The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 80 Norwich's Revenge

"Ferguson's team's performance fluctuated too much. They were able to win five games in a row, but they also lost unexpectedly to Norwich, who were ranked last. The Red Devils, who were known for their fiery offense and whose attacking power had reached a new level, were beaten by a weak team that sold its defensive backbone and had no temper. Ferguson could only endure the huge humiliation."

--Inscription

Ferguson's dream of winning the FA Cup was shattered after losing to Arsenal.

Ferguson was very dissatisfied. At the end of the season, he criticized: "Arsenal's style is not powerful or passionate. They just commit brutal fouls, make long passes, and outflanking in front of the goal. This kind of football does not have a good temperament. This is not a good direction."

Ferguson's remarks sparked ridicule in the media. Mike, a reporter from the Manchester Evening News, said, "Only the winner is king in the arena, and the right to speak always lies in the hands of the winner. We don't know what Ferguson's tactics are, but no matter how he tries, he can't bring the Red Devils a championship. It's really ignorant to casually question England's traditional tactics."

Graham also mercilessly mocked after the end of the season, "A rougher team criticizes another tougher team. I don't know how thick-skinned Ferguson is, and I don't know what confidence the Red Devils have to say this? Which rule does not allow physical confrontation? Which law does not allow tackles? Football is not a life-and-death struggle, not to give everything for victory, are you just chatting?"

The Red Devils returned to the league and kicked off the 29th round, challenging Tottenham away.

这个时期的热刺可是伦敦城中最有人气的球队之一。他们在1984年夺得欧洲联盟杯冠军，而且在这个赛季创造出了跨两个赛季的惊人14连胜。热刺队在1987年1月24日对阵阿斯顿维拉开始，直至1987年10月3日对谢菲尔德星期三，直到10月18日输给德比对手阿森纳，这才结束了连胜记录。

Not only that, in the last season that just ended, Tottenham, like Ferguson's Red Devils, achieved a double victory over the defending champion Liverpool. At the same time, Tottenham also experienced a shocking upset in the 1987 FA Cup final when they lost to the underdog Coventry. In September 1987, just at the beginning of this season, Tottenham lost to Liverpool 9-0, which was the biggest score loss in the league.

They can win spectacularly or lose miserably, and that's Tottenham.

This North London giant had World Cup champion Adles from Argentina, as well as England legends Glenn, Hoddle, Ricky Villa and other stars. It was the club with more media attention and more news topics at the time, and was also the richest team in English Football League One at the time.

Ferguson did not dare to neglect this game, and he fielded a full lineup of main players to seriously deal with the opponent. Tottenham, playing at home, also played very actively and proactively. After the start of the game, the two teams launched a rapid attack and defense. Both teams opened up their positions and attacked with all their strength, not conservative at all. The game time passed quickly in a fast pace. Both teams played at a very high level and presented the fans with a wonderful offensive and defensive battle.

The Red Devils and Tottenham ended up drawing 1-1, with each side getting one point.

After playing against Tottenham, Ferguson's team will face Norwich in the 30th round of the league.

The game was very different, and the media were almost unanimously optimistic about the Red Devils before the game. The Red Devils were ranked second in the standings, while their opponent Norwich was at the bottom of the standings. Almost everyone predicted that Ferguson's team would win easily.

Norwich's strength is indeed very weak this season, and they also sold the core of their defense, Bruce. It is not surprising that they ranked last in the league at Christmas, and it is also normal that they were not optimistic about it by the media.

The media reporter went to interview Bruce specifically, "As a former Norwich player and captain, what do you think of the upcoming game? Will joining the Red Devils make you proud? If you win, will you enjoy the joy of defeating your opponent?"

Bruce ignored it. "I respect Norwich very much. They gave me a lot of opportunities to let me grow. But I am a player of the Red Devils now and I have to fight for the Red Devils. Joining the Red Devils went through a standardized procedure. Norwich also sent their blessings when I left. I hope the game will be a wonderful match and everyone will play to their best level."

Bruce said: "Norwich is weak? I don't think so. They played very bravely and had a tenacious will. I think their players are very good and we have to play at our best to win."

Ferguson's starting lineup was still a bit careless, or he did not take the opponent seriously enough, and did not use a sledgehammer to kill a fly. The players were not excited enough and were still a bit sloppy at the beginning of the game.

After the game started, the Red Devils found that their opponents were not easy to deal with. The Red Devils played a bit carelessly and too relaxed, while their opponent Norwich was fully prepared. Not only that, Norwich also had a few more days of rest than the Red Devils, which can be said to be a restful team, with a huge advantage in physical fitness. Although the Red Devils players had the advantage at the beginning and played very actively, the Norwich team patiently played a steady defense and counterattack against the Red Devils in this game. Almost the entire team took the initiative to shrink and set up an iron bucket formation, waiting for an opportunity to sneak attack and counterattack. The Red Devils did have the advantage at the beginning and continued to launch offensives, but many shots were unsuccessful, and after a long time, they were a little helpless against their opponents.

Norwich's defense was indeed under great pressure. They focused on defense for a long time and did not intend to press the formation to attack the Red Devils, which naturally reduced the space for the opponent to attack. When the Red Devils players relaxed mentally, the loopholes in the defense were exposed.

In the 37th minute of the first half, Norwich played a simple backcourt clearance pass, which immediately penetrated the Red Devils' midfield. Norwich's attack quickly developed to the Red Devils' backcourt, and their forward ran at high speed and rushed to the top of the penalty area to get the ball. Facing the Red Devils' defender who hurriedly returned to defense, the Norwich forward did not hesitate and directly made a powerful volley. This powerful shot went straight to the blind corner, and the Red Devils' goal was breached.

1-0, Norwich took the lead unimaginably.

The Red Devils then launched a fierce attack, but they were unable to pry open the opponent's turtle shell. Not only that, the Red Devils' defense line was also not reliable under the fierce attack, and they almost let the opponent sneak attack again.

Even though the Red Devils had the upper hand, created many chances, and kept shooting, they still couldn't score. After Norwich took the lead, they retreated with all their might, and at one point they had all 10 players retreat into the penalty area, relying on a human defense to resist the Red Devils' onslaught.

With such a dense defense, the Red Devils players couldn't even penetrate the densely packed opponents with long shots outside the penalty area, and individual breakthroughs didn't have much effect. The lines and landing points of the crosses from the wing also lacked threats. The Red Devils had many shots in the final moments, but none of them had any real chances to score. The game ended with Norwich 1-0 to the Red Devils.

Ferguson said in an interview after the game: "We lost this game very unwillingly. It should have been a big win. We were unlucky and hit the goal frame at least twice. We lacked the means to counterattack when we were behind. Our attack was not sharp enough and the landing was not accurate enough. Although we tried very hard to attack, we didn't have many ways. We had the advantage on the field, but we had no way to deal with the iron bucket formation."

After the game, the entire Red Devils team was heavily criticized, and center back Bruce was the target of public criticism and became the object of ridicule by opposing fans and media critics. In the eyes of opposing fans, he was an absolute traitor and the best example of a losing team.

Norwich fans cannot accept the fact that the Red Devils poached Norwich's core central defender. The whole transfer process was very unpleasant, and Bruce seemed to have betrayed Norwich and insisted on his own way. This loss seemed to be Norwich's successful revenge, and indeed many Norwich fans felt relieved.

The Red Devils reporter of the Times wrote a special article to defend Bruce, "Do players have the right to express their hopes and goals? Bruce did not do anything out of line. The Red Devils have always negotiated according to Norwich's offer, and in the end both parties reached a consensus and signed an agreement. The Red Devils did not take advantage of the situation, and they did not even bother to use dirty tricks to lure Bruce, let alone let Bruce stab his own team in the back."

A fan reporter of the Red Devils said: "This business of up to 82.5 proves one thing, that is, the Red Devils are the ambitious team. We are willing to invest in the championship. Clubs like Norwich are only satisfied with the high returns in their eyes. The fact is that simple."

Ferguson ignored the criticism from the outside world and he fully trusted Bruce. "Losing this game is unacceptable for us, but it is not Bruce's problem. We don't want to lose, but now we can only accept this small setback, which will motivate us to move forward strongly in the future. I think Bruce played very well in this game. He is the central defender we rely on. Did he lose his position? Too slow to catch up? This is not a problem. When our defense line is forward, there will be such risks. It is the responsibility of the whole team."

Ferguson finally emphasized, "This defeat is nothing at all, we will soon respond with victory."

After an unexpected and upset loss to Norwich, the media announced that "the Red Devils can finally wake up from their championship dream this year."

The situation on the standings is indeed like this. Although the Red Devils have been ranked second or third for a long time, Liverpool, who are at the top of the table, are almost unshakable. Their advantage is too great. After this game, the gap between the Red Devils and Liverpool has widened to 15 points.

Ferguson was really upset that his championship dream was ruined by a weak team at the bottom of the table, but there was not much he could do about it.

Manchester Evening News said: "Today we saw a team that started arrogant, got flustered in the middle and ended up frustrated. Ferguson's Red Devils started by playing with dignity and they even thought their opponents would surrender. But the fact is that Norwich fought very hard. They tried their best and waited for an opportunity to launch a quick counterattack after a powerful long pass. They succeeded in one strike and then there was no chance for the Red Devils."

The BBC said: "Ferguson's team is good at playing against the odds and can turn defeat into victory in unfavorable situations, but they were not prepared for this game and did not think they would fall behind, so they lost confidence and composure, and ultimately had no way to deal with the opponent's shrinking defense."

Ferguson admitted his negligence in an interview with The Times. He said: "The loss of the game is mainly my fault. We were a little too relaxed before the game. We didn't make plans for various unexpected situations in the game, nor did we respond in time."

"We need to learn lessons. This experience and result are very valuable. In future games, we must pay attention to every opponent and make plans for every game. Even if we encounter unfavorable situations, we should have enough backup and enough ways to reverse the opponent."