The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 325 Behind the Red Card

"Keane certainly received many red cards in his career, and behind each red card there is a different story and conflict. Keane is known for his ferocity in the Premier League. His fiery personality and iron-blooded spirit have always been the driving force for the Red Devils to move forward. His fiery eyes and ferocious expression, as well as his fierce counterattacks when provoked, are enough to scare opponents, and the so-called 'evil man' nickname comes from this."

--Inscription

A week after the end of the league, the Red Devils faced the FA Cup final.

Ferguson was ambitious this season. The Red Devils opened a total of four fronts: league, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League. Ferguson's initial idea was crazy.

The Red Devils were eliminated early in the League Cup. Ferguson mixed the rotation of the main players and the new generation to play in the League Cup. The main purpose was to train the new players in the team. The Red Devils' first opponent in the League Cup was Port Vale, which was the second round. In the first game, Scholes scored both goals for the Red Devils 2-1 away; in the second game, he successfully eliminated the opponent 2-0 at home. The Red Devils' third round opponent was the Premier League powerhouse Newcastle United. In this game, Ferguson kept Cantona, Keane, Ince, Schmeichel, Kanchelskis, Mark Hughes and other main players on the bench. The team's strength was naturally not as good as the opponent's full main starters. The final 0-2 loss was not surprising, and the League Cup ended there.

The FA Cup started later, and the Red Devils played against Sheffield United in the third round. Sheffield United had a rough style and poor skills, and often relied on physical and fouls to compete with the Red Devils. Cantona encountered all-round provocations and rough fouls from his opponents. He was tackled and knocked over many times in this game, and was double-teamed by two or more opponents, but Cantona still suppressed his anger. He did not get angry and lose control. He was not indifferent to being tackled and knocked over, and devoted himself to the attack. The Sheffield United players became more and more excessive. After colliding with Cantona in the midfield, they deliberately slapped him in the face. This extremely bad foul was let go by the referee, and he didn't even show a yellow card. Cantona looked at his opponent very calmly for a few seconds and then turned away. He decided to fight back with a goal. The Red Devils launched a quick attack in the second half. Cantona received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and kicked an unusual lob. Cantona imaginatively rubbed the ball with the instep of his right foot and made a spoon-curved lob shot. The power, angle and arc of this shot were extremely exquisite. The ball magically drew an arc and just brushed the crossbar and flew into the blind corner above the goal.

After scoring the goal, Cantona stood proudly and glanced at his opponents coldly from the corner of his eye. You barbarians can only commit fouls and various dirty tricks, what else can you do?

In this way, Cantona led the Red Devils to eliminate this disgusting opponent 2-0.

In the fourth round of the FA Cup, the Red Devils beat Westham 5-2 at home. Ferguson boldly trained new players, and Phil Neville started in this game to replace the main player Irwin. He performed very well on the left, was good at both offense and defense, created many opportunities for the Red Devils, and won unanimous praise from the fans.

Then the Red Devils faced Leeds United at home in the fifth round. Ferguson sent out all the main players to face the old enemy, and the whole team also went all out and played in a very exciting state. In the end, Bruce, Hughes and McClair each scored a header goal to help the Red Devils beat their opponents 3-1 and advance.

The next opponent for the Red Devils was Queens Park Rangers. Ferguson continued to start the game with Gary replacing the aging Parker at right back. Facing an opponent who was defending with all his strength, the Red Devils were helpless for a while, and neither the forwards nor the wing attacking players got more opportunities. The Red Devils remained patient when the game was stalemate, and it paid off in the end. In the fierce battle, the Red Devils got a free kick in the frontcourt, and Irwin calmly took the free kick and shot directly at the goal. This quick and powerful free kick made it impossible for the opponent's wall and goalkeeper to resist, and it flew straight into the net. Irwin's free kicks were a unique skill of the Red Devils back then, with strong rotation loops, arcs that bypassed the wall, precise shooting angles, and fast flight speeds... This kind of loop free kick often made the opponent's goalkeeper unable to react. Then Lee Sharp also scored a goal to help the Red Devils advance to the next round.

In the semi-finals, the Red Devils faced their new arch-enemy Crystal Palace.

In the away game, the Red Devils players were greeted with fierce shouts and curses from the opponent's fans. The game started in an extremely hot atmosphere. Crystal Palace attacked frantically at the beginning, and intercepted very toughly in the midfield. They used a lot of fouls, hoping to suppress the Red Devils with fierce attacks and rough fouls. The Red Devils were not afraid of this style, and they quickly took the initiative after a serious response. In the first half, Crystal Palace made a long pass in the frontcourt, and Schmeichel blocked the ball sideways. Crystal Palace players continued to pass the ball to the back point, and Crystal Palace players headed the ball back, and the Crystal Palace striker on the goal line took advantage of the chaos to head it in!

The trailing Red Devils launched a fierce counterattack. At the critical moment, the Red Devils got a free kick opportunity in front of the penalty area. Irwin stepped forward again, showing his exquisite free kick technique, sending a sharp arc of a crescent-shaped ball that bypassed the wall of people and went straight to the upper corner of the goal!

After the Red Devils equalized the score, they continued to attack, while Crystal Palace shrank back and waited for an opportunity to attack. The Red Devils could not attack quickly, so Crystal Palace immediately launched a blitzkrieg, with a long pass from the center circle directly behind them. The two central defenders of the Red Devils could not catch up, and could only watch the Crystal Palace striker go to the meeting alone and defeat Schmeichel.

The Red Devils fell behind once again.

Bruce later said: "The FA Cup match against Crystal Palace was very painful for me. The opponent first beat us with a high ball bomb, and then took the lead with a simple counterattack. For the first time, I knew that I was too old and could not cope with this counterattack speed."

The Red Devils fell behind again, but the players did not give up. Under the siege, Gary Neville threw a powerful sideline ball from the right and it flew straight into the opponent's penalty area. Pallister jumped high in the small penalty area and headed the ball into the opponent's goal with a lion's head shake, 2-2!

The game ended with this score, but the conflict between the fans escalated. Fans of the two teams fought outside the stadium, which then turned into a large-scale brawl. A Crystal Palace fan was seriously injured in the melee and eventually died.

Ferguson called on fans of both teams to remain calm before the rematch. "Football is a competition and everything should be done on the pitch. We have fair rules and referees and we need to respect the game. It is a common responsibility to play a game with all our strength. We call on all fans to cherish their lives and not lose their rationality when expressing their emotions."

Inside the locker room, Ferguson half laughed at and half criticized Bruce and Pallister, "You two guys are making a big joke. Your running speed is slower than a snail. It's really unbearable to watch. Our strategy is not to press all players forward. We always have to leave a guy who can run behind. You are panting and your bellies are bulging. You are really killing Schumi..."

Ferguson injected a magical touch into the replay, and Bruce and Pallister really didn't let any flaws slip. Because a fan died in the conflict, the Crystal Palace fans became even crazier during the replay, even clamoring to kill the Red Devils players. The police had to intervene on a large scale, directly expelling several extreme fan groups from the Crystal Palace team and arresting several football hooligans. Even if the Crystal Palace players continued to be crazy and extremely rude, the Red Devils players would confront them head-on and would not be afraid at all. The hot-tempered Keane was even a little eager to try. He joked with his teammates, "Only when the opponents know that we are more aggressive, more barbaric, more unreasonable, more daring to show our bayonets, and more daring to fight with them, can we play well."

At the start of the game, fierce confrontations and rough fouls came as expected, and the hot scenes continued. The Red Devils were well prepared and continued to have the upper hand. Ferguson sent Keane, Ince, Hughes, McClair, Bruce, and Irwin, who were all real tough guys, quickly suppressed the opponent. The Crystal Palace team did not gain any advantage and soon fell behind. After losing the game, the Crystal Palace team frantically looked for opportunities to provoke the Red Devils players. Daren Pichel used small actions to provoke Keane at first, but after falling behind, he became fierce and deliberately shoveled Keane's knee, knocking Keane to the ground on the spot. The skin above Keane's knee was broken, bleeding, and the muscles were turned out. The team doctor hurriedly stopped the bleeding, then sewed him 7 stitches, and then bandaged the entire knee with a bandage.

During the halftime break, Keane was receiving treatment while listening to Ferguson's speech. At that time, Giggs had injured his ligaments and could not continue, but Keane decided to continue playing.

Keane later said: "I like to fight against tough opponents. No matter how painful it is, I must persist until I win the game. I said I could persist, but the boss and the team doctor thought I was just a skin injury..."

Keane was wrong. His knee started to swell up at the beginning of the second half, making it impossible for him to run. Keane had to reluctantly signal to the coaching bench for a substitution. At this moment, the opponent's Southgate made a flying tackle directly towards Keane. Southgate's tackle was not too fierce, but it was aimed at Keane's knee, which had just been stitched. His flying tackle was not aimed at Keane's old injury, but it was too much to do so when Keane had already signaled for a substitution.

Keane, who was out of control, cursed angrily, stood up with difficulty, and stomped his foot down, stepping on Southgate who had no time to get up after the tackle.

The referee saw this act of revenge and showed a red card. Crystal Palace players obviously didn't want to give up, they rushed up to surround Keane, ready to take advantage of the chaos. The Red Devils players rushed over to help, and the referee tried to separate the two sides. At this time, Keane's eyes were red with anger, and it was not so easy for the opponent to rush up and beat him up. Keane just sneered and started fighting with his opponent. In the melee, Keane punched Patterson hard several times and kicked a guy next to him away.

The big melee lasted for a long time until the stadium security personnel intervened and finally allowed the game to continue.

In the end, the central defenders Bruce and Pallister each scored a goal, helping the Red Devils lock in a 2-0 score and successfully advance to the final.

Keane was sent off with a red card, but he stayed until the end of the game. When the Red Devils finally won the game and the players returned to the locker room, Ferguson briefly explained a few words to everyone and then turned to Keane and asked: "What the hell were you thinking at the time? Are you that stupid?! This is a football game, don't try to play with an injury, you have to remember this. Second, this is a football game, but also a battlefield. I can't praise your foul, but we certainly can't be bullied, never be bullied, even if there is a fight or a group fight. Third, it is unnecessary to take the initiative to commit a foul and get a red card. Roy, you obviously crossed the line, and you shouldn't lose your mind at that time."

Keane remained silent. He knew he was too impulsive.

When Ferguson was asked in an interview whether Keane was a criminal, a violent fighter, he refuted fiercely: "I want to emphasize that I didn't see what happened clearly at the time. Keane is an upright man. He suffered from the infringement and injury of his opponents today. This point must be emphasized. His subsequent revenge was provoked. The red card is certainly not unjustified, but we will always support him."

This was Keane's first red card in the Premier League, but it caused a lot of controversy afterwards. The media put Keane's previous offenses aside, and they called Keane's foul of stepping on Southgate a "shame", as bad as Cantona's flying kick on the fan.

The media clamored for severe punishment for Keane. They called Keane a "thug" and a "villain", giving Keane a reputation for being fierce and violent. They believed that Keane was a complete bad guy, a jerk on the court, and a violent bully.

The media fabricated all the blame on Keane, but the Red Devils and Keane are not to be trifled with. Daren Pitcher's tackle, Keane's knee that needed seven stitches, and Southgate's flying tackle were exposed one by one, and clips of Crystal Palace's rough moves and various malicious fouls were also edited out, causing a major upheaval in public opinion.

The English Football Association finally decided to ban Keane for three games. The Red Devils will lose Keane, a strong player, in the FA Cup final, which is a huge loss for Ferguson.