The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 102 Boldly Use Youth Training

"Ferguson certainly has to consider the physical fitness and condition of the main players, and how the whole team can cope with the abnormal schedule, but he also insists on paying attention to youth training, trusting young people, and actively giving young players the opportunity to play."

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The Red Devils avenged their first-round defeat by defeating Liverpool in the league, which made the fans ecstatic and they celebrated wildly with the players.

Sky Sports commented, "Ferguson is indeed tough, and his determination paid off. His tactics are very aggressive, and the team's playing style is also very tough. Liverpool was defeated in this game. They were unable to take the initiative throughout the game, the team's offense could not be launched, and the midfield was completely passive. This is the only time this has happened since the beginning of the season."

The Red Devils team hadn't gotten excited enough when they found themselves unable to laugh, because they had to travel to Middlesbrough one day after playing a big game against Liverpool.

The Red Devils players only have one day of rest and then they have to play the game - the Red Devils play two league games in three days!

The schedule of the English League One is abnormal enough. Manchester United is not the only team in the league to be subject to such a schedule. Tottenham, Villa and Newcastle have all been forced to play two games within three days.

Those officials sitting in their offices really don't treat the players as human beings, they just treat them like cattle and horses.

Playing two league games in three days? Only the FA could arrange something so shameless. These high-ranking officials ignored the health of the players and arranged for the Red Devils to play Liverpool and Middlesbrough consecutively within three days.

Manchester Evening News said: "Manchester United plays two games in three days, Everton plays five games in ten days, Tottenham plays four games in nine days, Arsenal plays three games in five days, Liverpool plays two games in three days... These strongest teams have to suffer crazy torture, and their players have paid the price of various injuries for the games. Whose interests does the English FA represent? Have they considered the scientific nature of the schedule? Have they considered human rights? Do they treat the players as human beings? The answer to this question is self-evident."

The Red Devils and Ferguson had protested long ago, asking the FA to reschedule the game for the Red Devils in consideration of the players' health, the broadcast of the game, and the rationality of the schedule. But the FA simply ignored them, insisting that the Red Devils follow the original schedule, saying that the schedule had already been arranged and could not be re-adjusted.

The match against Liverpool consumed too much energy from the Red Devils players, and the players were unable to recover. Not to mention the physical fitness for playing in the Premier League, they even lacked the ability to move normally. The Red Devils were exhausted, but their opponents Middlesbrough had two more days of rest, and they were at home, so they were well rested.

Ferguson reluctantly made a rotation, pulling out Lee Martin, who had cramps in the previous game, and letting Gill start instead; McGrath returned to the starting lineup from the bench in the previous game, replacing Donaghy; Mullen continued to start, and Strachan was arranged to go to the bench. The most critical Robson was injured again in this game. As a result, the Red Devils could not withstand the opponent's attack and fierce fighting at the beginning of this game. The Red Devils, who were physically insufficient, quickly retreated in the face of the opponent's impact. Although Ferguson later replaced two new forces Robins and Wilson, it still did not help. Middlesbrough created many opportunities in the game. The forwards had more than one one-on-one opportunities in front of the goal, and there were no less than three other excellent opportunities in front of the goal. Manchester United's defense was in turmoil. Fortunately, the Red Devils goalkeeper Leighton made a desperate save and avoided a tragedy.

The game ended with the Red Devils losing 0-1, unfortunately.

Ferguson was very angry. He suggested that Edwards write a letter to the English Parliament and ask the Parliament to intervene in the English government. He also contacted MP Blair himself, hoping that this friend could disclose the unreasonable decision of the English Football Association to the English Parliament. The British Parliament quickly launched a debate. Johnson, a Labour MP in the House of Commons, said: "I have never known that a bureaucracy can be so stupid. The behavior of the English Football Association is like murder. Players are also human beings. They are also employees and ordinary workers. They should be protected by the law. I suggest launching an investigation into the people involved in the English Football Association who arranged this kind of match, and ask the government to fully recognize the harm of this arrangement."

Under pressure from Parliament, the English FA had to state that it would make arrangements based on the schedules of each team and would accept temporary adjustments.

The FA's statement had no effect on the Red Devils' loss. The loss to Middlesbrough had a significant impact, and Ferguson's team was considered to have completely lost the possibility of competing for the league title.

Ferguson was interviewed by Manchester Evening News after the game and apologized to the fans, saying: "I am very dissatisfied with the result of being defeated by Middlesbrough. The English Football Association should have a more scientific and feasible arrangement, but it is meaningless to dwell on these now. I can only say I am sorry to the fans of the Red Devils. This is not the game we wanted to play. We are not worthy of the fans' expectations, and I am deeply disappointed."

Ferguson explained, "We will try to avoid players who are in poor form, but it is difficult. We don't have such a big squad, and sometimes the performance of players will not meet expectations and need more work."

"Losing is losing, we have no other reason, this is my responsibility." Ferguson took all the blame in order to protect the players in the team who had different problems.

The Red Devils players are actually full of resentment. No one is Iron Man, no one is Superman. They played against a super strong opponent, the team's mortal enemy the day before, and another strong enemy the next day. Who can maintain an excellent state to cope with two consecutive tough battles?

McClair, who is known for his excellent physical fitness, almost cursed directly, "I have never seen such a stupid schedule, and it is arranged like this in the top league in England. Hughes said that he used to play two games in one day. Come on, those were national team and Bundesliga cup games, which are completely different from what we have now. I don't know what those gentlemen who arrange the schedule are thinking. This is not exploitation, this is simply murder."

Even the manager of the Red Devils' rival Middlesbrough, Wells, was upset. "I hope those fat-bellied guys in the English Football Association can behave themselves. How stupid must one be to schedule two league games in three days? I think it would be better to put a gun to Ferguson's head and make him admit defeat."

The Times exposed the details of the schedule, triggering a large number of fans to complain strongly to the English Football Association. The officials of the English Football Association adopted a so-called dynamic reverse order method to arrange the league matches. The league schedule software they used was exposed to be a junk software that was out of date, and they did not make any reasonable intervention and adjustments for the overly dense matches. The English Football Association's irresponsible arrangement aroused the anger of fans and also attracted the accountability of England's Minister of Sports. In the end, the official in charge of the schedule was fired, and the English Football Association had to announce the use of the latest programming software to arrange the games more scientifically and reasonably.

The Red Devils then had to face Queens Park Rangers in the third round of the FA Cup. Having been held to a 0-0 draw at home, Ferguson decided to send a young team to West London for a replay. There was no other way - the Red Devils' main players were simply too tired to run. The Red Devils team that went to the opponent's home ground included Lee Martin, the unlucky Tony Gill, Russell Peters-Moore who replaced Strachan as right winger, Blake Moore, and the promising star Lee Sharp, who was only 17 years old.

"This is not the Manchester United youth team, nor is it the Red Devils B team. This is one of the strongest lineups we can send out right now. I don't think there is any problem, and I don't want to explain anything to the media's doubts. Manchester United has always had a good tradition of youth training, and this is what I am doing now. Not only that, I did not deliberately not play in the starting lineup and give up this game. The message I want to convey is very clear that these Manchester United players can compete with the main players, and I want to emphasize that competition is everywhere in our Manchester United," Ferguson said: "The team will promote any player who performs well in the reserve team, and they will have more opportunities if they perform well in the game. Some old players may think this is the worst thing, and some media may think it is unreliable. But young players rushing up to replace the original main players is the best healthy competition for the football club."

Ferguson's persistence is precisely the best reflection of his emphasis on and implementation of youth training policies.

This season, Ferguson has vigorously promoted various young players. In the league, young players such as Lee Martin, Maiorana and Tustoer have played at different times. The cup competition has become an important opportunity for Ferguson to "train" the young army.

This match was an opportunity given by Ferguson to the youngsters, and also a test for them. The youngsters of Manchester United also knew that their chances were precious, and their performance would have an impact on their subsequent chances. This make-up match was full of twists and turns. Ferguson arranged the formation into 442, allowing the youngsters of the Red Devils to play very freely. They had excellent physical fitness and actively attacked the opponents at the beginning of the game. These youngsters were full of passion and created many opportunities, but unfortunately the forwards did not wear shooting boots.

The game started with Manchester United attacking and the opponent counterattacking. In the 5th minute, Manchester United made a cross from the right, but Robins missed the best opportunity to shoot in the penalty area and barely kicked the ball away. In the 9th minute, Manchester United made a shot from 17 yards in the penalty area, but it was too straight and was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 17th minute, Manchester United's Maiorana passed the opponent on the left side of the opponent's penalty area and then had a one-on-one opportunity, but unfortunately his shot went directly away. In the 22nd minute, Manchester United made a cross from a corner kick, but Donaghy missed the chance in front of the penalty area... Until the 27th minute, Manchester United advanced on the left, and Maiorana once again showed his ghostly passing skills. He successfully passed an opponent's defender and went straight to the opponent's penalty area. He calmly made a short pass to the middle, and Robins received the ball in the middle and scored. Manchester United led 1-0.

In the second half, Manchester United was still full of energy and their attacking firepower was very fierce. The Red Devils' midfield played very actively, and the forwards mainly roamed around to support and constantly created opportunities with their teammates. These small or continued to attack, constantly tried to shoot, and also had excellent opportunities in front of the goal. They should have been able to win easily, but the attackers were too extravagant and missed 3 or 4 excellent opportunities in a row.

After the Queens Park Rangers withstood the pressure, they started to counterattack in the last 20 minutes. At this time, the experience of the veterans was very useful, and the young players of Manchester United were a little tired. In the 87th minute, Queens Park Rangers made a cross from the left, and striker Wright headed the ball in the penalty area and equalized the score at the last moment.

Ferguson was very excited when directing the game on the sidelines. He had high hopes for several young players and was not stingy with the opportunity to give them on-site guidance. After the game, Ferguson said: "We played another draw? This is not a good result. We should have won 5:1 or even 6:1. Our young people are full of passion and courage. They played a very exciting game and created many opportunities. The only thing they lack is experience."

Although they did not win and Manchester United still had to play a make-up match, Ferguson's bold move to promote new players won the recognition of many fans.