The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 78 Graham's stinginess

"In the first full season that Ferguson has coached Manchester United, his opponents are all over England. In addition to the task of toppling Liverpool and surpassing Dalglish, Ferguson also needs to defeat all opponents, whether they are famous coaches or newcomers; whether they are new acquaintances or old friends."

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In the 25th round of English League One, Manchester United challenged Arsenal away.

This match is crucial for Manchester United to reverse the decline. If they lose, it will be an embarrassing three-game losing streak. In that case, there may be no need for outside criticism, the Red Devils dressing room will probably explode, the team's morale will definitely be dampened, and the strength will be seriously affected.

Before the game, the media suddenly broke the news that Arsenal coach Graham made sharp remarks, pointing out that Ferguson and his Manchester United team did not play well and should not occupy their current position in the standings.

He said: "Ferguson and Manchester United's current points and ranking are like a scam. They have won a lot of controversial games. This is a controversial place. We respect the referee very much, but Ferguson often blames the referee. I don't know if this will bring him any benefits, but their team is currently ranked second."

The Times reporter said, "The feud between Graham and Ferguson is very special, and these things are hidden in the details. In the summer of 1986, Arsenal wanted to recruit Ferguson as head coach, but was rejected, so they asked Graham to take over. This arrangement is very special for Graham. In November, Ferguson suddenly took over Manchester United and became Arsenal's rival, which also made Arsenal and Graham unhappy. The two had always had a good relationship, but they had grudges in the process of serving their respective masters in English First Division."

Graham played for Arsenal as a player and performed very well, winning the league championship for the team and was deeply loved by the fans. It was natural for Arsenal to finally choose him as the head coach.

At that time, Arsenal's team was not bad. Before Graham took over, they were a direct contender for the league title. The team had many strong stars and a very tough temperament and style. This was Graham's unique advantage and also the difference between him and Ferguson.

Arsenal did become stronger last season under Graham's coaching, and has been one of the favorites to win the league title since the start of the league. Especially last season, Liverpool was left behind, and Graham's Arsenal was still leading the standings at the end of the season, and the championship was within reach. But after Ferguson took office, Manchester United beat Arsenal at home, thus shattering Graham's hopes of winning the championship, and Arsenal eventually finished behind Everton.

Ferguson's first match with Graham was a thrilling one, something almost no one had expected. This match at the end of last season was a thrilling one, with Manchester United playing with great energy, and eventually winning 2-0 thanks to wonderful goals from Gibson and Strachan.

Graham has always been the kind of person who will never let go of a grudge. This defeat was too much of a blow to him and he was very upset with Ferguson.

Ferguson didn't know that Graham had so many twists and turns in his mind. In his mind, Manchester United's enemies in England were actually very clear, and the London Arsenal was not counted at all. Liverpool, the biggest enemy; Leeds United, the Rose Derby rival; Manchester City, the city rival and arch-enemy, these were the teams that Manchester United had to kill, and Bolton, who was always full of malice, and West Ham United, who was so unruly to everyone, these two teams made Manchester United extremely angry because their extreme fans always used the Munich air crash to make trouble, and they were also arch-enemies in the league.

Arsenal?

Arsenal and Manchester United have the same profound heritage and each has a glorious history. Over the past 100 years of English football, the two teams' highlights have basically staggered. When Manchester United won its first top league championship, Arsenal was still unremarkable; while Arsenal's brilliant movement was created by Chapman in the 1930s, Manchester United was already struggling in the second-tier league; when Manchester United's "Busby Boys" soared to the sky, Arsenal was an ordinary passerby; when the Gunners ushered in their golden age in the 1970s, the Red Devils awkwardly slid into a trough... It's amazing that the two old English football teams missed each other in their golden ages. There was no hatred for championships, no regional feuds, no religious or political conflicts, and no hatred that could not be resolved for a long time.

The hostility between Arsenal and Manchester United mainly started last season. The relationship between coach Graham and Ferguson also changed from friends to rivals, and from close to hostile.

Graham has a complex personality. He gave Ferguson a lot of advice at the beginning and helped Ferguson deal with the details of the contract with Manchester United. But he is very stingy and vindictive in some aspects. When he was sure that he was not as good as Ferguson in the evaluation of Arsenal's top management, he was roaring in his heart.

As a new coach, Graham's starting point is not low. The Arsenal he led continued to strive for the league championship this season, but encountered more difficulties. Liverpool was in excellent form and almost left the others in the middle of the season, which made Graham lament his bad luck; and after Liverpool, Arsenal still had Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, which they had previously looked down on. All these circumstances showed that Arsenal's difficulties in winning the championship this season were extremely huge, and their hopes were getting slimmer and slimmer. Now that the season is halfway through, Manchester United has become the first obstacle they are trying to overturn.

For Ferguson, Graham, who coaches Arsenal, is destined to be the first mountain and obstacle he must overcome on his road to becoming a super coach.

Looking at Ferguson's long history as Manchester United coach, his experience of challenging Graham was very exciting. Various setbacks and failures, as well as various pressures and difficulties, all kinds of changes made people highly nervous. Ferguson went from falling behind to catching up, from crisis to prosperity, from almost losing his position to watching Graham resign and join another team, from ascending the Premier League throne to the curtain call of his opponent... This challenge full of pressure and difficulties is like a super marathon.

The first time point in Ferguson's long confrontation with Arsenal after he coached Manchester United was January 1987, 1. On this day, Ferguson's Manchester United played against Graham's Arsenal for the first time.

Before the game, Arsenal was more favored. The Gunners had created a team record of 22 unbeaten games in domestic competitions, and their morale was high and they were in good shape. Manchester United, on the other hand, had been plagued by injuries and had just struggled out of the relegation zone. Their overall condition was far inferior to their opponent. In addition, the Gunners beat Manchester United 1-0 at home in the first match of the season, so they also had an advantage in terms of record.

Arsenal's style during this period was very different from that of later times. The Arsenal players at that time were tall and strong, pursuing strength and speed, emphasizing confrontation and fighting, and the tactics were mainly high-handed, with a distinct British style of long passes and lobs. The Arsenal team was full of muscular men, who relied on their physical strength and power to "bully" their opponents during the game, often engaging in rough ball grabs, tackles and fouls. It can be said that Arsenal at that time was a representative of the rough style of English football, and the tactics were once called "logging style" by the media, mocking and criticizing the Gunners' rough and fierce style of play, chopping down opponents like trees.

"No matter where the ball goes, knock the guy down first!" Some media joked about the Gunners at the time, and the facts were close to that.

Graham himself is a tough guy, so he naturally further promoted the tough guy style in Arsenal. Under Graham's guidance, the Gunners played more wildly, relying on rough and fierce defense, high ball lobs, long passes and quick attacks, and decisive woodcutting in the lower three roads, making a great name for themselves in the English League One. Arsenal's style of play was very common in England at the time. Looking around, including Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, West Ham, Leeds United, Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, most of these teams also emphasized physical strength, confrontation and speed, but some of them did not play so rough. Many teams emphasized integrity and speed and technology, which was different from Arsenal.

The Wimbledon team, known for its wild spirit, was fearless, but they were badly beaten by the Arsenal.

The reason is very simple, the styles are incompatible. Wimbledon is no match for the Gunners in any aspect, so they are at a disadvantage in all aspects. It can be said that England is full of "powerful" teams, but Graham's Arsenal is "famous" for the number and severity of fouls.

Back to this game, Ferguson decisively chose to take the initiative, emphasizing fast attack on the basis of hard confrontation, hoping to catch the opponent off guard. The Red Devils players, who were repeatedly warned before the game, were fully prepared for the fight after they came on the court. After the start of the game, Manchester United's players really played a sharp fast break and played very tough. Arsenal was completely unprepared for Manchester United's toughness, and they responded hastily and looked a little embarrassed. The Gunners had not yet established their position, and they were passive everywhere under Manchester United's almost unreasonable play, showing a trend of retreat. The referee was used to this high-intensity confrontation, turning a blind eye to the flying tackles of Manchester United players and turning a deaf ear to the Gunners' complaints.

Ferguson admitted honestly after the game, "Manchester United played very bravely. The powerful Whiteside committed about 10 fouls but did not receive a yellow card. As for McClair, he was always competing with his opponents and fighting with them in the penalty area. I can no longer see how many times he was violated, savagely tackled, and how many fouls he committed."

The game quickly got out of control. The Arsenal team, known for their roughness and toughness, was no pushover. Arsenal's retaliation was swift and fierce. The war on the field was about to break out. Rocastel, an irrational Arsenal player, attacked Whiteside directly, resulting in a red card. With one man less, Arsenal was completely passive and suffered a crushing defeat, eventually losing 0:2.

In this game, a total of 6 Arsenal players were given cards, and their 22-game unbeaten streak came to an end. Their ambition to win the championship was also hit hard, and their spirit was directly defeated. In the end, Graham's team lost the battle for the league championship and ranked only 4th in the standings.

In the 1987-88 season, the first match between the two teams was also very intense. Manchester United and Arsenal were like enemies, neither of them giving in. The game was extremely rough and fierce.

Manchester United played proactively, relying on rapid wing advancement to create cross opportunities on several occasions. McClair also managed to get into position and shoot in the penalty area on several occasions. Unfortunately, Manchester United did not score in the end, nor did they allow their opponents to capture the city, and the two sides shook hands and made peace.

Then it was the 25th round of the league.

Arsenal played more aggressively and committed more violent fouls. Manchester United had just suffered two consecutive defeats, and Ferguson needed a victory to boost morale. The players also boosted their morale and played equally bravely and fiercely.

In this tough battle of logging and anti-logging, Robson and Bruce withstood the rough moves of their opponents and fought back against their crazy provocations. Strachan and McClair stood up at the critical moment. Strachan, who had an outstanding technical advantage, made a stab and McClair scored the winning goal, helping Manchester United to finally beat the Gunners 2-1.

Graham became even angrier. "This game is unfair. Ferguson's team is not playing football, they are here to fight. This is a disgrace to football and a day when the rules of football are disgraced."

Graham was used to his team's style of play, but now he couldn't accept Manchester United's roughness. This double standard shocked the reporters, so much so that they couldn't make up any more stories.

After this game, Graham's Arsenal had basically no hope of winning the championship. Although they later defeated Manchester United in the FA Cup and were promoted, they eventually lost in the FA Cup final and missed the championship again.

In contrast, Ferguson's Manchester United rushed to second place in the league standings.