The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 121 Spending Money Like Crazy

"After the ruthless cleansing, Ferguson waved his check and became a big buyer of players in the transfer window. He tried every means to pursue those suitable players, tried hard to negotiate with multiple targets, and finally completed a number of important signings. The Red Devils seemed very crazy this summer, and the operation of constantly breaking the transfer fee record attracted the attention of the entire English football world."

--Inscription

In addition to cleaning up the big-name stars, Ferguson also sent away several players such as Olsen. At the same time, recruiting players was also put on the important agenda.

Ferguson knew that the Red Devils' youth training camp could not provide support, and the team's large-scale reconstruction could only be achieved by buying players. As before, Ferguson's situation was not optimistic this summer, and his team encountered many difficulties in recruiting players. The Red Devils are not very attractive now. Without the aura of the championship, the team is said to have big problems internally, and the coach is not particularly famous. Many players are not motivated to join, let alone emphasize the "children's dream of the devil".

The only thing that can make players and agents make up their minds is the salary. The Red Devils' results are not attractive, and Ferguson himself has no aura, so the money speaks. This summer, Ferguson found that the club suddenly became generous and fully supported the signings, which surprised him a little.

Edwards was very generous, which made Ferguson a little flattered. Now it seemed that Edwards was willing to offer a high price for any target he liked, changing his previous hesitation and hesitation.

Why? Ferguson didn't know, and he didn't want to care.

"The Red Devils are going to make a big purchase!"

In order to ensure that the players made a decision as soon as possible, Ferguson personally met with the target players to communicate and urged them to sign as soon as possible. If the players could not make up their minds, he would let Charlton personally take action. If that still did not work, Ferguson would even invite Busby to act as a lobbyist. Ferguson was extremely serious about the matter of signing players.

After unremitting efforts, Ferguson signed many players, from defense, midfield to forward, and achieved several goals.

Among them, Neil Webber was the main player of the traditional powerhouse Nottingham Forest, which had just won the League Cup. Central defender Gary Pallister came from Middlesbrough, breaking the central defender transfer record; midfielder Paul Ince came from West Ham United, once again breaking the English transfer fee record; left midfielder Danny Wallace joined from Southampton, Phelan joined from Norwich, and Ferguson also loaned goalkeeper Les Healy.

After a summer transfer window, the Red Devils introduced 6 players!

最令媒体感到惊讶的是红魔流水般花钱，弗格森得到的引援资金超过了800万英镑：230万镑的帕里斯特；150万镑的因斯；75万镑的迈克-费兰；150万镑的尼尔-韦伯；130万镑的丹尼-华莱士......这里面几乎每一笔转会，都是当时最昂贵的价格。

Rich Alliance!

Among these players, Danny Wallace was personally signed by Ferguson, who spent £130 million on the Red Devils. Danny Wallace was born in Greenwich and joined Southampton at the age of 13. On November 1980, 11, Wallace came on as a substitute in the league away at Old Trafford, becoming Southampton's youngest player at the age of 29 years and 16 days. Wallace was only 313 cm tall at the time, but he was extremely fast and very sharp when playing on the wing. On March 163, 1984, Wallace scored twice against Liverpool, and then scored a hat trick against Coventry, helping the team to beat the opponent 3-16. In 8, Wallace was selected for the England national team and scored a goal in his debut, and was hailed as the new sharp knife of England's wing. In the 2-1986 season, Wallace reached the first peak of his career. He scored and assisted in double figures in the league. In the following season, Wallace played stably and scored and assisted in double figures again, gaining a firm foothold in the English League One. Ferguson saw his power when he led the team to play against Southampton and praised him highly. He directly offered a price of 1986 million pounds to buy him this summer. This was the most expensive transfer fee in Southampton's history, and the Saints directly sent Wallace out.

Wallace said, "I remember Ferguson met me at the time and he personally handled the deal. I had never thought about joining the Red Devils before, but when he said he was interested in me, I didn't hesitate at all."

Wallace later recalled this period of history with pride, "My deepest impression was not Ferguson's personal invitation, but the stunned expression of the Southampton chairman. The price Ferguson offered was enough for the Southampton board to roll out the red carpet for him. And when I came to the Red Devils, the Red Devils fans gave me a warm welcome. I quickly integrated into the locker room and successfully became a starter. Ferguson has a bad temper? I don't think so. Even when the Red Devils are at their lowest point, Ferguson will not lose his mind. His anger is often because the players play poorly. Although he is under tremendous pressure, he is still passionate about me."

Wallace soon discovered that the locker room's trust and support for Ferguson was unparalleled, without any infighting or conflicts. Even when Wallace himself was not performing well, Ferguson would talk to him first to help him get rid of his negative emotions. Ferguson said, "I have a huge responsibility to coach the Red Devils, and bringing you in to strengthen the squad is one of my important decisions. I think you have strong confidence and will not give up because of failure and difficulties, nor will you be defeated by criticism. We will win more games and win the championship."

Wallace was Ferguson's choice for the wing attack tactics, and Ferguson bought Phelan for the purpose of strengthening the midfield. Mike Phelan, born on September 1962, 9, was Bruce's teammate in Norwich. In the just-concluded 24-88 season, Phelan's performance was very exciting. He not only played well in the midfield, but also had outstanding command and coordination skills, leading the team to fourth place in the league. Bruce tried his best to recommend his teammate to Ferguson, and Ferguson had no doubt about Phelan's ability and generously paid 89 pounds.

Phelan said: "I was playing well for Norwich, but suddenly the coach said Ferguson was going to buy me. Norwich had no intention of retaining me, which made me very disappointed and even a little frustrated. I met with Ferguson soon and quickly decided to join. When I walked out of Old Trafford, I saw Bruce waiting for me, and I felt a passion in my heart."

Neil Webber's joining was exactly the same as Wallace's. As the main player of the Champions League champion Nottingham Forest, Ferguson agreed to the opponent's transfer fee of 150 million pounds without any bargaining.

As for the central defender that the Red Devils needed most, Ferguson initially tried to sign his old subordinate, Aberdeen's core defender McLeish, but the negotiations were not smooth. McLeish said: "Ferguson had agreed with the chairman of the Aberdeen club at the time that he could take several players from the team, including Jim Leighton, Willie Miller and me. But later I don't know what happened, Ferguson broke his promise to me. I am very sorry that I can't continue to play for Alex."

McLeish was 30 years old at the time and was the core of Aberdeen's central defender, but Edwards did not quite agree with Ferguson's recommendation and could not accept Aberdeen's asking price of 80 pounds.

After failing to sign McLeish, Ferguson continued to recruit players in English football. This time, he set his sights on rising stars Pallister and Ings, and was determined to spend a lot of money to buy them. In the end, these two English rising stars consumed Ferguson's patience and experienced countless arguments and conflicts. They were able to join the Red Devils only after the start of the new season of English Football League One.

A brand new Red Devils appeared in front of the media: goalkeeper Leighton, substitute Les Healy, goalkeeper Woltz; defenders Lee Martin, Donaghy, Anderson, Bruce, Pallister, Blackmore, Duxbury; midfielders Robson, Webb, Wallace, Phelan, Ings, Beardsmore and newcomer Lee Sharp; forwards McClair, Mark Hughes and Robins, Colin McCann, these players became Ferguson's new team lineup.

Ferguson's transfer operations in the summer aroused the envy of many people and also received a lot of criticism. Although Webber came from the championship team Nottingham Forest, he was not a core player in Clough's system. Many media believed that Ferguson suffered a big loss at the price of 150 million. When Pallister came to the Red Devils, he was still a tall and thin man. No one was optimistic that he could replace McGrath. Ferguson was also severely slaughtered by Middlesbrough. The Scottish media even ridiculed the Red Devils, "McLeish, who was blind and didn't want a hero, chose Pallister, who was useless, and even spent more money in vain!" Ings' transfer was a blockbuster deal. West Ham United kept holding on to the price. In the end, Ferguson completely tore the warm veil of the two teams in order to force Ings. As for players like Wallace and Phelan, they were not superstars in the English League One at the time, and the premium of the Red Devils was a bit scary.

With the Red Devils' appearance changed drastically, how good are the new players? This is a common question among fans and the media. No one is optimistic about Ferguson, and his team is more like a ragtag army put together at short notice. The superstars left, and the newcomers are unremarkable players. The only superstar Robson is one year older, so the overall fighting power can be imagined. Ferguson also admitted during a discussion with fans that it would take time, "Of course I am confident that the team will improve. Our current team is full of vitality and will not be as dull as before, but when it comes to competing for the league championship, it will take more time."

Ferguson said: "The Red Devils will compete for the highest honor in the league. This is the goal I have always insisted on and it will not change. We will face a lot of competition this season and building a new team will go through an unstable period, which is to be expected. Our job now is to make every effort to win the championship. We will integrate the team quickly and bring better games and more victories to the fans."

Ferguson said confidently at the press conference: "Our team has undergone a substantial player replacement and personnel adjustment. I believe the team is stronger than last season. We will impact on the championship, whether it is the league or the cup. We will let the fans see wonderful football and a passionate Red Devils team."

Ferguson was so high-profile that few media were optimistic about him. The odds that bookmakers offered for the Red Devils to win the championship dropped to the lowest since Ferguson came to the Red Devils. Huge investment also means huge risks, and the odds of Ferguson being fired hit a record high.

In addition to introducing strong reinforcements, Ferguson also transferred a large number of youth training players to the first team list in the summer, including Mark Bosnich, Colin McCann, Ian Wilkinson, Ben Torley, as well as Lee Sharp and Maiorana. He firmly believes that some of these newcomers will stand out and become real main players.

Tottenham Hotspur also made a lot of noise in this summer window, signing super striker Gary Lineker. They formed a pair of the most dazzling double stars in the household registration. Tottenham Hotspur coach Venables was ambitious and issued a slogan to win the championship in the new season.

Liverpool lost the league title last season, but they are still strong. Dalglish also bravely announced that the team's goal for the new season is to win the league title, which will comfort the families of the unfortunate fans.

Arsenal, on the other hand, remained on the sidelines in the summer as manager Graham believed their squad was at its peak and was eager to aim higher.

Among the favorites predicted by the media, Liverpool still ranks first, while the Red Devils are already considered a mid-table team. After all, all the media emphasize that Ferguson has been in Manchester for three years since 1986, but has never achieved anything. His fellow countryman Dalglish won the league championship in his first year as Liverpool coach, and another Graham, who was in almost the same period, also brought Arsenal to the pinnacle of the league championship.