The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 77: Embarrassing Two Consecutive Defeats

"Manchester United lost to two weak teams in a row, proving that the team is indeed at the end of its rope."

--Inscription

The impact of the crazy schedule is lasting and will not disappear immediately after the game. The challenges facing Manchester United are now enormous.

The entire Manchester United team was delighted when they got a day off to relax, but after a short break they still had to come back and prepare for the next league game.

Looking at the exhausted faces in the locker room, Ferguson could only think of other ways to encourage everyone, "We continue to face challenges, but so do our opponents. No one has it easier than anyone else. Although we are tired, our opponents are also tired."

Ferguson stressed that "we had crazy physical training before the season, which was a big advantage. We played a game every day in training, and the intensity of the game was comparable to that of the official league. So we were able to survive this crazy period of intensive games, but our opponents might not be able to stand it."

In the 24th round of the league, Manchester United played away against Ipswich. Ipswich has a long history. Founded in 1878, they were nicknamed "The Tractor Boys" and had a glorious period in their long history. They were runners-up in the English Premier League twice, won the cup championship, and won the UEFA Cup in 1981.

Ipswich were relegated in the 1985-86 season, but they returned to the English First Division in just one season. This season, Ipswich's strength as a newly promoted team is indeed a bit insufficient. Their biggest goal is to avoid relegation. They also plan to defend and counterattack against Manchester United, which gives Manchester United more freedom to try.

Ferguson made a small rotation in this match, partly because the opponent was not strong, and partly because he also felt the risk of a thin lineup. Maiorana, Lee Martin, Gibson and other players were sent to start the game, the much-anticipated new star Robins also appeared on the right wing, and McClair became the forward at the front. Bruce continued to be the core of the defense line with a minor injury.

Manchester United took the initiative at the beginning of the game. Maiorana took advantage of the opponent's unfamiliarity with him and repeatedly passed the opponent on the left and entered the penalty area. Although his two crosses did not pose a threat due to the problem of landing point and power, his attack on the left boosted the spirit of the whole team.

Manchester United started with three moves and played very actively, but too many new players also caused problems with the team's formation and positioning. In the first half, Ipswich firmly held the defense line and took the opportunity to strengthen the fight for the midfield. They did not give the opponent too much space in the penalty area, nor did they let Manchester United's wingers break through the defense of the two full-backs. Although their defense line was pressed to the edge of the penalty area, the Red Devils' attack line, which lacked offensive ability, did not have many ways to tear open the opponent's two layers of defense.

At the end of the first half, Robbins suddenly intercepted the opponent's pass in the midfield and immediately launched a counterattack on the right. This time his counterattack was very sharp, dribbling the ball from the right side straight into the opponent's penalty area. Near the corner of the penalty area, he shook off an opponent's defender, then dribbled the ball into the penalty area line and immediately passed the ball to the middle.

Robbins' timing of passing the ball was very good, as McClair had just arrived in the middle of the penalty area. He received the ball directly and shot hard into the blind corner, blasting open the opponent's defense.

Manchester United led 1-0 in the first half.

In the second half, Manchester United's players' physical strength further declined and they gradually began to lose control of the situation. Ipswich was in a backward situation and naturally wanted to strengthen the counterattack, and began to get a lot of offensive opportunities. In the 73rd minute, Ipswich made a quick counterattack. Their striker Hagby received a cross from his teammate in the penalty area and equalized the score with a header.

In the last 10 minutes of the game, both sides were exhausted. Aiming for three points, Manchester United mustered up their remaining courage and launched a series of attacks. In the 83rd minute, Manchester United sent a corner kick and made a cross, which caused chaos in the opponent's penalty area. In the melee, Bruce pressed the opponent's midfielder Taunton in the penalty area, forcing the opponent to kick the ball hard in panic. The ball was kicked into the Ipswich teammate and bounced into his own goal.

Own goals!

Manchester United was lucky enough to win the game with a score of 2-1 and had the last laugh.

The victory did not make Ferguson happy, because his most trusted midfielder and captain Robson was injured again. After the doctor's examination after the game, Ferguson announced that there was no major problem, but even if it was a minor injury or even excessive fatigue, he would not be able to return to the next game directly.

Robson's injury, McGrath's injury, Whiteside's injury... plus the injury of main goalkeeper Turner, the central axis that Ferguson has relied on most since the start of the season is almost all injured.

Even if Ferguson began to rebuild the central axis, with McClair and Bruce, Robson, the center of the team, was indispensable. No matter what kind of starting lineup was used, Robson's position was too important.

On January 1988, 1, Manchester United faced Southampton at home.

Before the game started, Ferguson received the news that Robson and Whiteside would not be able to play. At that time, he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen.

Southampton is located in the port of Hampshire in southeast England. Nicknamed "The Saints", they were founded in November 1885 and have a very long history.

The team has never been very strong, and has been up and down in the top league and the second and third leagues for many years. In the 2023-24 season, they seized the opportunity of the Championship promotion play-off final, defeated Leeds United 1-0, and successfully promoted to the Premier League again.

There is a magical coincidence that both Ipswich and Southampton completed the task of promotion to the Premier League in the 2023-24 season. Ipswich, coached by Solskjaer's assistant McKenna, is considered closely related to Manchester United, while Southampton is called the "Little Red Army" and is seen as a satellite team of Liverpool.

Southampton's strength is average this season, but they have two superstars in their team, Alan Shearer and Matthew Le Tissier. Shearer has not become a regular starter this season, but Le Tissier is already in his second season and has become a shining potential star. Le Tissier is known as Manchester United's nemesis. His first goal in his career was scored in the FA Cup in the 86-87 season. That wonderful lob helped the team beat Manchester United 4-1 and directly eliminated Atkinson's position as head coach.

In the match against Manchester United, Le Tissier was only 19 years old, but he had already become the biggest threat in Ferguson's eyes. Ferguson believed that Le Tissier was extremely talented, his touch and reception were very cool, his ball control skills were magical, his football IQ and long-range shooting ability were very mature, which made him always look at ease on the court and full of dangerous talents.

In this game, Southampton also has wingers Danny Wallace, Kevin Moore, Kevin Bond, Andy Townsend, Jamie Case and others, and the head coach is Chris Nickell.

In Ferguson's starting lineup, Mullen was completely unable to keep an eye on Le Tissier, and Anderson was also struggling. Bruce had an advantage in height and strength, but his flexibility and judgment of feints were far from Le Tissier's. Even though Strachan had the talent and ability to match Le Tissier, the Scotsman still lost in this duel.

Manchester United's lineup was not complete, while Southampton was aggressive and determined to snatch this crucial victory. Manchester United's starting main force was in a very low state, and the scene was also very ugly. They were quickly suppressed by the opponent in the game and fell into a serious passive situation.

Southampton, who had the upper hand, was unstoppable. Le Tissier alone teased the entire defense of Manchester United on the left. At the age of 19, he was very fast at the time, and his footwork was dazzling. It was impossible to grasp his next idea. In the 33rd minute, Le Tissier started from the midfield and rushed all the way to the Manchester United penalty area along the left. After passing Anderson and Mullen, he broke into the heart of Manchester United. Before Bruce stepped forward to block the front, Le Tissier passed the ball to his teammates who came in from behind. Danny Wallace shot the ball and broke through the Manchester United goal directly.

In the second half, Southampton played more confidently, while Manchester United could not organize a strong offensive and the game still looked passive. In the 68th minute, Southampton launched another offensive. It was Le Tissier who broke through Manchester United's defense in the middle and passed the ball to his teammate Keys when he faced Bruce. Keys received the ball in the penalty area and quickly passed it to his teammate. Kevin Moore shot from the back post and secured a 2-0 score for Southampton.

Ferguson, who was now in charge of the game, was deeply disappointed with the team, but was also shocked by Le Tissier's ability. He immediately instructed the team's scouts to start an investigation and analysis of the new star and arranged for the transfer department to contact Southampton.

Ferguson said: "I have seen many young rookies and excellent forwards before, but I have never seen a super striker like Le Tissier who has unparalleled talent, calm and wise game awareness, and can defeat the entire defense by himself."

Ferguson even compared Le Tissier with Barnes. "From the traditional style of English football, people may prefer a violent and beautiful forward like Barnes, but Le Tissier can do it, and Le Tissier can do more than Barnes. They are two different types of forwards, but both are superb masters."

Strachan, who later served as Southampton coach, once spoke highly of the team: "When people talk about Southampton, they only think of two names, one is the Titanic and the other is Le Tissier. We can build more and more luxurious cruise ships that are more luxurious than the Titanic, but there will only be one Le Tissier."

Alan Ball, who was Le Tissier's coach at the time, was very optimistic about the young player. He once commented, "Le Tissier is so outstanding. He can not only score goals, but also assist. He is the conductor of the offense, the main attacker, and the expert in feeding the ball. His responsibility is not only how well he can complete the ball when he has it at his feet, but he can also always pass very difficult threatening balls to create opportunities for his teammates. He is phenomenal and has a brave heart like a lion. For many years, he has supported the entire Southampton team alone."

Manchester United’s suffering is not over yet. Three days after the defeat, they will face Oxford United again in the fifth round of the League Cup.

Oxford United is not a strong team, but the exhausted Red Devils are suffering. Although Ferguson wants to challenge for the League Cup, his team's main players are struggling.

Manchester United still couldn't get rid of the slump and was defeated cleanly by Oxford United and directly eliminated from the League Cup.

Ferguson experienced the devil's game this season and once again deeply realized the cruel environment of English football.

After being eliminated from the League Cup, he concluded: "All teams need to face such cruel challenges, and sometimes the situation of some teams is a little more difficult. This is England, the England with the most games and the most enthusiastic fans. We can only adapt and overcome difficulties while working hard with the masters of the Football Association. I hope they can be kind as soon as possible and sympathize with these players who fight on the court day and night."

Not only that, Ferguson also knows that relying solely on the physical reserves gained in the summer to cope with three or even four fronts is not enough. If there is not a strong enough lineup, not enough rotating main players, and no young training that can be promoted at any time, there are only about 16 regular main players, which is far from enough to support more than 50 or even 60 games.