Former Norwich City striker Dion Dublin believes that his broken aided Sir Alex Ferguson’s path toward managerial stardom.
More specifically, Dublin has said that his broken leg allowed Manchester United to pursue French striker Eric Cantona.
Perhaps you have heard Cantona’s name once or twice. If not, look him up after reading the rest of this editorial.
Dublin, jokingly of course, told ESPN Classic,”It was my Old Trafford debut and it lasted about 60 minutes and my left leg and left ankle sort of gave way on me from a tackle from behind.”
“I am the reason why Man United have won all those trophies – its down to me, it really is. I break my leg and then they bring in this has-been called Cantona who just takes the world of football by storm!” added Dublin.
“As soon as he came in it just took off. Players warmed to him. Eric is bigger than me: 6ft 3in or 6ft 4in – he had a touch of a genius, he could head it, he could tackle, left and right foot, the guy was an absolute genius. And I think that’s what Man United needed.”
The former England international also praised Sir Alex Ferguson’s highly motivational half-time speeches, despite the manager being quite infamous for giving the ‘the hairdryer treatment’ in the locker room following poor first half performances.
“Some people need the hairdryer,” Dublin revealed.
“I had it and I don’t even know where I was. The only thing I remember about it was we were playing against a team in red and white stripes and I had a stinking first half, missed a load of chances and he was right there at half-time, told me what he thought. I went out and scored a goal in the second half.
“I respect the man for knowing what kind of character I was to get the best out of me.”
Dublin was nothing but genuine when hailing Fergie’s man-management style, crediting the Scottish boss with the ability to manage different personalities in the locker room.
“What he does he looks after people like Cantona, people like Ronaldo,” said Dublin.
“They’re personalities that you can’t just treat the same as you would treat me or you would treat Lee Sharpe or Gary Pallister. Because they’re all different characters so some people need an arm round them, some people need the hairdryer.
“You know if you do that to Eric he would have just left. Do it to Ronaldo then he’d have just left. So you’ve got to know how to do that and Sir Alex is the best at it.”
Surely it’s impossible to disagree with any of Dion Dublin’s assessments of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Fergie’s CV certainly speaks for itself. He’s won a sensational 48 trophies with St. Mirren, Aberdeen and Manchester United. Simply remarkable.
All hail the Scottish one!
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