The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 125 Giants Join

"Pallister was one of the most impressive new stars in the central defender position at the time, and he cost the Red Devils a high transfer fee. The media joked that one Pallister was worth six McGraths. Only Ferguson could figure out this kind of math."

--Inscription

Ferguson's promotion and completion of Ings' transfer was not all. While Ings was transferring, Ferguson was also working hard to promote another target to join. Another transfer target Ferguson wanted to buy was Gary Pallister, a rising star central defender who played for Middlesbrough.

Ferguson started a two-pronged task in the transfer market, both of which were extremely difficult.

The transfer process of Pallister joining the Red Devils was even more challenging. On the one hand, Ferguson was in a high-profile confrontation with West Ham United, determined to buy Paul Ings, even if he was willing to make things out of control. But on the other hand, he was cautious when buying Pallister, lowering his profile, persuading him, following up closely, and waiting patiently.

Gary Pallister is the most urgent reinforcement for the Red Devils in Ferguson's eyes, and it cannot even be simply understood as a replacement. Without McGrath, Manchester United's defense is shaky. Pallister is the only suitable candidate in the market now, and Ferguson is eager to use him to fill the hole left by McGrath.

Especially when Ferguson asked Aberdeen's central defender McLeish but was "persuaded" by the other party's high price, and after asking for prices from several other well-known central defenders in League One and being rejected, Pallister was almost the only hope.

As the most suitable player in his eyes, he cannot afford to make any mistakes.

Gary Pallister was born on June 1965, 6 on the Kent coast of Ramsgate, England. He was a tall man since childhood. He started his football career at Billingham Town and has always played as a central defender. Pallister has always been tall and stands out in the youth training camp. When he officially entered the professional league to play for Middlesbrough, Pallister's height had reached 30 cm. 193 cm was already a height that people looked up to in the English football circle at that time, an absolute advantage. He has always been trained as a core central defender, always taking on the task of removing the threat of high balls and the last central defender in the penalty area. Pallister was very thin when he was in the youth training camp, weighing less than 193 kilograms, like a tall and thin bamboo pole. He had enough strength in the youth training camp, but his defense and interception were very "gentle", lacking the bravery and toughness of bloody confrontation, and without the usual roughness and recklessness of English defenders.

Pallister showed some potential at Billingham Town, but he did not cause much sensation until he joined Middlesbrough. He did not train in the youth training system of a giant club, nor did he meet any famous teachers. He just grew up in a conventional way. Pallister is introverted and calm, with a calm and sharp mind. He has loved playing as a central defender since he was a child, and he likes the feeling of finally solving problems and eliminating danger. He often imitates various excellent central defenders' movements, learns and exercises his defensive skills, improves his confrontation ability, improves his speed, enhances his awareness, and grows steadily step by step.

Pallister got his chance to play in 1984, when he was just 19 years old. In that game, Pallister performed very well. Not only did he successfully clear all the high balls, directly listed the penalty area as a no-fly zone, but he also played a huge role in attacking corner kicks. In the game, he was particularly concerned about his excellent prediction. When defending, he repeatedly made predictions in advance, and directly cleared the ball that "came to his feet automatically" after standing in position, without even any physical confrontation. Pallister became famous in one battle and quickly won the opportunity to play later. After all, it is rare for English football to have such a gentle and clean defender, and it is even more rare to have a header advantage.

In 1985, Pallister joined Middlesbrough, which was then a League Two team. He played 1985 games for the team in the 86-28 season, but his performance was not outstanding. He was loaned to Darlington in the middle of the season. In the 1986-87 season, the relegated Middlesbrough team recalled Pallister and started the new season. In this season, Pallister played 44 games and gradually grew into an indispensable member of the team, helping the team to be promoted to the League Two.

In the rough environment of English League Two, Pallister grew up quickly and made continuous progress. His style became more and more distinctive. He was completely different from the traditional English defenders. He was not like the strong guys who used physical confrontation everywhere in that era. He could use his body, but he used his mind and calmness more to achieve defensive goals. He used accurate prediction and reasonable movements to position and steal the ball in advance. Many years later, Italian football superstar Maldini commented, "Pallister is different from almost all English players. I feel that he is a player with Italian genes. Although he looks rough, he is actually very delicate and calm, and very smart. He has excellent prediction and is very good at positioning in advance instead of directly using physical confrontation. This is very close to the style of Italian defenders."

Indeed, in the Middlesbrough team, although Pallister is very thin and looks like a bamboo pole, he is tall and long-legged, has good speed, turns well, and good footwork. He has no particular shortcomings. In addition to being very calm, he dares to go down to the ground to make a flying tackle at critical moments, and is also very active in physical confrontation and fighting. He is brave and tough as an English player should be. Of course, what is even more surprising is that he can always rely on his sharp eyes and natural high IQ to always predict the opponent's intentions in advance, make defensive actions in time, and resolve the danger in the penalty area.

In the 1987-88 season, Pallister continued to grow, his performance became more and more stable, and his form became better and better. In this season, he played all 44 games and helped the team to be promoted to the English League One. After leading Middlesbrough to the top league, Pallister attracted the attention of many top clubs and was called up to the England national team. In the 1988-89 season, Pallister played 37 times for the team, but the strength of the newly promoted team was still too low. In the end, the points ranked only 21st in the season and unfortunately relegated to the second division.

After falling from League One to League Two again, some talented or promising players in Middlesbrough began to seek new opportunities, and many League One teams began to inquire about prices, intending to recruit suitable players. At this time, Pallister was already known as the most promising central defender of the younger generation. Although he was not as famous as Adams, Walker, and Pearce, he was younger and more anticipated, and attracted the attention of many wealthy clubs.

Ferguson had his eye on Pallister early on, sending scouts to observe the player as early as 1987, which can be said to have been two years. In the summer of 2, after McGrath was sold, Ferguson's first choice for a central defender was naturally Pallister, so he sent someone to contact Middlesbrough before the end of the season to buy Pallister.

Ferguson hit a wall at Middlesbrough right from the start. No matter how hard the Red Devils' transfer officials tried to persuade him to raise the price, Middlesbrough remained unmoved. Middlesbrough was a rare commodity, and they were unwilling to sell off their rising star so easily. They also had their own agenda, and seeing that the Red Devils were waiting for the central defender to save them, they naturally raised the price.

The deadlock was suddenly broken by Pallister, who expressed his willingness to try a new challenge and hoped to leave the team to join the Red Devils. At this moment, Ferguson finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Middlesbrough did not relent until the end of August 1989, when the league had already started. By then, Pallister had already played three games for Middlesbrough.

After repeated negotiations, Ferguson decided not to delay any longer. In the end, the Red Devils broke the record for the transfer fee of a defender and offered Pallister a price of 230 million pounds!

Pallister joined the Red Devils at such a high price, and he was still a League Two player. McGrath had just transferred to Villa for a fraction of Pallister's price. The huge difference in the two transfer prices caused an uproar.

McGrath has a lot of experience and strength. He performed well in the first few games of the league and has become the hero of Villa's good start. Pallister did not perform well in the English League One last season. The Red Devils' high price will naturally be questioned by people.

Many media outlets criticized Ferguson for choosing the inferior over the superior, mocking him for being "short-sighted and ungrateful. He gave up a good defender and signed a bean sprout instead."

In the eyes of the media and football critics, no matter how good Pallister is, he is not worth 230 million pounds, although they were still praising Pallister and saying he was the hope of England's central defender. Some media said sourly, "Pallister looks like a stupid cow, and a skinny cow. He is afraid of physical confrontation, so he plays clean football. He is introverted and docile at heart. He must be timid and afraid of things. It is difficult for him to achieve success in the Red Devils. The advantage of height? That does not mean he is good at heading. It is difficult for him to gain an advantage in the header."

Pallister certainly doesn't look as strong as McGrath. The Sun's ridicule was very sharp, "Ferguson wants a toothpick to play as a central defender? Can such a defense withstand the bombardment?"

Ferguson was dismissive of the media's comments and was not worried about the fans' doubts. Ferguson automatically filtered out the outside world's sarcasm and ridicule, and he had no time to pay attention to the outside world's noise. Facing the doubts of the board of directors, Ferguson responded appropriately. He believed that Pallister was a completely overlooked gem, and he was very young. The Red Devils did not spend an unreasonable amount of money, but actually made a profit.

Ferguson said: "Many people are worried that Pallister will not adapt to the team's style and the intensity of the League One game. Some people are also worried that Pallister must have a big upgrade in technology and will to meet the requirements. This is not true."

Ferguson said: "I am very happy that the team can buy Pallister. This is a major victory for us in the transfer market. Pallister has played in English League One and it was also difficult in English League Two before. He had no problem adapting before and I believe he will have a better performance in the Red Devils because we have better teammates here. Will Pallister be under greater defensive pressure because we tend to be offensive? Not really. Offense will reduce defensive pressure and he can even take advantage of headers. He is not good at confrontation? Lack of strength? There is such a possibility, but I think it is easy to solve. Gaining weight and increasing strength are the two easiest goals to achieve. I think he is so smart and will adapt to our team quickly."

Ferguson said: "Is Pallister thin? The body is the easiest part to change. I firmly believe in his mental strength. He is never afraid of confrontation, never passively defends, and always takes the initiative to face the opponent's forwards. We have a tough guy like Bruce, and now Pallister just complements him."

In the first game after joining the Red Devils, Ferguson arranged Pallister to start. As a result, the center back area on his side was used as the main attack direction by the opponent, and Pallister's defense area was frequently attacked. And because of the unfamiliarity with Bruce, the lack of tacit understanding with the full-backs, and the unfamiliarity with the midfielders, Pallister Alexander. The more critical reason is that in a team like the Red Devils, everything is of high standard. And Pallister is indeed thin, and the opponent's impact and active pursuit of confrontation made him suffer a lot.

"It's a nightmare start, Pallister will find that the Theatre of Dreams is designed to give him nightmares. This is not the club he is familiar with, and everything will be difficult." Naturally, the media after the game did not miss the opportunity to criticize Pallister. They believed that the thin English defender lacked protection and support and was completely unable to defend in the middle.

Manchester Evening News said: "Are Ferguson and the Red Devils disappointed? After all, the performance of the central defender who created the English transfer record was too eye-catching. Pallister's level is as immature and fragile as a youth team player. He can even be called fragile."

Pallister had a bad debut and was almost emotionally broken. But Ferguson didn't care. He still trusted him and gave him more advice and encouragement. After the game, Ferguson talked to him and said, "We have made a start and we must keep going. I believe in your potential and I believe you will stand out again soon. Our team style will be more and more offensive, and the defense line's responsibility is to eliminate the danger of the opponent's counterattack. Your defense needs a stronger body and the help of your teammates."

"Go and have a good conversation with Bruce. I believe you two will become a very compatible pair."

"Of course, don't forget to eat more meat and increase nutrition. You need to gain muscle and weight quickly. I want a giant over 90 kilograms, not the fawn I have now!"