Super Prophecy Master

Chapter 246 We Are Getting Closer to the Crisis

Many reports have used 'crisis' to describe the situation at Millwall.

As a newly promoted team, the most important thing to face is the decline in performance caused by the depth of the bench. Every season, there will be weak teams that play well at the beginning, and their performance will drop sharply once the league is over half.

This is a common problem.

Many teams with good results in the first half have a similar situation. The only ones that don’t have one can only talk about three teams: Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. Even Arsenal can’t be mentioned. In recent seasons, only The three teams of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have similar results in the first and second half.

Chelsea and Manchester United have always had good results, and occasionally they get better and better.

Liverpool has always been mediocre.

Arsenal also have some problems with the depth of the bench. Every time halfway through the schedule, their results will start to decline.

Millwall?

Of course the situation will get worse!

The media didn't have to think too much about it before they came to this conclusion.In fact, this is not ironic. Those teams that are not mentioned by name mean that their performance has not been good. They did not play well in the first half of the game, and there is no way to talk about a decline in performance.

Millwall deserves to be talked about because they are second in the league, which is definitely a very good result so far.

For a team with good performance in the first half, whether the performance in the second half will decline or not depends on the background of the team, directly speaking, the depth of the bench. It's getting better and better. Manchester United seldom has a very good start, but they compete for the championship every year. Those teams that start the game with amazing performances, many of them will gradually decline after the middle of the league. The giants with rich background surpassed each other.

This has become something of a 'rule'.

Millwall was included in the law.

Charlton became Millwall's 'brothers' and both teams were mentioned together.Charlton's results are also very good, ranking fourth in the league with five wins, two draws and one loss in the first eight rounds, only three points behind Millwall and Manchester United.

The media in the London area continued to analyze this point, and the Guardian and Manchester Sport also joined in. The reason for the latter two media joining is simple: Millwall and Charlton are both teams in the London area. As a major media in the Manchester area, it will naturally join the ranks of criticizing the teams in the London area.

These reported remarks sound very uncomfortable.

But I have to admit that the analysis of the report is very true. Most teams do have this problem, and the depth of Millwall's bench can hardly support the whole season. In the last game against Manchester City, rotation is also the key to a draw reason.

Fortunately, the report did not affect the fans of Millwall. Perhaps it was the result of publicity's 'low-key'. Millwall fans all believed that the team's goal was to relegation. They have already been prepared for any decline in grades.

There are still some players in the Millwall team discussing it, especially those deep players who 'supplement the bench'. Even if they know the gap between themselves and the main force, they can be directly denied their strength, and they feel uncomfortable anyway.

On the contrary, these players have become more active in training, and they hope to become the main force one day, instead of the "negative strength" that has been mentioned by the media without even mentioning their names.

A week later, Mill ushered in a new event - the English League Cup.

The history of the English League Cup is interesting.

This event was initiated by the Football League, which was founded in 1886. They were in charge of all 92 professional clubs in England at all levels. After the Super League, there are only 1992 clubs left under it. Since the clubs in charge are not of the highest level, the weight of words is naturally not as great as before. And if you want the Premier League clubs to participate in the League Cup, it will naturally depend on other people's faces , the League Cup has also become more lonely, and it is even worse than the FA Cup.

The status of the League Cup is already behind the Premier League and the FA Cup. For the top clubs in the Premier League, the League Cup is just a game for training substitute players.

For these clubs, ignoring the League Cup is also a helpless move, because in addition to participating in the League, FA Cup, and League Cup, they also have to participate in the lucrative UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup. The nine-month games in a season can reach nearly [-] games, with an average of nearly two games a week. No team can afford such a dense schedule. Therefore, some top teams will send a large number of bench players and even young players to participate in the games. .

Mid-range clubs in the Premier League have not been able to win the league championship for a long time. They can win the League Cup to boost morale when the rich clubs do not pay attention. At the same time, it can also be used as a second way to qualify for the Europa League.

Some small and medium-sized clubs can use the League Cup to gain the opportunity to play against strong teams. By using it on TV and newspapers, they can not only obtain tickets and TV broadcast income, but also expand their influence.

So the League Cup is a stage with multiple mentalities.

Millwall's mentality can only be 'training'. In the eyes of the public, Millwall is just a relegation team. If they can win the League Cup, they should try their best to fight for it. However, Zhang Yang's goal of leading the team is the top four. To participate in the Premier League, Millwall's bench depth is a little anxious, let alone to participate in the cup competition, Zhang Yang made a decision early.

When he officially joined the League Cup and met his first opponent, Rotherham, Zhang Yang only sent a substitute lineup - a starting lineup of a 442 system.

Only Joey Healy and Livermore can be considered as the main players in the starting lineup, and all other positions are substitutes.

The goalkeeper was replaced by Graham Stark.

The double forwards are Neil Harris and Vardy partnering, Curtis Weston also got the start, and he played right midfielder to replace Josh Simpson.

It is said to be training, it is training.

Zhang Yang must carefully observe Vardy's performance during the game. Vardy is representing Millwall for the first time. He is a player that Zhang Yang values ​​very much, but he is still too young. It is hard to say whether he can play in a short time.

Vardy is a difficult player to arrange.

Like Darren Bent, it is very easy to play. He can also play as a winger. He can play left, right forward, center, winger and other positions. It is too easy to play.

Both Braniff and Vardy are players who can only play forwards. It doesn't mean that they can't play other positions, but their performance will be affected if they change positions.

Curtis Weston is better. He has always been the team's substitute. When he was promoted to the first team last season, Wise had already asked him to change the frontcourt position continuously. He is good at left and right midfielders and central midfielders. Yes, but it was Zhang Yang who asked him to try to play as a striker.

It is very necessary to use the League Cup to observe the performance of the players, especially Weston, Vardy and several defender substitutes. Accurate, the data of 'Speaking Spiritual Divination' and 'Speaking Spiritual Calculation' are not the only ones. The data on the data seem to be very accurate, but football is never everything that can be explained by data. If you are not strong enough, you don't necessarily have to perform well. The players are very strong, but when they are on the field, they always don't perform well. On the contrary, some players are competitive players, and they can perform well every time they play.

During the League Cup, Zhang Yang carefully observed the performance of several players, and he also asked Wise to watch carefully together to make a reasonable judgment on the performance of the players.

Curtis Weston's performance was not bad. He played as a right midfielder. He showed speed and good coordination ability in the game. He had a long pass and gave Livermore a chance. The foot volleyed directly to help Millwall break the goal.

Vardy's performance is amazing.

The vast majority of people are not optimistic about Vardy. When the media analyzes the Millwall lineup, Vardy’s name is not even mentioned. Many people think that Vardy just bought it and put it in the youth because of his potential. experienced by the team.

This is already exalted.

Vardy only played for a non-professional league team before, and the regional leagues that the Millwall youth team participated in were much higher. A young player in a non-professional league joined a Premier League team. It is rare to have the opportunity to play.

As for what performance?It's like the doubts of Mike Johnson in the opening broadcast, "Valdy is playing? Zhang Yang is probably going to give up the League Cup..."

Vardy's performance was not as bad as expected.

Although Vardy didn't score a goal, he cooperated well with his teammates and there were no major problems in the game. Use the summarized data to illustrate: 41 touches, 32 passes, 2 steals, and shots 3 times, 1 shot on target, zero goals.

This data is actually a bit bad.

If Braniff and Darren Bent had such stats, Zhang Yang would consider removing them from the main position, but for a backup striker, it is a qualified stat, and even Neil Harris can only Slightly better than Vardy's data.

That's all.

Neil Harris took four shots, only one on target, and no goal.

It is very surprising that Vardy can have such a performance. Even Wise admitted in surprise, "This guy may be really a genius!" You must know that Vardy only played for amateur league teams a few months ago , In that amateur team, he was not the absolute main player, but only played occasionally on behalf of the team.

Now it is incredible to be able to catch up with the level of Millwall's marginal substitute.

Zhang Yang nodded in satisfaction.

In my previous life memory, Vardy would come to Lescote City to kick out and become one of the top scorers in England, but that was after 2010, and it is still too early now. After joining Millwall, Vardy got ahead of schedule. With professional training and the guidance of a group of talented teammates, coupled with the influence of the atmosphere in the team, his improvement speed has been accelerated a lot.

"Maybe Vardy will become famous early." Zhang Yang was a little excited thinking about it, which was caused by the butterfly effect he brought, which is almost equivalent to changing the future.

I... managed to change the future?

How interesting!

In the end, Millwall defeated Rotherham 2-1 at home and won this round of the League Cup.

Zhang Yang felt a little regretful.

In fact, Zhang Yang's consideration is to lose to the opponent early, and the team does not have to think about the League Cup. After defeating the opponent, it means that they will participate in the next round of the game, but it is also good, and they can continue to use the game to train.

"Next time in the League Cup, continue to send all the substitutes!"

Zhang Yang made another decision.

After playing the League Cup, Millwall can't rest. The interval between the next round of the league is only three days. The opponent is Middlesbrough led by McClaren, a very troublesome team. As a 'rich killer', the league ranking is only in the middle, but when they play against strong teams, they can burst out with high fighting spirit. For example, they drew with Liverpool and defeated Arsenal, and also lost to Tottenham and Charlton.

This is an opponent with ups and downs.

The League Cup did not interrupt the league, and there are still many outside media who continue to use 'Millwall performance analysis' as a gimmick to attract readers' attention and at the same time look down on Millwall's league results.

When Millwall met Middlesbrough, many media began to be optimistic about Middlesbrough.

Zhang Yang is very familiar with the routines of the British media.

Whenever a team performs well, that is, after a surprising result, the media will start various analyzes. If they follow the team to analyze "good results", few people are willing to watch it, but the analysis of "not good results" Good' can attract many readers.

Their analysis makes sense in one respect.

Millwall's bench depth problem is indeed very serious, not even as good as Charlton, who is a "difficult brother". become doomsday.

Even so, Zhang Yang was still very upset.

Before the game against Middlesbrough, Zhang Yang said 'sincerely' at the press conference, "Many people said before the game that we will encounter a crisis because our bench depth is limited. Yes, I admit it, and I also want to Thank you for reminding everyone here. If it weren't for you, I really didn't notice this problem. This is a big problem. The opponents in the Premier League are too strong. Every game is very difficult for us. Now we have faced a crisis gone."

When hearing Zhang Yang's words, the reporters in the audience were all at a loss.

Even though many media reports have analyzed the crisis that Millwall's bench depth may bring, as the team's head coach, shouldn't it be refuted normally?

At least say a few words to boost morale, right?Why did you just admit it?

The script is wrong!
Middlesbrough's regional media didn't feel so much. They thought Zhang Yang was showing weakness because Millwall had no confidence in defeating Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough's performance is not as good as Millwall, but they are a traditional Premier League team after all. The previous draw with Liverpool and defeat of Arsenal brought great fighting spirit to the team.

Middlesbrough do well when they play against big teams.

Millwall... is considered a strong team, right?
They rank second in the league!

So in this game, without any accidents, Middlesbrough will definitely win, and it is understandable that the opposing coach shows weakness.

The media reporters in the Middlesbrough area were very happy.

But when the 10 minutes were over, their smiles froze on their faces, and the numbers on the scoreboard almost blinded their eyes-4:1, Millwall defeated Middlesbrough by a big score at home.

From the first minute of the game, there seemed to be no suspense.

Relying on the home court advantage, Millwall launched an attack on Middlesbrough and broke through the opponent's gate in just 3 minutes.

Taking advantage of the score, Millwall started a solid defensive style of play. They also suppressed Middlesbrough for most of the game. With two goals in the first half and the opening goal in the second half, when the score rose To the extent of 3:0, everyone knows that Middlesbrough has no chance.

After the game, when Zhang Yang shook hands with McLaren, he was still smiling. He turned his head and walked into the press conference with a serious face. His expression was even more serious before the game. Just when the reporters were surprised , Zhang Yang said seriously, "We defeated Middlesbrough and successfully scored three points at home, but I found that we are getting closer to the crisis!"

"Our goal is to relegation, but judging from the current situation, we can't complete relegation. I can't even imagine how to play in the future. This is the tragedy of a small club..."

At the very beginning, the reporters in the audience listened carefully, but as the words continued, their faces turned blue.

The reporters finally knew why Zhang Yang said that!
Whether it was before or after the game, this young Chinese was not talking about a crisis at all, but was purely satirizing their remarks, and their cheeks were slapped!
Didn't you say that the crisis is approaching?
I admit that Millwall has a problem with the depth of the bench, admit that the crisis is approaching, and then we have won a big victory, and then confirm that the crisis is approaching again, and tell your possible reports in advance, even if you hold back your anger, the media dare not Reporting like this is tantamount to telling the fans that we have been ridiculed by this young Chinese. I think it's very interesting, but the media's face is gone.

Now that they want to take revenge, they can only wait for the next opportunity.

On the night of the game, many people were surprised to find that the media who liked to report negative news about Millwall all died down. The game against Millwall only talked about the score, and even the criticism of Middlesbrough None, it seems that he is unwilling to mention this game.

Other reports are just praise.

Not all media are hostile. Media such as The Times and The Sun will not find any gimmicks to criticize Millwall. They are big media and have no regional hostile relationship with Millwall. , not to mention any friction, they didn't have to do this, and the report on Millwall was just neutral.

When Millwall performs well, these media will praise them wildly.When the public opinion was full of praise, Zhang Yang's mood became much more comfortable.

Next, Millwall will prepare for the next round, and they will go to Anfield to challenge Liverpool.

(End of this chapter)