The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

"Many Manchester United fans cannot face such a gap. They feel that the championship is over. Compared with the exaggerated 12-point gap, what is more despairing is the broken defense and the decline in strength of the Manchester United. When Newcastle is advancing triumphantly, the Manchester United is stuck in a quagmire. Ferguson looks a little exhausted, but he will never accept failure."

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The Red Devils' complete victory over Newcastle not only closed the gap in points, but also paid a heavy price: David May, the only reliable rotation center back in the team, was also injured.

The Red Devils were in urgent need of a new central defender, which was Ferguson's most pressing problem in the winter transfer window. Cantona recommended his former teammate, William Prunier.

William Prunier, like Cantona, was born in the famous French youth training of Auxerre. He was taught by Auxerre's godfather Guy Roux. The two were good teammates during the youth team. Prunier made his debut in Auxerre and played for 9 seasons, played more than 200 games, and was selected for the 1992 French team. In 1993, Prunier transferred to Marseille, which had just won the Champions League, and played as a main central defender for a year. Later, Marseille was ordered to be relegated due to financial problems, and Prunier left for another strong team, Bordeaux. At that time, Bordeaux's youth training was very powerful, and young Zidane, Dugarry and Lizarazu emerged during this period. In the summer of 1995, Bordeaux won the Intertoto Cup and qualified for the UEFA Cup. After entering the UEFA Cup, Bordeaux performed bravely, eliminated Serie A giants AC Milan in two rounds, and made it to the finals in an upset. Zidane and other players in the team also made their mark in European football in that year. Bordeaux became a new European powerhouse, but Prunier was not having a good time. He was increasingly on the bench and did not get a chance to play. Prunier, who was in his prime, did not want to waste his youth, so he wanted to leave Bordeaux and find a new team to play for. When Cantona told him that the Red Devils wanted to meet him, Prunier bought out his contract with Bordeaux and came to participate in the Red Devils' trial.

Prunier is tall and looks very strong. He performed well in the trial. Ferguson had not been impressed by this French defender before, but serious injuries in the back line forced Ferguson to let Prunier start in the next game, which was considered a last-minute effort.

It was a dream come true for Prunier, who had gone from being a bleak professional player in Ligue 1 just a few weeks earlier, sitting on the sidelines watching the water cooler, to being in the starting line-up for the Red Devils' Premier League clash with Queens Park Rangers.

Prunier cherished the opportunity to play and performed very well in the game. Not only did he and his central defender partner Gary Neville complete the defensive task well, but he also contributed to the Red Devils' offense. In the 45th minute of the first half, Prunier received a corner kick from Giggs and headed the ball. The QPR goalkeeper subconsciously scooped it up and blocked the powerful header, but failed to clear it completely. Cole easily headed the ball into the goal. In the second half, Irwin broke into the penalty area and made a cross pass, which Giggs easily scored. Although QPR scored a goal, the Red Devils finally won two consecutive home league victories with a score of 2:1.

Prunier's performance won praise from all walks of life. Some media even boasted, "It feels like the Frenchman and the team can even take down the Bastille, let alone a relegation team like QPR." Many fans also called on the team to give the French central defender a long-term contract.

Ferguson's judgment was different. He did not offer Prunier a long-term contract, but decided to continue to observe. Ferguson talked about the new central defender after the game and said, "Prunier quickly adapted to the game and performed very well. He kept a good eye on the other two forwards Allen and Dizio, and also showed his passing ability. I think he is better than some of the players we have now, and I hope he can get better and better."

In addition to praising him, Ferguson did not directly promise to sign him. Many years later, Ferguson said: "Prunier's experience at the Red Devils was very short, and I need to consider the situation of the entire squad. He has good overall ability, a certain ability to fight, and good defensive awareness, but he does not meet our requirements. His appearance may bring us tactical problems. For example, he is used to playing as a right center back, and Gary Neville can only play as a left center back. Gary feels very awkward and it is difficult for him to perform. Moreover, he is currently only facing forwards from teams of the same level as QPR. I think he needs to show his ability in front of stronger forwards. The next away game against Tottenham may be the final test to decide whether to officially sign him. You know, Tottenham's forward Shelingham is very strong and more difficult to deal with than many forwards."

After beating Queens Park Rangers, the Red Devils narrowed the points gap with Newcastle to 4 points, but they have one more game.

In 1996, the first game of the new year will be the Red Devils visiting White Hart Lane to challenge Tottenham Hotspur.

Before the game, the Red Devils' defense crisis escalated again. The most trusted player, Irwin, was also absent due to injury. Ferguson had to send all four defenders of the first team to the field. To make matters worse, goalkeeper Schmeichel was suddenly injured during the warm-up before the game, and he finally barely supported the game. Another bad news was that Scholes was also unable to enter the squad due to illness, and the Red Devils lost this hot attacker.

After the Red Devils' starting lineup was announced, the media was filled with lamentations. After the game started, Tottenham attacked the Red Devils' defense from the first minute. The Red Devils' defense, which was under continuous pressure, was in a mess, and the frontcourt players were also implicated, and the overall situation was in a slump. Prunier, who was widely praised in the last game, was also affected. Under pressure, his long pass went directly to the empty area, and the severity of the mistake was simply a disaster. The midfielders made many low-level mistakes without pressure, and the ball was easily stolen by the opponent. Tottenham took the initiative and launched a fierce attack. Forwards Shelingham and Armstrong hit the post continuously, and Schmeichel, who had difficulty moving, was under pressure when they were trying to score in front of the goal.

Schmeichel, who played with an injury, barely dragged his body to move, and his saves were so slow that it was heartbreaking. Because of the injury, he even had to grit his teeth to deal with the opponent's scramble in front of the goal. He even had difficulty moving and even needed his teammates to help kick the goal.

This was a difficult low point for the Red Devils. Gary Neville, who was playing as a left center back to accommodate Prunier, was also seriously weakened and made an awkward pass error. This error was even fatal. Tottenham immediately got a chance to pass the ball in front of the penalty area, and Shelingham ran into the gap and easily scored.

The Red Devils' defense was weak, but after the goal was scored, the attacking group responded quickly. Within a minute, Cole made a sudden shot from the front court and equalized the score for the Red Devils.

The Red Devils then launched a wave of aggressive pressure, and at one point they had the upper hand on the field, but in the end the Red Devils' defense still made the team suffer. At the end of the first half, Austin made a cross, and Prunier and Gary Neville both left the core area of ​​the penalty area. The only person competing with Tottenham striker Shelingham for the header was the aging defender Paul Parker. Even if old Parker wanted to risk his life, he couldn't stop Shelingham's strong body. The Tottenham striker made a smooth pass, and the Red Devils' penalty area was already wide open. Tottenham's Campbell shot directly into the goal, and the Red Devils fell behind again.

After halftime, the Red Devils were forced to change goalkeeper Pilkington, but the entire Red Devils team was still besieged by the opponent. Just two minutes into the second half, the opponent made a long pass from the left into the penalty area. The two tall forwards Sheringham and Rosenthal worked together to completely break the Red Devils' defense. Israeli forward Rosenthal returned to the middle, and Armstrong got rid of Plunnier and headed the ball into the goal. Tottenham expanded their advantage to 3-1. Ten minutes later, the cooperation of Armstrong and Shelingham once again disrupted the Red Devils' defense. Armstrong once again headed the ball into the net. Tottenham defeated the Red Devils 4-1!

The direct consequence of the Red Devils' defeat was that Prunier was sharply criticized, especially by the media, which went from lavish praise to bitter attacks. "Prunier is a joke, he is as useless as a traffic policeman on duty in Piccadilly Circus, he is just a puppet posing in the Red Devils' defense, a puppet whose strings are broken." Faced with such harsh criticism and taught a lesson by a powerful Premier League striker, Prunier refused to continue playing for the Red Devils. The 28-year-old French central defender decided to end his Premier League journey.

A big defeat has widened the gap between the Red Devils and Newcastle to 7 points again. The Red Devils still have one more game to play, and the championship situation has become precarious.

At this time, the FA Cup continued, and Premier League teams also began to join in. The Red Devils made their first appearance in the FA Cup at home against Sunderland, which was in the second tier. This was seen by many as a rare respite for the Red Devils, and the Black Cats Sunderland would be easily defeated by the Red Devils. But Sunderland played very well in this game and took the initiative. Although in the first half, Bart scored a wonderful goal after receiving a pass from Cole to help the Red Devils take the lead, Sunderland's fierce attack then disrupted the Red Devils' midfield and backcourt defense. In the second half, Sunderland's momentum became stronger and stronger. They scored two goals in three minutes and reversed the lead. The tortured Red Devils fans finally waited for Cantona's salvation. His shot helped the Red Devils equalize the score. The two sides will choose another day to replay at Sunderland's home.

The Red Devils' goalkeeper Pilkington was widely criticized, he was obviously too weak to be the main goalkeeper. Ferguson directly signed Tony Cotton from Manchester City, who was almost 35 years old at the time. Unfortunately, Cotton never officially played for the Red Devils, and Schmeichel returned from injury in time.

In addition to Schmeichel's strange injury, central defender Pallister was injured again after playing one game, so Ferguson still had to worry about the defense.

In the next round, the Red Devils will face their nemesis, Aston Villa, who have given them a lot of trouble.

Aston Villa is in great form this season. This team from Birmingham ranks third in the standings, six points behind the Red Devils, but has played two fewer games. Their strength should not be underestimated. After the game started, this "tough team" led by Brian Little did not intend to attack the Red Devils, unlike the first round of the season when they humiliated the young Red Devils. Their goal as a guest at Old Trafford is to ensure that they do not lose the game, and they will be happy if they get one point. In order to stabilize the defense, Villa played a three-center-back lineup that is rare in England. The current England national team coach Southgate, the late iron defender Ehiogu and the former Red Devils player McGrath led the team. This Villa defense line is really not easy to break. Villa, who hoarded the backcourt, firmly locked their penalty area, set up their posture, and lowered their face to use the bus tactics to deal with the Red Devils.

The Red Devils were helpless, and lost their sharpness in the face of Villa's attitude of not wanting to attack at all and fully engaging in defense. Although Cantona, Giggs and Cole all played well and created many chances, it was really regrettable that Cole missed scoring opportunities in a row, and Cantona rarely got the chance to shoot after getting out of the way, and almost no easy shots were taken throughout the game. In the end, both sides failed to score, and the game ended 0-0.

After missing good chances one after another, Andy Cole became the target of public criticism. However, unlike Plunnier, Andy Cole withstood all the noise and pressure. He forced himself to ignore the mistakes and history of the past and quietly accumulate strength.

Kerr was criticized by the media. His performance fluctuated greatly. He missed too many good opportunities in this game. His hesitation was seen on the court. His lack of confidence led to slow passing and frequent ball losses. Kerr couldn't even eat the big cakes that his teammates brought to his mouth. He wasted his teammates' assists many times. His final shot was really disappointing.

After the Red Devils were tied by Villa, they are 6 points behind Newcastle with two more games to play.

Newcastle did not miss the opportunity. They won Coventry and Bolton in the next two games and were 23 points ahead of the Red Devils after 12 rounds of the game!

Such a huge gap led many media to believe that the championship battle ended early.