Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame
Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson jumped at Geoff Shreeves following an interview with Cristiano Ronaldo, according to the former Sky Sports reporter. And the incident shows exactly why Erik ten Hag could be nearing the end of his time as Red Devils boss just 18 months into his Old Trafford tenure.
Ferguson spent nearly 27 years as manager of the Red Devils and led the club to a whole host of honours, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues trophies. The Scot was known to be an avid protector of his players as United hogged the headlines due to their habitual successes on the pitch.
And Shreeves has retold the story of when Denis Law’s daughter had to step in after Ferguson had come for him when he asked Ronaldo whether he had gone down too easily to win a penalty during a game with Middlesbrough.
“One time I did an interview with Cristiano Ronaldo which Sir Alex took exception to and he had a pop at me,” Shreeves explained during an interview with bettingsites.co.uk. “I had a pop back and then he physically jumped towards me. And a press officer – Dennis Law’s daughter – jumped in between us and said ‘stop this, stop this.’”
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Shreeves previously recalled the exchange in his book Cheers, Geoff! Tales from the touchline as he wrote: “I asked Cristiano whether he went down easily. Ronaldo is pretty non-committal but says it was a penalty. I certainly wasn’t aware of the impending explosion.
“Sir Alex comes out of the dressing room and stalks straight towards me. ‘You and your f***ing questions, you’re f***ing out of order,’ he snarled. ‘The boy hardly speaks English, you’re f***ing bang out of order,’ plus even more colourful language.”
While Ferguson’s behaviour may have been over the top at the time, it certainly illustrates the lengths he was willing to go to in order to keep his prized assets out of the firing line and away from harm. And that passion is exactly why United dominated their Premier League rivals season after season.
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Ten Hag was anything but passionate when he spoke to TNT Sports after his side had been dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich on Tuesday evening. The Dutchman was reserved with his answers and cut a forlorn figure in front of the cameras.
He may have stated that his team had played well, despite the fact they could only muster one shot on target all night, but there was barely a shred of emotion from the former Ajax boss. And if he shows as much fire during his team talks as he does in front of the cameras, it may explain why his players are struggling to bring the energy needed to compete for honours in the Premier League and in Europe.
Any person lucky enough to be handed the top job at Old Trafford should at the very least match Ferguson’s passion and his desire to shield his players from the external noise. And if Ten Hag isn’t able to demonstrate that side of his personality, his time in the United dugout could soon be up.
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