"This season's Champions League is in jeopardy!"
In the stands at the Bernabéu, Ferguson and his brother Martin Ferguson, holding tickets given by Gao Shen, sat in prime seats in the directors' box, quite close to Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward, but not next to him.
Ferguson's heart sank when, just before halftime, Ronaldo orchestrated an attack on the left, Marcelo cut the ball back from the byline, and Džeko arrived to finish in the middle, leveling for Real Madrid.
Ever since Moyes made his adjustments, he had a bad feeling.
It was obvious.
Ferguson believed that not only he, but many experienced fans could see it.
After Fellaini dropped into defensive midfield, Manchester United were basically unable to organize any effective attacking play in the final third.
The three forwards were isolated, playing on their own. They could not link up or combine.
This was fatal.
The key was that both of United's flanks looked fine, but neither could pose a threat.
Welbeck's recent form was not ideal. Valencia could hit the byline, but it was hard for him to create real danger.
With the current development of European football, simple wing crossing is already a very crude attacking tactic and is basically out of favor.
Because the efficiency is too low.
Just now, Real Madrid also attacked from the wing, but they had already broken United's defensive shape.
Marcelo had rushed to the byline and then pulled it back with a cut-back.
This was no longer a simple cross from the wing.
On the other hand, Moyes still did not understand Manchester United.
"He is still coaching Manchester United the way he coached Everton. That is the biggest problem." Ferguson frowned.
Not only on the tactical level, but also psychologically.
Ferguson's preference for Moyes was not without reason.
When Manchester United were selecting a coach, Ferguson could give important opinions. He believed the best coach for United was Gao Shen, followed by Guardiola, but that was unrealistic, and neither would come to Manchester United.
Moyes is not a traditional British coach with outdated systems. On the contrary, when he built around a playmaker at Everton, he was quite advanced for the Premier League.
Gravesen, Arteta, Fellaini, Pienaar…
These strong midfielders were all Moyes's favorites at Everton.
Ferguson admired him because he saw Moyes's ability to keep up with the times.
But Moyes's shortcomings were also obvious.
He had coached Everton for the past decade.
What kind of team is Everton?
Anyone familiar with the Premier League knows Everton's biggest label: one season brilliant, the next mediocre.
What does that mean?
They perform well and qualify for Europe one season, but immediately decline the next.
Why?
Because Everton simply cannot support two lineups, not even one and a half.
So once the Toffees perform well and enter Europe, they are forced to fight on multiple fronts. Coupled with key players being poached, their league form is immediately affected.
This left Moyes with a serious lack of European experience.
Without that experience, he is naturally unfamiliar with the most advanced tactical concepts and lacks the relevant know-how.
In fact, Moyes's caution is not without reason.
He knew his shortcomings and deficiencies, so after taking the lead, he chose to play safe.
But at Manchester United, that is the problem.
Because Manchester United have never been a conservative team, and Manchester United do not have the pieces to play conservatively now.
"If he had capitalized after scoring and gone for a second, the situation would be completely different."
At this point, Ferguson sighed.
Moyes has coached Everton for so long that his thinking has become entrenched.
This was something Ferguson had not anticipated.
Ferguson expected United to encounter problems this season, and he even gave Moyes plenty of advice and help, especially recently when United's form suffered and Moyes sought him out.
But strangely, many things Ferguson took for granted, Moyes simply could not piece together.
It was the same lineup, the same group of players, and later Moyes even tried a tactical style similar to Ferguson's, but the players' performances were completely different.
There is no going back.
On one hand, the team won the title last season and Ferguson retired. On the other, the squad has many veterans, which led to this sudden decline.
Originally, the board's requirement for Moyes was to finish in the top four.
This is not excessive at all for Manchester United, who excelled last season. Even if Ferguson were coaching, his goal this season would still be to win the title.
Finishing in the top four already gave Moyes enough room to adapt and adjust.
But who would have thought that Moyes would lead the team to 12th in the league.
Of course, the season had just started and it was too early to judge.
But what if the management lost patience?
Losing the Champions League is a very painful blow for Manchester United.
That is tens of millions of pounds in revenue.
What is more, all of United's current sponsors included Champions League performance clauses in their contracts. If United miss out, how will they compensate their sponsors?
The losses are enormous.
"Martin, do you know what the most interesting thing in the world is?" Ferguson suddenly asked.
Martin Ferguson shook his head.
"Everyone thinks the head coach is important, crucial, the soul of the team. But in actual management, he is the least valued. No one even thinks about protecting him. They would rather lose tens of millions than spend more on this position."
This is the tragedy of a head coach.
In this star-centered football world, the head coach is the least important one.
"Do not worry too much. Give him some time. I believe that with his intelligence and talent, he will adapt quickly," Martin Ferguson advised.
Many people do not know that the first person Ferguson strongly recommended to Manchester United's management was Gao Shen.
But at that time, Gao Shen was at his peak at Manchester City, and later linked with Real Madrid, so United's executives did not even consider it.
Later, after Guardiola left Barcelona, Ferguson recommended him to United's management, but the club was in chaos. David Gill was about to go to FIFA and would no longer serve as United's CEO from 2013. He was handing over to Ed Woodward.
Under such circumstances, Guardiola was unwilling to take over United, so Ferguson connected him with Bayern.
But now, Moyes's work is far below expectations.
United's moves will be more drastic than anyone expects.
"No time," Ferguson said helplessly.
This involves tens of millions in revenue. Once there are signs the team will miss next season's Champions League, Manchester United are likely to act as soon as they find the right candidate.
At that point, capital will show no mercy.
…
While Ferguson and his brother discussed the uncertain future of Manchester United and Moyes in the stands, in the home dressing room at the Bernabéu, Gao Shen was analyzing the first half with his players and laying out the second half.
He felt the team had played too conservatively in the first half.
"We should see that Rooney, Welbeck, and Valencia all have strong individual ability, but none of them can combine in the final third. In this case, we should be more proactive with our pressing."
"We need to be more threatening on the wings, pin back United's flanks, and force Welbeck and Valencia to track back."
Gao Shen dragged Manchester United's two wingers back on the tactical board.
One key point he stressed was to attack rather than defend.
"Smalling is tall and strong, but he turns slowly and offers nothing going forward. Facing a full back like that, what are you worried about? He is a human punching bag. Do you even need to think? Just go at him!"
"And Evra is 32. He has been playing multiple games on multiple fronts. Is he still at his best? Does he still have the legs?"
"Ángel!"
Gao Shen pointed straight at Di María. "You only played 70 minutes in the last game, while Evra went the full 90. Do not tell me you cannot match him physically. I will be very disappointed in you!"
Everyone in the dressing room smiled, and Di María quickly stood up, repeatedly assuring he would take care of it.
"We need to put more pressure on United down the flanks, force their wide men to come back, and then there will only be Rooney up front."
"Rooney is easy to deal with."
"What is he best at?"
"Working like a beast."
"Yes, he works very hard. But when a core player's only praised quality is work rate and effort, what does that tell you?"
"It tells you he is not much of a threat, guys."
Gao Shen's words were a bit exaggerated, mainly because the team had not produced the attacking patterns he wanted in the first half.
If these words got out, they would be on the front page tomorrow. Gao Shen would really offend Rooney, and the British media would likely go after him.
Rooney is England's ace right now.
But we have to admit that Rooney really could not hold the ball up or progress play.
When United's attack has to rely on Rooney as the core in the final third, that itself proves the issue.
"I do not care what you think. My requirements for the second half are simple. Push forward and attack from both flanks to pin back United. Also, move the ball more, stretch their shape, and try to create gaps. I want to see more goals."
As he said this, Gao Shen first looked at Ronaldo. Real Madrid's only goal in the first half came from his creation.
Then he turned to Di María.
"Ángel, I want to see you score tonight. If you do not score, you're dead!"
Di María was so startled by Gao Shen's threat that he almost cried.
But everyone else immediately began to gloat.
Everyone knew Di María was Gao Shen's favorite and most trusted player.
"Do not worry, I will help you," Ramos, sitting next to Di María, said reassuringly.
Laughter broke out in the dressing room.
Help me?
You are a center back, man.
(To be continued.)