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Many a Manchester United player fell afoul of Sir Alex Ferguson during the great's 27-year reign at Old Trafford – to their own demise.
And Paul Ince was one such star who made the mistake of standing up to the Scot during a competitive clash at Norwich City in 1993. Both clubs were in the Premier League title picture at the time, and eventual champions United were in the midst of a four-game winless run prior to emerging as 3-1 victors at Carrow Road.
With victory seemingly assured, Ince saw fit to "go on a little mazy [run]" before losing the ball as the Canaries broke to almost score up the other end. It didn't prevent the Red Devils from picking up three points, but 'The Guvnor' explained how the famed boss looked like something out of a Sylvester Stallone flick when he saw him joining in the post-match celebrations.
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"Sir Alex comes storming through the door like Rambo," Ince told talkSPORT host Jim White this week. "[He] slaughtered me. 'You're not [the late Diego] Maradona! Give the ball! Pass to the best players' and all that.
"And I'm thinking, 'Where's this coming from?' And me being me, I bit back. I wasn't gonna let him get away with it, we'd just beat one of the title contenders comfortably at Carrow Road, and I've had a decent game! It was all about standards for him."
And much like freedom fighter Rambo, 81-year-old Ferguson developed a reputation in how he dealt with dressing room tyrants.
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Ince, 56, went on to highlight how that demand for consistency "showed he greatness of the man", but he proceeded to have a shouting match with his boss at the time. Host White referenced a detail that alleged Ince had to be held back by four team-mates, to which the former Liverpool and Inter Milan star joked: "I thought it was eight at the time!"
The tensions continued as Ince and Ferguson maintained radio silence with one another for the next 48 hours. But the latter stamped his authority on the matter after Ince converted a last-minute overhead kick to win a game of head tennis 11-10 in training.
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"We're jumping about, the next thing Sir Alex goes, 'Ball was out!' And I'm like, 'The ball wasn't out'. But because I wasn't speaking to him, I couldn't say anything, and I was just bubbling," regaled Ince. "So I'm walking away, and all of a sudden he went, 'Incey! [Winks]. There's only one governor here, son.'"
Cue a wave of laughter in the studio as a classic tale of Ferguson's feisty methods concluded with him (typically) emerging on top. And while he may not have seen eye to eye with his superior at the time, it's evident Ince – who would go on to manage Reading against the Scot – developed plenty of respect for the British icon over time.
- Sir Alex Ferguson
- Manchester United FC
- Premier League
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