The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 295: The Forerunner of Continentalization

"The Red Devils are competing in the league as the defending champions. In addition to solving the players' complacency, Ferguson needs to improve their tactics and formation."

--Inscription

Manchester United successfully defended the title, so studying the Red Devils' playing style and tactical arrangements, and studying Ferguson's coaching became a hot topic.

From the beginning to the end of this season, the opponents of the Red Devils continued to study Ferguson in actual combat, seeking ways to overthrow the league's dominant team in the confrontation, and studied various tactics in depth. However, they began to get used to Ferguson's unusual deployment of troops, and struggled to study and grasp the characteristics of this team from Ferguson's changes and pursuits. Throughout the season, they were almost powerless and were defeated by the Red Devils' sharp attack and strong pressure.

Ferguson has escaped from the simple fixed formation. He no longer requires Manchester United to set a fixed 442 formation, and his tactics no longer emphasize wing attack. He constantly learns from the European continent, further improves the overall, emphasizes tighter offense and defense, and more impact. This result can be regarded as the earliest exploration of the Red Devils' tactics towards the European continent.

Ferguson has been exploring and researching tactics that suit the team, and has been learning and studying the latest tactical trends, and actively applying them to the Red Devils. Ferguson's exploration of new playing styles fell on Cantona, and also on the two wingers of Giggs and Kanchelskis. In addition to emphasizing the rapid advancement of the wing, Ferguson also created Cantona as the hub of the offensive front, and used Cantona to activate the three-dimensional offense of the Red Devils. On the defensive end, Keane and Ince stabilized the midfield interception and coverage, thereby protecting the two slow central defenders and the assist-loving fullbacks in the backcourt.

The Red Devils became more aggressive, more oppressive in the midfield and frontcourt, and more three-dimensional in attack. This change in tactical style, combined with the Red Devils' previous wing attacking style, further increased the pressure on other teams.

For a long time, everyone believed that Ferguson's team's position was basically fixed in 442. This season, the Red Devils created two very strong wingers, but the Red Devils' forwards Mark Hughes, McClair and Dublin all have similar styles. All three of them are forwards with strong individual combat capabilities and finishing abilities, but need teammates to feed the ball. In terms of impact, Hughes is stronger than McClair, and McClair is stronger than Dublin, but neither is the strongest in England. Hughes has many attempts to retreat to receive the ball and then rush to the forward position to respond. Ferguson has discovered new uses for McClair, who gradually leaves the penalty area and retreats to support; Dublin is more like a traditional English center forward, and only plays a rotating role in Ferguson's system.

In the Red Devils' offensive system, Cantona is irreplaceable. The support and coordination in the middle of the front court, the personnel and position requirements are all critical, and Cantona is the best at this position in the Red Devils. The Frenchman can not only smoothly support the wingers' advance, but he can do more. His own advance, breakthrough, single-handed kill, organize new attacks, change directions... Cantona brought more changes, more flexibility, more threats, and stronger effects to the Red Devils' offense.

The Red Devils' midfield is very interesting. With Robson's appearances becoming less and less frequent, the midfield needs Ince and Keane to step up. Ince is weaker than Keane in finding opportunities, organizing offense, and personal advancement. He is more like a thug than a conductor. Keane's personal ball control and dribbling skills are completely different. His strong body ensures a strong impact, which greatly improves the Red Devils' central offense.

On the wing, the Red Devils had two famous fast players. Although not many people tried to cut inside with the opposite foot at that time, Ferguson tried it on Giggs and Kanchelskis. The two wingers changed positions very frequently, and Giggs even broke through the middle several times to open up gaps, which was no longer a simple cut inside with the opposite foot.

Ferguson considered the Red Devils' wing attack in detail. Although the wing is easy to open up and pass smoothly, it also has the problem of narrow area. In the face of targeted defense and multi-layer defense, it is difficult to defeat the opponent's tight formation along the diagonal side by simply relying on fast horses. While continuing to insist on playing on the wing, Ferguson combined position changes and support in the middle of the front court, increased inside cuts, and made the offensive routines more diverse.

The main lineup of the Red Devils' first team this season is as follows: goalkeeper Schmeichel, four defenders are Parker, Bruce, Pallister, and Irwin, midfielders are Kanchelskis, Giggs, Ince, and Keane, and forwards are Cantona and Mark Hughes. Several important rotations include Lee Sharpe, McClair, Robson, and Dublin. Lee Sharpe shared a lot of playing opportunities at the beginning of the season and became a surprise weapon in many games. Robson is an important substitute, and Dublin also performed well in key games at the end of the season. Those "Ferguson's fledglings" have been given the opportunity to play one after another. Scholes, Butt, Gary Neville... They have appeared on various fronts of the Red Devils and have begun to step onto the official stage. Giggs has grown into a main force, and Gary, Butt, Beckham, Scholes, and Thornley are all sharpening their knives and actively preparing to play. Ferguson has mainly used the main force on many fronts this season, but he will still use new stars in the League Cup and Champions League. Ferguson even let them try to start in some games. Even in the Champions League, Beckham got his performance time as a substitute. Beckham also scored a goal against Galatasaray, with a wonderful pass and calm volley, showing enough sharp attacking power.

The fans are looking forward to who else Ferguson will make stand out. Ferguson will amaze them again, because what the Carrington base has contributed to English football is not just a superstar, but the dazzling golden generation of 92.

Ferguson didn't really use many main players this season. In the 22-man roster, there were basically 16 people as the core main players. Considering that the Red Devils played so many games this season, the tenacity of this team is amazing. Compared with the changes and flexibility of the Red Devils in the frontcourt, Ferguson's most trusted defense is the iron-like solid defense. Ferguson's team's defense is almost the five main starters who are almost present all the time: Schmeichel, Bruce, Pallister, Irwin, and Parker. Schmeichel's performance is basically very stable. His dominance in the penalty area and extraordinary saving skills have become the iron gate of the Red Devils. The four-man team on the back line is also very strong. Although Bruce and Pallister turn slowly and move not fast enough, they don't actually need too much chasing back to save danger. Thanks to Keane and Ince's strong frontal defensive efforts, the Red Devils' backcourt is equivalent to adding a layer of insurance. Many years later, experts in Premier League tactical analysis believe that the Red Devils have gradually turned to zone plus man-to-man defense since the beginning of this season, which is a bit like the Italian system to some extent. Ferguson assigned tasks to four defenders, two midfielders, wingers and forwards, and the Red Devils showed some signs of being a strong team in Serie A.

Ferguson made more changes in the midfield and attacking line. The Red Devils' lineup also changed from the traditional 442 to a more flexible and changeable 4411 or 4231. Ferguson even sometimes used a 4321 lineup. That was a set of Robson with Ince and Keane to intercept and sweep, with full defensive pressure. Occasionally, Ferguson also tried 4132, with Ince or Keane defending alone, Sharp, Giggs and Kanchelskis in front, and Cantona and Hughes as forwards.

The two key points of the Red Devils' lineup and tactics are Cantona and Keane.

Generally speaking, when all the main players of the Red Devils are present, the first choice is 442, but Ferguson has already changed the formation to 4411 by letting Cantona retreat. Cantona is strong and has good footwork, and his awareness is far beyond that of ordinary people. It is perfect for him to be the core of the Red Devils' attack. The area around the opponent's penalty area and the area 35 meters away from the opponent's bottom line are Cantona's "ruling areas". After the Red Devils' offense enters this area, it is often dominated by Cantona. The Frenchman can break through, can make incredible and difficult moves, can take the ball with his back and then turn around to pass. More importantly, even if Cantona attracts the opponent's defenders to block and intercept, he can still find opportunities in the frontcourt, find the gaps in the opponent's defense or the time when opportunities appear, and can pass threatening passes.

Cantona is not only an excellent shooter, he can also create opportunities to balance the ball, launch attacks through passing and coordination, and greatly improve the Red Devils' offensive success rate.

Keane's joining is very important. This is the second "Robusson" prepared by Ferguson for the Red Devils, the undisputed core of the midfield. Keane quickly integrated into the Red Devils' system. His relentless running, fierce interceptions, brave confrontations, and active substitutions perfectly became the barrier of the Red Devils' back line and the support of the offensive end. Although Keane still seems a little immature and lacks enough experience, he is already good enough in terms of competition ability.

Cantona + Keane, Ferguson has created two major engines in the midfield for the Red Devils.

Keane's core position has been established this season, but the potential risks between him and Ings, who is more in the frontcourt, who has more ball possession, and who is responsible for intercepting the enemy, have not been fully exposed. The appearance of the two will add more to the Red Devils' defense.

When Cantona was injured or suspended, the Red Devils' lineup would change to a more traditional 442. Sometimes Ferguson would let McClair retreat to play 4411 to enhance the midfield's interception ability, but more often it would still be 442.

In fact, Ferguson has played many starting lineups with Cantona, Hughes and McClair as the three forwards, and also played the extreme 4 with four attackers on the field together. The position requirements of the lineup did not become a shackle on the offensive end of the Red Devils. Sometimes Ferguson even let Robson, Ince and Keane play together to form the iron triangle in the midfield, and the lineup tends to be 415, which is an offensive 433 with a terrifying intercepting midfield. Sometimes Ferguson will let Lee Sharpe and Giggs play together, allowing the two left wingers to attack the opponent at the same time. Ferguson used many wingers who were particularly good at technology: Giggs, Lee Sharpe, Kanchelskis, any of these sharp knives can break the balance on the field. Ferguson also tried many times to let Lee Sharpe play in the middle of the midfield, which was a thorough attacking midfield position, ambushing behind the attackers and becoming a surprise attacking sharp knife that the opponent did not notice.

No longer sticking to 442, no longer sticking to English football, and not limited to long passes and short lobs, the experience of winning the championship and the lessons of failure in the Champions League have made Ferguson realize more. The characteristics of the Red Devils' play will be familiar to more opponents, and constantly learning from new and advanced play styles and updating tactical use are Ferguson's new tasks.

Ferguson insisted on an offensive style, which made the Red Devils emphasize scoring more. The offensive factor in Ferguson's character was fully demonstrated during the season, and it blossomed in many places. Cantona scored 18 goals, Giggs scored 13 goals, Mark Hughes scored 12 goals, Lee Sharpe scored 9 goals, Ince scored 8 goals, Kanchelskis scored 6 goals, Keane scored 5 goals... The defenders were also very tough, and Bruce also scored goals.

Ferguson said many years later: "We won the Premier League title in the 93-94 season. The team's playing style and tactics were different. We made great progress in tactics. We played more as a whole and more dominant. Such a team can eliminate interference and is suitable for winning smoothly in a long league."