The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 103 A difficult rebound

"The core players have returned from injury, the young players are showing their potential, the tough schedule is gradually being completed, and Ferguson's team has finally survived the most difficult period."

--Inscription

After returning to the league, the Red Devils played against Millwall at home.

Millwall is not very strong, their goal is to avoid relegation, and they just want to get a point in this game. The Red Devils' starting lineup lacked Robson, Strachan, Whiteside, Davenport, McGrath, Anderson, etc. Bruce, Donaghy, Gibson, Robins, Hughes, Gatton, Hughes, etc. became the starters of this game.

Although it was thought that it would be more difficult for the Red Devils to defeat their opponents before the game, the Red Devils still attacked actively with a weakened team. In this game, Manchester United's core strikers Hughes and McClair performed very well. They suddenly showed their strength when they were not optimistic, and made many dribbling attacks and goal-scoring in front of the goal. The Red Devils launched a wing attack in the 12th minute. Blackmore drove the ball straight into the opponent's penalty area and made a cross. Manchester United striker Hughes suddenly succeeded in grabbing the front point and then passed it back to Blackmore, who flashed out of the gap and shot directly into the goal, helping Manchester United take the lead. Afterwards, Manchester United played very actively and proactively with the cheers of the fans, frequently creating opportunities to hit the opponent's goal, causing chaos in the opponent's penalty area. The goal was shaky and ready to be captured again at any time.

The opponent Millwall has been playing in the lower leagues for a long time. They have a tough style but simple tactics. They were beaten by Manchester United not long after the start of the game. The whole Millwall team was confused and didn't know whether to counterattack or continue to defend. They were at a loss in the subsequent game time and did not cause too much trouble to the Red Devils team, which was a combination of new and old. Not only that, Manchester United did not intend to stop, they still hoped to continue attacking to expand the score. In this way, Manchester United continued to launch wave after wave of attacks, and Millwall soon became passive across the board, unable to withstand the impact of the Red Devils, and the defense line made continuous mistakes.

In the 53rd minute of the second half, Manchester United launched another wing attack. At this time, Lee Martin dribbled the ball, and McClair passed the ball to the middle. Gill inserted and shot, helping Manchester United score another goal. In the 77th minute of the second half, Manchester United launched another sharp attack. McClair retreated to the edge of the penalty area to receive the ball, and then continued to advance with the ball. He passed an opponent's defender in the penalty area and passed the ball to the right side of the penalty area about 16 yards away from the goal. At this time, Hughes received the ball with his back to the goal, exerted his strength to push away the opponent's central defender, turned around and shot, and directly shot the ball into the opponent's goal corner.

In the final minutes, neither side launched much offensive, and the referee blew the final whistle. Manchester United fought hard and easily defeated their opponent with a score of 3-0.

In the 22nd round of the league, the Red Devils traveled to Upton Park to challenge West Ham United.

Before this game, the Red Devils welcomed back Robson and Strachan who had recovered from injuries, and the midfield was greatly strengthened. In contrast, the opponent West Ham United lost a lot of main players due to consecutive games, and other players were also lacking in form, and this game was also slightly conservative.

Ferguson's team tested the opponent for a few minutes after the opening, and then turned to an active offensive posture. Although West Ham United was at a disadvantage, they played well with the cheers of the home fans. They did not park the bus at the beginning, but only thought about scoring points through defensive counterattacks.

The two sides went back and forth, and both had many chances, but compared with the two, Manchester United was better at grasping the ball. In the 21st minute of the first half, Manchester United made a cross from the left. This English-style long pass was grasped by Hughes. He rushed to the front point in the penalty area and headed the ball directly into the upper right corner of the opponent's goal, and Manchester United led 1-0. In the 37th minute, after Manchester United's many crosses in the frontcourt were cleared by the opponent, they organized an attack in the middle again. Robson took the ball to the top of the penalty area and passed it directly. McClair understood and cut into the left space 9 yards in front of the goal. After receiving the ball, he shot directly without stopping and Manchester United expanded the score to 2-0. After West Ham United launched a large-scale attack in the second half and scored a goal, Manchester United launched a continuous offensive again. Strachan dribbled the ball on the left and passed it to the middle after facing the siege of many opponents. Robson and McClair made a short pass in the middle, and then immediately passed it to Robins who was in the open space on the right. Robbins adjusted the ball in the upper corner of the penalty area, aimed at the opponent's blind spot and shot hard, directly scoring the goal.

In the end, the Red Devils successfully won their opponents with a score of 3-1.

After this round of the league, the Red Devils returned to their home ground to play a replay of the second FA Cup match against Queens Park Rangers.

In this game, Ferguson put away many young players and sent out many returning main players. Manchester United, which fielded a full lineup of main players, was in better condition than before, and naturally had more strength than its opponent. On the other hand, Queens Park Rangers had lost many main players due to too many games, so they could not send out a full lineup of main players in this game. As a result, Manchester United quickly suppressed their opponents after the start of the game. McClair showed his power again after scoring against West Ham in the previous game, scoring two goals in a row in this game, making the opponent unable to resist. Robson's condition was getting better and better. In this game, he dribbled the ball from about 30 yards in the middle of the second half and shot hard, scoring a wonderful long shot to help the team expand the score.

The Red Devils eventually defeated their opponents 3-0 and advanced to the fourth round.

Ferguson said after the game: "I don't really care about the final score, but I hope the media and fans will give Robson more applause and respect. Our captain faced many challenges, but still showed a superb level and extraordinary courage. His role was not just a goal, but supported our entire midfield."

Ferguson also emphasized, "I hope our young players can learn from Robson. This is the performance of a great player. No matter in what environment, Robson's performance is unparalleled."

In the fourth round of the FA Cup, the Red Devils' opponent is Oxford United.

In this game, the Red Devils went on a killing spree amid the cheers of the home fans, but Oxford United no longer had the arrogance of the past. In the 11th minute of the first half, Manchester United made a cross from the left, forcing the opponent to clear the ball out of the baseline and then won a corner kick. Strachan made a cross from the corner kick, and Bruce scored with a header at the back post, opening the door to scoring for the team. In the 23rd minute, Manchester United's midfielder intercepted the ball and turned to counterattack. Strachan took the ball from the left and passed it to Robson after passing a defender. The Manchester United captain took the ball in the middle of the penalty area and shot directly, changing the score to 2-0. In the 38th minute, Manchester United made a comeback and continued to set off a wave of attacks. Hughes retreated from the middle to get the ball, and then made a short pass with McClair. After passing the opponent's central defender, he quickly shot the ball, 3-0! In the second half, the Red Devils still did not relax. Ferguson replaced several young players, and the team still played vigorously and forced the opponent to score an own goal. In the end, Manchester United won the game 4-0 and advanced smoothly.

After getting through the tough schedule, Ferguson's Red Devils can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Now that several of Manchester United's main players have recovered from their injuries, the team has gradually recovered to a good competitive state. They have also begun to show their advantage of being able to fight a protracted war on multiple fronts, using a wave of consecutive victories to rebound strongly and quickly grab points in the standings.

Back in the league, the Red Devils faced Tottenham in the 23rd round.

Ferguson's team once again encountered a strong opponent, and the media once again focused on this battle.

Tottenham was still at the top of the standings at this time, and they were increasingly playing around Gascoigne, and their style of play looked more gorgeous. Ferguson did not dare to neglect it. He conducted tactical analysis and research in advance and put out a more stable 451 formation. The biggest change from the traditional 442 formation was that when Robson and Strachan both started, McClair was still moved back to become an attacking midfielder, while Robson was placed in a further position, mainly responsible for interception, confrontation and coverage in the midfield. In addition, before this game, the core central defender McGrath returned from injury, but Ferguson still carefully put him on the bench. Donaghy and Milne continued to get the chance to start, Mark Hughes continued to play the single striker at the front, and Mullen and Robbins had the opportunity to start.

When the game officially started, Ferguson's 451 was very flexible, and could be changed to 433 or 442. The formation change was full of offensiveness, and the Red Devils became very aggressive. Ferguson's tactical deployment for this game was very detailed, and his arrangements on the offensive end were very bold. When Manchester United attacked with the ball, they moved Strachan forward and pressed him to the edge of the penalty area (this area originally belonged to Robson or McClair), and McClair played with Hughes as a double striker, and the team formation became a trident. Beside Robson, Lee Sharp and Robins actively moved closer to assist the captain in delivering more balls to the opponent's hinterland, and Mullen also provided more insertions and support.

With this deployment, the Red Devils changed their formation from 442 to 433, and even to 343, emphasizing more pressure and attack in the midfield. After the game started, the Red Devils' new tactics caught the opponent off guard, quickly gained an advantage, and launched a fierce offensive.

Tottenham was caught off guard and appeared to be in a panic. They were already a little tired at this stage. The team's formation was very wide and did not shrink tightly. They did not maintain a reasonable rhythm and strong pressing, leaving enough space for the Red Devils to attack. Strachan performed very well in the frontcourt. His dribbling, passing, passing, and shooting were all very threatening. He frequently launched attacks in the opponent's penalty area, creating killing opportunities for Hughes and McClair. McClair played very smartly. In the 17th minute, he made a high-speed diagonal run into the penalty area, keenly received Strachan's pass, quickly got rid of the ball after taking it, and then shot hard, 1-0!

In the 21st minute, Manchester United launched another attack. Hughes made a powerful shot in the penalty area, but it was blocked by the opponent's central defender; in the 27th minute, Tottenham's Gascoigne made a long pass, and Smith's header from the center was not powerful enough, and the ball was successfully caught by Manchester United goalkeeper Leighton; in the 33rd minute, Manchester United's Mullen passed the ball from the right, and Strachan received the ball near the corner of the penalty area and made a fake move to pass the opponent in one go, but unfortunately his subsequent pass did not find Hughes in the penalty area; in the 47th minute of the second half, Tottenham made a cross from a corner kick, and there was chaos in Manchester United's penalty area, and they were almost attacked by the opponent; in the 57th minute, Manchester United's midfielder immediately launched an attack after a steal. Strachan made a fake move left and right at the top of the penalty area, then passed the opponent's intercepting midfielder, dribbled into the penalty area, and made a wonderful pass to Hughes when the two opponent's defenders were preparing to double-team. Unfortunately, Hughes' subsequent shot was too straight and hit the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 65th minute, McClair's long shot missed. A minute later, Tottenham launched an attack on the right. Gascoigne dribbled past Mullen and entered the penalty area, but his subsequent shot was a bit outrageous and hit the target directly.

After the 75th minute, Manchester United slightly controlled the tempo, and the opponent continued to attack. However, almost all the Red Devils players retreated to the defensive third zone, Bruce controlled all kinds of high balls from crosses, and Robson kept sweeping around the edge of the penalty area, leaving Tottenham with only futile long shots and various unreliable crosses. Their attack was just a lively one in the end, without much effect.

Ferguson said after the game: "We played well today. Not only were we full of energy in the frontcourt attack and created many opportunities, but we also locked Gascoigne in the midfield, making it difficult for him to find his teammates and play unrestrained football. Our strategy was very effective, and the whole team was highly focused and in their best form. I believe that such a team can beat everyone."

Ferguson obviously knew where the biggest threat of the opponent was, that was Gascoigne. Tottenham's lineup was centered around Gascoigne, allowing this imaginative English midfielder to create opportunities. Ferguson specifically arranged players to closely guard Gascoigne, and also deployed players to double-team him. Gascoigne encountered all kinds of crazy blockades and close services, and there was not a single minute of leisure, not a single minute of freedom. Gascoigne tried very hard to make different attempts, but in the end they were all nipped in the bud. Gascoigne strengthened his dribbling breakthroughs in the second half, and once tried a powerful long shot, but these were ultimately ineffective under the united defense of the Red Devils players.

Ferguson strangled Gascoigne with tactics, but he also knew that the team's consumption was too great and the price paid was a bit too high.