What Sir Alex Ferguson did after player knocked on his door asking for a trial
There are many qualities appreciated by Sir Alex Ferguson and showing great initiative is definitely one of them. Max Lonsdale impressed the legendary Manchester United boss by what he did after he was released by Macclesfield Town as an 18-year-old.
Lonsdale, who had a YTS scholarship with Macclesfield, played in the FA Youth Cup and was the the Player of the Season in his second season in the academy ranks.
With well-documented financial problems, Macclesfield had to let go Lonsdale go and he was left in limbo. But in an out of character move, he decided to go to extreme lengths in an attempt to find himself a new club.
In an era prior to the explosion of social media, midfielder Lonsdale created a 15-minute DVD featuring his best bits from four Macclesfield matches. His next move? To take that DVD directly to arguably the greatest manager of all-time by turning up at his house.
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His late wife Cathy answered the door and went out of her way to help a young lad just trying to further his career in football.
"I lived in Alderley Edge at the time and Ferguson lived in Wilmslow, which is like two minutes away," Lonsdale explained in an exclusive interview with SPORTbible.
"I had a good friend who lived near him and knew which one his house was. I just thought, 'Why try and send a DVD to the club when it's going to get nowhere near? Why not just rock up myself and know he'd watch it?'.
"It's probably out of character for me, I'm not the most bold person but when it comes down to it I'm willing to do that, especially when it's your dream I suppose.
"I went down on the Friday and his wife was actually there and she let me in. Fergie wasn't actually in - he was away for the next day on a golfing trip so she said, 'Here's his number, give him a ring tomorrow. He should be back around tea-time.'"
Ferguson let out an expletive straight off the bat in the phone call but then he came around and invited Lonsdale to bring his DVD around.
He added: "The next day I rang him and explained I'd been around yesterday. The first thing he said was, 'How the f**k have you got my number?!'.
"Obviously I was a bit taken aback by that but after I explained it he was alright after that and said, 'Yeah come round'. I drove around to his and had a good chat - he spoke to me about my football past, my injuries and said he'd watch it [the DVD] and get back to me.
"Three days later I got a call off one of the United first-team coaches to say they liked what they'd seen and [asked] would I be willing to go down for a trial."
The move from Lonsdale was a bold one but it paid off. 13-time Premier League winner Ferguson admired the work ethic displayed by Lonsdale and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime.
"He said to me at the time, 'If you don't look good enough we're not going to take you on but I'll let you know either way," Lonsdale stated.
"He said when I came into training the first day, 'I've given you an opportunity because I like what I've seen.' He genuinely wanted to give me an opportunity which was really good on his part.
"He's very intimidating when you're speaking directly to him but a big presence and a lovely guy at the same time."
The trial was set for two weeks but ended up lasting for six weeks, to the point where Lonsdale played against Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Ravel Morrison in five reserve games.
Unfortunately because of the extensive midfield options, he did not receive a contract despite feeling as though one was going to be presented.
However, he still had an "unbelievable experience" as a United player for six weeks.
Lonsdale admitted: "I went around the UK playing in all different stadiums and to be honest I thought I was going to get signed - that was the indication I got from the staff. I'd been waiting a few lads to leave on loan or on permanent deals: Matty James, Oliver Norwood and Danny Drinkwater were meant to be leaving.
"At the time I was only 18 and wasn't ready to play first-team football but what they couldn't do was draft another lad in to just play reserve football for the next two years until he makes it or not."
Ferguson's generosity didn't end there despite Lonsdale's chapter being complete. He and United arranged for Lonsdale to head to Doncaster Rovers, where he again went on trial in search of a contract.
Just as he looked set to sign on the dotted line, he snapped his ligaments in his ankle and was left on on the sidelines for an extended period. When he completed his rehab at Doncaster, he was unfancied by new manager Paul Dickov
Some offers with Ipswich and Burnley arrived and Lonsdale had a short stint in Non-League. But at the age of 21, three years on from that United trial, he hung up his boots for good.
After a lightbulb moment in a coffee shop meeting, he then ventured into the business world and co-founded Social Trinity - a global social media marketing agency - back in 2016.
Now 33, Lonsdale works as the Operations Director for the firm, which has accrued more than 400 million followers and works with some of the biggest brands in the world.
Topics: Sir Alex Ferguson, Man Utd
Josh Lawless