The other team is Utrecht, which is Mertens' old club. Speaking of which, Mertens definitely contributed a lot to Utrecht's ability to reach the Europa League. He probably didn't expect it.

He will be facing off against his old club in the European competition so soon.

He knows very little about Wensheng Utrecht. In his previous life, he knew more about the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga. He paid much less attention to other second-tier leagues such as the Eredivisie and the Portuguese Super League, such as Utrecht.

To be honest, without the transfer of Mertens, Wen Sheng would not even know that there is such a team in the Eredivisie.

He knew Mertens but did not know that Mertens had stayed in Utrecht.

As for Steaua Bucharest, the other team in the group, Wen Sheng doesn’t even know.

Naples is undoubtedly Crystal Palace's number one enemy, but Utrecht and Bucharest star Wen Sheng doesn't know them well. Facing unfamiliar opponents, he is somewhat worried.

These small teams have little reputation, and their technical and tactical playing methods are completely unknown, which is very detrimental to Crystal Palace's preparations. It is not impossible for the ship to capsize in the gutter.

Just this season, in Wen Sheng's memory, there is a giant team that was humiliated and eliminated from the Europa League, and that is the famous Serie A old lady Juventus!

In this season's Europa League group stage, they had six consecutive draws and only scored six points, which was completely inconsistent with the media's evaluation of them as a strong contender for the championship.

Therefore, some teams in European competitions are indeed not strong, but because they are unfamiliar to many top league teams, the probability of upsets in either the Champions League or the Europa League is much higher than in the league.

The Europa League is not a key task this season. Wen Sheng’s plan for this season is very simple, which is to avoid relegation in the league. Judging from the first three games, apart from the first game where Wigan was easy to deal with, Arsenal and Fulham are actually not very good.

It's easy to deal with, but if other opponents in the league become familiar with your side's tactics, it may be more difficult to deal with them.

Both the players and coaches of these Premier League teams have improved a lot compared to the English Championship teams, not to mention that their tactics are not as rigid as some teams in the English Championship.

Because he was fully aware of the difficulties, Wen Sheng believed that relegation was the most critical and core task. The Europa League was a training ground for Wen Sheng.

In the league, you should be conservative and solidify your defense and try to score points. In the Europa League, you can practice your offensive tactics, especially the establishment of De Bruyne's offensive system after getting the ball.

Lose?! There is no problem, the worst is to be eliminated. The Europa League championship is of course very tempting, but to be honest, Wen Sheng does not think that his team can go to the end. Even if it qualified, in the future, when the league and the Europa League

During the cup conflict, his first priority is to protect the league.

Last season Wen Sheng struggled with whether to give up league points and the FA Cup. At that time, he was strongly opposed by Delhi.

Before the national team match day, Wen Sheng organized a meeting with the coaching staff to discuss the draw and goals for the Europa League. He did not say that he meant to give up at the meeting, but he expressed the general idea that the European competition should be used as a training ground.

To everyone's ears, this sounds like giving up.

"Daniel, are you getting less and less courageous?! You said last season that we are a team of young people and we should have the courage to move forward bravely. Now you are giving up!" Lawrence, who inherited the mantle of Delhi, questioned

Qi Wensheng’s decision.

Hawking and Hall also questioned Wen Sheng's decision to "give up lightly" as too hasty.

Only goalkeeping coach Webster agreed the team should focus on the league.

Wen Sheng is a little depressed, did I say give up? When you gave up the League Cup, you didn't say a word of nonsense. Now in the European competition, everyone is like a chicken blood, and you don't even pee and look at us.

Can you do it yourself? Can you do it?

Wen Sheng feels that his greatest advantage is that he can look at himself in the mirror at any time.

"Everyone, everyone...I never said I gave up. Can you understand me correctly?! We are now facing a multi-front battle and we have to decide which one is more important?! First in the league, second in the Europa League,

Third place in the FA Cup, no doubt!”

"We were right about the team's tactical concept in pre-season, but the actual situation has changed. Naturally, we cannot stick to the rules. Boateng's organizational skills are weak and we cannot expect him to do a lot of work. De Bruyne has this aspect.

potential, naturally we have to make adjustments..."

It is normal for a head coach to make constant adjustments during the season based on the characteristics of his players. Wen Sheng also made constant adjustments after taking over the team last season. Everyone knows and understands this.

"The league is said to be very long. It will not end until May next year, but is it really very long?! We need to run in, and running in is risky. Who can guarantee that it will be successful?!"

"It doesn't matter if I'm eliminated from the Europa League. I will definitely not be fired. Your jobs will be saved. If I don't win a few rounds in the league, I will be fired. Which is more important, don't you understand?!"

"You still don't understand where is the best place for us to train our troops?!"

Wen Sheng had to think about some issues, such as the position below the buttocks. His career had just started, and he had to keep the position below the buttocks no matter what. If he couldn't keep it, his future development would be really hard to predict.

In the news media, there are often reports of a certain head coach being dismissed due to poor performance. Nine out of ten coaches who were dismissed due to poor performance refer to the league. As for the results in the European War, only those wealthy clubs will have special requirements, such as

A team like Crystal Palace mainly focuses on the league, and Parish's explicit request is to avoid relegation, without any mention of what we want to do in the Europa League.

There are many reasons for losing in the European war, and the head coach can make many excuses, but whether it is due to a lack of personnel in the league or other reasons, the head coach bears the bigger blame. Sometimes, no matter how good the European war is, poor results in the league will result get out of class is over, because everyone puts the league as a priority.

There are things Wen Sheng doesn't want to say clearly, but none of these big bosses can understand that the league is about everyone's livelihood. How can we experiment too much in this kind of arena, unless the team has a certain level of strength?

Therefore, Wen Sheng's transformation of the team has always been carried out slowly, rather than all at once.

Who doesn't care about their own jobs? Let's be clear. Everyone here was dug out by Wen Sheng with hoe after hoe. Wen Sheng bid farewell to the Crystal Palace, which basically means they will lose their jobs in the Crystal Palace.

Courtiers, most likely will not be used by latecomers. It is possible for Lawrence to stay in office, but it is less likely for others.

"Besides, experimenting in the Europa League does not mean giving up. If the effect is good, we can slowly transplant it to the league! Inevitably, we will encounter tough battles, and the problem of positional warfare always needs to be solved!"

Wen Sheng emphasized.

Generally speaking, we are experimenting with a style, which is more conservative and cautious in the league, but more bold and aggressive in the European war.

In fact, Wen Sheng didn't say anything very clearly. He hopes that his defensive line can accept enough tests. The main attack in the European war will expose a large gap in defense. At this time, the defense line needs to adapt to faster offensive and defensive transitions and

Single defense, assisted defense.

The growth of players depends on these. The midfield line devotes a lot of energy to helping the team defend. How can the back line players grow when they are under extreme protection? Victory in the European War will even require the full backs to provide independent assists.

It's so clear, how can everyone disagree? This matter is good for the team after all. As Wen Sheng said, this is an excellent test opportunity for the team and the players. In the future,

You can also learn from it in the league and gradually change your style. Who would like to play defensive counterattack all their life?!

Wen Sheng doesn't like it. On the premise of ensuring victory, he also hopes that the team's playing style will be more passionate and that they can excel more offensively.

After the meeting, Lawrence went to Wen Sheng in private to apologize. He bluntly said that he was a big boss and was not as far-reaching as Wen Sheng thought. However, Wen Sheng told him, "Do you know why I like to discuss with you?! Because we can only be in constant disputes."

Only through integration can we become a strong team, and only then can we guide this team to rise!"

"If each of you doesn't understand my thoughts and just follow orders, then I won't get the right advice! I, the head coach, am not a god!"

Lawrence was greatly impressed by what he said. The head coach Zhong Wensheng who has ever been with him is a very unusual and rare head coach. Many head coaches like to be arbitrary and do not listen to the opinions of their peers. The coaching staff only plays a supporting role in the training field.
Chapter completed!