A Victory for Authentic English Football!
This was the headline of the match report written by Manchester Evening News reporter Scarlett Elan the day after the match against Boston. It was prominently displayed on the front page of the sports section.
Since New Manchester United's matchdays did not clash with those of Manchester United or Manchester City, and because more and more fans in Manchester were beginning to follow the club, New Manchester United had earned the honour of appearing on the front page midway through the season.
With her recent rise in popularity, combined with her football reports, columns, and television programme, Scarlett had practically become a celebrity in Manchester.
In her report, Scarlett objectively pointed out that New Manchester United had clearly underestimated Boston's low-block strategy in the first half. She also noted that Bruce had been somewhat hesitant with his in-game adjustments. Had he acted more decisively during the first half, they might not have gone into the break with the score level.
However, Scarlett also praised Bruce's half-time substitutions, especially his bold decision to bring on two tall strikers. With Olić constantly moving up and down the pitch, New Manchester United effectively had four forwards on the field at once, which was undeniably daring.
But football was ultimately about winning. Since Bruce had won his gamble this time, he deserved praise. New Manchester United's traditional English long balls and crosses in the second half reminded people of some of the finest moments in English football history.
Simple, direct, and lethal. New Manchester United's second-half performance brought back fond memories of classic English football.
In her report, Scarlett commented that this was the kind of match only an English team led by a British manager could have produced.
In the latter part of the article, Scarlett analysed the National League standings.
After losing at home to New Manchester United, Boston were overtaken by the newly victorious Morecambe, who were now 7 points behind New Manchester United. Boston were level on points with fourth-placed Kidderminster, 2 points ahead of fifth-placed Dover, while sixth-placed King's Lynn Town were only 3 points behind Boston. The gap amounted to just one match result.
At this stage, New Manchester United's lead at the top of the National League was very clear. With the points gap between second and sixth place so small, as long as New Manchester United avoided any major mistakes, they had an excellent chance of finishing top of the National League and earning direct promotion to League Two.
However, Scarlett also raised one concern. New Manchester United had been eliminated from the FA Cup but had reached the fourth round of the FA Trophy, making them the only team among the top six in the National League to do so. This meant they would have to play an extra match during the already busy month of February.
There were 6 league matches scheduled for February. Adding one FA Trophy fixture made 7 matches in total, which meant New Manchester United would be playing twice a week for almost the entire month. That would be a major test of the players' fitness.
Given New Manchester United's current momentum, and the fact that they had drawn relegation-threatened Northwich in the fourth round of the FA Trophy, reaching the semi-finals should not be too difficult. However, the semi-finals would be played over two legs in March, making that month's schedule equally demanding.
It was precisely because of this congested fixture list that Scarlett believed the next two months would be decisive in the title race. If New Manchester United could maintain their current lead by the end of March, there would be little doubt about them winning the league by the time the season concluded in April.
...
...
The New Manchester United coaching staff placed great importance on the congested schedule. They held several discussions with Professor Fryer and the others from The Lab before finally drawing up a comprehensive plan.
Since only one match was scheduled during the first two weeks of March, New Manchester United would use that period for recovery training and physical adjustments.
But in February, the team would simply have to grit their teeth and push through. Fortunately, with injured players such as Marginson and Lyons returning, the squad once again had enough depth for rotation.
As the club owner, Ethan was actually the most relaxed person during the team's busiest period.
Bruce and the coaching staff handled the team's matches and training, while injury treatment and rehabilitation had been taken over by The Lab, which was also cooperating with the Royal Hospital. Ethan did not need to worry about that either.
Dedicated staff were also responsible for dealing with the supporters. As the club gradually settled into a proper structure, Ethan unexpectedly found himself with more free time.
But Ethan was the kind of person who could never stay idle, so he had to find something to do.
"Hey, Daniele!"
Ethan arrived at the youth team's training ground and saw De Rossi doing extra fitness work after completing the regular training session.
When De Rossi saw him, he immediately ran over and greeted him politely.
"Boss!"
Ethan rummaged through the bag in his hand and finally pulled out three videotapes.
"These are highlights from Redondo's matches over the past two or three years. Haven't you always wanted to watch footage of him?"
"Really?" De Rossi was pleasantly surprised. "That's fantastic!"
With that, he quickly took the tapes from Ethan's hand.
"Daniele, you know this kind of footage isn't easy to get, and putting these compilations together takes a lot of effort, so make sure you look after them properly," Ethan cautioned him seriously.
In fact, the tapes had indeed been difficult to obtain, though Ethan had not done much himself. He had asked Malin from the OPTA data company to help collect them, and Redondo's footage was not the only set he had requested.
There was a story behind the idea of watching match tapes.
Originally, Ethan had only wanted to help Essien understand what an outstanding defensive midfielder should do, so he specially collected a set of match highlights featuring Keane and several other excellent defensive midfielders from recent years for Essien to study.
Unexpectedly, Essien let the matter slip.
After that, Curtis, Evra, Messi, Michael Johnson, and several others also came to Ethan and asked him to prepare highlight compilations of their idols.
Since Ethan happened to have some free time during this period, he simply asked Malin for help and had a set prepared for each of them, allowing the players to improve by studying footage of famous stars.
"By the way, Boss, are we still going to Old Trafford to watch the match this Sunday?" De Rossi asked eagerly after putting the tapes away.
Ethan frowned. "Don't you have to represent the first team in a match this Saturday?"
"Yeah!" De Rossi was full of anticipation.
Although this would not be his first appearance for New Manchester United, the first team had plenty of talent in his position. As a result, he could only come on as a substitute occasionally and usually had to play for the youth team in U19 matches.
"Perform well, and I'll take you with me!" Ethan said with a smile.
He had booked several season tickets at Old Trafford, so whenever Manchester United played at home, he would attend the match. From time to time, he also brought club players such as Messi and Curtis, allowing them to observe players like Giggs and Stam in person.
It was all intended to help them improve.
However, judging from the current situation, players like De Rossi and Essien were all very eager to visit Old Trafford, which gave Ethan a headache. Who should he take each time?
In the end, he established a simple rule. Whoever trained and performed well would be chosen. This immediately gave the young players even more motivation in both training and matches.
Of course, Ethan was not worried at all that any of them would fall in love with Manchester United.
De Rossi's eyes lit up when he heard Ethan's words. He nodded firmly, then turned and ran back to continue training.
Youth training generally focused on technical ability and encouraged attacking football. Since moving back into the defensive midfield role, De Rossi had improved significantly, but he was still somewhat slight physically.
Because of that, The Lab had specifically designed a diet and training programme for him based on similar medical principles to those used for Messi, with the aim of improving his strength in physical duels.
As for the younger players, no physical training had been arranged for them at all. Their sessions focused more on developing technique and nurturing their interest in football.
For example, Messi, Michael Johnson, Ishmael Miller, and the others did not need to take part in physical conditioning. They only received technical training at the club.
Walking around the side of the pitch to the opposite end, Ethan saw Ishmael, Messi, Michael Johnson, Curtis, and several others taking part in a team exercise arranged by youth coach Paul Hampson.
They had been divided into two sides. Ishmael, Messi, Michael Johnson, and a few others were on one team, while Curtis and another group formed the opposition. They were playing a small-sided attacking game.
Although Messi and the others were younger, their technique was clearly superior. Messi in particular displayed exceptional skill on the pitch, often dribbling past several opponents in spectacular fashion and drawing cheers from his teammates.
It was precisely because their abilities were far beyond those of players their own age that Messi, Ishmael, and Michael had all been exceptionally promoted to train with the U19 team, though they did not yet take part in official matches.
"Michael!"
Messi sprinted down the right touchline towards the byline with one hand raised high.
Michael Johnson spotted him immediately and played a penetrating diagonal pass through the gap between two defenders, placing the ball perfectly into Messi's path.
Messi took a touch, dribbled past one opponent, accelerated again, beat another defender, reached the byline, and crossed.
In the middle, Ishmael and Curtis fought fiercely for position. The physical battle between them was intense, but in the end, the older Curtis gained the upper hand. He held Ishmael off, leapt high, and headed Messi's cross clear of the penalty area.
However, the ball did not travel far. Michael, arriving late from midfield, controlled it with his chest before slipping a clever through ball forward.
Taking advantage of the moment Curtis needed to recover after landing, Ishmael leaned into him and received the ball with his back to goal. His touch was remarkably delicate, bringing the ball under control and settling it neatly onto his left side. He then turned calmly and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot.
Although Curtis managed to apply some pressure, the ball only just skimmed past the post and went behind.
Ishmael's control had been breathtaking. Considering his tall and powerful build, it was remarkable that he possessed such delicate technique.
"He really is an astonishing striker in the making, isn't he?"
Cassel had appeared beside Ethan without him noticing and spoke with a smile.
(To be continued.)