Chapter 642 One Small Step and One Big Step

Chapter 642 One Small Step and One Big Step

Matthew Miller stood in the stands, waiting for Leeds City youth team teammate Andrew Thurman to come back from buying him a drink.

Now that the first half of the game is over, the score is displayed on the big screen:

1:1

Leeds City, playing at home, is temporarily tied with its opponent Sydenham.

There were not too many fans in the stands. Even excluding those who temporarily left their seats to go to the toilet or buy beer during the intermission, the number of Leeds City fans attracted was far less than before.

For Leeds City, this game is related to relegation-Leeds City is currently ranked 18th, with 19 points. Their opponents Sydenham are in fourteenth place with 22 points, with only three points separating the two teams. This also means that if Leeds City can defeat Sydenham at home, their league ranking may be able to improve several places at once.

For such an important game, Leeds City fans were not very enthusiastic.

The Flanders Stadium, which can accommodate 30,000 people, was not full.

Obviously, there are not a few Leeds City fans who share the same camp as their father.

They put pressure on the club by not coming to games.

But what is the point of such pressure?

As a Leeds City fan, do you hope that Leeds City will be relegated from the Premier League before the club management can change its mind?

But even if the club's top management changes its mind at that time, so what?

We have been downgraded!

Is relegation from the Premier League back to the Championship something to be happy about?

Can it be used as a victory celebration for the fans?

Matthew Miller can't understand his father, nor can he understand fans like his father.

If Leeds City is relegated, financial revenue drops sharply, and the club becomes unsustainable, then the executives can change careers and jobs without damaging their high incomes at all. The club owner can also sell the team, which will not affect his huge assets at all.

What about the players?

There will be a large number of players leaving the team. They don't have to worry about their next home, it's just a matter of making more or less.

Who will bear the consequences of relegation in the end?

fan.

All the results after the team's relegation still have to be borne by the fans.

The team was relegated, the results were poor, and the club was in financial crisis...

Can Leeds City fans choose another home team to support?

Therefore, Matthew Miller feels that no matter what the club's top management does, he still hopes that the team can sustain it and successfully stay in the Premier League.

As for whether the club's top brass should pay a price for what they have done... this kind of thing should certainly wait until the end of the season to talk about it.

Besides, shouldn’t clubs and teams be treated separately?

You are dissatisfied with the club, but the team is innocent.

There's no reason to hate Tony Clark either. Lauren Galli was not driven away by him, nor did she leave because of him. He was just a replacement who was recruited by the club after Lauren Galli suddenly resigned, a "firefighter", and now he is still an "unlucky guy" and "poor guy"...

What is there to target with such a coach?

Now our team is fighting to avoid relegation, but our fans are stabbing us in the back... How can any fan do this?

Matthew Miller's father accused the club's senior management of violating Leeds City's traditions, but in Matthew's view, it was the Leeds City fans represented by his father who violated Leeds City's traditions.

Leeds City has a tradition of loving its hometown team as if it were its own home.

What they are doing now is nothing more than doing "hate" in the name of "love".

"Matthew, what are you doing?" Andrew Thurman's voice sounded next to him, and he handed Miller a drink.

"I still think about the fans who didn't come to the scene..." Miller sighed after taking it.

"Don't think so much, the key is our team's current performance." Thurman shrugged, not wanting to discuss the topic of the fans, "We actually played very well in the first half, and Williams' goal was really beautiful. But it was bad luck that we couldn't hold on before the end of the first half. I don't really think about it anymore, Matthew. I think we can just not lose the game at home."

Miller stopped talking and just looked at the court below.

During the halftime break, substitute players from both sides entered the court to warm up.

Miller's eyes fell on Leeds City's new signing.

Hu Lai.

He was selected for the game but did not start.

Throughout the first half, he did not leave his seat on the bench except for getting up once to warm up and to cheer for Pete Williams' goal.

Miller would like to see him come off the bench in the second half.

As Andrew said, Leeds City actually performed really well in the first half. We created some opportunities, but unfortunately we only grasped one.

Based on Matthew Miller's understanding of Hulay, this is a forward who is very good at seizing opportunities.

Should coach Tony Clark bring him on in the second half?

At this moment, he saw Hu Lai, who was warming up, being called off the field, then plunged into the tunnel and disappeared.

He became excited.

Because he knows what it means!

※※※

Equally excited are the Chinese reporters at the scene. They have been looking forward to this game since they learned that Hu Lai was selected into the squad.

Throughout the first half, Hu Lai failed to get a chance to play. It's pretty normal. After all, unless someone is injured or plays very poorly, no head coach will make substitutions in the first half.

Although Leeds City was tied in the first half, to be honest, they actually played well, so there was no need to make substitutions.

During the halftime break, everyone gathered together to discuss whether Hu Lai would come on as a substitute, and if so, when.

After some discussion, everyone reached a consensus on whether Hu Lai will appear, that is, he will definitely appear. Because it was obvious from the first half that Leeds City had the advantage at home, but there was no way to convert the advantage into goals.

And Hu Lai is good at doing this.

Didn’t Tony Clark boast that Leeds City has the best video analyst who knows Hulay in Europe?

If they really understood, it would be impossible not to bring Hu Lai on.

The only suspense is when Hu Lai will play.

Is it sixty minutes, seventy minutes or the last ten minutes?

There are supporters in every time period, and they can explain their reasons clearly and clearly.

But he never thought that Hu Lai would be called back to the locker room during halftime!

We are all experienced football reporters, so we naturally know what this means:

Hu Lai may be replaced at the beginning of the second half!

Tony Clark is going to give him a full forty-five minutes!

Then they all took out their mobile phones, eager to post their speculations online and be the first to announce this big news that will definitely cause a sensation among Chinese fans.

But soon they were looking at each other with their mobile phones in hand.

Because none of their mobile phones have network access - tens of thousands of people are crowded into this stadium at the same time, and the mobile phones they carry are connected to the server at the same time, which has long blocked the network...

"Damn it! What kind of infrastructure is this in the UK! Don't you know how to build more signal trucks?!"

※※※

When Hu Lai returned to the locker room and opened the door, he saw everyone in the locker room looking at him.

"Boss, are you looking for me?" he asked.

Clark instructed Hu Lai to return to his seat, and then said to him: "Hu Lai, get ready, and you will be replaced at the beginning of the second half."

In fact, Hu Lai had roughly guessed the outcome on the way here.

This is not something particularly difficult to guess.

Counting the FA Cup, he has not been able to make the squad or play in three consecutive games. This has never happened before in his career - even when he just transferred to Flash Stars, it was just a transfer. I was going to sit back and watch the game. He came on as a substitute in the second game and scored.

But despite this, when it came time to actually appear, Hu Lai didn't feel any excitement.

It was as if he had anticipated this day.

There is a feeling of things coming naturally and naturally.

Facing the head coach's gaze, he nodded: "I understand, boss."

"What you have to do is just like in training, ambush Lorenzo and look for opportunities."

"Okay, boss."

While Hu Lai nodded in agreement, he took out the [Lingxi Card] and [Lover's Red Rope] that he had exchanged previously in the system space, and equipped the latter directly.

Then he selected three targets for the three [Lingxi Cards] in the system's field of vision.

They are Pete Williams, Charlie Porter and Lorenzo Esposito of the team.

Williams is the core of the team's midfield and must be selected.

Charlie mainly plays on the right wing, has the best relationship with him, and is also the most familiar with him. Using [Lingxi Card] can have an additional bonus of tacit understanding effect.

Captain Lorenzo is his strike partner. The task assigned by the boss is to work around Lorenzo. Of course, it is impossible not to use him.

The three [Lingxi Cards] that had just been redeemed were used in a flash. In the system's field of vision, Hu Lai saw that the three people had white light chains with him, and they were also connected to each other.

He then exited the system and quietly waited for his first Premier League game to come.

Charlie gave him a "come on" gesture, and he responded with a smile.

The captain gave him an encouraging look and he nodded in thanks.

Hu Lai didn't quite understand what Peter Williams meant by looking over. He seemed to be looking at him with a kind of scrutiny and a little expectation?

What the hell is this?

It seems that the inner drama of local geniuses is quite rich...

"...In the second half you have to keep putting pressure on their penalty area like you did in the first half! Don't think about defense - blast the opponent's goal away before we lose the ball! This is our home court, there is no reason for us to Here we have to be timid and timid!”

Finally, Tony Clark ended his halftime adjustments and arrangements with this passionate speech.

Captain Lorenzo also stood up and clapped his hands while encouraging his teammates: "Cheer up! Win Sydenham at home and let us get out of the damn relegation zone!"

Pete Williams, as a local talented player in the team, is also shouting: "Come on! We can do it!"

Hu Lai howled along with the other teammates: "Oh oh oh!"

※※※

Xie Lan's eldest brother Xie Zelin also runs a company, and the house he lives in is the largest among the brothers and sisters.

But even so, the living room in his home was packed with more than twenty people at once, and it was still packed to the brim.

There was no room left on the sofa, and some people brought dining chairs, while others simply sat on the floor to watch the game.

But it is a pity that Hulay did not get a chance to play in the entire first half of the game.

Although CCTV commentator He Feng mentioned Hu Lai many times in the game commentary, he and his partner Yan Kang kept guessing when Hu Lai would play.

However, this kind of speculation can only make Xie Lan more annoyed in front of the TV.

One time, Hu Lai ran out from the bench to warm up, which made everyone in front of the TV excited for a while. Later it turned out that their happiness was in vain...

Despite his inner anxiety, Xie Lan still resisted showing it on the outside. On the contrary, when someone tried to comfort her, she responded with a smile, as if "I have never seen anything like that."

Normally she and her husband would just watch the game at home, but now in front of so many people, she had to keep her composure, otherwise she would be embarrassed.

During the halftime break, He Feng and Yan Kang continued to discuss Hu Lai's appearance. After analyzing and analyzing, they came to a conclusion-if the situation of the game did not turn around in the second half and Leeds City still had the advantage and did not score, Hu Lai would There is a good chance of making an appearance.

"Don't just change it in the last few minutes..." Xie Zelin muttered.

"Crow's mouth!" the old father yelled angrily.

Xie Zelin immediately shut up and said no more words.

The commercial on the TV ended and the screen cut back to the players' tunnel at the game.

People in front of the TV saw that familiar figure at a glance!

He was in the tunnel, chatting with his teammates and walking outside.

He was not wearing the previous white sports coat of Leeds City, but was wearing the Leeds City home jersey with yellow on top and blue on the bottom.

At the same time, He Feng's excited voice sounded: "We just got the news that Hu Lai has been substituted! Leeds City will complete the substitution directly at the beginning of the second half! Hu Lai! The first game in his career The Premier League, the first Premier League game for Chinese players... is about to begin! Audience friends, we are fortunate to witness history again! ”

"Coach Clark gave Hu Lai a full forty-five minutes of playing time, which was more than all of us expected. It shows that he really trusts Hu Lai..." Yan Kang added next to him. "I hope Hu Lai won't feel any pressure and can perform normally!"

In front of the TV, Xie Lan was the first to cheer. She jumped up from the sofa, then fell back, leaning back on the back of the sofa and raising her arms.

"Okay!"

"Come on Lailai!"

"Come on, cousin!!"

Applause and shouts rang out in the crowded living room, completely drowning out the sound from the television.

※※※

"Self-improvement, when do you think Hu Lai can play?"

His father-in-law just posed this question to Li Ziqiang. Before he could answer, he saw Hu Lai wearing a jersey and walking to the court with his teammates on the TV.

At the same time, he clearly heard a loud roar coming from a window of the building opposite: "Come on Hu Lai!!"

"He is already going to play..." Li Ziqiang said.

"Oh, that's great!" My mother-in-law clapped her hands and said happily.

※※※

"Beautiful!!" Everyone in the bar cheered.

After waiting for forty-five minutes for the first half and a fifteen-minute intermission, the Chinese fans watching the game could finally let go of their hearts and vent their emotions.

"Forty-five minutes! It feels so good!"

"Come on Hu Lai! Your school team teammates support you!"

"Don't think so much, just do it!"

"Hu Lai is awesome! Let them see how powerful you are!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!"

The excited people smashed their wine glasses on the table and timed their cheers.

At this moment, I don’t know how many places and people in China are cheering, and the reason why they are so excited is just that Hu Lai is going to come on as a substitute...

It sounds incredible, it's just an appearance.

But only these cheering people know in their hearts how long all Chinese fans have been waiting for this moment!

As He Feng said when Hu Lai walked onto the court:

"This is a small step for Hu Lai, but it is a big step for Chinese football!"

※※※

PS, I'm sorry, I remembered it wrong about [Lover's Red Rope] before, and it has been revised now.

Another 4,000 words have been updated, and there will be another 6,000-word chapter tonight. Although it is only two pieces, the portion is very filling.

Hu Lai's first appearance in the Premier League is also the first appearance of a Chinese player in the Premier League. Please vote for me! (End of chapter)