The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 34 Rapid Decline

"The Red Devils have lost the magic of the Busby era, and every manager who took over later ended up with regret or was dismissed in disgrace. Over the long period of more than a decade, the Red Devils suffered setbacks, and their strength and status declined rapidly. Then they have been in a difficult reconstruction and trudging on the difficult road of revival."

--Inscription

When Ferguson took over the Red Devils, he just thought that the club had suffered setbacks due to serious injuries and Atkinson's incompetence, and he had no idea that the situation had deteriorated to this extent.

The Red Devils suffered a series of defeats at the beginning of the 1986-87 season, and the situation continued to deteriorate. The most direct responsibility, of course, lies with the then coach Atkinson. He betrayed the trust of the fans, betrayed the support of the team's board of directors, exposed his incompetence, and had no courage or ability to save the team from collapse, leading the team to the abyss of defeat.

Ron Atkinson, who took over as Red Devils manager after Dave Sexton, epitomised the Red Devils' struggles and continued decline in the post-Busby era.

Legendary manager Busby announced his retirement in 1969 and the team immediately became unstable, eventually finishing the season in an embarrassing 11th place in the standings.

The Red Devils already had problems at this time.

What will happen to Manchester United after Busby?

Originally this problem was not a big problem, but the Red Devils management soon discovered that it was not that simple.

The Red Devils management was full of beautiful fantasies at the beginning and selected Wilf McGuinness, the assistant coach in the coaching team at the time, as Busby's successor.

The management believes that Busby left behind a strong team, a team that can be called the overlord of England and even a European powerhouse. As long as the subsequent coaches follow his path, the club will maintain its glory.

When he was appointed as the team's head coach, Wilf McGinnis was only 31 years old. Wilf obviously did not have enough ability to lead the team to maintain its glorious situation, and he did not even get the respect of the locker room.

The Red Devils were already facing problems with an aging squad, a lack of highlights in the youth training, and a chaotic recruitment process... All these problems almost suffocated the young coach. Wilf himself was not very good, he just watched the fun around Busby, which made him look like a poor manager like Zhao Kuo, with serious lack of tactical ability.

Not long after the start of the season, other teams had figured out Wilf's weak ability, and the Red Devils fell into a tragic situation of losing battles one after another.

At the end of 1970, the Red Devils management, fed up with the situation, fired Wilf and asked Busby to come back as a last-ditch effort. However, Busby only took over temporarily to help coach until the end of the season, and ultimately failed to curb the team's downward trend.

It was from this season that the Red Devils began to decline rapidly.

The Red Devils then appointed a new manager in mid-June 1971, the Irishman Frank O'Farrell who had helped Leicester City successfully return to the top flight.

O'Farrell's coaching at Leicester City was very successful. He had unparalleled personal charm and was recognized by the locker room when he first took over the Red Devils. O'Farrell received strong support from the board of directors, reorganized the Red Devils' main lineup, and introduced many stars. O'Farrell led the team to achieve very dazzling results. The Red Devils once led the standings by 1971 points in the first half of the 1972-5 season, making many fans think that the team could challenge the championship. But O'Farrell soon had a conflict with the superstars in the team, and the Red Devils locker room was in turmoil. O'Farrell, who liked to whisper, had no way to shock the Red Devils' honored veterans. Best was unruly and casual, and Law was independent and peculiar, which gave O'Farrell a headache.

After the locker room quarrel, O'Farrell could no longer control the team. In this way, the Red Devils ended the season regrettably and failed to successfully challenge the championship.

By the 1972-73 season, O'Farrell had no way to resolve the conflicts in the locker room, and he gradually lost the support of the board of directors. He was unable to clean up the veterans in time, nor could he introduce more new stars, and his efforts to rebuild the team suffered a serious setback.

红魔开始了一个艰难的赛季，最大的打击是在1972年12月16日被水晶宫队5比0血洗，场面比比分还要令人愤怒。

The Red Devils management immediately fired the head coach three days later.

After O'Farrell, Tommy Docherty took over. After three consecutive managers failed, the position of Red Devils manager has become a dangerous challenge.

When Docherty took over as manager, the Red Devils were in turmoil and in a period of complete change. First, Best broke with the club and left, then Charlton officially announced his retirement, and Denis Law went to Manchester City, which seriously weakened the Red Devils. In addition, the Red Devils also lost several other key players, but the team's recruitment was not successful. The team had to struggle to avoid relegation throughout the 1973-1974 season. In the end, the Red Devils suffered repeated setbacks and had no choice but to be relegated.

The Red Devils fans were extremely angry, but the Red Devils management maintained their trust in Docherty, who quickly reorganized the team, bought a number of strong players, and began to tap into the team's youth training talents.

After much effort, the Red Devils won the Second Division Championship in the 1974-75 season and returned to the top league.

Docherty was determined to continue to strengthen the team through signings and actively build offensive tactics, making the team more competitive. In the first season after returning to the top league, Docherty led the team to the FA Cup final and the performance in the league was also impressive.

In the 1976-1977 season, the Red Devils once again reached the FA Cup final, and eventually defeated the Liverpool team, which was at its peak, 2:1 to win the championship. The Red Devils' victory was exciting. You should know that Liverpool not only won the English League One championship in the 1976-1977 season, but also won the Champions League championship, making it the strongest overlord in England and even Europe. Being able to defeat such a powerful Liverpool, and even killing the mortal enemy while fighting bravely with the opponent, Docherty's Red Devils made people feel excited and filled the fans with hope again.

The Red Devils suddenly removed Docherty from his position as head coach in the summer of 1977, and the team fell into chaos for a while. The reason for Docherty's dismissal was an extramarital affair scandal. He had been living with Mary Brown, the wife of the Red Devils' physiotherapist, for a long time, and it was revealed that he had lost his position directly.

The Red Devils board appointed Dave Sexton as head coach in July 1977 and the team entered a new difficult period.

Sexton and Docherty have a deep connection. He succeeded Docherty as Chelsea coach in October 1967. After three years of hard work, he led the Blues to win the FA Cup in 10, but lost to Stoke City in the League Cup final. The following year, Sexton showed his power and led Chelsea to win the European Cup Winners' Cup. In October 1970, Sexton coached Queens Park Rangers and led this inconspicuous club to the second place in the league, only one point less than Liverpool, surpassing a number of strong teams.

Sexton was very capable and aggressive, and he also received strong support from the board. The Red Devils invested madly, setting a record for transfer fees four times. The introduction of famous players such as Jordan, McQueen, Wilkins and Bertus shocked the whole of England, and a large number of players joined one after another, making the club very famous for a while.

Sexton led the Red Devils to good results. He led the Red Devils into the FA Cup final in 1979 and launched an attack on the league championship in 1980, eventually finishing second, only two points behind Liverpool.

But this was Sexton's strongest voice, and some troubles also occurred under his rule. The Red Devils performed poorly in the 1980-81 season, and their results continued to decline, and their ranking dropped to 8th. In the cup competitions that Sexton excelled in, his team was eliminated in the fourth round of the FA Cup, the first round of the UEFA Cup, and the second round of the League Cup. The Red Devils' games became extremely dull, and the media once ridiculed them as the least attractive team. They also suggested that their home stadium, Old Trafford, be renamed "Cold Trafford".

Sexton was sacked at the end of the season, and the Red Devils immediately appointed Ron Atkinson as head coach on June 1981, 6. After failing to win the league title for many years, the Red Devils began to have difficulty in selecting a head coach. At that time, famous English coaches Lowry McMenemy, Bobby Robson and Ron Soenders all publicly rejected the position of head coach of the Red Devils.

Before Ron Atkinson coached the Red Devils, he was the head coach of West Bromwich Albion. He built West Bromwich Albion into a vibrant and dynamic new team, which was recognized by many fans. Under Atkinson's rule, the Red Devils poached the English midfielder superstar Robson from West Bromwich Albion, which was a successful signing that Atkinson constantly boasted about. Atkinson also brought in Scottish star Strachan, the offensive core of the Aberdeen team, to effectively build a super frontcourt offensive structure. Not only that, Atkinson also vigorously promoted the Red Devils' youth training players. Players such as Whiteside, Mark Hughes and McGrath were favored by him and grew into the main players of the first team.

Atkinson greatly strengthened the team by recruiting and promoting young players. He was also ambitious and declared to win the championship. When Atkinson coached the Red Devils, he focused on offense, and sought to advance quickly and actively steal the ball. He was very determined to implement the 442 formation that was popular in England. The Red Devils under his command had a magnificent record of winning 19 games in a row, and the Red Devils became one of the most popular teams in English football that year.

In the 80s, English football was dominated by Liverpool. Liverpool won three consecutive league titles since 1982, and the Red Devils led by Atkinson followed closely behind each time, always just a breath away. In the cup competitions, Atkinson launched an attack on the FA Cup and League Cup. The Red Devils reached the 1983 League Cup final, but unfortunately lost to Liverpool 1-2 in extra time and lost the championship. Atkinson also led the Red Devils to the more important FA Cup final. In the final against Brighton, the Red Devils had an absolute advantage but were unexpectedly tied. Five days later, the Red Devils regained their strength in the rematch and won the championship with a landslide victory.

In the 1984-85 season, Atkinson led the Red Devils to the FA Cup final again. Whiteside, a new star promoted by him from the youth team, performed brilliantly. In addition to repeatedly creating opportunities on the court, he also scored the only goal of the game with a wonderful lob, helping the Red Devils beat Everton 1-0 and win the second FA Cup in three years.

It was on the basis of two FA Cup titles that Atkinson led the Red Devils to start their championship campaign in the 1985-86 season. The Red Devils had a great start in the league this season, winning an amazing 10 games in a row and remaining unbeaten for 15 rounds, which once gave them a huge advantage in the standings. Just when the Red Devils fans were expecting the team to move forward, several players of the Red Devils suffered serious injuries, which seriously affected their strength. Under such circumstances, the Red Devils ended the season with only fourth place in the league points.

Even though the Red Devils did not win any championship this season, Atkinson's coaching of the Red Devils was still recognized.

Then came the 1986 World Cup, when Robson, the Red Devils' core player, was seriously injured in the World Cup, which seriously affected the Red Devils' preparations. Atkinson suddenly lost his biggest support, but the most fatal problem was that he did not introduce any strong reinforcements, but just waited for the main players to survive the injury.

The Red Devils were in a state of crisis. In addition to Robson, Whiteside and other players also suffered injuries. The team suffered three consecutive defeats at the beginning of the 1986-87 season, and they were in crisis. Although the Red Devils recovered slightly in September, it was only a flash in the pan, and the team's state could not last. In October, the Red Devils suffered consecutive defeats in the league and cup competitions. Not only were they eliminated from the cup competition, but the league also experienced a parabolic decline, and the quality of the game was terrible. After the 9-10 defeat to Southampton, Atkinson was sacked.

Atkinson led the Red Devils in 280 official matches, with a record of 140 wins, 75 draws and 65 losses. His Red Devils won one Charity Shield and two FA Cups, and he was not a mediocre coach without any coaching talent. But in any case, it is not enough to lead a team like the Red Devils with only the FA Cup. In the 1986-87 season, Atkinson was unable to cope with the sudden difficulties, and the team played extremely badly. As a result, he was ousted in November 1986.

This is the Red Devils when Ferguson took over urgently, the Red Devils facing huge difficulties.