The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 148 "How can one word describe chaos?"

It is not easy to tell whether a team is full of hope or in chaos; whether it will completely rebuild and break free from the shackles, or continue to sink due to internal friction. Even this season, Ferguson's coaching of the Red Devils has attracted various discussions, but he has no doubts about his ability to succeed and has always had strong confidence.

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The Red Devils left everyone scratching their heads after a season, with a poor league performance and a crushing defeat in the League Cup, but they won the FA Cup, and Ferguson's reputation also fluctuated between the abyss and the peak. This was a chaotic and complex team, a team groping in the darkness of reconstruction, and Ferguson eventually led them through the most difficult challenge and won the opportunity.

At the end of the season, Ferguson wrote a long report to the club board, analyzing the Red Devils' performance throughout the season. He believed that the Red Devils still had many shortcomings, from the team structure to the specific playing style, from the strength and mental state of the players to the impact of injuries, from the targeted deployment of the game to the on-the-spot command, Ferguson admitted that there were still many problems.

Not only that, Ferguson also convened the coaching staff after the season to review the game. He did not deny that the team still had many flaws and also reviewed the areas that needed improvement in various aspects.

Ferguson has always believed that the team must have lasting fighting power to achieve a breakthrough in the league. He thinks the team needs a reasonable lineup, and then continue to strengthen under a stable structure, and then carve out the details of tactical play, which is the key to the future revival of the team.

In addition to the club's internal review and discussion, the Red Devils' performance this season has also sparked heated discussions among fans and the media.

The Red Devils' performance throughout the season can be summed up in one word: "chaos"; the team's signings were chaotic, the formation structure was chaotic, the central axis was chaotic, and the tactical play was chaotic. Even Ferguson could not find a reasonable explanation.

What went wrong with the Red Devils? Some people thought that Ferguson's ruthless cleansing messed up the team, and the new players were not suitable for the Red Devils, so Ferguson's reconstruction was a failure. Ferguson did not accept this criticism. He insisted that the team's reconstruction was necessary and the Red Devils' original lineup must be thoroughly cleaned up. Even if there were problems with tactics and lineup, they should be continuously improved rather than completely denied.

Ferguson recruited a lot of players before the season and cleaned up the team thoroughly. This became the most discussed topic after the season. Ferguson almost abandoned the original central axis, cleaned up the core players in multiple positions, and introduced a large number of new players. New players such as Wallace, Phelan, Webber, Ince, Pallister, etc. are all powerful players, and some of them are quite famous.

But in actual combat, the new players were unable to fill the vacant positions. How the new players can play with the old players, how the new team can increase tacit understanding and improve the overall combat effectiveness, all these require time, but the league competition is very fierce, and pre-season signings are not always smooth. The entire Red Devils do not have enough time, and basically enter the league journey in a newly formed state. In this state, the team sometimes does not know why they won when they beat their opponents, and they do not know why they lost when they lost to their opponents. It can be summed up in one word, that is, "chaos".

The "chaos" is first reflected in the team structure.

At the beginning of the season, the Red Devils' lineup changed too much. McGrath and Strachan left, and Ince and Pallister joined. Both deals were not optimistic. The joining of players of the level of Wallace and Phelan made Ferguson look like a desperate attempt. Ferguson's starting list was indeed longer, but the strength did not increase. Look at the Red Devils' player list arranged by the number of appearances: McClair, Phelan, Hughes, Pallister, Leighton, Bruce, Martin, Ince, Wallace, Robson, Blackmore, Anderson, Donaghy, Duxbury, Sharp, Webber, Robins, Bearsmore, Gibson, Healy, Bosnich, Maiorana, Brazier, Graham, Milne. The newly bought stars became the main force, but they did not play well.

Ferguson's regular 11 players this season include goalkeeper Leighton, defenders Lee Martin, Bruce, Pallister, and Blackmore; midfielders Phelan, Ince, Robson, and Wallace; and forwards McClair and Hughes. This lineup is a regular 442, but Ferguson's problem is that the two wingers are not strong in attacking ability, the organization and advancement ability in the middle of the midfield is also weak, and the two forwards cannot get enough supply.

The "chaos" is also reflected in the pre-season preparations.

The Red Devils adopted an asynchronous approach to pre-season preparations. The remaining main players of the first team and the reserve team players were frantically preparing for the game in the summer, while the newly joined players were doing recovery training, with almost no joint training. The Red Devils players' physical reserves were unbalanced, and the players' conditions were inconsistent. The team was unable to make good use of pre-season preparations to polish the lineup and tactics. The new and old players lacked joint training and tacit understanding, making it difficult to build a whole. Ferguson has always pursued technology and ball control, hoping to play quickly and concisely, but this was completely impossible to achieve. The players lacked tacit understanding and team cooperation awareness, and when it came to the game, they would fight on their own.

The "chaos" is also reflected in Ferguson's impatience for success.

The styles of players such as Wallace, Phelan, and Ings are almost completely different from the characteristics of the Red Devils, and Pallister is even more different from McGrath. Wallace lost his speed advantage due to injuries, but Ferguson had to continue to let him play; Ings and Pallister joined after the start of the season, and they had no time to adapt, so they could only integrate while playing. When Robson was seriously injured, Ferguson tried all kinds of methods and put Ings and Phelan directly in the middle of the midfield. Ings was doubted before the end of the season. As a midfielder completely different from Strachan and Robson, his integration was very difficult. He did not look like Robson's successor, but more like a disaster. Both Pallister and Webber played very mediocrely this season, and Pallister was considered to be unable to support the Red Devils' defense.

The "chaos" is also reflected in the team's low level of coping with unexpected blows and unfavorable situations.

The defeat to Manchester City first knocked out Ferguson's spirit. Ferguson himself didn't understand what happened in the game. After the game, he immediately wanted to avoid criticism. He also lacked enough courage. The Red Devils then fell into an 8-game losing streak in the league, and then there were 11 games without a win. The Red Devils completely lost the spirit of daring to dethrone the emperor, and played many games without passion.

The Red Devils were defeated by Manchester City. The experienced coach will know what to do. After such an emergency, the first thing to do is to control emotions. The Red Devils have been in a slump for a long time, and the coach is naturally to blame. It is normal for a team to fail. Sometimes two consecutive defeats or three consecutive defeats are not a big deal. However, if the team does not deal with it well, or if there is no change for a long time, and cannot get out of the vicious cycle of defeat as soon as possible, then the team will fall into a more dangerous situation.

The "chaos" even manifests itself in the relationship between fans, club management, Ferguson and players.

The first game of the season saw the defending champions defeated, and the fans' expectations were immediately raised infinitely; the crushing defeat to Manchester City made it difficult for the fans to control their emotions; the Red Devils' fans themselves have high demands, not only for results, but also for spectacle, and this season the Red Devils could not give them anything. As a result, the fans naturally doubted everything. The fans were seriously divided between those who supported the team and those who opposed Ferguson, and more often than not, the voices of criticism and opposition dominated the mainstream, which was bound to severely undermine the team's morale.

The management also had many complaints about Ferguson. Although they did not take the initiative to announce that Ferguson was fired, they did not dare to boldly declare their firm support for Ferguson. Ferguson's own attitude and will became very critical. When the results were bleak, Ferguson still had the support of the players. He also patiently explained to the fans, fully communicated with the fans, and got rid of the malicious entanglement of the media who laughed at him.

Only when the Red Devils finally won the FA Cup could this chaotic season be brought to an end.

At the press conference before the season, Ferguson was full of confidence, but he didn't know whether the Red Devils could stabilize quickly. Ferguson painstakingly created a wing attacking style for the Red Devils, but this tactic was greatly restricted in actual combat. The Red Devils experienced various difficulties and setbacks in the middle of the season, which obviously also reflected the serious problems within the team. But Ferguson was determined and determined the tactical direction. He would not give up easily, nor would he hesitate or be confused. He would not change his requirements for the team, nor would he deny himself in terms of tactics. He would not relax the training requirements for the team, and would not give up the efforts to shape the Red Devils' new style of play.

Ferguson was still full of confidence in the difficult situation and encouraged the players: "We are the new Red Devils. This is a brand new challenge. We will face many difficulties and we need to overcome them together, but we must understand that the direction and belief we insist on will not change. We will move forward in this direction, make continuous progress and constantly improve ourselves."

Ferguson said: "Don't doubt yourself, and don't give up your passion for fighting. You just need to fight and do your best to win, and I will take care of the rest."

This season, Ferguson insisted on the 442 formation, insisting on offense, pursuing technology and speed, which he never doubted. Ferguson hopes that the new Red Devils will play well, and there will be good works this season. The Red Devils have a strong center forward Mark Hughes and the indestructible McClair, steel midfielders Robson and Ince, a pair of tall central defenders Bruce and Pallister, and an experienced old goalkeeper Leighton... This lineup is not inferior to other teams and is enough to challenge the strongest opponents. But in actual combat, the two wing forwards of the Red Devils cannot play both wings, Wallace's threat is not enough to drive the wing to take off, and midfielder Robson has been injured in many games. Often, only Ince is the only one who can carry the defense and offense. Mark Hughes performed steadily, and McClair needed to keep retreating to fill the vacancy in the midfield. At this time, the team will have structural loopholes. The problem in the backcourt is more obvious. Pallister and Bruce's partnership is not tacit enough. Pallister is also suspected of being a virgin, completely lacking in hardness and momentum.

Ferguson's football tactics not only require the team's overall strength, but also the players' solid skills. His team always needs one or two players to take on the technical strengths, always need to act as a bottle opener when the opponent shrinks the defense, break through the opponent's defense line through technical advantages, tear open local space, and then burn the war to the opponent's core hinterland to create opportunities.

After Ferguson sold Strachan, the team's technical level did not improve but declined. This was a big flaw, which was equivalent to a complete lack of a bottle opener in the frontcourt. Wallace lost his speed and could not directly cut through the opponent's defense. Ferguson's Red Devils were in a difficult battle in many games, and when the defense could not hold up, the disaster of the Red Devils came. The game was out of control, the defense was blown up, and the goal was lost... This was the lesson of Ferguson.

The chaos in the Red Devils team has finally come to an end. Ferguson relied on courage, wisdom and strong will to overcome the biggest crisis in his coaching career. He and the Red Devils have now turned the page and are facing the journey of the new season and challenging new goals.