Let's turn the clock back more than three months.
In the visitors' locker room at Fulham's home ground, Craven Cottage Stadium. The king of the Red Devils, Manchester United, was throwing a tantrum at his soldiers.
"You actually lost to Fulham! Huh? Fulham! How dare you f * * king lose to such a worthless team without scoring a goal! Look at your performance in the game! I'll bet a hooker who makes a hundred and ten pounds an hour is better than you! No fighting spirit! No gumption! I don't see any desire to win in you at all! If you don't want to play, just f * * king tell me in advance. I won't sign you up! "
Ferguson was sixty-nine years old. Like Tang En, he had a pacemaker buried in his left chest. But from what he had done over the years, no one wanted to believe that the energetic old man had such a thing in his possession.
At this moment, his face was ruddy, but it was not necessarily a sign of health. On the contrary, the people who really cared about him must be worried about the old manager's heart.
It had been a long time since the Manchester United players saw Ferguson so angry.
They had lost to Fulham in an away game and lost without the power to fight back. They had surrendered early on. The television commentator was puzzled from the result to the process of the game. They did not know why this Manchester United team performed so badly in this game.
After cursing for a while, Ferguson suddenly stopped talking and did not say a word. His unusual behavior attracted the attention of the players. Some of the bolder players quietly looked up and saw Ferguson panting in his chair.
His face was still ruddy, but there was a fine layer of sweat on his forehead. He sat in the chair like that, his shoulders constantly shaking with his breathing. He looked as if he was exhausted.
"Go home. Get back to your car." Ferguson waved his hand.
The players were relieved and got up and walked out of the locker room.
When everyone was gone and Ferguson was the only one left in the locker room, he still sat in his chair and did not move.
The panting gradually calmed down, and the redness on his face faded a little. There was still sweat on his forehead, but Ferguson did not wipe it.
This body was already sixty-nine years old. Even scolding people now seemed to take all his strength, and then rest for such a long time. What would those bastards think of his aging? Did they think that they could do whatever they wanted just because Ferguson couldn't control them?
He thought of Brian Clough's dejected departure from the City Ground stadium. He did not want to leave his coaching position like that … He was a great manager and deserved a dignified ending.
After a short rest, Ferguson felt his strength returning to him, so he got up and walked out of the locker room.
※ ※ ※
Two days after the game, the Manchester United chief executive, David Gill, who was involved with the English Football Association in London, received a call from Manchester.
It was the manager, Ferguson. But this time, he did not ask the club for money, nor did he say that he had his eyes on a promising young talent and wanted Gill to make arrangements for him … He did not make any requests, nor did he give any explanation for the unexpected loss to Fulham two days ago. He did not specifically call to chat with Gill.
All he said on the phone was, "David, I'm tired. Let's find a successor. "
David Gill was shocked. In his mind, the FA meeting was nothing compared to this news. He immediately pushed off the meeting and took the fastest flight back to Manchester. He wanted to talk to this man in person to see if he was serious.
Previously, Ferguson had repeatedly revealed his intention to retire. But some were just his means of pressuring the club. Some were sincere but were successfully dissuaded by the club. Ferguson had been at Manchester United for twenty-four years. He had long been integrated with the world-renowned club. No one at Manchester United seriously considered the scenario of one day Ferguson would be gone — they thought it would not happen at all. Everyone wanted the old Scot to stay at Manchester United until he died.
If Ferguson wanted to use this to put pressure on the club, then Gill wanted to know what he wanted. If Ferguson was serious about retiring, he had to keep the old manager no matter what. We have successfully kept him three times, and this time it will be no problem!
As soon as he got off the plane, Gill rushed straight to Carrington. The team had already finished training, but Ferguson would not leave the training base so early. If there was no traffic, Gill should still be able to catch up. In order not to leave empty-handed, Gill also called Ferguson on the way, hoping that he would wait for him in his office.
Ferguson did not object. Obviously, he also wanted to talk to Gill.
※ ※ ※
"What do you want again, Sir?" As soon as they met, Gill did not even have time to take off his coat and said in a half-joking tone to Ferguson, who had been waiting for a long time.
"This time I'm not using retirement as a cover, David." Ferguson sat on the sofa and crossed his legs.
"Are you serious?" Gill turned to stare at Ferguson.
Ferguson smiled. "I've decided to retire at the end of this season."
"I've heard this many times, but I still want you to think about it seriously …"
"I've also heard this many times. I thought about it seriously for two days before I decided to call you. "
"It's only been two days … The team needs you, Alex." Gill moved a chair to sit in front of Ferguson and looked at him.
"I'll be seventy next year, David. Don't you think it's cruel to ask a seventy-year-old man to continue in such a stressful job? "
"Uh …" Gill had to admit that in terms of eloquence, he could not beat the manager who was once "invincible in the Premier League." He hesitated and decided to change his approach.
"Don't you want to win another UEFA Champions League? You once told me that winning only one Champions League title was your biggest regret. "
Ferguson smiled. "Of course I hope. I haven't given up that hope yet. Isn't this season not over yet? I think it's very promising. "
In any case, Gill did not think that Manchester United had any hope of winning the Champions League again this season. The team's results had been inconsistent this season. That was one of the reasons he did not want Ferguson to leave.
But now it looked like Ferguson had made up his mind and could not be persuaded with a few words.
"Start looking for a successor now, David. You'd better decide on a candidate before I retire. I don't want to see Manchester United look like a soulless team when I leave. "
"Do you have a candidate to recommend?"
"After so many years, there must be a few …"
Gill clearly knew who Ferguson was referring to. He said the names one by one, "Mike Phelan?"
This was the current Manchester United assistant manager, Ferguson's confidant, and the result of his internal poaching after Queiroz left Carrington. Mike Phelan's advantage was that he came from the Manchester United system and could fully understand the essence of Ferguson's personnel and tactics.
But Ferguson shook his head. "No. He's more suitable to be an assistant manager. " After a pause, perhaps considering that it was too much to say about his assistant, he added, "At least he's not the right candidate for the Manchester United manager right now."
"So … Moyes?"
This time, Ferguson thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm not sure if he can do as well in this position as he did at Everton. You know, coaching a powerhouse team and an ordinary team are two completely different jobs. "
"Well, Roy?"
Ferguson continued to shake his head. "Wait until he's fifty before considering him."
That meant he was still too inexperienced. When he resigned from Sunderland, there were reasons for poor results and too much pressure, which made Keane feel that things were out of his control. In short, he was not really ready to be a professional manager, let alone the Manchester United manager. He had said before that he wanted to succeed Ferguson at Manchester United, but he had not said that again in recent years. It seemed that he had understood the gap between reality and ideals.
"José Mourinho?"
Ferguson glanced at Gill. "Do you think he'll come?"
Gill shrugged. "How do you know if you don't try? What do you think? "
"If you can bring him, of course I have no opinion. But it may take some time for the Manchester United fans to get used to their new manager. "
"Well, let's talk about an easy one … Queiroz?"
"He just renewed his contract with the Portuguese Football Federation for less than a year."
"Hey, Alex, you just have to tell me your assessment of this candidate."
"I think he knows Manchester United best, but …"
"But?"
"Manchester United's results under him may fluctuate a lot … Well, to put it simply. I think Queiroz is very suitable for Manchester United on a technical level, but I can't be optimistic about him mentally. "
"Ha, you see, Alex. There's no suitable successor at all, so don't talk about retirement. "It turned out that everything was a deliberate trap set by Gill.
But was Ferguson someone who would give in so easily?
"You haven't heard my recommendation yet, David. Didn't you just ask me to recommend someone? "
"Go ahead."
"Tony Twain."
Gill's eyes widened. "That's impossible!" He didn't even think about it before rejecting it.
"Is it impossible for us, or is it impossible for him?" Ferguson asked.
"Can you imagine him leaving Nottingham Forest?"
Ferguson stared at Gill. "I don't think I can imagine you working with him."
Gill admitted it. "I won't be happy working with him."
"Aside from your personal relationship with him, I think he's the best fit for Manchester United. He's a manager with a championship tradition. He can bring the team victories and easily gain the trust and support of the players. Of course, as long as the Manchester United fans get used to it for a while, they will surely fall in love with this arrogant man. "
Gill's dislike of Twain was indeed purely personal — he hated Twain as a person, not because of his character or remarks, or anything else, but because he hated Twain. Ferguson was also a manager with a personality, but he had his own sense of propriety. Twain was purely a mad dog. He would do anything to achieve his goals. Keegan was such a good man … and he was bitten off by him.
Don't think that he could talk well with Ferguson and Wenger. In fact, only a few people liked him, and most people hated him. In the relatively conservative circle of English football, he was too insolent, too arrogant, too shameless, too despicable, too maverick, too self-righteous, too conceited …
"Anyway, he's not my type. I always feel that he doesn't belong to England, nor does he belong to Manchester United. "Gill said with strong personal feelings.
Ferguson acquiesced to this. He also knew that it would not be easy to get Twain to Manchester United. The difficulty was not with the club, but with Twain himself. From the numerous insinuations, Ferguson could tell that Twain was not interested in coaching a team like Manchester United.
It was reasonable to say that to be able to coach such a powerhouse team was the dream of countless coaches. It was like there was only one train in life, and it was impossible to turn back once it was missed. But Twain always refused his good intentions. Was he reluctant to leave Forest?
Ferguson always doubted his loyalty to Forest. He always looked down on the Forest club, thinking it was a small club no matter how many championships they won. He was clearly a very talented manager, but he was willing to tie himself to such a small stage and not be able to display his skills … It was a pity.
According to the grapevine, when Benítez led Liverpool for several years in a row and spent a lot of money on players but could only play in the UEFA Europa League, Liverpool's top brass once had the idea of asking Twain to coach. But in the end, it was dismissed for some reason.
Maybe it was the same idea as David Gill?
He did not belong to Manchester United, did not belong to Liverpool, did not belong to England, did not belong to any … team. If one day he suddenly announced that he would leave Nottingham Forest and go home to enjoy the world with his supermodel wife, Ferguson felt that he might not be too surprised …
Such a tough and unique person only belonged to him.
David Gill looked at Ferguson, who was silent. He was ready to leave. "Well, we'll try our best to give the person you recommend a try. My personal feelings are personal. If choosing him really helps Manchester United … "He shrugged. In fact, in his heart, he was sure that Twain would never accept Manchester United's invitation.
"The Ferguson I know is the man who never tires of the pursuit of victory." When it was time to leave, Gill stood at the door with some reluctance.
"That must be me from 40 years ago. Have we known each other for that long? "Ferguson smiled and turned his last effort into nothing.
Gill was really helpless when faced with this stubborn old man. He sighed and walked away.
※ ※ ※
More than three months later.
Ferguson played the "my successor" card in the psychological war with Tony Twain. Some people thought that he was just trying to disrupt the Forest team's morale, but the Manchester United executives and he were actually serious this time.
Before Twain left for Glasgow, he received a call from David Gill.
"Hello, Mr. Twain. I'm David Gill, the CEO of Manchester United Football Club. Can I take up a few minutes of your time? "
Twain was puzzled. Why was Manchester United's CEO looking for him? He instinctively wanted to refuse. "I'm going to the airport …"
"Just a few minutes. I promise it won't take more than five minutes." Gill suppressed his inner disgust for Twain and went about his business.
In fact, it did not even take a minute.
"There's an attractive job contract here, Mr. Twain. We hope to hire you to coach Manchester United from next season. We're not asking for an immediate answer. We just hope that you'll seriously consider it. This is my number. You can contact me at any time after you've thought about it. Goodbye, Mr. Twain. "
Twain was stunned at the door of his house with the phone still ringing. Manchester United suddenly called him to ask him to coach Manchester United?
Hey, Sir Alex, isn't this a psychological war? Why is it for real?
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