The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 286 A Mess

"Even the most tolerant Red Devils fans were almost scared. Not only did the team continue to lose points in the league, but in the final stage of the league, the opponents tied the points. The situation was extremely serious."

--Inscription

Losing to Blackburn was naturally a big deal, but Ferguson remained calm and rational, and he did not lose his temper in the locker room.

He even gave the players a short break after the game to let them rest.

"The sky is falling?"

not at all.

Ferguson certainly felt like a thorn in his side, but what made him far superior to other coaches was that he could handle the pressure. Not only that, he could shoulder and resolve all the pressure himself, and the players could put down their burdens and cheer themselves up under his protection.

The Red Devils still have seven league games to play and an FA Cup game until the end of the season, while Blackburn only have the league games to play. If Ferguson's team is not careful, it is entirely possible that the Red Devils will be overtaken by their opponents in the dense schedule.

The analysis given by the Times is not optimistic about Manchester United. The Red Devils have seven remaining league opponents, namely Oldham Athletic, Wimbledon, Manchester City, Leeds United, Ipswich, Southampton and Coventry. Among these opponents, Wimbledon, Manchester City and Leeds United are not easy to play. Considering that there are two FA Cup semi-finals in the middle, Ferguson needs to deploy troops reasonably to maintain the morale and fighting spirit of the team as much as possible.

Ferguson did not lose his composure because of various media analyses. At the critical moment, he directly refused all interviews.

In the 36th round of the league, Manchester United faced Oldham at home.

The Red Devils really can't afford to lose again, after all, the gap with pursuers Blackburn is only 3 points.

Bruce said in an interview before the game: "We have full confidence to win this game, there is no doubt about it. If we can't even beat Oldham, how can we say that we will definitely win the league championship?"

The Red Devils had a strong desire to win. They deployed their formation aggressively at the beginning of the game. The midfielders also pressed across the half court to strengthen the attack, hoping to defeat the opponent as soon as possible. The Red Devils tried their first shot in the 5th minute. The active attack soon created multiple opportunities in the front court. Although Oldham knew that they were not as strong as their opponents, they also mustered up the courage to compete with the Red Devils for the start. Oldham knew that they had to quickly pass Keane and Ings' interception to play against the Red Devils, so that they would have a chance to tear open the Red Devils' defense. Once the Red Devils' most powerful midfield interception was passed by the opponent, Bruce and Pallister, the two slow-turning central defenders, were obviously insufficient in defense. If they were tight in the penalty area, it would be fine, but if they pressed forward and needed to compete in speed, especially when chasing back, defense would become very difficult. So after they tightened their defense in the backcourt, they would make a long pass once they got the ball, aiming to hit the Red Devils' defense area directly and wait for an opportunity to sneak attack in the Red Devils' backcourt. Ferguson certainly knew this hidden danger, but he decided to use the attack to break through the opponent, believing that the firepower of the Red Devils was enough to destroy the opponent's defense. Manchester United continued to strengthen the attack. In the 31st minute of the first half, Irwin launched an attack on the left. He dribbled the ball directly past the opponent's forward, then pressed all the way to the front line, and then passed a high ball to the penalty area. This attack developed very quickly, but unfortunately the Manchester United attacking players did not head the ball, and the opponent's defender directly cleared the ball out of the penalty area. Ins received the ball about 10 yards outside the front penalty area, and then immediately started a new round of attack. Ins made a small diagonal pass forward and passed it to the gap on the right. At this time, the players who pressed forward by the Red Devils had not returned to their original positions. Bruce originally retreated to the back point of the penalty area. At this time, no one was marking him, giving him a comfortable opportunity to receive the ball. After Bruce received the ball in the front right, he directly kicked the ball into the opponent's penalty area. This cross completely confused the opponent's defense system, and the defenders of Oldham Athletic could not find anyone to mark. Giggs rushed out from the penalty spot in the penalty area, used his not-so-good header to head the ball into the opponent's goal corner, and accurately scored the ball. 1-0 - Manchester United broke the deadlock and took the lead.

Bruce passed the ball and Giggs scored with a header. It was a bit magical but you were not mistaken, the Red Devils' attack was so unreasonable.

Soon after the second half began, the situation suddenly changed. Oldham took the initiative to strengthen the attack and launched a sharp fast break. In the 51st minute, Oldham Athletic made a long pass from the backcourt. Striker McCarthy got the ball with his back to the goalkeeper and immediately shot. They quickly passed through the midfield and used a concise short pass to directly cross the interception line of Keane and Ings. McCarthy leaned on Bruce on the defense line and suddenly started. After receiving the ball perfectly, he turned and rushed into the penalty area. At this time, it was too late for Bruce to turn around after being dazed. He could only watch Schmeichel behind him fail to save the ball and McCarthy scored with this accurate shot. Oldham tied the score to 1-1!

Ferguson made an immediate substitution as the situation was unfavorable. He replaced McClair with the injured Dablin to further strengthen the attack. Ferguson's command and adaptability were perfectly demonstrated in this substitution. After Dablin came on, the Red Devils' offensive was stronger. Giggs made a cross from the left, Hughes attracted the opponent's central defender to defend closely, Kanchelskis entered the penalty area to compete for the header, causing chaos. Substitute striker Dablin grabbed the ball in the crowd, quickly and decisively stretched out his foot, and tried to shoot directly.

As a result, Dablin scored with his first touch, helping the Red Devils to lead again with a score of 2-1.

This goal was so crucial, and it was extremely important for Manchester United to stabilize the situation and finally win. Ferguson's magical substitution, Dublin's magical good luck. Dublin's bald head looked so cute in the sunshine of the Theatre of Dreams, and the Red Devils fans cheered him crazily!

After Dublin scored, he heard the thunderous cheers from the fans, especially the deafening cheers for his name. He could no longer suppress his emotions. With tears in his eyes, he said, "I like the Red Devils' fans very much. They shouted my name with great joy, which is the greatest compliment to me. My teammates celebrated crazily, and my face was pinched so hard that it hurt. They seemed to be happier than me..."

After the Red Devils took the lead, Ferguson waved his hand to direct the players to strengthen their defense and increase the intensity of their defense. Oldham began to get impatient, hoping to equalize the score and continuously strengthen their offense. The Red Devils players gradually retreated, and the defense became more stable. Many balls were quickly cleared in the backcourt of the Red Devils. In the 60th minute, Oldham also consumed a lot of physical energy after many ineffective attacks, and the intensity of the fight decreased, and the speed of running also decreased. After Manchester United continuously cleared many crosses into the penalty area, they also continued to try to counterattack. In the 67th minute, Manchester United expanded the defense line to the midfield area. Keane played a huge role in the midfield scramble. He risked his head to compete with the opponent for the header. After grabbing the ball, he passed the ball directly to his teammates. The Red Devils immediately launched a counterattack. After Mark Hughes got the ball in the middle circle area in the middle of the court, several teammates quickly and completely inserted into the attack. Hughes played the role of a fulcrum in the frontcourt. Seeing Giggs running by his side, he immediately made an overhead pass to the running direction of his teammates. Giggs accelerated his run and immediately rushed forward after receiving the ball, rushing into the opponent's hinterland at high speed. When he reached the edge of the penalty area and saw his teammates creating space, he made an accurate cross pass. Kanchelskis and Ings rushed all the way to the opponent's goal. Kanchelskis missed the front point, and Ings arrived at the back point just in time and pushed the ball directly into the opponent's goal!

The Red Devils beat Oldham 3-1, basically securing the victory.

Although Manchester United was a bit slack in the final moments and Oldham scored another goal to change the score to 2:3, the Red Devils still won the victory.

After the game, Manchester United fans sang praises to Dublin again, which was rare. Dublin was very moved. He said: "I am very grateful to the fans for their enthusiasm and to the boss for his trust. I know that I am the lucky star of the Red Devils and have always brought luck to the Red Devils. I really hope to score a goal in this game. I want to seize the opportunity to do something to repay the fans who have always been very good to me. When Kanchelskis jumped to compete for the header, I predicted that the ball would fall next to me. I was sure that as long as I was there at that time, I would shoot and score. The subsequent game process also proved this. I am very happy to score this key goal for the Red Devils. This is a victory that we all need very much."

The Red Devils then played in the FA Cup semi-finals, against Oldham Athletic. The Red Devils drew the first game, but easily won the second game and successfully advanced to the final.

While the Red Devils were dealing with the FA Cup semi-final, Blackburn won both league games. With these crucial 6 points, Blackburn tied the Red Devils in points.

Now the pressure is on Manchester United. Although they have played one game less than Blackburn, there are various possibilities in the unfinished game, and losing points is not impossible.

The Red Devils then played away against the "crazy gang" Wimbledon in the 37th round of the league. This game was a big upset. Manchester United started to attack fiercely in the first half. Although Wimbledon seemed passive at home, they did not think of shrinking and defending blindly, but sought opportunities to counterattack. In the 12th minute, Manchester United made a long pass to the opponent's backcourt, but it was intercepted by the Wimbledon defender. Wimbledon then launched a wing counterattack. The left-wing player No. 33 made a cross from the bottom, and the ball was passed to about 3 yards outside the front post of Manchester United. This cross, which originally had no threat, became the best opportunity for the opponent because of Schmeichel's mistake. Schmeichel had already attacked, and Bruce and Pallister also returned to the front of the goal to protect him, but unexpectedly Schmeichel did not hold the ball. As a result, the opponent's No. 9 striker Oshanu easily blocked the ball into the goal, and Wimbledon led 1-0!

After taking the lead, Wimbledon was full of confidence and its defense became tighter. Although Manchester United launched a crazy attack in the following 80 minutes, Ferguson's team tried every means to pry open the opponent's turtle shell but failed, and finally had to suffer a bitter defeat on the road.

As a result, Manchester United's advantage in the standings as the defending champions was basically wiped out. Blackburn not only caught up with the points after 37 rounds, but also showed a stronger momentum with 5 games left.

The Red Devils fans were extremely worried, as Blackburn's momentum seemed too strong. Moreover, Blackburn had another league match to play before Manchester United, and if they beat Southampton, Ferguson's team would be completely overtaken by their opponents, and the situation of defending the title would become extremely passive.

Ferguson remained restrained and calm, and organized a special meeting with the Red Devils fans. In order to motivate the team, Ferguson brought out many of the team's main players to meet with the fans and listen to their opinions and suggestions.

The fans were also very good at this meeting. They did not raise any questions or criticisms, but gave the players various homemade souvenirs. Cantona was surrounded by many fans and presented with a scarf, a specially framed photo, a collection of wine glasses and tea sets, and various trophy models; Robson received a huge whiskey bottle with fans' collections; and Keane received boxing match tickets and several pairs of sneakers... There were so many gifts carefully prepared by the fans that the young players of the Manchester United youth team were able to share them.

The atmosphere of the meeting became more and more intense. The hope in the fans' eyes deeply moved all the players and they were also inspired by the fans' enthusiasm.

In order to give back to the fans, Manchester United Club prepared a number of signed footballs and signed jerseys, and asked the players to personally deliver them to the fan groups who had worked hard to organize the event.

Ferguson called a locker room meeting and gave a speech to the whole team. "We still have the initiative, which is the key. Our opponent is still in second place, and we are still in first place. They will soon play a crucial game, and they are still ahead of us. Even if they win this game, we will still have a chance to catch up. I am confident that we will win soon, and they will suffer a defeat. It is not smooth sailing to ensure a winning streak. I hope you will be more confident when you are under pressure, and have more courage when you feel a sense of crisis."

Ferguson's powerful voice echoed in the Manchester United locker room, "We have won the league championship, and now we will win more. Because we are the invincible Red Devils, this name represents our spirit and the symbol of daring to win!"