The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

There was no certainty of Ferguson's own contract extension until February.

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The Red Devils' last game in February 1996 was away to Bolton.

At that time, Bolton Wanderers were performing poorly and were in deep relegation crisis. They had to seize the home advantage and fight for a point against strong teams in order to achieve their relegation goal.

Bolton chose to attack boldly at the beginning of the game. The Red Devils also needed to win to catch up with Newcastle, a strong opponent, and it would be great to meet Bolton's offensive football. Bolton's desperate attack did not make the Red Devils' defense passive, but the Red Devils found loopholes in their defense. In the fifth minute, Giggs got the ball from the left side of the front court and broke into the opponent's penalty area. He used a lob to trick the defender Phillips who came to defend, and faced the opponent's isolated goalkeeper in the penalty area with great ease. After adjusting, Giggs directly volleyed with his left foot, but unfortunately, although this shot made the opponent's goalkeeper Flanagan sigh, it hit the crossbar of the goal and bounced out. The ball later bounced to the angle between the inside of the goal post and the ground and bounced up, but it just couldn't cross the goal line.

When Manchester United fans were worrying about their bad luck in attack, Beckham seemed to come down from the sky. He sent the ball into the net with a neat header, and the Red Devils took the lead 1-0!

Ten minutes later, Beckham made another important contribution. He assisted with a precise corner kick. Bruce jumped high and smashed the opponent's goal again with a powerful header. The Red Devils led 10-2!

After about 15 minutes of play, the Red Devils had already taken a two-goal lead, and many fans began to expect the Red Devils to play a goal-scoring battle. However, the Red Devils players were a little lax after taking the lead, and they were also worried about injuries, so they did not maintain the same intensity of the game. Bolton, who played at home, lost their courage early, and had no way to hold on, let alone counterattack. In the last 20 minutes of the game, the Red Devils began to easily win the game, because at this time the Bolton players were almost exhausted and the team completely collapsed.

In the 71st minute, McClair made a wonderful pass into the penalty area and Cole ran out of space. Cole dribbled past the opponent's defender with a simple feint in the penalty area, and then made a powerful shot. The shot was so fast and fierce that the ball bounced back and forth between the crossbar and the ground twice before falling into the net. The Red Devils 3-0!

Ferguson then replaced Cantona to give the Frenchman a rest. Scholes, who came on as a substitute, was full of energy and rushed to start a new attack. The short and thin Red Devils youth player rushed into Bolton's defense line and was inconspicuous, but no one dared to think that he would score two goals in 100 seconds. In the last minute, Butt also scored a goal, and the Red Devils finally locked the score at 6:0.

The Red Devils defeated their opponents 6-0, it was a resounding victory!

The entire Red Devils team was proud and excited.

This match set a new record for the team. Since the 1960-2 away win over Blackpool on February 27, 6, Manchester United once again created the biggest away win in the league. Not only that, the Red Devils won all five games in February and continued to chase Newcastle, who were leading the points.

With Manchester United chasing closely, Keegan's team encountered another accident in February. They finally drew with Manchester City after much difficulty, but "accidentally" lost a victory.

The Red Devils quickly narrowed the points gap to 4 points. Although the Red Devils have played one more game, this score is no longer an insurmountable gap.

The Red Devils relied on the spirit of the youth and the increasingly integrated style to win a hearty victory and achieve a crucial five-game winning streak in the league. From being questioned due to poor performance at the beginning of the season to returning to the position of contender for the league title, Ferguson not only showed his stubbornness that has not changed at all, but also his extremely distinctive pride.

Looking back at everything at this point in time is very touching.

Before entering February, the Red Devils were stumbling and the entire team was under tremendous pressure.

The league situation seemed clear at the time, with Newcastle in a great position, but after 23 games, the Red Devils only had 45 points, and were 9 points behind Newcastle United with one more game to play. This point gap was undoubtedly desperate.

Not only that, the Red Devils will also face strong opponents in the FA Cup, and the thin lineup will face even more difficult tests.

When they were 9 points behind with one more game to play, the media had almost given the title to Newcastle United. When the biggest point difference reached 12 points, Manchester United was deprived of the possibility of winning the championship in advance. The media pulled out a reason, that is, the Red Devils' performance this season is not as good as last season, and the points are not as high as last season. Doesn't Ferguson need to be held accountable?

Reporters and commentators from newspapers and television were even more critical of Ferguson, and their sarcasm was even more biting: "The Red Devils are doomed"; "The Red Devils are no longer in the same league as the Magpies"; the decision Ferguson made in the summer was extremely wrong; the Red Devils shot themselves in the foot by sending away the main players instead of buying any new players; the Red Devils are no longer the "invincible general"... In the field of public opinion, Ferguson seemed to have become a loser, a guy who could be criticized at will.

Before February, Ferguson's team was hit by injuries one after another, and the unstable performance in the game was the source of all the criticism. At the worst time, the Red Devils could not even put together a healthy starting line of defense, and had to let Keane return to play as a central defender. In contrast to Newcastle's rapid progress, Ferguson was naturally criticized for leading the team to such a situation.

Ferguson faces dual pressures from the board and the field, and a danger awaits him: Ferguson's own contract renewal.

This season will be the deadline for Ferguson's last contract to be executed and negotiated. Unlike the later Manchester United fans who took it for granted that Ferguson never had to worry about contract renewal, Ferguson was really facing the possibility that the club would not renew his contract that season - although it seems so ridiculous now.

why?

Because there are conflicts between Ferguson and the board of directors, and there are even signs that the conflicts are being intensified. Last season, Ferguson lost the league championship and the FA Cup, and both were lost by extremely small margins. Such a failed season has made the board of directors, who are used to the glory of the championship, lose face. This is also the biggest confidence of the board of directors to accuse the Red Devils. The proposal to replace the head coach and try someone else's luck was brought to the agenda. Although Ferguson has coached the Red Devils for many seasons, many board members still feel that Ferguson is not irreplaceable and is not the best coach. Ferguson's tactical play is not magical, and he has wasted a good hand of cards in vain. Not winning consecutive championships is unbearable for them.

The second reason is that Ferguson protected Cantona, and he even went on a rampage in the board of directors, offending many board members. Cantona's vicious incident of kicking a Crystal Palace fan greatly damaged the image of the Red Devils - for a long time, the discipline of the Red Devils team and the quality of the Red Devils players were the targets of criticism by the English media. For a long time, when the Red Devils played against other teams, they would encounter much more intense boos from other fans. During that period, no matter who was in the English football world, they could point fingers at the Red Devils and spit on them. The "conservative gentlemen" on the Red Devils' board of directors felt very embarrassed and felt that this would have a fatal impact on the club's operations, so they kept forcing Ferguson to give up Cantona. But Ferguson insisted that Cantona was an indispensable leader for the Red Devils, and in March 1995 he personally flew to France to talk to Cantona to win back the Frenchman's heart, and under his strong request, he pushed the board of directors to finally agree to renew Cantona's contract for three years.

The third reason is that Ferguson purged several core players who were still good at fighting with an iron fist. The storm in the locker room shook the entire Old Trafford. Many of the core players who were purged had a large number of supporters in the board of directors. These people naturally made a big fuss about Ferguson's purge, and there were countless accusations and attacks against Ferguson. Some board members who pretended to know said, "Ferguson actually expelled a core player like Ince and protected Cantona. It's totally unjust." Some other management members believed that Ferguson blindly believed in young players and purged old players wantonly in order to make the Red Devils a team for him alone. Ferguson might become a "dictator."

The most important reason is that the Red Devils' performance this season has not improved much, and the people on the board do not see the hope of winning this season. In front of Newcastle's outstanding performance, Ferguson's performance this season is a bit overshadowed. After the New Year, the Red Devils are still so far behind and there is no hope of winning the championship. In the FA Cup, although the Red Devils still have hope, it is a competition full of opportunities for upsets. The board of directors will not have the foresight at that time to think that Ferguson will eventually win the cup.

The BBC reporter who follows the team has a keen sense of hunch and revealed the possibility of a coaching change at the beginning of the season, and pointed out that Ferguson's position is already shaky. Some media such as the Daily Mail and the Mirror have even published some reports predicting who will take over Ferguson next season.

The undercurrent stirred again, and Ferguson scoffed at the comments of those reporters. But the board had to officially start discussing the contract renewal with Ferguson. Rational Ferguson still gave the initiative to this issue to time. He told the board that the contract renewal issue could wait until the summer. Faced with such an attitude, the Red Devils board of directors was in a state of confusion for a short time. Soon, the voices supporting Ferguson began to become louder, and the fans and the Red Devils meritorious players all declared their support for Ferguson, and the team stood on Ferguson's side one-sidedly.

The signing negotiations were in Ferguson's favor.

Ferguson's confidence needs to be supported by results, and this truth does not need any discussion. Keane later said in his autobiography, "I was also facing the problem of contract renewal at the time. Of course, it seems that my contract renewal problem is not as big as the boss's - I am not worried about not having a ball to play. God knows why the boss' contract renewal is in trouble, and whether the heads of the gentlemen on the board of directors are burned out."

Keane issued a call in the locker room, "We control our own destiny, we fight for our salary, and we protect our pride! We must show our true abilities and let those masters see what the real Red Devils are and why Ferguson is the strongest boss!"

Under heavy pressure, Ferguson led his players through the Christmas and New Year schedule, and a turnaround came in February. The Red Devils regained their dominance, not only maintaining a perfect record in the league, but also continuing to advance in the FA Cup, maintaining their hopes of winning the championship.

By the time March came, the Red Devils were no longer far from the top of the league table.

Ferguson encouraged the players to be confident, deployed personnel skillfully, changed tactics appropriately, continuously increased the intensity of the game, and directed the players to win continuously, which made the Red Devils fans overjoyed.

No matter how much pressure or difficulty he faced, Ferguson always firmly directed the team forward. His pride would not allow him to bow down.

Under such circumstances, the major shareholders still deeply realized that Ferguson was indispensable. In the board of directors, Charlton has always firmly supported Ferguson. He showed his usual wisdom and foresight, and insisted on suggesting that the club renew Ferguson's contract as soon as possible, "We cannot hesitate on this issue, it is absolutely a crime against the Red Devils!"

The problem was finally solved, and the Red Devils announced that they would renew Ferguson's contract, and the new contract would be signed until 2001!