Although Tony Clark announced the team's goal for the rest of the season in front of the whole team, he specifically told everyone after training not to disclose this goal to the outside world:
"...The reason is very simple. We don't need to expose ourselves to everyone's attention and firepower so early. If you don't want to be treated specially by your opponents during the game, then keep your mouth shut. You are also not allowed to speak on social networks.
Promote... You have to know how many teams will change their views and tactics towards us when we announce that we want to win the championship. We can hide it until we can no longer hide it!"
"Tony, do you really think that if the players don't talk, they can really pay attention to their mouths?" On the way back to the office after training, assistant coach Sam Landill raised questions about Clark's arrangement. "Yes.
I know that not everyone can keep it secret. From the moment you announce this goal in front of the whole team, it will be known to outsiders sooner or later..."
"That doesn't matter, Sam. Whether the players say it or not, I have to express my opinion. There is always someone who can control their mouth. But if someone fails to control it...it doesn't matter, we just don't admit it." Clark said with a smile.
, didn’t seem to regard what Randhir said as a problem.
"Hey Tony, I know it's common for people to say one thing in front of others and another in front of others. But I think you said it so righteously, and it still makes me speechless..."
"Sam, because this is nothing to be ashamed of. War is the art of deception, and so is football. What's the point of telling a little lie in order to achieve our goals?" Clark said with a smile, in a very good mood.
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After announcing that the team's goal for the season was to win the championship, Leeds City defeated Burley 2:1 at home. The victory in this game can be regarded as Leeds City's normal performance.
But to be honest, given Leeds City's current situation of being eight points behind the table-toppers Stan Park Rangers, whether Leeds City can win the championship depends a lot on not Leeds City's performance, but on their competitors.
In this round of the league, Stan Park Rangers' opponent is Peterborough United, which is last in the league. Although it is an away game, due to the strength gap between the two teams, there should be no suspense for Stan Park Rangers to win.
As a result, after ninety minutes of the game, Stan Park Rangers failed to win their opponent.
In the end, the two teams shook hands and tied with 0:0!
After losing to Leeds City at home, Rangers were tied with Peterborough United away from home.
Perhaps the defeat at home in the last round and Bernard's injury had a greater impact on Stan Park Rangers than others imagined...
Before the match between the two teams in the twenty-fifth round, Stan Park Rangers still led Leeds City by 11 points. Now after two rounds of league games, the lead has shrunk to six points:
Stan Park Rangers ranked first with 66 points, followed by Leeds City with 60 points.
When Tony Clark announced that the team was going to win the championship, many people, both coaches and players, were dubious. Not everyone wanted to be connected to the Internet. Young people like Williams, Kamara, and Porter were also skeptical.
Feeling excited and looking forward to this.
They also look at Stan Park Rangers and Leeds City with old eyes. They always feel that even if Stan Park Rangers lost to Leeds City, they still have a huge advantage in the long season. After all, Stan Park Rangers' bench is thicker.
And lineup depth is the most important thing in a long league.
Even if Stan Park Rangers loses a game to Leeds City, how can Leeds City control whether they win or lose next?
As a result, Stan Park Rangers' performance so quickly surprised many people who thought so. They were actually tied with the newly promoted team in the away game!
And anyone who has watched this game will have a question: Is this really the Stan Park Rangers we are familiar with?
"...Until the referee blew the full-time whistle, Stan Park Rangers did not find a way to win the game. They had no choice but to accept the result of a draw. Compared with the last league game, Brooks made some changes to the lineup.
Adjustment, but they seemed to have suddenly lost the direction of their attack... The Rangers' offense in this game was very hard, like trudging through a swamp and mire. Every fan who is familiar with Stan Park Rangers was shocked.
I can’t help but shake my head..."
This is the summary that commentator Cox made at the end of the game on Stan Park Rangers' performance in this game, which can be described as hitting the nail on the head.
If Peterborough United were not too weak and currently ranked last, they would have been relegated early and replaced by a mid-table team. Stan Park Rangers might even have lost the away game.
After the game, some media believed that this was because Bernard's injury had a great impact on Stan Park Rangers' offense, but head coach Brooks denied this statement at the post-game press conference. He said that Bernard was indeed important to the team.
It's very important, but the team's offense is a whole, and it doesn't mean that it can't function completely without anyone.
Some people also speculated that almost all Stan Park Rangers players were out of shape in this game, which may have a lot to do with the home defeat to Leeds City in the previous round of the league. That game had a huge impact on the Stan Park Rangers players.
It's really big:
For nearly five years, Stan Park's status in the minds of Rangers players has been mythical. But this almost superstitious effect is a double-edged sword. They can indeed get a combat bonus here.
, played a beautiful game and scored three points. But if they lose here, it will obviously be a fatal blow to them...
Because it’s not just losing a game, it’s also losing faith!
That's why after losing the game, the Stan Park Rangers players collapsed to the ground, as painful and frustrated as if they had been eliminated from the Champions League.
It can even be said that what Leeds City lost was not the three points from Stan Park Rangers, but their soul.
This also explains why the Stan Park Rangers players behaved as if they had lost their souls on the field when they challenged the league's "vice squad" (Note 1) Peterborough United away from home.
But no matter what caused Stan Park Rangers to fail to win Peterborough United in the away game, the facts are before everyone.
The fact is that Stan Park Rangers originally led Leeds City by 11 points, but now they only lead by 6 points.
Those in the Leeds City team who were still doubtful about the coach's goals have now had most of their doubts dispelled. They seem... to actually have hope of competing with Stan Park Rangers for the league title!
Six points is not an unreachable gap. If you work hard and have a little luck, you might be able to knock Stan Park off its throne.
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After determining the goal of competing for the league title, Tony Clark gave up the FA Cup without hesitation.
In the next fifth round of the FA Cup, they challenged Manchester United away, and Clark rested many key players, including Hulay.
Leeds City, who went to the shuttle field with half the main team and half the substitute lineup, lost to Manchester Athletic without any suspense. The score was 0:2. Leeds City, which is good at attacking, did not score a single goal.
Manchester United, who are twelve points behind Stan Park Rangers in the league, have obviously vented all their anger on their poor form in the league into the FA Cup, with the intention of winning the FA Cup.
There is no need for Leeds City to go head-to-head with them and lose cleanly.
At the same time, this result also ended the debate among Leeds City fans on the Internet about what goals Leeds City should pursue this season.
After all, the FA Cup, one of the options, no longer exists and has been eliminated. No matter what, it is impossible to win the FA Cup again.
Leeds City fans had a moment of unity.
If there is no chance of winning the FA Cup, then try to keep the second place in the league. Although there is no championship, it is also good to qualify for the Champions League next season!
Of course, some Leeds City fans said after seeing the current difference between the two teams: "Why can't we compete for the league championship? There is no hope for the FA Cup championship, but isn't the league championship just around the corner?"
Fans who simply said this were quickly ridiculed and criticized by others:
"Stop being so damn ambitious! When you set your sights on the league championship in the distance, you will forget to pay attention to the road under your feet. Is the league championship so easy to win? With the depth of our lineup, we want to win like a marathon.
Beating Stan Park Rangers in the league... Do you really think that if we beat them at Stan Park once, we can win the championship? Be pragmatic, man, and don't put too much pressure on the team. My feelings for the current team
I couldn’t be more satisfied with my results!”
The above statement is recognized by the vast majority of people.
Being down-to-earth is the consensus among supporters of this team.
After all, in the first two seasons, they were still struggling to avoid relegation. Now let them compete for the league championship all of a sudden... Many people think it is magical. They are unrealistic and cautious and have no idea whether they can maintain their current league ranking.
Not sure yet.
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At the Stan Park Rangers training ground, everyone was surprised to see captain Harry Bernard, who had just undergone meniscus removal surgery a few days ago.
He stood next to head coach Brooks with a cane.
"I'll be back in April and I hope what we see then is not a situation where we're being dropped down the league table, which would be embarrassing, lads. We're only six points ahead of Leeds, which is not
A point difference that can make people feel comfortable. But fortunately, we are still in the lead, not them. So we just need to win one game after another. Before I return, I ask everyone to hold on.
That’s a six-point difference!”
Bernard came to the training ground just to say these words to his teammates.
After saying that, he left, turned around and left very simply, without even looking back.
It was as if he was really relieved and pinned all his hopes of winning the league on his teammates.
In the twenty-seventh round of the league, Leeds City first defeated Holt 2:0 at home.
One day later, Stan Park Rangers returned to their home court, which was no longer the "unbeaten home court". After 90 minutes of fierce battle, they defeated London Mars 3:2.
At the end of the game, the TV broadcast showed a shot of the game in the VIP box of Stan Park. Their captain Harry Bernard came to watch the game accompanied by his family.
The performance of his teammates finally did not disappoint him. He stood in the box and cheered for the team's victory without the help of crutches.
So the point difference between Leeds City and Stan Park Rangers is still... six points.
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Note 1: Considering that not all readers are fans who are familiar with football knowledge, let me explain. "Vice squad leader" is used to describe the bottom-ranked team in sports events. Because in a class in the army, the squad leader
Usually, one stands first in the team, while the deputy squad leader stands at the end. Later, this concept was borrowed from sports competitions, and the team ranked last in the league was called the "vice squad leader."