The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 194: Four consecutive wins

A good start is half the success. Ferguson's team shocked the entire football world at the beginning of the season. They were full of fighting spirit and passion, which suddenly boosted the enthusiasm of the fans.

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In September, the Red Devils challenged Wimbledon away in the 9th round of English League One.

The Wimbledon team at this time was no longer the muscle gang of the past. Several guys with strong bodies and rough playing styles had long since left. Although Wimbledon's head coach still advocated English football and was still an admirer of the tough style, the entire appearance of the team had changed a lot. After entering the 90s, English football began to rapidly move towards continentalization. The league began to guide the game towards technology, speed and normal confrontation. Rough fouls on the field were no longer condoned and promoted, but were restricted and punished.

He helped Wimbledon beat Liverpool and win the FA Cup, which was the most brilliant achievement in their club's history. However, the team did not maintain its enterprising mentality after that and suddenly fell from the peak. The dark horse that suddenly emerged will always become the target of the giants. Several core players of the Wimbledon team were immediately poached by various giants, and the newly introduced stars did not blend with the team's playing style and system, and their strength was not played out. Not only that, the team's youth training players were not strong enough and made little progress, which could not bring enough combat effectiveness to the team, and even caused the team's strength to decline significantly.

Manchester United was getting stronger, while the Madness was getting weaker. The strength of the two teams was clear from the beginning. Facing the Madness, which was no longer aggressive, the Red Devils played at a fast pace from the beginning, made many quick breakthroughs on the wing, and directly destroyed the opponent's slow defense with a wave of fierce attacks. After the attackers in the front court wasted nearly 6 scoring opportunities, Hughes and McClair both shot directly in front of the goal and spit out the cakes that were stuffed into their mouths, Manchester United finally broke the deadlock with Blackmore's goal, and then Pallister scored a goal to basically lock in the victory. Although Wimbledon also took advantage of Manchester United's negligence in the subsequent game and scored a header in front of the goal to get back a goal, Ferguson's team finally defeated the opponent 2-1 and continued to advance in the league.

In the 7th round of the league, the Red Devils returned to their home ground to face Bruce's former club Norwich.

Norwich also lost the strength that it had in the previous competition with Liverpool and Arsenal for the top spot in the standings. They have mainly relied on selling their current stars to maintain their position in recent years, so their strength is naturally imaginable. In this game, the Red Devils played at home and their momentum was greatly increased. They launched a fierce attack right from the start. The opponent Norwich's midfield was quickly suppressed, and then they retreated to defend, and the midfield and forward line were pressed to the backcourt.

Manchester United was in excellent form, firmly controlling the situation and suppressing the opponent, and even turned the game into a half-court attack. In the 21st minute, Robson's free kick near the midfield was passed into the penalty area. Red Devils winger Kanchelskis made a cross from the right, and Blackmore immediately shot from the left and scored. The Red Devils broke the deadlock 1-0. After taking the lead, the Red Devils continued to attack fiercely, and the continuous siege situation remained, forcing the opponent to make mistakes in the backcourt. In the 29th minute, Manchester United's midfield advanced. At the top of the penalty area, Robson directly shot a volley. After being blocked by the opponent, Ins got the ball again outside the penalty area to organize an offensive. McClair easily faced the opponent's goalkeeper and shot into the goal. The Red Devils led 2-0; the Norwich team, which was two goals behind, had no intention of fighting. The defender made another mistake under the pressure of the opponent and passed the ball to Giggs. Giggs dribbled into the penalty area lightly, attracted the opponent's goalkeeper to attack, and then dodged the angle and easily shot the ball into the net. The Red Devils finally won a big victory 3-0!

Successive wins over Ferguson's former nemesis Wimbledon and Norwich have helped to ease the psychological barriers of some of the Red Devils players, and the advantage on the field has greatly encouraged the Red Devils fans.

The Red Devils visited Southampton at the Dell Stadium in the eighth round of the league. Ferguson was relatively cautious in this game. He did not rush to attack at the beginning, but deployed his formation to stabilize the midfield. Southampton's youth training camp has done a great job in recent years, and it can be said that there are many talents. Le Tissier, Shearer, Sheringham and other good players have emerged one after another, and the overall strength is also very good. Ferguson's key players in this game are the two wingers. Giggs and Kanchelskis played together, and the main focus was to find the right opportunity to attack the opponent's wing space. In the 7th minute, Southampton advanced in the middle and suddenly fired a powerful shot in front of the Manchester United penalty area. This long shot was very powerful and almost caught Schmeichel off guard. Fortunately, the Danish goalkeeper reacted in time and stretched out his hand to block the ball; in the 11th minute, Southampton made a cross from the left, and Le Tissier received the ball at the back point. He dodged and moved for a long time and finally found a gap. He shot directly without swinging his legs and almost broke through the Manchester United goal. Fortunately, the shot lacked power and speed, and was blocked by Bruce on the goal line.

After withstanding several waves of attacks from the opponent, the two sides fell into a seesaw battle. In the 31st minute, Manchester United's midfielder intercepted the ball and quickly launched an attack. Giggs once again performed a gorgeous long-distance attack. Giggs cruised in the frontcourt on the right side of the Red Devils. After receiving the pass from Ince, he immediately accelerated and rushed over when the opponent doubled up. After successfully passing the level alone, Giggs was a little exhausted. He decisively passed the ball with a difficult move of back heel pass. Kanchelskis, who inserted at high speed, was very tacit. After receiving the ball, he also accelerated and ran wildly. The opponent's reorganized defense line was left with only the time to be stunned, and could only watch Kanchelskis dribbled the ball to the bottom and then passed it. When this cross reached the penalty area, Robson made a very accurate pass in front of the goal, and the exquisite assist sent the opportunity to Hughes' feet. Hughes shot the ball without any pressure, and a calm volley hit the dead corner and scored.

The Red Devils lead their opponents 1-0.

In the subsequent games, Southampton was unwilling to lose and made many offensive threats. Le Tissier's shots in front of the goal were very powerful and almost scored the equalizer. Manchester United worked together to gradually withdraw the defense line, steadily deal with the opponent, and actively launched counterattacks, preventing the opponent from pressing forward. In the 78th minute, Southampton got a corner kick opportunity. When the opponent passed the ball, Manchester United did not keep a close eye on the opponent in the penalty area. The opponent's central defender jumped up in the crowd and grabbed the opportunity to head the ball hard, almost breaking Schmeichel's ten fingers. Fortunately, this header was eventually off the position and slipped out of the goal.

Manchester United was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. They then paid extra attention to defend and finally withstood the opponent's fierce bombardment and won the game.

Manchester United won all three points in a thrilling manner, and also achieved three consecutive wins and eight games unbeaten.

After this battle, Manchester United took the top spot in the league standings.

The media is naturally well versed in the art of flattering the powerful and trampling the weak. After the game, Ferguson received interview requests from no less than 10 media outlets, but he rejected them all. In the post-match interview, The Times asked a question, "Alex, how did you achieve such a great transformation? Why did the team undergo such a dramatic change?"

Ferguson said: "I am glad that you asked such a question. It proves that you are really paying attention to us. How did we achieve the transformation? All the answers are in my players. It is their efforts that changed everything."

Ferguson said, "We have experienced hardships and have been on the verge of despair, but our team has never given up on its ideals. Even when we were at our lowest point, I told the players that they must have lofty goals and must strive for the championship."

Indeed, Ferguson's words point out the key factors that determine whether a team can truly become a league powerhouse and a champion. Under his coaching, the Red Devils have truly undergone a complete transformation. The team was also strong and star-studded during Atkinson's era, and the lineup was even more enviable than it is now, but the team at that time stagnated when it encountered setbacks and gave up when it encountered setbacks, and it was indeed impossible to achieve success.

Although up to now, there is not much difference between the coaching achievements of Atkinson and Ferguson, and strictly speaking, the hope and passion that the two brought to the fans are actually not much different, the fans and the media have now forgotten the lessons of Atkinson and started cheering for Ferguson's team winning the first place in the standings.

Many media even directly predicted that Ferguson's team would lead until the end and successfully sprint for the league championship.

After this match, Ferguson's team moved on to the European Cup Winners' Cup. They played away in the first round and were tied by their opponents despite having an absolute advantage on the field. Despite this, the media all agreed that Ferguson's team had the initiative to qualify, because the second round would be moved to the Theatre of Dreams, and the Red Devils, who were at home, would definitely win.

Back to the league, the Red Devils kicked off the 9th round of the league against Luton.

This match was a tough battle for the Red Devils after their midweek European expedition. Ferguson's team was actually quite tired, but their desire to win was very strong. Manchester United missed at least 4 chances to score in the European war, which made all the Manchester United attacking players feel ashamed. In this match, Ferguson once again used the Thunder Army, attacking the opponent wildly at the beginning, and launching a round of attack frenzy while the opponent was not yet stable.

The Red Devils players overcame the difficulty of lack of physical strength caused by consecutive games and long-distance running, and they were still full of energy in the game, forcing Luton to defend. The Red Devils first launched a fast break in the 11th minute. After the midfielder intercepted the ball, they made a long pass to the right. Kanchelskis crossed the ball after going down the bottom, but unfortunately Hughes was a step too late and failed to grab the ball. In the 13th minute, Manchester United made a comeback. Giggs quickly advanced on the left, passed two defenders in a row and entered the penalty area. When the opponent's central defender came forward to make up for the defense, he made a cross pass to assist. Ins successfully grabbed the ball in the midfield and shot directly in front of the goal, helping the team open the door to victory.

In the subsequent games, Manchester United took the initiative completely. Luton lost its offensive and defensive positions, which led to loopholes in the defense line. McClair scored two goals in a row, which directly defeated the opponent's confidence. In the 62nd minute, Mark Hughes missed several shooting opportunities and finally received a pass from Kanchelskis. He was pulled to the ground by his opponent just as he was about to shoot, earning a penalty for Manchester United. Bruce easily took the penalty kick and succeeded, 4-0! At the last moment, the Red Devils played a long pass and Giggs made an accurate cross from the left. Hughes finally did not miss the opportunity this time. He nodded the ball into the goal from behind the penalty area, locking the score at 5-0!

Manchester United played brilliantly, and the exciting goal-scoring battles dazzled and mesmerized the fans. Sky Sports said: "Ferguson's team played very brilliantly, the players' skills and confidence far surpassed their opponents, and the overall coordination and offensive routines were excellent. This was a feast of football and a performance of goals. Manchester United fans can be proud of this. They were so excited that they stayed up all night."

After a 5-goal victory, Ferguson's team broke the record in one fell swoop, winning four consecutive league games and remaining unbeaten in nine games, and remaining unbeaten in 9 rounds on both fronts.