The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 65: Encountering obstacles everywhere

"Misfortunes never come singly. The summer transfer window of 1987 was not going well for Ferguson. The English League One showed him for the first time how difficult it was to play in hell."

--Inscription

Ferguson's desire to make major changes to the lineup sparked heated discussions within the Manchester United board, but even though the board was extremely reluctant, the transfer still had to go through.

Charlton eventually supported Ferguson and persuaded the board to increase the budget and agreed to Ferguson's final suggestion, which was to use all the funds from the sale of players directly for buying players. The board will decide whether to buy according to the progress and possibility of Ferguson's negotiation.

The media reported that "Manchester United will have no more than £200 million to spend on transfers this summer. The transfer fees on Ferguson's list weigh more than a ton of gold."

After a heated debate with the board of directors, Ferguson finally got the right to operate the transfer.

It was one of his biggest wins in the summer of 1987.

The final decision on purchasing players, especially those exceeding £150 million, still lies with Edwards.

Ferguson worked hard to get the transfer rights, which was a good start for the transfer work. The rest was almost all kinds of pitfalls, troubles, rejections and bad news.

Ferguson was working hard. He asked the club to reorganize the transfer department and asked Charlton, a veteran Red Devils player who had become his close friend, to be responsible for recruitment and report directly to him.

The transfer department was re-established and staffed, but Ferguson still found it difficult. As a newcomer, he lacked experience in English football transfers and his fame could not attract famous players from England. On the other hand, Manchester United itself lacked appeal to talented players from England and Europe.

Apart from "money", at that time, no well-known star would claim that he had a "childhood dream" and would try every means to join Dream Theater.

Ferguson decided to try a target he had long admired and had contacted beforehand: former Manchester United youth player Pete Beardsley.

At that time, Peter Beardsley was playing for Newcastle and was a well-known striker in the Magpies. Beardsley had a lot of connections with Manchester United. He came from the youth training system of a small club in the Newcastle area. Atkinson, then Manchester United coach, bought him for 1982 pounds in 25. But Atkinson didn't want to give him any chances. After all, Beardsley, who was only 173cm tall at that time, was hard to be favored by traditional English coaches like Atkinson. He was sent to Newcastle after playing only one cup game for Manchester United, and his Red Devils career ended in a hurry. Beardsley played very well after joining the Magpies. He scored 4 goals in the four seasons he played, leaving a deep impression on all the giants.

Ferguson went to meet Beardsley in person, and Newcastle United offered a huge offer of 220 million pounds, which scared Edwards away. Ferguson tried hard to persuade Edwards to contact Newcastle's chairman, but was ruthlessly rejected. That summer, Beardsley was finally sold to Liverpool by Newcastle for 190 million pounds.

The price broke the English record at the time, leaving Ferguson disheveled.

Has the world really changed?

Atkinson was able to bring in Bryan Robson and spend the most expensive transfer fee in English Football League One, £150 million, to snatch Liverpool's target, but now Ferguson can only watch his rival Dalglish snatch his love away.

Peter Beardsley can't even be compared with Robson in terms of overall strength, but the market is obviously different now.

Beardsley later said: "I never met Ferguson and I don't think there is anything to say. I don't have any special feelings about Manchester United. They dug me out of the youth training players? So what? I didn't get any opportunities there and I wasn't taken seriously at all."

"So would you be willing to play for Ferguson?"

"Well, that's hard to say. Who knows? This is a hypothetical question. I don't know Ferguson well."

Ferguson suffered an even more tragic humiliation with another transfer target.

This guy is Lineker, the England superstar at the time, the winner of the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup, and a superstar that the entire British Isles paid close attention to.

Born in 1960, Lineker made his debut in Leicester City and became famous at a young age. In fact, there were transfer rumors with Manchester United very early. He received an invitation from Atkinson, the then Manchester United coach, in the summer of 1985, but he finally chose to join Everton. Lineker said: "When Ron Atkinson was the head coach, I went to Everton. You have to remember that Manchester United was not so dominant at the time; the second time was when I went to Tottenham, Ferguson's Manchester United also invited me, and I rejected him."

It was not until 2023 that Lineker expressed regret in an interview, "At that time, Ferguson wanted me to join very much, but I didn't think Manchester United had any appeal, so I finally went to Tottenham. It took Alix three or four years to start to succeed, so we couldn't foresee and make a choice in advance. If you ask me now, I would say that the team I most want to join is Manchester United."

In the summer of 1987, Ferguson was very active in trying to bring in this famous striker of the England national team, the World Cup Golden Boot winner, and the England Footballer of the Year, but was met with a cold shoulder and was ruthlessly rejected by Lineker at the time. Lineker said: "I don't know Fergie and don't want to play for him, it's that simple."

This kind of setback happened more than once. Ferguson was naturally aware that he was a newcomer and that Manchester United lacked appeal, so all kinds of setbacks were common.

But when Ferguson missed out on John Barnes, he felt a strong sense of failure. At the end of 1986, when Ferguson had just taken over as Manchester United coach, his friend, then Watford coach Graham Taylor, recommended Barnes. At that time, Barnes was only worth 90 pounds, but he was already highly praised and attracted attention from all sides.

Barnes was no unknown player. He was already a regular in the national team and a rising star who was highly praised by all. In the World Cup just past, Barnes shone brightly and was considered the best left-footed winger in the 80s, except for Maradona.

Ferguson contacted Watford directly and negotiated with Taylor. However, this transfer, which should have been a sure thing, was delayed by the board. Edwards and Watness thought Barnes was black and did not intend to buy him. Ferguson was furious and had a heated argument with the board members, but in the end he could not change Edwards' decision.

The transfer fell through and Barnes was quickly poached by Liverpool, who were eyeing him.

In front of Ferguson, Barnes and Beardsley both went to the camp of their arch-rival Liverpool, forming a powerful trident of Aldridge, Beardsley and Barnes.

Ferguson was very angry, and considering the outstanding performance of Beardsley and Barnes in Liverpool afterwards, especially helping the "hated enemy" win two more league titles right under Ferguson's nose, he was even more upset.

Ferguson also tried to bring in English tough guy Pierce, but was rejected by Forest. The legendary Clough, then Forest coach, said, "Ferguson, this little bastard, actually wanted to poach my players. He is really ungrateful!"

In this way, Manchester United's transfer team was either scared off by the high prices offered by other clubs or rejected by the players they liked, and had to return home in disappointment.

Ferguson suffered repeated setbacks, but he remained undaunted.

After much effort, Ferguson finally bought England national team defender and Arsenal main player Viv Anderson.

Born on July 1956, 7, Vivi Anderson was 29 years old at the time. He was the first black defender in the England national team and the first player signed by Ferguson after he became the head coach of Manchester United.

Arsenal manager Graham was very angry and accused Ferguson of "illegally" contacting his players and poaching them without going through proper procedures.

Graham said: "They started contacting Anderson a few months before the end of the season, and we were going to renew his contract at that time. Anderson did a good job at Arsenal and I fully expected him to sign a new contract, but he simply refused. I later learned that Ferguson asked his players to contact Anderson privately during the national team training, which was not in accordance with the rules.

Viv Anderson, Ferguson's first transfer target, was well-known in England. He was an excellent full-back and a key position that Ferguson hoped to strengthen his team. Anderson was born on July 1956, 7 in Nottingham, England. He once played for Nottingham Forest and helped the team win the European Champions League twice. He was a meritorious player for the Forest team. After transferring to Arsenal, Anderson has always been a left-wing defender and made great contributions to the team's winning of the League Cup.

Anderson refused to renew his contract with Arsenal because the Arsenal could not offer him the same favorable conditions as Manchester United. As for why Anderson knew about Manchester United's offer, it was because there was indeed contact between the two sides.

Anderson refused to renew his contract, and with only one season left on it, Arsenal had no choice but to agree to a transfer.

In this way, Ferguson bought Anderson for 25 pounds.

Ferguson later responded to Graham, saying: "In fact, we did not violate any rules. Anderson's contract extension with Arsenal was unsuccessful, which was his own decision. We respected Graham, negotiated with Arsenal and paid a reasonable fee."

Ferguson introduced Anderson mainly because he had enough experience, could execute tactics well, had a tough defensive style, and was very active in running, which met Ferguson's requirement of building a team that required defenders who could attack and defend and had a tough style.

In addition to signing Anderson, Ferguson wanted to continue to buy players in England. Although he encountered various rejections and exorbitant prices, he did not give up easily. Even if he was unsuccessful, Ferguson tried his best to search for various player information and made efforts to make offers and negotiate.

Although Ferguson suffered a series of setbacks, it was difficult for him to buy the targets he wanted and he failed to complete his recruitment task, but this did not stop Ferguson's cleaning plan.

Many Manchester United players were kicked out by Ferguson, and Ferguson's move to completely rebuild the team was very bold and decisive.

Sevebek, who scored the key first goal for Ferguson, left. He said: "Ferguson wanted a defender with better defense at the time, like Anderson, and my style focused on offense. He told me that he could not guarantee my starting position in the new season, but I was unwilling to accept the bench. I want to find a team with enough playing time, so I chose to transfer."

Sevebek said: "I only stayed at Manchester United for one year, but Ferguson was always very good to me. Later I met him many times. Every time I met him again, I was very happy and I have always been grateful to him."

"I don't have any resentment. On the contrary, I have always respected Ferguson. I have never quarreled with him. I am very grateful for his high standards and strict management in daily life. As a low-key Nordic person, I was not used to Ferguson's style at first. He always stimulated us and made me understand that hard work must be paid off. This also inspired me to succeed in the Danish national team."

In addition to Severbek, Peter Barnes was sold to Manchester City, Terry Gibson went to Wimbledon, and players such as Frank Stapleton and Gary Bailer also left.

Many of these players were the team's main players, and Stapleton was once considered an indispensable striker, but Ferguson still insisted on building a more dynamic and more running team. He thought Stapleton was too old.

Although these players were cleared, Ferguson did not deal with them roughly. He instructed the transfer department to try their best to find new places for these players and try their best to get better treatment for them.

In order to find a good next home for Stapleton and Severbeck, Ferguson would even recommend them to the coaches of various clubs he knew, or to various capable friends.

Not only that, Ferguson later invited all the players who had played for him to the ceremonies for the 10th and 20th anniversaries of his coaching career at Manchester United. He sincerely thanked these players for their efforts at different times, including those who only worked with him for half a season from the end of 1986 to the summer of 1987.

The cleanup was going on, but Ferguson couldn't find the striker he wanted most. He repeatedly hit a wall in the English football circle and finally had to turn to Scotland, hoping to find a suitable target there.