The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 169 Lost all face

No one thought they would lose before the game, so they felt even more embarrassed when they lost the game and the title. For Ferguson, this loss to his predecessor was even more embarrassing, and to some extent, the failure also showed that his ability was not as good as the opponent who was fired by Manchester United.

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On April 1991, 4, the Red Devils and Sheffield Wednesday gathered at Wembley Stadium for the League Cup final.

Many fans flocked to Wembley Stadium, the most famous stadium in England. The whole stadium was full early and the atmosphere was very enthusiastic.

The Red Devils' opponent, Sheffield Wednesday, was no longer in the First Division, but in the Second Division, League B. But even so, the media believed that it was not easy for a team to make it all the way to the final, and the final would be a fierce and exciting battle.

Sheffield Wednesday is one of the oldest football clubs in the world. It is located in the old industrial city of Sheffield, England and was founded in 1867. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club was converted from a cricket club. At that time, cricket players only had time to play football on Wednesdays. Sheffield Wednesday is not the founding team of the English professional league, but they also have a long history. They have been one of the largest clubs in the UK for a long time and one of the clubs with the most supporters. The Hillsborough Stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday, can accommodate up to 30 people. It was one of the largest football stadiums in England at that time. The "Hillsborough Disaster" also took place here. Sheffield Wednesday has a rich history and is a "veteran" club spanning three centuries. It is nicknamed "Owl" and once had the nickname "Shovel". The club won the league championship four times in the first 1988 years of the last century and has a historical championship heritage. They had a poor start in the 89-1989 season and made an emergency change of coach in February 2, but the appointment of former Red Devils coach Atkinson did not work. The club chairman was also replaced, but the team still could not save itself from relegation.

After relegation, Sheffield Wednesday went through a massive reorganization and adjustment, but still failed to return to the First Division immediately. In the 90-91 season, Sheffield Wednesday continued to recruit more players and introduced several strong players. Under Atkinson's leadership, they swept through the League Two and ranked first early, securing a spot in the League One. Not only that, Atkinson also led them to a blockbuster victory in the League Cup, defeating strong teams and reaching the final as a dark horse.

First division vs. second division, strong teams vs. dark horses, Ferguson vs. Atkinson... Before the game, most media predicted that Ferguson's Red Devils would win easily, after all, the Red Devils' strength far exceeded that of their opponents. Facing the challenge of the former coach, Ferguson did not dare to neglect and fielded a full lineup of main players. The starting goalkeeper Healy, the defenders Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, and Blackmore lined up, the midfielders were Webber, Robson, Ince and Lee Sharp, and the forwards were McClair and Hughes. This lineup increased the fans' confidence. After all, this can be said to be the strongest starting lineup that the Red Devils can send out this season.

Ferguson sent out his best players and made detailed tactical arrangements. The team's main goal was to stabilize the midfield, gain an advantage in the midfield, and then make a breakthrough on the offensive end.

The opposing coach Atkinson obviously put a lot of effort into studying the Red Devils. He is also very good at cup matches, as evidenced by the fact that he won two FA Cups while coaching the Red Devils. Atkinson is based on defensive counterattacks and is very targeted in his deployment of troops.

At the beginning of the game, the Red Devils quickly launched an offensive, while the opponent deployed defense step by step, confronting the Red Devils head-on. The Red Devils did have a great advantage at the beginning, but the Red Devils players often got trapped in the opponent's penalty area, making it difficult to create shooting opportunities. The Red Devils needed to solve the opponent's shrinking defense and also guard against the opponent's sneak attacks.

Atkinson's plan came into play at the beginning of the game. He gave up the midfield, let the Red Devils take the initiative to attack, tightened the fence, made dense defense in the backcourt, and then waited for an opportunity to sneak attack the Red Devils' empty back. Although Sheffield Wednesday did not have a fast horse, once the Red Devils pressed forward, they had space and opportunities to launch a quick counterattack.

The game thus entered the rhythm of offense and defense. The Red Devils continued to strengthen their offense and at one point surrounded the opponent's penalty area, putting increasing pressure on the opponent and making their defense shaky.

Sheffield Wednesday's strategy was to defend, they were like a shrinking turtle, making it impossible for the Red Devils to attack. They were not even afraid of the boos and scolding from the fans, they just defended their own goal and shrank. When the game was at its most intense, almost all the players on Sheffield Wednesday were defending, they did not take the initiative to fight in the midfield, nor did they seek to control the ball and the scene, let alone advance in an orderly manner. Under this tactical style, Sheffield Wednesday could hardly fight back, the front and midfield were completely empty, and after getting the ball in the backfield, they would kick it forward directly. If their forwards could catch up, they would counterattack, if they could not, they would just do whatever they wanted and come back next time.

The commentator on the sidelines said directly: "Sheffield Wednesday has no forwards. The midfielders and backcourt players are directly blocking the goal. A row of 8 players have all retreated to the penalty area. This tactic is really eye-opening."

Under the continuous siege of the Red Devils, Sheffield Wednesday withdrew all its players to the backcourt. The Red Devils players lost their speed advantage, their crosses were not accurate, and it was difficult for them to break through and grab points in the penalty area. They could only try their luck with long shots.

The game was one-sided, with the Red Devils attacking fiercely and Sheffield Wednesday defending. The Red Devils did create opportunities. Lee Sharpe broke through the opponent's defense on the wing many times. His cross in the 22nd minute caused chaos in the opponent's penalty area, but it was a pity that Hughes' header did not hit the dead corner. In the 29th minute, Lee Sharpe launched another attack. His pass on the right had cut through the opponent's first line of defense, but when he continued to attack the penalty area, he was blocked by the opponent and had to give up this opportunity.

The Red Devils' Robson and Ince also got more offensive opportunities because of the opponent's active contraction. The two powerful midfielders tried long shots, but they were blocked by the dense crowd in the opponent's penalty area. Robson also had a chance to get into the penalty area. He received the ball after several runs by his Red Devils teammates and had found a little space, but his shot was easily saved by the opponent's goalkeeper because it was too straight.

The most regrettable thing is Hughes, who vowed before the game to use a goal to fight back against Atkinson's humiliation and offense. Hughes was very active after the start of this game. He repeatedly carried the opponent's defender in the penalty area, and even faced the close defense of two opponent defenders, just to find a chance to shoot. Not only did Hughes fight hard with the opponent's central defender in the penalty area, but he also kept moving actively, hoping to get a chance to shoot. It's a pity that even if Hughes found these shots, they were not so good timing. The opponent's two defenders and two midfielders were eyeing him and McClair, always closely guarding, leaving no time and space for them to prepare, no easy jump opportunities, and no enough time or space for them to hold the ball and face the defense line to start speed. Even if a defensive player was carried away, even if a defender was passed by the Red Devils in the penalty area with a small technical pass, they were always able to fill in the narrow space in time and blocked the continuous attacks of the two Red Devils forwards.

McClair entered the opponent's penalty area many times in this game. He retreated to the midfield to receive the ball and then sought cooperation with his teammates on the wing. In fact, McClair's retreat was very efficient and greatly relieved Robson and Ings' running burden and midfield coverage pressure. However, McClair's retreat and subsequent advancement ultimately did not create an absolute chance to score.

Sheffield Wednesday's intensive defense paid off. They were like a turtle in armor, or a bus with two layers of protective nets.

Under siege, the Red Devils' players also made various attempts against this turtle formation, whether it was a strong attack or a sudden attack, whether it was a header or a low shot, whether it was a point grab in the penalty area or a powerful shot outside the penalty area... The Red Devils tried every possible way, but they still couldn't score, even Ferguson was helpless on the sidelines.

The fierce attack failed and the continuous attack was ineffective, and the Red Devils' rear base was exposed to weaknesses.

Sheffield Wednesday's defense became more and more confident, and they even began to plan a sneak attack. At this time, except for the goalkeeper, the other players of the Red Devils were almost always attacking in the opponent's half. Bruce and Pallister pressed to the center circle, and the two full-backs went deep into the opponent's backcourt.

At this time, Sheffield Wednesday successfully cleared the ball and kicked it out of the backcourt. The ball came to the Red Devils' half, but there was no one in this area. The Sheffield Wednesday midfielder ran quickly, passed the Red Devils players, and then controlled the ball all the way forward. Sheffield Wednesday's counterattack caught the Red Devils off guard, and in the end, goalkeeper Healy was helpless in the face of a single shot.

1 is better than 0!

Just like that, Sheffield Wednesday succeeded in their sneak attack, and the Red Devils were unable to equalize the score despite their subsequent fierce attack.

As the final whistle of the game blew, the Red Devils were incredibly defeated by their opponents and lost the League Cup championship!

Atkinson was elated, and he had the last laugh. Even though his team defended terribly and was beaten badly by the opponent, he still won the championship!

This is Sheffield Wednesday's first League Cup title since its establishment!

For Ferguson, this moment was really embarrassing. This was the closest he had ever come to winning the League Cup since he coached the Red Devils, but he was defeated despite besieging his opponent, and the one who lost was Atkinson, his predecessor.

Ferguson said many years later: "I never expected the game to end like this. I could only congratulate my opponent on winning the championship. My face was burning, and Atkinson's face was full of joy, without any ridicule or sneer. But I know the pressure of losing, and the blow this failure has had on me. After the game, when we left the stadium tunnel, we heard the fans yelling, 'Fergie, you are a piece of shit, a stinking piece of shit!' What can I say?"

After Atkinson won the championship, Sheffield Wednesday went one step further and entered the English Football League 1. The fans are extremely grateful to him, not only for the championship and progress he brought to the team, but also for the hope that he can lead the team to create new glory.

The fans of Sheffield Wednesday are too simple and kind. Atkinson did not intend to coach here forever. He went to Aston Villa as head coach the day after the end of the season.

Atkinson did everything right before his "escape". He initially deceived Sheffield Wednesday fans by telling them he had the best job in the world. So when he defected to Aston Villa, the fans of Sheffield Wednesday were furious.

When Sheffield Wednesday faced Aston Villa in the first league match at the start of the new season, Sheffield Wednesday fans violently abused Atkinson on the spot. They shouted that Atkinson was a "Judas", a complete "liar", and a "running dog who bowed for money". They even hung banners on the spot to curse the former coach.

No other former head coach who led a team to win the championship can receive such treatment except Atkinson.