Coaching legend

"Welcome everyone to watch this game. This is an important game to decide the Premier League champion. The two teams are Blackburn and Manchester United."

"Blackburn has always been ahead of Manchester United this season. The most they have led is eight points. Because of the recent unstable state, the points gap between Blackburn and Manchester United is only four points."

"But although Blackburn is not in good form in the past few games, as long as Blackburn gets a draw in this game, the championship of this season will be in Blackburn's pocket."

Martin Taylor was introducing the current situation of the two teams to the audience.

At the same time, George was also looking at Manchester United's starting lineup. Completely different from the past, this time Manchester United's midfield has five people. The left and right wings are Giggs and Beckham, but there are three players in the middle. Butt, Scholes, Roy Keane.

There is only Shelingham in the forward line.

This made George very confused.

Manchester United can only attack in this game, and only by winning can there be a chance of winning the championship. Now, Shelingham, the old man, is on the field. Shelingham is very old, already 35 years old. But he is in good shape, having scored nearly 20 goals for Manchester United this season.

But with Shelingham as the lone striker, it doesn't look like he is going to attack.

There are three people in the middle of the midfield, and George doesn't understand what Ferguson means. Does Ferguson still want to play a defensive counterattack?

George wanted to play a defensive counterattack in this game. After all, as long as George can hold on to a draw, the Premier League championship this season will be his. But he was confused by Ferguson's arrangement. What exactly does Ferguson want to do?

But after the game started, George understood a little.

Ferguson's arrangement in the midfield is Roy Keane in the back, Butt as a sweeper, and Scholes in the front.

This is not just the advantage of the number of midfielders, but the presence of these three people caught Blackburn off guard. George originally formulated the tactics according to Keane and Scholes's midfield, but now facing the sudden Butt, he was very surprised.

Butt is considered to be one of the 92 generation of Manchester United, and his fame and achievements are average compared to other players. But it does not mean that Bart is not strong.

Bart is the first one to debut in the 92 generation of Manchester United. He played for Manchester United as early as 1992. Bart, who just debuted, won the reputation of "New Paul Ince" with his excellent insight and tough interception. Many football critics have high hopes for this rising star, hoping that he can become another midfielder after Roy Keane. Unfortunately, Bart's development in the next few years was not as good as expected. He was ranked below the former captain Roy Keane for many years, which made Bart's game time less and less. His chance to play often had to wait until Roy Keane was injured or resting, which not only hindered his progress, but also affected his future in the club and the national team.

Therefore, when Keane and Bart played together, Miku was the first to feel the pressure.

Miku has played against many world-class midfielders. Including Vieira, Keane, Baraja, Hamann, Di Biagio, but Keane and Vieira are definitely the strongest midfielders in the world. Every time he played against Manchester United and Arsenal, Miku had to be careful to deal with Keane and Vieira.

Dealing with Keane was already a headache for Miku.

Now that Bart has come on the field, Miku in the frontcourt is really under pressure. It is difficult to control the ball and pass the ball, which is a bad feeling.

The second person who felt the pressure was Deco.

Ferguson arranged three midfielders for Blackburn's three midfielders. Although Keane was in the back, he would rush up every time the offense and defense changed. Keane is not the kind of player who only knows how to defend, and his offense is also not weak.

Because Makelele had to deal with Scholes, when Keane came in from behind, Deco had to come to defend Keane.

Keane is like a tank. Although Deco's defense has improved a lot, he is still very embarrassed facing Keane's impact.

George's original idea was to stabilize the rhythm, but Manchester United did not give Blackburn this opportunity at all. When attacking, all of Manchester United's midfielders, except Bart who was slightly behind, were involved in the offense.

Even the two full-backs often pressed forward to assist.

George watched the game nervously. It was a mistake.

This is Manchester United. Manchester United wants to attack with all their strength. How many clubs in the Premier League can defend against it? Even clubs in continental Europe will be in a mess when facing Manchester United's attack.

Shelingham doesn't look like a 35-year-old veteran at all. He keeps running in the frontcourt, and sometimes retreats to get the ball, giving Scholes a chance to insert from behind. Anyway, he is very active.

Although Blackburn thought that Manchester United would attack in a big way, this change of formation still caught everyone off guard.

Keane is really the best midfielder.

When defending, he covers the entire second half, and when attacking, he can even rush into the Blackburn penalty area.

Seeing that Manchester United has the advantage on the field, the cheers of Manchester United fans are higher and higher. And in this cheering, Manchester United's attack is like a tide, one wave after another. Manchester United's offensive layering is very strong.

Once Blackburn wanted to counterattack, Butt in the midfield appeared in front of the attacking players like a ghost, destroying Blackburn's counterattack.

Butt's appearance was indeed beyond George's expectations.

At this time, George didn't know which link he should adjust. Facing the current midfield of Manchester United, George didn't know how to break it. In the past, Blackburn always occupied the advantage of the number of midfielders and then controlled the midfield.

Once restrained by Manchester United's three midfielders, George didn't know what to choose for a while.

George could only continue to watch.

Ferguson chewed gum on the court, and then looked at George who was frowning. He smiled. George, although you are a young and talented coach, it is precisely because you are too young. Experience seems to be useless, but in fact, it is a treasure at a critical moment.

The game was deadlocked for ten minutes, and the attacking Manchester United still failed to break through Blackburn's defense.

But Blackburn's defense was ethereal, like a small sampan in the sea, and there was a danger of being swallowed at any time.

Especially because of Manchester United's strong offensive, Blackburn's fouls increased. If it were other teams, with the strength of Ferdinand and Blanco, they wouldn't care too much. But Manchester United has a world-class set-piece master.

Beckham's set-pieces are world-famous.

However, Beckham's condition may be a bit problematic in this game. He missed several good free kick opportunities.

But this cannot make George feel at ease. That's Beckham. Who knows which opportunity he will score.

George was a little annoyed. This is Ewood Park, and Blackburn hasn't been so embarrassed for a long time. Blackburn has never been a team that wins games by defending. Although Blackburn's counterattacks are good, there is no counterattack now.

If it was Burnley that he coached back then, George would still be sure to defend. But now Blackburn, if there is no counterattack, and only rely on defending to get a point, George is not sure at all.

But what about Keane in the midfield?

When Blackburn counterattacked, he stood in front of Manchester United's defenders like a mountain. When Manchester United attacked, Keane pressed up like a tank.

Another attack, Bart passed the ball to Keane. Keane had an advantage in the face of Deco. The action was even more simple, and he turned and rushed past Deco. Deco couldn't let Keane pass so easily. Deco wanted to grab the ball, so he hooked it, but the ball didn't stay, and Keane was hooked down by Deco.

The referee's whistle sounded, and a free kick was awarded in front of the penalty area.

The ball was thirty meters away from the goal, which was considered very far. Beckham kept fiddling with the ball there.

"This is the fifth free kick Beckham has taken since the start of the game. The previous free kicks were either not in a good place or the shooting footwork was not mastered well. I wonder how Beckham will deal with this ball?"

The distance of thirty meters seems far. But Beckham can shoot directly, of course, or pass it into the penalty area. Blackburn's defense line didn't know what to choose.

Cudicini was the most nervous.

Just as George thought, no goalkeeper would not be nervous about Beckham's free kick.

Beckham's run-up distance was a bit far, but his running speed was not fast.

"...Beckham, shoot... not this is a pass... Stam!"

Beckham's shooting and passing are both world-class.

This time Beckham made a full shot, but in the end it was a pass. Beckham's pass landed at the back point, and the ball flew straight to the back point as if it was calculated.

Beckham's free kicks have always been known for their arc, but it does not mean that his free kicks are slow. On the contrary, Beckham's free kicks are also very fast, and a distance of 30 meters is just a blink of an eye. Stam, who was already lying in ambush behind, jumped high and headed the ball hard at the flying ball.

"Stam! Header! Beautiful, the ball goes in!"

Because he was afraid that Beckham would shoot directly, Cudicini moved a little to the right. When Stam at the back point headed the ball, Cudicini was already unable to react. Although Cudicini made a sideways save, he was unable to block the goal.

"One to zero, thanks to Stam's header, Manchester United leads Blackburn by one to zero."

"Haha, George should be anxious now. If the score ends like this, then Manchester United will only be one point away from Blackburn."

"Ferguson's deployment caught Blackburn off guard. George still needs to continue learning. Let's see how George changes."