Fox in the Penalty Area

Leeds City did not win the Community Shield. In the eyes of some media and fans, they lost more than just a championship.

Tony Clark can care less about this championship, but some people do.

In addition, Leeds City did not win a game in the International Champions Cup.

In the first four important games of the league, Leeds City lost all of them.

This is a matter of fact.

So after losing the Community Shield, criticisms against Clark began to appear in the media, as well as the voices of bad-mouthing Leeds City.

"...the defenders at Athletic Manchester have proved that Hu is not unstoppable. Although he has killed four sides in the World Cup, when he returns to Leeds, he will also be restricted...don't tell me that Leeds We didn't use our main force for one game, but Athletic Manchester also rotated their lineup..."

"Judging from this game, the most indispensable player for Leeds City may not be Hu, but Pete Williams. His absence due to injury has a great impact on Leeds City's offensive organization..."

"Clark was trying to make some adjustments to his offense after Williams was injured, and what he did was... put Jay Adams forward more... ha! The adjustments to improve Leeds City's defense have the same effect!"

"As a debut in Leeds City, Seydoux's performance in this game is not good. He is not very adapted to the rhythm of playing in England... There are two goals in this game that are related to him. I hope Seydoux Be able to adapt as soon as possible, after all, he didn't come to Leeds City to play as a substitute..."

"If Leeds City start the new Premier League season in this state, then I assert that their final ranking this season may be very bad..."

"I remind those optimistic Leeds City fans to pay attention. Leeds City will also play in the Champions League this season. For Leeds City who is participating in the Champions League for the first time, how much pressure is there to fight on two fronts, I'm afraid they don't know yet... But it doesn't matter , they will soon know!"

...

There are many criticisms like this.

And none of them can be said to be black for black's sake-they have reasons and evidence, and there is nothing wrong with what they say.

Judging from the performance of Leeds City, it is indeed easy to doubt their future.

In fact, this is the characteristic of football - people will evaluate and predict you based on your previous results. After all, the results are real and the results will not lie.

So what kind of results you can achieve, you can get what kind of evaluation.

Well behaved and praised. Get blown to the sky.

Behave badly and be criticized. Be scolded as a dog.

It's like after Leeds City won the Premier League last season. The media was full of praise for Clarke and praise for the Leeds City team.

Just looking at these media reports, you will definitely think that Tony Clark is the strongest coach in England-in fact, it is almost the same. With this league championship, Clark won the honor of the best coach of the season officially selected by the Premier League.

Being able to lead a team that was still relegated last season to win the Premier League championship, if Clark is not good, it must be a brainless black.

So Clark definitely has something to offer.

However, in the touting after winning the championship, it feels like Clark is the perfect coach.

His passionate football style is also very popular, so no one cares to mention the sieve-like defense behind his passionate football style.

At that time, whether it was those who praised Clark or those who read these praises with relish, how could they have thought that Clark would be severely criticized two months later?

Not only the coaches, but also the players, and the team is naturally more so.

In football, there is no such thing as "rational and objective", let alone "fair evaluation".

Everyone's evaluation always drifts back and forth between one extreme and the other. That's true for a season, a game, even the first and second half of a game. If you perform well, you will be praised, and if you perform poorly, you will be scolded.

So to enter the professional football circle, you must adapt to this environment.

Don't try to reason with those who scold you, saying naive words like "you didn't say that at the beginning".

When I am scolded, I hold back, and then try my best to perform well, so that those who scold me will turn their faces and praise me again. Be vigilant at all times when being praised, think that as long as you fail to play a game, you may turn from a favorite to an outcast, so as to spur yourself to improve.

Professional football is sailing against the current, if you don’t advance, you will retreat.

So Tony Clark ignored the critical voices in the media and the Internet.

He doesn't have time to spar with the media, so he might as well spend all his time in the team's tactical training.

A week later, the 2026-2027 Premier League season will start in full swing.

※※※

On Saturday, August 15, 2026, with the whistle blowing for the match between newly promoted Helmer and Warship Harbor at home, the new season of the Premier League officially kicked off.

A day later, Leeds City ushered in last season's league seventh Walder Hampton at their home court.

Walder Hampton was also a newly promoted last season. They finally ranked seventh in the league. Not only did they avoid relegation early, they even almost had a chance to participate in the European war.

Being able to bring a newly promoted polo team to this height, with such achievements, Walderhampton's Spanish manager Javier Tobera was selected as the official five-man shortlist for the best coach last season.

Although it did not defeat Clark to become the final winner, it is enough to illustrate Tobera's level.

At the pre-match press conference, Tobera was still very low-key and polite: "I noticed Leeds City's game results during the pre-season training period. But I don't think the results of the warm-up match can explain anything... Mr. Tony Clark is The coach I respect very much, and the achievement of bringing a relegation team to the league championship also inspires me. For me, he is a role model and the goal of my struggle..."

A reporter asked: "Mr. Tobera, do you also want to lead Walder Hampton to the championship?"

"Why not? Anyone can pursue their dreams." Tobera smiled confidently.

Although Tobera showed great respect for Leeds City and Clark in the pre-match press conference.

But when it came to the game, he wasn't polite at all.

In the away game, Walderhampton played proactively and fought fiercely.

Especially for Hu Lai.

Apparently he also took inspiration from Athletic Manchester's FA Community Shield win over Leeds City.

In the first half alone, Hu Lai was fouled four times by Walder Hampton players.

For a while, he couldn't even turn around in front of the box, let alone score a goal.

When the Walderhampton players compete with him, they will have some additional actions.

For example, after fighting for the top, he didn't stop his strength and directly slammed into Hu Lai, knocking him to the ground.

The penalty scale for physical confrontation in the Premier League is relatively loose, which just became an opportunity for them to "add fuel" when defending Hu Lai.

Of course, they also paid attention to a little restraint in the penalty area, and the movements were not so big.

CCTV commentator He Feng lamented: "This is the price of becoming the World Cup Golden Boot... Hu Lai became the target of public criticism in the game. Everyone knows how glorious the World Cup top scorer is, but for his opponents, this is also a huge challenge." Temptation, tempting them to challenge Hu Lai constantly, wanting to knock him down, to prove that they are stronger than the World Cup Golden Boot..."

"That's right. Professional players are competitive and competitive. You don't even need to win the World Cup Golden Boot, just the Premier League Golden Boot last season, it's enough for the defensive players to ... kill him !” Yan Kang added beside him.

"Well, this is the road that any player who wants to become the top players in the world of football must walk. There is no peak that can be reached easily, and there is no one who can become a superstar casually." Even when He Feng comforted the anxious fans in front of the TV, he was encouraging Hu Lai.

As Hu Lai's reputation increases, as fans, they will definitely see game scenes similar to today's in the future.

So in fact, there is no need to scold the Walderhampton players, they are just doing what a defender should do.

The key is to adjust your mentality and realize that this level of defense is actually a compliment and recognition of Hu Lai in a sense.

After all, when the two teams met last season, Hu Lai was not treated like this by his opponent.

※※※

"Craig is notorious for his lenient judgment... That bastard Tobella, he really did a thorough job of preparation, even taking into account the referee's judgment..." Sam Randyll complained. "He knows his players won't pay too much for it..."

"I'm not surprised." Clark stood on the sidelines and said expressionlessly.

Paul Craig, the referee of the Premier League, is known as a gentle referee in the Premier League.

The games he officiates tend to be smooth, with few interruptions, but also prone to controversy.

If one party does not pay attention to controlling the movements of his feet, it will easily arouse the anger of both parties. So the competition looked more intense and exciting...

In the north stand of the Flanders Stadium, there was a burst of harsh boos.

David Miller and his companions raised their middle fingers and cursed at the same time: "Sparks, you bastard! You did it on purpose!! You definitely did it on purpose!!"

Just now, Hu Lai was knocked to the ground by Walderhampton midfielder Noah Sparks when he dropped back to get the ball in midfield.

Although the referee Craig blew the whistle and called Sparks a foul, he didn't play a card, just a verbal warning.

Although he had a serious expression on his face when he warned and Sparks' attitude was very submissive, the Leeds City fans in the stands were not satisfied.

They think at least a yellow card should be given.

But no, Craig has only shown one yellow card since the start of the game. Although it was indeed a Walderhampton player, how can this satisfy the Leeds City fans?

※※※

When Kamara took the ball from the wing, the Walderhampton full-back came up and wanted to steal the ball, but he stabbed the football in with faster movements, then jumped up and dodged the defense, and scored. The restricted area of ​​Walderhampton!

The Walderhampton players reacted immediately and rushed towards Kamara.

After drawing two defenders, Kamara suddenly sent the football out.

It was given to Hu Lai who responded in the middle of the penalty area.

Hu Lai swung his feet to make a shot against the rolling football.

At the same time, Walderhampton midfielder Noah Sparks ran back into the penalty area to help defend. He saw that Hou Lai was about to shoot, and rushed forward quickly, trying to stop Hou Lai from shooting.

Fortunately, Sparks knew that this was in his penalty area, so he still controlled his strength, enough to interfere with Hu Lai, so that he could not take a shot.

At the same time, it should not make him fall.

Sparks just wants to force Hou Lai to give up his shot. As long as he is forced to stop the football, he will lose the chance to shoot. Other players in Walderhampton can surround him and break his ball. Leeds The attack on the city is considered to be over.

But just after he bumped into it like this, Hu Lai leaned forward and fell flat on the ground!

Sparks was stunned for a moment, and then he heard a clear whistle broke through the booing and passed into his ears...

The boos of the Leeds City fans in the stands instantly turned into cheers!

"Penalty!! The referee decisively awarded a penalty!! Hu Lai was knocked down by Sparks in the penalty area. There is no problem with this penalty!!"

Sparks looked at Hu Lai lying on the ground, dumbfounded.