Coaching legend

"George, come here quickly. This is a dish I made specially for you. You see, this table is filled with your favorite food." The muscles on Old York's body trembled. George looked at Old York and looked like he was The legendary football hooligan.

George sat down and took a look. Indeed, the breakfast made by York today was George's favorite. "Thanks, Uncle York."

"Don't thank me. This is your first time leading a team in a game today. Don't worry, our residents will be there to support you. You can't let us down then." Old York laughed generously, and then patted him. George's shoulders. "George, I have always believed in you. You will definitely lead Burnley to create new miracles."

George nodded, glad that someone supported him so much. "By the way, where's Little York? They're not on holiday."

"I don't know, I already went out early in the morning." Old York didn't talk much about the game with George. This was George's first game. Old York doesn't want to put too much pressure on George, unlike other Burnley fans. Old York had watched George grow up, so he had another special feeling.

After eating, George left home early. "Good morning, George. You must work hard today. I will definitely be there to support you."

"Thank you, Burns. Just trust me." "Good morning, Parkin. Don't worry, I won't let you down." George has lived in this area for six years and is on par with many people here. familiar. This is especially true after George became the head coach of the Burnley team.

"George, get in the car. I'll take you there." Just as George kept greeting people, a taxi stopped in front of George.

"Thank you, John." George smiled and got into the car.

The bearded driver burst out laughing. "George, I should be the one to thank you. I heard that Daniel was going to enter the starting lineup. I'm so grateful to you. If it hadn't been for your persistence, Daniel wouldn't have been able to enter the club's first team." This big beard is what George single-handedly created. John Morrison, father of youth-promoted Daniel Morrison. Daniel is very tall, fully 1.87 meters tall, but Daniel's father is only about 1.7 meters tall.

"John, I should be the one thanking you. For giving birth to such an outstanding son, I am here to guarantee that Daniel will definitely be able to enter the England national team in a few years." The city of Burnley is not very big, and it is only a few minutes away from Turf. Moore Stadium.

"George, what are you doing? How can I ask for your money? You take it back. Just think of it as thanking you." When they got off the bus, George paid John the fare, but John quickly refused.

George didn't care about that and just stuffed it into John's hand. "John, you don't want the newspapers to report in a few years that the former Burnley manager accepted benefits from young players' families to promote young players. I still want to be a coach for a long time."

…………

August 16, 1995, Turf Moor Stadium.

George came to the court early to let the players warm up. George stood on the court and suddenly felt that the world was in his hands, even though he had played at Turf Moor before. But at that time, George was just an ordinary coach of the team, which was a completely different experience from being the head coach today.

The game hasn't started yet, and George visually estimated that there were already about 12,000 fans who came to the stadium today. The stadium, which can accommodate more than 22,000 people, is already more than half full. This result already makes George very satisfied. Burnley is not a big city like London, Leeds, or Liverpool. Compared with those big cities, Burnley is as small as an ant. In a town with a population of 88,000, even if the entire city mobilized, it would only be enough to fill Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium.

Moreover, the income of Burnley residents is even meager. If you want to watch football in London, especially Highbury, the annual ticket price, if you add the tickets for the League Cup, FA Cup, and European League, then Arsenal fans will spend a year. The annual cost of watching football is more than half of the annual income of Burnley residents. This aspect also shows the income of Burnley residents.

Under such circumstances, more than 10,000 fans can enter the stadium, which makes George understand more about the loyalty of England fans. Throughout Lancashire there are countless clubs including Burnley, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Preston, Accrington Stanley. Blackburn has a population of only 140,000, while Burnley has an even lower population of 88,000.

But the good thing about being poor is that the fans are very passionate. Back then, professor Arsene Wenger complained that the fans at Highbury had too little passion. The fans at Highbury are quite polite, and the fans watching the football there are basically polite white-collar workers. The fans just watch the game in a polite manner, and the players also feel that there is not much passion during the game.

But Burnley fans are different, their fans are crazy and passionate. A group of crazy fans is likely to infect more crazy and loyal fans, which can also in turn affect the performance of the players, making their belief in winning even stronger! The contribution of a good home court to the team is absolutely unimaginable.

…………

"Today is our first game in the Second Division. We are going to start a new journey. Everyone must work together. There is only one goal this year, which is to return to the First Division. Although we cannot be satisfied with returning to the First Division. , But no matter how big the goal is, we must take it step by step. Now the second league is our first step." George was in the locker room, doing the final mobilization.

Finally, George said fiercely: "This is the first game. My only requirement is victory. I just want victory. Are you willing to play in the second division all the time?"

"No."

"Yes, I don't want to either. We should be in the English League One and the Premier League. To achieve this goal, we must win one game after another. This is not only our first game in the second division, but also our first game in Turf Moor. Tens of thousands of fans are watching us outside, and I will never allow failure. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Half of the players who started today were introduced by George himself. And they are relatively young, so they are easily encouraged by George.

"Okay, let me explain our opponent in detail now." George has the most detailed information about the opponent in the first game. George always believes in the saying that knowing yourself and the enemy will win every battle. "In this game, we must use offense to defeat the opponent. Swindon was relegated from the first division like us, and ranked higher than us in the first division. It is a popular team to be promoted this year." George was actually very dissatisfied with the arrangement of the FA, which made Burnley face such a strong opponent in the first game.

"Swindon's strongest point is not their offense, but their defense. Especially the four players in the back line, who have been working together for many years, and their defense can be ranked first even in the first division. But their defense also has a big problem, that is, the defenders are too old. Carel, the left back who is facing you today is very accurate in positioning and has a good physique, but his turning and speed are his biggest disadvantages. I only have one requirement for you, keep hitting him with speed."

"Richard, I only have one requirement for you in this game. Pin down their backs and use your impact to put the greatest pressure on them. Then create shooting opportunities for Huckabee and Michael behind him." George drew on the blackboard what Richard should do, and then told Darren Huckabee and Michael Ballack how to attack.

"Michael, Swindon's defenders are very accurate in positioning and their positions are also very reasonable. So the game needs your long shots, and don't hesitate when you have the chance."

…………

When the commentator on the scene called out the list of Burnley players one by one, they were cheered loudly. Although more than half of the starting list were newcomers, they still received huge cheers. Until Mitchell King's name came out, the cheers of the whole stadium suddenly increased several times. It can also be seen how much Burnley fans like this old captain.

But what made George most angry was that when George came out, the cheers were the smallest among all the cheers. This made George very dissatisfied. He was able to invite himself as the head coach. I don't know how many lifetimes Burnley has cultivated to be blessed. Ignoring me so much, George also secretly made up his mind to conquer Turf Moor Stadium.

"George, George." Among a group of people, there was a beautiful girl who kept calling George's name.

"Miranda, Miranda." The companion who came with her hurriedly pulled her to sit down. "Miranda, look at everyone around you looking at you? You don't seem to have much interest in football. I remember this is your first time to watch a game on the spot."

"So what, today is the first time that Brother George leads the team to play a game. I must cheer for him." Miranda ignored the people next to her and shouted George's name at her leisure. "I will come to watch the game every day in the future."

"Miranda, do you like George?" Miranda's companion asked her puzzledly.