A FORMER member of the backroom team at Old Trafford during the club’s glory years fears the current crop of players are too woke to win.
The club stalwart, who worked closely with the first team for over a decade, witnessed the club transform from the world of the Fergie hair dryer to a much more touchy feely environment.
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The respected professional, who asked not be named, remembers a changing room packed with larger than life characters such as Roy Keane.
The dad, who spent years in top flight Premier League football, said: “I remember Keano in his pomp and he was something else. A real force of nature, on the pitch and off it.
“Keano liked things to be right first time, whether it was on the pitch or training ground.
“But he walked it liked he talked it – he did the things on the pitch few others wanted to do.
“So yes he would blow up now and again but it was because he actually cared if we won or lost.”
The man, an expert in his chosen field, said that the club had come on light years since the days of the Cliff training ground in Salford.
He said: “In my last few years at the club I really noticed the culture change.
“Yoga, psychology, mindfulness. I am not sure how Keano and Lee Sharpe would have coped with all that.
“Diet is another area that has been transformed. When I arrived they had started to shift away from the old fashioned steak dinner. That just seems like the stone age now.”
The dad said he remembers when Fergie and Keane would use “tough love” to keep younger players on the right path.
He said: “So if a young player was a bit lippy or disrespected the boss, they would deal with Keano. He would have a quiet word.
“The issue is that if you let young players take liberties they will lose all respect for the club over time. It happens little by little.”
The former club employee remembers Gary Neville and Roy Keane as very much enforcers of the manager’s will.
He said: “For me Gary and Roy made sure the manager’s wishes were carried out.
“That could be on the pitch, in the changing room or in the hotel the night before the game. And that was a good thing.”
He said that he thought big personalities were fading out of the modern game.
He said: “I remember when I started some of the players had more about them.
“You had Roy and Gary at United. And then at Arsenal you had Tony Adams who was a natural leader.
“Patrick Viera, who we had problems with, was another big personality.
“And then you had Dennis Wise and John Terry at Chelsea who people respected.
“To me all that is fading away a bit now. The game is a lot more technical and the passion seems to have faded a bit.”
He recalled the now infamous incident when Fergie kicked a boot and it hit Beckham in the face.
He said: “To me that was all about two people who both wanted to win. Sometimes things happen like that.
“In more recent years I have seen players laughing with their mates after losing a key game. I know which approach I prefer.”
He remembers the era when United players would go out drinking in posh pubs and bars dotted around north Cheshire.
He said: “Yes there was Brasingamens in Wilmslow and the Griffin and Stamford in Bowdon.
“I remember hearing lots of stories about that era. And reading about them too. Again that is all gone now.
“The current crop do not go out drinking on a Friday night . I think they are all at home watching Netflix, which is probably a good thing.
“Sometimes in training you could tell the lads had been out the night before. They would just burn it off and go for a Maccies
after training.
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“But again it was a different era. I am not sure a hangover would be tolerated these days.”
The retired expert remembers the United team as a “fleet of Rolls Royce.”
He said: “Looking back they had some dream players. Ryan Giggs was the dream – he had everything.
“I actually preferred him when his game started to slow a bit and he played through the middle.
“Becks was a Rolls Royce footballer . He was just the perfect complement to Giggs.
“I think Scholes was underrated and I saw him put Steven Gerrard in his pocket quite a few times, which was no mean feat.
“For me Keano was the best pound for pound competitor in the history of the Premier League.
“The Neville brothers were perfectionists and Nicky Butt was better than you think.
When Keano left Old Trafford
Roy lifted the lid on how Sir Alex Ferguson told him he’d be leaving Manchester United.
The Irishman departed Old Trafford after 12 years in November 2005.
Keane had sparked controversy with an appearance on MUTV earlier that season.
The former skipper had criticised a number of his team-mates’ performances, while he also admitted he’d be “prepared to play elsewhere”.
Describing the meeting that confirmed his departure on Stick to Football in association with SkyBet, Keane said: “I generally have no problem when a club tells a player [to leave the club] – it’s the game we’re in.
For you [Ian Wright], they sat you down and had a chat – to me, at least, that’s kind of respectful.
“I’m getting called into a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill, and before I sat down, they’d already prepared a statement.
“This is my issue – they already prepared a statement, and they had the years wrong!”
Despite his frosty exit, Keane still felt a sense of loyalty when picking his next club.
He continued: “I spoke to Everton, Bolton and a couple of other teams.
“I had that mindset which is crazy, when a club is forcing you out the door and you can’t sign for other teams.
“Everton would’ve been a good move at the time – the location, and I had huge respect for David Moyes – but I felt I couldn’t go to another English team.”
Four weeks after his Man Utd departure Keane signed for boyhood club Celtic.
“The problem for Nicky was that the centre mid spots were taken by two world class players. But he always played a blinder when he came in.
“You see Fergie drummed it into us all that the team was bigger than any person. It was all about the team.”
The Sun approached Manchester United for comment.
Man United’s new stadium plans
The club will build a brand new £2billion Old Trafford rather than redevelop their current ground, writes Neil Custis.
They plan to make an announcement in December about the new stadium which will have a 100,000 capacity and be built right next to the current ground.
The club has been on fact-finding missions to other grounds, including The Bernabeu and Nou Camp in Spain, both of which have undergone huge renovations.
Officials have also been studying the SoFi Stadium while in Los Angeles – where United played Arsenal – to assess how the area around the ground has been regenerated.
The stadium was completed in 2020 and was part of a £4bn “Hollywood Complex” to regenerate a major area of Inglewood.
It was all funded by Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, and the 70,000 stadium will host six World Cup games in 2026 including the competition’s opener.
United are looking to not only build a stadium but regenerate the area of Trafford where the ground – set to be completed by 2030 -will stand.
The Old Trafford task force was set up when Sir Jim Ratcliffe became a part owner of United and had looked hard at regenerating the current ground.
However, a number of logistical problems could have made the cost even higher than a new build while reducing the capacity as work was being done or even requiring the team to temporarily move.
Also, it is felt that a club of United’s standing should have a new state-of-the-art facility.
They are mindful of maintaining the club’s identity in the new stadium, which will be built on land adjacent to the Red Devils’ current home.
Old Trafford has been United’s home since 1910 and has undergone various extensions.
The club have consulted with 30,000 fans about what to do and believe there is roughly a 50-50 split on staying or moving.
The project’s funding is still being discussed, with the idea of a mixture of public and private funding.
United have already contacted the new Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who is said to be open to government support for wider transport links as part of the project.
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