Coaching legend

Chapter 44: Breaking the surface with a point (Part 1)

The home game against Bolton is the highlight of this round of the English League One. Bolton is currently the best offensive team in the English League One. Bolton was still in the Premier League last season, but was eventually relegated. But their strength has not been damaged, and they are the top favorite team for promotion in the English League One.

Speaking of Bolton, it is also one of the well-known teams in England. Bolton Football Club was founded in 1874. It is one of the seven founders of the English Football League. It has won four FA Cup championships in history, but it has also declined in recent years.

A very famous thing about Bolton is that after the Munich air crash swallowed the lives of many Manchester United players, some Bolton fans spread their arms in the game to make a plane crash gesture, and since then they have had a grudge with Manchester United. At that time, not only Manchester United, but many English clubs condemned the behavior of Bolton fans. For a while, Bolton was isolated by many English clubs, and this isolation even existed in the 21st century.

The 1994-1995 season was a brilliant season for Bolton Football Club. They not only won the runner-up in the League Cup, but also won the ticket to the Premier League through the play-offs. However, at this time, the chief contributor who led the team to the Premier League, head coach Bruce Riosh, accepted the invitation of Arsenal Club to fill the vacancy left by George Graham. Roy McFarland took over the team, but the team performed very poorly in the league and immediately returned to the First Division. McFarland was fired by the club. He was replaced by Colin Todd.

Bolton, led by Colin Todd, has won consecutive games in the League One. In the first eight rounds, it has achieved a super good record of seven wins and one draw. With 22 points, it ranks first in the League One. And the goals are the most in all the League Ones, and it is the team with the strongest offensive power in the League One.

And Burnley is currently the best defensive team in the League One, losing only two goals in eight rounds, which can be called super defense.

The passionate clash between the strongest attacking team and the best defensive team in the ninth round of the English League One still attracted a lot of media attention.

"Too many draws will not allow a team to be promoted to the Premier League. Even if you are not careful, there is a high possibility of relegation. I remember that Burnley had to accept the result of relegation in the League One last season because of too many draws." When facing the media, Colin Todd said it directly without any scruples. "And a team that only defends cannot become a strong team."

Before the game started, Colin Todd took the lead in the media.

Like many coaches of the same generation, Colin Todd is also a player. He was an England international in the 1970s and 1980s, so he has a bad temper. He is somewhat contemptuous of George, a 28-year-old young coach.

Although Colin Todd is a defender, he prefers to attack. Colin Todd, who just became the head coach of Bolton this season, has greatly improved Bolton's offense in a short period of time.

However, George simply said, "Offense wins fans, defense wins championships."

George doesn't have time to argue with Colin Todd now.

…………

"This is indeed a match between the most powerful attacking team and the best defensive team. In the first half, Bolton was looking for a chance to score for 30 minutes. But under Burnley's tenacious defense, they didn't get many chances."

This game really didn't have much to watch, there were not many exciting scenes, and there was no overly technical confrontation. Even Bolton passed the ball less than five times before Burnley intercepted the ball. Burnley was even more so, with less than three goals before Bolton intercepted the ball.

Both teams were fighting in the midfield, and all they could see was the referee blowing the whistle from time to time. If you are a neutral fan, you will immediately change the channel after watching for five minutes. Even the commentator had nothing to say about this game, so he kept introducing the current situation of Bolton and Burnley.

Colin Todd and George both sat in the coaching seats with a relaxed look on their faces. Colin Todd felt that it was not unacceptable to get a draw away from home, and George was just for defense in the first half.

In this game, George sent Lampard and Danny Murphy back to form a huge defensive advantage in the midfield. The forwards sent Klose and Kevin Phillips.

This year, George obviously began to reuse Klose. Although the current Klose cannot be compared with the Klose in Bremen later, he has made great progress compared to a year ago. His headers are still sharp, his speed is the first among Burnley forwards, and his shots are not as outrageous as a year ago.

The game went by bit by bit, and George was very satisfied with the situation in the first half. Bolton pressed forward, but couldn't find many ways to score.

"Frederick, go warm up." George shouted to the bench without turning his head.

When Yongberg heard what George said, he took off his coat and started warming up. Although Yongberg apologized, George still put him on the bench in this game.

But this time Yongberg did not make a noise, but sat quietly on the bench.

With the whistle at the end of the first half, George entered the locker room first. Looking at the players entering, George smiled. This was a rare smile George had in recent games.

"Everyone performed well in the first half, I am very satisfied." George was certainly not happy because Burnley tied with Bolton. Bolton was no different from passers-by in George's mind. George's goal was Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and other super teams.

"Frank, press forward in the second half. Don't retreat like in the first half. Your position should be here." George drew a circle in the 30-meter area in front of Bolton's goal. "You can make full use of your running ability and long-range shooting skills."

Lampard nodded to show that he understood. Lampard also liked the front position.

"Danny, I'm sorry you have to come down and rest in the second half. In the first half, you protected the right and middle, and did a very good job. But I have to attack in the second half, so I'm sorry." After the incident with Yongberg, George understood that these talented players all have tempers. And their tempers are not small, so when he said it, he tried to make himself look very sincere.

Danny Murphy was of course unwilling, but although he was reluctant, he still nodded. Ljungberg just didn't cooperate well with the players, but George banned him for two months. Although it is unknown how Ljungberg got into the squad for this game, most people know that Ljungberg had gone to George's office before.

Danny Murphy knew that in George's mind, he was definitely not as good as Ljungberg. George banned Ljungberg, let alone himself.

"Frederick, you will replace Danny in the second half. My requirements for you are very simple, break through, break through again. You should have seen it on the bench, Bolton is very arrogant now. The two full-backs don't care at all, you go on the court to let them know how powerful they are." George didn't repeat the old words, George believed that with Ljungberg's intelligence, he would not make the same mistake again.

Ljungberg nodded expressionlessly, knowing that this game was related to his future destiny. If he performed well and was recognized, then the road ahead would be smooth sailing. But once there was an if, George might really ruin himself.

"Michael, you have a heavier task in the second half. You must not only take care of defense, but also offense. You must be careful in the midfield. Whether the wing attack can be opened or not requires your mobilization."

Balak nodded with a resolute expression.

"Daniel, Steve, you two can join in at the right time." As the league progresses, Finnan has gradually replaced the aging Grant and appears more often in the right back position.

…………

"Klose's header, oops. It deviated slightly from the goal post, what a pity."

"Lampard's long shot was saved."

"Burnley had just started a small climax in the second half, and suddenly accelerated, catching Bolton off guard. Fortunately, the goalkeeper played well."

Burnley had just started the second half and gave Bolton a warning. However, several shots were just a little short and failed to score. Ten minutes after the second half, Burnley put down the offensive and began to retreat, and the rhythm became slightly slower.

After coming to their senses, they came to Bolton and started their attack, but soon it became a stalemate like in the first half.

After another attack was intercepted by Neil Lennon, Neil Lennon passed the ball to Ballack. Ballack moved to the right, and after Yongberg stopped the ball beautifully, he broke through Bolton's back waist with a slight swing of his body.

In the fifteen minutes after the start of the second half, Bolton fully witnessed Yongberg's speed and skills. Therefore, Bolton's defensive focus gradually shifted to the right, and two players double-teamed Yongberg.

Yongberg actually didn't care about the double-teaming of these two people, but thinking of George's cold face, he made a fake move to go to the bottom line, and then passed it to the left and rear.

Ballack ran forward and saw someone blocking him in front of him. Therefore, he did not stop the ball directly, but followed the direction of the ball, knocked it with his right heel, and led it to the left side of his body. This little move was in a flash, and Bolton's defensive players were shaken by this move of Ballack and missed Ballack.

Ballack's move almost broke up Bolton's defense. Ballack didn't stick to the ball, but passed it directly to the left.

Bolton, whose defense was mostly attracted by Ljungberg, had almost no defense on the right. Daniel, who had been defending throughout the game, quickly came to this empty area and passed the ball directly to the penalty area.

The ball was passed quickly and landed well. Klose jumped high in the crowd and headed hard for the goal.

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