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Chapter 43 New Tactics

It has been a day since I returned from Bournemouth. All the Premier League games of this round have ended on this day. Now we can take a look at the standings.

Vitini is now paying particular attention to the league table.

He seldom did this before.

After all, Tyne's goal is to avoid relegation, and there was no sign of a result in the first half of the season.

If you really want to pay attention to the points, you have to wait until the final sprint of the season.

But now he cares so much about the league standings, of course, because of his idol's words, which made him feel more restless and expectant than before.

He needs to see how many points Tyne has left to fourth place in the league after 23 rounds.
The league standings were easy to check, and it didn’t take him much effort to find Tyne’s position in the 2036-2037 Premier League standings:
12th place.

Compared with the previous round of the league, the ranking has not changed.

But compared to before the idol's debut at Tyne, it has moved up one spot.

Although the ranking did not continue to rise after this round of league games, there is still good news:
Sedham, one place ahead of Tyne, was tied on points - they were tied 1-1 at home by Brighton White Mountain.

The two teams now have the same 27 points, with Sedham only ahead of Tyne in 11th place due to their goal difference advantage.

In addition, the two teams ranked 10th and 9th, Witton Hill and Hurlingham FC, both lost in this round of the league. Their points have not changed for a long time, both are 28 points, which gives Tyne a chance to catch up.

Among them, Herlingham FC is in the worst situation. The team led by Kofi Rossiter is experiencing three consecutive defeats... Not only did he fail to prove himself by defeating Wang Lie, but he was caught in a whirlpool of negative news and became a clown who lost both his wife and his army in the public opinion field.

I hope that at this time he can understand a little bit how Wang felt when he was besieged before!

When Vitini saw the ranking of Hellingham FC, he thought so in his heart with a little satisfaction.

Then he continued to look up the standings.

Xiusi Luo, ranked eighth, and Kensington, ranked seventh, also have the same points - both have thirty-four points.

Brighton & Hove Albion, who are in sixth place, have 36 points. Coincidentally, Waltham, who are in fifth place, also have 36 points...

From Tyne, which is in 12th place, to fifth place, the biggest difference between the eight teams is only nine points.

This is good news if Tyne really want to play in Europe next season.

As long as they can get seventh place, they can participate in the UEFA Champions League next season, and Tyne is now seven points away from seventh place.

If you want to play in the Europa League, it’s nine points.

These are not exaggerated point differences and are not impossible to achieve.

Only the Champions League.

Sofia United is now fourth with 43 points, and the gap with Tyne is still 16 points, with 15 rounds left in the league...

The mobile phone was placed on the coffee table, displaying the real-time league standings.

Vitini folded his arms across his chest, sat on the sofa, and looked down at his phone.

He just swiped his finger on the screen of his mobile phone and moved Sofia United, which is fourth in the league, to the top of the screen.

At the bottom of the screen is Wolverhampton, ranked 15th in the league, with only 23 points.

Count two rows up from the bottom and you'll see Tyne.

Although it is not at the bottom, it makes no difference.

This small mobile phone screen is a ladder leaderboard.

And Tyne, where he was, had to fight his way up from here.

And it is not as simple as defeating the opponent above to upgrade.

As long as Sofia United keeps winning, the gap between Tyne and the Champions League qualification will always be 16 points and will not be reduced...

It’s so difficult that it makes people want to give up.

Tyne has three next games, two of which are against strong opponents, one at home against Scots and one away against Clayton Athletic, neither of which is easy to beat.

If they lose these two games... Vitini doesn't dare to imagine how bleak the prospects will be.

Looking at the phone screen on the coffee table, Vitini frowned. Even for a die-hard fan like him, facing such a situation, he couldn't help but have some doubts about his idol:
Can we really do it?

※※※

"I plan to start Dean in the next game," McNeill told his coaching staff.

Everyone, including assistant coach Valo, was surprised.

"His performances in the last few substitute appearances have been very mediocre..." Varro reminded McNeil.

"Of course I do, but I don't have anyone better, Cesar."

McNeill then explained the tactics he was going to use against the Scouse:

"The Scouse team is stronger than us, so we can certainly use our home advantage to try to suppress them first. But if that doesn't work, we must quickly give up the idea of ​​pressing high up the pitch, because our defense will be easily penetrated by the Scouse team."

After hearing what he said, the others looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

Tyne's defense is notoriously bad. Although it has improved since McNeill took over as coach, it is just a tinkering move and there is no fundamental change.

When fighting against a weaker opponent, maybe you can still handle it.

Facing a strong enemy like the Scouse team, a weak defense will in turn hinder the team's offense.

They could easily imagine that if they used high-pressure defense against the Scouse players, if they could not take the initiative, once the Scouse players recovered, the space behind the defense line would be fully utilized by the Scouse players.

Based on their understanding of Tyne's "mercenaries", if the Scouse scored first, Tyne, who was playing against the wind, might really collapse.

Even at home.

Seeing that everyone agreed with his point of view, McNeill continued: "...So in this game we should be prepared to face the fierce attack of the Scouse people and play defensive counterattacks. When defending, we can't let Wang stay in front alone. Not only will it be difficult for him to receive the ball, but it will also make us one less person when defending, which is very dangerous. He must return to defense, but with his current explosive power, it is almost impossible for him to quickly get forward in the counterattack after being in a defensive position..."

Everyone nodded again to show their agreement.

As Wang Lie got older, he still had his experience and consciousness, but his physical functions had obviously declined.

Physical fitness is easy to deal with. You can slow down the decline as much as possible through a lot of training, and you can also ensure you play the full game by properly allocating your physical energy during the game.

But once the speed is gone, it’s really gone, and no matter how much I practice, it’s hard to get it back.

Wang Lie has lost his speed now, especially his starting speed. His first few steps are really slow...

During the team training, everyone saw it, but out of respect or fear for Wang Lie, they did not discuss the issue openly.

Having lost his speed and explosiveness, it is indeed difficult for Wang Lie to be at the forefront in every counterattack.

In the match against Helinghan FC, Wang Lie participated in two counterattacks and ran with great effort.

Vitini had to slow down and wait for him, so that he couldn't launch a quick counterattack.

The strength of Helinghan FC is not strong enough, but when playing against the Scouse people, if there is a very good counterattack opportunity, how can they slow down and wait for Wang Lie to come up? Then the opportunity is really gone.

Therefore, if we insist on letting Wang Lie be the offensive terminator, big problems will arise.

"...So when we are defending, Wang has to stay in a low position, and when we counterattack, he must also participate in the attack from a low position. I hope to make full use of his rich experience, launch the attack from him, and deliver ammunition to the two wingers. Then, I will tie down the defensive forces of the Scouse people in the middle and create more opportunities for our two wingers..." McNeill walked to the 80-inch smart display screen in the conference room, opened the tactical board software on it, and then wrote and drew on the tactical board with a capacitive pen to explain his ideas to everyone.

In his offensive tactics, Wang Lie, as the center, did not rush to the front, but lagged behind. Instead, the chess pieces represented by Vitini and Dean took the lead, forming an inverted triangle with Wang Lie.

Varro suddenly realized: "Wang doesn't need to be the offensive terminator, but the initiator. His experience, vision and passing ability are indeed quite suitable for this job."

In fact, after Wang Lie's physical function declined, there was discussion in the media and on the Internet about whether Wang Lie should retreat and change from a striker to a midfielder.

Supporters believe that Wang Lie has experience and awareness, as well as a good passing ability. He can definitely switch to playing in the midfield. There are many examples of midfielders who can still start in the top leagues at the age of 37 or 38, and can even be a stable rotation player in the top clubs.

Opponents believe that playing in the midfield is completely different from playing as a striker. It requires not only vision, awareness and passing ability, but also good ball control and dribbling ability.

The latter two points are exactly what Wang Lie does not have. As a striker, his skills are enough, but as a midfielder, he is a bit rough. After losing his speed, he has no ability to get rid of the ball. The modern football system also has high speed requirements for offensive midfielders because they have to hold the ball and advance.

A classic attacking midfielder who has no speed and can only pass the ball has basically no room for survival in today's football tactical system, not to mention that he is still thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old...

However, McNeill did not intend to fix Wang Lie in this position. It was just a temporary measure, and he only let Wang Lie make a cameo appearance during the counterattack.

After he launches a counterattack, he still has to actively run forward and participate in the attack.

It just means that he doesn't have to be the terminator of the counterattack. He can fully participate in the team's second-tier offense - if there is any.

Moreover, if the team's counterattack fails and is forced to engage in a positional battle, then at this time Wang Lie, who was not fast enough to catch up with the first wave of attack, will be able to play his role as a center well.

Finley Hughes, the coach in charge of offensive training, expressed his opinion: "I don't think Wang is the problem with this tactic. The problem is Dean. His attitude and state are..."

“But we don’t have a better option than him on the right side,” McNeill said.

This is also true. Finley Hughes shook his head helplessly and stopped talking.

When Sonny Dean officially announced that he would leave the team at the end of the season, the Tyne club did not intend to immediately introduce a player to replace him in the transfer market.

However, there are fewer players to choose from in the winter transfer window, and even fewer suitable ones.

Tyne doesn't like the players who are willing to come. For the players that Tyne likes, either the players themselves are unwilling to come, or the other clubs won't let them go, so Tyne can't continue to spend money - after the new general manager Will Foster took office, the Tyne club has been very restrained in using their "money power". On the one hand, it is to repair the relationship with other clubs, and on the other hand, it is also to operate and develop the club more healthily and continuously.

The result is that Dean will have to continue to be used until the end of the season, and he cannot be sent to the reserve team until his contract expires as the fans wish.

However, Dean, who had given up hope, lacked initiative in both training and competition, so his performance was naturally not very good.

McNeill looked around again and saw that no one objected, so he made the decision: "Let's train like this first and see the effect. Of course, we also need to prepare some backup candidates as Plan B."

※※※

"In order to deal with our next opponent, the Scouses, the team needs to make some adjustments to its offensive tactics..."

Before the training starts, all the players are in the conference room to receive assistant coach Valo's explanation and presentation of the new tactics.

Let them figure out what they are going to kick next, so that the training will be effective.

Varo explained the new tactics to everyone on an 80-inch smart TV screen combined with a tactical board.

Sonny Dean, who was sitting in the back, thought that even after he had clearly expressed his refusal, head coach McNeill would still force through Wang Lie's idea.

But as Varo explained, Dean first widened his eyes in surprise, then frowned and squinted, revealing a puzzled expression.

Judging from what Varo explained to them, in this offensive tactic, Wang Lie will change from the original terminator, core, and protagonist to a passer and supporting role.

At the very least, if the counterattack goes smoothly, it will definitely not be Wang Lie who ends the attack and threatens the opponent's goal.

Then who will be the terminator?
Looking at the two pieces at the front of the tactical board, even though there were no numbers or names on them, Dean knew clearly:

On the left, it must be that stupid bird Vitini, and on the right...if I could play, it would be me.

He originally thought that after he rejected McNeill and Wang Lie, he would never have the chance to play for Tyne again - in the last away game against Bournemouth Athletic, he was not even included in the match list. He thought it was a "revenge" from the head coach...

But I didn't expect that the head coach has come up with something new, and it seems to be tailor-made for me.

Out of Dean's sight, Vitini stared at the contents on the tactical board, his nostrils dilated with excitement, and his breathing became heavy.

He also realized that this was to make himself the team's sharp knife and spearhead in the game.

Once the counterattack is launched, he can run and break through as much as he wants without worrying about whether Wang Lie is there or not.

It's not that he disrespected Wang Lie, but to be honest, in order to match his elderly idol, he really had to control his speed and rhythm.

It's like a super sports car with 1,000 horsepower and 1,300 Nm of torque, and a top speed of over 400 kilometers per hour, but it can only run at a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour on the highway.

Safe and compliant with regulations, but somewhat wasteful of performance.

Both Dean and Vitini felt that this tactic was tailor-made for them, but they also had doubts:
What would the king think?
Obviously, in this tactic, Wang Lie's scoring opportunities were equally divided among them.

In the past, Wang Lie was always the center of attention in tactics and was the core of the team's offense. In the end, the ball would always come to his feet, and he would complete the shot most of the time.

Now Wang Lie has become a supporting role, responsible for assisting Vitini and Dean.

Can he...accept it?
The two of them simultaneously cast secret glances towards Wang Lie.

In fact, it wasn't just the two of them. Many players in the room were stealing glances at Wang Lie at this moment.

Everyone is not stupid. Based on their own experience, they can more or less imagine what the tactics will look like after they are formed.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wang Lie showed no signs of abnormality. He just looked at the tactical board without even changing his posture.

It's like an old monk sitting down.

However, considering the various legends that Wang Lie had left behind, no one dared to guarantee that Wang Lie had no objection to this arrangement...

What if he's upset?
What they didn't know was that after McNeill reached a consensus with the coaching staff, he went to have a private chat with Wang Lie and told Wang Lie his idea.

Of course he hoped to get Wang Lie's cooperation.

After all, as the captain and top star of the team, if Wang Lie refuses to cooperate and insists on asking him for the right to open fire, then this tactic will not work.

It was as if Wang Lie's idea for McNeill wouldn't work if Sonny Dean didn't agree.

As the head coach, McNeil could also force his own tactical design, but doing so would offend Wang Lie, and the originally harmonious and united situation would be completely destroyed.

At the same time, he also lost Wang Lie's trust, and it became impossible to make Wang Lie trust him again.

If the general and the minister are not in harmony, the team's performance will naturally not be good. If the team's performance is not good, his position as head coach will also be lost.

Wang Lie did have a frank exchange of views with McNeill and discussed the pros and cons of this tactic. During this process, he expressed some of his concerns to McNeill, but in the end he accepted the coach's arrangement.

After all, he really couldn't tell McNeill that he could get younger as long as he scored goals, so you should let the whole team feed me the ball like crazy, so that I can get younger as soon as possible, and then I can help you in return...

Regardless of whether McNeill believed it or not, his request was unlikely to be fulfilled. If the entire team really fed him the ball crazily, he might be able to score a few more goals, but the team's performance would not be guaranteed. After all, it was always easier to defend Wang Lie than a team. Any head coach who had no brains knew what to do.

And although his personal goals are important, the team's performance is more important.

His goal is to go to a bigger stage and participate in the Champions League next season.

If the team fails to make it into the top four of the league and qualify for the Champions League, what does it matter if he is ten years younger?

There is absolutely no use for it!
So when it comes to helping the team win, Wang Lie and McNeil are completely in agreement, and he has no reason not to cooperate.

(End of this chapter)