Yet the question of what might have been at United remains one of his few regrets. “When people say to me, ‘Have you got any regrets in the game?’ — it’s not knowing what could’ve been and what might’ve been at United,” he said. “I was only there for like two and a half years — would I have been there for six, eight, twelve? I don’t know. Kanchelskis was there, Giggs was there. Beckham was coming through. Lots of supply for a big unit that likes to stay in the box.”