Coaching legend

On December 5, 1998, Blackburn came to Liverpool.

Speaking of cities in the northwest of England, Liverpool is much larger than Blackburn, or has a larger population than Blackburn. Liverpool has a local population of more than 440,000, which is much more than Blackburn's 140,000.

But Liverpool also has two traditional English teams. Liverpool, an English giant, is needless to say. In addition to Liverpool, there is also a Premier League powerhouse, Everton.

Speaking of Liverpool, it is the first giant in England, but there is also a traditional English team in the same city. Everton has won 9 top league titles in England, entered the FA Cup final 12 times, won five FA Cup titles, and won the European Cup Winners' Cup once.

Liverpool and Everton were originally the same team, but later there were conflicts among the top leaders, and Liverpool separated from Everton. Therefore, Everton has a large number of fans in Liverpool. If it is placed in England or in the world, then Liverpool fans must be very large.

But in Liverpool, Liverpool fans may not be able to surpass Everton.

With Liverpool and Everton, the city of Liverpool has also become one of the important territories in English football.

On this day, George led Blackburn to Liverpool, and the opponent of the game was Liverpool, the top giant in England.

Liverpool's performance this season is very poor, just as the reason why George declined to be the head coach of Liverpool. When Houllier became the head coach of Liverpool, Liverpool began to coach Houllier and Evans together. It also began the beginning of the fight between the two coaches.

This double-leader coaching style soon had problems. Houllier and Evans often argued because they had great differences in team building and deployment. The two people kept arguing, which also had a great impact on Liverpool's record.

Although they did not win the championship in the top league in the past few years, they are still a very strong team. Redknapp, McManaman, Fowler and other technical players are very strong players in the Premier League. But this season, Liverpool is currently only ranked seventh in the Premier League.

The points are the same as Blackburn, with only two more goals. If Blackburn had not been scored eight goals by Arsenal at home, Liverpool would not have been able to lead Blackburn in goal difference.

And their double-header coaching style finally ended in November. The final result was that Evans left Liverpool and Houllier coached alone.

I had never thought about it before, but when I arrived at Liverpool this time, George remembered that he was also one of the candidates for Liverpool's head coach. If I had taken over Liverpool at that time, would I be coaching Liverpool alone now?

That's Liverpool, the most prestigious club in England in European football.

But it's just a thought. What is Houllier's identity? He was able to squeeze out Evans, a veteran of Liverpool, in the dispute with Evans. He relied on his former Ligue 1 title, led the French youth team to win the European U-19 Football Championship, and relied on his former head coach of the French national team.

It was precisely because of this title that Houllier was able to win in this dispute.

But if it were George, George really had no confidence to defeat Evans. Therefore, I can only envy Houllier in my heart.

After all, that is Liverpool Club, the top club in England. A club that has won four Champions League titles. In the Champions League title category, no team can compare to Liverpool except Real Madrid and Milan.

If there is a chance to coach Liverpool, it is still quite tempting for George now.

Of course, this is just George's thought.

…………

Anfield, as the game approaches, Blackburn's bus arrives at Anfield Stadium.

Speaking of which, Anfield Stadium is not very big, not as big as Wembley Stadium and Manchester United's home Old Trafford Stadium. But George can always think of someone when he looks at Anfield Stadium.

Of course, this is related to the fact that when George came to England, it was just when the Red Army Liverpool swept across Europe. Although George only caught up with the end of Liverpool's glory, he still has a deep impression of Liverpool.

When George came to England, Liverpool's head coach had become Fagan.

But George has been worshipping Liverpool's other two meritorious coaches Shankly and Paisley since he was a child. Especially Shankly. Until now, there are still many news about Shankly and his famous quotes in George's study.

"Some people equate football with life and death. I am deeply disappointed. I can assure you that football far, far exceeds life and death."

"First is first, second is useless."

"The fighting spirit in my heart comes from the honor and passion brought by the red jersey. We don't need to mobilize, every player is responsible for the team's performance. The identity of Liverpool players makes them full of fighting spirit."

"Football is a simple sport. You just need to pass the ball, control the ball and make sure you can catch the pass. It's so simple."

A reporter from Merseyside Radio asked Shankly: "Mr. Shankly, why did your team's unbeaten streak suddenly end?" Shankly replied: "Why don't you jump into the river?"

Every time he saw these famous quotes, even George felt his blood boiling all over. Shankly is truly a unique coach who can lead Liverpool, which is still in the second tier, to become the best team in Europe.

Liverpool's ability to become England's richest club is inseparable from Shankly. It was precisely because of the foundation laid by Shankly that Paisley later led Liverpool to countless honors. Let Liverpool truly become a giant in European football.

After the 1973-74 season, Shankly unexpectedly announced his resignation as head coach. At the age of 60, he planned to spend more time with his wife Nice and his family. This decision shocked the city of Liverpool. On September 29, 1981, Shankly passed away due to a heart attack. When his friend and former Manchester United legendary coach Sir Busby heard the news, he was so sad that he could not speak for a long time on the phone.

Shankly! To reach this point as a coach is to die without regrets.

"George, George." Evan poked George next to him.

"It's okay." George shook his head, and then smiled slightly. "I am thinking of Coach Shankly. Football is not about life and death, but it is higher than life and death. Our seniors are really..."

"Okay, George. Stop remembering, let's go in."

"Yeah." George nodded.

Those English giants are so lucky. Manchester United has Busby, Liverpool has Shankly, and Arsenal has Chapman. It is precisely because of these meritorious coaches that they have become an English giant.

When George was coaching Burnley, he also wondered whether he would become Burnley's Busby, Shankly, and Chapman.

Now that he has become the head coach of Blackburn, will he become the founder of Blackburn at Blackburn?

Before he even fully entered the court, George heard the very familiar song "You'll Never Walk Alone."

…………

"If it weren't for the collapse of the final negotiations, George would be the head coach of Liverpool now. At that time, there were a lot of rumors about George joining Liverpool, and many Liverpool staff swore that George would definitely become the manager. Liverpool’s new head coach, George was indeed Liverpool’s first choice at the time, and even David Morse was personally involved in the negotiations.”

"It was only after negotiations between the two parties broke down that George became Blackburn's manager."

"But now George is doing well at Blackburn. He just won the Coach of the Month. He has won six consecutive games and is already ranked eighth in the Premier League, which is the same as Liverpool's points."

"On the contrary, Houllier has to work hard now. Liverpool performed poorly in the previous games. In the past four games, they have two wins and two losses. Compared with Blackburn's six consecutive wins, the state is good and bad. "

Before the game started, the commentator was introducing the recent game status of the two teams.

"Speaking of George's rejection of Liverpool, it makes sense now that I think about it. The dual-leadership system is also the reason for Liverpool's current poor performance. George's rejection of such a dual-leadership system is understandable. It's just a pity that we can't see it. To the collaboration between George and the giants Liverpool.”

"Of course, think about it, that's George, not someone else. George is so controlling, how could he be willing to coach with other coaches."

"Yes, George will never allow anyone to interfere with his team."

The two commentators laughed.

But I guess it's similar. George will never agree to anyone interfering with his team. The top management of the club cannot interfere, let alone other coaches, which is even more unacceptable.

And George, who they were discussing, was setting up today's tactics in the locker room.

This was Blackburn's first game of the Devils' season in December, and George didn't make any rotations. This was an away game and facing Liverpool, George did not dare to be careless at all.

Liverpool is a technically proficient team, and there are only two ways to face a technically proficient team. Either the technology surpasses the other party, by a lot. Or use muscle tactics to strangle the team. But now Blackburn is a technical team, and of course they want to surpass Liverpool technically.

Therefore, George continued to maintain the original combination in the starting lineup. After several months of running in, they have become more and more comfortable controlling the ball in the midfield. Facing Premier League clubs, they have the upper hand in controlling the midfield.

But Liverpool can not only control the midfield, but there is England's golden boy Owen in front. As for Irving, Irving is at his best now, so it's hard to guard against him.