The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 320: Bad Luck

"The fierce firepower of Manchester United shocked the entire Premier League. All subsequent opponents were deeply afraid and directly put defense first, hoping to compete with Ferguson's team through conservative tactics."

--Inscription

The Red Devils' 9-0 super victory shocked the entire league.

Although Manchester United has always shown an aggressive offensive attitude, although they bought Cole, the top scorer of the previous season, and although their offense is very strong, no one expected them to be so strong; although Ipswich is a weak team fighting for relegation, no one thought they would be so weak and concede so many goals in a game.

This big win has refreshed all the Premier League teams' understanding of the Red Devils. They now remember that Manchester United is the defending champion and Cole is the Premier League Golden Boot. They suddenly understand that Manchester United's wing tactics are invincible. Giggs and Kanchelskis are extremely sharp on the wing, and Keane and Ings have always been extremely strong in the middle. Not only that, veterans McClair and Hughes are now better at scoring goals... This team without Cantona is still fierce in attack, even more fierce, and its ability to seize opportunities is still excellent.

The Premier League season is about to enter its final stage, with 11 games left. This big win has made the title race even more intense. Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers are now the top two teams in the standings, gradually leaving behind the pursuers behind, but the competition between the two teams is even more intense.

Manchester United's big win also made the media start to readjust their views on the club. At this point in the season, the media had always believed that Manchester United was not doing well. Ferguson's challenge was injuries and Cantona's absence, which was also the core reason why they were always lagging behind the leading team. Cantona's absence, like other main players' injuries, actually affected the team's overall combat effectiveness.

Manchester Evening News said: "An interesting observation is whether Manchester United has performed well or poorly this season? Does the presence or absence of Cantona have any impact? In the first half of the season, when Cantona was in the team, Manchester United also lagged behind their opponents, and even widened the gap to 7 points at one point. After Cantona was banned, Ferguson's team still had an excellent record. After 31 games, they were only 3 points behind Blackburn, which was actually the difference of one game."

Manchester Evening News said: "We think there are problems within the Manchester United team. The team may lack sufficient stability - the aging of the players is a very big challenge, and the lack of superstars joining in the summer is another problem. Manchester United's lineup actually lacks sufficient depth, and rotation in the league and the Champions League is very difficult."

Manchester United's pre-season signings were indeed a failure. The lack of superstars was a problem. Ferguson himself knew that his rivals were constantly strengthening their squads, and his aging team still needed new players. It was precisely because of the lack of signings that Ferguson spent 700 million pounds in the middle of the season to buy the powerful striker Andy Cole from Newcastle.

Another problem for Manchester United this season is the distraction. Ferguson put pressure on himself and challenged himself to a higher level. He hoped to make a breakthrough in the Champions League, so he went all out to participate in the Champions League group stage. The Champions League campaign brought great consumption and the hardship of fighting on multiple fronts. Although the Red Devils have stopped in the Champions League and League Cup, they are still fighting in the FA Cup.

Cantona was banned? This blow was not discussed in depth until after the season ended or even many years later. Whether Cantona could play was a very special factor. Ferguson himself once emphasized, "If Cantona had not been banned, we would have won more games and had a more stable performance. From the beginning to the middle of the season, it was not that we played badly, but that our opponents played exceptionally well. When we needed to play better, we didn't have Cantona. At this time, even if our opponents slowed down, we could still keep catching up at an accelerated pace, but in the end we were still a little behind."

At this point after 31 rounds of the season, Ferguson still stressed that there was hope for defending the title. He was convinced that his team was strong and that the players would be able to maintain a high level of combat effectiveness as long as they were effectively guided and properly deployed.

The Red Devils still fought bravely after the heavy blow, and never gave up, trying to catch up with the leading team and narrow the points gap. Ferguson did not give up the offensive style of play, and did not shrink the team to counterattack because of Cantona's absence. Instead, he played faster and sharper.

As the biggest rival for the championship, Blackburn's advantage is also obvious. They have been leading since the beginning of the season and have maintained it ever since. Coach Dalglish is very single. He said before the season that he wanted to challenge the championship. At that time, the media did not think of his words. It was not until the beginning of the season that Blackburn withdrew from various cup competitions that they knew what Dalglish really meant. Blackburn is full of elite players, but now they only have to play in the league, and they have given up other cup competitions long ago. Facing the endless fire from the media and all kinds of shameless ridicule, Dalglish was completely unmoved. His idea is simple and direct. He even publicly stated in an interview that the team is aiming for the league championship. During the long season, the carefully prepared Blackburn team was very careful after taking the lead in points and maintained its advantage. Whether against strong teams or weak teams, they performed very well, making it difficult for the Red Devils, who were in the chasing position, to have a chance to overtake their opponents.

Facing such an opponent, Ferguson was indeed deeply troubled.

On March 3, in the 7nd round of the league, the Red Devils will challenge Wimbledon away.

The Red Devils played very bravely in this match, but it was also very difficult as always. The conditions at Wimbledon's home ground were extremely poor, with no grass in many places and only mud. Not only that, the field was very small, which was not conducive to Manchester United's style of playing both sides and charging from the wing. It even rained heavily on this day's match, and Ferguson's team had to fight with their opponents on a slippery and muddy field. These unfavorable conditions also greatly reduced the technical advantages of the Red Devils and consumed precious physical strength.

The Red Devils kept pressing the opponent to attack, while the opponent kept defending fiercely. In addition to their fierce physical confrontation, they also made many small moves outside the rules. Right back Capton even paid the price of a red card to block Giggs' corner kick. But even so, it was difficult for the Red Devils to tear through the opponent's defense. Multiple attacking players missed opportunities one after another and had no way to send the ball into the opponent's goal. At the last moment, the Red Devils came out in full force, and even Bruce was thrown into the opponent's defense area as a high center forward to compete for a header. In the 83rd minute, Manchester United made a cross from the left, and Giggs' pass fell very accurately on Bruce's head in the penalty area. The Manchester United central defender's header did not control the direction well, and the ball still flew out of the goal frame.

At the last moment of the game, Manchester United's attack was resolved by the opponent, and Wimbledon took possession of the ball. The goalkeeper held the ball mysteriously and waved his hands to let the defenders and midfielders press forward. The entire Manchester United team retreated to the midfield, ready to attack after stealing the ball. Wimbledon's backcourt passed the ball high to Manchester United's half. Ince successfully competed with the opponent's player in the midfield area and headed the ball to McClair, who had just passed the midfield but was close to the right sideline. McClair took control of the ball and made a long pass. This high ball passed diagonally to the penalty area was too far away. No Manchester United player could rush into the opponent's penalty area to receive it. It seemed that this pass was not threatening at all. Wimbledon's defenders and goalkeeper protected the space and waited for the ball to fall. Wimbledon's goalkeeper held the ball after a while. If he delayed a little longer, the game might have ended directly. At this time, the player at the front of Manchester United was Bruce. Just like every time he practiced receiving a high ball, he took the initiative to rush into the opponent's penalty area to see if there were any unexpected opportunities.

The Wimbledon goalkeeper began to panic as Bruce approached. At this time, McClair's pass did not bounce when it came down, and unexpectedly it stuck in the mud. When the Wimbledon goalkeeper hurriedly lowered his head to pick up the ball, Bruce rushed over and kicked the opponent before he could pick up the ball and fully control the ball. In just such a short moment, Bruce's bravery overcame the opponent's cowardice. He directly kicked the football away from the opponent's hand and then ran straight to the goal with the ball.

There was no obstacle in front of Bruce, he pushed the ball easily and shot it directly into the empty goal, and Manchester United secured the final victory 1-0.

The Red Devils relied on the never-give-up willpower of the whole team and struggled to dig out 3 points from the mud.

3月12日红魔在足总杯第6轮2比0轻取女王公园巡游者队，昂首杀入下一轮，随即就迎来了3月15日踢热刺的焦点大战。

This match against Tottenham was full of regrets and surprises. The Red Devils attacked aggressively, and Tottenham did not show weakness, adopting an attack-to-attack strategy. Both sides played to their own strengths, and the fast-paced attack and defense made the game very exciting and the process was very smooth. Unfortunately, the Red Devils dominated the whole game, but they only blossomed but did not bear fruit.

The Red Devils players created countless good offensive opportunities, and there were also many excellent opportunities, but there was no way to send the rolling ball into the opponent's net. Mark Hughes intercepted the ball in the midfield and passed it to Kanchelskis on the wing. The Ukrainian fast horse crossed the bottom and Hughes, who was like a god, headed the ball towards the dead corner. This header had passed the goalkeeper's hands, but it hit the post! Then Kanchelskis and Irwin played a wonderful combination again. Kanchelski crossed the ball after reaching the bottom line. As a result, this time it was Cole's turn to sweep the empty goal six yards in front of the goal, but he hit the door frame with force! In the melee in the penalty area, Giggs shook like a ghost near the penalty spot to get rid of the space, and then the calm shot was unimaginably forked out by the opponent's goalkeeper with his hand!

The Red Devils have missed 3 great chances!

Then Giggs took a corner kick, and Ings' powerful header in front of the goal was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's subconscious reaction, and he missed the goal again.

In the second half, Tottenham was exhausted and retreated. It was difficult for the Red Devils to create enough space and it was difficult for them to have a great opportunity in front of the goal to score easily. But even so, the Red Devils did not give up. They continued to attack in the dense defense of the opponent, trying various ways to pry open the opponent's turtle shell. In the 62nd minute, Giggs broke through from the left and entered the penalty area, but unfortunately his shot was not tricky enough and was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper; in the 73rd minute, Manchester United launched an attack from the middle. Ince passed the ball directly, Hughes retreated with his back to the opponent's defender, and after withstanding the entanglement, he transferred the ball to the right. Kanchelskis arrived quickly, took the ball and rushed directly to the right bottom line. The Ukrainian passed the Tottenham left back and made a cross directly from the bottom. Cole and Giggs both tried to score in the Tottenham penalty area, but unfortunately the high ball fell into the defense area of ​​the Tottenham central defender outside the small penalty area and was directly headed out. In the 81st minute, Irwin made a cross from the right, and McClair missed the ball 5 yards in front of the goal in the chaos, missing the chance to kill again!

Manchester United didn't win the game, and Ferguson's planned 3 points turned into 1 point. Blackburn also had problems, and they were also tied by their opponents, and the points gap between the two teams remained at 3 points.

I have to say, the Red Devils have very bad luck!