Starting with saving Manchester United

Where have all of Manchester United's youth academy graduates gone?

In the cramped office, Yang Fan looked at the player list in his hand and couldn't help but ask a thought-provoking question.

Paul Brand was very puzzled.

Aren't they all in Carrington?

How could he possibly understand Yang Fan's feelings at that moment?

This Manchester United... is absolutely awful!

Goalkeepers: De Gea, Lindegaard, Ben Amos and Sam Johnstone;

Defenders: Vidic, Ferdinand, Evans, Phil Jones, Smalling, Evra, Rafael, Alexander Buttner, Michael Keane;

Midfielders: Carrick, Fellaini, Cleverley, Fletcher, Juan Mata, Januzaj, Kagawa, Nani, and Giggs;

Forwards: Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck, Hernandez, Valencia and Ashley Young.

With the current squad, what can Manchester United use to compete with the top teams in Europe?

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Atletico Madrid...

Who can they beat?

Moreover, Manchester United's first team has been plagued by injuries this season.

Speaking of this, I have to criticize Moyes again.

What did he do after taking over Manchester United from Ferguson?

He actually wants to learn from Barcelona, ​​playing a high-pressing game and passing and cutting!

Yang Fan was truly impressed!

Even an amateur football fan like myself knows that the back line consists of a bunch of veterans like Evra, Vidic, and Ferdinand, the right-back Rafael is unreliable, and the deep-lying midfielder Carrick is also getting on in years.

With this lineup, you think you can play high-pressing and passing game in the Premier League?

Are you out of your mind?

Moreover, does Manchester United even have a midfield?

Okay, let's not talk about the midfield. Let's talk about Manchester United's strongest wingers from a few years ago. Do they still exist now?

With Nadal unable to pass, Yang unable to pass, Waal unable to shoot, and Betis unable to score, how can these four dark kings still ignite Manchester United's wing attacks?

Manchester United's nickname this season is "Old Trafford Crossing Team" because their wingers are not good enough.

The key point is that Moyes plays the high-position passing and cutting game, and he seems to enjoy it immensely.

If the midfield can't control the ball, the opponent will quickly pass through and leave the aging defense directly in their hands; the outcome is predictable.

Even more problematic is that high-post passing and cutting increases player movement and energy expenditure, which is torture for veterans, resulting in a series of injuries this season.

Why did Robin van Persie and David Moyes fall out?

It's because Moyes always emphasizes physical training, which is very intense, that Van Persie couldn't adapt.

The Dutchman is physically fragile, and with such high-intensity training, coupled with the already brutal pressure of the Premier League matches, can he handle it?

In the end, Moyes ended up alienated from everyone, and Manchester United was left in a mess.

Yang Fan pondered that there were only two possibilities for Moyes's actions.

Either he's incredibly stubborn and stupid, but that's impossible.

Moyes is the best manager in the Premier League!

Either they're foolish, thinking that with a six-year coaching contract and Ferguson's support, their position is secure, so they want to establish a style first and then gradually improve it.

But he clearly underestimated the difficulty of coaching a top club!

The situation with the first team is not good. Yang Fan glanced at the rosters of the reserve team and the U18 age group and found two familiar names from the U18 team.

Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford.

But they are all still very young, and McTominay's scouting assessment even indicates that he is short.

Clearly, none of them are capable of playing for the first team.

What about the rest?

Thanks again to that damn Moyes.

Brazilian midfielder Anderson was loaned to Serie A side Florence in January.

The future king of football, the infinitely arrogant Lingard, was loaned to Brighton just a few days ago, on February 27.

Macheda was loaned to Birmingham at the end of January, and his contract expires in the summer, so it's estimated he won't return to Manchester United.

And then there's the future England football king, Wilfrid Zaha, who was loaned to Cardiff.

It is said that Moyes disliked Zaha because she slept with his daughter.

Who knows?

In short, the only players Yang Fan can use right now are the first team members.

"My God, what kind of disastrous start is this?"

Yang Fan remembered that in his previous life, he had read a football novel on Qidian.com written by a struggling author, about a man who transmigrated into the body of the Real Madrid head coach.

They're all time travelers, all newbies. They just need to go to Real Madrid's reserve team, and they can easily put together a starting lineup.

What about yourself?

There's nothing there!

"Given Manchester United's current situation, I don't believe any renowned manager would be willing to take on this responsibility midway through the season!" Yang Fan said, trying to find humor in the situation.

Paul Brand was amused, but also deeply agreed.

The locker room was a mess, the team's strength was terrible, and the internal management was completely disorganized...

It's definitely a graveyard for great coaches!

"I'm even starting to suspect that Ferguson's sudden retirement was because he had already seen through Manchester United's weakness?"

The more Yang Fan thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Even if you, Ferguson, were incredibly talented, could you really lead this Manchester United team to the championship?

Rather than doing that, it would be better to take advantage of the momentum of winning the league championship and retire gracefully, while still gaining a good reputation.

"So what are you going to do now?" Paul Brand asked with concern.

What should I do?

Just grit your teeth and do it!

Let's win the first match, against Olympiacos.

Only victory can guarantee a firm foothold.

As for how to win...

Yang Fan placed the list and report in his hand on the table and took a deep breath.

In his past life, what kind of difficult situation hadn't he experienced?

Let's do it first and talk about it later!

"First, get the coaching license sorted out; I need an assistant coach!"

When Ferguson was in charge, Manchester United had two assistant coaches, Mike Phelan and René Meulensteen.

After Moyes arrived, Ferguson offered to keep both of them to help them get acquainted and transition.

As a result, Moyes fired them and replaced them with three of his own men: Phil Neville, Jimmy Ramsden, and Steve Lund.

Also, first-team player and assistant coach Ryan Giggs.

But Giggs was always sidelined by Moyes, and the two even had a big argument.

Not only that, Moyes also fired the first team's goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele, and replaced him with Chris Woods, Everton's trusted confidant.

In short, Moyes is truly erasing Ferguson's influence at Manchester United.

As is customary in European football, Moyes' team will also leave the team after his dismissal.

But there always needs to be a transition period, so there is no clear answer yet.

In terms of goalkeeping coaches, Eric Steele and Chris Woods are not much different, but after leaving Manchester United, Steele was unemployed until October 1st when McClaren took him to Derby County to coach.

Therefore, Chris Woods will definitely stay.

When it comes to assistant coaches, Yang Fan's first thought is Steve Lund.

This 43-year-old English coach was once a young player for Derby County, but left professional football early due to injuries and went back to school to continue his studies. He not only obtained an authoritative certificate in the field of sports science, but is also the youngest holder of the UEFA A-level coaching certificate in British history.

Starting at the age of 26, he worked for Derby County, Middlesbrough, the England national team, Newcastle and Everton, serving as an assistant to renowned managers such as McClaren, Southgate, Allardyce and Kevin Keegan, accumulating a wealth of experience.

Moreover, he happens to hold a UEFA Pro coaching license.

Jimmy Ramsden, on the other hand, has yet to receive the certificate.

Years later, Steve Lande became a key figure in Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's team, making significant contributions to Arsenal's revival.

In short, he is an amazing person.

Another option is the two assistant coaches from Ferguson's era; Yang Fan's first choice is Mike Phelan.

Mike Phelan is currently unemployed and can take office at any time.

As for René Meulensteen, his career after leaving Manchester United is nothing short of legendary.

In July, he accepted Guus Hiddink's invitation to join Anzhi Makhachkala as Hiddink's assistant coach.

As a result, after only 22 days in office, Anzhi Makhachkala had a poor start in the first two rounds of the Russian Premier League, with the team deep in the relegation zone. Guus Hiddink resigned to take responsibility, and assistant coach Mullensteen was appointed as the team's interim head coach. He led the team for two games and only managed to get one point.

On August 8, Mullensteen was also dismissed.

After being unemployed for several months, in mid-November, Meulensteen accepted an invitation from Martin Jol, the head coach of Premier League team Fulham, to become an assistant coach for his fellow Dutchman.

As a result, less than half a month later, Martin Jol was also dismissed, and Meulensteen was reinstated as the manager of Fulham in the English Premier League. From December to mid-February, he played 17 games, with a record of 4 wins, 3 draws and 10 losses.

After the winter break, he suffered a dismal record of 5 losses and 2 draws, and was dismissed.

Yang Fan really didn't dare to use someone like that!

Moreover, Meulensteen is a proud and arrogant man who has recently enjoyed being a manager and may not be willing to return to Manchester United.

When it comes to player training, Yang Fan's first choice is Steve Lund.

Therefore, Yang Fan chose Mike Phelan.

In Yang Fan's previous life, he often selected his assistant team based on the companies he took over.

He didn't delegate the task of inviting his assistant to Woodward because he wanted to handle it personally, which would facilitate future cooperation.

Although Yang Fan's position as head coach is temporary, he has the right to offer him an assistant coach contract that lasts until the end of the season.

So he immediately called Steve Lund and Mike Phelan.