Fox in the Penalty Area

"Hu has scored in nineteen consecutive league rounds..."

On the TV screen, Hu Lai's goal was played.

Some people among the crowd staring at the TV screen couldn't help but sigh.

"And based on his condition, he might still be able to score goals in the league."

"Go in, go in and see how far you can push this record. But as long as he doesn't score against us in the Champions League."

There was a burst of low laughter in the conference room.

Amidst the laughter, head coach Scott Brooks asked Harry Bernard with a smile: "What do you think, Harry?"

Harry Bernard said seriously: "Hu's recent state is indeed outstanding. But the game between Samirspor and Madrid Pirates also gave us some inspiration. As long as our midfielder can contain the Pirates' midfielder, I think at home It’s not difficult to beat them. Maxi Carey is their key figure. This game against Samir Sports fully illustrates the difference between the Pirates’ performance with Carey and without Carey. If we can win in If the court maintains enough hardness and aggression, it will definitely stop Kyrie's performance."

Brooks nodded with satisfaction after hearing Bernard's answer: "Yes, Kyrie is the key to the Madrid Pirates' offense."

Maxi Carey has scored five goals and provided eight assists in the league this season and scored one goal and provided two assists in the Champions League.

Judging from the data alone, this number ranks first among the Madrid Pirates in assists, but it is actually not very exaggerated - at least not as exaggerated as Hulay's goals.

It’s just that there are some things that simple data cannot reflect.

For example, the imagination that Kyrie brings to the Madrid Pirates' offense cannot be shown by simple statistics such as assists and key passes.

With Kyrie on the court, the Madrid Pirates' offense will indeed be more calm.

Because of his skills, he can bring more possibilities to the team's offense.

And these may change the trend of the game.

"But we can't just focus on Carey or Hu..." Brooks said again. "Madrid Pirates are a unit, and we also want to defend them and form a unit. This is at our home court and we need to use more aggressive movement to cause problems for them, every ball and every part of the pitch. Go head-to-head with them on the turf! Fight more fiercely,

The faster we advance...the accumulation of these 'faster' and 'harder' will be our weapon to defeat the pirates! "

※※※

After the tactical meeting of the coaching staff, the coaches left the meeting room one after another.

Harry Bogard was retained by head coach Brooks, and assistant coach Stephen Brown remained in the house.

"Harry, are you really not considering playing in this game?" Brooks asked Bogard.

"Now that I can't bring any improvement to the team after I play, why should I take up a position?" Harry Bogard smiled and shook his head in refusal.

"You also said that what the team needs in this game is aggression. And you can bring aggression to the team."

"Then I might be replaced after half the game." Bogarde said half-jokingly.

"Dixon alone cannot support our toughness in the midfield." Brooks expressed his worries.

"Scott, I still think you should give Jimmy more trust. It is better to fix him in the middle than to let him play in various positions. He is indeed very comprehensive, but he has one that suits him best, and he is also the most My favorite position is central midfielder. Of course he is not like me, but his ability to endure loneliness shows that he is also a very tough player, and this toughness will help him endure troubles and difficulties in the game. Live with more pressure.”

The "Jimmy" in Bogaard's mouth is the team's current midfielder Jimmy Stokes. 202 was transferred from Thorton Town, a newly promoted Premier League team at the time. To get him, Stan Park Rangers spent 20 million pounds. From this transfer fee alone, it can be seen that Stan Park Rangers club still has high hopes for this young player. of.

The season after signing, the team loaned him to the English Championship team.

He performed well in the British Championship season, playing 36 times, scoring six goals and assisting four times. He was the team's thigh.

So after the loan ended, he returned to Stan Park Rangers in the 2027-2028 season and registered as a first-team player.

However, Stokes' performance in the Stan Park Rangers first team was far less impressive than in the Championship. Most of the time, he acts as a snake oil, patching up the team. He goes wherever he is needed.

He can play as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder, or wide midfielder.

Even when the full-back was injured, he took over.

For a while, Stan Park Rangers fans joked that Stokes could play any position except goalkeeper.

Such all-around qualities allowed him to play a lot, but his performance was not very good.

Others have begun to question whether it is worth spending £20 million for a snake oil.

Stokes' fate has not changed this season.

Coach Brooks still uses him as a patch, rarely fixing him in the middle of the midfield where Stokes likes and is best at.

The reason is because Brooks doesn't really trust Stokes.

Perhaps because he has worked with Harry Bogard for many years, in Brooks's mind, a player like "Tough Guy Harry" can sit in the middle of Stan Park Rangers' midfield.

Stokes, on the other hand, is taciturn and meek, and seems to have no heroic spirit. People can't help but doubt his mental level and ability to withstand pressure.

Therefore, the more important the game, the less Brooks dared to entrust Stokes with important tasks.

Stokes did not express any dissatisfaction with the head coach's distrust, but accepted it. This made Brooks feel that Stokes was a "soft guy with no talent" and no ambition to make progress, so he further lowered his impression score.

When the club bought Jimmy Stokes, they valued his comprehensive qualities and hoped that he could become the successor to the aging Harry Bogard.

But with such a "docile" Stokes, it is really difficult for people to think that he can succeed the "tough guy" Harry Bogard.

"Okay, Harry. I will seriously consider it." Seeing that Bogard had made up his mind, Brooks stopped persuading him and nodded in agreement.

Bogard then took his leave and left.

As soon as he left, assistant coach Stephen Brown, who was watching the whole process silently next to him, sighed with emotion: "I'm really a little sad. The 'tough guy Harry' who was injured before would rather walk off the field by himself than be carried off on a stretcher. , there will be a day when I admit that I can’t do it..."

"No one can defeat time." Brooks said while lowering his head to collect the documents on his desk. "In the past, if I dared to put him out of the roster for this game, he would have dared to knock on my door in the middle of the night and ask me to modify the roster."

Brown was amused by Brooks's image: "This is really something he can do."

Then he asked a bit more: "Would you really consider starting Stokes?"

"I haven't thought about it yet," Brooks said honestly.

In Brooks' arrangement, although he has been urging Bogarde to play, he has already made preparations for Bogarde to be unable to play, that is, to let Matthews Schneider and Jonathan Dixon form the middle midfielder. partner.

This is a relatively conventional combination, and it has been this arrangement for Stan Park Rangers' midfield duo for most of the season.

But Brooks always felt that with this central combination, it might be difficult to compete with the Pirates midfield trio of Maxi Carey, Vukovic and Juan Ramirez.

"Harry really takes care of Stokes. He has spoken for Stokes more than once. It is said that he has also said to others in private that contrary to the outside world's opinion, he is really optimistic about Stokes' future. His class..." Brown said.

"He is the captain after all."

The implication of Brooks' words is that Harry Bogard, as the leader of the team, always has to unite his teammates, so no matter what others think of Jimmy Stokes, Bogard, as an excellent locker room leader, All must always be by Stokes' side.

Brown also understood, so he sighed even more: "It's a pity that such an excellent leader has to retire. He is only thirty-six years old. If not for that serious injury, he could have played until he was forty."

At this point, Brown paused and then added: "I suddenly remembered that his injury was during the fight with Hu... This feeling is really bad, it always makes people feel fateful."

he muttered.

In that match that year, Hulay scored a hat-trick at Stan Park, helping the weak Leeds City to an away upset and defeat Stan Park Rangers, ending Stan Park Rangers' 90-game drought in all competitions at home. A great record of defeat.

Hulay's winning goal was scored over Harry Bogard.

In order to stop the ball, Bogarde desperately returned to the defense to make a clearance, but his knee hit the goal post, causing serious injury.

Later, in order to catch up with the World Cup, Bogarde underwent meniscectomy surgery.

It was this surgery that made Bogarde's condition worse than before after recovering from injury.

But despite this, he continued to lead the team forward with his super mental will.

And he led the team all the way to the Champions League final last season.

In the end, they lost to the King of Madrid.

After that season, Bogarde has decided to retire after the new season. At the same time, he has also made an identity change in advance - he has begun to be more involved in the team's training as a coach. ·Learn from Brooks’ coaching staff.

As a player this season, he has played less and less. So much so that many people thought Bogarde had retired...

Stan Park Rangers coaches are well aware that Harry Bogard is already preparing to become a head coach.

In the future, he will definitely become the "captain" of this team (Note 1).

※※※

Note 1: Captain is also used to refer to the captain of a football team.

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