Fergie rails at linesman Beck

Alex Ferguson proved he is a man who neither forgives or forgets whenever there is a perceived injustice after Manchester United had to settle for a point from a 1-1 draw at Tottenham.

Clint Dempsey’s equaliser deep into stoppage time cancelled out yet another goal from the prolific Robin van Persie but the Scot was convinced his side should have been awarded a potentially game-clinching penalty a few minutes earlier.

And afterwards he unleashed a barrage of criticism in the direction of Simon Beck, the linesman who did not advise referee Chris Foy that Spurs defender Steven Caulker had fouled substitute Wayne Rooney.

“The stand-side linesman didn’t give us a thing all day,” he fumed. “For me it was a poor performance by him. We remember him well from his time at the Chelsea game when Didier Drogba was three yards offside and he gave onside. He had a shocking game.

“I’m disappointed in his performance, I really am. He had a bad game and we never got anything on that side of the pitch.”

Ferguson, who was referring to Chelsea’s title-clinching Old Trafford success in 2010, did grudgingly concede that his players’ shortcomings might also have had a part to play in the loss of two points.

“We should have killed them off on the counter attack in the second half, there were four or five opportunities and if you don’t take those chances 1-0 is not a healthy score-line in a game of football,” he admitted. “It was the final ball letting us down and we should have been better than that.”

“We dominated the game and deserved to win,” added Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas. “Possession, shots — we controlled the game. We deserved this last-minute goal.”