The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 340: A Hero's Cutoff

"Ferguson's move to clean up Kanchelskis was a huge risk for the Red Devils and himself. Selling a main player with no replacement, Ferguson knew that the team's strength would inevitably be damaged, but this was also a determination to show everyone its strength."

--Inscription

Ferguson's sale of Ince was shocking, and the sale of Hughes was also controversial. The sale of Kanchelskis was even more difficult to accept in terms of competition, because the Red Devils had almost no one to fill this position, and what was even more shocking was that Ferguson planned to introduce a strong player to replace Kanchelskis. Losing the Ukrainian winger would greatly weaken the Red Devils' strength, but Ferguson still made this decision.

why?

Ferguson believed that Kanchelskis had to be sold at the time because he had affected the atmosphere of the entire Red Devils locker room and affected the stability of the team. The Ukrainian winger was deeply involved in gambling and could not extricate himself, and had gradually become a problem for the team.

Unlike many places, England does not prohibit gambling. Gambling is a very common activity in the UK. The UK Gambling Commission once found through a survey that more than 16% of the UK population over the age of 68, or 3200 million people, have participated in gambling, and more than 1200 million British people are active in various gambling businesses all year round.

Among all kinds of gamblers, football players are relatively special and are subject to multiple supervisions. Especially when it comes to gambling activities involving football matches, players are strictly prohibited from participating in betting related to their own team. Many players in English football like to gamble, and they are addicted to gambling. Superstar Keegan likes to gamble very much, and he can gamble on anything; Michael Owen is also very famous, and his gambling skills are so superb that he can be called a master. Ferdinand and Rooney of the Red Devils also like to play cards and bet on horses. Gary Neville later wrote an article revealing that English football is very addicted to gambling. "I have never been interested in the off-field gambling culture. I think the time the team spends on betting on cards and horses is ridiculous, but whether it is the Red Devils or the England national team, there has always been a strong gambling trend. Sometimes we only have 10 minutes on the bus to go to training, and they will also seize the time to gamble." Among the players Gary refers to is Rooney. This little tank is addicted to gambling, and he has lost millions of dollars and was once investigated by the police.

Gambling was once prevalent in the Red Devils dressing room. Hughes, Cantona, Keane and Bruce were also the protagonists at the gambling table. Gillespie, Butt, Scholes and other young Red Devils were also deeply influenced by the team. Gillespie recalled: "When I was in the Red Devils, I bought lottery tickets for the bosses in the team many times and placed bets for them at the bookmakers. I even tried to run errands for Ferguson, and of course Harrison. Ferguson sometimes gave me tips when he won money as a reward for my hard work."

The Red Devils dressing room was filled with this atmosphere, and the team's main players often opened betting, even if the prize was only a few dozen pounds. Hughes, Ince, Keane, Robson and other big men often bet on the kids in the youth team, betting on who ran the fastest, who had the longest penis, who could hit the post from 60 yards away, who could score more than 5 goals in the group stage... Among these players who liked to gamble, sometimes they even pulled everyone in the dressing room together, and even Cantona was sometimes not immune.

After Gillespie transferred from the Red Devils to Newcastle United, his gambling addiction became worse and worse. He played poorly at St. James' Park and soon lost his starting position, falling like a comet. This was also related to Gillespie's gambling addiction. After all, addiction to gambling distracts people from football. In the past, Gillespie bet 4.7 pounds and 1.5 pounds in a horse race. As his gambling addiction deepened, Gillespie eventually lost his life savings of 700 million pounds because of gambling. It was too late to regret it later. Gillespie revealed: "If I go to the casino, the most I can do is lose all the money in my pocket, but then telephone and Internet betting came, and I became an online gambler, betting endlessly and losing everything, leaving only an autobiography called "How a Player Like Me Lost Millions of Fortunes."

Because of the prevalence of gambling among players, Ferguson did not purge anyone because of their gambling addiction. Ferguson and the Red Devils club management did not impose too many restrictions on gambling activities, but only asked players not to affect their competitive state and playing ability due to off-field factors, thereby affecting the team.

Except for one, the Ukrainian Kanchelsky.

Kanchelskis is a well-known star of the Red Devils. He is the most powerful winger on the right side of the Red Devils. He not only provides countless crosses and assists for the forwards, but also has strong breakthrough and goal-scoring abilities. He has performed very well since joining the Red Devils and has made an indelible contribution to the Red Devils' two consecutive Premier League titles. Even in this season that just ended, Kanchelskis was one of the few players in the Red Devils lineup who performed better than before.

At that time, fans thought that the winger, who was in good form, would renew his contract with the Red Devils smoothly, but the negotiations between Kanchelskis and the Red Devils were not smooth. The main reason for the disagreement between the two sides was that Kanchelskis's asking price was too high and the Red Devils could not meet his request for a weekly salary close to the highest in the team.

Why did Kanchelskis ask for such a high price?

The reason is not complicated, but the problem is difficult to solve. Kanchelskis fell into a black hole of debt, and he was eager for the club to provide him with a generous weekly salary and a high signing fee so that he could deal with the gangsters who had come to his door.

Kanchelskis' troubles began as early as 1992. In that year, Lee Sharp introduced Kanchelskis to Italian businessman Polculi in a Manchester nightclub. Polculi was actually a casino owner and was very enthusiastic about making friends with Kanchelskis, so that Kanchelskis, who was new to gambling, could taste the sweetness. He generously gave Kanchelski pounds in chips, and Kanchelski doubled the pounds in a blink of an eye, winning a huge fortune.

Kanchelskis was so happy that he began to like this kind of life and started to sneak into the casino in Bolkuli every now and then. Gradually, every now and then became a daily check-in; gradually, the small bets for entertainment with small amounts of money turned into big bets of tens of thousands of dollars.

Kanchelskis was so addicted to gambling that he even missed training on several occasions. Ferguson later discovered the horrifying fact that "Kanchelskis was ruining his career because of his crazy gambling."

Kanchelskis, who was addicted to gambling, soon suffered the consequences. Not only did he lose all his bets and savings, he even owed a huge debt of more than 100,000 pounds!

Ferguson couldn't understand, and he went to Kanchelskis with a serious face. "You came to England to play football. Only professional football can give you the rewards you deserve. Crazy gambling will inevitably lead you to the abyss. Think about the people in your hometown who are still trapped in poverty, think about your family members at home, you are their hope. How could you become like this?!"

Kanchelskis was extremely ashamed and left without saying a word.

Ferguson's warnings and criticisms were effective for a time, and Kanchelskis worked hard to maintain his competitive state. He scored a hat trick in the Manchester derby, which made the Red Devils fans crazy. Kanchelskis later recalled, "That was the first hat trick in my career, which made me feel unparalleled. This was my peak."

Unfortunately, Kanchelskis is still in huge debt, and the off-field troubles will not let him go. And he cannot completely quit gambling.

Kanchelskis soon found himself in the casino again; he was simply unable to break his gambling addiction.

In 1995, a group of local Manchester gangsters broke into the Red Devils' base. They claimed to be looking for Kanchelskis to pay back the money. It turned out that Kanchelskis had owed Polkuri more than pounds in gambling debts and had been pursued by the other party. He dared not show up and could only hide in the Red Devils base.

Ferguson was furious and scolded Kanchelskis, and ordered the security guards to expel the gangsters from the Carrington base. Ferguson was furious that these troublemakers had been guarding outside the team.

Kanchelskis couldn't get rid of these black and white IOUs, he was uneasy and very anxious. Although he still tried hard to maintain his excellent form and his performance on the court was still very good, Ferguson already felt the problem.

This is indeed the case. Kanchelskis' performance this season has already reached his limit. His agent then opened his mouth in the contract renewal negotiations, asking for a rare huge weekly salary, and also asking for a so-called "loyalty fee" and signing fee.

Ferguson and his assistant were puzzled. They felt that Kanchelskis was already at the end of his strength. How could he ask for such a high price?

At the end of the season, there were rumors in the media that Everton wanted to spend a lot of money to bring in Kanchelskis and could also meet his salary requirements. Ferguson called Everton's coach and quickly figured out the situation. Just as the rumors said, Kanchelskis was poor and wanted to get the income promised by Everton, so he asked the Red Devils for a higher salary and signing fee.

After Ferguson calmed down, he decided to sell Kanchelskis. He stopped discussing the salary of Kanchelskis for the extension of the contract and refused to offer him a higher salary, which was also his wish. So in the summer of 1995, Kanchelskis announced that he would leave the Red Devils and join Everton.

The Red Devils fans were disappointed that they lost their hero; Lobanovskyi was disappointed that his favorite disciple had to leave in disgrace because of a gambling scandal.

In fact, Ferguson was the most disappointed. He thought many times that if Kanchelskis had not been involved in gambling, he might have opened up a new era for the Red Devils, making the Red Devils' wing attack more sharp and winning more success. In the past season, Kanchelskis was good enough, and the double wingers he and Giggs matched were fierce enough, which was one of the tactics Ferguson relied on the most.

But now Kanchelskis has obviously fallen, and he has taken away all possibilities. The Red Devils' once sharp and lightning-fast double-wing wing play can only come to an end temporarily.

Just like when Ferguson bought Kanchelskis, British journalists were also puzzled by Ferguson's decision to sell the right winger who was in his prime. "Kanchelskis is still a core player and he is in very good shape. Why did he choose to sell him?"

"Did the Red Devils sell Kanchelskis because of the negative news he was involved in? This is obviously different from Cantona's treatment. Isn't this double standard? Does the Red Devils have a suitable explanation?"

"Kanchelskis is as fast and flexible as a rabbit and lightning. He is so important to the Red Devils. Why not give him another chance?"

Ferguson replied calmly: "Kanchelskis is no longer the same player he was back then. Although I admire his outstanding ability, I hope my players can maintain a focused and high-level competitive state."

"So do you have someone suitable?"

"Have it already."

Ferguson said proudly: "He is our latest discovery, his name is David Beckham."

Ferguson's explanation was not enough to convince the reporters. They knew who Ferguson was talking about, but they did not argue with Ferguson. Most people were just watching the show. In the eyes of media critics, Ferguson was just being stubborn. The Red Devils did not have a replacement for Kanchelskis in this position. The candidate Ferguson mentioned was not outstanding. Beckham was just an ordinary youth player. At that time, he was mainly in the middle of the Manchester United youth team. He occasionally played on the right side. He had played for the Red Devils before, but that was all.

The little guy hasn't shown any good enough ability and it doesn't seem possible to directly replace Kanchelskis.