The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 136 A strange fate

"The tough struggles in the league told me that I was still the unlucky Ferguson who could be fired at any time because of failure; but the FA Cup journey told me that I was the lucky Alex who was always protected by the mysterious fate."

--Inscription

The Red Devils won a crucial victory in the FA Cup and successfully advanced to the next round. Ferguson passed the most dangerous period of his coaching crisis.

Edwards was completely relieved by the game, and he repeatedly insisted in the post-match press conference that he never intended to fire Ferguson. Edwards said: "We cannot conclude that this season is a failure now, because we can still charge towards the FA Cup championship, and everything is still possible. Our board of directors firmly believes that the team will continue to improve, and Ferguson will definitely lead the team to success."

The noise quickly disappeared within the management. Of course, Edwards and his board of directors still fully respected and supported the head coach. They never criticized Ferguson's use of troops or Ferguson's tactical play, let alone interfered with it.

At that time, the Red Devils board actually had more important work to do. Ferguson used a life-and-death victory to draw the focus of the football world back to himself, and the club also benefited, which was of great help to Edwards and others in promoting the club's listing.

Many years later, Edwards published his autobiography, in which he also described this thrilling period. He repeatedly stressed that he was bold and careful, fully anticipated Ferguson's later success, and had no intention of firing Ferguson at the time. Edwards even said that he had some credit for winning against Forest, because he and Charlton and other directors were present at the scene, "Our actions expressed our support for Ferguson."

Charlton came to the stadium to cheer the players, which is always effective. But when Edwards watched the game, most of the players didn't feel anything.

Manchester United reporter Mikel said: "Come on for our players and coaches. They are actually under tremendous mental pressure. I personally saw Ferguson's face become haggard. After a few games, he aged 10 years in a blink of an eye. This kind of pressure is very terrible, and part of it is imposed by us fans."

Ferguson was under the greatest pressure, and he also had doubts about his own tactics and team-building methods because of the failure. He needed more courage than others to persevere, and after this crucial victory, he hoped that everything would get better, hoping that the team would stop the decline and soar to the sky after the bad times.

After the game, Ferguson called all the coaches and players to review the game. He first sincerely thanked everyone and emphasized the importance of unity and fighting. Ferguson said: "We have now entered the next round of the FA Cup. We will continue to move forward and strive for the FA Cup championship. We have suffered setbacks in the league, but the FA Cup championship is a firm goal. I think it is an achievable hope. I have the confidence and ability to lead the team to fight for this championship."

A week after the FA Cup match, the Red Devils returned to their home ground to face Derby County in the 22nd round of the English League One.

In this game, Ferguson used the same starting lineup that eliminated Forest in the previous game, but the team did not have the sense of crisis of a do-or-die battle, and played a little too relaxed. After the game started, the Red Devils were in a weak state, and even at home they did not have full initiative. Although the Red Devils players still managed to take the initiative in the midfield, many of their attacks were short-lived after reaching the frontcourt. In many cases, the Red Devils' attacks not only failed to tear open the opponent's defense, but were instead beaten very badly by the opponent's counterattacks.

Derby County played very patiently, and after trying several quick counterattacks, they became more patient and prepared to give the Red Devils a hard blow. Even though the Red Devils scored a goal first in the 35th minute, Derby County quickly equalized the score through a quick attack.

In the second half, Manchester United was unwilling to be equalized by the opponent and continued to launch a fierce attack. Derby County's counterattack was very effective. They patiently maintained the flexibility of the defense line, and then quickly turned to counterattack after Zhang intercepted the ball. Simply through long passes, they directly knocked down the Red Devils who were too far forward in the defense line.

In the 79th minute of the second half, Derby County launched a sharp counterattack. After stealing the ball in the backcourt, they moved to the left and immediately passed the ball to the Manchester United penalty area. Rubis sprinted forward at high speed, quickly surpassed the two chasing Manchester United midfielders, and then surpassed a defender. After getting the ball, it was almost a one-on-one opportunity. At this time, he did not seek credit, and calmly passed the ball to his teammates in front of the Manchester United goalkeeper. Another striker of Derby County, Speed, ran all the way to meet the ball and easily scored the ball into the empty goal.

Manchester United is trailing 1-2!

Despite Manchester United's frantic attack in the remaining 10 minutes, it was of no avail. In the end, the Red Devils suffered a bitter defeat at the Theatre of Dreams, being defeated by their opponents with a score of 1-2.

"What kind of team is this? They were able to beat Forest with a weakened squad, but lost to Derby County, who are even worse ranked!"

The commentator at the scene couldn't believe it and shouted out some harsh comments.

Nearly 100,000 fans flocked to Old Trafford to watch the game, but the match was really depressing. One Red Devils fan was interviewed on the spot and could not suppress his anger, "We were thinking of welcoming the joy of victory, but they fed us shit on the spot!"

"All these players, and the coach who directed the team, are all garbage! Garbage! Garbage!"

All the Red Devils players hung their heads, as if they were trapped in a spell. This game was a home game, and the opponent Derby County was a much weaker team than Forest, but Manchester United had no way to deal with it. Even if they had the upper hand, even if they created countless opportunities, even if the team behind played very tenaciously and fought to the end, they still couldn't win.

In the 23rd round of English League One, the Red Devils visited Carrow Road to challenge Norwich.

Norwich is a familiar opponent to the Red Devils. Ferguson sent out all the main players, but they were still full of loopholes and were quickly defeated by the opponent's simple play. Norwich's play is tougher and simpler than Derby County, and the formation has more space. It was originally Ferguson's favorite type, but the Red Devils have suffered a lot when they met them in many games. The two goals they lost in this game were almost all defeated by crosses. Manchester United didn't even have the advantage in this game. The two teams just came into contact. Norwich played very actively. They established an advantage through a simple attack in the 11th minute. Thomson passed Manchester United's midfielder on the left, and then he made a long cross to the penalty area. The pair of central defenders in the Manchester United penalty area failed to stop Norwich's Peters from rushing, and the goal was also broken by this header bombing.

The Red Devils were at a loss as they fell behind, and were once again taught a lesson by Bruce's former teammates. In the 72nd minute of the second half, Norwich once again made a long pass, and the ball once again landed accurately in the Red Devils' penalty area. As a result, Bruce and Pallister, two tall central defenders, were unable to grab the ball, and were unable to stop the opponent's fierce rush, and finally could only watch their own goal being blasted open for the second time.

In this game, the return of the Red Devils Ings and Wallace did not help with offense or defense. Manchester United did not even have any offensive momentum. The team struggled and lost another game.

Bruce said after the game: "I can only congratulate Norwich again for their victory. I am very grateful to the fans here. They have always been very good to me. It is normal for them to boo me in this game. I don't mind at all. I will continue to work hard in the Red Devils. This is a team worth my hard work. They have huge ambitions and I am willing to fight for it."

Norwich fans retorted, "We celebrate the victory, while Bruce can only emphasize his own ambition. Manchester United is a very good team, is this how they lose game after game?!"

The team suffered two consecutive defeats in the league, and Ferguson's reputation from the FA Cup victory was almost completely consumed. The two opponents that Manchester United lost to were not strong, and Ferguson's coaching seemed even weaker.

The voices in the media calling for Ferguson to be sacked are getting louder and louder. The consecutive defeats in the league have exceeded the limit. They believe that the fans will not tolerate their team being in such a state of decline and being so humble in the league.

Amid the crisis, Ferguson's team faced the fourth round of the FA Cup.

In this game, the Red Devils played away against Hereford United, a little-known civilian team that had never even played in the second division. Facing a weak team, Ferguson finally had the confidence to have the last laugh. But even so, the favorite Red Devils had a hard time. They did have an advantage, and the opponent did not pose any threat, but the Red Devils could not score for a long time. After many attempts, Manchester United created a great opportunity in front of the goal in the 77th minute of the second half. Hughes did not shoot impulsively after dribbling into the penalty area, but accurately moved to the other side. Teammate Blackmore rushed in at high speed and shot hard, aiming directly at the opponent's goal corner and shooting successfully.

It was with this goal that Manchester United finally eliminated their opponent 1-0 and advanced to the next round.

With a smooth advancement in the FA Cup, Ferguson's position as coach was further strengthened.

But the media challenged Ferguson again, "Do you think it's an honor to win against a civilian team like this? Is there any point in struggling like this? It's just a matter of delaying a few more games, why can't you be more decisive?"

Ferguson was naturally unhappy. "Do we have no right to breathe even if we win? No matter how ugly a victory is, it is still a victory. Would you cheer for the loser? Then why didn't you show such warmth when we lost so many games before?"

Billy, a Manchester United legend and meritorious player, believes that the team should change its coach as soon as possible. He no longer has hope for Ferguson. "Although we need to take all factors into consideration when measuring the team's performance, the league results and performance are the most basic anyway. Judging from Manchester United's standards over the past 10 years, Ferguson's performance is not as good as those of his predecessors. If Manchester United still hopes to rise and they still have the idea of ​​revival, they should make up their minds now, change their coach immediately, and start another stage of reconstruction."

"It's difficult to admit defeat, but it's the courage a big club needs."

Whether Ferguson stays or is fired depends on whether he stays in the FA Cup or struggles in the league.

Even the most experienced commentators can't make a conclusion on this situation. If we only look at the league, Ferguson's Red Devils will continue to struggle and Ferguson should have been sacked long ago. But if we only look at the FA Cup, Ferguson's luck is so good that they are likely to win the championship.

This has become a strange sight in English football. Ferguson has brought pain to the Red Devils fans, but also given them expectations.

Ferguson and his Red Devils struggled through the thorns of the season. They were still in poor form in the league, completely unable to cheer up, and far from meeting the fans' expectations. On the other hand, in the FA Cup schedule, Ferguson always encountered a little bit of good luck, and the team moved forward steadily, always retaining the hope of winning the championship.