The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 233 Mr. "X"

"Your poison is my treasure."

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The Red Devils need a striker. Who is "Mr. X" in Ferguson's mind?

Just as reporters were still speculating and fans were actively discussing, the answer was soon revealed.

On November 1992, 11 (there was no official transfer window at the time), the Red Devils officially announced the signing of striker Eric Cantona from Leeds United. At a formal fan meeting held by the Red Devils for Cantona, Ferguson solemnly introduced this striker from France, from the championship team Leeds United, to the fans who filled the Theatre of Dreams. He looked extremely confident and a little bit rebellious.

The Red Devils' move to bring in Cantona was fast. It was so fast that it was even sudden. At the time, the Red Devils dressing room often discussed which striker would join the team, but no one guessed Cantona. Not only because he was from the sworn enemy Leeds United, but also because of all the rumors about him.

No fans expected that the Red Devils, a traditional English club, would invite a Frenchman to play football. And he was a "bad boy" with a bad reputation.

Ferguson did not intend to buy Cantona at first. His first target was Beardsley. Beardsley came from the Red Devils youth training camp, but he had few opportunities. He only played a League Cup game for the Red Devils in 1982 when he was 21 years old. Beardsley left the Red Devils to join Newcastle and performed very well. After Ferguson coached Manchester United, he wanted to invite him back, but failed. Beardsley later joined Liverpool from Newcastle and became an English superstar, winning many championships. In the summer of 1992, he moved to Everton. Ferguson still wanted to work hard at that time, but the offer did not impress Liverpool at all.

Ferguson brought up the old issue again, but Everton rejected the Red Devils' offer without hesitation.

After Everton was rejected, the media reported several other targets, including Forest's Clough and Shelingham, Arsenal's Wright, Southampton's Hinton, Leeds United's Chapman, etc., but none of them were what Ferguson wanted.

Cantona?

Ferguson later recalled: "Cantona was introduced to me very early, but we didn't try to contact him at the beginning. At that time, Cantona had not yet joined Leeds United. I was watching a game in Paris. Platini and Houllier were with me. Platini recommended Cantona to me and said I should give it a try."

Ferguson asked: "Why would a Frenchman want to play in England? Will there be any baggage (trouble) in this transfer?"

"You will like him," Platini said. "He is a great player who just wants to be needed."

Houllier also made a recommendation, but Ferguson did not make a decision, and the two sides missed each other. Cantona soon came to England and after a trial at Sheffield Wednesday, he was recommended by Trevor to Leeds United at the time.

Ferguson said: "Cantona joined Leeds United very quickly because Lee Chapman was injured and they had to add a striker immediately."

After Cantona joined Leeds United, he played more as a substitute because their main striker Chapman recovered quickly and regained playing time. Cantona did not have many opportunities to perform. Although he was the hero of the team's championship, Wilkinson obviously did not think he belonged to the core of the team. Although Cantona has infinite talent, he is not the most trusted striker of the Leeds coach. After the start of this season, Cantona still did not get many opportunities to play, which also affected his performance.

Ferguson said: "I remember after the game against Leeds United, Pallister and Bruce sat in the bathtub talking about Cantona. They kept talking about him and spent a lot of time discussing the details of this opponent. My two central defenders agreed that he was very good, with a huge threat in the frontcourt and almost everywhere. It is very rare for them to talk about an opponent so seriously and positively. Only Barnes had this treatment before."

At the meeting with fans, Cantona appeared in the Red Devils' No. 7 jersey, which surprised many fans. Because the number "7" is usually printed on the captain Bryan Robson's jersey, why did Cantona wear this number now?

The core reason is that the jersey number was not exclusive to a certain player, but was randomly assigned by the team. At this time, Robson was still injured and rarely played, so this number would be temporarily given to the player. The exclusiveness of player numbers is a process from scratch. For a long time, the clubs in the English league have assigned numbers according to the team's formation position: No. 1 is the goalkeeper, No. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are defenders, No. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are midfielders, and No. 10 and No. 11 are forwards. The number is not exclusive to a certain player. When the player starts, he will wear the number of that position. At that time, the jerseys were kept by the club and the player's name was not printed on them, but the jersey number was printed. Robson played in the midfield and naturally chose the No. 7 jersey. When he did not start, the No. 7 jersey would be worn by another starting player. Only after more marketing methods were introduced later did the player number have special commercial value. But at that time, this was not a big deal. Lee Sharp also wore the No. 7 jersey, Kanchelskis also wore it, and Dublin also wore the No. 7 jersey when he joined.

The restlessness of the No. 7 jersey also proves that the Red Devils' midfield players change frequently. This constant change also shows that the Red Devils lack stable midfield players and their structure is very unstable. At that time, no one had yet explored the significance of "No. 7" in the Red Devils, and no one promoted this number as full of magic and legends. Instead, it was always worn and changed by a large number of players without any care, which also shows that the Red Devils had no time to take care of these.

Is No. 7 a legend of the Red Devils? Is it the number Best once used? Is it exclusive to Robson? At that time, no one dug into these things, and no one noticed the value of numbers.

"Cantona and Ferguson appeared at the press conference with different expressions. The French striker looked very quiet and elegant, which was completely different from his rebelliousness on the court, and even from his passionate performance. It was also inconsistent with the rumors outside the court. Ferguson was full of concentration, and seemed to think that this transfer would bring special changes." Reporters on Fleet Street noticed the peculiar details of the two people's expressions when they appeared together, and this description made the Red Devils fans even more curious.

Cantona answered several questions posed by reporters in a gracious and polite manner, without any flaws, which made the reporters very confused. This was very different from Cantona's time at Leeds United, where he would confront reporters and would definitely cause trouble, and would soon become a troublemaker and a troublemaker. Not only did Cantona and the coach dislike each other, but Cantona himself also had a lot of complaints and kept making comments to vent his dissatisfaction.

Many years later, on the 26th anniversary of Ferguson's coaching of the Red Devils, Cantona recalled the situation back then and emphasized that he was impressed when he met Ferguson for the first time.

Cantona said: "Of course I had to behave better because this was Ferguson's territory. I remember every minute of my first meeting with Sir Alex. He wanted to bring me from Leeds United to Manchester United, and it was very sudden. But from the first minute I started chatting with him, I realized I had to work with him.

Why was he so quickly impressed by Ferguson?

Cantona said, "Ferguson has magic. I know the Red Devils are a great club and they were carrying a heavy reputation at the time. I hope to challenge myself in a great club and really meet a coach who appreciates me and understands me. I know all this is too difficult and it has hardly been achieved in my career until I met Ferguson."

Cantona said: "To be honest, the Red Devils were not good at that time. They were tired of dealing with various games, under pressure and often made low-level mistakes. But I want to emphasize the charm of Ferguson. He is very great. He is a person with the same characteristics as me-focus, self-confidence and pride. I communicated with him face to face and was quickly attracted to him."

Cantona is well known for being picky about coaches, but it is a bit incredible that he praised Ferguson so highly from the beginning.

Ferguson did make Cantona feel trusted from the beginning, and there was a strange spiritual connection between Ferguson and Cantona. After Ferguson and the Leeds United coach finalized the transfer over the phone, Ferguson and Cantona met in person to discuss salary conditions, etc. Ferguson's ideas on the use of players completely convinced Cantona, especially the freedom he gave Cantona in the frontcourt.

Cantona said: "I advocate freedom and hope to have more room to play. I found it here in Alex. He and I both pursue that kind of wonderful football. I believe I can be free here and have the football I want."

Cantona was a sensitive person, and Ferguson made him admire him. Because both parties were unfamiliar with each other before, and Ferguson did have some concerns, but after studying Cantona's performance in depth, Ferguson felt like he had found a treasure. He immediately designed several tactical plans for Cantona, which was very rare when the player had not yet been fully confirmed to join. It was because of this preparation that Ferguson's first communication with Cantona went very smoothly.

Cantona said: "Ferguson was not familiar with me, but he trusted me very much and said those words bravely. Of course, I dare not say that I know his football ideas, but I am sure that he can lead me to enjoy the fun of football. I trust him very much. I want to play the football I want to play, enjoy my own way of playing, and then succeed in this way. Alex told me that I can do this. This is the only coach I have met. I believe in his words because his spirit is the same as mine. We have something in common in football philosophy. We are the same kind of football people."

Cantona also emphasized a key point: "Ferguson was very special to me. He treated me like a man, not as a child, let alone a bad boy. I knew I was in the right place and with the right person. He gave me the desire to play here and gave me the opportunity to prove others wrong."

Who did Cantona need to prove to anyone? Hadn't he already been successful? Hadn't he won the championship with Leeds United?

Cantona did win the English Football League One title with Leeds United and also got a formal contract with the team, but he was not particularly happy in the team.

why?

Cantona did not feel the trust and respect of the head coach at Leeds United, nor did he feel the support of his teammates. Last season, Wilkinson temporarily brought him in to make do because Lee Chapman was injured, and he signed a loan contract. Strachan, a big man in the team, said: "I don't remember him having any fans. He has no reputation in England, or only a bad reputation. Only people in the professional field have heard of him, but no one really has the opportunity to see his performance. I also admit that he is talented, but he did not show it to the fullest at Leeds United."

Coach Wilkinson thinks so too. "Eric can have his own ideas, and so do we. I have the final say here at Leeds United, and he will listen to my arrangements in the end. It is impossible for him to do what he likes, running around in the frontcourt and making everything chaotic. I think he is indeed talented, but I hope he will voluntarily get out and disappear. We all hope so."

Wilkinson didn't like Cantona's personality, and didn't want to shake the morale of the team because of him. Even though Cantona didn't win the Leeds United locker room, his spirited and imaginative playing style still won the love of the fans.

In the 92-93 season, Cantona continued to perform well and played very gorgeous football. His skills and speed were very good, and some of his dribbling movements even exceeded the imagination of the fans. At that time, the fans had already created a cheering slogan for Cantona - "OOH! AAH!". Not only that, Leeds United fans even wanted to closely link Cantona with the club. The pie shop owner wanted to give him free pies, the local taxi driver wanted to give him free rides, and the local jersey store even reserved the most conspicuous position for Cantona.

Cantona was expressive and could win the fans' love with his wonderful performances in the short time he was on the pitch. The trouble was that he was not respected within the team. Cantona found himself increasingly restricted in Leeds United and increasingly excluded by Wilkinson. The coaches thought he was out of the team, always individualistic, and constantly causing trouble.

Wilkinson encountered several deliberate contradictions from Cantona, who also questioned his tactical arrangements in public. This conflict soon evolved into the isolation of Cantona in the entire locker room. Cantona, who did his own thing, became very lonely and was almost forced to give up the extra training he had insisted on doing.

Although Cantona was lonely, he was not a quiet person. He had a hot temper and was full of wild ideas. Sometimes his thinking was very different from that of English players. Some players of Leeds United even thought that this Frenchman was a monster, "no matter where he went, he would leave the smell of gunpowder behind."

Cantona lost the trust and support of his coach, lost the help of his teammates, and knew that his football path would become narrower and narrower. If he continued to stay at Leeds United, he would not be able to coexist with the coach and the players.

Cantona would not budge, let alone change himself.

Leeds United supported their manager Wilkinson, and Cantona was seen as a hot potato, a thorn in the side that could cause trouble. Although they had not been doing well this season, the management had decided that as long as someone offered a price, they would send Cantona out.

Just like when Ferguson sent Strachan to Leeds United and gave him the gift of winning the championship, Wilkinson also prepared a super gift package for Ferguson.

"Your poison is my treasure", Ferguson now needs a special striker like Cantona.