Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher received a frank talking to from Alex Ferguson when it looked like he might leave the club for Newcastle United.
As a young Scottish footballer plying his trade in the Manchester United youth structure, Darren Fletcher had cause for concern about his progression at the club.
With the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and a host of other midfield players making up the bulk of what Alex Ferguson had available to him in midfield, he could not spot an opening in the future.
As far as Fletcher saw it, a move away from Old Trafford might give him some small chance of playing a little bit of first-team football sometime sooner.
Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson shouts at Darren Fletcher"I nearly signed for Newcastle United," United's current Technical Director revealed on the Lockdown Tactics podcast.
"Everyone is telling you, 'Look at all of these great Man United midfielders you'll never get in the team, difficult to break through, Newcastle is closer to home."
A fine plan in theory, Alex Ferguson was not overly impressed when he heard that his young midfielder was having doubts about his future at the club.
"So the word gets back and he phoned the house one night and my sister picked up the phone," he recalls. "It's just the boss going absolutely mental.
"I'm 15, just chalk-white and he's f'ing and giving it to me down the phone."
Thankfully, he had some help.
"My mum sees me and grabs the phone," he remembers, "and listens for a few seconds and goes, 'Don't speak to my son like that ever again,' and slams the phone down.
"So, the next minute the phone rings up again, it's Alex Ferguson: 'Really sorry, Mrs. Fletcher but we really like your son, I'm coming up on the next flight to Edinburgh.'
"My mum's looking around the house thinking, 'I've not done the housework, I've got loads of washing.' She goes, 'no you're not, they'll come down and see you.'"
After eventually breaking into Ferguson's team, Fletcher proceeded to play 342 games for the club winning every imaginable honour - some quite a number of times - along the way.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
