champion professor

Chapter 73 Sticky Toffee ([-]rd update)
"It's just one goal," Shao Bo said to the players.

Shao Bo did not expect a clean sheet from Valencia, he is already very satisfied with the current result.

"What else are you thinking about? A big victory is worth celebrating. You are all very tired. Everyone, go back and rest early, and have half a day off tomorrow."

Finally won the game, Shao Bo will also prepare for the next Premier League game.Everton is not a good opponent, and the FA's verdict has not yet come down, Shao Bo does not know whether he will appear at Goodison Park to command the battle.

"The game went really smoothly. To be honest, I didn't think about such a huge score gap before the game. After all, Valencia's strength lies there."

"Final four? We can't say that we have booked the semi-finals. Arsenal will play every game seriously."

"I have no intention of comparing English and Spanish teams because I have not managed a Spanish club and I refuse to compare."

……

Time passed quickly, and the FA's verdict came down.Maybe it's the club's strong public relations, maybe it's Shawcross' broken leg that left a deep impression on people.In short, Shao Bo was only fined 8000 pounds without any suspension.

Secretly applauding the club's public relations, Shao Bo got on the bus bound for Liverpool and prepared for the match.

Goodison Park, which can hold more than 4 people, is only 10 minutes away from the famous Anfield, home of Everton's rival Liverpool.

And in the beginning, Everton used the Anfield stadium.It was not until 1892 that they moved out of Anfield due to rent and other issues and came to Goodison Park that Liverpool was established and took over Anfield.

It is easy to have rivals in the same city. This sentence is really suitable to describe the Everton and Liverpool fans who are incompatible.Like the famous North London derby, the hottest derby in Merseyside will always be the red and blue battle.

After changing clothes in the locker room, the players walked into the field.At this time, the game was about to start, and Shao Bo looked around.

Before the game, he jokingly told reporters that he heard that every time before Everton's game, a little girl threw taffy around the stands.

Shao Bo, who has long been famous, also wanted to take two yuan to try, but unfortunately when he played, he didn't know if the girl was still on the side of the court.

The Everton coach Joe Royal on the side laughed and said that if Shaobo likes Everton's taffy, he can give Shaobo a pack in private.

Shao Bo saw that Joe Royal in front of him was a kind person, and he didn't have an aggressive posture, nor did he have a noble and glamorous posture, so Shao Bo put down his mind and joked with Joe Royal.

"Haha, the journalists who were present have to testify. After the game, Coach Joe Royal can't break his promise. He can do it at the post-match press conference, and every reporter who comes will also be given two dollars."

This kid will be generous to others!

Joe Royal smiled helplessly, but a few bags of candy are not worth a lot of money, and the club does give out points to the fans every game, as a benefit for the audience in the front row.So the club still has a lot of inventory, and it doesn't matter how many bags Shao Bo wants.

"I will definitely accept the candy, but I will not show mercy when the game comes. By the way, I don't want mint flavor."

……

The game was not played well, firstly because of the double match in a week, and secondly because the players' physical strength could not keep up at the end of the season, and every game needs to be played at a low level.

Another reason is that Everton is now stationed in the middle, which can always destroy Arsenal's passing route.Or simply entangled with the Arsenal midfielder, just like their club's nickname "toffee", sticky and thick.

Speaking of Everton's other name, "Toffee" has two sources.

One is that there is a well-known toffee candy store in Everton, "Mother Nobright", which specializes in all kinds of desserts.The store site is facing the Prince Rupert Tower in the Everton team logo.

Another explanation is that the taffy girl was throwing free Everton mints into the stands at the start of the game as they circled the pitch.And this gradually became a tradition of the club.Everton got its name "Toffees".

However, Everton's nickname is not static. Everton has had multiple nicknames in history.

During the period of wearing black uniforms, the team was once called the "Scottish Highland Guards" by fans.Since changing to blue uniforms in 1901, the team has been simply called the "Blues" by fans. In 1928, Everton was praised by Steven Brummer for playing very scientifically because of its impactful style of play. The fans were inspired to name Everton "Academy of Science".

However, Arsenal did not get any benefits in the sports war, and Everton naturally did not have much sweetness to eat.

Zola broke through to the top of the penalty zone shortly after the opening shot and missed the goal without any threat. Since then, there has been no performance worthy of close-up shots.It is undeniable that the Italian is far from his best form.It's a pity Shao Bo's expectations for him, but maybe it's just his poor form in this game?
In the final minutes of the first half, Everton scored a goal and they celebrated jubilantly on the pitch, delaying a few minutes.The referee looked at the time, and when Arsenal kicked off to attack again, the game was stopped and the first half ended.

This can be regarded as a little home court advantage for Everton, and the referee is somewhat towards them.There is plenty of time, though, and Arsenal are not worried about losing the game.

It's just that Shao Bo, who was full of confidence, couldn't help cursing when he walked out of the locker room in the second half-his main striker, Dutch international, Ice Prince Bergkamp felt a little uncomfortable during the intermission.Sometimes this is the case. Due to tension and other reasons during the game, athletes cannot feel the changes in their bodies. Only when they return to the sidelines to rest, they will notice muscle strains or ankle sprains.

After a preliminary test by the team doctor, the team doctor suggested that Shao Bo should not send Bergkamp to play in the first half.The helpless Shao Bo had no choice but to activate Ian Wright, who had just recovered from his injury.

Ian Wright also has some ankle problems, but Shao Bo wanted him to feel the atmosphere again, and then came off the bench in the last period of the game, and slowly recovered his form.It's just that now he has to get Ian Wright ready to play and score for the team.

"Do more warm-ups, and there is no shortage of warm-up activities. Try to score goals. Alan Shearer also scored 21 goals. Come on!"

What Shao Bo told Ian Wright was the situation on the scorer list. After playing 30 games, the two players scored 21 goals respectively. This efficiency can be called terrifying.And also take into account that both Ian Wright and Alan Shearer have been injured this season and missed a few games.The gold content of the goals on this scorer list is even higher.

In the first half of the season, Alan Shearer had a half-month rest. At that time, Ian Wright, who was in hot form, was far ahead in the scorer list, and no one could stop him.

It's just that Ian Wright, after his ankle injury, can only sit there and watch the team.And Alan Shearer, who is also in England's top team, has already taken good care of his body, and the number of goals has slowly reached 21. He is currently tied with Ian Wright.

However, it took a long time for Ian Wright to get familiar with the field after he came on the field, and he did not enter the state.Taking advantage of Arsenal's weak offense, Everton expanded the score in the 66th minute. A wide player broke into the right side of the penalty area and made a pass. The unguarded Neville scored an empty goal from close range.

After losing two goals, Shao Bo was a little anxious.Now Arsenal's top position in the standings is in jeopardy. As long as they lose and Newcastle wins this game, the difference between the two teams will only be 2 points. This is especially true for Arsenal, who still have about 10 rounds to play. Said, too unsafe.

We must win this ball, at least we must equalize the score.Shao Bo muttered slowly in his heart.

However, Ian Wright still showed his value as the team's top scorer.In the 78th minute of the game, Mawson made a counterattack with an oblique pass, Adams passed back near the bottom line on the left side of the penalty area, and Ian Wright scored from 8 yards, 2-1.

"Arsenal pulled back a goal! Will they stage a miraculous comeback in the last 10 minutes?"

At the last moment, Arsenal finally scored again, but this goal did not come from a sports game, but a free kick.

This free kick was taken by Arsenal's winter standard king, the Italian who Shao Bo had high hopes for, Maradona II, and Bantam Zola.Still the familiar movements, head up, chest up, belly in, hips up, run-up, the moment the left foot is raised, an elegant line of defense is drawn in the air, bypassing the wall and the goalkeeper's ten fingers into the net.

"The ball has been scored!"

Before the final whistle, Zola completed self-redemption.

A 2-2 tie is not a happy score for the head coaches of both sides.Shao Bo had a drink with Joe Royal depressed, but Joe Royal was a nice guy, and Shao Bo had a good chat with him—it would be even better if the team could win.

On the bus back to the team, Shao Bo gave each player two pieces of candy.Joe Royal sent him two packs, and he split one of them.

"Eat less, it's not good for the players' health. But since the score was equalized in the end, everyone should be very tired, so I will give you two candies. This time we failed to win the toffee on the court, so we will eat it!"

After this round, because Arsenal drew with Everton, the difference between them and the second-ranked Newcastle is only 3 points-they can catch up in one game. Fortunately, Arsenal's goal difference is more, leading the Premier League. If Newcastle wants to win the championship, it is not enough to draw with Arsenal in the standings.

Also in the championship team are Manchester United and Liverpool.Because of this tie, Manchester United are 5 points behind Arsenal and 2 points behind Newcastle.Liverpool are 2 points away from Manchester United.

There are almost 10 games to go and neither Liverpool nor Newcastle have played Arsenal since the new year.Two heavyweight games worth 6 points have not yet been played, and now no one can be sure that Arsenal will definitely win the league championship.

(End of this chapter)