The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 115 No Injustice

"The Red Devils' poor league performance has caught Ferguson in a vortex of doubt and criticism. Competitive sports are cruel, and Ferguson, as a head coach, has to take the blame for poor results. Of course, Ferguson did not feel wronged. He knew that playing a new kind of football with a thin lineup and serious injuries, unstable form and various bad luck, it was not surprising that the performance declined seriously."

--Inscription

Manchester United finished 11th in the season - an embarrassing number. Ferguson's promise to win the championship before the season started became a very cold joke. Not only him, but also the fans who trusted him, were almost slapped in the face by the media and opponents.

Chairman Edwards was also very embarrassed during the interview. Ferguson's second place finish last season gave him unwarranted confidence, and he thought the team could challenge for the championship, and at the very least should be in the top 4 or top 6. But now the team has regressed by 9 places, which is hard for Edwards to accept. "The board has nothing special to say about the team's performance. I hope Ferguson and his team can understand the gap, catch up quickly, and strive for greater progress."

The media kept asking, "How far is Manchester United from winning the championship now?"

How far are we from the championship?

This was Ferguson's inner secret, and he told no one.

Of course, many media outlets also mocked him for overestimating his abilities, but at that time no one really thought that Manchester United could win the championship.

For the Red Devils who have been in decline for a long time, Ferguson's difficulties have increased.

There are powerful teams everywhere in English League One, and even those inconspicuous guys can suddenly give you a blow. Some weak teams will often suffer upsets. No game is easy to play, and no opponent is easy to beat.

The Red Devils used to be a league champion and FA Cup champions a few years ago, but this is no longer enough to intimidate anyone.

Ferguson needs to build a more integrated team, a more stable team, a team that needs to maintain a high level at all times. He not only needs to focus on the core players, not only needs to increase the depth of the lineup, but also needs to pay attention to the impact of the schedule and the damage caused by injuries.

The Red Devils lost their competitiveness in the league. Not only the points, but also the scenes and processes of many games were beyond Ferguson's expectations. The feeling of smooth sailing last season has completely disappeared. Some opportunities and goals favored by luck are gone, and instead they have suffered repeated unexpected blows.

Ferguson had intended to implement a more physical style of play this season, focusing on offense, quick transitions, pressing in the frontcourt and simple passing, in order to create a concise and fast team and improve the team's integrity.

Ferguson played many familiar 442 games this season, but the effect was not good. He began to try to play a single striker, retreating the other striker to the midfield, and requiring the midfield to run more. Ferguson has particularly high requirements for the midfield. Whether it is supporting the offense or protecting the defense, it must be achieved through more running distance and more active awareness. But the Red Devils' players have performed poorly this season, and there have been huge difficulties in tactical execution, which has led to huge loopholes in the team's positioning. The players' deviation in understanding of tactics has also led to inadequate execution, and the lack of holistic thinking has led to each fighting alone. The Red Devils that finally appeared in front of the fans were the jerky positioning of each player when the team was running, the procrastination in implementing active pressing, the panic when facing the opponent's pressing, and the blindness and collapse under pressure...

This was not what Ferguson wanted to see, but he was prepared for the decline in performance. Ferguson, who was tough in character, would not shirk his responsibility and bravely admitted his failure.

Even though he felt humiliated, Ferguson held his head high.

The Red Devils' poor season is a responsibility shared by everyone from Ferguson to the players, but the biggest blame lies with three players: Robson, Strachan and McGrath.

The captain is certainly trustworthy, but Robson encountered new problems this season. Robson, who was born in 1957, is already 31 years old. He is no longer the magical captain who is full of energy and can run all the way through the game without getting discouraged. At that time, players over 30 in English Football League One had reached the end of their careers, and Robson was no exception. He was older, had more injuries, his ability to fight and his physical reserves were declining, his running speed and coverage were decreasing, and his ability to support the offense, help the defense, and control the rhythm of the game had declined a lot, and it was impossible for him to perform at his peak level.

The overall strength of the Red Devils depends entirely on Robson. The aging and deterioration of this most critical midfield core will inevitably reduce the team's combat effectiveness.

Even though Ferguson was very careful to protect his captain, and had greatly reduced the damage caused by various injuries to him, and maintained a good playing time, his ability degradation was real. Robson was not freed from the heavy responsibility of being the hub of the team. Not only did his teammates not share his pressure, but they also increased his burden because of their poor performance. Ferguson wanted to reduce his reliance on him, but in actual combat, his teammates' reliance on him was even more prominent. The opponent would naturally be ruthless to him, and specifically stared at him and surrounded him, which inevitably affected the overall strength of the team.

This season, the slightly older Robson has lost his magic of covering the penalty area from one penalty area to another. Robson has tried his best in 34 games. He still uses shouting to motivate his teammates, still directs his teammates to run and coordinate, still does not hesitate to make tackles, and gives his all for the team, but Robson cannot support the Red Devils' strong attack tactics and active offensive style of play. This season, Robson has only scored 34 goals in 4 games, which is a sharp decline compared to last season when Robson played 36 games and scored 11 goals.

Another key player is centre-back McGrath, who has had a disastrous season as a central defender for the Red Devils.

McGrath's relationship with Ferguson was the most sensitive. Ferguson disliked him very much, but he had to continue to put McGrath in the starting lineup because there was no one available at the center back position. McGrath refused Ferguson's alcohol ban and often just went through the motions during training. Alcohol finally affected him unceremoniously. The tall center back was seriously injured at the beginning of the season and had to stay in bed for a long time, suffering from the injury.

McGrath played only 18 times this season due to injury, including two games as a substitute. His performance was also very poor, and he did not play the role of a central defender at all, nor did he have the stability of the previous few seasons.

Even though he was suffering from injuries, McGrath still had a drinking habit and showed no respect for Ferguson. Once, after recovering from an injury, the coaching staff notified him that he would be included in the starting lineup, but he actually went out to eat and drink with friends the day before the game and got completely drunk. On the next game day, the drunk McGrath staggered to the locker room like a bear, unable to walk straight and unable to play.

Ferguson angrily excluded him from the squad, but this scene was exposed by reporters, causing laughter in the English football world and making Ferguson feel ashamed and angry.

Not only that, McGrath once got injured while driving under the influence and was sidelined for four weeks.

Even when McGrath was free of injury and pain and able to play, the once versatile central defender found it difficult to reproduce his previous form and did not help stabilize the defense as much as it should have.

Among the two core players, Robson's strength has declined due to his age, while McGrath is in poor condition due to alcohol and injuries, which is really fatal.

As for Strachan, the former midfield core performed poorly, it could even be described as a disaster.

Scotland's offensive conductor was also plagued by injuries. Strachan, who was also born in 1957, was injured at the beginning of the season and has been in an awkward cycle of comeback, injury, and comeback again.

Injuries have affected Strachan's appearances and performances, but his conflict with Ferguson has become an irreconcilable focus this season. Although they have worked together in the Scottish club Aberdeen, the two have always had many differences.

Strachan left the Red Devils, and Ferguson did not ease the conflict after he came to the Red Devils, let alone improve the intimacy between the two sides, let alone cultivate a personal friendship. Strachan has his own thoughts and independence, and he does not agree with some of Ferguson's tactical arrangements in the Red Devils. But in the 1987-88 season, Strachan was still very much relied on and became the commander of the midfield and frontcourt offense, giving full play to his personal advantages of dribbling and his keen vision in organizing offense. In that season, the Red Devils team was completely renewed and became the dark horse in the English League One. Strachan was also satisfied with his position and tactical position.

Strachan's condition was seriously affected by injuries this season. Even after he returned from injury, he did not recover and his help to the team became less. After recovering from injury, his speed became slow, his passing became slow, and he could not play the role of a sharp knife. Strachan's condition has turned from a thigh to a burden for the Red Devils.

Strachan's decline was too shocking, and his poor performance directly affected the team's combat effectiveness. After many poor performances, Strachan could not avoid Ferguson's hair dryer. For Strachan, who has always been very proud, he is very resistant to such rough treatment. He also hates Ferguson's irritable personality, and the contradictions with Ferguson gradually accumulated. The harm is mutual. Ferguson's attitude towards Strachan is getting worse and worse. His criticism and dissatisfaction also make Strachan in a bad mood. He can't play in many games. The Strachan who used to be like a butterfly flying through flowers and constantly inspired by organization and planning has disappeared. His core ability to promote offense and system command in the front field has also disappeared, which seriously drags down the offensive efficiency of the Red Devils.

This season, Strachan has played 21 games and scored only one goal, which is simply appalling.

Fate gave Ferguson a bad face. He did not anticipate Robson's decline at all, let alone Strachan's rapid decline. He did not expect that Whiteside, McGrath and others would be seriously injured and miss the game. He also did not expect that some substitutes and youth players in the team would be completely unable to take over their jobs, so they suffered at the beginning of the season.

Strachan was already bad, but there was even worse Whiteside. The former wonder boy of the Theatre of Dreams, the future star of talent, spent almost all this season in bed. He only had 6 appearances throughout the season and no goals. Such data is a disaster for a striker. Ferguson never expected Whiteside to be so bad. Another huge blow was Davenport, who only started 7 times and was a substitute once in the league, and scored a pitiful 1 goals!

McGrath, Strachan, Whiteside, Davenport, Anderson, Olsen... these were all main players who made great contributions last season, but they have all become injured this season and their statistics have declined alarmingly.

Ferguson also made a huge mistake when he was short of manpower. He sold Strachan in the middle of the season and failed to bring in a player to replace him in time, which further weakened the team's strength.

When the team is unstable, it often adopts a radical 433 or 451 formation, abandoning the traditional 442 formation familiar to the players, which is also very risky. Tactical confusion will reduce the team's combat effectiveness and will be weakened due to formation problems.

For a game like English Football League One, which is not friendly to novices, Ferguson has already encountered the difficulty of lack of manpower and generals, and he even chose the highest difficulty mode for his own benefit.

In the hell mode, you, Ferguson, have neither dropped any legendary equipment nor the aura of a protagonist, nor do you have any cheats. The jungler you team up with is a group of cats and dogs. Then, as a rookie player in the league, who else will die if you don't?