The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 301 Sitting High on the Throne

"Before the league even started, the Red Devils showed their momentum as the defending champions and the league overlords, sweeping Blackburn and winning the Charity Shield. The Red Devils, sitting high on the throne, were naturally in high spirits. Ferguson's sights were set on even more ambitious goals."

--Inscription

The 1994-95 Premier League season officially started in August, and before that, it was the Charity Shield match as usual. Because the Red Devils had won the league title and the FA Cup, the FA arranged for the Red Devils to play against Blackburn, the second-placed team in the league.

This was the first match between the two teams this season, and it was also a close test. More than 6 fans poured into Wembley Stadium to cheer for their respective teams. There were so many people attending a Charity Shield match similar to a warm-up match. It can be said that the charm of English football has really penetrated into the community and the hearts of the people.

The Red Devils were more like integrating players and further polishing the lineup in this game, but Ferguson's ideas surprised many professional media. He sent out the newly joined David May to start, but let him play as a right back. In addition to goalkeeper Schmeichel, David May, Lee Sharpe, Pallister, and Bruce were the four defenders. McClair was arranged to play in the middle of the midfield with Ince, Giggs and Kanchelskis were separated on the two wings, and Cantona and Hughes played as strikers. When the Red Devils' starting players appeared, even the reporters who were most familiar with Ferguson felt fresh. They were stunned by this strange idea of ​​​​arranging troops for the first time. Some media directly joked on the spot that Ferguson played 4, which had never been tried before. They thought Lee Sharpe should play as a winger. Indeed, according to the familiar positions of these players before, Ferguson actually sent out 343 central defenders, 3 midfielders, and 4 forwards, a completely new formation.

Does this look familiar? Ferguson later used the same method to defeat Arsenal with seven defenders.

The Red Devils set up a strange formation. Lee Sharpe and David May were more like baiting the enemy, and McLerza was like an ambush in the middle, a surprise attack. Dalglish did not dare to neglect it. His Blackburn team listed the traditional 442 step by step, carefully dealing with the new lineup of the Red Devils and not daring to take the initiative. The game was suppressed by the Red Devils' active offensive tactics at the beginning, and the situation was naturally very passive. Not long after the start of the first half, the Red Devils played a complex tactical routine in the frontcourt. Cantona retreated to lead the opponent's central defender, Hughes suppressed another central defender, and Giggs and Kanchelskis's pulling to the side made the opponent's back and wingers feel like they were facing a great enemy. At this time, Ins decisively seized the opportunity to break into the opponent's penalty area at high speed from the midfield, and almost formed a single knife directly. The opponent had no choice but to foul Ins and the Red Devils won a penalty. Cantona broke the deadlock for the Red Devils in one fell swoop, 1-0.

The Red Devils continued to attack in the second half. Although the position arrangement changed, the players' skilled passing and running and tacit cooperation overwhelmed the opponent. Blackburn was still in the pre-season run-in period. Their formation was loose and there were many coordination errors. It was more like a battle between individual players. The players lacked tacit understanding and were eager to attack and equalize. The defense soon revealed a flaw again. Giggs took the corner kick on the left. The corner kick was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper and fell into the penalty area. Cantona seemed to have eyes in the back. He headed the ball directly in the penalty area and sent the ball back to Ins who was not guarded. Ins succeeded in sneaking in from the backcourt again. No one intercepted him, so he simply showed off, jumped up to meet the ball, and directly made a shocking hook shot. This gorgeous shot stunned the opponent's goalkeeper, 2-0!

The Red Devils secured the victory and all the fans were excited about it.

In the end, the Red Devils won the Charity Shield and won the Charity Shield championship. In this game, Ferguson used Ings as the core of the midfield. He performed well throughout the game, with all-round offense and defense and a positive attitude. He not only created a huge threat on the offensive end, created a penalty kick, and scored a key goal, but also performed well in the midfield area and on the defensive end. His interceptions and tackles were extremely well completed, and he was named the best after the game.

The Red Devils showed their dominance in just one game. This dominant team, which has won two consecutive league titles, has begun to have a certain degree of deterrence on other teams.

At the award ceremony, Captain Bruce held the trophy high, showed it to the audience, saluted the excited Red Devils fans, and accepted their congratulations. Standing beside him was no longer Robson, but Schmeichel and other teammates. The Red Devils entered the era of Bruce as captain.

Bruce is already a veteran in terms of age and has played for the Red Devils for many years. The Red Devils have completed the replacement of Robson with the old and the new, and the issue of Bruce and Pallister's successors will slowly be put before Ferguson. The Red Devils' current central axis has become Schmeichel, Bruce, Ince, Cantona, and Mark Hughes, which is the strongest skeleton built by Ferguson himself. Outside this central axis, Keane's growth has the momentum to replace Robson, and he has played an extremely huge role in the Red Devils' midfield and backcourt. Bruce now inherits the captain's responsibilities. In fact, he is no longer young at the age of 34, and his body is a little tired. His running speed and confrontation ability have declined, and his turning is even slower, which makes the Red Devils fans extremely worried.

Despite this hidden danger, the Red Devils under Ferguson did not seem to need Bruce to worry too much, and the defensive task did not seem to be heavy. This team that Ferguson had polished for many years had been the champion of the league for two years, and had the dominance to stand out from the crowd and force opponents to bow their heads. Ferdinand, who was still playing for West Ham at the time, would feel fear when talking about the Red Devils, "The Red Devils were very powerful after winning two consecutive Premier League titles, and most teams would be overwhelmed by them in terms of momentum. We were always afraid to play against them at that time, and our legs felt weak before we even started playing."

Before the season started, the Red Devils were the favorites to win the title, with odds beating Blackburn, Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham and other strong teams. The Red Devils relied not only on last season's championship and business success, but more importantly, on the strong strength that Ferguson had honed through various tough battles.

Although in the eyes of many analysts, the Red Devils' lineup is not perfect, and even has serious flaws, and there are also great structural risks. For example, they believe that the two central defenders are too old, the full-back Parker is not in good shape, and his ability has declined significantly, the midfielders Keane and Ince are too similar, and the front court Hughes and McClair are too old and have long lost their sharpness. They believe that the Red Devils are a bit like an old lion, strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and it is difficult to maintain a strong overall performance to play a long season.

It does seem to make sense. Take a closer look at the age distribution of the Red Devils' main lineup: Schmeichel is 31 this season, which is not old, and the goalkeeper is just the right age; Bruce is 34, Pallister is 29, and the two central defenders are indeed a bit old; Parker and Irwin are 30 and 29 respectively, and they also look a bit old; Parker in particular has been plagued by many injuries, and his state has obviously declined rapidly, and there may be some hidden worries this season. Irwin is still in his prime; Hughes and McClair are both 31 years old on the forward line, and they are also veterans. In particular, McClair has been running too much in recent years, and the muscle strain in his feet and the meniscus injury in his knees have affected the performance of this Scottish killer for a long time. Even Hughes, who received a scientific training system earlier, has a much better impact and instantaneous speed than in the early days. Even in the penalty area, it is difficult for Hughes to be as free and easy as he was a few years ago.

The physical condition of the stars back then is obviously not comparable to that of now. These Red Devils players who were talked about by media reporters are indeed in the late stage of their careers. It is hard to predict when and to what extent their fighting power will decline, and it is even more difficult to respond.

Ferguson certainly knew these hidden dangers. He actually knew that it would be best to bring in a super strong central defender right now to take over the central axis, but there was really no target with the right price, so he finally brought in David May and Bruce for rotation. As for the reinforcement of the other central defender position, Ferguson also put it on the agenda, but he still thought that Pallister was not that fragile and could be operated a little later. Sutton was intercepted on the forward line, leaving Ferguson helpless, and he could only adjust tactics and tap internal potential. He let Hughes stay in the penalty area more, and Cantona run more to organize; as for Parker's problem, Ferguson's plan was to have Lee Sharpe take the top spot, and if that didn't work, let Gary Neville play right back and move Irwin to the left.

Ferguson's confidence comes from the continued stability of Schmeichel and Pallister, the increasingly domineering Ings, the still improving Keane, and the rapidly improving Giggs; of course there is also Irwin, who has become the best full-back for many years, and Kanchelskis, who cannot be stopped even by a bus when he rushes down the wing. These seven players basically constitute the important skeleton of the Red Devils' championship team.

In addition, Ferguson also had the magical Cantona.

Only Cantona still maintains his magical power and unique ability, which is one of Ferguson's biggest reliances. Whether Cantona is in the forward position or retreating to the front midfielder position, he will pose various threats. No matter where he is, whether he receives the ball with his back or in front, whether he breaks through with the ball or passes accurately, whether he dunks alone or assists, Cantona completes it very well. Even if many Premier League teams' defenders and midfielders specifically mark him closely, or even use two players to block and intercept him, even if it is a two-on-one exchange, they will not hesitate to do so, but these do not seem to have much effect on Cantona. Even if he has no chance to get into the penalty area to receive the ball and shoot, he can still help the team win in other ways.

According to Ferguson's theory, "When a team stands on the field, if they want to win, at least 7 players must be in excellent condition, and 1 or 2 of them must be outstanding. That's enough. Many fans imagine that 11 players are in their best condition, and all the players are in excellent condition, which is actually very rare."

Another psychological advantage of Ferguson is himself. After years of hard work, Ferguson is very familiar with the Premier League and has an extremely fine grasp of the Red Devils. He knows that no team can sweep all opponents. The long season requires the coach to plan and strategize, scientific rotation and bold command on the spot. His Red Devils have shortcomings, and other teams have more shortcomings. No team has enough rotation players in all positions, but the Red Devils already need championship-level players to sit on the bench.

Ferguson certainly knows that the team will have to fight on multiple fronts from the beginning of the season, which requires a large lineup, good care of the health of the team's seniors, and close attention to the rotation and balance of the entire team. Ferguson is confident that he can ensure the team's competitiveness in multiple battlefields through reasonable deployment and rotation.

These challenges are not too difficult for him. For him, the Champions League games are probably the ones he cares about the most and invests the most effort in.