The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 83 Winning Streak

"The Red Devils mustered up their courage and fought continuously in the last few games of the season to achieve consecutive victories. They showed enough fighting spirit and desire to win, and they never slackened in giving the best performance to Manchester United fans. For the Red Devils fans and management, this is the best full stop and an exciting exclamation point."

--Inscription

Ferguson was not satisfied with the result of a draw with Liverpool away from home.

Ferguson immediately called a meeting of the players after the game. After briefly summarizing the process of the game, he used motivational words to encourage the players to keep moving forward and never be satisfied with that.

Ferguson asked the whole team to watch the video clip first, and then encouraged everyone, saying: "We played well in this game. We got a point and retreated unscathed from the rival's stadium. At least it was not the worst result. This was a game that proved our courage and resilience. We showed the fans our determination to pursue victory and dedicated a wonderful battle. It was a game in which we fought hard in difficult situations."

Ferguson also pointed out the problem. "We had a chance to win, but we were more likely to lose, but in the end we held on. In the course of this game, we and our opponents attacked and defended each other, and we each took the initiative and created different opportunities. Liverpool's strength lies in the obvious, but we can prepare in advance. I want to tell you that Liverpool is not scary, they are not so strong that they are invincible and irresistible. Whether we can fight them and defeat them depends on our fighting spirit to win, a strong fighting spirit."

“Fighting spirit, fighting spirit, that explains everything!”

Norris, Ferguson's assistant, knows that Ferguson is still very regretful. Last season, his inner goal was to beat Liverpool twice. Ferguson was unwilling to accept that he failed to defeat his arch-rival at Anfield, but he also knew that the game was over. If he wanted to defeat his opponent, he could only wait until the next season.

Returning from Anfield, Manchester United faced Luton in the 36th round of the league.

Just as the Guardian reporter said, "Ferguson decided to vent all his anger on his opponent." The Red Devils were in high spirits before the game, and the whole team was determined to defeat their opponent and vent their anger with a big win.

Luton Town was not a weak team during this period. They finished 1986th in the English League One in the 87-7 season, ranking above Manchester United led by Ferguson.

This season, Luton Town introduced new players and their overall strength was upgraded. They maintained a mid-table league ranking, but they kept advancing in the League Cup, eventually defeating Arsenal 3-2 in the final and winning their first major cup title. They reached the final again the following year, and although they lost 1-3 to Nottingham Forest, it was still an excellent result.

The team also reached the promotion play-off final in the 2022-23 season, defeating Coventry City after overtime and penalty shootouts, and miraculously promoted to the Premier League.

Manchester United fielded its strongest lineup for this match, with Robson in the midfield, Strachan continuing to act as the offensive conductor, and McClair and Davenport acting as forwards. After the start of the game, the Red Devils attacked with all their strength, and soon caused Luton's defense to lose sight of one thing and fall into chaos. In the 17th minute of the first half, Manchester United launched an attack from the left. McClair and Davenport made a simple two-on-one cooperation at the edge of the penalty area, then took the ball and turned around, and quickly ran straight into the penalty area. Before the opponent's central defender came up to block, McClair made a delicate fake move, dodged his position, and successfully shot into the dead corner, helping Manchester United lead 1-0.

After taking the lead, Manchester United continued their offensive. Strachan attacked again on the left. He passed the opponent's full-back near the baseline and made a cross. Davenport successfully got to the front point in the penalty area and scored directly with a header.

Manchester United took a 2-0 lead and ended the first half.

In the second half, Manchester United slowed down the pace a bit, but still took the initiative. Luton barely organized a few counterattacks, but did not get any good opportunities. Their shots were either inaccurate or weak, and did not pose any threat. After Manchester United withstood several attempts at counterattacks from the opponent, they also took the opportunity to counterattack. In the 79th minute, Robson received a pass from his teammate on the left, dribbled the ball all the way from the middle, and when he reached the top of the penalty area, he shot hard and blasted the ball into the dead corner of the goal.

And just like that, Manchester United beat Luton 3-0.

After the game, the media hailed McClair as a hero, his performance was really outstanding. McClair broke a long-standing record in Manchester United's history in this game. He scored a goal in this game, raising his league goal count in his first season with Manchester United to 20, becoming the first Manchester United player to achieve this result in the past five seasons.

Including the FA Cup and League Cup games, McClair has scored 27 goals for Manchester United, and the goal of breaking 30 goals this season is within reach.

Manchester United fans have fallen in love with this Scottish striker who is not talkative but likes to score goals. They have specially written songs for McClair, which are widely sung in the Theatre of Dreams. "McClair, Mike, he will destroy the enemy's defense; Mike, Mike, he will make the opponent's defender cry..."

McClair said in an interview: "I didn't set a goal for myself to score a certain number of goals next season, and neither did the boss (Ferguson), but he told me I could score 20 goals. Now that I have reached this number, I am very happy. I want to thank the coach and my teammates for creating opportunities for me and assisting me. I hope to score more goals and help Manchester United win more honors."

McClair said: "I like Manchester United and the English league. The game here is faster than in Scotland, the confrontation is stronger, there are more offensive and defensive transitions, there are more teams close to the same level, the games are more intense and more exciting. The only thing I want to complain about is that there are too many games and the schedule is too dense, which makes me a little uncomfortable."

In the 37th round, Manchester United continued to play at home against the visiting Queens Park Rangers.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club was founded in 1882. It is a team with a long history but mediocre strength. When they were at their strongest, they won the League Cup and the FA Cup runner-up. In the 1985-86 season, they also won the League Cup runner-up. This team only occasionally showed its ferocity in the cup competition, but never won any top league championship.

Queens Park Rangers became a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, but was soon relegated to League One in 1996, and then to League Two. In the 2003-04 season, they were promoted back to League One, and in the 2010-11 season, they won the Championship and were promoted back to the Premier League. Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long, and they were relegated again after one season. In the 2013-14 season, they returned to the Premier League again.

Facing such a medium-strength opponent, Manchester United naturally aimed to win. Ferguson also sent out the full lineup in the starting lineup, Bruce led the defense, Strachan continued to play on the left, and McClair and Davenport, who gradually established a tacit understanding, also started as double strikers.

After the game started, Manchester United kept pressing the opponent's attack and soon suppressed the opponent to passive defense in the backcourt. Robins performed very well in the game. He repeatedly broke into the opponent's hinterland on the right and frequently made crosses to create killing opportunities. Not only that, McClair also actively took the ball with his back to the opponent's penalty area, held off the opponent's defender and passed the ball in time to help his teammates press forward in time. Strachan received special attention in this game. Wherever he went, he was marked by more than two Queens Park Rangers defenders and did not get enough space to play. Despite this, Strachan alone pinned down two defensive forces of the opponent, which indirectly helped Manchester United gain an advantage in the offense and quickly broke the balance on the field.

Manchester United had many shooting opportunities in the first half, and their advantage on the field was very large. In the 11th minute, Robson made a straight pass in the middle, and McClair shot directly after receiving the ball, but unfortunately it hit the opponent's defender; in the 15th minute, Davenport received Robins' cross from the side in the penalty area, and his header was just missed, just a little bit away from the goal; in the 22nd minute, Robson and Strachan made a two-on-two cooperation in the middle, and then shot hard outside the penalty area, but unfortunately the shot was too straight and was successfully saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 33rd and 37th minutes, Manchester United played the rib interspersed tactics twice, and Davenport's running took away an opponent's central defender, but Strachan's shots were missed.

Manchester United's offensive continued into the second half. In the 73rd minute, the Red Devils won a corner kick. Bruce actively advanced into the opponent's small penalty area, jumped high before Strachan's cross came, and powerfully smashed the ball into the opponent's goal!

After taking the lead, Manchester United relaxed a little, but were ambushed by their opponents and the score was tied to 1-1.

Manchester United certainly didn't want to get only 1 point. After being tied, they launched a fierce attack again, and almost all the opponents retreated to the penalty area to defend. But even though Queens Park Rangers wanted to turn the bus into a turtle, the players still made mistakes in their nervousness. In the 85th minute of the game, Manchester United launched an attack on the right, and Strachan quickly passed the ball to the opponent's penalty area. Under the rush of McClair, Davenport and Robson, the opponent's defender made a mistake in a hurry and hit the ball into his own goal in a panic.

Manchester United won 2-1!

In the 38th round of the league, Manchester United challenged Oxford United away.

Ferguson's team was not polite to the opponent who had defeated them in the League Cup. They played very tough and fiercely, and kept attacking. The opponent Oxford United was basically sure to avoid relegation. They wanted to give the visitors a head start at home and planned to attack at the beginning of the game, but these false attacks collapsed in front of Manchester United's fierce momentum, and the team was suppressed in embarrassment.

Manchester United's forwards lacked luck in scoring goals, wasting many good chances in front of the goal. Davenport even had a shot that almost hit the empty goal from six yards out, which was really laughable. When the forwards didn't score, the defenders and midfielders took over. Anderson and Strachan of the Red Devils both scored, helping Manchester United to avenge their defeat 2-0.

In the 39th round of the league, Manchester United played against Portsmouth. In this game, Manchester United also played with all the main players, and Strachan continued to play the role of offensive commander. Portsmouth was also worry-free about relegation and played very actively and openly. Manchester United took the advantage in the offensive and created opportunities quickly. Strachan frequently passed the opponent one-on-one and directly entered the opponent's penalty area, messing up the opponent's defense. In the first half, after Strachan's two shots in the penalty area were blocked, he chose to pass and assist in time. On the other side, Mullen also played well, often going to the bottom line of the wing to cross. Manchester United opened fire in the first and second half, McClair scored twice, Davenport and Robson scored one goal each, and finally won a 4-1 victory.

Manchester United won four consecutive games!

The league is about to end, and there is only one game left, and Manchester United's opponent is the crazy Wimbledon team that once gave them a hard time.