"I think Bernard's injury may have a greater impact on Stan Park Rangers than we initially thought...Why else would Brooks allow Bernard to have meniscus removal surgery? Obviously he should not want it
The main midfielder is out for the season..."
"I can't understand it. Even if Bernard is out for the season, Rangers still have an eight-point advantage over us in the standings, and a 14-point gap over Manchester United. What's there to worry about?
"
"Who can say for sure about football? There are still thirteen rounds in the league, and anything can happen in these thirteen rounds..."
"That's what I say. Bernard is indeed the core of Stan Park Rangers' midfield, but the Rangers are not supported by one person, and Brooks is not a coach who cannot function without Bernard. I
I think Stan Park Rangers can still successfully defend their title as long as they are careful!"
In the tea room, Leeds City coaches were also discussing the biggest news in English football recently, and derived their respective views on the league situation.
At this moment, head coaches Tony Clark and Matt Dawn walked in.
"Okay, guys, let's put other people's matters aside for now. Next, I want to discuss a big thing with you, which is about our ultimate goal for this season." As soon as he sat down, Clark talked about everyone in the room.
people said.
"Tony, you have finally figured it out, so tell me, are we going to compete for the FA Cup or keep our Champions League qualification this season?" assistant coach Sam Landill shouted.
Clark smiled slightly: "None of them. We want to compete for the league championship."
The tea room suddenly fell into a deathly silence.
Only Matt Dawn, who had known it for a long time, took a sip of black tea, and the only sound in the tea room was the sound of his mouth moving and purring.
When Matt put the tea cup down, Randhir finally came to his senses and exclaimed: "Did I hear you right, Tony? What you just said was indeed the league championship, not the FA Cup championship.
?”
"You heard that right, Sam. Of course the league champion."
Others in the tea room also came to their senses, but they didn't know what to say, so they could only look at Clark with surprised eyes to show respect.
"League championship... damn it!" Randhir muttered, suddenly raising his voice, "That's the Premier League championship! Do you think it's that easy to win?"
Clark shrugged: "If it's not easy to get, why do I need to think about it for so long and hesitate?"
Randhir heard it: "So the reason you have been hesitant before is not because you don't know whether to choose the FA Cup or the Champions League, but because you want to win the championship?"
Clark grinned and looked at his assistant: "That's right, Sam. Otherwise, why do you think I had to think about such simple multiple-choice questions as the FA Cup and the Champions League for so long?"
"Then why have you suddenly made up your mind now?" Randhir asked.
"Because we defeated Stan Park Rangers away from home. I saw our potential from this game..."
"Wait a minute, Tony. With this victory in this game, are you sure? Just because we can defeat Stan Park Rangers away from home does not mean that we will definitely win the championship. The competition for the league championship is not a single game.
Knockout Cup. Even if Stan Park Rangers lose to us, they are still eight points ahead of us! And we will not have the chance to play against them directly in the future. Their winning or losing is beyond our control...
"
"Yes, you are right. Sam, I don't know if we can definitely win the championship, but it doesn't stop us from giving it a try. Working hard towards this goal is better than not even having a goal."
"Who says we don't have a goal? We can also aim to retain the Champions League qualification. And I personally think this goal is probably more realistic..." Randyll did not obey orders just because Clark was the head coach of the team.
It's about arguing with reason.
This is actually the reason why Clark kept the "tea room", because he hopes that everyone can speak freely here, even if their ideas conflict, it doesn't matter. It is better to speak out and argue than to keep it in your heart and then become alienated.
What Randall said is not unreasonable, and some people in the coaching community also agree with it.
After all, the current Premier League standings look like this:
The first place in the league is still the losing Stan Park Rangers, they have 65 points.
Leeds City is second in the league with 57 points.
The third-placed Manchester United lost to North London Wanderers in this round of the league, and their points are still 51 points.
Fourth-placed Tramed drew 0:0 at home with Woldhampton in this round, scoring 44 points.
The fifth-placed North London Wanderers won this round at home against Manchester United and accumulated 42 points.
Sixth-place London Bridge and seventh-place Widgerston tied 2:2 in this round. Their points increased by one point each, to 38 and 37 points respectively, and their rankings remained unchanged.
Leeds City leads the fifth-placed North London Wanderers by as many as fifteen points, which is simply wider than the points difference held by Stan Park Rangers in the league's first place.
Under such circumstances, it does seem easier for Leeds City to qualify for the Champions League next season.
At the same time, it can also be seen that the performance of the traditional BIG6 in the Premier League this season is very awkward...
Although Clark has different opinions, he cannot directly use his position as the head coach to pressure other coaches to accept it. In the tea room, he needs to be emotional and persuade his colleagues with reason.
During this process, his good friend Matt Dawn just "stands on the sidelines" and will not speak for Clark.
After listening to Randhir's words and understanding why he said that, Clark smiled and said: "As for your question, Sam, it just so happens that ancient Chinese wisdom has already given the most perfect answer."
Randhir saw Clark's charming smile and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Everyone knows that I have been studying "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. There is a saying in it: 'Look for the top, and you will get the middle; look for the middle, and you will get the bottom; look for the bottom, and you will lose.' What does this mean? What does it mean?
That is to say, if the goal is not set high enough, you will often not get the results you want. If we want to qualify for the Champions League, the safest way is of course to set the league championship as the goal. Instead of simply setting the top four
As a goal, in that case, it is easy to fail. Because it is easy for us to become lax when we think we can achieve the goal, just like now..."
Clark spread his hands and looked at Randall: "Sam, you all think that with the current points situation, it is not a big problem for us to qualify for the Champions League next season. If this mentality is reflected in the entire league, it may be a loss.
After all, we are 15 points ahead of the fifth place, and we still have 12 points left if we lose one game... So what if we lose two games? What if we lose three games? I always feel that I still have it.
The extra points can be squandered, but when we find out that the situation is not good, it is already too late. We have become accustomed to failure, and our morale has suffered a devastating blow...how can we turn the tide at the last moment?"
Randhir was speechless, but he couldn't refute.
"The league is very long, and a moment of relaxation may lead to serious consequences. This is what we need to avoid. That's why I set the goal as the league championship. In this way, when we work together and pursue the league championship with all our energy, then
Naturally, we dare not relax in every game. We face every game with this mentality. Even if we really fail to surpass Stan Park Rangers and win the championship in the end, I believe we have already qualified for the Champions League next season.
qualifications."
Some people still have different opinions: "But Tony, your goal is to be given to the team, otherwise what's the point of talking about it in the tea room?"
"Yes, I will announce this decision to the whole team during training tomorrow." Clark nodded.
"Then you are not worried that this goal is too big and will scare the players? Look at us coaches, we are all scared by you..."
Clark smiled slightly: "I believe that every professional player should regard the 'championship' as his own goal, and he should also spontaneously aspire to the championship. If just because we set the goal of the championship, we will scare them and cause them pressure.
If it is too big and performs poorly... it proves that this team is not worthy of good results. If our team wants to have better results in the future, or can maintain this result, this is also
An excellent test and exercise. Leeds City can't stay relegated every year, right? The change of goals and mentality starts from this season, I think it's good."
After Clark's impassioned speech, Randall sighed: "You are right, Tony. You convinced me. Indeed, when we set the goal as the championship and work hard towards this goal, the final result should be
It won’t be too bad.”
"Then this matter is settled. We will adjust our training plan with the goal of the league championship and increase the proportion of physical training..."
Clark began to arrange specific tasks for all coaches, and those coaches also became serious, listened carefully to Clark's arrangements, and wrote them down.
Matt Dawn, who was watching the whole show, picked up the teapot and refilled the teacup that he had drained.
※※※
"Tony, I didn't expect them to really believe that you only claimed to win the Champions League to keep your qualification for the Champions League..." After leaving the tea room and returning to the head coach's office, Matt Dawn gave Clark a thumbs up, "You
Quoting "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu completely convinced them that I am really yours!"
Unexpectedly, Clark shook his head: "That's nonsense from me."
"ah?"
"It can't be said to be nonsense. That statement is indeed ancient Chinese wisdom. But it is not in "Sun Tzu's Art of War". At least the original text of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" I bought does not say 'Seek the superior, and you will get the middle; seek the middle.'
, get it; seek it, and you will lose." Clark smiled slyly. (Note 1)
"But they all know that I am reading "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, so no one will doubt this. 'Soldiers are also deceitful. Therefore, they can show their inability to use it, use it to show it is not in use, show their distance when they are close, and show their distance when they are far away.
I obviously want to win the championship, but I told them that I am doing this to keep the Champions League qualification, and use a purpose that is more acceptable to them to cover up and hide my true purpose... This will save us a lot of explanation and communication costs.
, look, don’t they all believe it? Oh, the sentence just now is really found in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu."
Matt Dawn's eyes widened, his mouth opened wide, and he was stunned for a while before murmuring:
"I really do have you, Tony. I feel like I almost don't recognize you anymore..."
Tony Clark burst out laughing: "I also want to thank you for bringing Hu to me!"
※※※
Note 1: When I searched the Internet, this sentence was indeed said to be from "Sun Tzu's Art of War", but I looked up the original text of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and found that this paragraph was not included.
As for why so many people on the Internet say that this sentence comes from "The Art of War", I don't know...
