The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Volume 1988: Storm (1989- season)

"Ferguson pushed hard for the Red Devils to upgrade this season and was determined to win the league title, but his efforts suffered a serious setback, resulting in the team's decline in the rankings this season and far worse performance than last season. Ferguson was also caught in a wave of doubts and criticisms, but no matter what difficulties he encountered, he would still maintain a tenacious attitude and no blow could break his back."

——Foreword

Chapter 87 A Villain

"Ferguson spent a lot of time and energy negotiating with the player he had been dreaming of during the transfer period, but was ultimately betrayed. Gascoigne, a highly-anticipated rising star in England, shamelessly threw himself into the arms of his new love. This backstab dealt a heavy blow to Ferguson."

--Inscription

In the 1987-88 season, Ferguson was amazed by a newly emerged young English talent. He assigned the transfer department to speed up the contact with the other party before the summer of 1988, and personally joined in, sincerely inviting the other party to join the Red Devils.

After a long period of hard work, things started to take shape. In order to increase the attractiveness, Ferguson even persuaded the board of directors to break the original salary structure and promised the other party a high weekly salary.

The transfer was almost successful after the Red Devils offered a transfer fee that the other parent club could not refuse. But the newly emerged talent finally turned his back on Ferguson before reporting to the Cliff base, throwing away the olive branch that Ferguson had offered him.

"Stunning and vulgar", "arrogant and stupid", "rebellious and simple", "genius and fool"... Many years later, the English media always remembered to write down these comments when recalling their beloved Paul Gascoigne's rejection of Ferguson.

Many years later, Guardian reporter Swindon commented scathingly: "Gascoigne is really the darling of the whole of England. It's no problem if he doesn't choose the Red Devils. Everyone is pampering him and can't bear to blame him. But it's not good that he has no respect for others like a kindergarten baby."

"He threw away the contract that Ferguson handed over so earnestly as rubbish, and then threw himself into a pile of jeweled shit. In the end, this player whose talent could be compared with the legendary Charlton, did not have many memorable things in his entire career, the picture of him crying like a child, and a bunch of scandals of drunkenness and chaos. His achievements were limited to a pitiful FA Cup championship..." Martin, a reporter from the Manchester Evening News, wrote with a little emotion and a hint of mischief.

When it came to the summer transfer window of 1988, everyone was paying attention to the transfer news in England.

The media, impatient to wait, began to remind the fans that Ferguson had won the championship in his third season at Aberdeen. The media immediately listed the players Ferguson wanted the most. The most popular name on the list was Paul Gascoigne, no one else.

Gascoigne's name was too dazzling at the time. His whereabouts have always occupied the headlines of major media and become the focus of everyone's discussion. He was so popular that many clubs were interested in him in the winter, and the Red Devils also began to buy him. Now in the summer, Ferguson is going all out.

保罗-加斯科因在1967年5月27日出生于纽卡斯尔盖茨黑德，1980年加入了纽卡斯尔联青训营。他在1983年刚刚年满16岁时就代表纽卡斯尔队青年队出场比赛，到了1985年4月13日，加斯科因在纽卡斯尔联1-0击败女王公园巡游者的比赛中首次出场，这时候他还不到18岁。一个月后，加斯科因赢得了首份职业合同，成为了纽卡的一线队球员。

On September 1985, 9, Gascoigne scored his first goal in Newcastle United's 21-3 win over Oxford United. His gorgeous footwork amazed the entire football world and caused a stir in the media. He became the main force of the Magpies, scoring 0 goals in 31 league appearances, and the brilliance of genius began to shine. This year, Gascoigne led the Newcastle youth team to win the FA Youth Cup, and he was even more outstanding among young people of the same age. In the 9-1987 season, Gascoigne played 88 times in the league, scored 35 goals and assisted 7 times, and performed even better. He was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year and was shortlisted for the PFA Team of the Year.

Ferguson has long favored this young player. He said, "I had heard of him when I was in Aberdeen in 1985. I remember he scored an extremely gorgeous goal in the game and also performed various dribbles in the game. My staff said that Newcastle had a talented seedling, the kind that soared to the sky. We once let scouts contact Newcastle, but were rejected unceremoniously."

Gascoigne shocked St. James' Park. At the age of 18, he not only became the main force of the team, but also had a mature appearance and was very calm and sophisticated on the court. In the first season, he played 31 times, scored 9 goals and assisted 10 times, which was beyond imagination for a player who had just debuted. He played as an offensive midfielder, a position that requires keen vision, smart thinking and sophisticated experience to play well, but he played like a duck in water right from the start, very calm and sophisticated. Not only that, Gascoigne can also play as a striker, and he has no problem dribbling past opponents and destroying the city. He has all the advantages of English players, and he even has the extraordinary skills of Brazilian players, as well as the opportunity prediction and court perception comparable to superstars. His offensive ability makes everyone shine. He seems to have endless energy in his body, and his skills are also very delicate and outstanding. He is very imaginative in dribbling and advancing, very accurate in passing, and has a free kick skill, which is completely different from the style of those traditional rough guys in English football midfield.

"A super star, the strongest successor to England's technical midfield; wonderful awareness, gorgeous skills, the best talented teenager!"

The media was generous in their praise, and the words praising him could cover the entire English Channel.

Gascoigne continued to improve, and by the 1987-88 season he had become a phenomenal rising star, and at this time he was just over 20 years old. All of England was amazed by his talent and fascinated by his wonderful performance. Many media began to promote this "rare in the world" rising star, believing that his talent could even be compared with the double legend of the Red Devils and England, Bobby Charlton, and his performance was even better than Robson.

At this time, many clubs in England began to pursue Gascoigne, and the media also publicized that Newcastle agreed to sell its own genius, "because Newcastle now has no way to form a lineup that can match Gascoigne, and they can't meet Gascoigne's ambitions. This little guy will definitely look for new opportunities. Now it depends on which club can impress him and Newcastle."

Ferguson certainly would not miss such a chance to recruit players. He kept sending people to contact Newcastle and called Newcastle's coach several times. When he learned that Gascoigne's idol was Bryan Robson, Ferguson immediately asked the captain to personally act as a lobbyist.

Ferguson recalled: "We lost the game 1-2 at St. James' Park. Gascoigne had just returned from injury and he dominated the game directly. I arranged a midfield combination of Moses, Robson and Whiteside. He easily passed Robson in front of us and then teased Moses. After passing Moses, he had time to pat the other's head - can you believe it? It was both funny and shocking."

In that match, not only Moses was defeated, but even the experienced Robson was defeated by Gazza. Ferguson was even furious because Robson was repeatedly broken through by Gascoigne, and when he returned to the locker room, he directly scolded his captain.

In Ferguson's eyes, Gascoigne was simply too good. This guy was full of wild ideas and dared to challenge all difficulties. He saw in this little guy the energy of Robson, the imagination of Strachan, the sharpness of Beardsley, the calmness of Waddle, and even the inspiration similar to Maradona... This was a genius who combined the strengths of almost all excellent midfielders.

Ferguson decided to go all out to sign this rookie. He raised his offer again and again, determined to meet Newcastle's asking price no matter what. Newcastle initially offered 250 million pounds, a price for a superstar. The Red Devils had no choice but to increase the price step by step from 100 million to 150 million, setting a new record for the highest transfer fee.

Newcastle finally agreed to the offer, and Ferguson personally called Gascoigne and got Gascoigne's personal agreement, "No problem, I am willing to sign and join the Red Devils."

When Ferguson was arranging people to sign the contract, Cheng Yaojin suddenly appeared halfway.

The then-powerful Tottenham Hotspur offered Newcastle £200 million and promised the player a salary twice that of the Red Devils. They also bought a property and furniture in London for Gascoigne's parents.

Tottenham don't even need to promote the luxury and comfort of London, these conditions are attractive enough. The more ruthless move is that their coach Venables promised to open the door to the national team for Gascoigne.

Gascoigne was unable to resist these temptations and quickly joined Tottenham.

Ferguson received the news while on a visit to Germany and he was really furious.

Ferguson was furious. "Fuck Gascoigne, he deceived us and the entire English football world. I have no objection to players choosing to join a certain team, but I will never accept others playing such despicable tricks. Gascoigne betrayed his promise. I have never seen such a rubbish guy!"

After the media was in uproar, they gloated: "Tottenham's money stunned Gascoigne, and Gazza stabbed Ferguson in the back without any disguise."

Some media also accused Newcastle of "clearly agreeing to the Red Devils' offer, but then breaking their promise. This is really inappropriate for Newcastle."

Gascoigne was like a kid coveting a lollipop. He had no shame at all and even said complacently, "Tottenham gave me a signing fee, but the Red Devils didn't. Tottenham's weekly salary is 1500 pounds. Before, Newcastle only gave me 120 pounds and the Red Devils only gave me 1000 pounds. Tottenham also gave me a playing bonus, and there are special bonuses for winning the championship. The total weekly salary can reach 2600 pounds. They also promised to give me additional rewards if I can be selected for the England national team."

Gascoigne was so happy that he lost his temper: "I have never seen these, from 120 to 2600 pounds, who can resist it?"

Gascoigne explained: "The Red Devils are always reluctant to spend money, and everyone knows that Tottenham is a wealthy club. I knew early on that White Hart Lane has plenty of money and their boss is willing to spend money. As long as the performance is good, they can even give bonuses at any time. I can get more money than I can imagine, which is something that no other club can give."

Tottenham is indeed rich and willful. In 1985, their ticket revenue was 260 million pounds, the highest in the entire English club, while the Red Devils only had 126 million pounds that year. Chelsea and Arsenal, their city rivals, were far behind, and even the league champion Liverpool could not compare. In 1988, Tottenham's ticket revenue exceeded 400 million pounds, while the Red Devils' was less than 300 million. Tottenham also had an advantage in other revenues, and the Red Devils were far behind their rivals.

Gascoigne did not achieve enough success after joining Tottenham. He suffered a lot later. Not only did he not win in the English league, but he also did not have a smooth time when he changed leagues to play for Lazio in Serie A. Gascoigne, who was not doing well in Italy, once took the initiative to ask his agent to contact the Red Devils to discuss the possibility of joining, but Ferguson rejected it without hesitation.

Gascoigne told the media awkwardly, “I know it’s impossible for me to join the Red Devils again in my career, which is a pity. I’m not Mark Hughes, I don’t have that kind of fate. I know that Sir Alex can only be offended once.”

When asked why he rejected the Red Devils at the time, Gascoigne gave another reason. He did not believe he could squeeze his Three Lions teammates Bryan Robson and Neil Webber out of the Red Devils' starting lineup, but this was obviously a weak excuse.

Gascoigne rejected Manchester United, so Ferguson certainly held a grudge. The Manchester United team he later built was in full swing, and naturally no longer needed Gascoigne, who had already fallen. He believed that alcoholism and alcoholism had ruined Gascoigne, and that Gazza was no longer a genius, with no strength, no inspiration, and no speed at all.

Ferguson lamented, "Not buying Gascoigne is probably one of the biggest regrets of my coaching career. Gazza missed the Red Devils and I didn't have the chance to coach him. I want to say that English fans have never thought about how good Gascoigne is and what he can achieve."

Ferguson said: "Gascoigne was incredibly talented at the beginning. He turned out to be a real genius, but he lacked effective guidance and discipline. If we had Gascoigne in the summer of 1988, the Red Devils could have won the league championship many years in advance, and the whole story would have been rewritten. He is the most imaginative attacking midfielder I have ever seen and a key player who can decide the game. If he joins the Red Devils, Gascoigne will definitely have a great career, not only the European Champions League, he can even lead the team to win the World Cup."