Sir Alex Ferguson 'Banned' Player from Using His Name Before Blasting Him

Sir Alex Ferguson banned one of his Manchester United players from using his name and later slammed him for a "useless" performance.

Ferguson was renowned for dishing out the hairdryer tournament on many occasions over the year, with plenty of players feeling his wrath.

The 13-time Premier League winner commanded the respect of his players and to this day, former captain Gary Neville still refers to him as 'the boss' - despite disapproval from fellow skipper Roy Keane.

But the way in which he was addressed mattered a whole lot to the fiery Glaswegian, as evidenced in a story from former defender Jonathan Spector.

Discovered by a United scout at the Milk Cup in 2003, Spector joined the Red Devils and won the Young Player of the Year award in his first season.

Yet he made just eight appearances in all competitions, including three times in the Premier League.

However he did spend enough time to realise that Ferguson did not enjoy being called by his name and told him in simple terms.

Sir Alex Ferguson told Spector how to address him properly. Image: Getty

Ferguson blasted player who he had to correct after signing

Spector, who was capped 36 times by the United States, recalled the instruction given as well as the time he was blasted by Ferguson for a below-par showing in a reserve fixture.

Speaking exclusively to SPORTbible, via the home of football odds, Spector said: "As an example, like I said, I never experienced that, but I do recall I had been training with the first team and playing, getting some games here and there. I was back out of the first team and went and played in a reserve game against Middlesbrough, and I was really poor in the game. I got back after the match the next day, and Ferguson pulled me into his office and just said, ‘hey, I want to know how you're doing, everything okay?’ I was like, 'yeah, everything's good, boss'. He made me call him boss because when I first got there, I called him Mr. Ferguson. He was like, ‘don't call me that! You can call me boss or gaffer’. I said, yeah, everything's fine, boss. He said, ‘okay, well, I'm glad everything's okay, but you were f***ing useless the other night’."

Elaborating, Spector added: "I said, I know I had a poor game. He went into it, he's like, ‘you're much better than you showed, but you cannot perform like that and expect to be part of the first team. Don't let it happen again’. It was essentially the message, and that was it.

"And that was end of meeting there, don't let it happen again. That was the end of the meeting. I said, 'okay, thanks for the time, appreciate it, and just left'.

"That was it. He knew I wasn't someone, if you're just shouting at me, yelling at me, it wasn't what was going to motivate me. He just needed to address it with me calmly and to the point, and that was the end of it, and moved on. In hindsight, looking back, he was just so good at understanding the individual, the person, and how to get the best out of them."

Spector played eight times for United. Image: Getty

Following a loan spell with Charlton Athletic, Spector signed for West Ham in 2006 and played 115 times.

He later represented Birmingham City, Orlando City and Hibernian and after retirement, has worked as the 'Head of International Relations and Scouting' at MLS side Atlanta United.