The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 144 FA Cup Winner

"Ferguson went through a lot of hardships and finally led Manchester United to win the FA Cup. This was his first championship at Manchester United and the most important one."

--Inscription

On May 1990, 5, still at Wembley Stadium, the Red Devils and Crystal Palace met again for a rematch.

In the final, Ferguson changed a starting position, that is, replacing the previous starting goalkeeper Jim Leighton with substitute goalkeeper Les Healy. Ferguson had made this decision before the game, which immediately caused an uproar.

Jim Leighton is not only the main goalkeeper of the Red Devils introduced by Ferguson himself, but also a player trained by Ferguson. He was a direct descendant of Ferguson who was personally discovered and trained when he was coaching the Aberdeen team, and he has always been trusted. Jim Leighton started playing for Aberdeen at the age of 1978 in 20, and Ferguson soon gave him a chance to play. Later, Jim Leighton served as Aberdeen's first choice goalkeeper under Ferguson, helping the team win three league titles and a European Cup Winners' Cup, and became the best goalkeeper in the Scottish League. Because of his outstanding performance in the club, Leighton also became the goalkeeper of the Scottish team and participated in the 3 World Cup in Mexico.

After Ferguson came to the Red Devils, he poached him from the Scottish League and trusted and relied on him very much. After joining the Red Devils from Aberdeen, Leighton once performed well and was a stable part of the Red Devils' defense. But in the 1989-90 season, he became more and more unstable and his mistakes began to increase. In the 2-2 home draw with Southampton, Leighton performed abnormally, which eventually led to the team being tied; and in the 1-5 defeat to Manchester City, Leighton did not make any effective saves at all. Leighton was abused and attacked by the Red Devils' hardcore fans after the game, which made his will begin to become frustrated.

Leiden became increasingly nervous and anxious, and even developed stomach ulcers and migraines. It seemed like a vicious cycle: the more anxious Leiden became, the worse his performance became, and the worse his performance became, the more anxious he became.

Ferguson was increasingly dissatisfied with Leighton's performance, especially in the FA Cup semi-finals, where Leighton's poor performance almost led to the Red Devils' elimination. Ferguson had considered replacing Leighton at the time, but was stopped by the coaching staff. In the semi-final rematch, Ferguson finally put Leighton in the starting lineup, and he suddenly performed well in this game and successfully escorted the Red Devils into the final.

Ferguson specifically talked to Leighton, encouraged him to increase his confidence, told him that he was the best goalkeeper in Scotland in the past 30 years, and that he would always trust and support him. Ferguson later said: "Leighton is very sensitive. When he was in Aberdeen, he was protected by the team's success. Two excellent central defenders always guarded in front of him, and he gained confidence because of this. But now it's different. He doesn't have McGrath or even Bruce by his side, and he is becoming less and less confident. His situation at the Red Devils is very difficult. He needs to be strong enough to face all challenges here, but he can't do it."

After the FA Cup final draw with Crystal Palace at 3-3, Ferguson's patience ran out. Ferguson wrote in Six Years with the Red Devils: "Before the FA Cup final, Leighton had some problems. He was incredibly nervous and made me very worried. I and the coaching staff tried to encourage him, hoping that he would be more confident to play, but obviously we did not succeed."

Ferguson said: "Should I take another risk like the replay in the semi-final? My assistant Archie Knox has always liked Leighton and insisted on giving Leighton another chance, but I knew something had to change. After the final draw with Crystal Palace, when we left the stadium, I looked at the confused and helpless expression on Jim Leighton's face, and I knew he had been crushed by the pressure."

After the game, Jim Leighton hid alone in the corner of the locker room, unresponsive to the comfort of others. At that moment, Ferguson decided not to let him participate in the replay.

Ferguson decided to replace Leighton with Les Healy as the starting goalkeeper. Archie Knox and other coaching staff members strongly opposed it, thinking that this would be too much of a blow to Jim Leighton. However, Ferguson did not back down and finally stuck to his decision.

Leighton was devastated. He refused to be a substitute goalkeeper and did not even appear in the final. In his autobiography written ten years later, Leighton described his feelings at the time: "Ferguson's decision broke me down. From the moment he told me the bad news, I knew I would never be able to forgive him in my heart."

Ferguson later admitted, "Many people will think that decision is disgusting and highlights my ruthlessness," but he still insisted, "I can't apologize for doing what I have to do. Facts have proved that this decision is correct and we finally won the championship."

Jim Leighton broke with Ferguson and never spoke to him again. In the following season, he played only once for the Red Devils in the League Cup and was loaned out to another team six months later. In the summer of 1992, he officially transferred to the Scottish team Dundee and left the Red Devils, the sad place.

Ferguson did not change the starting lineup of other positions except the goalkeeper. The formation was still 442. Tactically, he focused more on defense, especially letting Ings help Pallister more to help reduce the pressure on the defense.

The Red Devils took the rematch very seriously and went all out at the start. Crystal Palace was also very careful and did not have many flaws. The first half was very intense, but both sides strengthened their defense. The scene that often appeared in the game was that people were thrown to the ground in the confrontation between offense and defense, and the competition was very intense, but it was difficult to create any opportunities. It was difficult for the Red Devils to advance into the opponent's penalty area in the first half. Crystal Palace clearly piled 6 to 7 people in the penalty area in this game, and they were all strong and fierce. The Red Devils wanted to rely on small-scale passing and cutting to advance the offense, but they could only be defeated in front of the opponent's sturdy body. Throughout the first half, the Red Devils could only try to attack through long passes and large-scale transfers to the left and right, but in the end they did not have many good shooting opportunities.

Crystal Palace emphasized the use of their bodies, and they used confrontation opportunities very fiercely. In the first half, Bruce was knocked down by their very fierce tackle and was almost injured; and the full-back Lee Martin was "sneaked" by them more than once, and almost couldn't make it to the second half. Crystal Palace played so rough and dirty that even the media in the commentary booth couldn't stand it. The BBC reporter directly criticized on the spot, "The atmosphere of this game was very intense from the beginning. Crystal Palace was obviously too rough and too fierce. Many actions should be punished. The referee should directly show red cards for some extremely bad fouls!"

Crystal Palace was a little timid at first, but soon became unbridled when they saw the referee's big move. The Red Devils were also prepared for Crystal Palace's tricks. The iron elbows of Ings and Bruce, the flying tackles and tough confrontations of Mark Hughes and McClair were obviously not going to make things easy for Crystal Palace.

In the fierce confrontation like sparks hitting the earth, Crystal Palace repeatedly tried to advance from the front of the penalty area, but they were all blocked by Ince and Phelan. They tried long passes again and again, but Crystal Palace's best chance in the first half was not a long pass. It was not a shot that the attacking player squeezed into the penalty area with his body, but a free kick at the top of the penalty area. This free kick was very close to the goal, and Crystal Palace chose to volley the free kick. The ball flew under the Red Devils' wall and went straight to the goal. At this time, the Red Devils goalkeeper Healy predicted accurately in advance, fell to the ground and directly blocked this powerful shot with his feet, trying to keep the goal. Then Crystal Palace also got a free kick opportunity near the bottom line on the right side, but the Red Devils players also concentrated on their positions and cleared the ball safely.

After the first half, neither side made any progress.

At the beginning of the second half, the Red Devils gradually gained the advantage on the field and began to organize offensives into the opponent's penalty area. The Red Devils launched an attack in the 59th minute. After several transfers in the frontcourt, the ball came to Webber's feet. At this time, his position was just past the center line. After the opponent retreated, no one was guarding him. Webber passed a high ball to the left. It seemed that this pass was more like a spatial transfer, but Webber's pass was obviously well thought out. He passed the ball to a space in the opponent's penalty area where no one was standing. At this time, Lee Martin, who was injured, understood the situation and cut in at high speed like a bullet, and suddenly appeared in the opponent's penalty area. The Crystal Palace defender was squeezed behind Martin. He did not dare to put a tackle behind him, nor did he dare to pull down the opponent with his hands, and he did not dare to stretch his feet to block, because Martin had already entered the penalty area, and these actions would be 1% foul penalties. The defender could only chase Martin and use some small movements of his body and hands to disrupt Martin's advancement. Lee Martin took the ball towards the goal, and then, just as the opponent's goalkeeper came out to intercept, he fired a powerful shot with his right foot. This shot was completely unexpected by the opponent's goalkeeper, and it hit the upper corner of the near corner and went into the net. The Red Devils led 0-!

This is a goal worth a thousand gold!

Ferguson couldn't help cheering loudly when Lee Martin scored. He raised his hands excitedly and waved them vigorously to cheer up the whole team.

The Crystal Palace team, which was behind, launched a massive attack and replaced their striker Wright who had made great contributions in the previous game, hoping to equalize the score. However, the Red Devils played steadily and organized the defense very carefully and efficiently. In particular, Robson fully played the role of a captain's pioneer. Not only was he very brave in intercepting in the midfield and backcourt, he even risked his life to clear the siege in the penalty area. After colliding with the opponent, he injured his shoulder joint, but he still gritted his teeth and persisted.

While strengthening their defense, the Red Devils also attached great importance to counterattacks. After leading 1-0, there was a cross from the right, and Mark Hughes headed the ball hard in the opponent's small penalty area. Unfortunately, the header hit the crossbar and bounced out of bounds, wasting an opportunity to seal the victory!

Crystal Palace launched a fierce attack when they were behind, but they basically relied on long passes into the penalty area to find opportunities, and they didn't have many options. Red Devils goalkeeper Healy was calm and not only blocked the opponent's cold shot about 7 yards in front of the goal in time, but also took the initiative to attack many times and resolved the high-altitude dangers again and again.

The Red Devils withstood the opponent's counterattack at the last moment. All the players worked together and defended with all their strength, maintaining the score of 1-0 until the end of the game. The Red Devils won the FA Cup championship.

When the final whistle blew, the entire Red Devils team was in jubilation. Everyone rushed to the stadium, hugging each other happily, laughing, singing excitedly, and some even danced. The entire Wembley Stadium was filled with songs congratulating the Red Devils for winning the championship. Countless fans who came to watch the game were excited, happy, excited, and proud.

Ferguson could not contain his excitement. He rushed to the stadium, ran around, hugged everyone he saw, and even picked up Wallace and swung him around. At this moment, Ferguson's face was filled with excitement and excitement. He kept saying "We won, we won, we finally won!" His heart was rolling with volcanic lava, and his emotions were as excited as a hurricane passing through the English Channel, but he still had to remain calm. This was the etiquette at the FA Cup celebration!

Ferguson's first championship with Manchester United was the most important championship in his career with Manchester United. Ferguson's hard struggles with Manchester United, the doubts and ridicules he endured, and the torment and suffering in his heart were all relieved after winning this championship.

Ferguson no longer had to worry about his position. His life was tough, but he was also very persistent. He refused to admit defeat, was tenacious and finally had the last laugh.

Many years later, when the BBC produced a special season special, it concluded: "The 1990 FA Cup championship was of great significance to Ferguson. It was not only the first championship trophy he won with the Red Devils, but also the life-saving straw that saved his position as the Red Devils coach."