Coaching legend

"George, is this true?"

Both Blanco and Carl were shocked by George's news.

As George said, although Miku is already 32 years old and has suffered more injuries recently. But Miku's strength remains the same.

Although his explosive power has declined, Miku's experience is getting more and more sufficient.

Miku's strength is still top-notch now.

At the moment when Blackburn's midfield begins to be updated, there are still many benefits to having a player like Miku sitting in. And as the best player in Blackburn's history, retiring in Blackburn is even more perfect.

Therefore, Blanco and Carl never thought that Miku would leave Blackburn one day.

Didn't expect it?

"Well. I have promised John. John should want to return to his roots and return to France."

Blanco frowned.

Blanco and Miku played in the same national team back then. But the friendship between the two is actually average.

Especially at that time, Blanco was a big shot in the French national team. He had the same qualifications as Deschamps. Even from other aspects, even Thuram, Lizarazu, Zidane and others are juniors in front of Blanco, and they dare not act rashly.

And Miku is just a marginal player who is not doing well in the national team.

If Blanco had not come to Blackburn later, he would have had almost no intersection with Miku. But after arriving at Blackburn, Blanco understood Miku's status in Blackburn. Even Miku's status in the Premier League.

It can even be said that Miku is Blackburn. Speaking of Premier League art masters, the two names that people blurt out are Miku of Blackburn and Bergkamp of Arsenal.

Therefore, Blanco has always liked Miku.

Miku is a little introverted in the team and never plays big. But he is very hardworking when playing football. If he is kicked down on the field, he will get up quickly.

Such a player will be reused in any club. In addition, Miku's strength is also very strong.

Now thinking that Miku is leaving the club, both of them don't know what to say.

"Laurent, Carl, don't spread this. Just know it." Miku has always been Blackburn's top star. He has a high prestige among Blackburn fans and the locker room. If he leaves, it will have a great impact on the team.

George didn't want the news to spread.

Blanco and Carl both nodded.

Carl suddenly smiled. "John too. It would be best if he left the club after the end of last season. Think about it, John's last game at Blackburn was the Champions League final. How memorable it is."

George was suddenly stunned when he heard Carl's words.

Yes!

Good players should have a good ending. Just like Miku, if he won the championship in the Champions League final and then announced his departure from Blackburn, what a beautiful story it would be. It will make Blackburn fans miss it for a long time.

In the last game of Arsenal leaving Highbury in history, Henry completed a hat trick. After the last goal, he kissed the grass of Highbury Stadium affectionately, leaving the most classic moment. In Arsenal's more than 100-year history, Henry's kiss must be a permanent classic.

Of course, even if there is no beautiful back view, at least there is an unforgettable back view.

Just like Zidane, his retirement was also earth-shattering.

In the World Cup final, he made a head-on effort. It shocked the world of football.

Karl's words suddenly made George think that he should give Miku a parting gift. But it is not easy to give Miku a parting gift now.

Let's talk about the Premier League champion first. Chelsea is currently far ahead.

Leading to the point that the latecomers have despaired.

Chelsea is already nine points ahead of Arsenal and twelve points ahead of Blackburn. The score gap is really too big. Blackburn has no hope of winning the Premier League this season.

Let's talk about the Champions League. Although Blackburn has already appeared in the group stage.

But they were drawn to Bayern. Of course, even if they pass Bayern, there are still a lot of teams behind. George is really not sure.

Especially the current Blackburn.

The combination of Lucio and Lescott makes people feel uneasy. If it weren't for Van der Sar, who was blocking left and right in the back, Blackburn would have lost so many goals. Even so, among the Premier League teams, Blackburn currently has the most goals lost.

With this defensive line now, George is not optimistic about his performance in the Champions League.

In addition, Blackburn's midfield is mostly young now. Ribery and Yang Feng are not able to stand alone. In the European football world where there are so many good players, it is difficult to take a step forward. Although George is arrogant, he is more self-aware.

It is difficult for Blackburn to achieve any results in the Champions League this season.

But now Miku is leaving.

George is thinking that he should give him a championship to send him off.

"Laurent, Carl, you say, should we use a championship to send John off this season."

Blanco and Carl both nodded.

"Of course this is the best. But which championship should it be?"

Once a goal is set, it is natural to focus on it. Therefore, many clubs will have a focus.

"It should be the FA Cup!" Carl said affirmatively. "George, since you came to Blackburn, you have won all the championships you can win. Only the FA Cup has not been won. And now we have let go of the League Cup."

"There is no hope for the League Championship, and the Champions League is too difficult. The FA Cup is the most realistic. Besides, Miku's honor book is also missing an FA Cup. With another FA Cup, Miku's club career can be considered a great success."

If it were any other coach, he would never speak like this in front of George. Because George usually seems to be kind, but he is also a strong coach. Even if he knows that Blackburn has a small chance of winning the Champions League, no one will say it directly in front of George.

But Carl is different.

Carl and George have known each other for more than fifteen years.

And the two have always been the best partners. So there is no taboo in talking.

Blanco smiled and nodded, agreeing with Carl's words.

"Do you all think so?"

The two did not speak, but George already understood.

FA Cup?

The FA Cup is still a very distant memory for George. Seven years ago, George won the FA Cup when he led Burnley. After that, George usually gave up the FA Cup very quickly.

Is it necessary to use the FA Cup to save his life this season?

…………

On January 20, the third round of the FA Cup began.

Blackburn is a team participating in the Champions League. Therefore, they do not need to participate in the first and second rounds of the FA Cup. They directly participated in the third round of the FA Cup.

The opponent they faced was Cardiff from the Championship League.

Starting from this season, the second-level league in England was renamed the Championship League, and the original third-level league in England became the English League One. In fact, it was just the name that was changed, and nothing else changed.

And Cardiff City is also a very weak team in the Championship League.

Just four years ago, Cardiff City was still a team in the fourth-level league in England. In the past four years, their performance was still good. They were able to jump from the fourth-level league to the Championship League in two years.

Although Cardiff City has ambitions, its strength is still too low at present.

Although George attaches some importance to the FA Cup, it is impossible to use the main players from the third round. If that is the case, it will definitely make other Premier League teams laugh.

However, even if it is not all the main players, Blackburn is still strong.

Look at Blackburn's cards.

The back line includes Baines, Lucio, Mechevelli, and Maicon. The midfielders include Parker, Carrick, Hleb, Arshavin, and Yang Feng. The striker is Drogba.

In the back line, for stability, George used Lucio, the main defender. In addition to Drogba, all are substitutes.

The midfielders seem to be mostly substitutes, but they are all very talented young people.

Especially Yang Feng, who became famous in the game against Chelsea. His fame is so great that it even exceeds the time when Rooney defeated Arsenal. But George did not promote him to be a main player. In more than ten games so far, he has only started twice. He was a substitute for four other times.

George is unwilling to force growth.

Give Yang Feng enough time to grow.

England is indeed not short of talented players. Every once in a while, the English media will reveal a talented player. But why is the success rate so low in the end? It is not only because many talents are hyped up by the media. It is more because young people can't stand the hype and eventually lose themselves.

So Yang Feng and George are very careful to protect.

Cardiff City played very hard at home.

But the strength gap is not so easy to fill. Facing Cardiff City from the Championship, Drogba scored two goals, Arshavin scored one goal, and Mecheveri scored a header, winning Cardiff City 4-0.

Blackburn also entered the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Only nine days later, on January 29, the fourth round of the FA Cup began.

Blackburn was lucky.

Blackburn played at home again. The opponent was weaker, Colchester United, a team from the third-level league in England.

Colchester United, in a league like England where there are hundreds of years of clubs, has a very short history. It has only been established for more than 70 years, and it did not join the English Football League until 50 years ago.

A real junior.

And the results over the years are also poor. Until now, they have not even entered the second-tier league in England, and have been hanging around in the lowest league.

Now Colchester United plays in the fourth-tier league in England.

But since George has decided to play in the FA Cup, he will never be careless.

The FA Cup is a hotbed for upsets.

Maybe some crazy team wants to complete a dragon-slaying legend.

But although he attaches importance to it, George used more substitutes this time. The main players have played too many games and have become old hands. Unless it is some important games or some simple games, they will save as much effort as possible.

Facing a team from the fourth-tier league in England, these main players will definitely not take it seriously.

On the contrary, those substitutes will work harder for performance.

That's why George chose those substitutes.

Sure enough, Blackburn's substitutes are very powerful. They easily defeated the visiting Colchester United 3-0 at home.

After playing two FA Cup games, Blackburn entered the fifth round of the FA Cup.

But no one paid attention.

Because Blackburn's first two opponents were too weak. It is very normal to enter the fifth round of the FA Cup. And at this time, there is no real strong dialogue.

But when the draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup came out, the attention of the English football world refocused on Blackburn.