The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Volume 1986.11: First Experience (November 1987.5-May )

"Ferguson's half-season as the Red Devils coach was impressive. The effectiveness of his strict management changed the team's mental outlook and laid the foundation for the team's 26 years. A team with strict discipline, unity and struggle, and constantly becoming stronger is Ferguson's direction, and the ultimate championship is his real goal."

——Foreword

Chapter 33 Lecture

"Never give in - the word voluntarily giving up has never appeared in my dictionary, and I hope you won't give in either. My personality is so direct, I will never give in, I will fight with my opponent. I came here to lead the team to victory and get out of trouble, this is my goal."

--Ferguson

On November 1986, 11, Ferguson's coaching career at the Red Devils officially began.

Ferguson's appointment was a temporary decision, and the Red Devils club was in chaos. The management did not have any contingency plans, and as a result, they had to hold a press conference to fire Atkinson and to invite Ferguson.

The press conference where Ferguson appeared was also a mess. The Red Devils' public relations department did not coordinate it well at all. The press conference almost turned into a Hongmen Banquet. The tense atmosphere was disturbing.

Ferguson rushed into the game, and his request was simple, which was to bring Norris, his assistant coach at Aberdeen.

Ferguson's schedule is very tight.

After he appeared at the press conference, the game two days later was immediately scheduled.

It was as if Ferguson had suddenly gone to the front line, received an almost defeated army, and immediately commanded them into a new battle.

Ferguson knew the situation was serious and did his homework urgently before coming to the Red Devils. He didn't know how deep the water was in the big clubs, how strong the various negative factors were, and how big the various dragging forces were, but he knew that a big club stuck in the quagmire would definitely have a lot of troubles, and there would be all kinds of invisible negative factors and all kinds of unexpected problems.

A wealthy family is an opportunity, but it can also be a big pitfall.

For Ferguson, this was a big challenge. First of all, time was too tight. On November 1986, 11, the Red Devils management decided to fire Atkinson. Then on November 4, Edwards contacted Aberdeen and Ferguson. The next day, on the morning of November 11, the three parties completed the negotiation and signed the agreement. Ferguson rushed back to Manchester in the afternoon to appear and attend the club's press conference.

Three days will decide everything.

After the press conference, Ferguson was given one day to return to Aberdeen to handle personal matters, including moving and so on, and then he had to rush back to Manchester on November 1, and the next game would start one day later.

When Ferguson took over, the Red Devils were second from the bottom in the standings and had one foot in the relegation zone.

What is more heartbreaking than the results is the state of the team. The team is in a slump, the players are panic-stricken, the locker room is dead and there is no positive atmosphere.

Before Atkinson was fired, he had no choice but to throw up his hands. There was nothing he could do except to put the team's injuries on the table.

The Red Devils are now in a state where no one can approach them. Their morale is broken, the players have given up on themselves, and the overall atmosphere is decadent and depressing.

On the day Ferguson took office, he urgently met with several core players of the team, including Strachan, Robson, Whiteside and McGrath. But this was only the first meeting, and the time was very limited, so the meeting did not have much effect. The players just politely congratulated Ferguson on becoming the new head coach and wished him a smooth coaching career.

Ferguson left Manchester to go back to Aberdeen to deal with personal matters, and the entire Red Devils team immediately fell into chaos again. The most unexpected thing was that the Red Devils players did not train as usual, but were busy with their own personal matters. On this day, most of the Red Devils players were busy partying. They gathered together to discuss how to bid farewell to their former coach. Although their next game would start in less than 48 hours, it was a crucial away game against Oxford United, which could be said to be related to relegation. But Ferguson was not there, and the assistant coach was not in place, so naturally no one organized and no one prepared for pre-match training.

Manchester Evening News said that the Red Devils players were divided into two groups. Some of them went to the home of former coach Atkinson to have a party. The farewell to the former coach who had a good personal relationship with the players was naturally full of food and drink, and the other players had their own plans, basically did not train at all, and left the training base early.

The performance of the Red Devils players, especially the out-of-control management within the club, made Ferguson, who was far away in Aberdeen, anxious, but also surprised.

On the night of November 11, the Red Devils players also began their own internal discussions. They began to focus on one topic, which was what kind of person the new head coach was, what the Red Devils would be like in the future, and what kind of career prospects they would have. The Red Devils players were very interested, but this concern was just gossip about a stranger, not for preparation for training and games. "They first asked Strachan," recalled Arthur Albiston, a Red Devils player at the time, "but he kept his mouth shut and was unwilling to elaborate on the details of Ferguson's style and management."

Strachan's behavior was very unusual, but he still hinted that a good show was about to begin, and hoped that everyone would be on their own. "So they asked me again," Albiston continued, "because they knew that I had also worked with Ferguson in the Scottish national team. I briefly introduced my impression of Ferguson, who was very tough, very meticulous, and not easy to fool. I emphasized my own thoughts, which was that I was very happy with this appointment. I thought Ferguson's toughness would change the team and bring something different to the team. I told everyone some of the stories I knew about Ferguson, and my teammates were all very excited to hear it. I later emphasized that Ferguson was very organized, very strict but also fair. If you cross his bottom line, you will be in trouble. If you give your all, then you will be fine."

Strachan, a former Red Devils player who worked with Ferguson, had mixed feelings. He did not expect Ferguson to coach the Red Devils at all. The conflict between him and Ferguson was not resolved. Strachan knew what Ferguson's appointment meant, and he could only tell his teammates that a new era was coming. "Alex is completely different from our previous coaches, and he is even different from any current coach in England. You will soon find that the team will be turned upside down and everything will be different."

Strachan said: "I am very conflicted, happy and worried. On the one hand, Ferguson is a top coach and exactly what the Red Devils needed at the time. I believe he will change the team and I hope the team can play better. I have worked with Ferguson for seven years. I know his ability and I am happy for him and for the Red Devils club. It is very strange for me to work with Ferguson again. It is not sure whether Ferguson coaching the Red Devils is a good thing or a bad thing for me."

Strachan's worry is that he was not happy when he left Aberdeen to join the Manchester United, but despite this, Strachan is still considered Ferguson's confidant because Strachan admitted that Ferguson had always kept in touch with him, even before Ferguson came to the Manchester United.

"Strachan talked to me on the phone almost every week," Ferguson later said in his autobiography. "He told me that there were rumors within the Red Devils that the next head coach would be me. He also told me about how the club was currently operating and introduced a lot of the Red Devils. I was very surprised at the alcohol problem within the club, and he pointed out that alcoholism was particularly serious in the Red Devils, but the head coach at the time was indifferent to it."

Strachan didn't know Ferguson would come to coach. "We were just chatting. The problem of alcoholism among Manchester United players is widely reported, but it was not the focus of our conversation. He would ask about my situation, the team's training, the games, the characteristics of other players, and so on. We chatted like acquaintances, and I just thought he was interested in English football. Later, Ferguson came to coach Manchester United, and everyone thought I was his confidant. In fact, my relationship with him did not reach that level."

Red Devils captain Robson was also questioned by his teammates, but he did not say much about his opinion of the new coach. "I just talked to the new head coach and felt his urgency to change the status quo. I hope everything can have a good result."

Ferguson arrived at work early on Saturday, November 11, and quickly gathered the players. It was on the training ground that Ferguson gave his first speech.

Ferguson knew that the Red Devils were not East Stirling, St. Mirren, or Aberdeen, but a prestigious club. He was more anxious that the club was in crisis and his responsibility was urgent. He also realized that there were many famous players in the club, whose reputation and aura were no less than his, and whose connections in English football were even better than his. Although some mild-mannered players such as Albiston had been expressing goodwill, it did not change the tense atmosphere.

Ferguson was very serious and nervous before his speech. Albiston later said: "He was more nervous than I saw him in the Scottish national team. His face was full of clouds and his expression was very serious. I saw him staring at everyone, which made the atmosphere on the scene very depressing."

In order to stop the decline of this team that has been losing continuously and whose morale has been extremely low, and to eliminate those uneasy emotions, Ferguson decided to take drastic measures. Ferguson said: "When I came to the Manchester United, people told me that the biggest task was to achieve relegation first. I was surprised by this, because with your current state and level, the Manchester United would not be able to stay in the league, and would definitely be relegated."

Ferguson's voice was getting louder and louder: "Most of you have completely lost your qualifications as Manchester United players, not because of injuries. This is Old Trafford, not a bar, not a hotel, not an entertainment venue, and not a nursing home. What do you think this place is? A work booth where you just get by? Who do you think you are? A clerk who punches in and gets paid? An idle bunch? You have lost your sense of crisis and are careless about all dangers. What I see is a team with no ambition, a retreating team waiting to be killed, a team that has lost its face and is shameless."

Ferguson's words were threatening: "I can tell you right now that many of you will not be on my list."

Ferguson specifically criticized some players. "Some people always think that the Red Devils are great and will always remain strong. As long as the injuries ease, they will return to normal and will definitely succeed in relegation. Don't talk to me about this, I don't like to hear it. The Red Devils are a great team. That is history. That is what you created? This team is resilient? It is a fact that it ranks second from the bottom. Which team dares to brag about this position? The team has won the FA Cup? Can the FA Cup ensure that you will not lose and be relegated?"

"Don't tell me this is a strong Red Devils team. It's not that I'm not qualified, it's that you are not qualified. The fact I want to tell you is cruel. The Red Devils have lost their strength and become weak. This is our team, the reality that all of us face!"

Ferguson's "criticism" was like a provocation, especially with such harsh words and such merciless criticism. Ferguson's lecture to the main players ended with a "storm of thunder", but he did not stop for a moment and immediately began to arrange training. After the physical trainer and assistant took the players away, Ferguson began to talk to the management team, then the youth training director, and later some logistics and management personnel of the training base.

Ferguson certainly would not miss any players. He first talked to the main players of the team individually, then the rotation players, then the injured players in the injury camp, and finally some young players.

Ferguson spent the whole morning meeting with everyone and having the first individual conversation.

Ferguson was busy and tense. His work schedule after joining the Red Devils was basically arranged like this: he got up at 5:30 a.m. every day, arrived at the club at around 6 a.m., and started working after breakfast. In the morning, there were coaching team meetings, training, tactical research, work meetings, work docking with other club departments, and match day preparations; in the afternoon, there were training, tactical drills, team games, group games, coaching team meetings, and after dinner, there were video watching, tactical research, and handling of various club matters... He worked almost until late at night every day. When he took the team out for a game, his work was even busier and more intense, and he had to deal with emergencies at any time.

When Ferguson first arrived at the Red Devils, he was almost completely in the dark. He and his entire team had never played in the English league and were unfamiliar with it. Ferguson knew that he needed a lot of remedial lessons, so he watched videos and analyzed the opponents without sleep.

Despite having sufficient psychological preparation, Ferguson obviously underestimated the difficulty of coaching the Red Devils.