The FA rigged the FA Cup draw!
Unable to do anything about big brother Manchester United, the FA took it out on little brother New Manchester United!
The inside story behind the rivals meeting!
The day after the draw was released, almost every newspaper in Manchester ran similar headlines, and the content was nothing more than yesterday's FA Cup third-round draw.
For New Manchester United, this result was unfortunate, because they had drawn Arsenal once again.
Last season, New Manchester United were still competing in the North West Counties League Division Two, fighting tooth and nail to secure a place in the third round. Almost everyone had hoped that New Manchester United would run into the Red Devils, but who would have thought that the FA would force Arsenal onto them instead?
In that match, where the gap in strength was obvious, Arsenal had shown them enough respect, but New Manchester United had used their tenacity to tell everyone that they were not a pushover. They had almost forced Arsenal into a dead end on their own ground.
A year had passed, and New Manchester United were now competing in the National League, while Arsenal remained in the Premier League. These two teams, still separated by a clear gap in strength, were meeting again in the FA Cup. Was this a coincidence? Or was it arranged?
Obviously, none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was that New Manchester United simply could not change this fact.
However, the outside hype had clearly affected the club's preparations. Although the third round of the FA Cup would not be played until January 2000, that did not stop the English media from imagining the scene of New Manchester United meeting Arsenal again.
Last time, it was at Arsenal's home ground. This time, it would be at New Manchester United's home ground. It was like the two legs of a Champions League knockout tie. Arsenal had won the first leg, so could New Manchester United pull one back in this leg?
Obviously, neither the media, the fans, nor even the players and staff inside New Manchester United seemed that optimistic.
So much so that when Ethan walked into the club's training base, everyone he saw was frowning, all looking bitter and miserable. The way they looked at Ethan was also complicated, filled with helplessness, regret, and indignation.
"Hey, Andy, what's wrong with them?" Ethan walked into the office, and as soon as he saw Walsh, he immediately grabbed him and asked.
But soon, Ethan saw that Walsh himself looked like a defeated rooster.
"Andy, you weren't worn out by your wife last night, were you? If so, I can consider giving you a day off so you can go home and get some rest!" Ethan smiled kindly.
Walsh glared at Ethan like a resentful woman. "Screw you, don't joke about my wife!"
Upon hearing this, Ethan immediately nodded solemnly in agreement. Walsh was the most henpecked man around, a severe patient with an incurable case of being under his wife's thumb, and it was unlikely he would ever be cured in this lifetime.
Seeing Ethan's cheeky expression, Walsh looked as if he both pitied him and wanted to shake some sense into him. He walked out of the office with a sigh, but just as he reached the door, he could not help turning back and walking in again.
"I'm telling you, Ethan, don't you think it's very unlucky that we ran into Arsenal?"
"Just because of this?" Ethan asked, trying to be patient.
Walsh nodded.
Ethan pointed outside the office. "I see everyone in the club looking listless. Is it all because of this?"
"This is not a small matter, Ethan!" Walsh corrected him.
"Oh, right, a big deal. The third round of the FA Cup. Once that's over, it's the fourth round. It really is quite a big deal!" Ethan laughed again.
"Hey, be serious. I'm talking about serious business here!" Walsh felt that Ethan's careless attitude was very irresponsible.
"What does Steve say?" Ethan immediately wiped the smile off his face and asked.
Walsh looked at the first-team training pitch directly outside the window. "He said the team will do everything they can to win this match!"
Ethan walked over and patted Walsh on the shoulder. "Since that's the case, Andy, what are you all worried about? We have to have confidence in the team. No matter how difficult the situation is, we have to believe in the team, the coaches, and the players. If even we lose confidence, then what will the head coach and the players do? Are we going to replace the head coach?"
Upon hearing this, Walsh immediately shoved Ethan. "Replace the head coach? You'd have to be crazy to do that!"
Ethan smiled bitterly. Could he say that Bruce would be leaving in half a year?
"However, Ethan, you're right. I was overthinking it. I'm not just a fan now. I shouldn't still be looking at things with the same fan mentality I used to have."
"That's right, Andy. It's good that you can think that way!" Ethan laughed and put his arm around Walsh's shoulder. The two stood side by side at the window. They were about the same height, but their builds were very different.
"I'm considering whether to give the players a win bonus!"
"A win bonus? Just for this match?" Walsh was a little surprised.
After New Manchester United were promoted last year, Ethan had given every player a bonus, but that had only been handed out at the end of the season. He had never given a bonus for a single match, not even for that crucial match against Kidderminster.
Was it just because of Arsenal?
"That's right. I want to tell the players that I want them to win!" Ethan smiled.
Upon hearing this, Walsh immediately understood what Ethan meant.
After Walsh left to get back to work, Ethan sat back at his desk with a headache, staring at the computer in front of him and browsing the internet aimlessly. His mind was full of worries. In addition to Bruce's departure, there was now Arsenal as well.
This season, Arsenal's league form was not as good as Manchester United's. Some people said that this season's Premier League was a two-horse race, but Manchester United were already far ahead of Arsenal. If Ethan remembered correctly, at the end of this season in his previous life, Manchester United finished 18 points ahead of Arsenal, while Arsenal were 4 points ahead of third-placed Leeds United.
It was precisely because of Manchester United's lead in the league that Wenger understood how difficult it would be to wrest the league title back from them, so he would definitely pay more attention to the cup competitions. Although cups did not carry as much weight as the league, they were still trophies.
As a result, this FA Cup match would be very difficult to play.
"The bastards at the FA really know how to make trouble for me! For the sake of a gimmick, they actually tripped me up like this!" Ethan muttered to himself with a bitter smile.
If anyone said that New Manchester United meeting Arsenal for two consecutive years was a coincidence, Ethan would definitely call them naive.
In this world, how could there be so many coincidences?
The FA Cup clash was still a month away, but two days after the FA Cup third-round draw was released, New Manchester United hosted third-placed Morecambe in another highly anticipated heavyweight clash.
However, the recently consistent New Manchester United defeated their opponents 2-0 at home thanks to two goals from Žigić.
Because some energy had been diverted by the FA Cup in November, and because Boston had left the cup competition early to focus on the league, New Manchester United's lead had been narrowed to 3 points, the gap of one match.
Entering December, in the 24th round of the league on the 4th, New Manchester United won 4-1 away at Sutton. Žigić continued his stable and outstanding form, scoring twice and assisting Crouch for another goal. Youngster Kitson, who came on as a substitute for Žigić, also seized one of his few chances and scored his first goal since joining New Manchester United.
After defeating Sutton, New Manchester United immediately rushed to another away match, challenging the currently 6th-placed Kingstonian.
Kingstonian were clearly working hard to secure a ticket to the professional leagues, so in this home game, even against the powerful New Manchester United, they performed tenaciously and took the lead in the 17th minute of the first half through a sharp counterattack.
Bruce had long anticipated the difficulty of this match, so the New Manchester United players appeared composed on the pitch, showing no impatience despite falling behind.
In the 31st minute, Darren Lyons seized an opportunity to deliver a cross from the right flank. The well-prepared Žigić naturally would not miss such a good chance. His partnership with Lyons was the most fearsome combination in the National League. Of Žigić's current 21 goals, 11 had come directly from Lyons' assists, while Lyons was the assist king of the National League this season.
The only regret was Lyons' age. His stamina was increasingly unable to support him through too many high-intensity matches. Coupled with the increasingly outstanding performances of youngster Hleb, which reduced Lyons' playing time, otherwise, Lyons' numbers would probably have been even better.
After Žigić scored his 22nd goal of the season, New Manchester United's attacking firepower was fully unleashed.
In the 48th minute of the second half, Krzynówek cut inside with the ball and scored with a long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area. 1-2!
After taking the lead, New Manchester United clearly slowed down their attack, while Kingstonian also paid more attention to defending, causing the game to fall into a stalemate. However, the midfield battle between the two sides was very intense.
In the 64th minute, 30-year-old veteran Karl Marginson accidentally sprained his foot when landing after challenging an opponent for a header. He fell to the ground on the spot. After being treated by the team doctor, it was confirmed that he could not continue the match. Bruce had to replace Marginson with Smith from the bench, and the captain's armband was passed to Darren Lyons.
Smith, who had been out of action for a long time, clearly had not found the rhythm of the game, especially as Kingstonian took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on New Manchester United. The partnership between Smith and Poulsen seemed to lack chemistry, which left New Manchester United in a passive position on the pitch. Fortunately, substitute goalkeeper Almunia performed excellently, saving at least four close-range shots from the opponents in succession, finally preserving the 1-2 score until the end.
However, just as the game was about to end, Darren Lyons was also injured. He suddenly fell to the ground during a sudden stop. After treatment by the team doctor, he was ruled out for two to three weeks, while Marginson would be out for at least two months.
It was precisely because of this shortage of manpower that New Manchester United entered the most intensive schedule around Christmas!
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)