Manchester United fans will enjoy this.
Sir Alex Ferguson had a knack for team talks during his managerial career, which isn’t a surprise given he’s arguably the greatest manager ever.
However, Fergie’s team talks were so good, even Roy Keane praised them, which is a surprise given how the pair fell out.
“One of Ferguson’s great strengths was that he always had a feel for the group when it came to team talks; he knew what would be needed,” Keane wrote in his second book.
Good spot https://t.co/Aekp48jvc3
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) June 8, 2017
Keane has also spoke about a team talk the former Manchester United manager gave before a game against Tottenham Hotspur.
“I thought please don’t go on about Tottenham, we all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we’ll fucking do them. He came in and said: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham’ and that was it. Brilliant.”
Ferguson’s team talk went into more detail ahead of Michael Carrick’s testimonial, and he saved the jokes for his own players. The 75-year-old managed the United team that won the 2008 Champions League final in the game against an all-star XI, to mark Carrick’s 11 years at Old Trafford.
In the video posted to Rio Ferdinand’s Five magazine YouTube channel, Ferguson begins the team talk by making a joke about Peter Schmeichel.
"I had to make that horrible decision" https://t.co/lFkMznYF3n
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) June 6, 2017
Ferguson said a few years ago that he only managed four world class players –Â Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo – and it appears the former United goalkeeper didn’t take it well.
“I don’t talk about keepers – [Peter] Schmeichel still won’t talk to me because I said he wasn’t world class,” the former United manager says in the video.
Ferguson also jokes about Ferdinand’s performance in midfield in a 4-3 defeat to Blackburn Rovers back in 2006, saying Robbie Savage got the better of him that night.
Michael Carrick's international career tells you everything you need to know about the England team https://t.co/n2quUrkxEZ
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 3, 2017
The former United manager then appeared to take the piss out of Wayne Rooney. When calling out the team, he says:
“And up front, Wazza, [making] all these runs into the channels.”
This drew a few laughs.
However, Ferguson praised his former team before they went onto the pitch.
“Apart from a great team, you’ve turned out great guys.”
You can watch it here:
