The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 130 No Right to Breathe

"After losing to Tottenham, the Red Devils were humiliated by Gascoigne and Tottenham fans. Ferguson could only endure it silently without saying a word. This is how it is in the arena. Everything can only be judged by results. The losing side may even be deprived of the right to breathe."

--Inscription

In the 9th round of the league, the Red Devils played away against Coventry.

Ferguson basically continued the starting lineup of the previous game, but before the game he warned the players to pay attention to luring out the snakes, to seize the opportunity of attack and defense transition, and not to force it. Coventry was ranked similar to Manchester United at this time, and they had different ideas against the Red Devils who had not won three games in a row before. They thought that with the advantage of home court, the team could sneak attack at the beginning of the game, or take advantage of the Red Devils' sluggishness to actively attack and take the opportunity to win.

Ferguson took advantage of his opponent's thinking and made some changes in the opening deployment. Ince and Robson both actively returned to the half-court to intercept and easily attacked from the center line. The two wingers also mainly used long passes and rarely attacked from the bottom.

Coventry was fooled and they began to attack actively. The midfielders and forwards quickly overwhelmed the midfield and bravely attacked the Manchester United defense.

Manchester United's counterattack tactics got a chance. In the 17th minute, Manchester United successfully intercepted the ball on the left side of the backcourt and quickly launched a counterattack. Blackmore quickly advanced after getting the ball. When he reached the bottom line of the opponent's penalty area, he made a silky inverted triangle pass to the penalty spot. Hughes was waiting and shot directly. This offensive routine was simple, fast, efficient, and almost flawless, except that Hughes kicked too straight and was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Hughes wasted a great chance to score.

In the 33rd minute of the first half, Manchester United began to take the lead. At this time, the Red Devils got a corner kick, and Ince made a strong cross into the penalty area. Manchester United's tall central defender Bruce jumped high 8 yards in front of the goal. He judged the landing point very accurately and then headed the ball into the goal. Manchester United led 1-0!

If the striker can't score, the defender will come to make up for it! Bruce's goal was very crucial, and it also showed the bravery and strength of the guards on the offensive end. After the Red Devils took the lead, the opponent launched a full-scale counterattack, and the defense was empty, which gave the Red Devils many counterattack opportunities. Mark Hughes learned from his mistakes and took the opportunity to score two goals in a row in the subsequent games. Another midfielder Phelan also scored a goal, helping the team completely secure the victory.

Coventry's fierce attack after falling behind only resulted in a fig-leaf goal, and they were eventually defeated by the Red Devils with a score of 4-1.

Three days later, the Red Devils faced the strong team Tottenham at their home stadium Old Trafford in the third round of the League Cup.

Against Tottenham, the media naturally brought up the scandal of Gascoigne letting Manchester United fly, and continued to exaggerate the contradictions between the two teams. This season, Tottenham once again spent a lot of money to introduce famous players such as Lineker, Anderton also performed well, and Venables' ambition was naturally to win the championship.

Ferguson sent out a rotation lineup that combined the old and the new in this game. Two new players, Lee Martin and Lee Sharp, started, Bruce and Pallister played as central defenders, Ings played in midfield, and Hughes and McClair continued to be the forwards.

At the beginning of the game, Ferguson's team suffered a heavy blow. Tottenham took the lead and broke through Manchester United's defense with a wing attack in the 7th minute. Lineker made a shot from the center and led Manchester United 1-0.

Manchester United had to press forward and attack after falling behind, but the team was in poor condition and could not create many opportunities. Instead, they were too anxious and their formation was scattered, with many defensive loopholes, especially the empty goal. Gascoigne played very well after no one was defending him closely. He always led Tottenham's attack and continuously displayed his power of dribbling, crossing and shooting.

Manchester United was eager to attack and equalize, but Tottenham took advantage of this and fought back comfortably. In the end, Manchester United scored two more goals like cutting melons and vegetables, and Tottenham finally gave the Red Devils a 0-3 defeat and eliminated the Red Devils from the League Cup.

The Red Devils were beaten to pieces again at home, which really disappointed the Red Devils fans who came to the home court to watch and cheer. There were more than 100 Red Devils fans in total. They wanted to watch an exciting and exciting game, but they didn't expect that the entire Red Devils team was directly pressed to the ground by Tottenham and was eliminated in disgrace. Before the game was over, the Red Devils fans at the scene exploded. The accumulated dissatisfaction was directly vented. In addition to shouting and cursing, some fans directly unfolded the slogan "out! (Dismissed)!" In extreme cases, fans even began to turn the tables and directly cheer for Tottenham.

Ferguson had an ugly look on his face. Countless fans booed and yelled like a tide, shaking the entire stadium. He could only listen expressionlessly in the command seat.

Back in the 10th round of the English League One, the Red Devils faced Southampton at home.

Ferguson insisted on his choice and sent out the same starting lineup as in the previous loss to Tottenham, but he clearly asked for the two wingers to strengthen the attack and increase the running in the frontcourt. He must speed up the rhythm and play with intensity. The home fans' on-site supervision was still strict, but more fans actively encouraged the team to move forward bravely and strive for victory before the start. The Red Devils attacked fiercely at the beginning. Robson passed the ball directly after controlling the ball in the backcourt. This ultra-long-distance through ball accurately tore through Southampton's midfield defense and directly found Mark Hughes. The Red Devils striker dribbled the ball to the right side of the opponent's penalty area and then made a low pass. McClair rushed over and stretched his foot in front of the goal to shoot the ball and easily scored the ball. The Red Devils led 1-0.

The Red Devils continued to play aggressively in the second half. Mark Hughes was very active in the frontcourt. He and McClair repeatedly pulled out to receive passes from their midfield teammates, and then cooperated with the whole team to develop the offensive forward, making the opponent's defensive strategy fail. Ins controlled the ball in the midfield area, and after many passes, it hit the penalty area. Hughes received a cross from his teammate in the penalty area, controlled the ball with his back to the goal, and overwhelmed the opponent's two defenders. He was about to dribble out of the siege, but was forcibly pulled to the ground by the opponent. In a flash, McClair rushed out from the side like a gust of wind, shot without adjustment, and scored the second goal, helping the Red Devils win the opponent 2-1!

In the 11th round of the league, the Red Devils challenged Charlton away.

The Red Devils started the game well and threatened the opponent's goal many times, but they failed to break the deadlock, which left hidden dangers for the subsequent games. Charlton relied on defense and counterattacks, and finally defeated the Red Devils 2-0 at home.

Manchester United fans were extremely disappointed. The Manchester Evening News specially published a letter from a fan. This die-hard Manchester United fan named Peter said in the letter: "We have all been deceived. Ferguson is incompetent and can only deceive people. Ferguson bought players crazily before the season, claiming that he had bought all the puzzle pieces and made up for the shortcomings, which made us full of hope. But what is the reality? The reality is that we play very badly and are rubbish. Ferguson deceived us and he is simply incapable of leading the team forward."

"Ferguson is an incompetent!"

"Ferguson must go!"

Amid the clamor for the coach to be fired, all the Manchester United players dared not say a word. They knew that the best way now was to give the coach a chance to catch his breath and win a few more games.

In the 12th round of English League One, the Red Devils defeated the strong team Nottingham Forest 1-0 at home, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Pallister scored the only winning goal of the game, which made him cry after the game. Many years later, Pallister said: "I have always been impressed by this season. I remember every game, especially this one. I usually don't want to recall the season when I just joined the Red Devils. It was very difficult at the beginning. I was criticized everywhere and there were problems in every game. I almost lost confidence and my condition was very, very bad. I need to thank Ferguson in particular because he always trusted me and always gave me the opportunity to start, even if I played very badly in the last game. I remember this game against Forest. Before the game, I thought I might not be selected in the starting lineup, but Ferguson personally told me that I would start and joked with me that he hoped I could score a goal too."

"It's magical," Pallister said. "Ferguson had joked before that I should score a goal, but it didn't happen. I didn't play well in this game, but I suddenly found some feeling of the game. It's a very strange feeling. I seemed to suddenly understand why I had to run like this, why I had to help defend with my teammates, why the opponent had to use this space... I don't know why, but suddenly I seemed to have opened my eyes."

Pallister certainly remembers that goal the most. "It's always difficult to play Nottingham Forest. They are tough, they fight hard, and they always attack us. I was full of motivation in this game and I was not afraid to fight with the opponent. I even took the initiative to go to the opponent's penalty area when the corner kick came, which gave me an excellent opportunity. I did what Bruce usually did, faking a move to shake the opponent, and then quickly got into position when my teammates sent a corner kick. Fortunately, the cross was aimed at my position, so everything went smoothly. I jumped up, headed the ball, and scored a goal. It was very smooth. This goal eventually helped the team win with difficulty. At that moment, I suddenly felt full of strength. Looking at the coach celebrating wildly in the distance, my heart was really mixed with emotions."

In the 13th round of the English Football League One, the Red Devils went to Kenilworth Road to challenge Luton.

The Red Devils played relatively easily in this match. Luton was not strong and did not adopt a defensive strategy. The game was open and fast-paced, which was very much to the Red Devils' liking. In the end, Blackmore, Hughes and Wallace each scored a goal to help the team win 3-1.

In the 14th round, Ferguson led the team to challenge Chelsea in London.

After a brief relegation and promotion, Chelsea returned to the ranks of strong teams and ranked fifth at the end of the season. In this game, the Blues did not become a multinational force, and the main style of play was still the traditional English style. They did not play a defensive counterattack tactic, but still played a high-profile style to deal with the Red Devils. The Red Devils played a lot of offensives in this game and created many opportunities in front of the goal, but whether it was Hughes, McClair, Robson, or Wallace, they all lacked scoring luck. Even if they shot at an empty goal or a close distance, they could not score. The best chance of the game was in the 5rd minute. Hughes received a straight pass from his teammate in the midfield and turned with the ball directly, creating a single-handed opportunity facing the goalkeeper. But Hughes did not seize such a great opportunity. His shot was too straight and did not deceive the opponent's goalkeeper.

Chelsea also had many chances in this game. Manchester United's central defenders played well and the goalkeeper made two key saves, preventing the opponent from scoring. In the end, the game ended with a score of 0-0, with both sides taking one point.

The commentator on the sidelines said: "It's such a waste that the Red Devils didn't take advantage of such a good situation. It seems that the players forgot to bring their shooting boots for this game, and Ferguson can't do anything about it."