The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 200 Dark Horse Leeds United

"The English football world was extremely surprised by Leeds United's performance throughout the season. They suddenly exploded at the beginning of the season, continued to move forward during the season, and remained at the top of the standings. Compared with the standings, the fighting power and resilience of this white army are even more amazing. It has been many years since a team that was promoted last season was able to dominate the top league."

--Inscription

In the 21st round of the English League One, Manchester United and Leeds United ended in a draw, and the media also gave detailed reports on the teams after the game.

The Red Devils are making great strides, and Leeds United is also emerging as a dark horse.

Leeds United is an ugly duckling that has transformed into a white swan. The club was not a big club before. In their long history, they only had a glorious period in the 70s, when they won the English League One championship and reached the Champions League final. But after the 80s, they became a thing of the past. In 1982, the team was relegated to the Second Division and struggled for many years. It was not until October 1988 that Howard Wilkinson began to make a comeback.

Wilkinson worked hard to build a powerful team when he took office. He brought in veteran Strachan from Manchester United, and then recruited the "evil man" Vinnie Jones, Mel Strang, Lee Chapman and Chris Fairclough. He also promoted a large number of outstanding young players from the youth team, including David Batty (who had emerged during Bremner's tenure) and Gary Speed. Wilkinson built an almost new Leeds United team. They swept the English League Two in the 1989-90 season and returned to the English League One as the champion of the English League Two after 8 years.

In order to keep his place in the English League One and even go further in the face of stronger competition, Wilkinson decisively gave up players like Jones who relied on their physical strength, even if he was criticized for it. The team then vigorously introduced stars such as John Luzik (the first player in the club's history to reach £100 million), Chris White and Gary McAllister. In the 1990-91 season, Leeds United performed well and finally achieved the fourth place in the league as a newly promoted team.

In the summer of 1991, the Leeds United board decided to invest more. Like Manchester United, they made big purchases in the transfer market and strengthened multiple positions. Tony Dorigo, Steven Hodge, Rod Wallace and Eric Cantona all joined the team.

The White Army, which was promoted to the English League One in 1990, has further strengthened its strength, and its fourth place last season also stimulated Wilkinson's desire.

Several new players have played an important role. Together with the stars introduced last summer, they have become the main force of the team. Although these players are not very famous, they are plug-and-play stars. As an excellent winger, Dorigo has excellent speed, skills and awareness. He can often kick sharp breakthroughs and crosses, and frequently assists his teammates. He can be regarded as an indispensable fast horse in the offensive system of Leeds United. Steven Hodge had a dream start. He was at his peak as soon as he debuted. He played a full game for Leeds United for the first time on September 9 and performed very well. He scored his first goal for Leeds United and helped the team beat Liverpool, the giant of English football at home. The stimulating effect of this goal was extremely huge. It immediately boosted the confidence of this player who looked inconspicuous before, and his mental outlook also changed like a reborn. Rod Wallace was also very crucial. In the game against Tottenham, he scored the only goal of the game, which helped the team get the crucial three points.

It can be said that these signings were extremely successful.

The most surprising thing was the French striker Eric Cantona, who was introduced by Wilkinson. Cantona, who joined the team with the reputation of being a "bad boy" in French football, was extremely talented, but also independent and his style of play was also different from that of ordinary people. Wilkinson did not think about how to use Cantona at that time, but when there was no striker available, he found that Cantona was very good. Although the French star did not score many goals, he forced the opponent's defender to make a mistake and scored an own goal in the crucial game against Sheffield United, which helped Leeds United win a crucial victory.

Leeds United now has a very good starting lineup. Goalkeeper John Lugers returns to his boyhood club, having played at a first-class level at Arsenal. Mel Strang is a cult hero, a solid and strong player, and an aggressive full-back. Tony Dorigo performs elegant skills on the other wing, while Chris Felcla and Chris Wheater hold the fences firmly in the middle.

The core midfield quartet was balanced in strength, well-coordinated, and supported each other, becoming the most critical cornerstone of the team. Strachan, Batty, Speed, and McAllister each had their own characteristics, but they worked very well together. They were neatly combined that season, and each player showed a very good state, as if they were in the strongest period of their careers, and fully played their roles. Their characteristics and advantages were brought into play, and they became a very balanced whole. McAllister, who was 27 years old at the time, was at his strongest. He replaced Wes Jones after joining in 1990. He further improved the team. Through the vicious delivery of set pieces, he was able to effectively establish a tacit understanding with the tall Chapman, who was often able to receive his accurate crosses. In their first season together, the Leeds United striker scored 21 league goals, setting a career-best record. Speed ​​and Batty were both from the youth training, and they also honed their skills in the team for more than three years, making rapid progress along the way. Although only 21 and 22 at the time, Speed ​​and Batistuta had the right combination of energy and agility to excel at the highest level. Batistuta was a fan favorite, with his exuberant energy and overdeveloped physique that made him resemble a bull terrier with shaggy blond hair.

Especially Strachan, who served as the team captain, is the leader of the entire team. Although Strachan will be 35 years old this season, while his peers are performing mediocrely or even going downhill, the captain of Leeds United is still energetic and in excellent condition. He continues to be the offensive commander of Leeds United this season, able to run quickly in the frontcourt, control the ball, pass, and control the offensive rhythm. At the same time, he is almost everywhere in the attacking area, full of energy and creativity. Strachan is like a fish in water in Leeds United, and he has re-exploded into his peak state at an advanced age. He is deeply relied on by coach Wilkinson and has won the respect of his teammates. Especially in the second division, he showed his super offensive ability to fans and opponents in a technical poverty alleviation attitude, playing a leadership role in the team.

The legendary striker Lee Chapman is an indispensable main force in this white army. After entering his 30s, he was troubled by injuries at the beginning, but he miraculously recovered early this season and maintained his peak form throughout the season. He scored 60 goals in the first two and a half seasons after joining Leeds United and is the most trusted attacker in the team. The newly introduced striker Cantona can bring a new style to the team and bring new vitality to the attacking line.

Wilkinson was ambitious to lead the team to the championship. He constantly strengthened his control over the team, and at the same time led the team to work hard, practice various tactical coordination, and increase the overall strength of the team. Wilkinson had a high prestige in Leeds United. He led the team into the First Division and continued to sprint to the semi-finals. He also ruthlessly cleaned up the untimely merits in the team, which made him respected in the locker room and built a very disciplined and integrated team. He gradually put Vinnie Jones on the bench in 1991, and even though he was under the pressure of having a shotgun pointed at his head by this evil man and the favorite superstar of all Leeds United fans, he did not hesitate to clean him up.

Wilkinson made Strachan the core of the team and created an aggressive offensive tactic, with Strachan organizing and directing the team, while McAllister provided direct passes, making the team's style very concise and clear.

Leeds United has emerged very quickly, and they have begun to challenge the English League One championship this season. Like Manchester United, Leeds United has not reached the top league championship for 18 years, and Manchester United has not reached the top for 25 years. Neither of them will succeed, but their ambitions are the same.

After the start of this season, Leeds United had an excellent start like the Red Devils. They defeated the super power Arsenal at the beginning, which built up strong confidence. They then achieved an excellent record of 10 wins and 5 draws in 5 league games, and hit the top of the league standings in one fell swoop. After the games at the beginning of the season, the media has begun to pay attention to this new team with rapidly rising strength. In October, Leeds United lost a game to Crystal Palace, and the league's unbeaten record was broken, but the White Army was not discouraged. Then they defeated Sheffield United 10-4 to respond strongly and restarted a new round of excellent performance. Starting from the victory over Sheffield United, Leeds United continued to be unbeaten. After the 3th round, they were temporarily ranked first with 14 points, 29 point ahead of the Red Devils who had one game less. Then Leeds United remained unbeaten until Christmas, until the game against Manchester United, they finally escaped in a thrilling way and kept their unbeaten record.

Ferguson's Red Devils are also in great momentum this season, and they are also making rapid progress. In the first 10 rounds of the season, both teams were almost unbeaten. In the 13th round, Manchester United won one more game than their opponent and took the top spot in the standings. In the 14th round, because Manchester United's game was postponed, Leeds United took the top spot in the standings.

All in all, the two teams were like two fast horses running side by side, chasing each other and biting each other very closely.

Leeds United was eliminated from various cup competitions early on, and this result allowed the White Army to concentrate on one goal, which was to win the league championship.

Manchester United is completely different. Ferguson's strategy is to win as many championships as possible. They are also competing in the FA Cup, League Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup. There are many more games scheduled, which is naturally much more difficult.

This season's Leeds United team is enough to make people's eyes shine. Leeds United insists on active attacking, the attackers are strong, and the midfield delivery is direct and simple. In addition to the relatively solid backcourt, they are not only good at playing high balls, but also extremely good at breaking through the middle. Strachan's embroidery, McAllister's straight passes, Batty and Speed's toughness, let the midfield support the frontcourt very well. They played dynamic football, actively attacked and advanced quickly. McAllister was full of creativity in organization and often established precise connections with Lee Chapman. Strachan's sense of responsibility united everyone and made Leeds United full of passion. Strachan and Speed ​​each scored two goals in the 4-0 victory over Southampton, while Chapman scored hat tricks in the 6-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday and the 5-1 victory over Wimbledon. McAllister's assist data once led the entire League One.

After playing until the 25th round of the league, the White Army still maintained an extremely outstanding performance. They only lost one game in these 25 games, scored 48 goals and conceded 23 goals, remaining at the top of the standings in a very domineering manner.

他们不仅仅在主场发挥出色，在客场也频频告捷。在以4比1比分大胜阿斯顿维拉之后，利兹联队在1月12日更是在客场踢出了6比1的悬殊比分，横扫了谢菲尔德星期三队。

Even when facing the strongest opponents, Leeds United is not afraid. In the league, they not only eliminated Liverpool, but also beat Tottenham and Arsenal, and played a close game against the Red Devils.

In this way, the battle for the league title finally turned into a contest between Leeds United and the Red Devils. As the season gradually came to an end, the competition for the leader reached a white-hot level.

利兹联队的出色状态一直维持到1992年的2月，一直到了这个月8日他们在对阵奥尔德姆竞技队时才再次失利，比分为0比2。而这才仅仅是他们整个赛季以来的第二场失利。