The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 154 Gambling Style Buying People

"Irwin's signing seemed unremarkable at the time. Many media even thought it was another gamble by Ferguson, a helpless lottery try that was highly unlikely to succeed."

--Inscription

Ferguson's ambitions were repeatedly frustrated in the summer of 1990, and his efforts to recruit players were unsuccessful, and he only brought in one new player, Dennis Irwin. This result was ridiculed by the media and was considered a "punishment" for his reckless spending in the previous season.

When Dennis Irwin joined the Red Devils, he was not taken seriously by the media. He was not a star in English football at the time, and had not even made any name for himself in League One. The Oldham Athletic team he played for was not even an English First Division team.

Denis Irwin was born in Cork, Ireland on October 1965, 10. When he joined the Red Devils, Irwin was 31cm tall and weighed 173kg, looking a bit thin and frail. His 68m run and sprint speed were not fast, and his strength and jumping were not strong. Overall, his conditions were not outstanding. Denis Irwin was a product of the Leeds United youth training, but he did not get many opportunities in Leeds United and was not appreciated by the coach. After joining the first team, he almost never started and soon moved to Oldham in English League Two in 100.

Dennis Irwin quickly became a main player in Oldham and began his career of constantly upgrading and fighting monsters. Oldham has many strong players, and Irwin is the best among them. He was highly appreciated by the coach here and soon became the thigh of the team, leading the Oldham team to continuous improvement. Irwin was still very thin at this time, but he used his brain more to defend and rarely suffered because of physical factors. He was very calm in defense, with accurate judgment, fast footwork, and meticulous and clean movements. He often stole the ball from his feet when the opponent hesitated a little, or directly broke the opponent's opportunity. In the English League Two, which is known for its physical confrontation, Irwin is a very strange but extremely eye-catching existence. He is a rare player in the British Isles who defends with wisdom, uses consciousness and judgment to make moves and take the lead, rather than just relying on body and bravery. Irwin usually uses his left foot, but his right foot feels very good. He can play as a defender on both sides, and can even occasionally play as a forward. He has a good ability to dribble and attack. His innate offensive talent is often underestimated, and he cannot fully display it due to positional restrictions, but even so his long passes and advancement are still admirable, especially his excellent arc ball skills, which are very powerful when he takes corner kicks and free kicks. It can be said that no matter where he plays on the field, he has an extremely keen insight into opportunities and dangers, and can turn these opportunities into his own control.

The most crucial battle of Irwin's career was against the Red Devils in the FA Cup semi-finals of the 89-90 season. Irwin played extremely well in these two semi-finals and became one of the strongest defensive forces. His restrictions on the Red Devils' offensive players were almost all-round. Whether it was Wallace or Phelan, whether it was McClair or Robson, they were not able to gain any advantage in front of him, let alone defeat him one-on-one. Some of these players had an advantage in power confrontation, some were faster than Irwin, and some had much more experience than Irwin, but they just couldn't beat this full-back. Although Oldham lost in the end, the Red Devils players praised him internally and believed that he was one of the best players in the opponent team.

Oldham Athletic emerged as a dark horse in the 89-90 season. Not only did they reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and fight the Red Devils, they also made it to the final of the League Cup, but unfortunately they lost 0-1 to Nottingham Forest and finished second. Such a record is much better than some League One teams. And why this low-level team became a dark horse and eliminated many League One teams? One of the main reasons is that Irwin played well and almost led the team forward alone.

After the Red Devils eliminated Oldham Athletic, Ferguson took a fancy to Irwin. He said: "We all think that Dennis is very good and suitable for our team. It's not just me who thinks so. Kidd, Knox, Robson and Wallace all suggested so. I quickly made up my mind to buy him."

Ferguson immediately sent someone to contact Oldham Club. Oldham Athletic offered Elwin a transfer price of 62.5 pounds, and Ferguson immediately agreed to the price without any bargaining.

Ferguson said: "We were thinking of buying him outright for no more than £80, but Oldham's offer was beyond my expectations."

Irwin also received invitations from several other clubs when entering the summer transfer window, but he rejected them all without hesitation. Irwin said, "When I heard that the Red Devils were interested in me, I didn't want to talk to any team anymore. I just wanted to go to the Red Devils, that's it."

The chairman of Oldham Athletic later said with regret, "We made a stupid mistake. We shouldn't have offered such a low price, even though it was the highest price in the history of our club. We were too inexperienced. Irwin should be worth £200 million! Look at the work he has done at the Red Devils and his role. I really regret it. Dennis is very good. He should be the best left-back in England!"

Ferguson said in an interview with reporters, "Oldham didn't realize Dennis's value at all at that time. They might not have experienced such a scene. Our scout team praised Dennis very much. McClair, Mark Hughes and Wallace all lamented that he was insurmountable. Robson also thought this was a valuable target and strongly recommended that the club introduce him. I immediately decided to act and personally went out to negotiate with the opponent. In fact, we were mentally prepared for them to offer a high price, but they themselves did not expect how high it could be. "

A detail emphasized by the media may have misled Oldham Athletic, that is, the Red Devils were most in need of a left-back, but Irwin played as a right-back for the Ireland team and also for Oldham. This huge difference made the Red Devils' inquiry seem just to add a substitute for the right-back. After all, at that time the Red Devils' main right-back was Parker, the main player of the England team.

No one expected that Ferguson was going to let Irwin play as a left-back - this was no ordinary bold idea. Ferguson later said proudly: "Although we were impatient internally, we were very calm and natural in front of Oldham Athletic. I knew Dennis could play as a right-back and I also knew he could play as a left-back, but the opponent thought we just wanted him to play as a substitute for the right-back so that we could take the initiative."

That's how Irwin came to the Red Devils.

When he made his first official appearance at Old Trafford, Irwin was young, gentle, elegant and polite. He looked very attractive and had the handsome charm of a British gentleman.

Ferguson was pleasantly surprised at Irwin's first training session. This smart player could play as a left-back and was equally good. Ferguson easily solved a shortcoming in the team's lineup and finally had a left-back as the main player.

Irwin lived up to expectations. His strength was fully demonstrated during the summer training. He adapted very well to the Red Devils' formation and system, and quickly became familiar with Ferguson's tactical requirements and executed the tactical deployment very well. Irwin himself was also very low-key and conscious in training. He was fully focused and responsive. His steals and interceptions in defense were very timely, accurate and efficient. No attacking player in the Red Devils could easily beat him one-on-one. He also performed very well in defense and assist defense.

Irwin conquered everyone in the team with his performance and won himself a chance to start. In the Charity Shield match against Liverpool, Irwin started. In the first game of the new season, when the Red Devils played against Coventry, Irwin started again.

Irwin performed very well. He was very stable in the wing defense. Not only was he excellent in confrontation, but he also took the initiative to steal the ball, actively participated in the transition from defense to offense, and was able to retreat to the penalty area in time to assist. His appearance directly improved the safety of the entire Red Devils defense. Coventry players did not pose any threat to Irwin throughout the game. Irwin's appearance even helped his wing forward teammates in front of him, and also helped the central defenders on the side, and also increased a lot of confidence in the entire defense, which was of great help to the overall structure of the Red Devils.

Irwin received the highest score after the game in his first start, and many Manchester United fans lamented that Ferguson had really found a treasure. The head of the Manchester East Supporters Association said: "We don't know how Ferguson pulled off the trick. A second-tier right-back actually played as a left-back for the Manchester United. The most unimaginable thing is that he performed very well as a left-back. This is really a great deal. The Manchester United's defense seems to have been upgraded to a higher level."

"We don't know how Ferguson did it, nor do we know why there is such a big difference between having Irving and not having Irving. Ferguson's vision is so unique and amazing. Donaghy, Bruce, Pallister and Irving, this is a defense built entirely by Ferguson. Now it's like a chemical reaction has occurred, from a pile of loose sand to reinforced concrete."

In the following games, Irwin got the chance to continue to start, and his performance continued to improve, establishing his position as a main player.

As the game progressed, Irwin played better and better in the left back position of the Red Devils. He was not only excellent on the defensive end, but also able to provide more help to the team on the offensive end. Although he has not been integrated for a long time, Irwin has an excellent understanding of how to defend the Red Devils. Irwin found that he needed to do more in a defensive system like the Red Devils. Compared with the requirements in Oldham, there are more overall movement and assistance requirements. He immediately strengthened training, made timely adjustments, humbly asked for advice, and integrated well into the team's system. As the game progressed, Irwin's support for Bruce and Pallister, the central defenders, also developed to a new stage.

Pallister's feelings are very special. For a while, he even thought that it was not his good friend Bruce who saved his career in the Red Devils, but this new full-back. Before Irwin came to the Red Devils, Pallister had a collapsed defensive season. He was completely lacking in confidence. Even with Bruce's help, he thought there was no way to support the entire defense. Pallister faced this bad season, with an ugly record of 47 goals scored, and was constantly criticized by fans. Irwin's arrival helped Pallister get more help, and his own performance also improved. Pallister found that this teammate was too strong and too smart. Not only did he have a perfect performance in his own defense zone, but he could also assist in defense in Pallister's defense zone and tighten the fence. This is really important for the central defender's defense zone. Irwin's behavior of taking the initiative to come to assist in defense once he sensed danger was simply saving all the defenders. In addition to defense, Irwin's strong offensive ability and large advancement range are also very helpful in reducing the burden on the defense line.

In the second half of the season, Irwin has become the most stable position in the Red Devils' defense, and he has produced sustained and long-term high-level performances.

The regret of the chairman of Oldham Athletic soon dissipated, and they completed a number of transactions in the summer of 1990. Thanks to the high price of selling Irwin, they successively introduced multiple players, and their strength did not decrease but increased. Then the team played well in the 90-91 season, and finally won the Second Division Championship with 88 points, returning to the top league after 68 years.

In the 91-92 season after being promoted to English Football League One, Oldham Athletic showed a tenacious fighting spirit. With this tenacious will and good performance, they finally ranked th and successfully avoided relegation, and became the founding team of the Premier League.

To some extent, this can be regarded as the benefit that Ferguson brought to Oldham through lottery.