The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 106 A Different Voice

"Ferguson has sparked widespread doubts and criticism this season, but there are also some different voices. His coaching ability has actually attracted the attention of many English coaches. His deployment of formations and flexible use of players, as well as his core team-building philosophy of always putting me first, have also attracted the recognition and high praise of many coaches."

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After losing to Nottingham Forest at home, the Manchester Evening News said: "Ferguson was really hurt in this game. They actually had no problems on the field. They created opportunities very easily and had a lot of opportunities in front of the goal. Even at the end they had a chance to score, but they still lost in the end. This is really unbelievable, especially when the data and performance are superior."

A few days after the game, there were reports of Strachan's transfer, and then there were rumors of infighting, the evolution of contradictions, the outbreak of conflicts... It is indeed sad to see the two Scots who had worked together twice end up like this.

The BBC published a special commentary on Ferguson's team. Stoughton said: "Why did Ferguson's team lose? Or what is Ferguson's problem now? Seven of the Red Devils' starting lineup that day were signed by Ferguson, including Leighton, Bruce, McClair and Hughes, who have long been famous stars, as well as Mal Donaghy, a versatile player transferred from Luton Town, and former Dundee United winger Ralph Milne, and Lee Sharp, who was called "Pony" by the media. It can be said that the big framework has been set up and it is also operated according to his ideas for building the team. The team also has Robson, who Ferguson trusts the most, and Strachan, who is excellent in technology and wise as the sea. Both are also core players that Ferguson trusts very much. But such a team that combines the old and the new has struggled very much during the season. Why?"

Stoughton said: "Manchester United will have difficulties against all opponents. Facing strong teams such as Arsenal and Liverpool, their performance is not enough to support the high tempo of the whole game. Their running and vitality have all hit rock bottom in the last 20 minutes. Facing mid-table teams, Manchester United has lost in various situations. They have been ambushed by opponents, defeated by opponents head-on, and reversed by opponents... Manchester United always seems to be unable to grasp the secret of winning, and various situations always occur. Even against weak teams, Manchester United has been very unstable this season, often losing to opponents' simple and rough style of play, and losing very thoroughly."

"Why is this?"

"The most crucial thing is Ferguson. His starting selection, his tactical arrangements, his formation changes and on-the-spot command, all of these will affect the final result. Ferguson has brought great changes to Manchester United this season. His team plays more aggressively, pays more attention to or tends to attack, and the requirements for the players on the court have always been very strict..."

The Red Devils returned to the league and faced Luton at home in the 27th round.

Luton's performance this season has not been good. They lack overall strength and tactical ability. Facing the Red Devils who lost the previous game, they were naturally at a disadvantage. Ferguson's team always lacks Strachan. Now Robson and Mullen are in the midfield, Bruce and McGrath are in the center back area, and McClair and Hughes are the forwards.

Manchester United tried to speed up the attack at the beginning of the game, and soon launched a fierce offensive. In the 6th minute, Robson controlled the ball and advanced in the area of ​​the opponent's penalty area. He passed the ball to McClair in the penalty area. McClair turned around and shot directly, but was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 7th minute, Manchester United launched another fast attack. Robins on the wing took the ball and quickly rushed to the opponent's baseline. He then made a strong cross to the Luton penalty area. Mullen, who came in from behind, shot the ball, but unfortunately missed. In the 18th minute, Manchester United besieged the opponent. After many transfers, Hughes and McClair passed the ball to each other in the penalty area, and then Hughes forced a shot in the penalty area, but unfortunately it was also blocked by the opponent's defender. In the 23rd and 26th minutes, Manchester United's consecutive corner kicks caused chaos in the opponent's penalty area, but none of them hit the ball to form an attack. In the 33rd minute, Manchester United launched another offensive. Hughes dribbled into the penalty area from outside the penalty area. He passed a defender, but was then tackled by the opponent. Mullen grabbed the ball again when he came from behind and passed it to McClair on the other side in time. McClair immediately shot after receiving the ball and hit the ball into the lower right corner of the opponent's goal. Manchester United took the lead 1-0!

In the second half, Manchester United continued to suppress the opponent and did not give the opponent any breathing space. In the 49th minute, Manchester United played a very accurate long pass and found Hughes accurately. Unfortunately, Hughes could not get rid of the two defenders who were pressing closely in the penalty area, and the opportunity was destroyed. In the 53rd minute, Manchester United made a cross from the left bottom, but the two forwards failed to grab the landing point again and could not make a shot. In the 67th minute, Manchester United's continuous offensive finally broke the opponent's defense. Robins on the left side of Manchester United took the ball and attacked the opponent's full-back. After passing Luton's full-back, he made a short pass with Robson, and then continued to take the ball to attack the inside of the opponent's penalty area. He did not make a reverse triangle cross until he was close to the bottom line. Hughes, the Manchester United striker in the middle, took the position in advance and made subsequent plans early. Hughes took the ball and changed direction to avoid the opponent's squeeze, and then cleverly avoided it when another defender of the opponent kicked up to grab the ball, and then made a slight adjustment and shot hard. The shot was powerful and the angle was tricky enough, and the opponent's goalkeeper and defender were unable to react in time because the distance was too close. Hughes' shot successfully broke through the opponent's goal and changed the score to 2-0.

In the last 20 minutes of the game, Manchester United created many chances, but no goals were scored. Luton was always in a messy defense, unable to resolve Manchester United's offensive pressure and unable to launch an effective counterattack.

After defeating Luton, Manchester United faced Nottingham Forest in the 28th round of the league.

This is the third meeting between the two teams this season.

This match was just one day after the last league match. In fact, the entire Manchester United team only rested for half a day after the match, and did not even complete the recovery training before rushing to Nottingham to prepare for the match. At Nottingham Forest's home ground, Ferguson's team was completely passive. On the one hand, the Red Devils' main players played two games in three days, and their physical fitness was completely insufficient. They were no match for the strong opponents who were waiting for them. On the other hand, Manchester United lacked Robson, the commander in the midfield, which made Ferguson's lineup very passive.

After the start of the game, Manchester United was completely passive and was eventually defeated very easily.

The Red Devils lost to Forest in the FA Cup and the league. At the end of the FA Cup match, Forest coach Clough made a scathing criticism of Ferguson's unwillingness to accept the result, which made the media feel like they had found a treasure, and even hoped that the two coaches would shout at each other out of dissatisfaction.

Faced with the microphone handed to him by the media, Clough was disdainful and just rolled his eyes at them.

After defeating Ferguson in the league, Clough gave Ferguson a lot of support when many media continued to criticize and question his ability. Clough specifically commented, "I don't know why the media always likes to criticize Ferguson. Is his work not good? I think Ferguson is excellent. The work he did for the Red Devils is obviously correct. Teams in the rebuilding stage will be a little unstable. Their team has been improving in my opinion. I think Alex is very opinionated and has a good vision. He has brought obvious changes to the Red Devils."

Clough's statement will not calm the football world.

The Mirror's on-site commentator criticized it very sharply, saying: "The Red Devils' performance in this game was so bad that it was sad. This was not a well-trained English League One team, but a group of defeated soldiers who had thrown away their weapons and armor. I couldn't see a whole team, nor the courage of the Red Devils players, nor their determination to counterattack when they fell behind, nor their spirit of not admitting defeat. Everything was too bad. This was not Ferguson's night."

Ferguson certainly knew that the consequence of failure would be ridicule and criticism. He sold Strachan but did not bring in strong enough new players, so he had to accept the ridicule.

Ferguson said: "I can't blame myself, it was indeed a very bad game for us. We were passive all over, physical fitness was a big problem, and our condition was also very poor. The opponent used their bodies reasonably and had the advantage in the fight, and the same was true on the field, so it's not surprising that we lost."

"We should have done a little better, if we had done that we could have avoided a lot of criticism and attacks," Ferguson concluded.

Not everyone in European football is criticizing Ferguson. In addition to the Scottish Premier League, the famous French coach Michel Platini also expressed a different view in an interview with L'Equipe. He specifically talked about Ferguson's persistence, "My evaluation of Alex? I think he is a very good coach. I met him when he was coaching in the Scottish League, and then we became friends because of Houllier. To be honest, I have great admiration for his tactical command ability and internal management ability of the team."

"Ferguson did encounter a lot of challenges in the league, but what I want to say is that this will not change his persistence. Ferguson will bring something different to the English league."

McClair was interviewed after the game. He said: "We were not in good shape in this game, but Ferguson should not be blamed. He led us to keep moving forward and make continuous progress. We also played very good games. We have been pursuing offense and investing more energy to achieve breakthroughs on the offensive end. Defense is often not convincing. The most difficult challenge is to keep emphasizing offense."

"What do I have to say about coach Ferguson? Not really. We have always been a very united collective. We will fight according to the orders given to us by the coach and fulfill the game tasks he envisions. Ferguson will encounter setbacks? Whose job will not encounter challenges and failures? All of us support him and trust him without doubt. This is my attitude."

As a core striker introduced by Ferguson himself, it is not surprising that McClair has such a strong recognition of his own coach. Another main striker of Manchester United, Hughes, is also not good at speaking, but he also speaks highly of Ferguson.

"We all know the truth about the team and we would never question the manager in the dressing room. We are very supportive and supportive of Ferguson," Hughes said.

England legend Bobby Moore said, "Ferguson gives me a very special feeling, that is, he is reviving Manchester United in the Busby era, reviving this sharp, offensive style. Maybe he learned from Jock Stein and has an indissoluble bond with Busby; or maybe he is just such a coach, an aggressive and enterprising person."

Bobby Moore said: "Whether Ferguson succeeds in the end or not, his attempts and efforts are worthy of respect. I feel that he is not incapable of winning the game with conservative tactics or scoring points through passive defense, he just disdains to do so."