The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 85 A new look

Compared to the brief flash of last season, Ferguson's performance this season is obviously more amazing. The team has a new look, the tactical style is proactive, the team's results have improved by leaps and bounds, and the team atmosphere has become more united and positive. Ferguson's performance in this full season has made everyone take notice, and his excellence has been widely recognized.

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After defeating Wimbledon, the Red Devils ended the season with a five-game winning streak.

The season finally ended and the standings were determined. It was as if Ferguson had cast a spell on the Red Devils, who emerged as a dark horse in the fiercely competitive English League One. Not only did they escape the predicament of almost being relegated last season, but they also were full of vigor and courage to compete with a number of giants, eventually winning second place in the standings.

This was a good result that no one had expected, a result that excited the Red Devils fans.

If we count from the upset against Norwich, the Red Devils even went on a 10-match unbeaten streak until the end of the league. Although there is still a huge gap between them and the league leader Liverpool, the Red Devils ended the season with 8 wins and 2 draws, which was enough to boost the team's morale. Although Liverpool won the championship 4 rounds in advance, the Red Devils finally got 81 points, which was only 9 points less than Liverpool.

The Red Devils fans were surprised but also a little bit unbelieving. This was the team that almost got relegated last season?

Ferguson led the team to say farewell after the last home game, and the applause and singing of the Red Devils fans were particularly loud. A reporter from the Manchester Evening News said: "We only felt this kind of atmosphere when the Red Devils won the FA Cup before. This time there were so many fans at home. They were really moved by the style of Ferguson's team and they felt the team's positive upward momentum."

"The support from fans is growing, which is a great thing!"

Ferguson's rule saw the Red Devils undergo a transformation, and the team no longer had that lax attitude. In addition to new signings McClair and Anderson, the most important thing Ferguson brought was strict training, which improved the team's physical fitness, discipline, and spirit.

Ferguson strongly stimulated the atmosphere in the Red Devils dressing room and quickly changed the team's mental outlook. After a summer of rigorous training, the players had strong self-confidence and their desire for victory increased greatly. They began to be full of fighting spirit.

The role of signings is also crucial. This season, whether it is McClair, Anderson or Bruce, they have all played a special role. In particular, the Scottish striker McClair's continued and stable performance has made the Red Devils' offense wash away the decadence and show extraordinary sharpness.

The Red Devils drew with their opponents in the first two games of the season, and won three games in a row from the third round, becoming a hot spot of media attention. Before losing 3-3 to Everton, the Red Devils had a 1-game unbeaten start and were at the top of the standings.

Losing to the defending champions was not shameful. The Red Devils bounced back quickly after a slight setback. After beating Hull City 5-0 in the League Cup, they set a new record of 11 games unbeaten in all competitions. The Red Devils had many tough games in this wave of success, including Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Tottenham, which were all strong teams at the time.

In late November, the Red Devils suffered a sudden setback when they were defeated at home by Wimbledon.

This game was also beyond Ferguson's expectations, but he was not disturbed by the outside noise, but instead inspired the team to rebound quickly.

The Red Devils then won three games in a row, responding to the media's criticism. As the season approached the middle, the Red Devils' performance was very good, and the few games they lost were also dominated by the field, with many scoring opportunities.

Just when the Red Devils were about to make great strides, center back McGrath was suddenly injured. Ferguson immediately bought Bruce from Norwich at a high price. This signing was questioned at the time, but it turned out that Ferguson's decision was extremely correct.

By buying Bruce, Ferguson was able to maintain the quality of the defense. Although his style is different, Bruce is a central defender comparable to McGrath. His enthusiasm for running and his bravery in sacrificing himself are even unmatched by McGrath.

The Red Devils then entered a Christmas Express schedule, and a defeat to Newcastle United on Boxing Day severely damaged morale and sparked Ferguson's wrath.

The entire Red Devils team trembled in front of the hurricane-level hair dryer. The players, feeling deeply ashamed, learned from their mistakes and won 2-1 at home against the defending champion Everton, avenging their away loss.

The Red Devils fought in the league, FA Cup and League Cup. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the League Cup and then in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Although the fans were a little disappointed that the cup competition ended early, they did not complain too much because everyone could see that the team's lineup was thin.

The Red Devils continued to fight in the league. By the end of February, when the Red Devils tied with Tottenham 2-1, the Red Devils had only lost one of their last nine league games, to Southampton. From then until the end, the Red Devils only regrettably lost one game to Norwich. The following 1 unbeaten games and the last five consecutive wins were full of excitement.

The Red Devils also played a season masterpiece, which was a draw with Liverpool. Although the final score was only a 3-3 draw and they did not win, Ferguson's team was overtaken by the opponent and further expanded their advantage to 3-1. Especially in the face of adversity when he was given a red card and had one less player, the whole team still fought tenaciously, boosted morale, fought desperately, and finally scored two goals to tie the score and walked out of Anfield with their heads held high.

Ferguson concluded after the season, "I'm not really happy with the draw with Liverpool because we almost won. I also felt incredible losing to Norwich because the process was full of surprises. We should have won a big victory over our opponents, but we had so many scoring opportunities but didn't seize any of them. We shouldn't have lost to Southampton because we had a firm grasp of the situation throughout the game and had the opportunity to score an empty goal."

The Red Devils have played 40 league games this season, winning 23, drawing 12 and losing 5, scoring 71 goals and conceding 38 goals. The number of goals scored is second only to Liverpool, while the number of goals conceded ranks third among the 21 teams in English League One.

These data show the progress of the Red Devils, which greatly excites the fans.

The Red Devils played very well at home, and their record was brilliant. The performance of English league teams at home and away games was very different. On the one hand, the home team was well rested while the opponent was tired from traveling, so the strength of both teams was different. On the other hand, the home team was very familiar with the home field and could use the subtle factors of watering and the size of the field to expand its advantage. On the other hand, the atmosphere at home was hot and the fans cheered well, so the team could often burst out with extraordinary fighting power. As for the inferior methods like Wimbledon team, such as putting salt in the drinking water of the visiting team, deliberately making the visiting team's lounge dirty and messy, and even deliberately making noise and disturbing the visiting team's lounge, they could only do it at home.

The Red Devils fans have regained their enthusiasm since Ferguson took over as manager and the stands are once again filling up with red jerseys.

This is what makes the Red Devils board happiest.

The Red Devils fans did their best to cheer for the team and could be called the "12th player" of the Red Devils. The Red Devils players also performed exceptionally well at home, playing with great vigor and momentum. Ferguson said: "This is a venue with a glorious tradition, a dream theater where dreams come true. We are always full of energy here and always want to perform better to repay the fans' enthusiasm."

The Red Devils' masterpiece in this season's home games was the 2-1 victory over last season's league champion Everton. All three teams fought hard in this game, and their morale was high, and their momentum directly overwhelmed the defending champions. Although Everton was also very strong and was very good at using the players' individual skills to turn the situation around, putting the Red Devils in a passive position for a time, the Red Devils still suppressed their opponents with their brave fighting spirit, responded immediately after the opponent scored a goal, and finally defeated the opponent without any fancy moves.

The Red Devils' home games began to become the best in England, with 20 wins, 14 draws, 5 losses and only 1 loss in the season. Ferguson achieved the best result for the Red Devils in more than 5 years.

The Red Devils also played well away from home, with 20 wins, 9 draws and 7 losses in 4 away games, which is also second only to Liverpool at the top of the list.

Although the running-in period was not long, the Red Devils had already begun to become familiar with Ferguson's command and began to effectively implement Ferguson's tactics.

Ferguson did not make any big tactical moves, but instead lowered his profile and developed different styles of play according to different opponents. The team played more flexibly and the style of play became more varied. The most critical point was the transformation of morale. After Ferguson's efforts, the Red Devils no longer had a "decadent" mental outlook, nor did they have a mentality of playing whatever they wanted. The whole team was always full of fighting spirit, and even if they lost, they would no longer suffer a crushing defeat.

The Red Devils' masterpiece in this season's away games was a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. Compared to the toughness and toughness of the team under Graham, Ferguson's Red Devils were full of courage and resilience. The Red Devils were not favored before the game in this expedition to the "Lumberjack Brigade" base in London, but the Red Devils broke the deadlock with a quick attack, then stabilized their position, withstood Arsenal's crazy and rough counterattack, and finally captured Highbury 2-1.

The Red Devils tied Liverpool 3-3 at Anfield. This match was a classic of the entire English League One season, and even a classic of world football that year. Ferguson used a surprise attack and it worked wonders. He was able to deal with adversity well, and finally summoned up the remaining courage and spirit to chase two goals in a row, and walked out of this "hellish" stadium with his head held high.

The Red Devils also played very well in their 4-2 away win over Sheffield Wednesday, which was a masterpiece of the Red Devils in breaking open the turtle shell away from home.

The general feeling among Red Devils fans is that the team plays better under Ferguson than before, the games have become very exciting, they have more expectations for the results of the games, and have more support and attention for the team.

这些变化如此明显，红魔本赛季输掉5场比赛，上个赛季则输掉了14场，红魔这个赛季的输球场数是1906年以来最少的，甚至比之前一些夺冠的赛季还要少。红魔赢球场数达到了23场（40场联赛），比上个赛季整整多了9场，也优于85-86赛季的21场（当季踢了42场比赛）、84-85赛季的22场（42场联赛）和83-84赛季的20场，是红魔近几个赛季中联赛成绩最好的。

In addition to the statistics, there is also the performance on the pitch. The Red Devils have washed away their decadence this season, and are completely different from the laxity during Atkinson's time. The whole team is very disciplined and closely united, full of passion to defeat the opponent, and even more motivated in stalemate or lagging situations, showing a very inspiring mental outlook.

Ferguson's achievements shocked the English football world. At the end of the season, Ferguson said, "We have achieved a good ranking in the points table. I hope the fans will be satisfied with the team's performance and affirm the team's progress. For me, the team is far from successful. We have not been able to win the championship, and we have not even been able to launch a strong impact."

“Yes, our goal from the beginning was to compete for the championship.”

It's a pity that Liverpool's performance was too strong. Liverpool took the lead at the beginning of the season, and Dalglish did not give Ferguson any chance in the subsequent games.

But Ferguson was still not convinced. He believed that Liverpool was not unshakable.

Ferguson's post-season summary specifically emphasized ambition, "Our goal is to win the league title. We are only nine points behind. If we play consistently and beat Norwich and Southampton, and if we can win both games against Liverpool, how can we not win the title?"