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Rene Meulensteen Reveals Biggest ‘Teacher’s Pet’ at Man Utd under Sir Alex Ferguson

By Admin / May 14, 2025

‘Parched’ became common Premier League football nomenclature thanks to the hugely popular Peter Crouch Podcast.

It was the nickname given to the teacher’s pet on the Stoke City training ground who, rather than having a drinks break with the rest of the squad, would use the time to chat with managers and coaches, weasling his way into their good books.

Significant portions of many episodes were devoted to hosts and guests trying to work out the true identity of ‘Parched’. It proved to be Charlie Adam, the former Potters midfielder who was seemingly the teacher’s pet of Tony Pulis and then Mark Hughes.

But there’s no reason to vilify the former Scotland midfielder; every club has its own resident ‘Parched’, and that was the case during the Sir Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United.

Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT on behalf of Action Network, former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen named the player who was the Teacher’s Pet at Carrington.

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Sir Alex Ferguson with the Champions League trophy

Despite being nicknamed ‘Busy’ for his nature of being involved in everybody else’s business at United, including the staff, it wasn’t popular pundit Gary Neville who Muelensteen picked out as the teacher’s pet.

Asked to name which player best fitted that description from his time at Old Trafford, where Meulensteen worked as a coach between 2007 and 2013, the Dutchman picked out Paul Scholes. He said…

“Paul Scholes because of the footballer he was, he was a genius, and I would rate him as one of the best world class midfielders ever. He was a genius and in training, if the bus was there and wasn’t moving, he could hit it with a ball from 60 yards. I remember once, I was standing next to the manager with a cup of tea and Scholes whacked the ball from 40 yards.

“I saw the ball coming and Scholes ran past me and said ‘why did you move?’ We had a soft spot for him because everyone knew how important he was. He was a no-nonsense player who took no s*** and was a really good trainer but also was at his best. He wasn’t loud but when he said something, people would listen. Everyone respected him for how good of a player he was.”

Keane, Neville and Fernandes

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Scholes is a Premier League and United Legend

Paul Scholes

Scholes is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Premier League history, and one of Manchester United’s greatest ever players, having risen from their academy ranks to win two Champions League titles and eleven Premier League titles.

But it’s often argued that Scholes went slightly underrated throughout his career. Despite his achievements and being considered one of the best midfielders in the world, he never received a single vote in the Ballon d’Or.

Those within the game, however, hold him in exceptionally high regard. Former England boss Glenn Hoddle described Scholes as the best player he ever coached, Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane named Scholes as the one player he regrets not having the chance to play alongside, and Xavi described him in 2011 as the best midfielder of the previous 15 or 20 years.

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