Chapter 976 The only way to become a superstar
Leeds City did not win the Community Shield. In the eyes of some media and fans, they lost more than just a championship.
Tony Clark may not care about the championship, but some people do.
In addition, Leeds City did not win a game in the International Champions Cup.
Leeds City lost all the first four important games in the league.
This is true.
So after losing the Community Shield, criticism of Clark and voices badmouthing Leeds City began to appear in the media.
"... Manchester Athletic's defenders have proven with practical actions that Hu is not unstoppable. Although he killed everyone in the World Cup, he will still be restricted when he returns to Leeds City... Don't tell me about Leeds City. Not all the main players were used in each game, but Manchester United also rotated the lineup..."
"Judging from this game, the most indispensable player for Leeds City now may not be Hu, but Pete Williams. His absence due to injury has a great impact on Leeds City's offensive organization..."
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"After Williams was injured, Clark tried to make some adjustments to his offensive system, and his adjustment was to... let Jay Adams move forward more... Ha! It almost made the team recycle it with him. The adjustments to improve Leeds City’s defensive level have the same effect!”
"As his debut in Leeds City, Seydoux's performance in this game was not good. He is not yet very adapted to the rhythm of playing in England... There were two goals conceded in this game related to him. I hope Seydoux He can adapt as soon as possible, after all, he did not come to Leeds City to play as a substitute..."
"If Leeds City starts the new Premier League season in this state, then I assert that their final ranking this season will probably be very bad..."
"I remind those optimistic Leeds City fans to pay attention. Leeds City will also play in the Champions League this season. For Leeds City, which is participating in the Champions League for the first time, how much pressure is there to fight on two fronts? I'm afraid they don't know yet... but it doesn't matter. , they will know soon!”
……
There are many criticisms like this.
And it can’t be said that it’s just black for the sake of being black – they are well-founded and there is nothing wrong with what they say.
Judging from Leeds City's performance, it is indeed easy to cast doubt on their future.
In fact, this is the characteristic of football - people will evaluate and predict you based on your previous results. After all, results are real and results cannot lie. So what kind of results you can achieve will determine what kind of evaluation you can get.
Perform well and be praised. Blow up to the sky.
If you perform poorly, you will be criticized. Being called a dog.
Just like after Leeds City won the Premier League title last season. The media was awash with praise for Clark and praise for the entire Leeds squad.
Just looking at these media reports, you will definitely think that Tony Clark is the strongest local coach in England - in fact, it is almost the same. With this league championship, Clark won the honor of the best coach of the season officially selected by the Premier League.
Being able to lead a team that was still relegated last season to win the Premier League championship. To say that Clark is not good is to be ignorant.
So Clark must have something special.
However, in the praise after winning the championship, it felt like Clark was the perfect coach.
His passionate football style is also very popular, so no one cares to mention the sieve-like defense behind his passionate football style.
At that time, whether it was those who praised Clark or those who read these praises and comments with gusto, how could they have imagined that Clark would be violently criticized two months later?
Not only the coaches, but also the players, and naturally the team.
In football, there is no such thing as "rational objectivity", let alone "fair evaluation".
Everyone's evaluations always drift back and forth between one extreme and the other. This is true for a season, a game, or even the first half of a game. If you perform well, you will be praised; if you perform poorly, you will be scolded.
Therefore, when entering the professional football circle, you must adapt to this environment.
Don't try to reason with people who scold you, and say innocent words like "That's not what you said at the beginning."
When you are scolded, you hold it in, and then work hard to perform well so that those who scold you will praise you again. You should always be vigilant when being praised. Think that if you don't play well in one game, you may change from a favorite to an outcast, so as to encourage yourself to improve.
Professional football is about swimming against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat.
So Tony Clark ignored the critical voices in the media and the Internet.
He doesn't have time to quarrel with the media. He might as well spend that time on the team's tactical training.
A week later, the 2026-2027 Premier League season will begin in full swing.
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On Saturday, August 15, 2026, with the whistle blowing at the home game of the newly promoted British Championship team Helmer and Warship Harbor, the new Premier League season also officially kicked off.
One day later, Leeds City welcomed Woldhampton, seventh in the league last season, at home.
Woldhampton were also promoted last season. They eventually ranked seventh in the league. Not only did they avoid relegation early, they even almost had a chance to participate in the European war.
Being able to bring a newly promoted team to this height, with such results, Woldhampton's Spanish head coach Javier Tobera was selected into the official five-man candidate list for the best coach last season.
Although he did not defeat Clark and become the final winner, it was enough to illustrate Tobera's level.
At the pre-match press conference, Tobera was still very low-key and polite: "I noticed Leeds City's results during the pre-season training period. But I don't think the results of the warm-up match can explain anything... Mr. Tony Clark is I respect the coach very much, and his performance in taking a relegated team to the league championship also inspires me. He is a role model and a goal for me to strive for..."
A reporter asked: "Mr. Tobera, do you also want to lead Woldhampton to win the championship?"
"Why not? Anyone can pursue their dreams." Tobera smiled slightly, looking confident.
Although Tobera showed great respect for Leeds City and Clark at the pre-match press conference.
But when it came to the game, he was not polite at all.
Woldhampton, playing away from home, played proactively and fought fiercely.
Especially for Hu Lai.
He also apparently drew inspiration from Manchester United's Community Shield win over Leeds City.
In the first half alone, Hulay was fouled four times by Woldhampton players.
At one point, he couldn't even turn around in front of the penalty area, let alone score a goal.
Woldhampton players will make some additional moves when competing with him.
For example, after fighting for the top, he did not stop his strength and directly hit Hu Lai, knocking him to the ground.
The penalty scale for physical confrontation in the Premier League is relatively loose, which just became an opportunity for them to "add fuel" when defending Hu Lai.
Of course, they also paid attention to being a little restrained in the penalty area and not making so big moves.
CCTV commentator He Feng lamented: "This is the price of becoming the World Cup golden boot... Hu Lai became the target of public criticism during the game. Everyone knows how glorious the top scorer in the World Cup is, but for his opponents, this is also a huge The temptation tempts them to constantly challenge Hu Lai and want to knock him down to prove that they are stronger than the World Cup Golden Boot..."
"That's right. Professional players are competitive and competitive. You don't even need to win the World Cup Golden Boot. Just the Premier League Golden Boot last season is enough for defensive players to kill him... !" Yan Kang added next to him.
"Well, this is the path that any player who wants to become one of the top players in world football must go through. There is no easy way to reach the top, and there is no way to become a superstar casually." Even when He Feng was comforting the anxious fans in front of the TV, he was also encouraging Hu Lai.
As Hu Lai's reputation increases, as fans, they will definitely see game scenes similar to today's in the future.
So there is no need to scold the Woldhampton players, they are just doing what a defender should do.
The key is to adjust your mentality and realize that this level of defense is actually a compliment and recognition of Hu Lai in a sense.
After all, when the two teams met last season, Hu Lai was not treated like this by his opponent.
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"Craig is famous for his loose penalty standards...that bastard Tobera, he did a thorough preparation, and even took the referee's penalty scale into consideration..." Sam Randill complained. "He knows that his players will not pay a big price for doing this..."
"I'm not surprised." Clark stood on the sidelines and said expressionlessly.
Ball Craig, a Premier League referee, is known as a gentle referee in the Premier League. He is very lenient in making penalties and is stingy with cards.
The games he officiates are often smooth with few interruptions, but they are also prone to controversy.
If one party doesn't pay attention to controlling his foot movements, it can easily arouse the anger of both parties. So the game seemed more intense and exciting...
There was a burst of harsh boos from the north stand of Flanders Stadium.
David Miller and his friends around him raised their middle fingers and yelled at the same time: "Sparks, you bastard! You did it on purpose!! You definitely did it on purpose!!"
Just now, when Hulay was retreating to get the ball in midfield, he was knocked to the ground by Woldhampton midfielder Noah Sparks.
Although referee Craig blew the whistle for Sparks' foul, he did not give a card, only a verbal warning.
Although his face was serious when he warned, and Sparks' attitude was very respectful, the Leeds City fans in the stands were not satisfied.
They thought that at the very least a yellow card should be given.
But no, Craig has only shown one yellow card since the beginning of the game. Although it was indeed given to a Woldhampton player, how can this satisfy Leeds City fans?
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When Kamara got the ball on the wing, the Woldhampton full-back came up to steal the ball, but he used faster movements to poke the football inside, jumped up, dodged the defense, and scored. Woldhampton's restricted area!
Woldhampton's players immediately reacted and pounced on Kamara.
Kamara suddenly passed the football after attracting two defenders.
It was given to Hu Lai, who was in the middle of the penalty area.
Hu Lai swung his feet in the direction of the incoming football and made a shooting motion.
At the same time, Woldhampton midfielder Noah Sparks ran back into the penalty area to help defend. When he saw Hulay about to shoot, he quickly rushed up to prevent Hulay from shooting.
Fortunately, Sparks knew that this was in his own penalty area, so he still controlled his power enough to interfere with Hulay and prevent him from taking a shot.
At the same time, it shouldn't be enough for him to fall.
Sparks just wants to force Hulay to give up his intention to shoot. As long as he is forced to stop the football, he will lose the chance to shoot, and other Woldhampton players can surround him and steal his ball. Leeds This attack on the city has come to an end.
But just after he bumped into him, Hu Lai leaned forward and fell to the ground simply!
Sparks was stunned for a moment, and then he heard a clear whistle that broke through the boos and reached his ears...
The boos of the Leeds City fans in the stands instantly turned into cheers!
"Penalty kick!! The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick!! Hu Lai was knocked down by Sparks in the penalty area. There is no problem with this penalty kick!!"
Sparks looked at Hu Lai lying on the ground, stunned. (End of chapter)