Volume 1: Playing football with me will break your legs Chapter 7: Eternal Enemy
"Pollo Lee is not invulnerable!"
During the afternoon training session, the old captain Fuller discovered Li Polo's weakness.
Li Polo's advantages lie in his excellent explosiveness and jumping ability, as well as his incredible predictive ability and good physical confrontation ability, but as a player who has just signed a professional contract, his technical ability in other aspects is still far from perfect.
His ball control skills are very crude and the accuracy of his passes makes his rookie attributes obvious. As for offensive attributes such as dribbling, shooting and scoring... he has no chance of doing so for the time being.
Fuller breathed a sigh of relief:
"He's just an amateur player after all!"
The coaching team also took note of Li Polo's performance. Assistant coach Cox suggested to the head coach:
"I'm afraid it will take him a long time to get ready to play."
Adley did not object, but just shrugged his shoulders:
"300 pounds a week is just a substitute. Shouldn't you be more concerned about our League Cup opponents?"
Cox was stunned for a moment:
"The draw results are out? Who is the opponent?"
Adley's expression was a little strange:
“Milton Keynes.”
Cox's expression suddenly changed:
"It's actually...them?!"
Adley nodded slightly:
"If I say... I want to keep some of the main players in the first round, do you think the fans will agree?"
Cox answered him without hesitation:
"Of course! Milton Keynes...that's our mortal enemy!"
…
An hour later, the players who had finished training were gathered together again.
"Today's training was quite effective and I hope it can continue tomorrow."
Head coach Adre briefly commented and then turned to more important topics:
"The schedule for the new season's league and cup games has been announced. The first league game will be on August 9, when we will face Shrewsbury at home. Three days later, on August 12, we will go away to play our first opponent in the League Cup... Milton Keynes."
The veteran players, led by the third captain Phillips, were all in an uproar:
"Coach! Is this true?!"
Adley looked at them seriously and called the third captain's name:
"Mark, as the captain, please tell the newcomers what kind of team this is."
Phillips, who has been in the team for the longest time, stood out as expected:
"We are called 'New Wimbledon' because the previous Wimbledon was disliked by its owner for not being able to provide more money-making opportunities, so it moved to the Milton Keynes community. Since they abandoned Wimbledon, the fans of the original community spontaneously established the New Wimbledon and inherited the history and glory of the 'Wimbledon Gang'!"
He is not a good speaker, so much so that some new players remained calm after listening to him, and assistant coach Cox had to add:
"They are our eternal enemies!"
After hearing the term "mortal enemy", the new recruits' expressions finally changed, and some even shouted:
"Then kill them!"
"Kill them!"
Li Polo also rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his hands, showing an indignant look. Although he would definitely not start in such an important game, as a member of the team, he must find a sense of belonging.
Adre was quite satisfied with the players' emotions. He nodded and spoke again:
"In order to be in the best condition to welcome Milton Keynes , I will make appropriate adjustments to the lineup during the weekend league, such as the forward position, such as... defender."
His eyes moved slowly from the young players to Li Polo seemingly casually.
Lee Polo soon found out, because assistant coach Cox called him aside after practice :
"Polo, you probably don't know that Jack Smith is our only starting left back at the moment."
Li Polo did not feel embarrassed, after all, Smith's injury was not his intention at all:
"That's a pity, sir."
Cox did not mean to blame him, but continued:
"Originally Barry could have made a cameo appearance, but the head coach wanted him to rest for another day, so... we hope you can complete this mission."
Li Polo's eyes widened immediately. He was so shocked that he could not speak. He could only slowly type a few punctuation marks:
"??!!"
Cox seemed to understand his idea and encouraged him gently:
"This is your first time starting in a professional game. I know you must be a little nervous, but you should relax."
Li Polo licked his lips and swallowed with some difficulty before confirming with him:
"Mr. Coach, you mean that I start... as left back?"
Cox extended his right hand and patted him on the shoulder:
"The coaching staff won't put any pressure on you, you just have to give it your all."
Li Polo's cheeks were a little stiff.
In order to face the arch-rival, did the coaching staff simply give up the first game of the new season?
Although he had gotten a precious starting opportunity, what was the point of having this opportunity abandoned by others? !
…
Head coach Adre is a decisive person. Once he makes a decision, he starts to implement it immediately.
Starting from the second day, Wimbledon's internal team competition was clearly divided into "Facing Milton Keynes' main team" VS "First round league substitute team", and the training content was almost entirely centered around the characteristics of Milton Keynes.
After watching the opponent's game video , the multimedia room at Wimbledon fell silent.
Everyone knows that as a team in the third-tier league, Milton Keynes' characteristics are not complicated. Compared with Wimbledon in the fourth tier, they are stronger, faster, more technically skilled, more tactically skilled, and even their foul and diving skills are better!
The coaching staff was not surprised by the players' reaction, so assistant coach Cox stood up:
"I have to admit that this is a tough opponent. Their four lines have no obvious weaknesses, especially this striker..."
The scene on the screen changed and the camera focused on a dark-skinned young man.
Just listen to Cox's introduction:
"Benik Afobi, the main striker of England's 2010 European Under-17 Championship team, is 21 years old and has just been loaned from Arsenal. He is very fast and has excellent skills, especially his ability to pass the ball and create chances. Few people can match him in the third and fourth-level leagues. If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely be the core of the offense. Mark him with all your strength from the midfield and don't let him get the ball comfortably!"
Several defenders nodded slowly as they watched Afobi’s game footage.
Cox pressed the remote control in his hand and the screen switched to another player.
This player looks younger:
"In the midfield, the key thing to note is this... Dele Alli, a young player trained by Milton, just turned 18 this year and made his professional debut at the age of 16. He has very comprehensive skills. He is tall, not afraid of confrontation, and has delicate footwork. He is good at through passes and likes to shoot forward. As a midfielder, he scored 7 goals in the English League One last season, which is very efficient."
Head coach Adre added:
"There is no doubt that he has the quality to play in the Championship or even the Premier League. I am afraid we need to spend more energy to restrict him."
Cox nodded and said:
"However, he is still too young after all. He has a hot temper and often commits fouls rashly. Perhaps we can use this weakness to drive him out of the game..."
Hearing that he was a veteran on the football field, the players, led by captain Fuller, all smiled knowingly, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became relaxed and harmonious.
Cox also smiled and continued:
"Let's look at the backcourt. The main center back, Dean Levington, is also the team captain. He's not very tall, only 1.8 meters tall..."
Before he finished speaking, Akinfenwa whistled:
"Coach, leave him to me! If I can't beat him, I'm willing to treat everyone to a big meal!"
