The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 164: Derby

Ferguson survived a series of fierce derby battles and achieved a wave of strong results. All the media that clamored for his dismissal fell silent, and the media that were quickest to change their tune began to admit that the Red Devils had indeed made good progress and that Ferguson's performance was outstanding.

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On January 1991, 1, three days after the last game, the Red Devils and Southampton played a replay of the League Cup.

With the cheers of over 100 fans at Old Trafford, Ferguson's team attacked immediately and created an exciting scene that made the Red Devils fans scream with excitement right from the start.

Ferguson sent out all the main players in this game. Irwin, Bruce, Pallister and Blackmore guarded the defense line. Phelan, Robson, Webber and Sharp started in the midfield. Except for Ings who was absent due to injury, all the elite players were present. McClair and Hughes played as double strikers. Ferguson's tactics were very targeted and he launched an active attack right from the start. During the attack, the two full-backs moved forward significantly, which specifically strengthened the back-up attack of Irwin and Blackmore, pushed Sharp to the left winger position, and turned it into a 343 position, or even an inverted 244, allowing Robson to press to the opponent's penalty area arc. The opponent's 4-back formation faced the impact of three forwards and quickly felt the tightness of the defense line and was under pressure from all sides.

In the last encounter, the opponent's striker Le Tissier performed well, which aroused the competitive spirit of the Red Devils striker Mark Hughes. Mark Hughes was very active at the beginning of this game, looking for opportunities to shoot everywhere. In addition to this, he played an excellent role at the front, holding the opponent with his back to the ball, waiting for his teammates to press forward after controlling the ball, and then directly transferring the ball, or making a wall cooperation with his teammates to achieve a two-on-one, becoming an important fulcrum for the Red Devils' offense. Not only that, Hughes made timely runs and interspersed in the opponent's penalty area, actively pulling and supporting, disrupting the opponent's defensive system, and creating opportunities for his teammates to open up space. In the case of besieging the opponent, the Red Devils adopted a large number of side-pass tactics, and Mark Hughes was more active in grabbing points in the penalty area, competing for headers and various shooting opportunities. When the opponent shrank comprehensively and piled up 9 people in the penalty area to defend, Mark Hughes began to use long-range shots to display his talent as a heavy gunner.

Mark Hughes was extremely dedicated and led the Red Devils' all-out attack. Southampton was completely unable to withstand the Red Devils' offensive, and even if they shrank their defense, they could not prevent the city from falling. In the end, Mark Hughes shined. He scored from the 17th minute, and then scored three goals in a row with his head and feet, performing a hat trick and becoming the man of the match.

Southampton played a very exciting offensive even after falling behind. Although Le Tissier, who later became a legendary striker, was fighting alone, he also threatened the entire defense of the Red Devils. Ince and Bruce had to closely guard him, fearing that he would find a chance. Although Le Tissier and his teammates scored two goals, Southampton finally lost by one goal and was eliminated.

After eliminating Southampton in the League Cup, the Red Devils faced Bolton Wanderers at home in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

In this game, Ferguson's team performed well with the cheers of many fans on the scene. Mark Hughes continued his excellent form and scored the only goal of the game to help the Red Devils advance to the next round.

After the FA Cup, the Red Devils will face Liverpool at home at Old Trafford in the 24th round of the league.

This was a big battle that was announced in advance, and it was the red national derby that attracted the attention of all fans. In particular, the Red Devils have been in excellent form recently, and Liverpool is also in good form, which is a battle between the strongest opponents. This focus battle caused a media hype before the game, and fans also flocked to the Theatre of Dreams, once again breaking the record of attendance at Old Trafford.

This is the third time Ferguson and Dalglish have faced each other this season. Previously, the Red Devils and Liverpool had each won one game in the league and the League Cup, making the game a draw.

Who will win this game?

The media interviewed Ferguson and asked him whether he would continue to use offensive tactics against Liverpool. Ferguson would not be fooled. He said: "We have never had the habit of disclosing tactics to the media, but I can tell you that we will not preset any tactics and then keep them unchanged. Liverpool is a strong team, but their performance this season is not as good as before. We successfully defeated them in the League Cup, which is our confidence and preparation for success in the next step. Our tactical play? I can only ensure that this game will excite and excite the Red Devils fans, and we will give the fans a wonderful game at home."

"Of course we have to beat Liverpool, this doesn't need to be emphasized. I don't need to emphasize it again, Liverpool is our biggest enemy, we must beat them!"

Before the game, the media reported that Dalglish suffered from severe depression and insomnia, and his mood often fell into depression and pain. During the interview, Dalglish did not show any dominance, but said a little tiredly: "The real winner never needs to talk, our strength is beyond doubt, everything will be done by the team's performance."

The Red Devils were missing Ings in this game, and the team's starting lineup was still 442: the goalkeeper and defense remained unchanged, the midfield became Webber, Phelan, Robson, Lee Sharpe, and the forwards were still Mark Hughes and McClair. Despite the absence of the tough guy Ings, Ferguson still put the initiative in the midfield first. But unlike the disastrous defeat in the league this season, Ferguson's big change was that he paid attention to the rhythm after winning the ball in the midfield, and would not immediately launch a quick attack, leaving the defense empty and open to the opponent's sneak attack. Ferguson asked the defense and midfield to pay attention to their positions and not give the opponent an easy counterattack. In order to guard against Barnes, who was very active in the opponent's lineup, and to prevent his huge threat of dribbling and breaking through, Ferguson specially arranged the strategy of Lee Sharpe's close defense and Irwin's retreat to the backcourt to build a fence.

Liverpool had no intention of attacking strongly when they came to the Theatre of Dreams, nor did they have the determination to fight the Red Devils with bayonets. They also chose a relatively stable and conservative strategy, focusing on defense and fighting hard in the midfield. In this way, the game was very intense, but it was all focused on the back-and-forth scramble in the midfield. The Red Devils had Robson in charge. Although they could not keep up with the youngsters in the scramble, they were still relatively safe in terms of experience and rhythm. The other midfielders of the Red Devils were very active in the game and would not let the opponent take any advantage. After Liverpool launched several fast breaks, they found that the Red Devils were not moved at all, so they also calmed down and slowly dealt with the Red Devils. The two sides went back and forth, and the midfield stranglehold continued until the end. Neither team created too many opportunities, and the game eventually turned into a high-intensity stalemate.

The Red Devils' attack mainly relied on Lee Sharpe and Webber's impact on the two flanks and the performance of a pair of forwards. The opponent was also very afraid of the Red Devils' flank breakthroughs, and the two full-backs almost never pressed across the half court. The Red Devils scored the first goal with Bruce's header, but Liverpool still launched a counterattack. They quickly passed the midfield and directly entered the Red Devils' penalty area and scored a goal, rewriting the score to 1-1. In the end, the two sides shook hands and each took one point.

Not long after the game, a major earthquake broke out in Liverpool. On February 1991, 2, Dalglish announced his official farewell to Liverpool and resigned as head coach.

The Red Devils then faced Leeds United in the League Cup semi-final.

The match was divided into two rounds. This was the first round, and the Red Devils played at Old Trafford to start the "Battle of the Roses". Before the match started, the fans of both teams were on edge and refused to give in. The Red Devils fans outnumbered their opponents by a lot, and their cheers and shouts were much louder than their opponents, drowning out the roars of the Leeds United fans. The Red Devils team song resounded throughout the stadium, especially when the two teams were in a stalemate in the midfield and when the Red Devils created shooting opportunities in front of the goal, the shouts of the Red Devils fans were even more majestic and loud, almost overturning the Theatre of Dreams.

The "Rose Derby" lived up to its name, and both teams were a bit bloodthirsty in this game. From the starting list, Ferguson seemed to have sent out five defenders, but in actual combat, Blackmore was pushed to the midfield, and Lee Sharpe was separated on the two wings, while Robson and Ings guarded the middle of the midfield. After the game started, the Red Devils quickly took the advantage. Lee Sharpe frequently created space on the left. His speed and direction changes were very sharp. The right back of Leeds United was often confused by him, and the defense line was easily torn apart. After finding a breakthrough, the Red Devils attacked the left, and soon McClair received a cross in the penalty area and easily pushed the ball into the goal; then Lee Sharpe himself rushed into the penalty area and shot directly, scoring another goal for the Red Devils, helping the team beat the opponent 5-2.

After this game, the media quickly released a new record. Before we knew it, the Red Devils had completed a 16-game unbeaten streak.

弗格森的球队令人非常惊讶，红魔从1990年11月28日客场6比2狂胜阿森纳开始，到1991年2月18日1比2输给诺维奇止，弗格森的球队在83天里踢了17场比赛，创造了欧洲优胜者杯、联赛、足总杯、联赛杯三条战线16场不败的记录。

This is really an extreme challenge, and it is even more difficult for the Red Devils given their thin lineup this season and the long-term absence of core players due to injuries. In particular, Ferguson was very focused on cup competitions at the time, and almost all the main players played on all four fronts. It is really incredible to be able to achieve such a result.

Manchester United has been fighting hard in the difficult schedule, and the team's tenacious will and positive fighting spirit have withstood the test. The excellent results prove the improvement of the Red Devils' strength.

Despite this, there were some bad signs in the team. The two forwards Hughes and McClair scored too few goals and always missed opportunities, and were constantly criticized by the coach and the media. But they were not the kind of forwards who would wait in front of the opponent's goal to feed the ball. On the contrary, they were attackers who were willing to sacrifice themselves, actively retreat and provide cover. At this point in the game, Hughes urgently needed an outlet to vent. When he started 30 games in a row, he told the Post reporter: "I don't have a problem with anyone, but our team is a whole, and everyone has made great efforts and contributions. Now you media keep criticizing me for not being able to score goals, which is very difficult for me to accept."

Ferguson also stressed in an interview specially arranged by Manchester United's official website, "Our team is a whole. Victory and defeat, goals scored and goals conceded are all things that our whole team has to face. Our forwards are very good, our defenders are also very good, our midfielders are also very good, they all work very hard and give their all in every game."

As for why Manchester United was able to set so many unbeaten records, Ferguson later said in an interview: "We don't really care how many unbeaten games we have, because we have been fighting hard and investing in every game. It was not until the reporters told me that I had set a new record, my 16-game unbeaten record as coach of the Red Devils, that I felt the need to summarize something."

"I thought about it later and realized that there is nothing worth talking about. These are just passing clouds and are not enough to brag about. Without winning the championship, all the experiences before are just experiences."