“He would have been done” – Ex Man Utd keeper insists Sir Alex Ferguson would have shown no mercy to one Red star | OneFootball

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster believes the Joshua Zirkzee incident would have taken a more severe turn had Sir Alex Ferguson been in charge.

The Dutch striker endured a hellish evening on Monday against Newcastle United. After starting in the stead of suspended club captain Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Amorim decided to haul him off after half an hour of play in favour of Kobbie Mainoo as the team was being overrun in the middle of the park and already trailing by two goals to nil.

And if the early substitution wasn’t traumatic enough for the summer signing, the fans’ cheers amidst his exit added insult to injury. Overwhelmed by emotions, Zirkzee decided to head straight towards the locker room before making his return to the dugout a few minutes later.

But while his defiant stance didn’t last for too long, Foster believes the player’s walkout would have been enough to irk Ferguson who would have acted much harsher than Amorim.

While the Portuguese coach came out to defend the young forward with an apologetic tone, the retired goalkeeper believes the two-time Champions League-winning manager would have sent the player out of the door.

“When he walked off down the tunnel… If Alex Ferguson would have been manager, that player would have been done,” said the 41-year-old on his YouTube channel.

“Whoever that is, if you walk off that pitch when you’ve been brought off after 30 minutes, get a coat and walk straight into the dressing room. You’re done. I promise you, you’re done. It just doesn’t work like that.”

Ben Foster believes Zirkzee episode would have unfolded differently with Sir Alex Ferguson in charge

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Foster feels for Zirkzee who paid the price for the toxic atmosphere at Old Trafford.

“I guarantee you, when he got back to the changing room, somebody would have said to him, ‘You need to get back outside. This is not a good look… The camera has just watched you walk all the way down the line, the fans are booing’.

“It is a horrible situation. I really feel for him. At that moment in time, the atmosphere in Old Trafford was horrible. United were getting pumped. They were on the back foot and it was almost like he was the scapegoat. He was just one of 11 problems on that pitch.”