The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 312 Goal and Slap

In the difficult situation where the team was hit by injuries and poor player condition, Ferguson showed extraordinary courage and outstanding ability. In the face of the wanton provocation of the opponent players and the partiality of the referee, a sharp goal was the best response.

--Inscription

In January 1995, the Red Devils played in the 1rd round of the Premier League, facing Coventry at home.

In addition to paying attention to the game, the media also began to hype transfer news. At this time, the media reported that the Red Devils were preparing to recruit players, with the target being Shelingham, Collymore and other popular strikers. There were also rumors that Ferguson was planning to buy Ferdinand or Shearer, but the Red Devils did not respond to this.

In the match against Coventry, Ferguson sent out Walsh, Gary, Irwin, Bruce and Pallister as the defensive line, and Gillespie was rarely in the starting lineup in the midfield, along with Keane, Butt and Giggs, and Cantona and Scholes as the forwards. As a result, there were as many as five youth players in the starting lineup of the Red Devils, which surprised the entire English football world.

Where does Ferguson get the confidence from?

The fact is that Ferguson is not only confident, but also has vision.

When the Coventry players looked at Scholes, Butt and other kids seriously entering the field with a condescending look, ready to teach them a lesson on how to show respect during the game, and when the commentators on the sidelines were still exaggerating the view that "Does Ferguson disrespect the opponent's coach?", no one expected what these young people would bring to them.

Even Capton, a reporter who has been following Manchester United's youth training all the way, dare not assert that these young players will bring great surprises to the fans.

Coventry City is not very strong this season, and their performance in this game is even more so. Although Coventry City sent out all its main players, their formation was scattered and messy after the start of the game, and the players lacked position awareness. The three lines were often stretched wide, and there were large gaps between the defense line and the midfield, and between the various positions of the defense line, which provided a rare opportunity for the Red Devils to attack. The Red Devils launched an offensive at the beginning of the game, and quickly pressed the opponent back to the defense near the penalty area. Cantona got the ball in the middle of the frontcourt. Seeing that the opponent was shrinking densely but letting go of the right side, Cantona made a diagonal pass to Gary who was inserted from the side. After Gary rushed to the penalty area with the ball, he faced the opponent's defender and crossed the ball all the way down. This cross fell to the front of the small penalty area. Butt inserted his heel and was blocked. Scholes followed up and shot the ball on the small penalty area line, and directly blasted the ball into the opponent's goal. The Red Devils led 1-0!

In the second half, the Red Devils continued to hold the advantage. Cantona received the ball again near the right area in the frontcourt, and then passed it directly behind the opponent's defender. This pass was intercepted by the opponent's defender. Just when the Coventry defender had the ball at his feet, Scholes quickly approached, rushed in with his shoulder, and forcibly pushed the opponent away, and then quickly dribbled the ball into the penalty area. The Coventry defender was so angry that he directly pulled Scholes down from behind with his hands. Red card, penalty!

Cantona scored in one fell swoop, Red Devils 2-0!

Manchester United finally relied on Scholes's shot and penalty, as well as the outstanding performances of Gary and Butt, and Cantona's last-gasp goal, and the Red Devils easily defeated their opponents.

On January 1995, 1, the Red Devils challenged Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup.

Ferguson made a certain degree of rotation in this game. Schmeichel returned to serve as goalkeeper again, and young player O'Kane got a rare chance to start. The other starters in the defense were still Irwin, Bruce and Pallister, the midfielders were Keane, Butt, Giggs, and the frontcourt was McClair, Cantona and Hughes.

Sheffield United played very savagely in this match, and the confrontation was very fierce. At the beginning of the first half, Sheffield United fell into passive defense. Their midfielders and defenders repeatedly fouled Hughes and Cantona, and used small actions to harass the Red Devils players all the time. In the 23rd minute of the game, the Red Devils were intercepted in the midfield. In the melee, Bart was kicked down by the opponent twice. At this time, Hughes turned around and kicked the ball to the place where the foul happened, ready to help Bart, and Cantona also came over to join the battle. At this time, a player of Sheffield United suddenly raised his hand and slapped Cantona directly, and the slap hit Cantona's face hard!

Cantona's ears were buzzing from the beating, and he had to cover his face in pain. Hughes was furious and rushed directly towards the bitch who did it, while the Sheffield United players rushed forward and separated Hughes.

In the end, the referee simply gave a yellow card.

Cantona did not do anything out of line in the whole incident, nor did he commit any fouls, nor did he even yell or swear, and even when he was slapped he did not fight back directly. He hopes that the referee can handle the matter impartially, and that the Premier League can truly protect the players' skills and physical fitness, rather than promoting so-called barbarism and violence.

After the game, Cantona said: "At first I thought that guy accidentally hit me in the face because the force was not strong enough to hurt me. The referee gave him a warning and a yellow card, and I thought that was enough. But after the game continued, their home fans applauded and cheered the guy crazily, booed me, and even yelled at me. I realized that these people were so vicious. I later realized that the referee actually knew what the opponent was doing, but he might think it was just a small matter?"

Cantona said: "Of course I know that the fans have a clear position and I can accept this hostility and their verbal attacks and boos on opposing players, but everything should have a limit. I am a person with bottom line and principles, and I don't want this bottom line to be trampled on."

Cantona soon found an opportunity for revenge and decided to retaliate with a more interesting action.

The Red Devils successfully defended a corner kick in the second half and quickly launched a counterattack. Cantona quickly passed the ball to the front court after receiving the pass in his own half, then accelerated forward and rushed to the outside of the opponent's penalty area to receive the ball. At this time, Giggs dribbled the ball through the defense, saw that Cantona's position was unguarded, and directly passed the ball to Cantona's feet. At this time, Cantona saw the position of the opponent's goalkeeper, and directly rubbed the ball with his foot outside the penalty area, and made a bold lob shot.

Cantona!

This extraordinary lob shot started from outside the penalty area, drew a beautiful arc, flew past the Sheffield United goalkeeper in the astonished eyes of countless people, and then fell into the Sheffield United goal with a downward curve.

The Red Devils lead Sheffield United 1-0.

Such a wonderful shot, with imagination and observation shining together, precise calculation of arc and landing point, and extremely outstanding micro-control ability, all gathered in Cantona at this moment!

For a moment, everyone in the stadium was stunned by the goal and fell completely silent. Sheffield United fans also understood football, and they had to admit it.

Cantona responded effectively to the opponent's rough and vicious fouls with this goal that shines with the true meaning of football.

The Red Devils continued to play vigorously after scoring the lead, while the opponents were confused because of the score. In the second half, the Red Devils counterattacked and Hughes scored another goal, and finally eliminated the opponent 2-0 and successfully advanced.

The Red Devils won the game smoothly and advanced successfully. Cantona, who scored the key goal for the Red Devils, is the most indispensable soul of the entire team.

Helping the Red Devils win their first Premier League title, successfully defend their title, unlock the double crown, and be named the best in the Premier League, Cantona has become the most stylish superstar in the Red Devils. He is also the biggest source of confidence and confidence for the Red Devils to compete in the Premier League and strive to win the title for the third time.

Ferguson certainly knew these hidden dangers. David May had not yet proved himself and was not suitable for playing as a full-back. Parker's injury and poor form had seriously weakened the Red Devils' attack on the right side. Kanchelskis often fell into the trap of being surrounded by two opponents. As for the shortcomings of central defenders Bruce and Pallister, they were also seized by the opponent. Bruce turned too slowly and Pallister also had speed problems. The two were not enough to cover the large space in the backcourt when the Red Devils attacked fiercely, and Keane and Ings needed to retreat deeper to help.

Even Keane and Ince had some coordination problems this season. Ince regarded himself as the commander of the midfield, running around in the front court, midfield and back court, with good coverage and stronger desire to attack, which to a certain extent suppressed the ability of Keane, who has stronger attacking attributes. The more serious problem is that Ince also had a lot of injuries this season, and Ferguson had to let Butt play. Giggs also had a short injury on the wing, and Sharp's injury lasted longer. Ferguson needed to use young players such as Beckham, Gillespie and Davis. Hughes was still in excellent form on the striker line, but McClair was indeed declining rapidly. His arrival rate, confrontation and speed made it difficult for him to play a sufficient role on the Red Devils' striker line. When Cantona needed to retreat deep, Ferguson had to put young players such as Scholes and Thornley on the striker line.

The Red Devils' lineup is too thin and has too many problems. Why did Ferguson dare to use youth training boldly? Why did he dare to constantly change the starting positions of the players, change the formation and playing style, let Keane play as a full-back, let May play as a full-back, let Giggs play as a striker, let Cantona retreat to play as a front midfielder, let McClair retreat to play as a midfielder, let Beckham play as a central midfielder... These arrangements and deployments, although partly due to the situation and the fact that a good cook cannot cook without rice, on the other hand, it is indeed because the Red Devils' framework is stable enough and there are strong enough players on the field to support the team, so that the young people and players who changed their positions will not be in chaos, let alone at a loss, and will not be afraid before the battle and collapse at the first touch.

Ferguson did not passively wait for the team to recruit players, but boldly promoted and used youth training players.

Unlike the Busby Babes who stunned the nation as soon as they debuted, and a whole group of players shone in the football world as soon as they debuted, Ferguson's biggest gain from youth training in recent years, Giggs, has already established a firm foothold and has long been the core of the team, and cannot make up for the thinness of the lineup this season. As for Gary, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Gillespie, Thornley, Davis and other young players, they are indeed not mature enough this season, and their physical conditions are still too thin and weak to compete with the opponents who have strong bodies and great strength. They can only be the surprise players in some games, or the backups in some games, and are not enough to completely occupy the main position.

Ferguson's strength lies in the fact that he is more far-sighted than most people. He fully trusts these little guys and uses them very actively and frequently, allowing them to grow more in actual combat.

Why does Ferguson have such courage? Why does he have such confidence?

Because he has a central axis consisting of Schmeichel, Bruce, Keane, Cantona, and a solid structure built by Ince, Kanchelskis, Irwin, and Hughes. Under this lineup framework, as long as Bruce, Keane and Cantona are on the field, Ferguson is confident that the team can ensure sufficient overall strength, and ensure that they have sufficient state and confidence. Among all people, Cantona is Ferguson's biggest confidence. This French striker with excellent physical conditions, technical awareness and fighting spirit is the biggest reliance of the Red Devils and the core of the team that Ferguson trusts most. As a striker, Cantona has already conquered the Red Devils and the Premier League. He has countless whimsical ideas, various clever moves, unparalleled vision, full tacit understanding, and a strong body. No matter where he is on the court, he will always be the core of the Red Devils' offense. A commander who sits firmly in the center, a pioneer in sieges, a connector who threads the needle, a feeder who sets up artillery and assists, a fighter who fights bravely, a metronome who controls the rhythm... He is like a fish in water in every role and can handle it with ease.

Cantona's football skills full of artistic inspiration not only brought victory to the Red Devils, but his strict self-discipline, hard training, and his willingness to seize every moment to refine his skills and his hard-working attitude of continuous practice also filled the team with a positive atmosphere.

Ferguson firmly believes that as long as appropriate efforts are made in the winter transfer window, appropriate adjustments are made to the team lineup, and rotations are carried out scientifically, the Red Devils will be able to find opportunities to overtake their opponents in the long season and win new victories.

Although the situation is not optimistic, Ferguson remains confident.