PAUL THE OTHER ONE
I’m ex-Man Utd ace who told Fergie to ‘f*** himself’ after he said I was ‘no Ryan Giggs’, then I became a Liverpool star
Midfielder almost came to blows with the legendary manager
PAUL INCE once told Sir Alex Ferguson to 'go f*** himself' when he was at Man Utd.
The midfielder played a crucial role in the Red Devils' first title win for 26 years when United won the Premier League in 1993.
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He won ten trophies at Old Trafford and was a pivotal member of the squad - but that did not prevent Fergie from picking a fight with him.
Ince, 56, was never one to back down in his career and after a match against Norwich in 1993 the pair locked horns.
Via William Hill, Ince told Up Front with Simon Jordan: “It happened after a game away at Norwich. We were 3-1 up and I’d had a very good game, I was playing really well.
“In the last five minutes, I tried to beat one or two players with the ball and got caught… that was it.
“We get into the changing room, everyone is high-fiving and saying ‘what a great result’. Sir Alex Ferguson comes in shouting and I’m thinking, ‘what’s he going mad for, we’ve just won 3-1?’
“He singles me out and says, ‘You, you’re not Ryan Giggs or Andrei Kanchelskis. Your job is to pass the ball!’.
"I said, ‘what the f*** are you on about?’
“He’s hollering and shouting, and getting closer and closer – I wasn’t having it. I didn’t care what the repercussions were, I really didn’t.
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“I said to him, ‘gaffer, you can go f*** yourself. I don’t give a f*** gaffer, go and f*** yourself, do what you want.
"You’re moaning when we’ve just won, f*** off’."
Manchester United's fall from glory since Sir Alex Ferguson
As expected, Ferguson did not take Ince's outburst well and went for the former England international.
“All of a sudden he said, ‘don’t talk to me like that’, and he went for me. Brian Kidd stood up, Lee Sharpe stood up.
“I said, ‘come on then’ – I wasn't prepared to have that from him. But everyone jumped in and that was it.
"That was the end of the conversation. I got home and said to my wife, ‘what is wrong with me?’
Paul Ince career achievements
West Ham - 95 games, 12 goals
Manchester United - 281 games, 28 goals
Inter Milan - 73 games, 13 goals
Liverpool - 81 games, 17 goals
Middlesbrough - 106 games, 9 goals
Wolves - 131 games, 12 goals
Swindon - 3 games
Macclesfield - 1 game
England - 53 caps
Honours:
Premier League, 1993, 1994
FA Cup, 1990, 1994
League Cup, 1992
Cup Winners' Cup, 1991
“That red mist just descends and that’s it. But three days later we were fine.”
Ince departed the club two years later, signing for Inter Milan where he spent two years before joining Liverpool.
But the former England star revealed Ferguson could have stopped him joining the arch enemy.
He told talkSPORT: "I'd have never have gone to Liverpool straight from Manchester United or from Liverpool straight to Manchester United. That is a cardinal sin.
"When I came back from Inter Milan, Man United had first refusal on me.
"I could have easily gone back to Manchester United - they turned down that decision to take me back.
"When I left to go to Inter Milan, I didn't want to leave Manchester United.
"Whether I would have gone back I don't know, but all I know is I had two years at Inter, I had another three years left on my contract, obviously the family situation was difficult so we came back.
"We signed [Brazilian legend] Ronaldo for the next season and I wanted to play with him, but I obviously didn't get the luxury of doing that.
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"[Former club secretary] Peter Robinson came over from Liverpool, we sat down and had some lunch, we agreed that was the way I was going to go.
"I love the north west [of England]. I'd spent six or seven years there at Man United, knew Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler, David James, so it was easy to settle in."