The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 330 Becoming a Sinner for No Reason

The half season after joining the Red Devils was an unforgettable experience for Cole, with huge pressure, tremendous efforts, and outstanding statistics... These should have been recognized, but he was put on trial by the media because he missed a lot of opportunities in the last game and became the target of media's wanton criticism and humiliation.

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"The Red Devils lost the most important league title of the season and someone must be held accountable for this."

"The Red Devils ended up with nothing. The result of having nothing in the end should make people reflect. We must find out the culprits in the team who performed poorly and ultimately led to the team's failure."

......

When Andy Cole saw these words in the media when he finished most of his season with the Red Devils, he curled his lips and threw the newspaper aside as he was about to leave the club for vacation.

He didn't know how fierce the storm would be. Starting with the Manchester Evening News, Sky Sports, BBC, The Times, The Sun and other media outlets all intervened and began to criticize Andy Cole. All kinds of swords and spears were pointed at him. Soon, the fan groups were also aroused, and the responsibility for the Red Devils losing the league title was pinned on Andy Cole.

"Kerr played like a dying old dog!"

"Cole was blinder than a blind man in front of the opponent's goal. He didn't even know where the goal was!"

"Cole is the worst striker Ferguson has ever brought in. He threw away the league title for the Red Devils!"

"It is a crime to waste opportunities. Cole's poor shooting ability is a crime against the Red Devils!"

......

The Red Devils failed to defend their league title and the media focused their criticism on Cole, which was really shocking.

Kerr, who was on vacation, finally woke up from his dream, but he still didn't know why the media criticized him. Did they all forget Kerr's contribution? Don't they look at the data?

They even deliberately forgot the magnificent movement that this lightning-like black assassin contributed to the Red Devils' 9-0 victory over Ipswich. Cole scored 5 goals with his head and feet in that game, setting a personal record for goals in the Premier League. How much they admired Cole at that time, and how they would say that the victory Cole brought to the Red Devils was so dazzling that it made all opponents shudder.

In the eyes of reporters and in front of their cameras, Kerr is the shining star, the all-powerful super striker. He can run at high speed to grab points, make timely connections, make clever supplementary shots, attack with headers, and even fight with opponents in the penalty area, as well as make all kinds of amazing changes of direction in front of the goal, light shots and various technical goals in front of the goal...

After a game, the media can shamelessly praise Cole as the god of the Theatre of Dreams, and disgustingly praise Cole's status as higher than Cantona and better than Mark Hughes.

But when Kerr played poorly in the last round of the league, the media changed their attitude. He was attacked on a large scale and became the "sinner" of critics. They had completely forgotten what they said during the season and began to turn their guns around and criticize the output crazily.

Is it really because of Cole's poor performance that the Red Devils lost the league title this season?

Is it really because of Cole's bad performance that the Red Devils were left behind by Blackburn for a long time? Is Cole really the culprit for the Red Devils' final loss of the championship this season?

Everyone is responsible for the Red Devils losing the title. Cole is responsible, other players are responsible, and Ferguson has his own responsibility.

The Red Devils failed to defend their title in the third season of the Premier League. Ferguson also admitted in his summary many years later that there were serious problems with the Emperor of Football and mistakes in his command. Ferguson did not believe that Dalglish could build a championship-winning team with a checkbook. It was this arrogance that led to insufficient preparation, including the purchase of players, the creation of the team's main lineup, and the refinement of tactics. When the season started, the Red Devils fell into a wave of injuries again, and Ferguson's division of troops was even more difficult to support. In terms of team style and team discipline, Ferguson did not handle it well this season. On the one hand, the conflict in the locker room over the captaincy was fierce, and on the other hand, the continuous vicious fouls in the team led to the suspension of many players, which seriously affected the team's combat effectiveness. In addition to Cantona's flying kick, this season Ince, Mark Hughes, and Keane all received red cards and were punished more severely, which was a great harm to the team.

Apart from Ferguson, every player of the Red Devils has different responsibilities. Cantona's flying kick against the fans is needless to say, Schmeichel made low-level mistakes more than once, leading to goal losses, Giggs was in a slump for more than two months, Keane's temporary appearance at right back was also very embarrassing, Ince was too active in joining and forgot about tactical discipline, Mark Hughes had a goal drought for more than 6 games, Bruce and Pallister also made low-level mistakes more than once...

In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.

Andy Cole has been criticized so harshly, which is unfair to a player who has only joined the team for less than a season. Cole has encountered new challenges and great pressure in the Red Devils this season, but he has still made great efforts.

Andy Cole's challenge first comes from the tacit understanding with his teammates. It is very difficult to integrate into the Red Devils, and it is even more difficult to join in the middle of the season. Cole can only familiarize himself with the tactics and teammates by training while playing. Joining a championship team also has challenges in Cole's psychology and state. He is not the kind of player who can always impress people. The Golden Boot in the previous season made him bear more doubts than affirmation. Cole's introverted personality is not easy to integrate into a high-profile and passionate team like the Red Devils, and his eccentric personality is also difficult to be accepted by the locker room;

Kerr needs to change himself, which is not easy for him.

Another challenge came from the Red Devils' youth training. Davis and Scholes had become stable rotation strikers. They had already demonstrated their abilities before, and the Red Devils fans obviously welcomed these two direct descendants more. Not only that, Cole was also challenged by Hughes. At the end of the season, Ferguson had gradually put Hughes on ice, and Cole became the only striker. This pressure was enormous.

Andy Cole has a big heart and strong self-confidence. He is never afraid of difficulties, always brave enough to accept challenges, and firmly believes that he can succeed at Old Trafford. Cole's first start for the Red Devils was against Blackburn, the strongest contender for the league title. He started in the No. 17 jersey, but his performance was not outstanding. Under pressure, he missed a single shot and wasted two other shooting opportunities. Affected by these, his teammates also lacked confidence in him. After McClair broke into the penalty area, he would rather shoot hard than pass the ball to him, even if he was unguarded in the small penalty area; Cantona would rather wait for Giggs to come in from behind than pass the ball to him when he got a great counterattack opportunity in the frontcourt, even if he had opened up space and was ready to take a single shot at any time.

Cole's second game for the Red Devils was also average. This game against Crystal Palace was the one where Cantona received a red card for a malicious foul and then kicked a fan. He still didn't score in this game, but he was much better. He bravely spoke for Cantona and was also very brave to ask for the ball. He took the initiative to enter the penalty area and single-handedly play against the opponent's defender many times. Ferguson said: "I rarely see Andy Cole arguing with the referee. He is usually a quiet person. I can feel his passion to score goals and help the team win. I think he will bring us new things soon. He will score a lot of goals!"

Cole's third game for the Red Devils was against Villa. In this game, the Red Devils were missing Cantona, so Cole had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being a striker. He withstood the pressure and lived up to expectations. When his teammate assisted the pass, Cole quickly grabbed the ball in the corner of the small penalty area, and then defeated the opponent's four defenders by himself and shot directly in the small penalty area!

Cole then scored in four consecutive games and also provided assists, helping the Red Devils to win continuously and keep chasing the top team in the standings.

Now the fans are cheering for Cole, and they have long forgotten Davis, the youth striker who did not have a brilliant performance. In the eyes of the fans, they will see Andy Cole's charming forward runs, and his timely flashes to seize the chances of shooting. No matter who his partner is, he can always turn impossible chances into goals. When Mark Hughes is injured and unable to play, Andy Cole can even perfectly match with Scholes. And when Mark Hughes returns from injury, Andy Cole can also have a chemical reaction with Hughes.

In the Red Devils' 9- win over Ipswich, Cole became a hero among the Red Devils fans. He became a rising star in the hearts of the Red Devils fans.

No one doubted Cole's ability, let alone whether the £700 million transfer fee was worth it. Cole has become a miracle in the eyes of journalists and a phenomenon in British football.

Andy Cole is an outlier among English forwards. He doesn't have a special height, but has amazing jumping ability. He doesn't have the advantage of speed, but he can always appear in the passing line of his teammates in time. He doesn't have outstanding dribbling skills, but he can rely on his body and awareness to protect the ball and create a shooting threat. He will roam in and out of the penalty area, he will actively penetrate, he will attack the opponent's defense head-on, and he will even keep scoring headers... He doesn't have a signature shooting move, but he can always score various goals, and even has a wonderful free kick... Cole is a striker different from Cantona and Mark Hughes. He is younger than Cantona, Hughes and McClair, more flexible and changeable than Hughes, and faster and sharper than McClair.

Cole is closer to a modern forward. He is no longer a center or shadow forward. He has multiple abilities and is an all-round offensive player.

The sudden turn of public opinion came after the game against West Ham United.

In the match against West Ham United, Cole and Scholes played as strikers, but the team fell behind at the beginning of the game, which no one could have imagined. The Red Devils, who were attacking aggressively, entered a tough battle of besieging the opponent. Cole and Scholes had no physical advantage, and it was difficult for them to knock the opponent away in the opponent's penalty area, and there were few opportunities to get in from behind. Cole played his advantage of agility, and after getting the ball outside the penalty area, he cooperated with his teammates to play 2-on-2 or 2-on-1, but he did lack luck. The single shots that he could easily score, the shooting opportunities that he could easily shake off, and the supplementary shots in front of the goal that he never missed, were all gone in this game.

From luck to performance, from opportunity creation to grasping it, Kerr's performance was indeed too eye-catching.

Under the fire of all kinds of criticism, Kerr almost reached the edge of collapse. He later said: "I was still inexperienced at the time, and faced with overwhelming criticism, I was really a little stupid. I doubted myself for a while and even lost confidence. I was almost broken by these criticisms and scoldings."

The one who helped him was Ferguson. Ferguson publicly defended him: "Cole needs to be responsible for the failure of the Manchester United? Did he lose the championship trophy of the Manchester United? No, I don't think so. I never criticized Cole's performance in that game. He has tried very hard and tried everything he could. He just didn't score the crucial goal because of bad luck."

"Our loss has nothing to do with the players. They played a brave game. Facing the opponent's rough actions, various malicious fouls, and shameless delays, we have tried our best. I will not criticize Cole or anyone else. Instead, I want to thank them for not giving up and not surrendering."

"I've always supported Cole. He's our main striker and he played just like he did in the game where he scored five goals."

Andy Cole was very grateful for Ferguson's protection, and he felt very powerful again. He was no longer afraid of the media's questioning, and no longer worried about the fans' scolding.

For Cole, challenges and counterattacks, hard work and progress are the necessary journeys on his career path. He is not afraid of the setbacks he encountered in the Red Devils. He improves himself under pressure and grows rapidly in failure. He continues to move forward towards his goal and strive for the goal he has always insisted on.

Andy Cole decided to cut short his vacation and return to club training early to prepare for the next season.