The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 96 The Role of the Captain

The head coach needs the captain's support at critical moments, and the head coach also needs the captain's support and support at non-critical moments. As the meritorious captain of the Red Devils, Robson's trust and respect for Ferguson are unquestionable, and he truly united the team around the head coach through his actions, playing an irreplaceable role.

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Ferguson knew that the team couldn't do whatever it wanted, but he still insisted on arranging tactics and playing style.

He believes that being tied by Queens Park Rangers was purely accidental, and that being beaten by arch-rivals Liverpool had some difficult-to-explain reasons, but this would not affect the subsequent progress of the game.

Ferguson knew that the team could not play 433 and there were problems in the midfield structure. Strachan made many low-level mistakes, Robson did not play well in the two games, and the two most trusted midfielders did not play normally. Naturally, there were big problems in the midfield. As for Hughes and McClair, they still lacked tacit understanding. The two forwards were too homogeneous. Ferguson hoped that they could complement each other instead of interfering with each other.

The midfield lost its position, the forwards had no tacit understanding, and the Red Devils could not play their usual routines. Whether it was Liverpool or Queens Park Rangers, their defense against the Red Devils was not difficult, as long as they could hold off Hughes and block McClair, they would basically succeed.

Many media reporters are just joining in the fun. They have become rude because the Red Devils have not won in two games. The enthusiasm before the season has turned into cold ridicule now.

Their skepticism is too clever. They think that something must have gone wrong if the Red Devils haven't won two games. Then the team becomes chaotic, and rumors of infighting in the dressing room begin...

Ferguson didn't want to pay attention to the noise, but captain Robson felt he had a responsibility to speak out.

The captain is experienced and is very sensitive to the fact that the dressing room needs to take action now. At this sensitive moment when the game is not going well, the media has started to play up the topic of the conflict in the Red Devils dressing room, hoping that the Red Devils players can really have a conflict with Ferguson.

Robson first accepted an interview with the Manchester Evening News to clarify the rumors of a bad atmosphere in the team. He also promptly called on fans to trust the coach and support the team more actively.

Robson called all the first-team players together and said: "The team is facing some difficulties now, and there are some not-so-good signs. Let's put aside the vanity of last season's league runner-up and forget about being touted as the favorite to win the championship before the season. That is not true and has no effect. This season has started difficultly, and we need to alert ourselves and be vigilant. In the next game, we must show our best condition and the strongest mentality to win!"

Robson and his teammates shared all the information they received and found that the media and fan groups had all kinds of opinions, all kinds of incredible speculations, and all kinds of rumors were flying everywhere. Especially about the coach Ferguson, many rumors said that he started to fight with the core of the team again because of tactical and disciplinary problems. Robson and his teammates were amused and felt the crisis. Robson said: "We must maintain the unity of the team. We must concentrate and implement the tactical requirements of the coach and play with the spirit we should have!"

Robson's speech was effective. The atmosphere in the team was quickly calmed down and everyone began to concentrate on preparing for the next game.

The third league match soon arrived, and Ferguson gave a brief speech before the match. He said: "I am not worried about the team's crisis at all. There is no crisis. We have no internal conflicts. Everything is open and transparent, and all standards are unified. We just encountered some unexpected circumstances and did not win the first game. We also lost to Liverpool for special reasons. I choose to continue to trust you. You are the players I have chosen. You will definitely break the dilemma and win."

"We don't need to go back or make more changes. I have full confidence in you. Nothing will be a problem!"

In this league round, the Red Devils played at home against Middlesbrough. Before the game, Anderson was injured and could not play. Ferguson had to replace Anderson with Garton. In addition, Strachan was injured, so Ferguson could only replace him with Davenport. Although three forwards were sent out again, Ferguson returned to 442 this time. McClair was pulled back to the midfield to help Robson strengthen interception, while Davenport and Hughes were allowed to partner up as forwards.

Without Strachan, Ferguson's tactics had to be greatly changed. Ferguson pulled McClair back to be used as a central midfielder. Together with Robson, he had to sweep the midfield and provide support for the frontcourt offense, and also had to seize the opportunity to attack and fire. In this way, Robson's functions were relatively balanced and he did not need to retreat too much to help defend, because McClair's help on the defensive end was more powerful. The two Red Devils still used Robins and Mullen on the wing. Their running was required to attack and defend more along the wing, giving the forwards more passing support. Davenport and Hughes were also two English forwards of the same style. Under this tactic, they did not need to retreat too much, just press the opponent's defense line and look for opportunities to receive crosses and shoot.

The Red Devils returned to the 442 formation and became smoother. Even though the game was very intense at the beginning, the operation of the entire Red Devils team was more tacit and more energetic. The Red Devils and Middlesbrough fought fiercely in the first half. The away team was aggressive at the beginning, thinking that the Red Devils were in a low state and the structure was loose, so they could use a rush to take advantage of the situation, so they started to rush fiercely. They kept pushing the defense forward, and the midfielder pressed into the Red Devils' penalty area to grab the defender. The Red Devils were not too afraid of this confrontational style. The opponent's line pressed very forward, which gave the Red Devils the opportunity to tear open the opponent's midfield and backcourt space. The Red Devils players stabilized their position, quickly deployed their formation, and fought with the opponent with confidence. In the 13th minute, the Red Devils intercepted the ball in the middle backcourt, quickly passed the midfield, and then passed the ball to the left. On this side, Mullen quickly went down the bottom after getting the ball and made a long pass directly to the penalty area. Davenport headed the ball, but it was a pity that the head was too straight and was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. Captain Robson also regained his form in this game, winning the advantage in the midfield battle and helping the Red Devils stabilize the situation. The Red Devils took advantage of the opponent's carelessness and strengthened the counter-attack on the spot, forcing the opponent to make mistakes in the midfield and backcourt. In the 37th minute, McClair successfully intercepted the ball in the midfield and frontcourt, and immediately launched an attack on the spot. He dribbled forward as if he was in an empty space, and the opponent's players could only follow behind him. McClair rushed into the opponent's penalty area, and the opponent's central defender stepped forward to block. McClair did not entangle too much, but passed the ball to the middle in time, and Robson followed up at high speed and shot hard at the top of the penalty area. This heavy artillery was very powerful, the ball flew close to the ground, bounced in front of the goal and flew directly into the net in the lower right corner.

1-0 - the iron-blooded captain opened the door to victory for the Red Devils, who won their first victory of the season.

The Red Devils then challenged Luton away. Ferguson used the starting lineup that defeated Middlesbrough and continued to stick to the tactics of strengthening steals in the midfield and intensifying the offensive.

The opponent Luton was not strong enough in this game. They quickly adopted a defensive strategy after the opening. The Red Devils took the initiative and started to attack. The Red Devils' high-position interception effectively compressed the opponent's space. Davenport intercepted the opponent's defender in the frontcourt, then dribbled the ball into the penalty area, and made an accurate low shot from the left rib of the penalty area. The ball flew into the near corner, helping the Red Devils to open a 1-0 lead. The Red Devils did not stop after scoring first. Olsen on the left dribbled the ball to the bottom line and passed it to the penalty area. Robson inserted again and came to the opponent's penalty area. He accurately judged the landing point, jumped high and headed the ball into the dead corner, 2-0!

Robson scored consecutive goals to help the Red Devils win their second game.

The media praised Robson, and Ferguson also highly praised the captain in the locker room. Robson was in excellent form in these three games, and it can be said that he completely got rid of the influence of the European Cup and the slump in the first two games. Robson regained his previous b2b style and played a key role in two consecutive games. As the captain of the team and the leader on the field, Robson's influence was fully demonstrated. He did not just talk, nor did he run around on the field with momentum, but he was brave and resourceful, regained control of the organization of the midfield, mastered the rhythm of the game, and provided support for the midfield. When the Red Devils were in trouble, Robson took the initiative to stand up. He set an example, inspired the fighting spirit of the whole team, improved the state of the whole team, helped the team to wash away the decadence, and showed the style of a true leader.

In the fifth league game, the Red Devils returned to their home ground to face West Ham United.

After two wins, the Red Devils fans have rekindled their support for the team and this home game packed the 4-seat Theatre of Dreams, excitedly looking forward to the team's victory again.

With the support of the fans, the Red Devils played very vigorously. After several offensives in the first half to test the opponent's strength, in the 21st minute, the Red Devils fiercely attacked the opponent's right wing. Robson passed the ball directly from the midfield, Olsen received the ball and then passed it to the striker who was interspersed. Davenport dribbled the ball near the corner flag, cooperated with Robson near the baseline, got rid of the opponent's entanglement, and then dribbled into the penalty area after creating a gap. He and McClair made a wonderful two-pass wall, quickly broke into the left side of the opponent's penalty area, and calmly shot and scored in the opponent's defensive hinterland!

The Red Devils won three consecutive games!

Davenport scored two goals in two games, and his condition began to improve, winning praise from many fans. In addition to Davenport, the Red Devils also welcomed the brilliance of Mark Hughes. After Hughes returned to Old Trafford, it took him many games to adapt to the environment. After withstanding the media's doubts and fans' criticism, he also scored his first goal after returning to the Red Devils. This goal highlights Hughes's scoring characteristics. He successfully grabbed the ball in the penalty area, received a header assist from his teammate in the penalty area, used his body to forcefully push away the opponent, and after grabbing the position, he immediately kicked the ball and shot it directly into the opponent's goal corner. This powerful shot broke through the opponent's goal without suspense, causing the fans in the audience to cheer and smile.

Mark Hughes has always had many fans in the Red Devils, and his fans were extremely excited for this moment. The most excited fan was Beckham, who saw his idol so powerful on the sidelines and couldn't help but shout and yell, almost shedding tears.

The Red Devils' three-game winning streak has been very effective, and they have quickly climbed up the standings from the bottom to the top. The momentum of last season's runner-up has returned to the team, with Robson scoring consecutive goals, Hughes scoring, Davenport breaking out... The Red Devils have gotten rid of their initial slump, and their gradually improving performance has excited the fans.

Outside of the league, the second round of the English League Cup will kick off on September 2, with the Red Devils away to challenge the lower-level team Rotherham United.

In this game, Ferguson boldly put newcomer Lee Sharp in the starting position, and once again tried the tactic of using Strachan to command in the center and arranging the trident forwards to attack in the front.

Although the Red Devils took the initiative in this game, Strachan's condition has not recovered to a better level, and the players' organization and fighting in the midfield have also been affected. The Red Devils created many opportunities in the first half, but the backcourt was penetrated by the opponent three times and almost shot through the goal by the opponent. After bumps and bruises, the individual strength of the Red Devils players ensured the suppression of the situation and the initiative after the formation was opened. Although it was not smooth, the Red Devils passed the cross from the wing in the 3th minute of the second half, and Davenport shot in front of the goal and finally won the opponent 77-1.

In this way, Ferguson led the Red Devils into a tighter schedule.