Sir Alex Ferguson "had spies everywhere" immediately after becoming Man Utd boss
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A Manchester United legend has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson had "spies everywhere" within days of taking over at Old Trafford.
Northern Ireland star Norman Whiteside was already a part of the furniture when a fresh-faced Fergie arrived from Aberdeen in 1986.
Ferguson, who had won 11 major honours with the Scottish club, wasn't impressed with what he saw when he first arrived at United, particularly the drinking culture.
He even titled a chapter in his autobiography "Drinking to Failure," condemning the environment at the club when he took charge.
In those early days, the Scotsman didn't take any prisoners, and Whiteside revealed how he has "spies" ringing him up to letting him know whether they had seen someone drinking.
Speaking to Sunday Life, Whiteside, who made 278 appearances for the Red Devils, said: "You couldn’t get away with anything.
"He was at the training ground from early morning to night. It came from his working-class ethic and we’d already had a bit of a heads up from Gordon Strachan, who had played under him at Aberdeen.
"He quickly had spies everywhere. People were forever ringing him up and letting him know if they had seen someone with a drink in their hand."
Whiteside was too shrewd to try and con Fergie and owned up to anything that may have gotten under the legendary boss' nose.
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He added: "I never tried to hide anything. I would go up to him and say, ‘Before anyone rings you, I was out last night’.
The Northern Irishman isn't the only one to confirm Fergie's use of so-called spies.
Former United midfielder Darren Fletcher revealed last year how the boss kept up with technological changes to keep tabs on players in his later years at Old Trafford.
"He had an iPad and all the apps," Fletcher told the Daily Mail.
"He had someone at the club following players on Twitter. So he would say to a player, “Did you have a good day out yesterday?” and the player would be, ‘How the hell did he know I was there?’
"And I would be thinking, ‘Well obviously you have posted a picture of yourself on Twitter haven’t you!’
"He didn’t need to have spies in nightclubs any more, he could do it all from his armchair!"
- Sir Alex Ferguson
- Manchester United FC
- Premier League
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