The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 209: The Demoted Team

"Manchester United's defeat to West Ham United is unacceptable. When you can't even beat a relegated team that ranks last in points, how can you compete for the championship?!"

--Inscription

The loss to Nottingham Forest had a very serious impact on the Red Devils in the end.

On the other side, Leeds United started the 40th round of the league after learning of Manchester United's defeat. Their opponent was Coventry.

Leeds United was ecstatic, they didn't even need the coach's mobilization, they were full of fighting spirit to win. The opponent Coventry was obviously not strong enough, Leeds United took the advantage on the field at the beginning, Wilkinson commanded the team to attack the opponent, Phil Clough scored a goal in the second half, and then forced a penalty kick in the attack, McAllister easily scored and secured the victory.

The White Army defeated Coventry 2-0 and achieved a crucial victory.

The English League One standings have changed again. Leeds United is now 1 point ahead with one more game to play.

Leeds fans were excited and nervous. They kept singing songs to encourage the team and cheering for the team. After Leeds United won the game, they were even more jubilant and excited.

The Red Devils are one point behind with one game less, but they have the initiative. As long as the Red Devils can successfully win the opponent in the make-up game, the Red Devils will overtake the White Army by 2 points, continue to suppress Leeds United, and gain an advantage in the battle for the championship.

Leeds United has two games left in the league, while the Red Devils have three games left. As long as the Red Devils can keep their composure, perform well and win all the games, Ferguson's team will still be able to win the championship in the end.

It was April 1992, 4, and the Red Devils were going to West Ham United's Upton Park to play the 22th round of the league.

West Ham United is one of the Red Devils' arch-rivals in English football.

Why are they the Red Devils' enemies?

West Ham United has a long history, which can be traced back to June 1895, when the Thames Steelworks Football Team was the predecessor of West Ham United. In June 6, the Thames Steelworks Football Team officially announced its disbandment, and on July 1900, the original players reorganized the team and named it West Ham United. It is because of this relationship that West Ham United is called the "Hammer Gang".

The most glorious time for this London team was in the 20s, when Ron Greenwood took over as coach in 60 and began an amazing journey of rapid development. They won the 1961 FA Cup final and then won the 1964 European Cup Winners' Cup, creating the highest peak of honor in the team's history.

In the 1966 World Cup, West Ham United players shined in the England team. Bobby Moore, the captain of England who won the championship that year, Martin Peters who scored in the final, and Jeff Hurst, the only player in the history of the World Cup to perform a hat trick in the final, all came from West Ham United. After this battle, West Ham United also became one of the giants in English football.

In the 70s, West Ham United gradually entered a low ebb in the league. Although Lyle won the FA Cup in 1975 when he was the coach, creating the history of the last team in English football history to win the championship with all English players, it was difficult to stop the team's decline. In 1976, Lyle led the team to the European Cup Winners' Cup final for the second time, but eventually lost 2-4 to Anderlecht of Belgium. In 1978, West Ham United was unfortunately relegated. In the 1979-80 season, Lyle led the team to defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup final, creating a miracle in the history of the English FA Cup that a League Two team won. Then they were quickly promoted to the First Division and continued to fight in the top league. In the 1985-86 season, West Ham United won the third place in the English League One, which was the best league record in the club's history. But this excellent result was only a flash in the pan. They were soon relegated again in 1989 and returned to the English League One in the 1990-91 season.

In the 1991-92 season, West Ham United, as a newly promoted team in the league, suffered a series of defeats and soon fell to the bottom of the league. After the end of the season, they were relegated back to English League Two.

The earliest hatred between the Red Devils and West Ham United came from the confrontation between the fans of the two clubs. Many of the diehard fans of the two teams were football hooligans, and the two teams' fans often quarreled and clashed during the game. In 1958, the Red Devils suffered the Munich air crash, but West Ham United mocked the scar of the Red Devils. Their fans even shouted "Go to hell" when they played against Manchester United shortly after the air crash in 1958, simulating the action of a plane crash on the spot and cursing the entire Red Devils team. This provocation triggered a fierce conflict between the fans of the two teams on the spot. The Red Devils fans who went on the expedition with the team fought with their opponents, causing a serious incident in which many people were injured. Afterwards, the local police accused several hooligan fans of West Ham United, but West Ham United did not take emergency measures to cut off these extreme fans, and the hatred between the two teams immediately rose to the club level.

For many years, West Ham United has never restrained its fans and the hatred between the two clubs has not been eased at all.

Before the league match, West Ham United was ranked last, while Manchester United was a strong contender for the league title. Before the match, people believed that Manchester United would easily win the match, and the only suspense was how many goals they could score.

The Red Devils lined up a 442 lineup, with Schmeichel as goalkeeper, Donaghy, Irwin, Bruce and Pallister as the back line, Phelan, Blackmore, Giggs and Sharp as midfielders, and McClair and Hughes as forwards. In theory, this is a pretty good lineup for the Red Devils, but the hidden danger is that there are not enough strong players in the midfield.

The match started in a strange atmosphere. West Ham United's home stadium was packed to the brim. The Hammers' home stadium is always so noisy. The fans were shouting, singing, and clapping wildly, while they were also attacking the Red Devils players crazily, using all kinds of low-brow insults, threats, and ridicule. Among these shouts and curses, there were naturally voices mocking the Red Devils' Munich air crash, which sounded particularly harsh.

Many years later, Ferguson still remembered the feeling of leading the team to Upson Park. "It was terrible. Their fans were so crazy, just like a bunch of lunatics. They were like opening 10,000 loudspeakers in your ears. Our coaching staff and the bench couldn't stand it. Those players playing on the field were really hard."

Ferguson said: "I remember very clearly that every time I came to Upson Park, I was always nervous and angry. It was difficult to control myself."

Even though the Red Devils were emotional, the game started in favor of the Red Devils. The Red Devils were far more powerful than their opponents could match, and they launched an offensive at the start, hoping to score early. The Red Devils' offensive was fierce at the start, and Giggs and Lee Sharpe were intimidated by the fans at first, but they quickly adjusted and gradually adapted to the field, and soon played at their level.

West Ham United's idea for this game was very clear, that is, to go head-to-head with the Red Devils at home and wait for an opportunity to find an opportunity in the midfield stranglehold. They had already lost the key relegation battle before this game, but the players seemed to have completely let go of their burdens and played exceptionally well in this game. West Ham United's stubborn tactics brought many opportunities to the Red Devils' offense, but unfortunately, the Red Devils' offense always wasted shooting opportunities. Both Hughes and McClair wasted opportunities more than once. The game was going on at a high speed, and time passed quickly. The Red Devils wasted countless opportunities in vain. Giggs and Lee Sharpe's crosses were wasted by their teammates, Giggs himself wasted shooting opportunities, and Lee Sharpe even missed an empty goal.

Not only the two wingers and strikers, but also the Red Devils' midfielders had many chances to score. Webber's shot was almost close to scoring, but the chaos in the opponent's penalty area magically blocked the ball; Phelan did not attack many times, but there was one through ball that directly found McClair who was running forward, but McClair's next move was too slow and the opponent's defender cleared the danger.

The Red Devils kept attacking but couldn't score, which gave West Ham United a chance to counterattack. Although West Ham United didn't have many ways to launch more effective attacks on the Red Devils' goal, they kept fighting with the Red Devils in the midfield and the defense was in chaos, but after the Red Devils pressed forward, West Ham United still had a chance to counterattack.

The Red Devils were a bit too eager to succeed, and when the central defenders gradually pressed to the midline, the backcourt began to become empty. West Ham United certainly had no way to fight back against the Red Devils, but they were not completely powerless to fight back. Once their offensive developed to the Red Devils' backcourt, they still posed a considerable threat.

In the 66th minute, West Ham United quickly launched a counterattack after stealing the ball in the backcourt. Kenny Brown, the right back of the Hammers, rushed forward at high speed in the melee and followed his teammates to the Red Devils' penalty area. West Ham United got the ball on the left at the time, and the Red Devils had almost no defense, and they killed the opponent all the way to the hinterland. West Ham United's left midfielder sent a low cross after going down the bottom. This cross brought a huge threat, and there was chaos in the Red Devils' penalty area. Central defender Pallister only had time to lift his foot and swept the ball out in a hurry. This clearance was not far away, and the ball stopped outside the penalty area. At this time, West Ham United's right back Brown happened to arrive, and he directly swung his big foot and shot. This shot was very tricky, and Schmeichel couldn't save it in time, and watched the ball roll into the net.

The Red Devils are trailing 0-1.

In the remaining 20 minutes, the Red Devils continued to launch fierce attacks. Everyone was trying hard to score a goal as soon as possible and to reverse the opponent, but their impatience was of no use. In the end, they could only keep trying to shoot around the opponent's penalty area, but still couldn't break West Ham United's defense and couldn't break through the goal of West Ham United goalkeeper Miklosko.

At the end of the game, West Ham United beat the Red Devils 1-0. West Ham United fans were as happy as if they had celebrated a grand festival, not caring about the subsequent relegation.

Ferguson said after the game: "We had a lot of opportunities, but if we didn't seize them we would be punished. A loss is not the end of the world, nor is our reconstruction and desire for the championship over. We firmly believe that this path is correct, we are always working hard and we will surely succeed."

Many years later, Ferguson still couldn't let go of the defeat by West Ham. He always remembered the process and result of the game, but he forced himself to hold himself back and did not get so angry that he lost control.

West Ham United fought like mad dogs, and their brutal fouls even injured several Red Devils players. The Hammers were not playing a game, but looking for trouble and preparing for a fight. West Ham United's crazy posture restrained the Red Devils, but Ferguson could not let it go. "West Ham United's playing style is no longer in the field of football. I cannot accept that extremely brutal style. This is not playing football, but a bad foul. I welcome West Ham United to treat us with a tough attitude, but this has nothing to do with very bad and dirty fouls. This is not a reasonable foul, but a deliberate provocation and a rough violation. Have you seen those street thugs fighting? West Ham brought them into the stadium. This is the way football hooligans play."

Ferguson saw the Hammers put up a provocative banner at home that read "Traitor Ince, you will die without a burial place!" He also warned the Red Devils players to fight back, but the players obviously did not meet his requirements.

"I did give the players a good scolding in the dressing room. They were a bit weak and couldn't respond directly to the opponent. If we want to dominate this league, we must be prepared to deal with the challenge of West Ham United's rough style of play. We must fight back, we must be tougher and stronger than them, we must completely kill them and make them lose their temper!"

Ferguson criticized the players in the dressing room for their lack of energy and fear of injury. But no matter how dissatisfied Ferguson was, the result of the game was so cruel. The Red Devils were very tired, and without Robson and Ings, they were weak and powerless, and it was inevitable that they would be beaten badly.

After this game, the Red Devils have completely lost the initiative in the championship. In the remaining two games, if Leeds United wins all the games, then the Red Devils will have no chance to win.