29 January 2024 , 12:45
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Sir Alex Ferguson was no stranger to ranting at his Manchester United players after discovering their late-night antics.
The legendary Red Devils boss had a number of situations on his hands during his glittering spell at Old Trafford. And Erik ten Hag might have to look to the Scot for a little bit of inspiration.
The Dutchman is currently dealing with a situation involving Marcus Rashford, who phoned in sick on Friday despite being spotted in a Belfast nightclub hours earlier. Ten Hag has promised to “deal” with the “internal” matter, which could mean a whole host of things.
Ferguson was slightly more vocal with his attempts to shut down parties hosted by his Man United players. Ex-Red Devils forward Robin van Persie previously revealed his furious reaction as two stars went out in the aftermath of a 2-1 defeat to neighbours Manchester City back in 2013.
Speaking to SoFoot, the Dutchman said: “Two guys from the team were out after this loss. The day after the match, he had pictures of the two players posted in the dressing room during their night out.
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“And he said to the whole team, 'Ok guys if we don't win the championship, know that it's because of those two a**holes that chose to go out. Yeah, I have the names, but I really can't give them. It was incredible, he had pasted lots of photos, we had limited the evening of the two players hour by hour: 2am, 3am, 4am, as if to emphasise the extent of their bulls***.
"He didn't stop there, he warned us all: 'Guys, listen well if we don't win the championship, it's because these two have decided to go out to have fun. From now on, if I see a player come out before the trophy is lifted, that player is out.'
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“He was ruthless. 'I don't care about who you are, how many trophies you've won so far. If you go out before the end of the season, you leave the team and I'll sell you.' After that speech, we went to train, and it was the two hardest workouts of my life. Twelve points ahead and that's his reaction.”
That was not the only time that Ferguson hit the roof after finding out about a night out. Back in 2007, the United squad held a Christmas party which involved a 13-hour booze-fest. It also included visits to pubs, a casino and karaoke bars. Once the squad returned to training the next day, they were met with Sir Alex's fury.
"Two or three days before Christmas, there was a party just for the players in the team,” former Man United and Barcelona defender Gerard Pique recalled. “It was all day long. We left training, left our cars there and got a bus. We went to the casino. Casino, party. The next day Sir Alex was waiting for us in the dressing room.
"We got a real scolding. There was an aluminium chair and he kicked it but unfortunately with his shin. You could see him start limping. He'd destroyed his leg. It was spectacular. From there on they stopped with the Christmas party."
Ryan Giggs left Sir Alex Ferguson furious (Getty Images)Ferguson’s furious outbursts did not end there. Going back even further during his time as United boss, he was left apoplectic after Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe hosted a party. The Scot even turned up to scold the pair for their actions.
Speaking on Under the Cosh, Sharpe said: "He sat me and Giggsy down and gave us the b******ing of our lifetimes. I was sat on the armchair there, Giggsy was sat on the end of the couch. He's over to me, in my face [puts palm next to his head], the knuckles are behind [him] and I'm just thinking, 'He's gonna swipe me any time now'.
"He's right up against my face, and he's spitting and frothing, f***ing steam's coming off his face. 'F***ing you can't f***ing run, you can't f***ing pass! You're letting your team-mates down, you're letting your f***ing family down!' Then he's over to Giggsy [who received the same treatment]."
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While Sir Alex has a history of hitting the roof at unsanctioned parties, there have actually been a few occasions where he has turned a blind eye. According to former winger Nani, Ferguson was willing to slightly bend the rules over Christmas.
Speaking last year, the Portuguese said: "If I had the next day off, for example, then I could have some fun...on special days like Christmas or New Year – no one in England cares about that. On New Year, we could even go to training drunk and the coach didn't care about it.
"That's the side of [Sir Alex] that knew how to deal with the players and have the perception to say, 'this day is special, I can't make demands'. We had been playing non-stop all year long. It was a joy, a moment of relaxation, a different kind of training – clowning around. I won't lie, I liked nights out."