The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 326 FA Cup Loss

"The blow of the Red Devils losing the FA Cup was severe. They lost two championship trophies within six days. After a season of hard work, they ended up with nothing. This was the most bitter ending of the whole season. People always praise the champions, but for the Red Devils, being the runner-up is a loser. Not winning the FA Cup is an even bigger failure. This is the English football that Ferguson has to face, the Premier League where winners are kings and losers are bandits.

--Inscription

Keane's red card put the Red Devils at the center of public opinion. Ferguson was met with a lot of hostility for covering up the incident, and almost every media outlet opened fire on the Red Devils.

Inside the Red Devils, the dressing room was also waiting for Ferguson's attitude. The players were not worried that he would turn to the media or the FA, but wanted to see his judgment and position on Keane's behavior.

Ferguson showed an extremely protective side towards Keane's red card. Ferguson has always defended Keane in public. Even if he could not directly overturn the red card, he would loudly accuse his opponent of diverting attention. Ferguson said, "Daren Pitcher and Southgate's tackles were both red card actions, and these fouls specifically targeting Keane were even worse. Especially Southgate's foul, which directly kicked Keane's knee, which almost 'ruined Keane's career'. This action must have been a red card action, but what did Keane wait for? Just a yellow card that was not painful. My reaction was a bit extreme, but this is the fact."

"Why would Keane do such a malicious revenge stampede?"

Ferguson said: "I don't think Keane's action was malicious revenge. It was an irrational act, but not deliberate revenge. The football field changes rapidly, and it is difficult for players to keep a cool head every second. He made a foul, but he did not deliberately retaliate, let alone maliciously attack. Keane is the victim. His knee was almost broken by the opponent's foul. This is a serious injury. Keane needs to be absent for a long time and bear the risk of not being able to recover."

Ferguson brought Keane to the press conference, where he showed the injured knee that had seven stitches, and played clips of the opponent's various malicious fouls. Ferguson said: "Keane's action did not even cause any harm to Southgate, but his foul on Keane was enough to cause Keane to be seriously injured immediately, and he had to go off the court for treatment and miss the game. This is an action that may cause Keane to be disabled for life, but you media turned a blind eye to it, which is really disappointing."

Ferguson turned the tide in public opinion, and then directly implemented a silence order. The media could not dig up any more explosive news, and soon stopped reporting on the incident.

The players in the Red Devils dressing room, from top to bottom, were simply too impressed by Ferguson's protection of Keane. Later, Ferguson talked about why he "protected" the players: "Loyalty is one of the most valuable qualities of a person, and this valuable quality is mutual. I am loyal to my players, and I have always had the loyalty and trust of the players. I am constantly accused of protecting the players' evil deeds, but I want to emphasize that this is not fair. My team's style is brave and aggressive, but this is not the reason why the players should be criticized. It is not a mistake to have the courage to fight, and it is not even a foul. I come from a Scottish shipyard and grew up in a working-class family. My principle since childhood has been to keep fighting and to be responsible for my own actions. We will not attack and hurt others savagely, but we will not silently endure when we are hurt. I must protect my team, just like protecting my family and friends. I can give trust for the players, and I will also win the trust of the players."

Ferguson said: "I have been working hard to protect the players, so that they can have the right values ​​and courage. Today's players are gradually influenced by agents, media, commercial activities and different people around them. It is often difficult for them to maintain a pure feeling for football. Once they become stars, it is even more difficult for them to remain humble and continue to trust and obey the coach. In this case, the quality of loyalty is more worth cherishing. I don't have to worry at all at the Red Devils. I have the best players, so I am willing to be fully trusted."

It wasn't just Keane who was worried about not being able to play in the final, but also Gary Neville, a guy who got into trouble for accumulating too many yellow cards. Gary Neville recalled, "I was going to miss the final because I had accumulated too many yellow cards before. The club appealed against the ban, and then the FA asked me to pay a huge fine before I could play. This was my first hearing in front of the FA Disciplinary Committee, and I felt it was worth it."

Gary Neville, who wore the No. 27 jersey, was almost always a starter in the FA Cup, and of course he didn't want to miss this important final. He was eager to become an excellent full-back, and he would complete some dangerous tackles without hesitation, and some of his moves were even a little crazy. He would often commit fouls because he was too active and impulsive, and received many yellow cards. In the match against Southampton, Gary Neville used a very dangerous move to tackle the opponent's Jason Dodd, causing the opponent to be injured. Gary later admitted that the tackle was terrible and he should have received a red card directly. In the match against Sheffield Wednesday, Gary's brain was also over-congested, and he and Carlton Palmer had a - chance, but Gary, who was obviously over-adrenaline, went up and made a flying tackle, shoveling his opponent directly away.

Gary recalled, "The boss (Ferguson) told me to make a difference, so I tried desperately to seize every opportunity. I thought about working harder to show myself, which is why I can run crazy meters in a game. I know I have to leave a good impression on the boss. People often say that ordinary people have no place in the Red Devils, and don't expect to survive for long. I often feel scared because of this, thinking that I can't gain a foothold in the Red Devils."

In the end, Gary and Keane both made it to the final, Giggs also got a chance to play, and Scholes also started, but Cole played for Newcastle United in the third round of the FA Cup and could not play for the Red Devils. In addition, main striker Hughes did not start the game, which raised questions in the media.

Ferguson did not offer any explanation.

The FA Cup final was held at Wembley Stadium, and the Red Devils faced Everton. The Toffees had average performance this season, and their overall strength was not a super strong team. They had been fighting for relegation in the league until the end of the league when they managed to stay in the league. The Red Devils were the favorites before the game. Although Ferguson's team had just lost the league championship, the players' strength and reputation were there, so it was natural that they were more favored. Even so, Everton had beaten the Red Devils in the league before, and they were not a weak team that would collapse at the first touch, so they still had the strength to fight against the Red Devils.

At the beginning of the game, the Red Devils gained an advantage on the field very early, with a ball possession rate of more than 70% at one point, but the opponent was constantly shrinking the defense line, and while enduring the Red Devils' continuous attack, they did not really give the Red Devils any good chance to score. After a long attack, the Red Devils players were inevitably impatient, and the formation was too forward, giving Everton a chance to sneak attack. The Red Devils lost the ball in the opponent's penalty area, and Everton immediately launched a counterattack. At this time, many of the Red Devils' players were still in the opponent's half, but Everton's offensive quickly advanced to the Red Devils' half. In the crisis, Ins made a self-sacrificing tackle in the hope of blocking the attack, even at the cost of a yellow card. But the opponent passed Ins with a simple pass and continued to advance quickly. When Everton attacked the Red Devils' hinterland, the Red Devils fans were stunned to find that there were only two defenders in their own defense line. Everton, who was outnumbered, directly tore through the Red Devils' defense line, and finally Rideout scored easily, and Everton led 1-0!

Ferguson was furious during the halftime break, very dissatisfied with the players' low state. In the second half, he successively replaced Scholes and Mark Hughes, intending to go all out. Everton, with a ball in hand, was even more confident in playing a defensive tactic. The biggest threat to the Red Devils was Giggs's side. Everton's defense against him changed from single defense to double defense, constantly changing troops and desperately plugging the defensive gaps to avoid paralysis of the defense line. Everton not only defended the wing, but also piled up many players in their own penalty area, making it difficult for the Red Devils' attack to produce results. The Red Devils' strong attack turned into a half-court offense and defense, but the goal never appeared. After Giggs successfully broke through near the left baseline, he made a strong cross. McClair actually headed the excellent opportunity directly to the opponent's goalkeeper, but was blocked and hit the crossbar and flew out. Giggs then broke through alone, successfully attracted five opponent players to scramble, and then made a diagonal pass in the area of ​​the top of the penalty area. Scholes ran out of the empty space very sharply and directly formed a single shot, but the shot was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper! Scholes then rushed to the point and passed the ball horizontally, but the opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground and blocked it with his feet, thus resolving the crisis.

Many years later, Scholes regretted that opportunity. "I can't forget the FA Cup final against Everton in 1995. At that time, the old man told me that my only mission was to score goals. He asked me to be an attacker and look for more opportunities to get into the penalty area and shoot. We were 0-1 behind for a long time. We kept pressing the opponent but couldn't score. I got a chance when the game was almost over. At that time, I cut diagonally into the penalty area and got a pass from Giggs less than 8 yards away from the goal. There was only the goalkeeper in front of me! But my shot was not good enough and was incredibly blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper with his feet. I regret why I didn't be bolder and choose a more tricky angle to shoot. If I could score a goal at that time, we would definitely have the last laugh."

The Red Devils had another chance later, when Pallister received a cross from Scholes in the penalty area and almost beat the opponent's goalkeeper with a header at a very tricky angle, but it was just a little short. After this shot, the Red Devils' subsequent offensives were stifled by the opponent's goalkeeper and the players who defended desperately.

The Red Devils eventually lost the game 0-1. Ferguson and his players could only watch their opponents cheer and celebrate their victory once again.

Ferguson called the players back to the locker room and comforted them, saying, "This is not our night, that's all. We have tried our best and we played well, but God didn't give us any luck. It doesn't matter, you have tried your best, and I am very grateful to you. I am just a little regretful about the result."

Pallister later recalled: "We had just lost the championship at West Ham a week earlier. It was difficult for me to concentrate on the FA Cup final. The whole game was out of my control."

When asked about the worst memory of his career, Pallister said, "We actually worked hard for the entire season, and we should have won both games. I have never forgotten the last-minute chance in this game, and it still sticks in my throat many years later. You know you have an advantage, you know you have worked hard, and you still have a great opportunity, but the facts tell you that it is not enough, you are still a little short. This kind of pain can only be remembered forever after experiencing it."

The Red Devils do have the upper hand in terms of strength and were indeed the team that performed better in the game, but this does not guarantee victory in the arena.

This process also made Ferguson feel deeper pain. He was determined to make a comeback and lead the players to fight again in the next season.