Chapter 560 Southampton Scores a Goal

"Allardyce is such a bastard!"

In front of the visiting team's coaching booth at Upton Park Stadium in east London, Ferguson saw that after the referee Probert blew the whistle, the Hammers players immediately pressed forward boldly, showing a posture of pressing with all their might.

This caused the old Scottish coach to curse angrily.

Upton Park has been a real pain for Manchester United this season.

In the third round of the FA Cup, Manchester United, who had just survived the devilish Christmas schedule, visited Upton Park.

As a result, Allardyce's team dealt a heavy blow to Manchester United at their home ground.

Cleverley scored the first goal for the Red Devils, but soon after, West Ham United scored consecutive goals and reversed the score.

In the end, Manchester United managed to get a draw thanks to Van Persie's goal in stoppage time, and escaped from Upton Park unscathed. In the second round, they defeated West Ham United and advanced smoothly.

Therefore, many people are worried about Manchester United's visit to Upton Park.

If you are not careful, you will lose points!

Mike Phelan knew that Ferguson and Allardyce were good friends and they had close contacts with each other. Allardyce's home was in Bolton, very close to Ferguson's home, and their relationship was extremely close.

When he was still coaching Liverpool, Benítez once humiliated Allardyce, and Ferguson ended up standing up for his friend.

So, when people were laughing and scolding his old friend, Mike Phelan wisely remained silent.

"Sir, since we played Southampton at home, we haven't lost a goal in four games. It shows that our defense is gradually getting back to its best form!"

Compared with that FA Cup match, the central defender combination at that time was Vidic and Evans, but now it is Vidic and Ferdinand. The two central defender combinations are obviously not on the same level!

Besides, the defense is not good enough after four consecutive league games without conceding a goal?

"Don't underestimate Allardyce, he is a dangerous enemy!" Ferguson was full of worry.

He knows Allardyce too well. Given the latter's nature, how could he dare to push forward if he was not sure enough?

Furthermore, among all the English coaches, the one who attaches the most importance to data analysis is Allardyce.

Therefore, this guy's tactical targeting is also quite outstanding.

Anyone who dares to look down on him will cry!

Mike Phelan was a little skeptical when he heard Ferguson give such high praise to his opponent.

Is it really that powerful?

If he is really that good, why doesn't he coach a top team?

Especially when he saw that Manchester United survived West Ham United's attack in the opening stage and began to take the initiative in the game and launch their own attack, he became even more proud.

But at this moment, the Hammers successfully intercepted the ball and quickly launched a counterattack.

Jarvis made a cross from the left, and in the penalty area, center forward Andy Carroll overpowered Evra and headed the ball into the small penalty area.

The equally tall Portuguese center forward Watts rushed over and headed the ball into De Gea's goal.

One to zero!

The entire Upton Park stadium suddenly erupted in thunderous cheers.

Andy Carroll, the center forward who transferred from Newcastle to Liverpool at a high price but encountered the lowest point in his career, has now been reborn at West Ham United and is performing quite well.

Ferguson closed his eyes, with an expression that I couldn't bear to watch.

Mike Phelan next to him was so surprised that his jaw dropped.

Is it that simple?

Is Manchester United's defense made of paper?

After four Premier League games without conceding a goal, West Ham United scored against them in just two or three attempts?

"Mike!" Ferguson opened his eyes again and shouted.

But his assistant was staring in amazement at Carroll, Watts and others who were celebrating on the court.

"Mike!" Ferguson had to raise his voice and shout again with force.

Frankly speaking, he was not satisfied with his assistant coach, who was sometimes too self-righteous and sometimes too impatient.

In this situation, after losing the ball, can the head coach still panic?

"Ah..." Mike Phelan reacted.

"Go, tell them to stabilize the situation, hold the ball, don't panic, and control the ball more!"

"Oh, okay!" Mike Phelan quickly ran to the sidelines and shouted loudly.

Ferguson shook his head and turned to the coaching seat.

"What's the score over at Carrow Road?"

Manchester United's match against West Ham United was held at the same time as Southampton's match against Norwich.

A member of the coaching staff immediately checked and said, "It's been almost twenty minutes and it's zero to zero!"

Ferguson's expression eased a little, Norwich's home field was still quite terrifying!

"What's the situation?"

The coaching staff checked again, "From the data, Southampton should have the advantage, with a ball possession rate of 67%. Norwich has already received two yellow cards!"

Hearing this, Ferguson frowned again.

Although they were just two simple pieces of data, he could clearly picture the scene of the game in his mind.

Southampton took full advantage of ball possession and completely controlled the ball. Norwich tried every means to get the ball back, but in some unavoidable circumstances, they could only commit fouls again and again.

"The situation is not very good!" Ferguson muttered to himself.

He knew better than anyone that Southampton had just issued a declaration of war and Manchester United had just accepted the challenge.

If they lose points in this round, it will certainly greatly boost Southampton's arrogance, and Manchester United's morale will suffer a severe blow, which will also have a certain impact on the players' psychology.

The game resumed, and under Ferguson's adjustments, Manchester United players began to consciously control the ball on the court.

This season, both the left and right flanks of Manchester United have been criticized. Whether it is Ashley Young, Nani or Valencia, their performances have been unsatisfactory, which has directly affected Manchester United's offensive power.

Coupled with the long-term weakness of lack of hardness in the midfield, Manchester United's defense has also had problems.

To this end, Ferguson also made adjustments to the team, especially in activating the two flanks.

So, with Manchester United firmly controlling the ball, Ferguson's adjustments and changes gradually became threatening.

In the 33rd minute, Van Persie pulled to the left to get the ball and then rushed forward and passed it across the penalty area.

Japanese player Shinji Kagawa took the ball, avoided the blockade of the defensive players and knocked it across the goal.

Valencia, who had not scored a goal this season, rushed over and shot in front of the goal, scoring his first goal of the season.

One to one!

This goal made Ferguson, who had been waiting for a long time on the sidelines, very excited.

"Well done, good job!"

Manchester United's coaching team and bench were even more excited.

After half an hour, the score was tied. There is still an hour left in the game, so there is definitely room for victory!

Valencia's goal not only relieved the heavy psychological pressure on Manchester United players, but also made Ferguson feel relieved.

Good, with a goal, things will be much easier!

"Mike, inform them to keep fighting like this and be patient!" Ferguson gave orders again.

Mike Phelan immediately agreed and ran to the sidelines to convey the head coach's intention.

Ferguson stood on the sidelines for a while. Seeing that the players were basically playing according to his requirements, he was quite satisfied with the situation. He nodded with a smile and turned around to walk back.

"How's it going? How's the situation over at Carrow Road?"

The coaching staff immediately opened the webpage and looked at it for a while. "Well, it's still 0-0. No change!"

After hearing this, Ferguson grinned and laughed, "Carrow Road is the place where the Premier League's strong teams failed this season. Chris Hughton reorganized their extremely poor defense last summer, and their strength has greatly increased. It will be difficult for Southampton to get out of this unscathed!"

Norwich's current four main defenders, Garrido, Bassong, Michael Turner and Whittaker, were all introduced last summer. Garrido and Whittaker were both free transfers, Bassong cost four million, and Michael Turner cost one and a half million.

More than five million pounds, this is a lot of money for a team like Norwich!

But the effect is also particularly obvious. At least Norwich's number of goals this season has been greatly reduced.

In fact, as early as the game when Norwich lost 0-4 to Manchester United away, Ferguson had a hunch that Chris Hughton would save his strength for the home game.

Otherwise, how to explain why Chris Hughton did not send out all the main players before the game, and in the first 75 minutes, when the team was trailing 0-1, he replaced three main players one after another, which resulted in the team conceding three goals in a row and losing 0-4.

"Okay, okay, Chris Hughton, if you can successfully snipe Southampton, I'll remember this favor!"

Ferguson was in a good mood when he heard that the other game was still tied at 0-0.

In the match between Manchester United and West Ham United, Ferguson is very confident that Manchester United can win as long as the current situation continues to develop.

As long as Manchester United gets three points and Southampton draws, the Saints should be in despair!

By that time, I will wait and see who still dares to say that we can’t win the championship!

Ferguson's eyes flashed with anger, and he thought with gritted teeth.

In the past few days, he has had many verbal battles with The Sun.

I don't know if that shameless newspaper received money from Yang Huan, but it kept pestering Ferguson, publishing an article exposing the dirty laundry of Manchester United and Ferguson every day. It's so infuriating!

I'm waiting to see what your faces look like when I hit you!

But just as Ferguson turned around and was about to walk out, the coach who was observing the enemy situation suddenly cried out in surprise and jumped up.

"What's going on?" Ferguson was startled.

"Sir, Southampton..."

Ferguson was stunned and his heart was in a knot.

“…Southampton scored a goal!”

"What?" Ferguson felt a black screen in front of his eyes and felt dizzy.

There was an uproar all around.

"Goal? Southampton scored?"

"What happened? Who scored the goal? How did they score?"

"Neymar faced a double team on the left, forced a breakthrough and passed the ball into the penalty area, and Ibrahimovic volleyed the ball into the goal. Now it's 0-1, and the Saints are leading!"

The coaching staff of Manchester United were all a little panicked.

We had just equalized the score, but the opponent scored first!

There is no need to guess, this must be Southampton's game strategy.

First, consume Norwich's energy, and then attack in the final stage.

With the Saints' offensive strength, they will definitely bombard Norwich in the next ten minutes or so.

It’s over, it’s over, what should I do now?

Everyone turned their attention to Ferguson.

The old Scottish coach had a grim look on his face, and he obviously realized the seriousness of the game situation!

Turning his head, he glanced at the home team's coaching bench. It seemed that someone was telling others. After hearing the news, Allardyce actually turned around and smiled at Ferguson.

This damn guy must have received the news. He must be waiting for Manchester United to lose their composure!

Bastard, such a bastard, actually adding insult to injury!

But Ferguson knew that he had to come up with countermeasures quickly.

"Attack, prepare, and adjust during the halftime break. After the second half starts, we must attack, reverse the score, and establish the leading advantage first!"

Ferguson shouted decisively.