Coaching legend

Chapter 11 Getting Ready

"How is it? These four hundred thousand pounds were not wasted, right? How did he perform?" George looked at the blond Boborski and was sincerely happy. Not long after the training started, the first one to stand out was Karel Boborski.

Karel Boborski has unparalleled skills and speed, especially speed. Boborski's characteristics are very obvious. He can eat opponents alive at lightning speed on the right, and he can also shake off defenders with his skills. Of course, Boborski also has the skill of shooting from behind. These abilities make Boborski the most eye-catching player in the current Burnley team.

"George, to be honest, it's really great. I think Boborski's ability is more than enough even to play in the Premier League. It seems that we need to re-examine the football of countries like the Czech Republic." Karl Pat answered George while recording the training status of the players.

George picked up the pen and paper in his hand and drew a lot of triangles. Then he said to Carl Pat and Evan Sawyer: "Carl, Evan, I am a very realistic person. If we cannot be promoted this season, I think the club will definitely fire me. Of course, you two may follow me. So the first thing I will do this season is the team's defense, and defense is not just the job of the defenders. The forward will be the first defender, then the midfielder, and finally the back line." Carl and Evan were watching George carefully drawing various arrows on his notebook.

"You see, I won't do the kind of man-to-man defense. Our defense should be a zone defense. Once the ball is lost, we must immediately counter-grab on the spot. Then several people quickly form a circle around the ball to control the area and limit the ball route." George kept drawing various triangles and even diamonds to express his views on defense.

Carl Pat and Evan Sawyer listened very carefully to George's defensive method of zone control. "If you want to achieve good results, the only way is to do a good job of defense. Only on this basis can you attack."

"As for offense, there are only two words, running. The forwards and wingers in the front court are the same. They need to keep running out of space without the ball, or pull away the opponent's defense. Midfielder Michael Ballack is the core of my team's midfield in the new season. Carl, you should find that Michael's long pass is very advanced. Michael will be responsible for various midfield dispatches in the new team to tear apart the opponent's defense. And Michael's headers and long shots are very good, and he must be very threatening when he inserts from the back row." George once again drew arrows of various offensive directions on his notebook to show his ideas for the new season.

George will not regard himself as Wenger and do those complicated and changeable offensive means. He will not regard Burnley as Barcelona and use ball control to wear down the opponent's morale. Burnley is now a small team, currently struggling in the English League Two, and the players cannot meet these tactical requirements. So George wants things like speed and efficiency of attack, rather than cumbersome tactics.

Seeing Carl and Evan pondering there, George patted Carl. "Carl, you just heard my idea. The team's training situation should be formulated as I said. I believe you." George knew that Carl was more professional than himself, so after stating his requirements, he let Carl formulate his own training plan.

George took two steps forward and then stepped back. "Carl, Michael, you should be more attentive. Not only should you strengthen his long pass ability, long shots, and headers, but you should also let him practice small techniques and small-range passes. And Miro, increase his technical ability and shooting at the foot." After instructing Carl, George continued to observe the players' status.

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After more than 20 days of training, the main force in George's mind gradually emerged. Needless to say, Bobowski has conquered all the players and members of the coaching staff since the first day he came. Even Thompson, who had a very bad impression of George, nodded repeatedly and praised Bobowski's ability.

As for the two midfielders Danny Murphy and Neil Lennon, who George dug from Crewe, they also showed a high level in the midfield. Unfortunately, Danny Murphy showed some characteristics of young players, sometimes too sticky to the ball, sometimes bad temper. On the contrary, Neil Lennon, who George bought later, performed extremely well. Strong running ability, fierce tackling, and wide defensive area, these characteristics made George gradually like this simple midfielder.

Brin's defense and quick turn in the penalty area, Huckabee's quick breakthrough, Richard Brodie's impact and back-to-back pass ability, all made them occupy the main position in George's mind. And Ballack, who George had high hopes for, did not disappoint George's expectations. Of course, what George was most satisfied with was not how strong Ballack's ability was, but the ball IQ that Ballack showed. After just over 20 days of practice, Ballack already had a clear understanding of the technical characteristics of each player in the team. How to pass the ball to Bobowski, how to pass the ball to Huckabee, and how to pass the ball to the center are all known. Such ability is the reason why George likes Ballack the most.

Almost everyone can see that George likes Ballack. On the first day of training, George said that there is no distinction between the main players and substitutes in his team. But during training, George always let Ballack be responsible for dispatching in the midfield, and almost all other midfielders were required to hand over the ball to Ballack after getting the ball. And Ballack was called to the sidelines by George the most times during training.

Klose, who was only 17 years old, performed mediocrely and had not yet shown the ability to be the main center of the German tank in the future. But George was not in a hurry. Compared with Klose who was still playing in the amateur league at the age of 20 in the previous time and space, Klose's starting point was already very high. Although there was Klose, a player with mediocre performance, all the coaches looked at George in a completely different way at this time.

Klose was just a young player signed for free, and there was not much loss even if he failed. But among the eight players George brought in this year, seven of them performed very well.

Of course, the most eye-catching performance was Daniel Morrison, a young player trained by George. Daniel Morrison's performance doesn't look like a 17-year-old young player at all. He is good at positioning, heading, turning and speed. Daniel Morrison's speed can be described as amazing. If Henry and Ronaldo's speed is 20, then Daniel's speed must be between 18 and 19. When George was coaching the youth team, he found Daniel at first sight.

Although Daniel is usually playful, what really makes George like Daniel is his calmness. He will never be impulsive in the back line. This terrible calmness made George determined to focus on training him. When I first met Daniel, Daniel was only 14 years old. But Daniel, who was only 14 years old, showed a calmness that many adult players could not show, which made George's heart beat fast.

However, Ashley Chapman, who was promoted to the first team with Daniel, failed to meet George's requirements. Ashley Chapman has excellent skills and stands out in the youth team. Even better than Daniel, but after entering the first team, some of Ashley's problems appeared. George was very sorry for his lack of defensive enthusiasm, too much stickiness to the ball, and weak physical confrontation.

Seeing the team's running-in getting better day by day, George was getting more and more nervous. Although George looked down on the second division in his heart, he felt that his ability should go to the Super League and should compete with the European giants in the Champions League. But after all, this was the first time he played in the second division as a head coach, and it would be a lie to say that he was not nervous. No matter how you say rebirth, you will not become Ultraman immediately, and you have to take it step by step.

After more than 20 days, George's main lineup has been formed. The goalkeeper is undoubtedly Miller, the central defenders are Mitchell King and Gary Breen, the right back is Grant, and the left back will be the young player Daniel Morrison. The midfielders are Neil Lennon, Danny Murphy, Michael Ballack, and Karel Bobowski from left to right. The forwards are Richard Brodie and Darren Huckabee.

George actually chose three defensive midfielders in the midfield. Neil Lennon seemed to play as a left winger, but in fact he was just a fictitious left winger. Neil Lennon's actual role was to be the last guarantee of the back line. George played with Richard Brodie in the front, and Darren Huckabee and Bobowski would attack in turn behind him. Although there were some problems on the left side, George had high expectations for Daniel Morrison. He hoped that Daniel Morrison could become an excellent left back like Carlos, although George believed that Daniel Morrison's best position was at the center back position.

Time passed day by day, and soon it was August 16th. George's first game was about to come.

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