The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 76 Suffocating

"The intensity of the English League One schedule always makes people crazy, and Ferguson also finds it incredible. Although this is the second time he has led the team through this hell express, he still can't accept it."

--Inscription

The Red Devils finally defeated Portsmouth 19-2 in the 1th round of League One, and the team recovered. But this is only temporary, because the most deadly and crazy schedule is coming soon.

The English League One enters a fast lane in December, especially after Christmas Day. This is a characteristic of England, and it is also a new test for Ferguson. Although he was appointed as the head coach in November last season and had experienced a tough schedule, he is now leading the team from the first game of the season and has a deeper understanding of the intensity of the games during the Christmas and New Year period.

The Red Devils encountered a strong opponent in the 20th round of the English League One, the opponent is Newcastle United. The Red Devils' starting lineup changed a lot in this game. The original main goalkeeper Turner returned, the defense line was Duxbury, Gibson, Bruce and Moses, the midfield was Mullen, Robson, Strachan, and the forwards were McClair, Whiteside, and Davenport. This is a 433, of course not the 442 that Ferguson is familiar with, but he still let McClair retreat a little to form a special-looking 4312. McGrath and Anderson, the main players on the defense line, were injured, and Bruce had to play with an injury to his nose. The Red Devils' formation, which was neither 442 nor 433, had many problems during the game, and the Red Devils players were very uncomfortable.

Newcastle United has always been tough, even rough, and has always been a representative of the traditional English style of play, but a brilliant new star Paul Gascoigne emerged from their team, and his performance surprised the entire English football world. Gascoigne was only 20 years old at the time, but he was talented and had great potential. He had a natural keen judgment and control over the development of the game, as well as extraordinary organization and impact ability for offense. This destined him to become the core of Newcastle and dominate the team's offense. Gascoigne has a rare footwork of English players, controlling the ball, passing, dribbling past opponents, breaking through and passing the ball, organizing the offensive, passing and assisting, inserting and shooting... These are all what he is good at.

Gascoigne showed his precise passing ability and unrestrained imagination, as well as his imaginative feints and unusual rhythm changes, which made his offense shine with football wisdom. Gascoigne is not only the engine and dealer of offense, but also a sharp knife with excellent shooting ability. With Gascoigne as a killer, Newcastle's strength should not be underestimated. Although Newcastle still uses the traditional 442 formation, with many long passes and proficient long and short lobs, everything becomes different with Gascoigne.

The Red Devils' 433 formation obviously made it difficult for the Magpies to deal with them. Newcastle quickly suppressed the Red Devils after the opening, and made it even more difficult for the Red Devils through Gascoigne's fine transfer and advancement. In the 27th minute of the first half, Newcastle played a very exciting attack. Gascoigne received the ball and made a smooth transition. The striker directly made a counter-run and created a single-handed opportunity, easily making it 1-0.

The Red Devils counterattacked immediately after falling behind. Ferguson's strengths were Robson and Strachan, and the impact of McClair, but Newcastle had obviously done detailed homework and made special arrangements for close marking of McClair. For Strachan, they adopted a strategy of two midfielders defending one, completely locking down the threat of the Scotsman; the strategy for Robson was to keep letting players attack his area, distracting him from defense and midfield sweeping tasks and reducing his participation in offense.

When the Red Devils launched a massive attack, Newcastle responded well. On the one hand, they condensed into the penalty area to defend intensively, and on the other hand, they kept Gascoigne near the half court to contain the Red Devils players. After the Red Devils fell behind, they had few options. Ferguson's 442 deformation deployment did not work. In the 33rd minute, Whiteside dribbled into the penalty area and forced a shot that was saved; then Strachan used his personal skills to dribble past the opponent, but he did not pass the ball out. There were almost no crosses from the two flanks. McClair was closely watched and Robson was helpless. The Red Devils' entire midfield and frontcourt attacking ability was greatly reduced, and there was no particularly good solution.

Newcastle attacked the Red Devils' midfield fiercely, and the Red Devils soon fell into a passive position. Although Ferguson replaced Anderson and Olsen, there was still no way to create more offensives. Only in the last stage of the second half, when Newcastle's physical strength declined, did the Red Devils reverse the situation in the midfield and frontcourt and counterattack fiercely, but many of the opportunities created were wasted one by one.

In the end, the Red Devils lost 0-1.

Ferguson could not accept the loss of this game and went berserk after the game. Players like Bryan Robson, who was rarely scolded, also began to feel Ferguson's anger. The Red Devils coach's anger completely erupted in this game. Gordon Strachan was also present at the time: "Robson was scolded badly? I remember we lost badly in that game. When I got home, I told my wife that I saw a phenomenal little player today, named Paul Gascoigne. This kid made Robson and I suffer a lot on the court, and made Robson a wooden stake, so that Ferguson cursed at Robson in the coaching seat, and then returned to the locker room and didn't give up."

Robson's memory is even more vivid. "We lost to Newcastle on Boxing Day and our whole team didn't perform well. Newcastle played very well in that game and they had the sharpest Gascoigne in the frontcourt. My physical condition was not good and many balls in the game were just a little bit off. I knew the threat of Gascoigne and consciously retreated a little to guard him, but this was the beginning of the tragedy. Newcastle may have also made special arrangements, but Paul performed in front of me wantonly, constantly passing me and leaving me helpless."

The Red Devils had not expected Gascoigne to be so strong, and even Ferguson had not made any special arrangements. When Gascoigne rushed forward like a nobody, Robson was in deep trouble. Once he was broken through, the Red Devils' defensive system was already in trouble.

"I didn't pay attention to what Alex said, but he gave all of us a good scolding after the game," Robson said. "Ferguson's anger was really terrible. I have seen a lot of things, but I have never experienced such an experience. When his scolding vibrates in your ears, you will feel your whole soul trembling."

After the loss, reporters asked if it was Davenport's poor performance that caused the team to collapse, and if Robson was going to be eliminated. Ferguson directly scolded the reporter, "Go to hell with you, you have to know how hard Davenport works! He performed well, and I will never criticize his efforts today. He played in an unfamiliar position, and I can't ask too much. On the contrary, you are the most unprofessional. You have to know that we didn't play badly today, and Robson, as the captain, also worked hard. You have to understand that football is played by 11 people, don't talk nonsense about one person ruining the whole team!"

In the 21st round, the Red Devils took revenge on Everton 4-2 with the cheers of more than 1 fans at home.

Everton, as the defending champion, still has a chance to surpass Liverpool and return to the top of the standings, so they are determined to win the game. This game is both a battle of revenge and a battle of reputation for Ferguson. Ferguson also needs a victory to keep the chance of winning the championship, and also needs a victory to break the record of failure against Everton.

Ferguson re-arranged the 442 formation, with Olsen and Anderson returning to the starting lineup, Bruce commanding the defense, midfielders Robson and Strachan in the center to command and coordinate, and McClair and Whiteside together on the front line. The game tactics were to strengthen the offense and improve the efficiency of ball possession and exchange.

At the beginning of the game, the Red Devils played aggressively and launched a high-intensity press. The Red Devils invested enough strength in the midfield to strangle the opponent, and the tactics on the offensive line were as simple and sharp as possible. Everton was not prepared and was forced to be in a hurry at the beginning, and soon the Red Devils players created opportunities. McClair performed very well in this game. He moved flexibly in the forward position, constantly interspersed and pulled left and right, making the opponent's pair of central defenders unable to defend. With the support of the midfield, McClair scored two goals in a row, helping the team finally defeat the champion of last season.

Ferguson won the game happily. His carefully arranged starting lineup and tactics against the opponent worked wonders and reawakened the passion of the Red Devils.

到了1988年的1月1日，红魔主场0比0被查尔顿逼平。随后仅仅休息一天他们就要踢第23轮比赛，对手是沃特福德。

Ferguson could not help but criticize this suffocating schedule again when he led the team on an away trip. "This schedule does not take into account the health of the players or their mental state at all. The officials of the English Football Association really treat the players like animals! We object again, and we must voice our opinions even at the last moment of the game!"

比赛真的是太疯狂了，这是谁也会震惊的安排：12月26日，红魔踢纽卡；12月29日踢埃弗顿；接着是2天之后1月1日踢查尔顿队，然后被要求在1月3日踢沃特福德......红魔在8天之内要踢4场比赛！

The English Football Association may also know that the schedule is unreasonable, but as always, they rejected the Red Devils' application to reschedule and insisted that the game must go on as scheduled.

The Guardian reporter revealed: "Such a schedule has never been announced in advance, and the clubs have never been consulted. The FA's idea is to fill the season with matches for each team without considering any risks or dangers. The only time the schedule is changed in the middle of the season is when there is a direct conflict between cup games and league matches. This little workload has already driven them crazy, so it is naturally impossible for them to agree to new requests from other teams."

"They are like heartless robot dogs, not normal people."

Ferguson said in the locker room: "I will not emphasize the extra words. What I want to tell you is that you are all great and have withstood the previous tests. Now we have to complete this ultimate mission. The opponent Hornets' willpower is completely incomparable to you. Even if they have a physical advantage, I believe that the final victory belongs to us!"

Robson said: "I have never seen such a schedule in my career. We don't even know how to complain. As the captain, I know we have reached our limit, but we still have to fight bravely in this game. I said to my partners that we are not just fighting for ourselves, but for the fans, for the away fans who follow us."

The Red Devils finally pulled themselves together and beat Watford 1-0.

Manchester Evening News said: "Watford played more aggressively, but their tactics were backward and the team played like a mess. Although most of the Red Devils' players were tired and were at a disadvantage in most fights, they were obviously far superior in overall coordination. Through more passes and cooperation, they successfully consumed the opponent's physical strength."

At the end of the season, the sports data company Leading analyzed the game and found a surprising statistic: the running distance of the Red Devils' 11 players in the whole game was a quarter less than that of the opponent, but the number of passes was more than double that of the opponent.

Even though they ran less, the entire Red Devils team was almost exhausted in the locker room at the end of the game. The continuous and intense games were too difficult and consumed too much energy. Many players didn't even have the energy to drive themselves, and finally had to be escorted home by staff.

After the game against Watford, Ferguson gave the players a holiday directly.

Many years later, Ferguson still felt resentful towards the English Football Association. "This kind of schedule is completely disregarding human life... Even an iron-blooded warrior would be exhausted, even a special forces soldier would be exhausted. I am deeply angry that the players are regarded as machines and are regarded as cattle and horses..."