Football: Starting with managing Manchester United

April 15, 2014, Manchester, a cloudless sky.

In contrast to the bright and sunny weather, the Manchester United players, who had just finished their vacation, sat silently in the locker room.

Most of them were distracted; they had lost to Bayern Munich a few days earlier, thus bidding farewell to the Champions League, and were naturally in low spirits.

Then suddenly I learned that the club was going to change its head coach.

Making major personnel changes before the season is over but nearing its end is a major taboo in any industry.

Rooney's thinning hair looked even balder under the lights.

He really gave it his all this season.

He's fourth in the Premier League top scorer list, and his performance is commendable, justifying his salary.

Unfortunately, they ran into Moyes, whose cooking skills were ridiculously bad.

Rooney reached up and touched his head, finding a few strands of hair in his palm.

His current situation at Manchester United has made his hair loss even worse.

"Sigh!" Rooney sighed.

Moyes set many embarrassing records during his time managing Manchester United.

They suffered their first defeat in 11 matches against Greece, their first home loss to West Bromwich Albion in 35 years, their first home loss to Everton in 21 years, and their first home loss to Newcastle United in 41 years.

This marks their worst home start in 37 years and their first home losing streak in 11 years.

十余年来首次主场被南安普敦拿分、66年来首支在元旦日输球的卫冕冠军、24个赛季以来首次在2月份来到前主场输掉了5场比赛、尴尬的81脚传中等。

Moyes has set a total of 19 records.

That's outrageous!

This is the first time Manchester United has sacked a manager since 1986.

Rooney recalled drinking with his friend a while back, where the friend had bought Manchester United stock.

However, after Moyes took over as manager of Manchester United, the club's stock plummeted, losing £2.2 million in market value in just one month.

That's enough to buy two Cristiano Ronaldos.

Thinking about this, Rooney felt a mix of emotions. The former Manchester United duo were slowly falling behind on the field.

Was staying at Manchester United a good decision?

Looking at my teammates, I felt they lacked energy and their teamwork wasn't great.

I can no longer use a high-impact kicking style.

Mata, Nani, and others were also worried. They were not familiar with the new coach and had finally secured their starting positions.

Who knows what the future holds?

"Hey Michael, what kind of person is Zhang? Is he easy to get along with?"

Shinji Kagawa looked at Carrick.

Carrick is a Manchester United veteran, and Zhang Yang was Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant coach. Carrick should know something about Zhang Yang.

"He's a nice person."

Carrick laughed.

De Gea, just like during a match, secretly glanced at his teammates to avoid conceding an own goal.

The veterans' expressions were indifferent.

But Phil Jones, Januzaj, and other players who were promoted from the youth team clearly had smiles on their faces.

Pat, pat, pat... Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.

When the locker room door opened, everyone looked up. Zhang Yang greeted them with a smile, "Hey guys, long time no see! Now we're going to fight together again."

A greeting like that of an old friend eased the tense atmosphere somewhat.

"Zhang, we just met last week, but it was with the youth team."

Carrick walked up with a smile and hugged Zhang Yang.

"Haha, let me introduce you all first. This is assistant coach Chris Woods, who is also my friend, just like you."

Zhang Yang gave a brief introduction to the coaching staff.

"Okay, everyone should understand that our current situation is very dangerous, especially the next game against Everton. If we lose, we'll basically be out of the Champions League zone."

"So we don't have much time to catch up, let's talk about the main tactics first."

Zhang Yang recalled Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching habits.

No, no!

With that hairdryer-like mouth, neither Rooney nor Ferdinand dared to lift their heads when he berated them.

I definitely can't do that.

"It's still the familiar 4-4-2 formation, but we're reducing the number of crosses and creating more space in the middle."

"Wayne?"

Zhang Yang saw Rooney staring blankly and said...

"Oh, what's wrong?"

Rooney snapped out of his daze.

"Move back a bit, somewhere between the shadow striker and the attacking midfielder, link up our attack, and shoot when you have the chance."

The trust in Zhang Yang's tone sent a chill down Rooney's spine.

What tactics did Moyes use?

Mindless cross!

The problem is that there is no space in the middle and the passing options are relatively limited, so the opponent can shut down the attack simply by closing the middle.

He was having a really tough time kicking.

"Let's go from front to back: the attacking midfielder tracks back to mark the opponent's defensive midfielder, the two central midfielders intercept on the left and right, and the lone defensive midfielder drops back to protect the central defense. Michael, can you still play as a defensive midfielder now?"

Zhang Yang then looked at Carrick.

Previously, I frequented domestic and international forums such as Baidu Tieba, Zhihu, and Sky Sports.

Everyone is discussing where Moyes failed.

One key factor was that throwing Carrick into central midfield, which led to Manchester United's lack of organization and passing.

In fact, Carrick is better suited to playing as a defensive midfielder now.

His long passes, short passes, and vision are all top-notch, and most importantly, he can dictate the direction of the attack.

"The defense includes Rio and Nemanja..."

Zhang Yang then called out the names of Ferdinand, Vidic, and others.

Then, he looked at the player who had been promoted from under his tutelage to the first team, "Phil, I watched your game. You're more decisive than you were in the youth team, but Adnan, you still need to improve your ability to seize opportunities."

"Yes, boss, we'll keep up the good work!"

Upon hearing this, both of them grinned.

Phil Jones didn't stay long at Manchester United U21, but he really liked what Zhang Yang told him.

Center-backs should always remain calm.

Januzaj, with Zhang Yang's help, became Manchester United's Youth Team Player of the Year in 2013.

He remembers being very arrogant back then, thinking he would be promoted to the first team sooner or later, but Zhang Yang threw him into the U19 team instead.

Even when Sir Alex Ferguson inquired about the matter, Zhang Yang did not readily concede.

Until he realized his mistake.

Looking back now, he was indeed wrong. He was too selfish on the field, failing to pass when he should have and always thinking about showing off his skills.

If things don't change, you'll never make it into the first team.

This season, however, Moyes always prefers to have him go down the wing to cross, which renders his delicate dribbling ineffective.

After all, the opponent was well prepared.

Fulham manager Meulensteen said: "Manchester United's approach is very direct, overlapping and then crossing, which is easy to defend against."

Look at Van Persie and Rooney, who are not good at poaching, constantly battling with the opposing center-backs in the penalty area, and look at their teammates, who are like kamikaze pilots, constantly sprinting and crossing the ball.

Januzaj repeatedly muttered to himself that Moyes was like an idiot.

According to Moyes' tactics, Yao Ming or O'Neal should be the forwards; their height would make the offense more effective.

"I have a feeling we'll win the next game."

Zhang Yang clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone, we're going to train now. Let's get back to our old form and find our best selves again."

Chris and his team had already set up the equipment at the training ground.