The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 147 What Can a Champion Change?

"Sometimes a championship can change everything, and sometimes a championship can change nothing. For Ferguson and Manchester United, the FA Cup championship changed his destiny. It is the starting point of the team's transformation and the best horn."

--Inscription

Many years later, the BBC commented on Ferguson's first ten years as manager of the Red Devils, saying, "The FA Cup in 1990 was very important and crucial to Ferguson's fate. The world of him and the Red Devils ushered in the dawn and opened a new chapter."

After winning the FA Cup, Ferguson can truly breathe a sigh of relief and put aside his decadence.

This championship means that Ferguson is now also a person who has won an important championship in English football. With this championship, Ferguson's job space will be much wider. At least he will get a breathing space for one or more seasons. He will not be dismissed after the end of the season, which also means that he will coach the team in the new season.

No club will fire a championship coach directly, and the same goes for Manchester United.

Ferguson also truly opened the door to English football with this championship. English football is very much about connections and relationships, especially when English football was still in a self-satisfied state. Ferguson, a newcomer like him, was still subject to prejudice and discrimination despite joining with halo and honor, and despite the blessing of famous players. Only by immersing himself in the English First Division for many years, preferably winning the championship, can he get rid of the label on him. Otherwise, no matter how many championships Ferguson had won in Scotland, he would still be looked down upon in the English arena.

There are countless snobs not only in English football, but also in the football world. In this system where the winner takes all, the loser deserves only criticism, and the champion represents having everything. This is the pattern of competitive football. There are many mediocre coaches, and only the winning coaches have the possibility of becoming superior.

With this FA Cup championship, Ferguson finally got the guarantee to continue coaching the Red Devils, gained recognition from the media, and opened the door to the hall of fame of football coaches.

Ferguson's halo from the Scottish league had actually disappeared long ago, and his temporary decision to take over the coaching of the Red Devils in the middle of the season, which was in dire straits, basically consumed his reputation. He managed to secure his position by finishing second in his first season as coach of the Red Devils, but the Red Devils' rapid decline last season made him a loser.

Ferguson could not make the Red Devils transform as quickly as he did in Aberdeen. He spent a shocking amount of money to rebuild the team, but was beaten badly. The opening of the season to defeat the defending champions was far less talked about than the Red Devils' 1-5 away defeat to Manchester City. The Red Devils then struggled and stumbled, winning only 13 games, drawing 9 games and losing 16 games throughout the season. It is no surprise that the media ridiculed them. You have to know that Ferguson's team finally ranked 13th in the league, which was the team's worst in the past 10 years.

To be frank, without this precious FA Cup, the Red Devils would have ended this season in a disastrous defeat, and all of Ferguson's bold words would have been pale in comparison. Considering the investment over the past few years, Ferguson's team would definitely be liquidated.

So, one championship changes a lot.

With the FA Cup in hand, Ferguson can at least continue to coach the Red Devils, continue to rebuild his team, and have the opportunity to try new efforts. The football world is so strange, sometimes a championship can change a lot of things, just like this FA Cup championship really changed Ferguson's fate and also changed the history of English football.

After the season ended, some professionals in the media began to study Ferguson's gains and losses. They also wanted to know why the Red Devils performed so badly.

Was it the instability caused by Ferguson's complete reconstruction of the team? Was it the structural flaws caused by the ruthless cleaning of the core? Was it the lack of strength of the newly introduced players? Was it Ferguson's tactical mistakes? Was it the bloodbath at the hands of Manchester City that destroyed confidence?

All of these are possible, but none of them are comprehensive.

Ferguson admitted, "Our team has lost a lot. What I want to say is not the players who have been cleared out, but the current lineup. We have suffered serious injuries, which has led to defects in our structural play. Every game we play is not easy, and many times the results are not satisfactory. We were considered to have lost confidence for a long time, but that is not the case. We got into trouble in the game, but we always fought. We encountered a lot of bad luck, unimaginable losses, and seemed to be heading towards collapse, but we never gave up."

The Red Devils were even in danger of relegation after a disastrous derby defeat, an embarrassing eight-game losing streak, and an unimaginable ranking. The team and Ferguson were criticized by fans. Ferguson said: "Losing to Manchester City was the most painful for me. Many people thought I might give up. To be honest, I really thought about it, but I would never admit defeat. That's why I persisted in the end."

Ferguson's team has been doing well in the FA Cup, but in fact every opponent could have completely upset Ferguson. Ferguson is happy that the team performed well enough in the FA Cup, even though they were very poor in the league.

Ferguson said, "We can't find the reason, and naturally there is no way to change it. All our efforts in the league are useless, but in the FA Cup it seems that we are always blessed by good luck."

When Ferguson discussed this season many years later, he had won two Champions League titles and more than 2 league titles, but he still emphasized the issue of randomness: "My team played poorly in the 10-1989 season. There were many things I couldn't understand, such as my tactics and starting selection. But nothing worked in the league. We had an absolute advantage in many games, but ended up losing. In many games, we didn't even have time to show our abilities before our opponents scored a few goals and the whole team collapsed and admitted defeat."

Ferguson said: "In those games, fate never smiled. Later, I stopped thinking about fleeting luck and thought about chance. Those inexplicable failures were chance. I later firmly believed that chance is not bad luck and random results actually have essential reasons. I later insisted on instilling a belief in the players, that is, even if we fall behind for no reason, even if we encounter bad whistles or hostility, we must fight bravely and never give up. We need an indomitable will and need to inherit and carry forward the team's unyielding fighting spirit."

Life is like this. The only unbroken path between cruel reality and beautiful ideals is the spirit of never giving up and unremitting struggle.

The Red Devils' attacking line was horrible throughout the season, with only 38 goals in 46 games. The low firepower was speechless. The Red Devils' offense was like shit, but what was even worse was the Red Devils' defense. A total of 38 goals were conceded in 47 league games, which made the luxurious defense that Ferguson spent a lot of money to introduce and build a joke.

The Red Devils were also eliminated early in the League Cup by Tottenham, and their luck was as bad as in the league.

The FA Cup is a hotbed for upsets. Given the Red Devils' current form, winning and advancing might have been the right scenario for the FA Cup. Ferguson had many opportunities to turn the tables in the FA Cup, and he won many games when he was at a disadvantage. In the first match against Nottingham Forest, the team received help from the referee, and the goal they scored against Newcastle was simply unrepeatable; in the semi-finals, they played against a lower-level team for 90 minutes, and even went into extra time, and finally had to rely on a replay to get through. Despite the thrills, Ferguson's team still made it to the final and did not capsize in a small ditch.

Ferguson also suffered a lot in the final. He played a heart-pounding game in the end. He gambled and used the new goalkeeper Healy in the rematch. In the end, relying on the cooperation of the two full-backs to score goals and the performance of the new goalkeeper, Ferguson had the last laugh.

In the league and League Cup games, the Red Devils were bullied by everyone; but in the 8 FA Cup games, the Red Devils turned into Super Saiyans. Some people say that the Crystal Palace team that the Red Devils defeated in the final championship was not strong enough, but don't forget that Crystal Palace eliminated the league champion Liverpool in the semi-finals.

A champion is a champion, a champion with everything he deserves.

Although many fans feel bad for Atkinson. He won two FA Cups, why did he end up so tragically?

The answer is indeed ruthless. Atkinson was not fired because of winning the championship, but because he gave Manchester United fans and the board hope to win the championship, but ultimately destroyed these hopes. He won more support from the club when he had two championships, which was the same as his loss of support later.

Why did the Red Devils get worse and worse? Why was he helpless? Why did the board finally lose patience?

Let's look at Ferguson again. After winning the FA Cup, the Red Devils he led really got better and better. So it's not just one championship that can change anything. The key is what a championship will make the coach do and what he can achieve.

The Red Devils completed their transformation under Ferguson, but not under Atkinson.

Ferguson said many years later, "I know the significance of this FA Cup championship. My position as coach is stable and I can continue my attempts. The media can no longer put me on trial, and they can't win the support of fans by criticizing me. My winning the FA Cup cannot satisfy everyone, especially some players in certain positions and some fans, but they all agreed to continue to support me and let me actively strengthen the team. I will continue to rebuild this team and continue to meet challenges. I will not resign voluntarily, never. That would be a cowardly act for me and would be laughed at by everyone."

Ferguson also talked about the significance of the FA Cup championship from another perspective, "We won. Victory not only brings the championship, but more importantly, it enhances the players' confidence and gives the team more fighting spirit and strength."

The BBC team reporter published a report with a unique perspective. They agreed with Charlton and Edwards that even if Ferguson did not win the championship, he would have time to lead the team to create miracles. The reporter, Tyer, went deep into the Red Devils training base and showed a lot of training materials in the report. He explained: "Only those who have observed the team closely and lived with them can know what kind of transformation Ferguson has made to the team. He has deeply impressed a true championship spirit into the soul of the team."

Thiel said: "The FA Cup championship is full of accidents. Ferguson and his team are indeed very lucky. But all accidents actually hide unknown inevitability. Putting aside the unpredictable state of the Red Devils, which is like a roller coaster, from the paper strength of the team, the road to the Red Devils' championship is actually inevitable. Judging from the FA Cup game, the team led by Ferguson has extremely strong fighting power, which is a fact that has been covered up for many years."

"What they need is this championship, a possibility. A championship that can catalyze them and make them stronger. I believe this is a magical opportunity and a factor that makes the team more confident."

Ferguson was dismissive of this interpretation. "If he had released this report before we won the FA Cup, or around the 20th round of the league when we were trying to avoid relegation, I would have respected him as a man. Now? Bullshit!"