The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 17 Humble Beginnings

"Ferguson's football coaching career started very humblely. The first team he coached was East Stirling, the lowest level in the Scottish League. But even so, Ferguson's brilliance could not be concealed. He quickly transformed the broken team into a vigorous one, and the results were also outstanding and impressive."

--Inscription

There are some amazing things in the world of football. Some clubs with a long history may have been lost in the long river of time, but some have survived in lower leagues or amateur leagues for a long time.

For example, East Stirling Football Club, which is now in the Scottish Third Division. This club has always been obscure in history and has no brilliant achievements, but they have something to be proud of.

Their proud history is here, as it was where Ferguson got his start as a professional football coach.

The land of Longxing.

The first team Ferguson served as head coach in his coaching career was East Sterling, and all his professional glory started from there.

Ferguson turned to football coaching after retiring in 1974, but he was only 32 years old and encountered obstacles everywhere. After the Queen's Park Football Club politely rejected it, East Stirling Football Club invited Ferguson.

The club's chairman personally came to invite him, showing his sincerity. Ferguson was naturally very touched and happily took up the post.

In this way, Ferguson officially became the head coach of East Stirling in June 1974.

The position of East Stirling head coach sounds good, but it is more like a pit.

When Ferguson took over, the team was so bad that it was unbearable to look at. Although he had just promised the chairman not to resign, he could not help but complain when he recalled it many years later: "The East Stirling team I took over was the worst team in Scotland. They could not even be called a professional team for adults. If it was any worse, this team would not be at the bottom of the league!"

The fact is that this team has been losing in the Scottish League Two for a long time and has been the second-to-last team. If there is no major change, the team is likely to be eliminated from the League Two.

East Sterling's performance was not only poor. The team only had eight regular main players at the time, and the rest were "rotational substitutes" like amateur players. They could not even put together the regular 8-man starting lineup and each game was a makeshift one.

"East Stirling must not be relegated!" the club chairman repeatedly stressed and urged.

Ferguson decided to challenge himself to repay East Stirling's kindness.

Ferguson was naturally unwilling to admit defeat. He was determined to completely change the team's backward situation and lead the team out of the predicament.

East Stirling was not completely without merit. The club was very supportive of Ferguson. In order to help the coach, even though the team was in a tight budget, the board of directors did their best to raise a "huge sum" of £2000 for Ferguson to buy players and strengthen the team.

Ferguson decided to change the team through training. He soon found that the players who participated in the training were very active and serious, had a certain level of technical and tactical skills, and were willing to listen to his instructions and obey his orders. Although these players had limited abilities, they were enthusiastic and full of fighting spirit, which inspired Ferguson.

It’s a pity that there are too few people, and their abilities are still a bit too poor.

Ferguson naturally couldn't waste the management's kindness. Relying on his own connections, he used 2000 pounds to find a goalkeeper, a center forward, a midfielder and a forward... Now the team not only had the 11 places in the starting lineup, but also gained one more player!

Ferguson felt that he could still play in the second division, so he took the initiative to sign up as a striker and planned to play in the game himself.

Ferguson's ability as a professional coach is evident. He is very good at "fooling" people and has a very good eye for selecting people. The people Ferguson bought are not bad, they are not just to make up the numbers, they are all people who are not famous but have enough strength.

Ferguson actively went to the community to discover new talents and recruit players for the echelon. Ferguson knew that it was difficult for a team in danger of relegation to attract those young people who were too ambitious, but he was good at discovering those young people who wanted to play football and have the opportunity to receive professional guidance, just like he did in the past. Ferguson went deep into the community and various amateur teams, using passionate speeches to attract young people, promising to personally guide young people to play football, promising positions in professional teams, and attracting those who were interested. In order to attract young people, Ferguson also announced that the team's training ground would be opened for everyone to play football for free. Not only that, he also decided to hold teaching matches and friendly matches with community teams and amateur teams.

After extensive publicity, many young people from nearby areas came to sign up.

Ferguson conducted the trials seriously, successfully found his target, and recruited many new players with potential.

In this way, Ferguson made do with what was available to form a team of 25 people and also established a echelon.

It was at this time that East Stirling Football Club officially began to have a sufficient number of main players and no longer needed to recruit temporary players to make up the numbers.

The team was reorganized and Ferguson started training.

Ferguson was forced to take on the task, and according to the training subjects he learned when playing for Rangers and Dunflin, he developed technical and tactical training subjects by feeling his way forward, and formulated a plan for strength and physical training.

Ferguson did not receive any systematic coaching training, but he was truly born with talent. He was very successful in technical training, physical training, team competitions and other aspects, and the team was full of enthusiasm.

Ferguson believed that a lot of training was necessary to improve the players' abilities, and the team's active training also helped him grow in confidence. Although his training methods at the time were still unscientific, they had a magical effect on the East Stirling team.

Under Ferguson's encouragement, the players quickly improved their level and gained confidence in warm-up matches and pre-match training.

The fans were the first to feel the team's improvement when they actually tied 3-3 with the Celtics' youth team in a pre-season friendly!

The results speak for themselves. Now the team can actually compete with the bigger teams - Ferguson quickly established his authority in the locker room.

Ferguson used strict training to hone and require the players, who were scattered and had no professional ability, to improve their physical fitness and skills. Ferguson thought this was far from enough, so he used strict discipline to restrain them and required the players to strictly follow his instructions.

Ferguson showed his harsh side from the beginning, often scolding players during training and games, glaring at and scolding those who disobeyed him.

Bobby McCully, the rebellious striker in the team, was the one who was most severely bullied by Ferguson. He still feels scared when he talks about Ferguson: "I've never been afraid of anyone - except Ferguson. He was a terrible bastard from the beginning!"

Why did he say this?

Because the reporter asked him why Ferguson asked him to run 2 meters every day before starting technical training?

The alcoholic striker was always reluctant to run, but Ferguson insisted that the striker must run and must have physical strength in order to have a chance.

Ferguson said, "At that time, I used my experience as a striker to tell McCully how to become an efficient killer, but he obviously didn't agree. I personally went down to the field to compete with him, and he was completely convinced. I found that he had good physical conditions, but he was too lazy. So I had to add some ingredients to him and leave him some homework."

Ferguson took a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he personally trained McCully in the team's internal training matches, and on the other hand, he ordered him to insist on running 2 meters every day.

Many years later, McCully, who benefited from the harsh training, truly understood Ferguson's kindness. "I called him to thank him. I regretted calling him a terrible bastard, but Ferguson said that was the best portrayal. I am grateful that he didn't take it to heart. Later I realized that he just wanted to make us stronger. I am very grateful for his brutal training and strict requirements, which allowed my career to end successfully."

Ferguson used his iron fist and "hair dryer" to change the team, making the team reborn and greatly increasing its strength.

Ferguson's temper was not only directed at the team, but also at the club management. In the sixth game of the League Cup, East Sterling played poorly and was eventually eliminated by the opponent. When the game was in full swing, the chairman of East Sterling suddenly appeared on the bench and asked Ferguson curiously: "What should we do with the team? Should we change our tactics? Or change the players?"

"This is not the place for you. If you don't get out of here right now, I'm going to throw you out of this fucking place!" Ferguson responded furiously.

The chairman was silent and left immediately.

The team's main striker Jimmy was not interested in training, so Ferguson ruthlessly banned him. Jimmy's father-in-law, who was also the club's director, came to plead for him, but it was useless. In the end, Jimmy admitted his mistake and the chairman personally came forward to guarantee him, and Ferguson allowed Jimmy to return to the team. It was a long time before Jimmy had a chance to play in the game.

From then on, no one interfered with Ferguson's coaching work.

In addition to his hot temper, Ferguson also focused on youth training, which is where his good habit of discovering young players began.

Ferguson first opened the club's training ground, widely invited local young players to train, and accepted amateur players for trial training. Although Firth Park, the home ground of East Stirling, was not very good, Ferguson's open measures still attracted a large number of players. Ferguson tried his best to observe young players and provide them with footballs, jerseys and shoes as much as possible. Ferguson also guided the formation of a youth echelon, arranged a youth training director, and continuously discovered new seedlings. Ferguson knew that there were many seedlings with outstanding football talents. He personally paid for the famous youth football team in his hometown, Glasgow United, to play against the youth team players of East Stirling.

Discover new talents and attach importance to youth training - Ferguson has always adhered to this concept and it has not changed no matter how many years have passed.

East Stirling's fighting power improved rapidly. The team won three games and drew one. Not only did they quickly get rid of the relegation crisis, but they also ranked third in the league standings in September 1975. Under Ferguson, the team was very brave. Their games were mainly offensive, and their fighting style was very prominent. They defeated Falkirk 9-2, a veteran First Division team that had just been relegated.

East Stirling was thriving and Ferguson's coaching talent was quickly known to outsiders.

Ferguson soon received a new coaching invitation. St. Mirren coach Willie resigned and Ferguson's mentor Stan recommended him to the team.

In this way, Ferguson's coaching history at East Stirling ended in October 1974.

From the time he took office to the time he left, Ferguson was at East Stirling for less than four months. But in such a short time, Ferguson demonstrated the key qualities of an excellent coach. His vision in selecting players, his methods of tactical training, his emphasis on youth training... Ferguson's short experience at East Stirling could not be called a success, but it was already impressive.

Ferguson's last game as coach was unforgettable. The team knew he was leaving and decided to send him off with a "most beautiful game". In the end, they beat Alloa 4-0 at home. It was a passionate game. The team kept attacking bravely, constantly suppressing the opponent, fighting for every inch of grass, constantly launching a wave of attacks, and finally won a big victory with crazy shots and points. It was a clean and refreshing victory.

After the game, when Ferguson announced his departure in the locker room, the whole team was silent.

Vanguard Donnelly couldn't help himself and said excitedly: "This damn fate is really playing tricks on us. You brought us up so well, and you just abandon us like this?!"

The locker room could no longer remain silent, and many players couldn't hold back their tears and cried sadly.