Robin Van Persie famously joined Manchester United from Arsenal in 2012 and won the Premier League that same season which turned out to be Ferguson’s last. Van Persie finished as top scorer that year and his goals helped United lift the Trophy for a record 20th time.
The great Scottish manager was famous for his dressing room talks which has been popularly dubbed as the ‘hairdryer’ treatment. Several players like Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney have been on the receiving end of his tirades and know how dreadful it can be.
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And now the Dutch striker has revealed that he too was the subject of the manager’s anger. But it was surprisingly when the Red Devils were sitting pretty comfortably at the top of the table. “When we were 15 points ahead - it was in February or March – we lost against City.”
United had a chance to extend their lead over their not so friendly neighbors but let it slip and Ferguson was livid after the match."We could have gone 18 points clear but still we were in a very good position.”
The 32-year-old striker revealed what message Ferguson tried to get across while yelling at them. “He was very hard on us, very angry. He made everyone aware that everybody had to give their all.”
Van Persie said the consequences of a poor performance were harsh and it felt like a punishment saying, “The training was very hard that week, he was almost punishing us.”
But he respects Sir Alex for his hair dryer treatment and says that it was a good trait to have. "We were 15 points ahead. But that showed me he was a really good manager.”
Van Persie never hit heights after 2012/13 season
Van Persie spent two more years at Old Trafford but they were disappointing seasons. Under David Moyes United finished seventh in the league and failed to qualify for Europe. The striker was ravaged by injuries that year.
The next season his Holland manager Louis Van Gaal took over at Old Trafford and helped United to a fourth place finish but once again Van Persie was troubled with injuries. The Dutchman left United last year and joined Turkish side Fenerbahce.
But he has been unable to regain his form. Van Persie has completed 90 minutes on only three occasions so far and has scored 9 times in 24 appearances in the Turkish superleague
