Chapter 38: Five rounds remaining, sixth in the league
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Wimbledon Athletic's victory over Leeds United has made many people admit Chu Zhongtian's coaching ability, and many of the media who were not optimistic about Chu Zhongtian have defected, and only a few are still resisting. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info
However, Chu Zhongtian didn't bother to fight with them in a war of words.
The game against Leeds United was a great encouragement for him and strengthened his confidence that he could be a good manager.
Regardless of when Russell will be able to return from the United States, maybe soon, maybe not at all. Anyway, as long as you are still in this position for a day, you have to do a good job for the day.
As a result, in the two games that Chu Zhongtian missed, Wimbledon Athletic won all of them.
Chu Zhongtian's plan for the team to grab points continues.
Wimbledon Athletic won both games on March 10 and 17 and have now won five in a row, surpassing their previous best of four.
These five consecutive victories were achieved after Chu Zhongtian was absent from two games, which is particularly important.
However, Wimbledon suffered defeat on 21 March, losing 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest.
For Chu Zhongtian, this game is not only about losing three points, but also about the worse news, that is, the main scorer Kevin. Clark strained his thigh muscle in the 68th minute of the game and was unable to continue the game and was substituted.
The next day's check-in showed that he would be out for three to four weeks. The regular season of this season's Championship season ended at the end of April, and now it's the end of March. Clarke will miss the rest of the league until the play-offs...... If the team can still make the play-offs.
The team is currently seventh in the league, three points away from sixth in the league, which is not a big difference. There are still eight rounds left before the end of the league, and it is not difficult to complete the comeback in the eight rounds of the league.
However, the situation is a little more complicated than that, as Middlesbrough and Birmingham are just two and four points clear of them respectively, and they will also be hoping to finish in the top six. Plus Leicester City, who are sixth in the league, and Nottingham Forest, who are fifth in the league. There is not much difference in the points of these teams, everyone has a chance to be in the top six in the league, and they all have a chance to make a difference in the end.
If it were just Wimbledon Athletic and sixth-place Leicester City, it would have been simple.
The current situation is complex and affects the whole body, and everyone must be cautious.
At this time, the team's leading scorer is injured, which is definitely bad news for Wimbledon.
In addition, Clark's injury also reminded Chu Zhongtian that the team's physical fitness was close to exhaustion, and everyone worked hard for almost a season, and everyone was a little overwhelmed. Coupled with the point grabbing plan designed by Chu Zhongtian for the team before, everyone went all out in the previous game, which accelerated their physical exertion.
The points grabbing plan was a success, moving them from 10th in the league to just three points away from sixth. It can also be said that it was unsuccessful, because it still lost some points, otherwise the team would have been in the top five of the league now, which is more secure...... The current situation is for the team to go all the way to the top six in the league and then stop and fix it? Or do you slow down now to prevent the players from running out of stamina and then sprinting again in the final rounds of the league?
There are pros and cons to both options, and the risks are high because there is no telling what the future holds. The first option is for the team to rush to the top six of the league now, but if a player is injured and runs out of energy in the process, the result is that the final rounds of the league may be a losing streak and overtaken by rivals. Such a situation was definitely not caused by Chu Zhongtian's own blind worries. There are many similar examples in football - Real Madrid in 2003 has always been in the lead in the league title race with Barcelona, Barcelona was not consistent that season, but in the end they suddenly made a difference, and because Real Madrid coach Queiroz always insisted on using a superstar lineup, the lack of rotation, and the depth of the bench was not thick enough, resulting in the physical exhaustion of the main team in the final stage of the league, and an unprecedented "five consecutive defeats" in the last five rounds of the league. Not to mention five consecutive defeats, Real Madrid has not even lost three in a row in its history, and as a result, Queiroz not only broke the record, but also set a new record.
The five-game losing streak saw Real Madrid lose the league title and Queiroz was sacked after just one season in charge of Real Madrid.
At the same time, it was also the beginning of the decline of the first phase of Florentino's Galactic Battleship.
It is precisely because of this experience that Chu Zhongtian is quite worried about choosing this strategy, for fear that the team will repeat the scene of Real Madrid - falling short in the final stage of the league, watching the players just can't run on the field, no matter how you motivate them, it's useless, the physical strength is gone, and willpower alone is not enough.
As for the second strategy, Chu Zhongtian is worried about whether he will still have the strength to restart once the team slows down now, in terms of the fatigue level of the team. It's like a car that is running out of gas, and now it is rushing forward by inertia, once you step on the brakes and stop the car, can you still ignite the fire? He was afraid that the players would be inert and would not want to get up once they sat down in a situation of extreme fatigue.
He took the question to consult Alwin. Stonefield, too, found this to be difficult. The team's current physical condition, as an assistant coach, is also very clear, almost relying on a breath of support, if this breath is vented, the consequences are unimaginable...... But if the team is not allowed to rest, in the final rounds of the league, if the whole team really loses energy, then won't they just watch the opportunity for the play-offs slip out of their hands?
Stonefield didn't know what to do, he kicked the football to Chu Zhongtian.
'You're the manager, you have to make this decision.'
In the end, Chu Zhongtian made the decision to selectively let some players take turns to rest without affecting the team's combat effectiveness, and rotate every game, but only in small rotations. The main frame of the team does not move, especially he himself. Everyone else can rest, but he can't.
Stonefield was worried about Chu Zhongtian's physical fitness, it was impossible for a thirty-five-year-old veteran to have better physical fitness than other young men.
Chu Zhongtian told him not to worry.
Chu Zhongtian's physical energy consumption is also a lot, after all, he is also a thirty-five-year-old veteran, not a twenty-five-year-old young man. But at this time, what else can be done besides gritting your teeth and persevering? He is the captain of the team, and he is also the head coach of the team, and he is also the spiritual pillar of everyone...... In short, he is the key to all problems, as long as he plays every game, everyone has the backbone.
It's a tough challenge for him, but he loves it.
From the moment he chose to join Wimbledon, he was ready to take on a variety of challenges.
He had fully squeezed the energy of his teammates, and now they were almost exhausted, but Chu Zhongtian felt that he could still be squeezed and squeezed, so he chose to pick up the heaviest burden.
※※※Three days later, on March 24, Wimbledon Athletic hosted Blackpool, and Chu Zhongtian made some tweaks to the starting lineup, rotating the left-back and right midfielder positions. In addition to the injured Kevin. Clarke's position was taken by substitute forward Ziz. Kamala replaced.
In addition to the lineup adjustments, in terms of tactics, Chu Zhongtian also chose a less physically demanding ball control tactic, he ran more and controlled the ball more, so that his teammates could run less, rest more, and consume less physical energy.
In the 38th minute, the home team Wimbledon took the lead at home. It was Chu Zhongtian who scored the goal, and with a header from a corner, Wimbledon took the lead.
However, Wimbledon's lead didn't last long, and just before half-time, Blackpool seized the opportunity of Wimbledon's players to slack their energy and mind and scored the equaliser.
Goalkeeper Roseck looked furious after conceding the goal, because as long as he held on to the ball, he could go into the break with the lead. What do you think...... Chu Zhongtian played the role of the savior once - he has played this role many times in his career, so he is familiar with acting.
Just eight minutes into the second half, he equalised with a long-range shot.
In the seventy-fifth minute, he assisted Kieran again. Agade scored and rewrote the score to 3:1, and Wimbledon Athletic, who led by two goals, had basically locked up the win. Agad, replacing his partner Coote. Tim Hammons, as well as right-back Jack. Poplar.
He ran out of substitutions with 10 minutes left and it was clear that he was trying to give his players an extra 10 minutes of rest.
For Wimbledon, every minute of rest is precious.
In the end, Wimbledon Athletic beat Blackpool 3-1 at home to hold on to seventh place in the league, although Leicester City also won the game at the top of the table, so the two teams remained in seventh and sixth place.
Chu Zhongtian is not worried, because the two teams still have a chance to face each other head-on.
On March 31, the 40th round of the league was completed, six rounds before the end of the league. Wimbledon narrowly beat Southampton 3-2 away, and Chu Zhongtian scored the final goal in the game to help the team achieve a valuable victory.
Leicester, meanwhile, were held to a draw by Nottingham Forest. The competition for fifth and sixth place was also quite fierce, which gave Wimbledon the opportunity to reap the benefits. Now Wimbledon and Leicester City are just one point apart...... This is a great motivation for Wimbledon.
Just one point shy of it means that Wimbledon Athletic may not have to wait until the penultimate round of the league against Leicester City to get ahead of them.
At the same time, the team behind them is still eyeing each other, and the last six rounds of the league cannot be lost, otherwise not only will Leicester City reopen the points gap, but also may be caught up by the two teams behind them.
In March, Chu Zhongtian won the Coach of the Month award again, and Wimbledon Athletic was also the best team.
But as we all know, this honor does not mean anything. The real test came in April.
April, the final month of the league's regular season, is packed with fixtures and competition is set to heat up. Whether it's a title fight or relegation, whether it's a battle for the top six play-off qualifications in the league or a direct promotion qualification from the play-offs, every game is very difficult to play and every opponent is difficult to deal with. The experience of the past season may not work at all in these games.
※※※On April 7, in the 41st round of the league, Wimbledon Athletic played Millwall at home, and the final score was 2:1, and the home team won. They took a solid first step.
Three days later, on April 10, Wimbledon Athletic took on Middlesbrough away. It's a direct battle between seventh and eighth place, with a three-point difference between the two teams before the game, and a win over Middlesbrough would see Wimbledon Athletic get out of the way.
But it's Middlesbrough's home stadium and it's not a good game.
In the end, after ninety minutes of hard fighting, after paying Jack. After the price of Young's injury, Wimbledon finally scored a valuable away victory!
2:0, the score may seem like an easy victory, but the actual process is not like this. Wimbledon were lucky, taking the lead in the opening thirteen minutes, but for the next 70 minutes, they were under tremendous pressure, with Middlesbrough attacking Wimbledon on their home turf, wave after wave, and on several occasions everyone thought Wimbledon were going to concede. As the clock ticked on, Middlesbrough's attack intensified and they were desperate for an equaliser. Even if it is a draw, at least the difference between the two sides will not be widened.
At this time, it was Chu Zhongtian again - the commentators are used to Chu Zhongtian playing a heroic role in the last moments - he scored the most crucial second goal to help Wimbledon Athletic seal the victory completely.
As soon as the goal was scored, Middlesbrough's counter-attacking arrogance disappeared immediately.
Chu Zhongtian waved his arms vigorously after scoring the goal, and he was also very excited - this game was really difficult, and it was indeed very exciting to be able to win in the end.
After beating Middlesbrough in this game, Wimbledon Athletic also had another piece of good news: Leicester City lost the game, so Wimbledon Athletic will be promoted to sixth place in the league instead of them!
Since Leicester's match was played the day after Wimbledon, everyone knew the news on TV.
"Wimbledon have moved up to sixth in the league and they are now very hopeful of qualifying for the promotion play-offs!"
Promoted to sixth in the league, everyone had a relaxed smile on their faces when the team trained the next day. It was as if the goal had been achieved all at once.
Chu Zhongtian frowned, he knew that this was not a good thing.
If the team is deflated here, it will be difficult to get back on their feet. You must know that this is a "self-defeating" from the heart...... They have moved up to sixth in the league, but that doesn't mean they can finish sixth in the league after the league is over.
If you're not careful, you could roll off sixth in the league, or even out of 10 places – don't say it's impossible, anything is possible.
Chu Zhongtian gathered everyone after the training, and everyone formed a circle, and he was in the center.
"I have something to say to you. Yesterday there was good news that we were promoted to sixth in the league and I believe that was the reason why we had a smile on our faces all day. But I'm not going to be happy about it. Because it's too early to rejoice! I've noticed this in the squad. I don't want you to think that our mission is done, I must stress that our mission is not to finish in the top six, but to get into the Premier League! The season is far from over until this goal is achieved! ”
Captain, head coach, the team's biggest star, the idol of countless people, a legend in the history of Wimbledon - so many identities combined, Chu Zhongtian's prestige in the team is unrivaled, and even the chairman of the club does not have the prestige of him.
In so many games, many times it was all thanks to Chu Zhongtian's key goals, and the team was able to come here step by step. His importance in the team is not something he boasts about, nor is it defined by others, but he himself has won game by game and has been fighting for it consistently.
After he said that, looking at the players, the smiles on everyone's faces were gone, but they showed thoughtful expressions.
"Of course, I don't have to make people unhappy. We should indeed be happy about this result, but it can't stop there. Remember our goal, forget about the reality of sixth place in the league in the next game and keep trying to win! ”
"Nobody wants to lose qualification for the play-offs, promotion in the last minute of the league. I don't want it, and neither do you. Everyone was very tired before, and I hope this result will give you a little bit of motivation. Sixth in the league is a good thing, but don't let a good thing turn into a bad thing, guys. ”
For possible problems in the team, Chu Zhongtian tried his best to prevent them from happening.
Then I used the game to test whether what he said worked or not.
There are five rounds left in the league, five crucial rounds, and he can't afford to lose a game against Wimbledon!
(To be continued)