The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 42 Three Fires

"Serious cases require drastic measures, and when the team is in danger of relegation, it is natural to take drastic measures. Ferguson's first drastic measure was aimed at the alcohol abuse in the Red Devils, which obviously hit the key point."

--Inscription

In Ferguson's first four games as coach of the Red Devils, he only achieved a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses. The team's crisis was not only not resolved, but became more and more serious.

After Ferguson got the support of captain Robson, he immediately took strong measures in the team. "A new official should start with three fires", Ferguson took decisive action. Ferguson put a heavy hand on the alcohol abuse that had eroded the club for many years. He announced that the club would stop selling alcohol immediately, and the restaurant would no longer serve any alcoholic beverages. All players and staff were not allowed to drink alcohol in the club, and players were not allowed to drink alcohol during training and match days.

Ferguson sent security to turn the locker room and the players' dormitory upside down, confiscated the alcohol, and posted the punishment details. If the players were found drinking, they would not only have no chance to play, but also be fined; if they were caught for the second time, they would only go to the reserve team.

Ferguson has really moved everyone's cheese. Ferguson has opened a bar himself and is a drinker. Of course, he also knows that English football has always been linked to alcohol. Ferguson said: "My players are not even drinking, but drinking heavily! This is a suicidal behavior, I can't understand this. My players are so capable, but they are addicted to alcohol. It's terrible. I remember very clearly that McGrath came to the first training session with a full body of alcohol. He was drunk and couldn't hear the coach's request at all, but everyone was used to it."

"It's not just McGrath, I find that almost everyone is held back by alcohol. Without radical change, the Red Devils have no hope," Ferguson summed up with a definite tone.

Ferguson held back his emotions and talked to McGrath specifically.

McGrath responded nonchalantly, "Boss, I didn't drink on training days or game days, you can verify it. As for me having a drink after training or the game, I think it's a private matter. There is no such rule in the team rules. I think it's legal for me to drink. This is my first human right."

McGrath said: "I respect you very much because you have made great achievements in Scotland, and I also look forward to your success in the Red Devils. I will support your management. You are of course the boss here. I will cooperate with your work within the rules of the club..."

Ferguson couldn't continue the conversation with this guy, who was so perfect, yet always politely rejected him. Ferguson had no choice but to say, "I understand your talent, and your ability is even greater than you think. But your current state and attitude towards the game are not enough. I hope you will keep your promise and play by my rules."

"You'll soon understand what it's like to play under me," Ferguson said.

Ferguson was unable to change McGrath's mind, so he decided to give McGrath special treatment and sent his assistant Knox to keep an eye on him.

Ferguson's ban was met with stubborn resistance, with players arguing against him by citing other teams that drank and won championships. Some players drank secretly because they couldn't resist the alcohol bug, and after paying the fines with curses, they found that Ferguson had increased the standard for secondary punishment; some guys adopted a non-resistance mode of tanking, not training hard, and muddling through, but they were soon relegated to the reserve team.

In order to avoid being caught, the drunkards of the Red Devils had to leave their bottles at home and move their drinking to places outside the club.

"signal?"

“No Ferguson!”

"Come in, come in, buddy, it's not easy to have a drink." The players of the Red Devils secretly avoided Ferguson like agents and met outside the club.

Robson, the captain of the Red Devils' "Three Gentlemen of Drinking", has begun to quit drinking, but the other two, McGrath and Whiteside, are indifferent. McGrath does not agree with the prohibition of alcohol, and his confidence is that Ferguson has no central defender who can match him. This somewhat literary central defender does not take Ferguson seriously at all, and always shakes the bottle of wine on the edge of the rules.

Ferguson said many years later: "McGrath is extraordinary. He is the backbone of the team, the absolute core of the defense, and the source of the team's sense of security, but he really likes drinking too much, which seriously violates the rules. I urged him many times to quit drinking and get back to form, but he only promised on the surface, and still indulged in alcohol without any care behind his back."

Ferguson was deeply troubled by McGrath, and there was not much he could do about his lip service, so he could only maintain high pressure.

The situation of another alcoholic, Whiteside, is much more complicated. As one of the most beloved youth training gems of the Red Devils fans, Whiteside has a handsome face and the bravery and sharpness of the Red Devils' tradition, but he was unfortunately injured before Ferguson came to the Red Devils. Strictly speaking, Whiteside was hit hard two days before Ferguson took office. At that time, he was actually struggling to play with injuries. Not only that, before entering 1986, he had been injured frequently, and his condition was sometimes good and sometimes bad. When Ferguson's prohibition was implemented, Whiteside was recovering from injuries and was out of the first-team training. He avoided Ferguson to drink, got together with McGrath, and was away from Ferguson's supervision, still enjoying himself. At that time, Whiteside was extremely talented, a product of the Red Devils' youth training, and one of the talents favored by Ferguson at the beginning. In particular, he was very brave, had a strong sense of honor, and was willing to fight for the Red Devils, which was also respected by Ferguson. But he was drinking alone while recovering from his injury, regardless of the prohibition law, and this was not something Ferguson was willing to accept.

Ferguson also found time to talk to Whiteside, but the effect was not good. He read the report of the Red Devils medical team and felt sad for this genius. "Although Whiteside is only 24 years old, his health is worse than that of a 42-year-old. I think it's all caused by alcohol!"

The alcohol ban became a touchstone of Ferguson's high-pressure management. In the first month of the ban, Ferguson issued more than 10 tickets. For those who caused scandals such as drunk driving and drunk fighting, Ferguson did not even intend to cover them up when the tabloids exposed them... Ferguson also tried to throw all six main players back to the reserve team at once. Even in the face of the difficulty of having no one available, Ferguson would rather choose novices and directly supplement the lineup from the youth training rather than give up the implementation of the ban.

In order to dispel the strong smell of alcohol in the Red Devils' locker room, Ferguson had enough means besides fines, demotion to the reserve team, and public scolding and criticism.

Ferguson established an unshakable rule: only players in the best condition and physical fitness could play, and this was personally reviewed by Ferguson. Ferguson could tell at a glance whether a player had been drinking and whether it affected training.

Ferguson firmly holds the power to arrange the lineup, and in order to accurately evaluate the players' condition, Ferguson requires the Red Devils' medical team to intervene in daily management and evaluation.

Can injured players participate in reserve team matches? The medical team needs to report and Ferguson needs to agree.

Can the injured return to the first team after the reserve team's match? The medical team still needs to check and report first, and Ferguson still needs to agree.

This strict standard became a universal rule in the Red Devils. For Ferguson, this was also a last resort. At that time, the Red Devils were in a serious injury crisis. Robson, Whiteside, Strachan, Bailly, Sevebek and Albistone all played in the 1986 World Cup, and then many main players were injured in the World Cup. Albistone and Whiteside played with injuries all the time, Strachan was also injured constantly, and Robson was seriously injured in the World Cup...

Ferguson waved his hand and asked them to heal their injuries before coming back for training. "This is not a matter of forcing yourself to play in a life-and-death duel. I would rather lose everything than risk your health."

Ferguson's strict management was eventually recognized by most players. Ferguson was protecting the fundamental interests of the players and establishing fair competition rules, and the enforcement of the rules was also open and fair.

This is key for players to comply with the ban.

Ferguson's team took the trouble to compile training requirements for each core player. Ferguson personally went to the training ground to check whether the players had completed all the training items. Whether they were long-established stars or newly promoted players, they were treated equally. No matter how the players complained or how they tried to cheat, Ferguson did not relax at all. "Training is the most basic part of professional football. There is no shortcut in it. Without hard training, everything is a castle in the air."

Ferguson enforces high standards. He does not even need to ask the players to take the initiative to practice more, and asks the players to sacrifice their vacation and play time to strengthen their training. The quality of the team's training has improved rapidly. Some players have begun to practice hard outside of normal training time, constantly increasing the intensity, which makes Ferguson even more delighted.

Ferguson's continued high pressure finally made abstinence from alcohol a routine. Most of the Red Devils' players began to gradually adapt to life without alcohol and began to walk into the path that Ferguson had planned for them. Everything began to slowly get better, and the most obvious one was Robson. After returning, the Red Devils captain quit drinking and trained hard. His condition recovered quickly and he became the most trusted core of the Red Devils' midfield, once again showing the edge of the highlight moment of last season. Strachan also recovered after a short injury. He had no trouble with alcohol from the beginning, so he was also reused by Ferguson and played a very important role.

When a BBC reporter visited the Red Devils team three months after Ferguson took over, he found that the biggest change was that the bottles of wine that used to be seen everywhere in the players' restaurant were no longer there. The reporters all knew that it was Ferguson's ability. He really relied on brute force to change the Red Devils' tradition of alcoholism.

The fans are more concerned about the team, and they noticed that the team was starting to change. In the Red Devils' games, there would not be a player who was drunk and lost his direction on the field. The players would have the strength to play the whole game, instead of being exhausted and unable to fight at the end of the second half.

The smell of alcohol in the Red Devils' locker room and on the bench gradually faded, and the team began to change its sluggish state and gradually regained its fighting power. This happened to be the most difficult and intensive schedule of the season. The Red Devils continued to win games and chase points for more than two months, and they stayed away from the relegation vortex and entered the top half of the standings in one fell swoop.

The management supported Ferguson's alcohol ban. They were happy to see Ferguson's measures being implemented step by step, and gave positive affirmation to various penalties and suspensions. Even Edwards, who had never played football, knew the serious damage that alcoholism could cause to the team, and knew how professional clubs should deal with alcohol abuse. As for why they did not persuade Atkinson and ask him to stop drinking in the team before, that is another topic.

After more than 20 years as the Red Devils coach, Ferguson still feels deeply about his experiences during this period. "We no longer need to manage alcohol abuse among players. Even players like Keane will realize the harm caused by alcohol and will consciously stay away from alcohol during training and games. Players like Beckham and Scholes will even manage themselves more strictly and may never touch alcohol in their entire lives. Some players now even boycott carbonated drinks such as soda and pay close attention to their diet. My efforts to strictly prohibit players from drinking alcohol 20 years ago have long been turned into basic rules by the tide of the times of the development of professional football."

Ferguson said: "It seems so easy now, but it was really not easy for us back then!"