Starting with saving Manchester United

Yang Fan has always felt that the reason Moyes kept making mistakes was because he completely failed to understand his coaching environment.

Having secured a six-year coaching contract and received Ferguson's strong support, he genuinely believed he could disregard performance and stay for the full six years.

Or at least, he could play for two or three seasons.

If we take this blind self-confidence as a starting point to view Moyes's actions, many things become clear.

But Yang Fan is different.

He was very aware of his situation and knew he could be forced to step down at any time.

What he needs to do now is to secure the first victory.

Only victory can guarantee that he stays in this position for longer.

Everything he has done so far has been based on this premise.

Next, he needs to instill confidence in the players and clarify the goals.

Anyone who is frequently in a leadership position knows why subordinates might lose confidence in their job.

More often than not, it's a lack of clear goals; people don't know what they should do or why they should do it.

This can cause team members to waver or even lose their direction when they encounter difficulties or setbacks.

Yang Fan has always believed that a qualified leader should not instruct subordinates on what to do, but should tell them what our goal is and why we need to do it this way.

Once they understand why, they will naturally start thinking about how to do it, which will in turn give them confidence.

The players Yang Fan kept today are all core members of Manchester United.

Captain Vidic, vice-captain Evra, defensive midfielder Ferdinand, midfield maestro Carrick, star players Rooney and Van Persie, and Fellaini, whom Yang Fan values ​​highly and who should surprise many.

Yang Fan's statement was not unfounded.

On the one hand, he had to worry about the "mole" inside.

These are all core members of Manchester United, and among all of them, the probability of them becoming traitors is the lowest.

If unfortunately one of them does occur, Yang Fan will accept it.

On the other hand, he needs to delegate authority to these people so that they can indirectly manage the team and quickly build consensus.

Yang Fan and his temporary team of five, along with Jackie Kay, met with the seven players in a small conference room.

Without further ado, Yang Fan began by explaining why he had issued the first ban.

In times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary!

There's no time to slowly work things out now.

"Our team's top priority is to come back and defeat Olympiacos in tomorrow night's Champions League knockout stage match!"

"This is the top priority right now; everything else comes second!"

The players all agree with this.

With the league and domestic cup competitions out of reach, the Champions League, though slim, is still the only remaining hope.

Going all out and fighting – that's the Red Devils' style!

How can I win?

Yang Fan clearly told the players that Manchester United's biggest problem right now is their defense in the midfield and backfield.

"Of the three penalties against Liverpool, the third one, the one that led to Nemanja's red card, Sturridge definitely dived. But what about the first two? And the ones the referee didn't call?"

"How did you concede the goal against Olympiacos in the first leg?"

Yang Fan winked at Paul Brand, who immediately played the edited video clips on the screen.

"Take a closer look, our midfield and backline defense is a complete mess."

"Without solving this problem, the team cannot be stable, and there's no point in talking about attacking from the front!"

After two days of team communication, Yang Fan's thinking has become very clear.

We switched to a three-defender formation, adopting a 3-4-2-1 formation!

This was the first time he had publicly expressed his thoughts outside of the core team.

Jackie Kay and the other seven players were all very surprised!

Because Manchester United has never had the DNA of playing with three defenders.

"There's always a first time for everything. Hasn't Manchester United had enough firsts this season?"

Next, Yang Fan explained why they played with three defenders.

"High-pressure pressing!"

"Now, whether it's Premier League teams like Liverpool and Manchester City, or Champions League teams like Olympiacos, all teams know that our midfield and defense are weak when they face us, so they will all press us high."

Whether it was Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, or Carrick, they all nodded in agreement.

The advantage of a three-defender formation becomes apparent when facing this kind of high-pressing.

With one more person on the field, it won't be so easy for the opposing team to get the ball.

More importantly, flexibility.

When the ball reached midfield, Carrick was in charge of distributing possession.

At this point, the center-backs on both sides can push forward appropriately to help create a local numerical advantage in the midfield and on the flanks.

Those who can play for Manchester United have no problem with individual ability, technical skills, or tactical awareness.

Opening up the game from the flanks is also in line with Manchester United's tradition of attacking down both wings.

Yang Fan's strategy was to quickly advance through the midfield.

If there's an opportunity, launch a long counter-attack behind the defense; if not, move from the wings to quickly advance to the front.

With the ball on the left flank, Fellaini is the bridgehead in the attacking third.

The ball was on the right wing, and Rooney came over to receive it.

Van Persie got the most freedom in the attacking third.

The Dutchman no longer needs to complain about his teammates always running into his activity area.

Moreover, he himself really likes to receive the ball on the right flank because he is a left-footed player.

After introducing the concept of the complete tactical system, Yang Fan encouraged everyone to speak freely and express their opinions.

This could involve nitpicking the three-defender tactic, offering your own tactical ideas, or refining the tactic.

To better encourage the players to speak up, Yang Fan had Mike Phelan communicate with several players.

The current Manchester United players are all confused.

They all knew the team had a big problem, but they didn't know how to solve it.

Regarding Yang Fan's proposal to switch to a three-defender formation, the biggest concern for several key players is how well they can adapt and perform.

Yang Fan also offered his own solutions to this problem.

The RACI model was one he frequently used in his previous life.

This is a team responsibility assignment tool.

The four letters represent R (Executor), A (Responsible Person), C (Consultant), and I (Knowledgeable Person).

If we consider a football tactic as a project, then the purpose of this tool is to make every player clear about their role and responsibilities within the tactic.

Everyone is clear at all times about their own role, the roles of their teammates, and how to cooperate with each other.

Since there is only one person A responsible, there can be several people R responsible for execution, which revolve around A.

For example, how is possession of the ball distributed during an offensive play?

The person primarily responsible is Carrick; he is the key figure in this ball possession distribution, and everyone follows his instructions and cooperates with him.

If Carrick chooses to initiate from the left flank, Evra will advance, cross the midfield line, and reach the attacking third. In that case, the primary person in charge changes from Carrick to Fellaini.

Because Fellaini is the bridgehead on the left flank and a crucial tactical point, everyone's actions revolve around Fellaini.

If the attack starts from the right flank, it's either Rooney or Van Persie.

If the ball is lost in the attacking third, Fellaini and Rooney are responsible for immediately pressing back; everyone else is the one who carries it out.

Carrick is primarily responsible for the midfield defense, while Vidic or Ferdinand are the sweeper center-backs.

Simply put, the RACI model empowers the players, allowing them to take on the role of the on-field head coach at different times and in different positions.

To avoid situations where multiple commands lead to inconsistent thinking and each department acts independently.

During Moyes' tenure, Manchester United constantly changed their starting lineup, causing confusion among the players themselves.

Yang Fan simply didn't have the time or the ability to resolve this chaos.

So, they simply delegated the power to the players.

The benefits of doing this are not only to clarify the players' responsibilities, but more importantly, Yang Fan wants to stimulate the sense of participation and responsibility of these key players by delegating some decision-making power.

Then, by leveraging their influence, other players can be motivated, thereby building consensus within the team.

In fact, if we look at it from a broader perspective and consider Manchester United's entire tactics as a project, then Yang Fan is the person primarily responsible, A, and the players are the executors, R.

The core coaching staff and seven key players are Consultant C.

If they can win the first game, Yang Fan will prepare a questionnaire in advance, asking everyone to list the problems they encountered in the game. After compiling the information, they will discuss it at the post-game analysis and debriefing meeting and formulate solutions.

This will further build consensus and refine the team's overall tactics.

This kind of division of labor is actually quite common in football matches.

For example, taking penalties and free kicks.

In situations like defending corner kicks and free kicks, there's always someone who steps up to direct their teammates' positioning and marking.

This is the person primarily responsible, A.

As early as yesterday, Yang Fan had conducted very detailed communication and preparation with the core team, including dividing responsibilities for offense, passing and defense on the field, as well as the game time.

After losing 0-2 away, how will you play the remaining 90 minutes at home?

All tasks were divided in detail.

These seven key players today are Yang Fan's decision-making consulting team.

This also represents Yang Fan's trust in these 7 key players!

While Yang Fan was having a meeting with his core team and seven players in the conference room, the players' rest area on the second floor was already deserted.

Only Giggs remained.

He just attended the regular pre-match press conference for the Champions League on behalf of Manchester United, dealing with those ruthless media outlets.

When I returned, I heard that Yang Fan was having a meeting with everyone.

The Welshman stared at the brightly lit conference room around the corner, his expression a mixture of emotions.