The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 167 Charge towards the Winners Cup!

"No matter how difficult it is, Ferguson will not give up the European Cup Winners' Cup. He has always had a mysterious confidence in this competition."

--Inscription

Three days later, the Red Devils played the first leg of the third round quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup at home against French Ligue 1 team Montpellier.

At that time, Montpellier was also a strong French team. They returned to the top in 1988. In 1989, with the support of Eero Capital, Montpellier changed its name to Montpellier Eero Sports Club, which is still used today. It also recruited a lot of players in Ligue and moved towards higher goals. With the improvement of performance, Montpellier hired the legendary coach Jacquet, who later led the French national team to the top of the world for the first time. Jacquet's time in charge was very short, but he also promoted a group of talented young players in the team, such as Cantona, Blanco, Valderrama, etc. After Jacquet left, Montpellier invited the team's meritorious coach, Mezzie, who led the team back to the top in the past, to return and take over as coach again.

Under the leadership of Mezzi, Montpellier finally won the French Cup in the 89/90 season. In 1989, they had Cantona, a rising star in France, and Blanc, who later became the leader of the French national team. In the match against Manchester United, the biggest star in their team was Valderrama, the "Golden Lion King", and the team was quite strong.

Manchester United also took their opponents very seriously. Even though they were troubled by players' injuries and condition problems, and several key players were absent, Ferguson still attached great importance to this game and was very eager to defeat the opponent and gain the advantage. His intention to decide the victory was very obvious.

Ferguson's starting lineup was missing the two core defenders Bruce and Irwin. Both main players were unable to play due to injuries. He let Pallister and Donaghy guard the central defenders, Lee Martin and Blackmore guard the flanks on the left and right sides, and chose Lee Sharp to start in the midfield. Robson and Ings were in the middle, and Phelan was on the other side; McClair and Hughes played as double forwards on the attacking line.

This lineup is the strongest lineup that Ferguson's Red Devils can currently present, and Ferguson has also made a lot of new deployments to this 442. The team can change to 451 at any time, allowing McClair to retreat to midfield to strengthen the defense, or it can change to a more offensive 433, allowing Lee Sharpe to advance the attacking line and enhance the power of the attack.

Robson, who played in the European Cup Winners' Cup, regained his energy as the captain. He played at his peak level in this game, sitting in the middle and looking very impressive. He was excellent in both offensive organization and defensive command. Robson's long absence from the game did not affect his level. He showed great energy in this game. Under the captain's encouragement and coordination, the whole Manchester United team played very confidently and calmly, with strong control.

This match was the first encounter for both teams, and both teams were cautious. Although Ferguson's Red Devils wanted to take the lead, they were also very afraid of the opponent's counterattack. Therefore, after the start of the game, they controlled the ball and transferred it in the middle and front court for a long time, and most of the attacks were superficial. Without Irwin and Bruce, Webber was also rotated, which put a lot of pressure on the team's defense. Pallister faced the smaller players in Ligue 1 like a giant catching a loach, which was very troublesome. He turned slowly and encountered many embarrassing situations. Players like Blackmore and Donaghy were inexperienced and were also worried about gains and losses when defending. They had mistakes in their sense of position and defense.

Montpellier was also under great pressure. The Red Devils players were strong and physically imposing. They were completely unable to withstand the Manchester United players in the fight and physical confrontation. In particular, Manchester United's wingers were fast, while Ins was powerful in the middle. The impact from these two directions gave Montpellier a headache and made defense very difficult.

Both teams played their own styles in the game. Manchester United took more initiative after 30 minutes in the first half, and the attack became more intensive and fierce. In the 33rd minute, Manchester United advanced in the middle. Ince and Robson made a two-on-one pass and advanced to the top of the penalty area. Then they took a strong shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's central defender. In the 36th minute, Manchester United took a corner kick from the right, and Montpellier's penalty area was in chaos. McClair seized the opportunity and shot the ball 6 yards in front of the goal directly into the lower right corner of the opponent's goal.

Manchester United beat Montpellier 1-0, and Ferguson's team took the initiative.

Montpellier was unwilling to lose after falling behind, and they also started a fierce attack. Manchester United, who was leading, was a bit conservative. Most of the players retreated to the penalty area or the edge of the penalty area to defend, leaving the midfield space and counterattack opportunities to the opponent. Montpellier took the opportunity to launch multiple attacks, and the flexibility of their small players was given the opportunity to play. Several Manchester United defenders were very unfamiliar with this Latin style of play and suffered a lot when defending. In the 75th minute, Montpellier launched an attack on the right. After receiving the ball, forward Yekpo dribbled past Manchester United midfielder Ince, and then passed Robson with a fake move. Manchester United defender Lee Martin stepped forward to make a tackle, and Yekpo quickly passed the ball to the middle of the penalty area. This pass cut open the defensive space of Manchester United's two central defenders. Montpellier's forward Robert quickly cut in and shot after receiving the ball. Manchester United goalkeeper Healy flew to save the ball, but it was too late to stop it.

Montpellier tied the score 1-1.

In the following game, both sides were cautious and played conservatively, and the scene became dull and boring. After the two sides exchanged blows, neither side was able to seize the opportunity, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The Red Devils were tied at home by their opponents, which was a disadvantageous situation according to the rules of the game at that time. The media began to worry whether Manchester United could win the next away game, but Ferguson was confident, "We have already grasped the advantage, and we have a direct understanding of Montpellier. We have experienced their tactical play and technical characteristics. We will definitely play better in the next game and will definitely beat them."

After playing Montpellier, Manchester United went to London to fight Chelsea in the 27th round of the league.

The Red Devils played a number of high-intensity games in a row. They played Everton three days ago, played Leeds United two days before Everton, played Montpellier on March 3, and moved to London to play Chelsea on March 6. After a series of hard battles, the Red Devils' European war sequelae began to break out, and many players were in poor condition.

Chelsea was not a strong team at that time, but Manchester United suffered a lot in the game. Ferguson already knew that his players were not in good shape, so he put out a conservative 451 formation, hoping to stabilize the midfield and backcourt first, organize and defend well, and then see if he could make a surprise attack. However, in this game, the Red Devils' defense of Donaghy, Lee Martin, Blackmore, and Pallister was not even half of their usual strength, and they could not withstand Chelsea's long pass and attack, which frequently put the goal in danger. Although the midfielders frequently retreated to help, they were also exhausted, resulting in the defense line leaking everywhere and being penetrated by the opponent many times. Not only that, the Red Devils' frontcourt players were not in good shape, and there was almost no threat to the attack. Many players made frequent mistakes in passing and running, and it was difficult to create any opportunities, and there was no threat to the opponent's defense. Chelsea seized the opportunity to launch a strong attack frequently, constantly making long passes and dribbling, and the Red Devils' defense line was penetrated one after another, and the goal was lost three times in a row. Although Hughes and others scored two goals in the frontcourt, they still lost with a score of 2-3.

Three days later, on March 1991, 3, Manchester United kicked off the 13th round of the league, challenging Southampton away.

Manchester United has played a game every three days for nearly a month. Under such inhuman conditions, even McClair, who is as tough as a buffalo, Bruce, who is as strong as a wild boar, and Webber, who is very experienced, have suffered a lot of injuries.

Ferguson made a special appeal to reporters regarding the schedule issue, asking the media to pay extensive attention to the team's schedule and the physical and mental health of the players.

The English Players' Union called on the whole society to pay attention to the health of the players and supported Ferguson's suggestion. "Players are human beings, not gods. Asking them to play so many games in a short period of time is beyond their limit. They are not animals, but now they are even worse than those performing animals in the circus."

The media also began to pay attention and wrote articles criticizing the FA's inhumane schedule arrangement. Under pressure from many parties, the FA had to explain again the reasons for the intensive schedule and promised to reduce the overly intensive schedule as much as possible to protect the health of the players.

In this match against Southampton, Ferguson had to make a big rotation again, and the formation returned to 442, and the tactics were completely defensive. Even though Ferguson sent two forwards, McClair and Hughes, he asked them to retreat to the midfield to help defend. The two players in the middle of the midfield, Ince and Webber, were rooted in the arc to help the defense plug leaks everywhere. Southampton had the advantage, but they were not good at long passes and quick attacks, nor were they good at hard-line confrontations. Le Tissier's style was still sensitive and gentle, and he was not a big threat to the Manchester United defense that was shrinking. The two teams finally saw each other back and forth, and after 90 minutes of continuous fighting, each scored a goal and the score was tied 1-1.

Ferguson said: "I know we are in a very difficult situation now. The bad news is that we still haven't won a league game. We have lost three games in a row and are now winless in four games. Including the Cup Winners' Cup, we are now five games without a win. The good news is that we have finally stopped losing in the league and stopped the downward trend. I think we have survived the most difficult time and the injury situation has improved. This is the biggest good news."

Ferguson said: "Bruce and Irwin will be back soon. Their injuries have been completely healed and they are in good shape. They can't wait to play. This is crucial for our subsequent games and they are indispensable."

In the 29th round of the league, the Red Devils challenged Nottingham Forest away.

Irwin and Bruce both returned to the starting lineup. Ferguson rested McClair and replaced him with Wallace. The Red Devils played a bit dull in this game, mainly because of Ferguson's conservative tactics. He still required the whole team to focus on defense. As a result, the speed and personal technical advantages of Manchester United players were not brought into play, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Manchester United's series of low-quality games naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of fans and also gave a bunch of reporters a new hot spot for hype. After the game, reporters started a new round of criticism, and they directly changed the headline to "The Red Devils have not won in 6 games, and Ferguson's coaching has fallen into a quagmire."

James, a reporter from the Daily Mail, said, "No one thought that a coach like Ferguson would play a defensive counterattack. No one thought that Manchester United would play such a frustrating football. They shrank their defense, they passively took the beating, they lost their sharpness, and they lost consecutive victories. Why is this?"

The BBC said: "Ferguson has not won in six games. The biggest difficulty facing the Red Devils in fighting on multiple fronts is the lineup. From now on, no team can sustain the consumption of fighting on three fronts, not even a stronger team than the Red Devils. Now the Red Devils have reached the final of the League Cup and the third round of the European Cup Winners' Cup, and there are still continuous league battles. This consumes too much physical energy for the entire Red Devils team, and it is also a big hidden danger for the Red Devils to suffer injuries."