Chapter 46 Director Gao is here

The English Championship has entered the second half of its most competitive season.

After Sheffield United won their last game, they are still ranked sixth in the league because the five teams in front of them also won.

Queens Park Rangers maintain their absolute dominance. So far they have accumulated 56 points, basically locking in a direct place in the Premier League.

There is only two points between second-placed Swansea and sixth-placed Sheffield United.

In other words, among the top six teams, the remaining five teams may all get another pass-through spot.

And every year after entering February, the top teams in the English Championship also enter the "turnover season".

The lower-ranked teams will risk their lives in every game at this time, and the English Championship league schedule is also very "crazy".

In addition to the international match day in late March, players who are not selected for the national team can get more than a week of rest. In the remaining 80 days, players in the English Championship will have to play 18 games!

A game is played almost every four days, and at certain times there are even double matches a week.

Speed ​​had made a rotation plan early for this. This sprint schedule is actually, to put it bluntly, a time to compete for the thickness of the lineup.

Compared with other teams in the top six, Sheffield United does not have much advantage in this aspect. They can only rotate more and Li Mo will recover quickly and have good physical fitness. Otherwise, Speed ​​will definitely lose a lot of hair due to worry.

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However, several veterans can only play alternately, such as Chris Morgan and Nosworthy. Speed ​​plans to play as a double central defender in the back, with Maguire playing more, and the two veterans take turns to partner with him.

The defensive midfielder position has always been supported by Montgomery. Due to Stephen Quinn's size, it is easy to target the defensive midfielder when playing alone, and several substitutes are useless.

Fortunately, Drinkwater's defensive ability is good. After playing the main role, it has helped Montgomery reduce a lot of defensive burdens. The midfield combination of the three of them cannot be easily changed now.

If Montgomery really can't stand it anymore, Stephen Quinn and Drinkwater can play as a defensive midfielder, which can last for two or three games.

The two wingers are fine, Matthew Lowton is a capable individual, and Matt Ritchie is young, so it looks like there will be no problem in the short term, but we need to listen to the team doctor's advice in the future.

If there are several young people who are unable to survive after the team doctor's examination, Speed ​​will still rotate them. Upgrading is very important, but the health of the players is the first priority for Speed.

Besides, even if they fail to advance directly to the Premier League in the end, they are not afraid of playing in the play-offs. As long as the final lineup is intact, Speed ​​believes that Sheffield United will win.

※※※

After playing Leicester City, Speed ​​gave the players a full day off as usual. They resumed training during the day on February 4th. On the evening of February 4th, the entire Sheffield United team took the bus to Epps.

Vicky.

The two teams are more than 300 kilometers apart and will play a game on February 5th. If we go there on the same day, taking a bus will affect the players' condition.

During this period, the team's performance was very good, and the club was not stingy. Everything was done to serve the game. They booked a hotel in Ipswich on the night of the 4th to let the players have a good night's rest.

Ipswich is ranked low this season, but it is still far away from the relegation zone, and the scoreline is very safe. When it is not time to fight hard, the entire Sheffield United team is relatively relaxed.

The next morning, the players had a pre-match meal at the hotel, took a nap at noon, and prepared to go to the Portman Road Stadium for a spot check-in.

However, after Li Mo entered the stadium, he met an unexpected person.

Gao Hongbo and Li Mo's brother-in-law Li Lijun stood in the stands and waved to Li Mo.

Li Mo was very surprised and trotted up to the stands.

Director Gao was as thin as Li Mo remembered. With a smile on his face, he extended his hand to Li Mo, "Hello Li Mo, I want to inspect our country's players in Europe during this period.

In such a state, you are the first stop, and I have wanted to meet you for a long time."

Li Mo naturally held Director Gao's hand. He scratched his head and said in surprise: "Hello Director Gao, I never thought I would meet you on such an occasion. Do you want to watch the game live today?

"

Gao Hongbo nodded, then patted Li Lijun's arm, "Speaking of which, I really have to thank Uncle You. The national team and Wutai contacted your uncle first. The Football Association should also keep in touch with your uncle in the future.

You don’t have to worry, you just need to play well to join the national team, your uncle and I will take care of the rest."

The words were a little subtle, but Li Mo understood the meaning clearly. Li Mo didn't need to worry about the Football Association. If there was any trouble, Gao Hongbo would deal with it first. His uncle also had contacts with people in the domestic football circle and would come forward when the time comes.

, he just needs to play football well.

Li Mo nodded. He didn't need to say anything more on this matter. He would just let the goals speak for himself.

Gao Hongbo patted Li Mo on the shoulder and said: "You should have heard about the current situation of the national team. I won't say more. We will play in the World Cup preliminaries in the second half of the year, so we will play against foreign teams next month.

A few warm-up games to test the team's status and tactics. The notice for the training camp should be sent out in late March, and I will be the first to put your name in."

After a pause, Gao Hongbo took Li Mo and sat down in the stands.

"But you don't have to worry. I've seen the English Championship schedule. When the time comes, you can come over and train with the national team. Just play two halves in the warm-up match. I'm completely assured of your ability, but you know, many domestic players now

You have no experience of traveling to Europe, so you have to feel the rhythm of the warm-up match. You know Xiao Hao, Bowen, and Huang Bowen, right? In this training camp, they are the only two players playing overseas besides you.

Maybe the three of you will be able to play in harmony by then."

Li Mo listened to Director Gao's words. Although he had something to say, he held it back in the end.

In his opinion, Sun Xiang, Zheng Zhi, Sun Jihai, Shao Jiayi and Li Weifeng are still good. If they can enter the national team's World Cup preliminaries, the national team's chances of winning will be even higher.

Especially several veteran defenders and Zheng Zhi, with them, the national team's backcourt can still be regarded as one of the best in Asia in the past few years at least, but it is much better than in the following years.

But thinking about the senior players of the Football Association criticizing old players in his previous life, he felt that Director Gao might not have much say in this matter.

After sighing in his heart and chatting with Director Gao for a few more words, Li Mo went down to warm up.

Gao Hongbo looked at Li Mo's figure, a dim color flashed in his eyes, but then he cheered up again and asked Li Lijun about Li Mo's time at Sheffield United.

No matter how those people interfere, he is still the head coach of the national team. As long as he is still there, he will give Li Mo a national team environment without external interference.

This boy is the future of the national team. While he is still in the coaching position, we provide him with convenience and protection for one day.

As for the future, well, let’s see then.
Chapter completed!