Manchester United's FA Cup tie this season kicked off on January 3 '04 and were able to advance directly to the third round due to being a Premier League team. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info unless Manchester United has been relegated, a series of qualifying matches and the first and second rounds of the FA Cup before the third round of the FA Cup will definitely not be with Manchester United.

Manchester United's FA Cup 3rd and 4th round opponents are Villa and Northampton respectively, and Li Lei did not participate in both games. Although Ferguson originally said that the FA Cup and League Cup matches would be handed over to Li Lei, in view of the complicated situation at that time when Ferdinand began to ban the game, and the opponent in the third round of the FA Cup was unlucky to draw the Premier League team Villa, etc., Ferguson decided to take the initiative to give up the competition for this season's FA Cup trophy after weighing the pros and cons.

Although such a decision was very unfavorable and even unfair to Li Lei, considering the situation of Manchester United at that time, and Li Lei's own intention of carrying out long-term "retreat and cultivation", in the end, under the persuasion of Ferguson himself, Li Lei reluctantly nodded and agreed.

In any case, the lack of a cup training opportunity, Li Lei was a little reluctant in his heart. What's more, even from the perspective of the gold content of the trophy, as the oldest cup in football history, it must be far more than the Chicken Rib League Cup. This feeling of giving up the better and pursuing the worse is not a good experience for a person like Li Lei who is extremely thrilled to pursue victory.

However, to his and Ferguson's surprise, although in the FA Cup match against the Villa team, Ferguson almost sent a set of Manchester United youth team lineup on the field, but this group of Carrington lads was not optimistic before the game, and Manchester United voluntarily gave up the FA Cup.

It is said that the English FA Cup is a hotbed of upsets in England's lower leagues, but this time, the protagonist of the upset has become the Premier League hegemon Manchester United. Ferguson couldn't have laughed at such a result, not knowing whether to praise the youth team boys for their hard work, but to say that they would not look at themselves.

And, that's not the end. In the fourth round of the FA Cup, they faced League One rivals Northampton, and they won 3-0 at the West Schofield Stadium to advance to the fifth round and final round of 16.

At this point, it is not so easy to get Ferguson to give up. Although in the eyes of the outside world, the FA Cup in England is similar to the League Cup, which is the icing on the cake, and cannot be compared with the league and the Champions League, but this is not the case in England itself.

As the oldest football competition in history, the FA Cup is still a tournament that makes England, the self-proclaimed originator of modern football, very proud. Fans in England also value this trophy far more than their counterparts in other countries, even Manchester United and Arsenal, the top fans of the Premier League.

For them, if a team fails to win the league and Champions League in a given season, it is comforting and acceptable to win the FA Cup. A good league position and an FA Cup title are reluctantly acceptable to these big fans as long as they don't have any Premier League or Champions League titles for several seasons in a row.

The most classic example of this is Ferguson himself, many people may not have imagined that Ferguson, who is now a dictatorial king at Manchester United, even fell into the dilemma of being fired by Manchester United. In the first three years after Alex Ferguson took charge of the Reds in 1986, the Reds' performance in League One, England's top professional league, was difficult to satisfy the United hierarchy and fans. With the exception of runners-up in the second season, United finished outside the top 10 in the league in both the first and third seasons.

The third season was the saddest for Ferguson. After Manchester United lost 3-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in a Carabao Cup match, one extreme fan even exclaimed "Three years is an excuse, it's still a waste, goodbye, Ferguson!" slogan. Under such difficult circumstances, United stumbled to the FA Cup final that season, and the FA Cup title became Ferguson's final chance to save his place in the United squad.

Before that FA Cup final, it was an open secret that Ferguson would be sacked if United failed to win the FA Cup. So, it's hard to imagine what Manchester United would be like today if it weren't for Mark Robbins' winning goal that gave United a win over Nottingham Forest and an FA Cup title to retain Alex Ferguson's place.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the FA Cup saved Ferguson and Manchester United's Premier League dominance.

Under such circumstances, Ferguson naturally does not want Manchester United, which is already in a precarious situation, to be saddled with an FA Cup exit target, so that the outside media and public opinion will attack more unscrupulously.

Although he can issue a ban order to cut off the players from the media, it is impossible to keep the players completely free from the influence of media opinion. In ancient times, it may have been possible to try, but in today's increasingly developed and rapid communication media, it can be said that it is more difficult than climbing to the sky.

Coupled with Manchester United's opponent in the fifth round of the FA Cup, and it is their rival Manchester City, once they lose, this influence will rise one level higher than losing to other teams.

So from any point of view, this is a game that Ferguson and Manchester United cannot afford to lose, and they need to use such a game against their rivals to boost the morale of the whole team, and prove to all the Premier League teams that they are still the dominant Manchester United, still invincible, and the previous slump is just a temporary nap.

Don't think it's inconsequential, only by defending the momentum of the Premier League can Manchester United occupy the aura and momentum advantage against other teams in the Premier League, so that the other teams can automatically lose momentum before the game starts, and occupy the strategic high ground, which can make Manchester United go more smoothly in the highly competitive Premier League.

Otherwise, United will face a situation where the wall is falling and everyone is pushing it. Don't look at how beautiful Manchester United is now as the hegemon of the Premier League, but these scenery are all obtained by stepping on the heads of other teams, and naturally they can't please anything, and the hatred of the rich exists in the field of human beings.

Once Manchester United shows its decline, I am afraid that there are few teams in the entire Premier League that do not want to step on Manchester United, a down-and-out rich handsome.

In this regard, Manchester United's king Cantona once said a classic sentence, "They [the rest of the Premier League] want Manchester United to lose." ”

Although Manchester United's prospects of winning the Premier League this season look a little slim, Ferguson, who never admits defeat, is not giving up. Therefore, the victory or defeat of this game has risen to the level of strategy in his heart, and it belongs to the kind of game that must be won no matter how much it costs.

For this reason, although he trusted Li Lei very much, he couldn't help but worry in his heart, and he deliberately asked Li Lei the night before the game: "Tomorrow's game, we have to win it, are you confident?" ”

Li Lei smiled and affirmed: "Of course, Old Trafford is our territory!" The tone was overbearing like a gangster boss.

Unwaveringly looking directly into Ferguson's eyes, Li Lei's eyes were blazing, like a sharp sword out of the sheath!

It's cold!

Sharp and pressing!!