Coaching legend

In the Blackburn dressing room, the atmosphere was very depressing. Blackburn head coach Ray Shaft was furious, pointing at Blackburn players and cursing.

"Do you know what team we are facing? It's a team from the second division, a second division team! What are we? We are the Premier League champion team. But look at what shit you played in the first half, it's simply a disgrace to the Premier League team."

Ray Shaft himself is not a coach who likes to get angry. He helped Dalglish win the Premier League last season. After officially becoming the head coach of Blackburn this season, the results were so poor at first that his position began to be unstable. Fortunately, Blackburn has performed well in recent games, but the position is still shaky.

The huge pressure made Shaft unable to control his emotions. But after all, Shaft is an experienced coach and suppressed his anger.

"Most of their forces are concentrated in the middle. Our strategy for the second half is still to attack their two flanks. Daniel, the young player, was already in a very awkward defense in the first half. In the second half, we will focus on attacking the two flanks."

Shaft began to introduce the tactics for the second half to the players.

…………

At the same time, on the other side, George greeted the players at the door of the locker room, and then finally entered the locker room. Although many people were very tired in the first half because of the full defense. After all, it is a Premier League team, and Burnley has not encountered such a strong opponent so far. But everyone has a smile on their face.

The atmosphere in the locker room is very good, and people gather in groups of three or two to chat.

George clapped his hands, and everyone's attention was focused on George again. "The performance in the first half was very good, and everyone tried their best to defend. The effect was also very good. The score of 1:0 is the best reward for you."

As soon as George's words fell, "Mmmmm..." All the players shouted loudly.

When they were almost done venting, George knocked on the tactical board. "But I want to criticize you, Daniel?" Looking at Daniel's smiling face, George pointed at Daniel expressionlessly.

Everyone was shocked by George's words. Daniel was the hero in the first half. Not only did he withstand Blackburn's attack, but he also scored the only goal for Burnley in the 28th minute.

Including Carl Pat next to him, he looked at George with doubtful eyes.

"Daniel, the counterattack in the first half was our only chance. At that time, Huckby's position was better than yours. As long as you pass the ball, it will be an empty goal. Even Bobowski's chance is better than yours. You should pass the ball instead of shooting at that opportunity." George criticized Daniel very seriously.

George was not worried at all that criticizing Daniel would dampen his enthusiasm. Since the age of fourteen, Daniel has grown up in George's scolding.

"Yes, boss." Daniel smiled and quickly apologized to George.

"Yeah." George nodded, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face. "But to be honest, Daniel, your shot was very beautiful. It's definitely this one." George gave a thumbs up and praised Daniel.

"Okay, the first half is over. We did a good job defending in the first half. Blackburn will definitely counterattack in the second half. They don't have strong penetration in the middle, so they will definitely step up breakthroughs on the wing. Lennon, Coyde, you two continue to protect Daniel's side in the second half. Murphy, you help Grant's side. The three lines continue to maintain close contact and don't give Blackburn any chances. Our strategy in the second half is still to defend and counterattack. We will remain unchanged in the face of changes."

Before coming to Ewood Park, George already had a comprehensive plan. In terms of attacking, Burnley is definitely not Blackburn's opponent. Then we can only play this kind of defensive counterattack tactics.

"Michael, your dispatch in the midfield is the most important. We have two fast players, Huckby and Bobowski, in the frontcourt, and we need your passing. You didn't do well in this regard in the first half. You must pay attention to reading the game in the second half."

Balak's performance in the first half was good enough, whether it was defense or offense, but George knew that Barak was far from discovering his potential. George has always been very strict with Barak.

Barak didn't say much, and he just nodded vigorously when he heard George's words.

"Daniel, in the second half, you can also make appropriate insertions on the basis of solid defense. Berg's speed is not good, so as long as you steal the ball, you must not hesitate when counterattacking. Coyde, you will fill Daniel's position at that time."

George drew three arrows in the front court and a circle behind. "When we counterattack, we require speed. So we don't need to invest too much manpower, just three or four people will be enough."

After explaining the tactics, George pressed his hand.

"Blackburn's bastards made us stay in the fourth-level league forever. Mitchell, you were also on the court that year, what did you think of?" Lack of strength, of course, needs to be supplemented by mental strength.

Mitchell clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and said: "Kill Blackburn, I only thought of this."

"Yes, kill Blackburn." Miller and Grant, who had experienced that incident, also echoed Mitchell.

George waved his hand. "Yes, kill Blackburn. We will kill them at Ewood Park, at Blackburn's home ground."

…………

After the start of the second half, George did not sit in the coaching bench, but stood straight on the court. All the Blackburn fans booed Chu Xiaoyao, which was mixed with insults towards George.

But George wasn't the only one standing, Shaft was also standing on the court, watching the game anxiously.

After Sherwood got the ball, he slowed down a little and kept breathing. This game is really tiring. The big German guy is in great shape, has plenty of energy, and has good defensive skills. Ballack followed Sherwood closely in this game, which pushed Sherwood's physical strength to its limit.

However, Sherwood slowed down the pace, but Ballack did not rest. As soon as his long legs stretched out, he broke the ball at Sherwood's feet. Ballack handed the ball to Murphy, who quickly handed it to Ballack. Ballack rubbed his right foot and rubbed the ball to the left.

"It was Daniel. Daniel, who scored a goal in the first half, got the ball. Daniel passed the ball, and Berg couldn't keep up with Daniel's speed. There was no defensive player in front of Daniel."

For a moment, all the fans on the court held their breath, because the situation now was exactly the same as in the first half.

However, to Blackburn's advantage, the two central defenders did not press near the center circle like they did in the first half. The two of them retreated very quickly to protect the area near the small penalty area.

"Daniel was very fast, but Hendry had already established his position. Daniel started, but did not throw away Hendry. Hendry was experienced and was not shaken by Daniel, but firmly maintained his position."

"Daniel passed the ball! Near the penalty area, look who it is? Ballack, there are no defensive players around Ballack. Ballack, shoot!!!!!!!!!"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Ballack's goal, Burnley leads by two goals away from home. Beautiful counterattack."

"Burnley only needed three passes to score a goal."

Following this goal, Blackburn's more than 20,000 fans suddenly became silent. Burnley fans were singing and dancing, forming a red wave in the stands.

George deliberately waved his fist in front of Shaft, then raised his fist to demonstrate to the Blackburn fans. George knew the game was a done deal.

"Daniel and Ballack each scored a goal and an assist. Ballack, 19, and Daniel, 17, two such young people completely conquered Ewood Stadium. Let us remember these two young people. People, they will definitely be great stars in the future, Paul, what do you think?”

"Martin, you are absolutely right. Especially Daniel, I believe there will be a place for him in the England national team in the future."