Robson Fears For Young Reputation

Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson fears Ashley Young could develop a reputation as "a diver".

Young was criticised for going down too easily to win penalties in recent victories over QPR and Aston Villa.

Robson told BBC Radio Manchester: "He's going to have to be careful because people are scrutinising it now.

"The thing is, it could be in a really important game where there's a blatant penalty and he'll not get it because he gets a reputation for the diving."

The 55-year-old, who spent 13 years with United and is now an ambassador at Old Trafford, continued: "He's a sensible lad and he'll stand there, look in the mirror and think 'I've got to be a bit more careful and stay on my feet a little bit'."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he thought Young "overdid" his fall to earn a spot-kick against Villa on Sunday, although he said referee Mark Halsey was correct to award a penalty.

That incident came exactly a week after QPR captain Shaun Derry was sent off by Lee Mason for a challenge on Young inside the box, a decision criticised by Derry and his manager Mark Hughes in the aftermath of Rangers' 2-0 defeat.

Meanwhile, former United goalkeeper Alex Stepney believes diving will remain part of football, unless the authorities clamp down on offenders.

"There are players in every team that do it," Stepney, who played more than 500 times for the Red Devils between 1966 and 1978, told BBC Radio Manchester's Red Wednesday programme.

"The only people that can stop it are the referee, the Premier League and the FA.

"They have got to put strong punishments for diving and the only way you can do that at the time is by video.

"The way they're doing it is not riding the tackle. They're throwing their feet into the other player to get the penalty.

"If any player did that in our day, they would have got seen to."

Meanwhile, Stepney is pleased Ferguson has kept faith with young goalkeeper David De Gea.

The 21-year-old endured a shaky start to his career at Old Trafford following his £18.9m move from Atletico Madrid last June.

Anders Lindegaard was preferred to De Gea at the turn of the year, but after a month out of the first team, the Spaniard returned to the starting line-up and has been in sparkling form.

He has kept five clean sheets in his last six appearances for United and has helped the club build a five-point lead over rivals City at the top of the Premier League.

"The game in Spain is a completely different game to the Premier League," said Stepney, who was part of the United side that won the European Cup in 1968.

"Let's be honest, we all know what happened after Peter Schmeichel finished and the amount of goalkeepers that were given a chance.

"When Edwin (van der Sar) had to retire, the media were going to jump on it. That's the way life is today.

"If United go on to win the title, that will help him. In my first season, we won the title and it gave me more confidence. That's why I stayed at the club for 12 years."