I don’t know whether it was because of the conflict between the fans and the club, or whether the players were really not interested in playing, but in short, neither the fans in the stands nor the players on the court were excited enough during the game.
Hu Lai, who was watching the game in the box, even thought it was a good thing that Leeds City was drawn by Premier League team Widgerstown in the third round of the FA Cup. After all, losing to a Premier League team is better than losing to a Championship team.
The team looks better.
Although Widgerstown is not a particularly powerful team in the Premier League and only ranks in the middle of the pack, it is not easy for the current Leeds City to deal with.
This team has competed in the Premier League for 11 consecutive seasons, and their results every year have been very stable - no worries about relegation, and qualification for the European competition is almost meaningless.
Their club doesn’t seem to have much ambition, as long as they can stay in the Premier League.
Perhaps some people think this is too salty.
But Leeds City, who have struggled in the Premier League for more than a season, know very well how difficult it is to ensure that they stay in the Premier League every year.
There are twenty participating teams in the Premier League every season. Except for those giants, other teams must try their best to stay in the Premier League. There is no such thing as just playing a few games to avoid relegation.
Some teams were still able to compete for European qualification last season, but they might fall into the relegation zone next season.
Let alone newly promoted teams like Leeds City.
Even though they are all in English football, it stands to reason that they have a good understanding of the Premier League. But only when they come to the Premier League can they know how big the gap is between England's top league and the second-tier league.
That is by no means as simple as what they usually see on television.
At the end of the first half, Hu Lai looked at the score on the big screen: 0:2.
Leeds City, playing at home, fell behind by two goals and their defeat was determined.
Hulay thought to himself that unless Tony Clark allowed a group of fans into the Leeds dressing room at half-time and berated the players for their past glory, it would be difficult to come back.
But the question is, what past glories can Leeds City use to talk about?
This is simply a piece of clean white paper.
Being promoted to the Premier League by finishing second in the English Championship is already the most glorious moment in the history of this team.
There is no League Cup champion, no FA Cup champion, and no champion of England's top league.
Except for some regional championships, Leeds City may have the shortest history among all the teams participating in the Premier League.
This team’s performance and history do not even match the status of Leeds, the third largest city in the UK.
In the end, Leeds City lost to Widgerstown 0:2 at home and failed to go any further in the FA Cup.
Obviously Tony Clark didn't ask the fans to wake up the players at half-time...
Of course, losing the FA Cup is not necessarily a bad thing.
For the next five months from January to May, Leeds City only needs to focus on the league. The preparation plan and rhythm arrangement also take the league as the only consideration. The FA Cup and League Cup matches are all with Leeds City.
Doesn't matter.
After the game, the Leeds City fans left the field in silence. They were not even angry about the failure of the game.
For them, failure seems to have become a matter of course.
On the way back to the hotel with Yong Jun, Hu Lai began to seriously consider for the first time whether he could not get enough of his time in Leeds City, and Tony Clark, the head coach who recognized him, left first...
Then he will really regret choosing Leeds City in the first place... Isn't the reason why he is willing to come here just to get to know himself better with the coach here?
But if the coach who knows you is dismissed, what attractions and advantages does this team have for you?
Yong Jun was keenly aware that something was wrong with Hu Lai's silence since he got in the car, so he asked: "What's the matter, Hu Lai, are you worried?"
Hu Lai glanced at the camera lens nearby, but did not express his worries, but shook his head and said: "Of course not, Uncle Yong."
“Then why don’t you speak?”
“I’m looking forward to being called upon at a critical moment and then becoming famous with one goal.”
Yong Jun laughed after hearing the answer that was full of Hu Lai style: "You are quite good at seeing the positive side..."
“How else could it be?”
“Yeah, that’s right. But now I think I don’t have enough time for you to take your time..."
He had previously advised Hu Lai not to be impatient, but to take his time, lay a solid foundation, and then proceed slowly.
Now it seems that the situation is stronger than the people, and the plan cannot keep up with the changes.
Tony Clark has strategically given up on the FA Cup and is concentrating on the relegation battle in the remaining time.
If the situation cannot be reversed, the situation will become more dangerous.
Even if the club's top management stands by Tony Clark, it is impossible for him to allow the team to be relegated.
After all, the senior management does not care about the fans, because the financial impact of the fans' protests is relatively low. But if the team is really relegated, the loss can be measured in tens of millions of pounds...
In the face of huge financial losses, neither mother nor father can do anything, let alone a team coach.
At that time, the operation of firing Tony Clark and bringing back Lauren Galli will be extremely normal. There are countless precedents of such "really good" in the football world.
※※※
Both Hu Lai and Yong Jun were worried that Tony Clark's time in Leeds City might have entered the countdown, but Tony Clark had a relaxed smile on his face when reviewing the game with the coaching staff after the game, without any trace of that.
A feeling of constant panic.
“I hope Roger Biller really thinks that we have lost our combat effectiveness and have been beaten into losing dogs by them.” Matt Dawn said excitedly.
“Biller is an experienced head coach, he may not think so...” Assistant coach Sam Landill did not dare to take it easy.
“But the Wiggerston players will think so.” Tony Clark smiled and waved his hands. “There have been a lot of reports about the troubles we have encountered recently, and they will be affected to some extent.”
After the FA Cup match against Wiggerston, Leeds City's opponent in the next round of the league will still be Wiggerston, but this time they will be away from home.
Wijston is ranked seventh in the league and Leeds City is ranked 18th. There is a huge gap between the two sides.
But in order to avoid relegation, even if the difference is 11 places, Leeds City can only pounce on the opponent and grapple with each other, trying to bite off a piece of flesh from the opponent's body.
Of course there is a huge gap in strength between the two teams, and it is difficult to defeat the opponent just by relying on brute force.
That's why Tony Clark and the coaching staff had such a turmoil.
In order not to leak the news, they did not tell anyone. Anyway, with the current situation of the club, needless to say, the team has no intention of competing with the Premier League team in the FA Cup - whether the opponent is the English Championship team or
As a League One team, Leeds City may not mind showing off the style of a Premier League team, or they may be embarrassed to lose to a lower-level league team because of their face, and try their best to win the next game.
Facing Premier League teams now, what else is there to struggle with?
Speed loses.
Tony Clark is just taking advantage of the situation. He hopes that the Wiggerston players really think that Leeds City has no fighting spirit, not to mention that the next round of the league will still be Wiggerston's home ground.
The reason for losing to Leeds City at home.
This is the seed he planted for the Wiggerston players, waiting to sprout in the next round of league games.
Although they are resorting to some tricks...but to avoid relegation, they are not shabby.
※※※
Nine days later, in the 22nd round of the league, the two teams that had just played against each other in the FA Cup met again. Widgerston faced Leeds City at home.
Unexpectedly, Widgston, who was originally considered to have no suspense in winning at home, lost to Leeds City 1:2!
"Leeds City, who have been in deep trouble recently, defeated Widgerstown away from home! They got three valuable points! Widgerstown's players made a mistake. They might have thought this was an FA Cup match.
Leeds City, who played with all their main players, regarded them as the substitute team that had no fighting spirit nine days ago..."
When the game ended, commentator Matthew Cox was merciless in his criticism of Widgerston.
"Leeds City were better than Wiggerston in this game and it was fair for them to win. They are a completely different team than the team they were nine days ago! Tony Clark can take a breather
!”
The Leeds City manager appeared on the TV broadcast, dressed in sportswear, shaking hands with Widgerston manager Roger Biller.
"This coach has two skills..." Yong Jun, who was watching the game with Hu Lai in front of the TV, sighed with emotion. Before the game, he was not optimistic that Leeds City could win away from home. He felt that Leeds City could finally win from the away game.
Walking one point counts as a good performance.
Unexpectedly, when he was in a stalemate with his opponent, Tony Clark suddenly changed his lineup and increased his offensive intensity.
This hit caught Widgerstown off guard. They really didn't expect that Leeds City would be able to speed up the pace and attack fiercely in the end.
It directly disrupted Widgerston's formation.
Captain Lorenzo's goal in the 79th minute was just the final result of this series of adjustments.
In fact, Hu Lai was not as surprised as Uncle Yong because he trained with the team and knew what was being practiced every day. The head coach paid great attention to the team's physical fitness. He also repeatedly emphasized running during training and required everyone on the team to
He has to run more than before. Even if he is an opportunist in the penalty area, he must have a wider running range.
It's like a machine. Everyone must put in full power before the machine can run at high speed.
So it seems that the Leeds City team attacks very fiercely and takes it back very quickly. This all relies on physical support. After Tony Clark took over the team, he spent half a season on the reforms.
It is to let the team say goodbye to the past training methods and experience and adapt to his new things.
There is a running-in period, and due to various on- and off-field reasons, this running-in period is very painful...
But if we can get through the running-in period smoothly, maybe we can look forward to the future.
Of course, doing so does not only have advantages and no disadvantages.
The disadvantage is that once this machine runs at high speed, it cannot be stopped easily. If there is a problem with any component and cannot keep up with the rhythm, the entire machine may collapse.
Captain Lorenzo Esposito is currently in pretty good shape. He is the team's top scorer with six goals.
But he is already thirty-three years old after all, and will turn thirty-four in March.
Age is here.
And Clark's tactics require high physical fitness and running ability. I don't know how long the veteran Lorenzo can persist.
That’s why he bought Hu Lai.
In addition to his high efficiency, he is also attracted by his youth.