Chapter 15: 1 small step and 1 big step

Matthew Miller stood in the stands, waiting for Andrew Thurman, his teammate in the Leeds City Juniors team, to buy him a drink.
Now the first half of the game is over and the score is displayed on the big screen:
1:1
Leeds, who played at home, temporarily shared their rivals with Sidham.
There are not too many fans in the stands. Even if you remove those who temporarily leave their seats to go to the bathroom and buy beer during the intermission, the attracted Leeds fans are far less than before.
For Leeds, this game is related to the general trend of relegation-Leeds is currently ranked 18th with 19 points. Their opponent Sidham ranked 14th with 22 points, and the two teams were only three points behind. This also means that if Leeds City can beat Sidham at home, their league rankings may be able to improve several places at once.
For such an important game, the fans of Leeds City were not very enthusiastic.
The Flemish stadium, which can accommodate 30,000 people, is not full.
Obviously, there are not a few Leeds fans who are in the same camp as their father.
They put pressure on the club by not coming to watch the game.
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 their minds?
But even if the club executives changed their minds at that time, what would happen?
We have been downgraded!
Was it a joy to drop from the Premier League back to the Championship?
Can it be used to celebrate as a victory for fans?
Matthew Miller could not understand his father, nor could he understand the fans like his father.
If Leeds City is downgraded, financial revenue drops sharply, and club operations are unsustainable, then executives can change doors and jobs without harming their high income. The owner of the club can also sell the team, and for their huge assets, they can't hurt their muscles.
What about the players?
There will be a lot of players leaving the team. They don't worry about getting home, just the difference between earning a little more and earning a little less.
In the end, who will bear the bitterness of demotion?
fan.
All the results after the team's relegation still have to be borne by the fans.
The team is downgraded, the results are not good, the club is in financial crisis...
Can the fans of Leeds City have another home team to support it?
So Matthew Miller feels that no matter how the club's top management slams, he still hopes that the team can hold on and successfully stay in the Premier League.
As for whether the club executives should pay for what they did...Surely this kind of thing should wait until the end of the season.
Besides, shouldn't the club and the team be treated separately?
You are dissatisfied with the club, but the team is innocent.
There is no reason to hate Tony Clark. Lauren Gurry was not driven away by him, much less because of him. He is just a replacement recruited by the club after Lauren Gurry's sudden resignation, the "firefighter", and now he is still a "unlucky ghost" and "poor bug"...
What is the target of such a coach?
Now our team is fighting for relegation, but our fans are stabbing a knife in the back... How can a fan do this?
Matthew Miller’s father accused the club’s senior officials of violating Leeds City’s traditions, but in Matthew’s view, the Leeds City fans represented by his father have violated the Leeds City traditions.
The tradition of Leeds City is to love your hometown team just like your home.
What they are doing now is nothing more than doing "hate" in the name of "love".
"Matthew, what are you in a daze?" Andrew Thurman's voice sounded beside him, and he handed Miller a drink.
"I'm still thinking about the fans who are not here..." Miller sighed after taking it.
"Don't think about it so much, the key is our team's current results." Thurman shrugged, not wanting to discuss topics about the fans, "In fact, we played very well in the first half. Williams' goal was really beautiful. But bad luck, failed to defend before the end of the first half. I actually don’t want that much now, Matthew. I think we can just not lose the game at home."
Miller stopped talking, just looked at the court below.
During the intermission, the substitute players from both sides entered the court to warm up.
Miller's eyes fell on the new aid in Leeds.
Hu Lai.
He was selected for this game, but he did not start.
Throughout the first half, except for getting up to warm up once and standing up to cheer for Pete Williams' goal, he never left the bench.
Miller hopes to see him come off the bench in the second half.
Just like Andrew said, in fact, Leeds' performance in the first half was really good. We created some opportunities, but unfortunately we only grasped one.
With Matthew Miller's understanding of Hu Lai, this is a striker who is very good at seizing opportunities.
Should Coach Tony Clark replace him in the second half?
At this moment, he saw that Hu Lai, who was warming up, was called off the field, and then plunged into the player channel and disappeared.
He became excited.
Because he knows what it means!
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Also excited are the Chinese reporters at the scene. They have been looking forward to this game since they knew that Hu Lai was selected into the big list.
Hu Lai did not get a chance to play throughout the first half. It's still normal. After all, unless someone is injured or playing very badly, no coach will make substitution adjustments in the first half.
Although Leeds had a tie in the first half, they actually played well, and there was no need for substitutions.
During the intermission, everyone gathered together to discuss whether Hu Lai would come off the bench, and if he would, when.
After some discussion, everyone reached a consensus on whether Hu Lai will play, that is, he will definitely play. Because it was obvious from the first half that Leeds had an advantage at home, but there was no way to turn the advantage into a goal.
And Hu Leica is good at doing this.
Didn’t Tony Clark claim that Leeds has the video analyst who knows Hulay best in Europe?
If they really understand, it is impossible not to put Hu Lai on the field.
The only suspense is when will Hu Lai play.
Is it sixty minutes, seventy minutes, or the last ten minutes?
There are supporters at every time period, and they can put their reasons up and down.
But when he didn't even think about the intermission, Hu Lai was called back to the locker room!
Everyone is an experienced football journalist, and naturally it is clear what this means:
Hu Lai may be replaced at the beginning of the second half!
Tony Clark wants to give him a full 45 minutes of performance time!
Then they took out their phones one after another, and couldn't wait to post their speculations on the Internet, and were the first to release this big news that would definitely cause a sensation among Chinese fans.
But soon they looked at each other with their phones.
Because their mobile phones don’t have an internet connection-tens of thousands of people crowded into this stadium at the same time, and the mobile phones they carried were connected to the server at the same time, which blocked the internet long ago...
"Damn! What kind of infrastructure is in Britain! Don't you know how to build more signal cars?!"
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As soon as Hu Lai returned to the locker room 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, you prepare, and you will be replaced at the beginning of the second half."
In fact, Hu Lai had roughly guessed the result on the way here.
This is not something particularly difficult to guess.
Counting the FA Cup, he failed to make the roster for three consecutive games and failed to play. In his career, he has never had it-even if he had just transferred to Flash Star, it was just a new transfer. I watched the game when I was going. The second game came off the bench and scored a goal.
But despite this, Hu Lai didn't feel any excitement when he really wanted to play.
As if he had anticipated this day.
There is a natural feeling.
Facing the head coach's gaze, he nodded: "Understood, boss."
"What you have to do is like in training, lying in ambush by Lorenzo's side, looking for opportunities."
"Okay, boss."
Hu Lai nodded and agreed, and spent 90,000 points in the system space and exchanged for three [Ling Rhinoceros Cards]. The remaining points were not enough to exchange for the lucky value of [Lover’s Red String], so I had to give up.
Then, in the system's field of vision, he chose three targets for the three [Spirit Cards].
They are the team's Pete Williams, Charlie Porter and Lorenzo Esposito.
Williams is the core of the team's midfielder and must be chosen.
Charlie focuses on the right side, and he has the best relationship with him, and he is also the most familiar with it. Using the [Spirit Card] can have an extra bonus for tacit effect.
Captain Lorenzo is his striker partner. The boss arranged for himself to do his work around Lorenzo. Of course, it is impossible not to use him.
The three newly-exchanged [Spirit Cards] were used up when they changed hands. In the system's vision, Hu Lai saw that the three people had white light chains with him, and they were also connected to each other.
He then withdrew from the system, waiting quietly 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 Pete Williams meant when he saw it. It seemed to have a kind of scrutiny and some expectation?
What the is this?
It seems that the inner drama of the local genius is a bit rich...
"... In the second half, you must continue to put pressure on their penalty area like in the first half! Don't think about defensive issues-blast the opponent's goal before we lose the ball! This is our home court, there is no reason for us On the contrary, I have to shrink my hands and be afraid of the tail!"
In the end, Tony Clark used this passionate speech to end his adjustment and arrangement during the intermission.
Captain Lorenzo also stood up and slapped his teammates while encouraging his teammates: "Get up! Take down Sidham at home and let us leave the relegation zone!"
Pete Williams, as a local talented player in the team, also chanted: "Come on! We can do it!"
Hu Lai howled along with the other teammates: "Ooh!"
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Xie Lan's eldest brother Xie Zelin also opened a company, and the house he lives in is the largest among the brothers and sisters.
But even so, the living room of his home was packed with more than 20 people in one go, and it was still full.
I couldn't sit on the sofa for a long time. Some people brought in dining chairs, and some people simply sat on the ground to watch the game.
But it is a pity that Hu Lai did not get a chance to play throughout the first half of the game.
Although CCTV's commentator He Feng mentioned Hu Lai many times in the game commentary, and his partner Yan Kang kept guessing when Hu Lai could play.
But this kind of speculation can only make Xie Lan in front of the TV even more annoying.
In one of them, Hu Lai ran out of the bench to warm up, and everyone in front of the TV was excited. It turned out that they were happy for nothing...
Despite the inner anxiety, Xie Lan still resisted not 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 any big storms."
She and her husband usually watch the game at home. Now in front of so many people, she must be calm, otherwise she will be ashamed.
During the intermission, He Feng and Yan Kang continued to discuss Hu Lai’s appearance, analyzed and analyzed, and came to a conclusion-if the game does not reverse in the second half and Leeds is still in the lead without scoring, Hu Lai will There is a big chance to play.
"Don't just change it in the last few minutes..." Xie Zelin murmured.
"Crow's mouth!" The old father scolded angrily.
Xie Zelin immediately shut his mouth obediently and stopped speaking.
After the advertisement was broadcast on the TV, the picture was cut back to the player channel at the match site.
People in front of the TV saw the familiar figure at a glance!
He was in the player tunnel, chatting with his teammates while walking outside.
He did not wear the previous Leeds City white sports jacket, but was wearing a Leeds City home jersey with yellow and blue.
At the same time, He Feng’s excited voice sounded: "We just got the news that Hu Lai has been replaced! Leeds will complete the substitution directly at the beginning of the second half! Hu Lai! The first game of 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 45 minutes of playing time, which is more than all of us guessed. It can be seen that he really trusts Hu Lai..." Yan Kang added. "I hope Hu Lai will not be under pressure and play normally!"
In front of the TV, Xie Lan was the first to cheer. She jumped up from the sofa, then fell back, leaned back on the back of the sofa, and raised her arms.
"Okay!"
"Come on Lailai!"
"Cousin, come on!!"
Applause and shouting sounded in the crowded living room, completely overshadowing the sound on the TV.
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"Strengthen yourself, when do you think Hu Lai can play?"
The father-in-law just raised this question to Li Ziqiang~EbookFREE.me~ Before he could answer, he saw Hu Lai wearing a jersey and walking towards the stadium with his teammates on the TV.
At the same time, he clearly heard a loud roar from a window of the building opposite: "Go on, Hu Lai!!"
"He is about to play..." Li Ziqiang said.
"Oh, that's great!" The mother-in-law clapped her hands and said happily.
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"Pretty!!" Everyone cheered in the bar.
After waiting forty-five minutes of the first half and a 15-minute intermission, the Chinese fans who watched the game could finally put the stone in their hearts down and vent their emotions.
"A full forty-five minutes! This is cool!"
"Come on, Hu Lai! Your school teammates support you!"
"Don't think so much, just do it!"
"Hu Lai is awesome! Let them see how good you are!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!"
Excited people smashed their wine glasses on the table and tapped their cheers.
At this moment, Shenzhou Dadi didn't know how many places and how many people were cheering, and the reason why they were so excited was just that Hu Lai was going to come off the bench...
It sounds incredible, it's just an appearance.
But only these cheering people know in their hearts how long all Chinese fans have waited for this moment!
As He Feng said when Hu Lai stepped onto the court:
"This is a small step for Hu Lai, but it is a big step for Chinese football!"
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PS, Hu Lai’s first appearance in the Premier League, and also the first appearance of a Chinese player in the Premier League, ask for a monthly pass!