‘He’d have killed me’ –Omari Hutchinson close call with boss after fight got out of hand.

He has become a figure who is difficult not to love, but ex-Manchester United hero Alan Brazil once had a huge quarrel with a manager that almost became physical.

Former Manchester United forward Alan Brazil has said he was relieved to have not been seriously injured during his infamous fight with ex-Ipswich Town manager Bobby Ferguson. Brazil, 64, appeared for the Red Devils between 1984 and 1986, contributing 10 goals and one assist in 35 appearances for the club. But the now TalkSPORT pundit is best known for his five-year spell with Ipswich Town, where he won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup.

Initially, he was playing under legendary manager Sir Bobby Robson, becoming one of the Tractor Boys’ most important players. Unfortunately for Brazil, the relationship with his next manager in East Anglia was anything but plain sailing.

Ferguson took over the reins at Portman Road when Robson became the England manager in 1982. Brazil would only play under the Northumberland native for one season.

While speaking on the Formula for Success podcast, Brazil recalled their huge argument that almost turned into a bloody fight. “What happened was Bobby Robson went off to do other things, and there was this new guy came in [as Ipswich manager] called Bobby Ferguson, and we did not get on, okay,” he said.

“A couple of times in the baths – you know these big communal baths – he’d come in and have a go at me, and eventually I just thought: ‘Come on, let’s have it.’ And he’d get up and say: ‘Come on then, give us your best shot’.

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“Then another time I was up the gymnasium, and we were arguing. And I said: ‘What’s wrong with you? You just hate me’. He said: ‘What’d you say?’ And he was a Geordie, people thought because his name was Bobby Ferguson he was Scottish. But he wasn’t, he was a Geordie.

“And I ended up saying: ‘You’re a Jock with no brains,’ and that was it. He had a bag of about 20 keys on him. He threw it at me, and if he hit me, he’d have killed me.