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Dion Dublin has branded former Crystal Palace defender Eric Young a "coward" and vowed he will "never speak to him" following the leg-breaking tackle in 1992 that effectively derailed his Manchester United career. Having started his professional journey with Norwich City, Dublin subsequently represented clubs including Cambridge United, Coventry City, Aston Villa and Celtic amongst others. He hung up his boots in 2008, having netted 230 career goals, and has since moved into broadcasting, presenting the BBC's Homes Under the Hammer. However, his career trajectory could have been vastly different. In 1992, he secured a high-profile transfer to Sir Alex Ferguson's United and was poised to spearhead the attack.
But catastrophe quickly followed. United were hosting Palace at Old Trafford on September 2, 1992 and late in the opening period, the ball was played into Dublin near the halfway line. As he controlled it, Young went in with a heavy tackle that fractured Dublin's left fibula, while also causing serious ankle ligament damage. He was carried from the pitch on a stretcher.
Following six months out injured, Dublin made his comeback.Yet ultimately, he managed just 17 outings for United before moving to Coventry, as Eric Cantona had arrived from Leeds United and claimed his position during his absence. Dublin continues to harbour resentment towards Young.
Speaking on In The Mixer, Dublin revealed: "On my Old Trafford debut, I broke my left leg. That was kind of my career really finished. I did play afterwards, but some geezer called [Eric] Cantona turned up and there was no way back after that."
Discussing Young, Dublin added: "I can't stand him. He's a coward. A coward. No [I've never spoken to him] and I would never speak to him. Never. It was a scissor tackle. So it was a cowardly tackle to be fair. My left foot is planted. The ball comes into me. I controlled on the side, went to move with the outside, but my left foot is still planted.
"I've tried to turn and my leg moved, but my ankle stayed on the ground and he's just scissored me and run off. Coward. He never apologised. I can't stand him. Can't stand the geezer."
Dublin claimed the top-flight Golden Boot during the 1997-98 campaign for Coventry in a three-way share with Michael Owen and Chris Sutton. Yet despite a distinguished career which yielded 111 Premier League strikes, he acknowledges one particular regret from his brief United stint.
"I got to play for Sir Alex and with those players, it's on the CV," he stated. "It made me a better player. But 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]. I was only there for like, two and a half years, would I have been there for six, eight, 12? I don't know.
"I relied on crosses and [Andrei] Kanchelskis was there and [Ryan] Giggs was there. All I had to do was stand in the box. Becks [David Beckham] was coming through. Lots of supply for a big unit that likes to stay in the box. It would have been perfect and I think I'd have scored a lot of goals. But we'll never know."
Speaking about his retirement in 2008, Dublin revealed: "My body was completely shot. For the last five years of my career, I had to stand in a bath and we'd put hot water up to just below my knees.
"I had to stand like that for 20 minutes to warm up the achilles so I could go out and train and get through the session. Then I'd have to go back in the bath and recover so I could walk. I was in my 22nd season. I thought, 'I just can't do it anymore.'".
"Having had so many operations, my body was just starting to fail me. The body shuts down because of all the wear and tear. Both knees had been cleaned out. Both achilles. I had sugar injections. Double hernia. Bone graft from my hip for my neck. Broke my collarbone twice. Loads and loads of operations."
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