Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) shouting with Albert Morgan
While there is no question that players are the ones who bring success to any football club, no team can get by without the work that staff put in behind the scenes. From coaches to the physio team, everyone plays their part in keeping things ticking over.
The kit man is not exempt from this and at Manchester United, Albert Morgan was responsible for attending to players' needs before match days for 20 years. He was one of the best in the business, with former defender Jaap Stam hailing him as, "the standard you need to win trophies."
But while Morgan was a popular figure among the squad, things didn't always go to plan. And Wayne Rooney revealed that he lost his cool with the kit man on two occasions.
Rooney's Socks Mishap
Wayne Rooney in action for Manchester United
Wayne Rooney in action for Manchester United
Some players are especially superstitious before match days, like Eric Cantona, who believed that his upturned collar brought him success. While Rooney didn't really fall into that category, one thing he did was try to visualise the match the night before.
Rooney spoke to FourFourTwo in 2011 about how he would train his mind for games. That included asking the kit man what the team would be wearing, which he believed helped prepare him for game-state situations.
"I always like to picture the game the night before: I’ll ask the kitman what kit we’re wearing, so I can visualise it," Rooney said. "It’s something I’ve always done, from when I was a young boy.
"It helps to train your mind to situations that might happen the following day. I think about it as I’m lying in bed. What will I do if the ball gets crossed in the box this way? What movement will I have to make to get on the end of it? Just different things that might make you one per cent sharper."
But in one instance, Rooney revealed that Morgan accidentally told him the wrong colour sock before a match. Recounting the story on The Wayne Rooney Show for BBC Sounds, the former England international revealed that he lost his head with the kit man, despite it being something so small.
"The day before a game I used to speak to the kit man and ask him what kit we were wearing so the night before the game I used to visualise it. And there was one time when he told me the wrong colour socks.
"The next day, when I've gone into the dressing room and seen them, I erupted and ripped his head off."
Morgan Also Lost Rooney's Shin Pads
wayne rooney blackpool
A few people might think that Rooney overreacted, given it was such a minute detail. But it also was not the only time that the Red Devil lost his cool with United's kit man.
Rooney then recalled how Morgan lost his shin pads after an away game. The reason for his reaction came down to sentimental value, with the forward detailing that he had used the same shin pads since he was a youngster.
"When I was playing, I used to wear the same shin pads that I had from when I was nine or 10," he said. "I kept them and used to wear them but when we went to an away game, Albert lost them.
"I had them for like 15 years and he lost them. So I had another go at him for that."
Rooney was no stranger to losing his temper. From taking out George Boateng and Andy Dawson after a drop ball against Hull to losing it with Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant Rene Meulensteen, nobody was safe from his ire if someone aggravated him. Not even the kit man.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Rooney received three red cards while at Manchester United over the course of 559 games.
Morgan's Manchester United Career
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates at full time with Kit Man Albert Morgan
Manchester United v Aston Villa Barclays Premier League - Old Trafford - 5/4/09 Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates at full time with Kit Man Albert Morgan (R) Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Michael Regan
While Rooney might have ranted at Morgan on two occasions, the kit man was generally loved by everyone that he worked with during his time at Old Trafford. Replacing Norman Davies in 1993, he continued at the Theatre of Dreams for 20 years.
Working with some of the club's biggest stars ever, including the Class of '92, Morgan was often the man players turned to if they were in need of anything. That included various superstitions, including Eric Cantona asking for the same pair of socks for each game. Who knows how he might have reacted had Morgan given him different socks like he did with Rooney.
Morgan described his position as being like "a glorified baby-minder," with him smuggling in food for players and even once getting Rio Ferdinand out of a hotel unnoticed prior to a match against Liverpool, so that the Reds didn't notice him. He enjoyed an especially close relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson and even decided to retire once the Scot called time on his managerial career.
"I didn’t want to work for anybody else," Morgan told Off The Ball. "He was just so special.
"He’s the best psychologist ever, the way in which he spoke to people and the way that he treated people. He knew the people who he could give a rollicking to and the people to who he couldn’t give a rollicking to.
"He used to give me a rollicking in front of the players, I got used to it and I knew it was done for a purpose. It was a way of getting a message to the players. He’d ring me up later that day and say, ‘sorry about earlier, you knew what I was doing’. It was all done for a purpose, he was fantastic."
Morgan transitioned into working as a club ambassador because of how trusted he was behind the scenes. The likes of Rooney, Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo might have scored the goals, but the kit man was also so important to United's triumphs.