Sir Alex Ferguson’s tough management style would have landed him in trouble with the law, according to former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
With the Scot’s hairdryer treatment and borderline intimidation of opponents and officials famed, the tales of Ferguson’s stern approach have not been lost to time.
But Evra, who won five Premier League titles and a Champions League at United under the legendary boss, has joked that Ferguson’s archaic methods might just be criminal if deployed today.
‘If Ferguson was coaching right now he would probably end up in jail,’ the Frenchman said on the SDS podcast. ‘There’s no way Ferguson would not be in jail with what he would do to.
‘Do you know how many players I saw cry because he gave them the hairdryer, throwing boots – he was evil.’
Perhaps Ferguson’s most famous dressing room incident came after United’s FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Arsenal during the 2002-03 campaign. The Red Devils boss infamously rowed with star man David Beckham before kicking a boot at the ex-England captain.
Legendary former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s fury is well known to football fans
Former Red Devils defender Patrice Evra joked that Ferguson’s methods would stand today
David Beckham was famously hit in the face with a boot by Ferguson after the pair rowed during the 2002-03 campaign
The midfielder was later seen sporting an eye injury in training. But as Evra recalled, Ferguson’s will to win did not end with competitive matches. Indeed, his ire even extended to then-youngster Danny Welbeck after he missed a penalty in a Saudi-based friendly match.
‘[Wayne] Rooney gave the ball to Welbeck but he missed the penalty,’ Evra said. ‘We lost the game but it was a friendly, like a 45 minute game.
‘When we got back into the dressing room, Ferguson [shouted] ‘Welbeck!’ Me and Welbeck were in the toilet, he was having a pee, but Ferguson was shouting.
‘”Who the f*** do you think you are? Coming in the first team, taking a penalty”. I was like “boss, it’s just a friendly game”. He was like “F*** the friendly game”.’
A strict and demanding disciplinarian no doubt, the culture that Ferguson brought to Old Trafford revived a sleeping giant and produced one of the most successful periods in English football history.
In his 26 years in Manchester, Ferguson won a remarkable 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two Champions League titles.
In some respects, this continued success relied on new arrivals buying into the tough environment that had been established and proved efficacious in the silverware it delivered. But the transition was harder for some, with judgment often mooted out by the club’s senior pros.
A good example of this came during United’s clash against arch rivals Liverpool at Anfield in 2011 when Jamie Carragher escaped a red card for a horror tackle on Nani.
The Frenchman described a culture at the club under the Scot where players bullied each other
Portuguese winger Nani was on the end of a horror tackle from Jamie Carragher that would have resulted in a red card today
Nani was seen crying on the pitch but faced criticism and ridicule from his team-mates and manager after the incident
The studs-up challenge left a huge gaping wound on Nani’s shin and led to his substitution at the end of the half as he was carried off on a stretcher.
Yet, incredibly, after initially going over to defend Nani by confronting Carragher, some of his team-mates soon became uninterested when they saw Nani was left crying over the incident.
Evra recalled Paul Scholes saying ‘f*** off’ when he saw his team-mate in tears. Later, in the Frenchman’s retelling, Ferguson bellowed ‘I hope your leg is broken, a United player cannot cry at Anfield’.
‘We were bad people,’ added Evra. ‘I want to apologise to all the youngsters who trained with us. We were animals.’
‘After the game we were waiting for the next day when we were going to kill Nani,’ he continued. ‘To tell you how nasty we were, we didn’t care. If you’re bleeding and you cry, you’re done, you’re not part of us.
‘Ferguson had to give him a week off to recover from that because we were waiting to kill him. Even now in the Man United’s WhatsApp group we still put that picture of Nani crying at Anfield.
