The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 275 The Busby Babes

With an eye on the long-term prosperity of the Red Devils and the club's century-long plan, Busby decided to recruit young talents based on youth training, strengthen the construction of the youth training system, and personally cultivate them carefully, so that the Red Devils' youth training continued to produce potential new stars. The "Busby Babes" set off a red wave and a storm of youth.

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Busby won the league title for the Red Devils, but more importantly, he paved the right path for the Red Devils to win the future.

What Busby brought to the Red Devils was not only the championship, but also a complete and powerful team system, the most outstanding of which was the youth training construction.

Busby attached great importance to youth training. He insisted that the foundation of a great team must be the players trained by itself. Busby personally formulated a plan for the development of the echelon, actively recruited football seedlings, and increased investment in the youth training camp. Busby actively gave young people opportunities to play, which promoted the faster growth of the youth army. Busby also emphasized that youth players need a relaxed environment to grow, tolerate their shortcomings and deficiencies, and provide detailed guidance. In the Red Devils, young people have a competitive growth environment and far more opportunities to play than other teams. This is Busby's strategy.

Under the guidance of Busby's advanced thinking, the Red Devils' youth training has achieved great success. Attaching importance to youth training has also become a highlight of Busby and the Red Devils. In the following years, the Red Devils have always adhered to this tradition, and when Ferguson took over as coach, this advantage was further developed.

Starting from Busby to Ferguson's successor and promotion, the Red Devils' youth training has continued to be the core work of team building. Even the Red Devils coaches before Ferguson attached great importance to youth training. Atkinson promoted Hughes and Whiteside, as well as Lee Martin and Robins, which are all the results of the Red Devils' youth training. Even when Ferguson retired and the Red Devils fell into trouble, the successive coaches have also tapped into a lot of youth training results. Moyes to Januzaj and Wilson, Van Gaal to Rashford, Mourinho to Lingard, McTominay, and Solskjaer to Greenwood, Williams, etc., they still continued the tradition even in various challenges.

Busby's biggest move at the time was to subsidize and provide special conveniences to new players in the Red Devils' youth training system, such as contacting local families to arrange boarding, coordinating with local schools to provide places, etc. These measures were very popular, and the Red Devils youth training camp was immediately filled with new players of all ages.

Busby's youth training is open to all, but he insists on the principle of lenient admission and strict exit. It is not difficult for young people to sign up, but it is not easy to play in the reserve team, and it is even more difficult to get a formal professional contract. Busby's youth training team has always insisted on high standards in training, so some people who do not meet the requirements will be eliminated. Busby's measures are effective. Under the careful guidance of the Red Devils youth training team, many young people have been given opportunities, and through their own hard work, they have seized the opportunities. The Red Devils Youth Team eventually had many players far beyond their general opponents. They have won the championship in the reserve league since 1947. In the following years, the Red Devils Youth Team was invincible in the English First Division Reserve League. The Red Devils Youth Team not only defended the title consecutively, but also won the Youth FA Cup for five consecutive seasons.

Busby was overjoyed at the emergence of talented stars and tried to give them opportunities in the first team from 1951. These youngsters, whom Busby praised as treasures, included Jackie Blanchflower and Roger Byrne, who were the first new stars to shine in football. They got the chance to play in the league in the 1951-1952 season and quickly became the main players, helping the team win the league championship.

In the 1951-52 season, Byrne, who was only 21 years old at the time, had played 24 games in the league. He used to play as a defender in the youth team, but Busby made him play as a winger in the first team. This arrangement made Byrne shine and perform extremely well in the new position. His speed and agility were completely unmatched by the opponent's defenders. Roger Byrne eventually scored 7 goals and 6 assists, becoming the brightest rising star in the Red Devils. By the 1952-1953 season, Jackie Blanchett Fowler and Roger Byrne had become the core players of the team, Tommy Taylor, Ray Wood and Dennis Viollet also got a chance to play, followed by the famous Duncan Edwards, Bill Fox and other young talents who made their debuts and amazed the entire English football world.

Busby's Red Devils played a new style that shocked the entire football world. At that time, most of the English First Division teams preferred to use mature players, and most of the main players were over 26 years old. Some old players over 35 years old still held their positions and did not let go. All teams had no young players.

It is unimaginable that Busby could bring out such talents in the Red Devils.

The youth storm of the Red Devils is getting stronger and stronger in the British Isles. In April 1953, Duncan Edwards, who was only 4 years and 16 days old, officially played for the Red Devils and became the youngest player in the history of the English First Division. Edwards' appearance and performance on the field are phenomenal in English football. He is agile, quick to react, flexible, and amazingly fast. He even has a strong overall view and a very calm and steady attitude towards the game. It is hard to tell that he is still so young. In the eyes of the media, a true superstar began to be born. By February 185, Roger Byrne had become the captain of the Red Devils, who was expected by everyone. At this time, he was only 1954 years old. Byrne's leadership and ability to control the overall situation on the court are amazing. He is not only brave and fearless against the strong, but also very brave and resolute, and he is also good at finding opportunities. He is excellent on both offense and defense. Even the picky football critics have to praise him for being "calm like a lion in his prime, with great leadership style, and a real core."

Led by Roger Byrne, Jackie Blanchett Fowler, Tommy Taylor, Ray Wood, Dennis Viollet, Duncan Edwards, Bill Fox and other players emerged. They were full of youth, aggressive style and high morale, and became the most attractive team in England.

The red youth storm of the Red Devils brought a new wave. Tom Jackson of the Manchester Evening News wrote: "These 'Busby's Babes' are like seeing a rainbow in the sky after the rain, which makes people feel refreshed and dazzled. They are full of lively atmosphere, confident and brave; they are full of dreams for the future and surge with fresh passion. They perform all kinds of dazzling techniques, their cooperation is full of tacit understanding and imagination, their ideas are bold and novel, and they always feel unrestrained; they are not afraid of injury at all, never worry about setbacks, they always maintain their enthusiasm, always run so happily, they are like a whirlwind of youth..."

The Red Devils youth team won the FA Youth Cup five times in a row, which was Busby's proudest achievement. His youth team was not just one batch, but emerged in batches, one after another, and it was even more special that in the first five years of the 5s, they became a whole, and a large number of Red Devils youth training grew into dazzling stars.

Busby's Babies brought youthful vigor to the Red Devils. The young and energetic players were full of energy and showed their talents. Busby's Babies always insisted on aggressive attacking, always tried to advance bravely and quickly, always hoped to stage a good show of destroying the city and taking the castle. They combined their wonderful imagination with gorgeous artistic sense, and they combined amazing speed with wonderful skills. They performed the most dazzling football in England, and they also harvested the most brilliant success in England.

Edwards of the Red Devils quickly became a shining star. Every time he played, the fans in the stadium were excited. Every time he led the team to victory, there were long cheers. In the 1955-1956 season, the Red Devils won the championship with a huge advantage of 11 points over Blackpool. The huge gap verified the extraordinary strength of the Red Devils. The average age of the main players of the Red Devils this season was only 22 years old, which was a number that shocked the entire English football world and made other clubs despair. In the 1956-57 season, the Red Devils successfully defended the title and set a record of 64 points (2 points system) and 103 goals in a single season. This team with talented players such as Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, Tommy Taylor, Violet, Roger Byrne, Eddie Coleman, etc. played the sharpest and most gorgeous football.

This kind of football has a strong appeal, which rekindled the passion of fans. Busby's baby conquered the English field and won more and more new fans. In the 50s, the Red Devils became the most loved football club.

"The Busby Babes shine bright on England!"

"Glory to the Red Devils, glory to the Busby Babes!"

"Busby's Red Devils, young Red Devils, victorious Red Devils, invincible Red Devils!"

"The great Busby, the charm and secrets of football!"

……

Busby's Red Devils took England by storm, setting a new trend and fashion.

Busby's pursuit of football is a poet's fantasy and beauty. He always pursues the kind of unforgettable beauty. This is the secret of why Busby's Red Devils are so attractive. Busby said, "I tend to attack. I hope the team will become a passionate and energetic team, go all out, and fight for victory to the end. We build a dynamic team and pursue wonderful scenes. We are not afraid of failure, but we will always strive for victory. This is our style."

If one could choose a match to demonstrate Busby's philosophy, it would be the match between the Red Devils and Arsenal at Highbury Stadium in London on February 1958, 2. In this away game against a strong opponent, Busby stressed that the players should be aggressive, attack against attack, use a fierce offensive and positive attitude to compete with the opponent, and bravely strive for victory.

The match was intense from the start. In front of 63,578 spectators, Arsenal took advantage of their home advantage and launched the attack first. Busby's team bravely fought back, attacking and attacking. The two sides soon entered a fast rhythm, and the offensive and defensive exchanges were extremely fierce. Every fight of the players was exciting, and every attack was full of sparks. Both teams were passionate, every inch of the grass was burning, and everyone was fighting. Soon, the Red Devils, who had better skills and a more integrated team, suppressed their opponents and created more opportunities. The Red Devils had the last laugh, and the game ended up winning 5-4. The goals for the Red Devils were scored by: Edwards, Taylor, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet, from forward to defender, every position made a contribution. Taylor made a great contribution to the team's victory. He went back and forth in the frontcourt, making it difficult for the opponent to resist, and finally scored two goals. The goals of Edwards and Charlton were full of imagination and beauty, which forced the Gunners fans to shut up their noisy mouths.

This was a great game that illustrated Busby's football philosophy and demonstrated the fighting spirit of the Red Devils.

Busby established an offensive tradition for the Red Devils, and he hoped that the Red Devils would always maintain these qualities: attack aggressively, fight bravely, and strive for victory.

The famous football journalist Stone wrote: "Matt Busby is a long-despised manager. The youth training he built for the Red Devils has profound significance. The glorious road he created for the Red Devils is not luck, but the real way to success. The reason why the Red Devils became the greatest club in England is that their foundation was built by Busby."

"Even judging by his football philosophy, Matt Busby is a great coach in football history. His pursuit of expressiveness in football games is a model for coaches all over the world."