Manchester United legends have been left baffled by the seemingly special treatment a player received from Sir Alex Ferguson during the Scottish legend’s time at Old Trafford. Ferguson oversaw a galaxy of world-class talent during his remarkable 27 years as United manager. The roll call featured former players from the Class of 1992, such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and the Neville brothers, as well as foreign superstars such as Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he formed a fatherly bond.
Of course, Ferguson developed stronger relationships with certain players than others, particularly legendary captain Bryan Robson, who played a pivotal role in United’s triumphs in the early 1990s. Robson rarely experienced Ferguson’s infamous “hairdryer” treatment, but his teammates at the time did not ignore it.
During an interview with TNT Sports last year, Ally McCoist asked Sir Alex whether he had a crush on certain players. Mr McCoist asked: “You obviously worked with some of the best people from afar.
“Lobo, Cantona, (Carlos) Tevez, of course Ronaldo. There are incredible talents. Did you treat them all the same or did you naturally have to do things accordingly?”
Ferguson had a brilliant response. “Everyone thought Robbo was my son because he was never criticized!”
As McCoist burst into laughter, Ferguson continued, “I really don’t believe[that he was never criticized].
“But anyway, I think the most important thing for me as a coach is to be consistent. So the players, the staff, everyone recognizes the guy that comes in the door every morning.”
“I’ve always had the same principles, the same discipline and especially the same attitude towards the staff. I never changed, and that made it easier for everyone to feel comfortable.”
Robson came through West Bromwich Albion’s youth ranks in 1975 before securing a move to Old Trafford in 1981, where he remained for 13 years, eight of which were under Ferguson’s tutelage.
Regarded as a complete box-to-box midfielder, he made 416 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 92 goals and winning two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two Charity Shields and a European Cup Winners’ Cup before departing for Middlesbrough in 1994.
After retiring as a player, Robson took charge of Boro and led the club to both domestic cup finals in 1997, but suffered relegation from the Premier League in the same season.
The 68-year-old went on to manage Bradford City, West Brom and Sheffield United before taking up a leadership role in Thailand.
