The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 339 Hughes's Stubbornness

"Hughes was reluctant to leave the Red Devils, but Ferguson didn't want the club to become a retirement home. He hoped to sell Hughes while he still had highlights in exchange for more resources to recruit new players, so he had no choice but to leave stubbornly. Ferguson can only bear the consequences of ruthlessly cleaning up the team's heroes, and these veterans who have made no mistakes."

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Ferguson resolutely purged Paul Ince, and the Red Devils dressing room understood and supported him. But when Ferguson planned to sell Mark Hughes, many people could not accept it.

Mark Hughes' situation is completely different from Ince's. He did not actively ask to be the captain, and he is not a troublemaker in the team. Mark Hughes has a special status. He is the Red Devils' own youth training gem. He has always been respected by the team and loved by the fans. He is also the striker that Ferguson specially invited back from Barcelona to join the Red Devils for the second time. He is the frontcourt attacker that Ferguson trusts and relies on the most. Not only that, Hughes is also an important contributor to saving Ferguson's position. When the Red Devils performed poorly in the 89-90 season and Ferguson was almost fired, it was Hughes' key pass that helped the team win, and he scored consecutive goals in the FA Cup final to win the victory, and finally saved Ferguson's position.

Mark Hughes made his debut for the Red Devils in the League Cup against Southampton at Old Trafford in January 1984, and became a regular in the next season, scoring 1 goals for the Red Devils. He also assisted his teammate Whiteside to score the decisive goal in the FA Cup final, helping the team win the championship. Hughes was awarded the title of Best Young Player that year and was loved by the fans. In 25, Hughes joined Barcelona. Due to the unfamiliar climate, Hughes' career suffered a serious setback and was loaned to Bayern Munich. After Ferguson came to the Red Devils, he brought Hughes back to the Red Devils in 1986 for a record-breaking transfer fee of 1988 million pounds. Hughes lived up to expectations. In his first season, he scored 180 goals, becoming the Red Devils' league scorer, and also won the Footballer of the Year that season, becoming the first Red Devils player to win this honor. In 16, he won the award again, becoming the first player to win this honor twice.

With his outstanding strength, Mark Hughes became the core player of Ferguson's team reconstruction. In addition to helping the team win the FA Cup in the 89-90 season, Hughes was also the most important contributor to the Red Devils defeating Barcelona to win the European Cup Winners' Cup, and was an indispensable core player for the Red Devils to win the League Cup in the 90-91 season. After entering the Premier League era, Mark Hughes maintained a continuous and stable firepower, making an irreplaceable contribution to the Red Devils winning the Premier League and cup championships for two consecutive seasons.

When the Red Devils proposed a one-year contract extension to Hughes midway through the 1994-95 season, Hughes asked for a two-season contract and to maintain his original salary, which put Ferguson in a difficult position.

Mark Hughes was born on November 1963, 11. By the end of the 1-94 season, he was already over 95 years old. His physical fitness, strength and speed had greatly declined. It was difficult for him to maintain his peak form and recover quickly from consecutive games. Not only that, Hughes also suffered injuries many times in these two seasons. These are all issues that Ferguson needs to seriously consider.

Mark Hughes always strives to fight for the Red Devils. He played 45 games last season, including 33 in the league, more than the main players such as Kanchelskis and Schmeichel. But apart from the appearance data, Hughes only scored 8 goals in the whole season, which obviously did not meet Ferguson's requirements. From the performance on the field, Hughes really can't run and can't hold his own. His shooting action has also become slow and even deformed, and the power has been greatly reduced.

In this case, Hughes' request for a two-year contract was a bit difficult for Ferguson to handle. For the Red Devils, veterans over 30 years old are generally signed on a one-year basis, and almost no two-year contracts are signed.

Mark Hughes has a special status in the Red Devils, but he doesn't have many friends in the locker room. Mark Hughes has a cold and arrogant personality. He rarely communicates with his teammates, doesn't stand up for his teammates' interests, and rarely participates in the team's collective activities. In contrast, Cantona, although the Frenchman is unruly, is kind to his teammates and takes good care of young players, making him more popular with his teammates.

Therefore, even though Cantona kicked the fans, Ferguson extended the contract with the Frenchman, which also stimulated Hughes. Unlike Ince, Hughes kept a low profile. He hoped that the Red Devils could renew the contract like they did with Cantona, but he was also ready to leave.

Hughes was stubborn. He didn't want to beg Ferguson, but he didn't want to be offended or hurt. In the middle of the 94-95 season, Hughes was injured and missed many games. He only played again at the end of the season. Even so, Hughes performed very well during this period. The Red Devils fans once again sang a song dedicated to "Spark" to express their appreciation for him.

At this time, Ferguson was even more determined. He was determined to sell Hughes at the highest price possible while he was in excellent form.

The conflict soon came. Hughes failed to start in the two most crucial games at the end of the season. He could not tolerate this arrangement. In a public interview with the media, he emphasized that he was "treated unfairly and betrayed by the Red Devils and Ferguson."

Ferguson would not give any explanation in the media. When he received an offer from Chelsea, hoping to buy Hughes, Ferguson quickly agreed with the board of directors not to let Hughes play again and sell him at the end of the season to avoid any accidents.

Ferguson met with Hughes after the season ended and told him that the club could not agree to his stable starting requirements, nor his two-year contract and salary requirements. Ferguson said: "We now have an opportunity, that is, Chelsea wants to bring you in, what do you think?"

The stubborn Mark Hughes immediately agreed after asking Chelsea's offer in detail. He gave up the opportunity to stay with the Red Devils and then slowly fade out and retire, and went to London to seek new challenges.

Mark Hughes later told the Daily Mail, "Sir Ferguson wanted to sell me for a good price while I was still in great shape, which was great management from his perspective. I didn't understand the decision at the time, but I would do the same thing now. My relationship with Sir Alex as a player was just average, but as I got older and became a coach, my relationship with him got closer and closer. I also began to understand him because I had to face these situations. I don't think anyone can do better than him."

"He pushed for my move and it was a message to me to move on. I knew it was difficult because I had spent most of my time at Manchester United, but I eventually accepted the move. Ferguson wrote me a personal letter a month later thanking me for my efforts at Manchester United - I have kept it ever since."

Hughes moved to Chelsea for £150 million, with a weekly salary more than double that of the Red Devils. A veteran over 31 years old could be sold for £150 million, and then his salary would be much higher than that of the Red Devils. This was an amazing operation behind the scenes by Ferguson.

After leaving the Red Devils, Hughes regained his youth at Stamford Bridge. Not only did he get a starting spot in Chelsea, but the team also built a new system with him as the core. Just as the Red Devils regained the Premier League title in the 1995-96 season, Hughes also helped Chelsea win the FA Cup with his outstanding performance!

Hughes became a new hero in the hearts of Chelsea fans and he also created a legend here.

After leaving Chelsea, Hughes moved to Blackburn Rovers. Although Blackburn Rovers had been tragically relegated, Hughes' heroic performance helped the team return to the Premier League and win the League Cup. In 2006, when the team's striker was injured and no one could play, the 43-year-old Mark Hughes took the field again and won the cheers and applause of the fans.

Mark Hughes played for the Red Devils for 15 years, played 470 times, and scored 164 goals. He is one of the most goal-scoring strikers in the history of the Red Devils and is also a hero loved by many fans. He is a fierce player of the Red Devils, a lucky star of the team, and an indispensable heavy artillery in the Ferguson era. Even after Hughes' transfer, every time he came to Old Trafford, the Red Devils fans gave him warm applause, sang his unique songs for him, and gave him warm cheers. On June 2004, 6, when Mark Hughes had left the Red Devils for nearly 14 years, he was canonized as a lord (Order of the Imperial Honor OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for his outstanding contribution to British football.

Mark Hughes took up coaching soon after retiring. He has coached the Welsh national team, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, etc. He has been active in the Premier League and has achieved good results.

After leaving Manchester United, Hughes did not take the initiative to call Ferguson for a long time, let alone visit him. Mark Hughes insisted on his own way of coaching, which was incompatible with Ferguson's system. There was no shortage of conflicts between the two on the field in those years. When Hughes coached the Welsh national team, he had a quarrel with Sir Alex because of Giggs' participation in an international friendly match. When he coached Blackburn and beat Manchester United twice, Ferguson was also very embarrassed. When he coached Manchester City, he encountered the Middle Eastern oil dad who spent a lot of money to build a strong team, which made Hughes' challenge to Ferguson even more aggressive.

At that time, the Manchester City derby was not only a derby within the city, but also a confrontation between the master and the apprentice. Hughes hoped to come from behind, while Ferguson certainly hoped to continue to dominate. The most exciting match between the two was the Red Devils' last-gasp goal in the 6th and a half minutes of stoppage time. Hughes was extremely angry and almost had a falling out with Ferguson on the spot. After the game, he accused the referee of being familiar with Sir Alex Ferguson and blowing a biased whistle, which brought the relationship between Ferguson and his apprentice to the lowest point.

Manchester City, with its deep pockets, quickly fired Mark Hughes. Ferguson immediately accused Manchester City of being dishonest. "It's a joke and a farce that anyone would think Hughes is the right person to take over Manchester City. They lack respect for Mark. I'm surprised at what happened to Hughes. The football world we live in doesn't have much patience, but basic respect needs to be maintained by everyone."

Sir Alex has full confidence in his apprentice and sends his best wishes, "Mark will be back soon, I think we will see him soon in the Premier League. He will be fine, he will get up where he fell."

Hughes waited until July 2010 when he became the head coach of Fulham. His performance was well-received. When he coached QPR in the 7-2012 season, Ferguson even loaned Park Ji-sung and Fabio to his former students for a short period of time. Unfortunately, Hughes was dismissed due to poor performance. After being ruthlessly fired by QPR in November 2013, Hughes was extremely depressed and decided to seek help from Ferguson. Hughes was very grateful to the old man for helping him regain his confidence and said: "I had the honor of having a long talk with Ferguson, which I haven't done for many years. You know that being fired constantly will cause self-doubt and make people worry about whether they are still able to coach. I am very happy that Ferguson encouraged me to face it bravely and said that he believed I had the ability to continue coaching different teams. I should have had more such exchanges with him in the past. This brought me great value and made me full of confidence."

In the summer of 2013, Hughes came out again as the head coach of Stoke City. After 2018, Hughes turned to coach Southampton and continued to struggle in the Premier League.

"I will always be grateful to Ferguson." Hughes puts gratitude in the most important position. "I have done a lot of things that are actually beyond my ability, including my coaching and the honors I have received. I have also sacrificed my own interests, even though I need it so much. I will not let those failures that have happened happen again. Previous experiences have taught me how to move forward better."

Mark Hughes is a legendary hero of the Red Devils, and has made an irreplaceable and great contribution to the rise of the Red Devils. Even after leaving the Red Devils, he is still a member of the Red Devils family and a contributor to the Red Devils. Red Devils fans will remember his goals, his heavy artillery, various gorgeous, low-key, brave, and fiery shooting clips, and key goals in various important games.

Mark Hughes has the blood of the Red Devils flowing in his body and the genes of the Red Devils engraved in his body, and these will never change.