Players Who Have Fallen Out With Sir Alex Ferguson
MANCHESTER United’s meeting with Marseille in the Champions League this week will present Sir Alex Ferguson an opportunity to lock horns with a player who formerly wore the red of his Old Trafford team.
Re-uniting with several of his former teammates in France will be Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze who joined Le Om via Real Madrid after leaving Manchester United. The tough tackling Argentine won the Premier League with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side before falling out of favour with his manager after an injury. Heinze then found himself leaving the Old Trafford team permanently after a disagreement with the United backroom staff which saw him demand a transfer and then be shipped out of the club.
‘El Gringo’ is not the first player to have felt the wrath of Fergie, and several top stars have departed Old Trafford after falling out with the top man in Manchester. Having won all the trophies available to him as manager of the Red Devils, Sir Alex has shown himself to rule with an iron fist to make sure he gets the best for his team.
Several departures from Old Trafford have been due to disagreements with the manager himself who has proved time and time again that no player is bigger than the club, even if it means sacrificing a talented player who could go on to be a star with another team.
Let’s see who else has felt the wrath of their manager before making a speedy departure on the first train from Manchester….
Gabriel Heinze
The Argentine star meets up with former manager in Marseille this Wednesday was signed from Paris St Germain in 2004-05. His performances as a left-back earned rave reviews from the fans at Old Trafford, and he was selected as the club’s player of the season in their first campaign.
Injury saw Heinze out of first team action for a large portion of the following season, and after returning to the team for a brief period he was soon back on the treatment table and prevented from playing a first-team game after April 2006. As a consequence, United signed Patrice Evra to fill the void left by Heinze, and the Frenchman performed to such a high standard that the Argentine was only able to regain his place as a central defender, and this was only after an injury crisis.
A lack of playing time saw Heinze become disillusioned with life at Old Trafford, and soon other clubs became interested, most notably Liverpool. Realising that there was interest in him from elsewhere, Heinze demanded a transfer to the Premier League club but Ferguson rejected all bids from the Merseysiders and refused to transfer the player to a domestic rival. Heinze sought to take action by publically declaring that he wanted to leave Manchester United, a move which only further annoyed his manager. Unhappy at having demands placed at his door, Ferguson eventually allowed the Argentine to leave, but only to a club who were willing to pay his valuation. Plenty of suitors were interested in his services and it was Real Madrid whom he joined for a fee of £8m in August 2007.
David Beckham
Perhaps the most high profile of all Fergie’s exiled players, David Beckham returned to Old Trafford for the first time since 2003 as part of the AC Milan squad who were eliminated by United in the Champions League last year. Such was Beckham’s popularity that he received a standing ovation from United fans before leaving the pitch, and although interest in Beckham has materilaised from other English clubs since his departure, the midfielder has so far resisted any overtures from them because of his ‘love’ for the Red Devils.
‘Love’ wasn’t enough to prevent a fractured relationship between Fergie and one of his star players however, and despite Beckham’s performances over the years at Old Trafford he was not to be allowed any leeway by Ferguson. Believing that Beckham may have started to believe that he was bigger than the club after several domestic trophies, a Champions League winning campaign, and also being selected as captain of his country, Fergie was unhappy with the midfielder’s performance in an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
The manager blamed Beckham for his part in the Gunners second goal as United were eliminated, and in the changing rooms after the game a furious Fergie threw or kicked (both have been reported but unconfirmed) a football boot which struck Beckham above the eye causing a cut that required stitches.
With an already deteriorated relationship between player and manager the situation became untenable and there were rumours that either Ferguson or Beckham would leave the club in the near future. As result improved greatly for United through the season, Beckham managed to make his way back into the team from January onwards helping United win the title, but evidently there was no way back for either party.
As the 2003 transfer window approached, Barcelona made a bid to buy Beckham from United, but they were trumped by rivals Real Madrid who offered £25million to make the England captain their latest Galactico. Being the clubs fifth longest serving player in it’s history had made Beckham a hero at United but his transfer proved that no player is bigger than the club or Ferguson in Manchester.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Signed by Manchester United for £19m after recovering from a serious cruciate knee ligament injury, Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy went on to become a folk hero for the red devils by scoring a record number of goals in their pursuit of Premier League and Champions League titles.
By the end of his fifth season as a United player, Van Nistelrooy had amassed 150 goals in less than 200 appearances, and looked set to break the club’s European goalscoring record by passing Dennis Law. With United pushing forward on all fronts, and Feguson looking to the future several younger players were signed to support Van Nistelrooy in the attacking department. This seemed to unsettle the Dutchman somewhat, and eventually one the new signings played a huge role in the strikers departure.
In 2006, Van Nistelrooy reportedly suffered a falling out with Alex Feguson which saw him benched for six consecutive games. The Holland international, preparing for the World Cup in Germany, returned to the starting line-up as United struggled for goals, but the striker was then surprisingly back out of the team again and named as a substitute for United’s final game of the season against Charlton.
Ferguson claimed that Van Nistelrooy was unhappy with the decision and left the stadium three hours before kick-off rather than taking his place on the bench, an act which his manager did not approve of.
The following week it was uncovered that the Dutchman’s exclusion from the squad was due to a training session war-of-words between himself and Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he accused of ‘holding onto the ball for too long instead of passing.’
Van Nistelrooy is alleged to have told Ronaldo to take his criticism up with his ‘daddy’, indicating his disapproval at the closeness in relationship between Ronaldo and United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz.
Confirming that he wanted to leave Old Trafford because an unhappiness with the situation over his exclusion from the first team, Van Nistelrooy moved to Real Madrid two weeks after the final day of the campaign.
Jaap Stam
Another Dutch international who Ferguson had problems with was defender Jaap Stam. Signing for the club in 1998, Stam was a huge success winning the treble in his first campaign at Old Trafford and going on to become a fans favourite after the departure of defensive stalwarts Bruce and Pallister.
Despite his successes, Ferguson became unhappy with Stam due to revelations published in his upcoming autobiography. The Scotsman was firstly unhappy that the book was being written, and secondly because the Dutch international revealed that Ferguson had ‘initiated contact with the player illegally whilst he was still under contract from PSV Eindhoven.’
Unhappy at being accused of ‘tapping up’ Ferguson made the decision to sell the Dutchman and to the surprise of their supporters Stam sold to Lazio at the beginning of the 2001 season and it later became clear that the decision was made because of the defenders choice to accuse his manager of acting inappropriately.
Ferguson, who denies that Stam was sold for his autobiographical revelations, did however admitting that selling the Dutchman was a mistake at the time, but also said that “£16.5m for a centre-back who was 29 an offer that I couldn’t refuse. But in playing terms it was a mistake.”
Roy Keane
Leading United to nine major honours as captain, made United’s midfield general Roy Keane the most successful in the club’s history. Known for his outspoken views, it came as somewhat of a surprised when the Irishman was seen to to ‘over the top’ with comments about his own team mates which aired on the club’s television channel.
Keane had always been forthright in speaking his mind, accusing United of ‘having too many prawn sandwich supporters’, but the process of him leaving United was sped up after Keane complained publically about the quality of the set up of the club’s pre-season resort in Portugal.
Ferguson was further angered by Keane’s comments on MUTV later that season, that he could be ‘prepared to play elsewhere’ at the end of the current deal at Old Trafford which was due to expire in less than twelve months.
Clearly unafraid of ruffling more feathers, another of Keane’s appearances on the club’s television channel provoked further controversy and was perhaps decisive piece in his departure from Old Trafford.
After a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in 2005, Keane took the opportunity during an interview to criticise the performances of John O’Shea, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher, several of the club’s budding squad members. The club captain didn’t stop there however, and his harshest analysis was reserved for Rio Ferdinand, then a club record signing, who Keane criticised by saying “Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar.”
The outburst deemed ‘too damning’ by the management at Old Trafford, and the transmission was subsequently pulled from broadcast by the club’s standards. An official statement said that the comments were “explosive, even by his standards.”
Two weeks later, after another row with his manager, the club arranged a deal with Keane to allow him to leave the club immediately to sign a long-term deal with Celtic.
Carlos Tevez
The Argentine became a big favourite at Old Trafford after joining from West Ham United in 2007 after impressing in his first season in English football. Bringing plenty of energy to the team and adding to United’s wealth of attacking talent, the nature of Tevez’s deal with Manchester United meant that there was always going to be uncertainty over his future.
Whilst Ferguson refused to respond to reports that Tevez’s loan-of-sorts would come to an end after Man Utd’s title winning campaign in 2008-9, there was scepticism from the player himself that he would be able to remain at Old Trafford for the following campaign with the same style of contract agreed.
Increasing the Argentine international’s doubts was the fact that he was very rarely aligned with first choice strikers Berbatov and Rooney, and frequently he was used out on the wing to replace Nani or Ronaldo if United were winning comfortably.
Chief Executive David Gill announced late in the season that the club had begun talks with Tevez’s advisors to discuss a permanent deal which would cost United around £25m. The striker was offered a five-year deal which would see him become one of the club’s top earners was he to accept it. Just days after the announcement of talks, Tevez confirmed that he no longer wished to play for the club unless he was guaranteed first-team football on a regular basis.
Refusing to be held at ransom by the player, Ferguson limited the amount of games Tevez played in the final weeks of the season, and at the start of July 2009 he angered the Scotsman further by signing for cross-town rivals, Manchester City.
Paul Ince
England midfielder Paul Ince, received huge amounts of hateful abuse from West Ham supporters after being pictured wearing a Manchester United kit and eventually joining them in 1989, but hoped to be involved in no such dramas with his new team.
Ince won several trophies, including the club’s first double since the 1960’s whilst at Old Trafford but left the club in 1995/6 to sign for Inter Milan. Ferguson did not want to lose such a vital player, but Ince believed in furthering his career by moving abroad. There was no ill-feeling between the two until Ince decided to make a return to England by signing for United’s bitter rivals, Liverpool in the summer of 1997.
Having one of his former players transfer to Merseyside clearly made Ferguson unhappy, and in footage infamously captured by a documentary crew, the Man Utd manager made his feelings towards Ince clear. The midfielder had become something of a lynchpin at United and Inter Milan, but the self styled “Guv’nor” persona Ince played up to, irritated Ferguson who said: “If he tries to bully you, he will f------ enjoy it. Don’t let him ever bully you right.”
“You just make sure you are ready for him. That’s all you need to worry about. He’s a f------ big-time Charlie.”
The phrase stuck with Ince, and that was not the only time he is said to have fallen out with his manager
Before a meeting with his old manager whilst in charge of Blackburn, Ince recalled an incident in which Ferguson described him as a “bottler” after a disappointing performance against Barcelona, an issue which led to Ferguson telling Ince: “You cannae handle the stage, can you?”
In a recent interview Ferguson admitted that it was a mistake to make such comments, he told the media: “I regret saying that. That was a mistake. It wasn’t a personality issue with Paul.”
Lee Sharpe
Moving from Torquay to Manchester United at the age of seventeen was a huge career move for winger Lee Sharpe. Making his debut in September 1988, Sharpe was key player as the red devils won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1990-91, and was widely regarded as one of the hottest football prospects in the country.
Despite being called up to the England squad for the first time in 1992, the midfielder faced competition for his place in the United team from both Andrei Kanchelskis and an emerging Ryan Giggs. With United conquering all on the pitch, the focus fell on Sharpe’s off-field activities when his performances started to dip.
Unhappy with his player’s ‘partying’ lifestyle, Ferguson set about confronting the Sharpe personally to ensure he was aware that the manager was aware of his coduct. During the title run-in of 1992, Ferguson ‘broke up’ a house party the winger was holding, throwing out all the guests and dropping Sharpe from the United first team for the following month.
Surviving the dressing down initially, the incident seemed to count against the midfielder as a 20-year old David Beckham established himself in Sharpe’s new-found position on the right of midfield. Eventually the lack of appearances began to take their toll on Sharpe’s reputation, and in 1996 he was sold to Leeds United for £4.5m.
Paul McGrath
A year-long spell with St Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland was a long enough apprentiship for the McGrath who rose to stardom signing for Manchester United in 1982.
McGrath suffered a largely untroubled spell under manager Ron Atkinson as he won the FA Cup in 1984-85, but it was when Alex Ferguson took over and chose to change the nature of the club that problems occurred.
Ferguson admired McGrath’s on-field play, but had serious issues with United’s ‘drinking culture’ something which he saw the Irishman as central to. When knee injuries began to prevent the defender from being part of the United squad, his alcohol addiction led to a turbulent relationship with his manager.
The frequent poor state that McGrath would return to training in after being injured irritated Ferguson on more than one occasion, and in 1989 the Scotsman chose to offer him a retirement package of £100,000 with a testimonial. The Irish international refused the club’s offer, but determined to move McGrath on Ferguson instead began to inform clubs of his availability.
It became clear that the defender was no longer in the red devils plans, and he agreed to sign for Aston Villa months later.
Gordon Strachan
Starting his career in Scotland, Gordon Strachan was managed by Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen between 1977 and 1984. The two shared a relatively untroubled relationship, but when Ferguson chose to bring his fellow Scot to Manchester United, it soon became clear that they would be unable to work together.
Strachan accused Ferguson of “doing too much screaming and shouting” when United were under-performing, and Strachan also revealed that a poor personal performance once led the United manager to compare his midfielder’s to a “trialist”.
The Scottish international continued to play a role in United’s improving team, but revealed himself to be extremely unhappy and seek a move on several occasions. Ferguson revealed in his autobiography in 1999: “I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry”.
For this reason, and presumably many other disagreements between the player and manager, Strachan was sold to Leeds United in 1988.
Norman Whiteside
Signed by United in 1982, Whiteside made his debut for the club as a 17 year-old later the following year. Stardom at such a young age undoubtedly had an impact on the Irishman’s behaviour off the pitch, and whilst previous manager Ron Atkinson tolerated his enjoyment of a drink, Ferguson was less impressed by such behaviour when he took over.
Seeking to improve discipline, Ferguson sought out to make an example of those who were unwilling to co-operate with his ban on the club’s drink culture. During a club trip to Bahrain, Whiteside and team-mate Brian Robson were forced to walk three miles back from a bar after being discovered there by Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox.
Whiteside soon put in a transfer request after being unhappy with the way he was being treated, and when his fitness levels and ability to recover from injuries began to suffer, Ferguson decided to cut his losses on the midfielder by selling him to Everton.
‘El Gringo’ is not the first player to have felt the wrath of Fergie, and several top stars have departed Old Trafford after falling out with the top man in Manchester. Having won all the trophies available to him as manager of the Red Devils, Sir Alex has shown himself to rule with an iron fist to make sure he gets the best for his team.
Several departures from Old Trafford have been due to disagreements with the manager himself who has proved time and time again that no player is bigger than the club, even if it means sacrificing a talented player who could go on to be a star with another team.
Let’s see who else has felt the wrath of their manager before making a speedy departure on the first train from Manchester….
Gabriel Heinze
The Argentine star meets up with former manager in Marseille this Wednesday was signed from Paris St Germain in 2004-05. His performances as a left-back earned rave reviews from the fans at Old Trafford, and he was selected as the club’s player of the season in their first campaign.
Injury saw Heinze out of first team action for a large portion of the following season, and after returning to the team for a brief period he was soon back on the treatment table and prevented from playing a first-team game after April 2006. As a consequence, United signed Patrice Evra to fill the void left by Heinze, and the Frenchman performed to such a high standard that the Argentine was only able to regain his place as a central defender, and this was only after an injury crisis.
A lack of playing time saw Heinze become disillusioned with life at Old Trafford, and soon other clubs became interested, most notably Liverpool. Realising that there was interest in him from elsewhere, Heinze demanded a transfer to the Premier League club but Ferguson rejected all bids from the Merseysiders and refused to transfer the player to a domestic rival. Heinze sought to take action by publically declaring that he wanted to leave Manchester United, a move which only further annoyed his manager. Unhappy at having demands placed at his door, Ferguson eventually allowed the Argentine to leave, but only to a club who were willing to pay his valuation. Plenty of suitors were interested in his services and it was Real Madrid whom he joined for a fee of £8m in August 2007.
David Beckham
Perhaps the most high profile of all Fergie’s exiled players, David Beckham returned to Old Trafford for the first time since 2003 as part of the AC Milan squad who were eliminated by United in the Champions League last year. Such was Beckham’s popularity that he received a standing ovation from United fans before leaving the pitch, and although interest in Beckham has materilaised from other English clubs since his departure, the midfielder has so far resisted any overtures from them because of his ‘love’ for the Red Devils.
‘Love’ wasn’t enough to prevent a fractured relationship between Fergie and one of his star players however, and despite Beckham’s performances over the years at Old Trafford he was not to be allowed any leeway by Ferguson. Believing that Beckham may have started to believe that he was bigger than the club after several domestic trophies, a Champions League winning campaign, and also being selected as captain of his country, Fergie was unhappy with the midfielder’s performance in an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
The manager blamed Beckham for his part in the Gunners second goal as United were eliminated, and in the changing rooms after the game a furious Fergie threw or kicked (both have been reported but unconfirmed) a football boot which struck Beckham above the eye causing a cut that required stitches.
With an already deteriorated relationship between player and manager the situation became untenable and there were rumours that either Ferguson or Beckham would leave the club in the near future. As result improved greatly for United through the season, Beckham managed to make his way back into the team from January onwards helping United win the title, but evidently there was no way back for either party.
As the 2003 transfer window approached, Barcelona made a bid to buy Beckham from United, but they were trumped by rivals Real Madrid who offered £25million to make the England captain their latest Galactico. Being the clubs fifth longest serving player in it’s history had made Beckham a hero at United but his transfer proved that no player is bigger than the club or Ferguson in Manchester.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Signed by Manchester United for £19m after recovering from a serious cruciate knee ligament injury, Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy went on to become a folk hero for the red devils by scoring a record number of goals in their pursuit of Premier League and Champions League titles.
By the end of his fifth season as a United player, Van Nistelrooy had amassed 150 goals in less than 200 appearances, and looked set to break the club’s European goalscoring record by passing Dennis Law. With United pushing forward on all fronts, and Feguson looking to the future several younger players were signed to support Van Nistelrooy in the attacking department. This seemed to unsettle the Dutchman somewhat, and eventually one the new signings played a huge role in the strikers departure.
In 2006, Van Nistelrooy reportedly suffered a falling out with Alex Feguson which saw him benched for six consecutive games. The Holland international, preparing for the World Cup in Germany, returned to the starting line-up as United struggled for goals, but the striker was then surprisingly back out of the team again and named as a substitute for United’s final game of the season against Charlton.
Ferguson claimed that Van Nistelrooy was unhappy with the decision and left the stadium three hours before kick-off rather than taking his place on the bench, an act which his manager did not approve of.
The following week it was uncovered that the Dutchman’s exclusion from the squad was due to a training session war-of-words between himself and Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he accused of ‘holding onto the ball for too long instead of passing.’
Van Nistelrooy is alleged to have told Ronaldo to take his criticism up with his ‘daddy’, indicating his disapproval at the closeness in relationship between Ronaldo and United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz.
Confirming that he wanted to leave Old Trafford because an unhappiness with the situation over his exclusion from the first team, Van Nistelrooy moved to Real Madrid two weeks after the final day of the campaign.
Jaap Stam
Another Dutch international who Ferguson had problems with was defender Jaap Stam. Signing for the club in 1998, Stam was a huge success winning the treble in his first campaign at Old Trafford and going on to become a fans favourite after the departure of defensive stalwarts Bruce and Pallister.
Despite his successes, Ferguson became unhappy with Stam due to revelations published in his upcoming autobiography. The Scotsman was firstly unhappy that the book was being written, and secondly because the Dutch international revealed that Ferguson had ‘initiated contact with the player illegally whilst he was still under contract from PSV Eindhoven.’
Unhappy at being accused of ‘tapping up’ Ferguson made the decision to sell the Dutchman and to the surprise of their supporters Stam sold to Lazio at the beginning of the 2001 season and it later became clear that the decision was made because of the defenders choice to accuse his manager of acting inappropriately.
Ferguson, who denies that Stam was sold for his autobiographical revelations, did however admitting that selling the Dutchman was a mistake at the time, but also said that “£16.5m for a centre-back who was 29 an offer that I couldn’t refuse. But in playing terms it was a mistake.”
Roy Keane
Leading United to nine major honours as captain, made United’s midfield general Roy Keane the most successful in the club’s history. Known for his outspoken views, it came as somewhat of a surprised when the Irishman was seen to to ‘over the top’ with comments about his own team mates which aired on the club’s television channel.
Keane had always been forthright in speaking his mind, accusing United of ‘having too many prawn sandwich supporters’, but the process of him leaving United was sped up after Keane complained publically about the quality of the set up of the club’s pre-season resort in Portugal.
Ferguson was further angered by Keane’s comments on MUTV later that season, that he could be ‘prepared to play elsewhere’ at the end of the current deal at Old Trafford which was due to expire in less than twelve months.
Clearly unafraid of ruffling more feathers, another of Keane’s appearances on the club’s television channel provoked further controversy and was perhaps decisive piece in his departure from Old Trafford.
After a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in 2005, Keane took the opportunity during an interview to criticise the performances of John O’Shea, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher, several of the club’s budding squad members. The club captain didn’t stop there however, and his harshest analysis was reserved for Rio Ferdinand, then a club record signing, who Keane criticised by saying “Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar.”
The outburst deemed ‘too damning’ by the management at Old Trafford, and the transmission was subsequently pulled from broadcast by the club’s standards. An official statement said that the comments were “explosive, even by his standards.”
Two weeks later, after another row with his manager, the club arranged a deal with Keane to allow him to leave the club immediately to sign a long-term deal with Celtic.
Carlos Tevez
The Argentine became a big favourite at Old Trafford after joining from West Ham United in 2007 after impressing in his first season in English football. Bringing plenty of energy to the team and adding to United’s wealth of attacking talent, the nature of Tevez’s deal with Manchester United meant that there was always going to be uncertainty over his future.
Whilst Ferguson refused to respond to reports that Tevez’s loan-of-sorts would come to an end after Man Utd’s title winning campaign in 2008-9, there was scepticism from the player himself that he would be able to remain at Old Trafford for the following campaign with the same style of contract agreed.
Increasing the Argentine international’s doubts was the fact that he was very rarely aligned with first choice strikers Berbatov and Rooney, and frequently he was used out on the wing to replace Nani or Ronaldo if United were winning comfortably.
Chief Executive David Gill announced late in the season that the club had begun talks with Tevez’s advisors to discuss a permanent deal which would cost United around £25m. The striker was offered a five-year deal which would see him become one of the club’s top earners was he to accept it. Just days after the announcement of talks, Tevez confirmed that he no longer wished to play for the club unless he was guaranteed first-team football on a regular basis.
Refusing to be held at ransom by the player, Ferguson limited the amount of games Tevez played in the final weeks of the season, and at the start of July 2009 he angered the Scotsman further by signing for cross-town rivals, Manchester City.
Paul Ince
England midfielder Paul Ince, received huge amounts of hateful abuse from West Ham supporters after being pictured wearing a Manchester United kit and eventually joining them in 1989, but hoped to be involved in no such dramas with his new team.
Ince won several trophies, including the club’s first double since the 1960’s whilst at Old Trafford but left the club in 1995/6 to sign for Inter Milan. Ferguson did not want to lose such a vital player, but Ince believed in furthering his career by moving abroad. There was no ill-feeling between the two until Ince decided to make a return to England by signing for United’s bitter rivals, Liverpool in the summer of 1997.
Having one of his former players transfer to Merseyside clearly made Ferguson unhappy, and in footage infamously captured by a documentary crew, the Man Utd manager made his feelings towards Ince clear. The midfielder had become something of a lynchpin at United and Inter Milan, but the self styled “Guv’nor” persona Ince played up to, irritated Ferguson who said: “If he tries to bully you, he will f------ enjoy it. Don’t let him ever bully you right.”
“You just make sure you are ready for him. That’s all you need to worry about. He’s a f------ big-time Charlie.”
The phrase stuck with Ince, and that was not the only time he is said to have fallen out with his manager
Before a meeting with his old manager whilst in charge of Blackburn, Ince recalled an incident in which Ferguson described him as a “bottler” after a disappointing performance against Barcelona, an issue which led to Ferguson telling Ince: “You cannae handle the stage, can you?”
In a recent interview Ferguson admitted that it was a mistake to make such comments, he told the media: “I regret saying that. That was a mistake. It wasn’t a personality issue with Paul.”
Lee Sharpe
Moving from Torquay to Manchester United at the age of seventeen was a huge career move for winger Lee Sharpe. Making his debut in September 1988, Sharpe was key player as the red devils won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1990-91, and was widely regarded as one of the hottest football prospects in the country.
Despite being called up to the England squad for the first time in 1992, the midfielder faced competition for his place in the United team from both Andrei Kanchelskis and an emerging Ryan Giggs. With United conquering all on the pitch, the focus fell on Sharpe’s off-field activities when his performances started to dip.
Unhappy with his player’s ‘partying’ lifestyle, Ferguson set about confronting the Sharpe personally to ensure he was aware that the manager was aware of his coduct. During the title run-in of 1992, Ferguson ‘broke up’ a house party the winger was holding, throwing out all the guests and dropping Sharpe from the United first team for the following month.
Surviving the dressing down initially, the incident seemed to count against the midfielder as a 20-year old David Beckham established himself in Sharpe’s new-found position on the right of midfield. Eventually the lack of appearances began to take their toll on Sharpe’s reputation, and in 1996 he was sold to Leeds United for £4.5m.
Paul McGrath
A year-long spell with St Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland was a long enough apprentiship for the McGrath who rose to stardom signing for Manchester United in 1982.
McGrath suffered a largely untroubled spell under manager Ron Atkinson as he won the FA Cup in 1984-85, but it was when Alex Ferguson took over and chose to change the nature of the club that problems occurred.
Ferguson admired McGrath’s on-field play, but had serious issues with United’s ‘drinking culture’ something which he saw the Irishman as central to. When knee injuries began to prevent the defender from being part of the United squad, his alcohol addiction led to a turbulent relationship with his manager.
The frequent poor state that McGrath would return to training in after being injured irritated Ferguson on more than one occasion, and in 1989 the Scotsman chose to offer him a retirement package of £100,000 with a testimonial. The Irish international refused the club’s offer, but determined to move McGrath on Ferguson instead began to inform clubs of his availability.
It became clear that the defender was no longer in the red devils plans, and he agreed to sign for Aston Villa months later.
Gordon Strachan
Starting his career in Scotland, Gordon Strachan was managed by Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen between 1977 and 1984. The two shared a relatively untroubled relationship, but when Ferguson chose to bring his fellow Scot to Manchester United, it soon became clear that they would be unable to work together.
Strachan accused Ferguson of “doing too much screaming and shouting” when United were under-performing, and Strachan also revealed that a poor personal performance once led the United manager to compare his midfielder’s to a “trialist”.
The Scottish international continued to play a role in United’s improving team, but revealed himself to be extremely unhappy and seek a move on several occasions. Ferguson revealed in his autobiography in 1999: “I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry”.
For this reason, and presumably many other disagreements between the player and manager, Strachan was sold to Leeds United in 1988.
Norman Whiteside
Signed by United in 1982, Whiteside made his debut for the club as a 17 year-old later the following year. Stardom at such a young age undoubtedly had an impact on the Irishman’s behaviour off the pitch, and whilst previous manager Ron Atkinson tolerated his enjoyment of a drink, Ferguson was less impressed by such behaviour when he took over.
Seeking to improve discipline, Ferguson sought out to make an example of those who were unwilling to co-operate with his ban on the club’s drink culture. During a club trip to Bahrain, Whiteside and team-mate Brian Robson were forced to walk three miles back from a bar after being discovered there by Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox.
Whiteside soon put in a transfer request after being unhappy with the way he was being treated, and when his fitness levels and ability to recover from injuries began to suffer, Ferguson decided to cut his losses on the midfielder by selling him to Everton.