Chapter 53 I wish Ten Hag all the best

Chapter 53 I wish Ten Hag all the best

Chapter 53 I wish Ten Hag all the best

"We need to stabilize the tempo and strengthen the midfield control so that Joe and Bruno (Guimarraís) don't rush forward so frequently. We still have the whole second half for them to play."

Li Chen looked at the time, then signaled Carrick to go to the sidelines to convey his tactical instructions to the players. He was very satisfied with the score of 3-0 at halftime.

Soon, after receiving the news from Carrick, Guimarães decisively shouted to his teammates, indicating that the team should focus on controlling the field next, and he also obediently took his position and stood back in his own half.

He had a great time in the first half of today's game.

After joining Newcastle in the winter window, Haoge mainly let him play as a defensive midfielder. Although the defensive midfielder position is also his good position, he has an offensive heart in his heart.

Perhaps every Brazilian midfielder is like this, not to mention that his footwork and passing ability are enough to support him to play as a number 8 or even a number 10.

However, he also understood that Newcastle at that time could not find another player who could perform as well as him in the defensive midfielder position.

So he had to take on this heavy responsibility, so much so that when Li Chen bought Palinha in the summer window, he was still worried that his starting position would be replaced.

Until Li Chen asked him the question directly during a private conversation on the first day of pre-season training.

"I told the other Bruno last season that if you want to be stronger than you are, you need to drop back and play more as an eight and contribute more to the team.

And today, I also want to ask you, Bruno, in your heart, do you prefer to play the No. 6 position, or the No. 8 position with balanced offense and defense? "

Li Chen's question gave Guimarães a chance to choose, and after thinking for a moment, Guimarães gritted his teeth and made his own decision.

"I want to play as a No.8, boss. I have the ability. I want to help the team more on the offensive end!"

After saying this, Guimarães waited anxiously for Li Chen's reply.

The result was beyond his expectation. Li Chen did not persuade him to think about it more. Instead, he smiled and patted him on the shoulder, and then let him continue the physical examination.

On the afternoon of the day when the training camp officially started, Li Chen solemnly handed the team's No. 8 jersey to him after the team's numbers were readjusted.

"I also believe that you can further develop in your new position, Bruno, keep training and I look forward to your outstanding performance on the offensive end."

The new number and the respect and trust bestowed on him made Guimarães a firm supporter of Li Chen.

Similarly, his midfield partner Joelinton was also bribed by Li Chen using similar means... no, conquered.

To use Joelinton's words when he was having a private dinner with his new teammates, apart from Brother Hao, no other head coach has ever trusted him so much.

The number 10 jersey and the position of the team's third captain.

If we say that Brother Hao is the benefactor who transformed him from a striker to a midfielder and gave him a second life in his career.

Then Li Chen is the noble person who continues to trust him and is likely to bring him to new heights in career development.

Therefore, these two midfielders who played as the main force under Eddie Howe last season are now very obedient to Li Chen. They do whatever they are told to do, whether defending or attacking, without any hesitation.

With their retreating support and Madison's excellent ball control, Newcastle quickly regained possession of the ball after actively slowing down the pace of the game.

At this time, Newcastle's lineup was closer to 451.

Only Ronaldo was rushing forward, and Havertz basically became a member of the midfield, assisting Madison to retreat and organize the game.

Joelinton and Guimaraes positioned themselves on both sides of Paninha, assisting the two full-backs to sweep the flanks while protecting Paninha.

Parinha, who was rarely forced to compete with the opponent's attacking players in speed, provided a stable and tough performance in frontal interception and air defense.

He didn't have many outstanding shots in the entire first half, but every time he appeared on the live screen, he was able to steadily defeat his opponents.

His excellent defensive positioning and tall and strong physique inevitably reminded the fans who followed the game of Matic in the past.

Even though Palinha still needs to show stable performance in more Premier League games to prove that he is not a "flash in the pan".

But fans are already inclined to think Newcastle have made another great bargain.

Nottingham Forest, with low morale, failed to seize the last minute of the first half to launch a counterattack.

They seemed to be hit hard by Newcastle's brutal attack and urgently needed a 15-minute halftime break to readjust their mentality.

Newcastle was not in a hurry to completely ruin the game in the first half, so the two teams finally entered the halftime break with a score of 3-0.

After enjoying Newcastle's offensive feast in the first half, fans from all walks of life are now discussing it enthusiastically on online forums.

"I apologize for my pre-match remarks. Ronaldo is really amazing! The shot without stopping the ball was so exciting!
I said that Ronaldo is the best striker in the current players, do you have any objection to it? "

"And Ramos, this guy may be dirty, but he is really strong!
It seems that his performance in Paris last season was really dragged down by injuries. He was able to pass the ball steadily and command the defense efficiently. Is this the quality of players produced by Real Madrid? "

"Yes, Ramos looks like he can still play. I won't praise Master Pei enough, his defense is really solid, really great! Now I am looking forward to Marcelo's performance."

"How come these veterans at Real Madrid are so strong? Let Newcastle buy Modric and Kroos in the winter transfer window. I want to see 'Royal Newcastle' win the championship!"

"You are really overthinking it, don't you see that most of the veterans Lee brought in are backcourt players?
In terms of the lineup structure in the midfield and frontcourt, Lee is more inclined to introduce and use young players. Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a stable finishing efficiency, is the only veteran over 30 years old in Newcastle's frontcourt.

Giving Ronaldo tactical privileges and allowing him to focus more on scoring goals is fine, but he also has to participate in necessary defenses to block the opponent's passing routes, and other young players have to work harder on the defensive end. "

While praising the good performance of several Newcastle veteran starters, fans were also discussing Li Chen's clever tactical design and use of players.

On the defensive line, Ramos and Pepe do not need too much time to get used to each other. The pre-season training is enough for the two to regain the tacit cooperation they had in the past.

Sommer's goal-line skills are also beyond doubt. As long as he does not need to frequently control the ball, his excellent reaction and goal-line skills are enough to protect Newcastle's goal.

The strong midfield defense can allow the two veteran central defenders to avoid direct confrontation with the opponent's attacking players.

In this case, the two veteran central defenders with rich defensive experience can perform very "stable".

Just like Palinha.

Let them play in the areas they are good at, and let the two midfielders Joelinton and Guimaraes, or even Havertz who actively returns to defense, do more trivial and dirty work.

The so-called offensive threat that finally filtered through was naturally eliminated by them outside the defensive three zones.

This is almost a typical case of the combination of veteran defenders and young midfielders creating a chemical reaction.

On the offensive end, Maddison, who changed to play as a winger, made the fans appreciate the style of Manchester City's core Silva.

Delicate footwork, outstanding passing skills, and excellent ability to read the game.

Madison used his feet to launch wave after wave of offensive marches at St. James' Park, organizing the offensive direction in the front court in an orderly manner.

There is no need to say much about Ronaldo, he is still the deadly killer who always appears in the key position.

The two full-backs flying up and down, especially Grimaldo who performed amazingly today, made the fans feel that they saw the style of the tactics of the full-backs flying on both wings during the peak period of Real Madrid.

Perhaps in the eyes of fans, among the players starting for Newcastle today, only Havertz can be considered an "outlier".

But there are still many fans who understand football and can understand the important role of Havertz.

Ronaldo and Madison were able to play comfortably because Havertz did the work of fighting with the opponent's defenders and actively returning to defense.

And Havertz also tried his best to play the role of a tactical fulcrum.

In this regard, he is certainly not as good as other well-known center forwards in the Premier League.

But the tactical effect was achieved, and he did help Ronaldo and Madison create offensive space.

Whether they can do better in this regard in the future requires the joint efforts of Havertz and the Newcastle coaching staff.

At least now, Newcastle does not have to worry about Havertz not being able to be a tactical fulcrum, but the effect is not so outstanding. In the first half of this opening game, Newcastle has brought too many tactical surprises to the fans.

After the start of the second half, Newcastle still chose to actively press forward and attack, not wanting to give Nottingham Forest any chance to breathe.

It seemed that he really wanted to score a goal to end the game completely in the first twenty minutes of the second half.

Forest's tactical thinking in the second half was obviously more active than in the first half.

I think Steve Cooper has figured it out. Continuing to defend is a dead end, so he might as well give it a try.

Not to mention creating a miracle to score points away from home, being able to score a goal to save face is also a good result.

But just when they were about to exert their strength, they met Master Pei who was also trying to exert his strength!
The young Forest center forward Serridge obviously has a taller physique, but he just can't get the ball from Pepe.

The 39-year-old Pepe has rich defensive experience and is very accurate in judging where the football will land. He is also not at a disadvantage when facing young opponents.

Nottingham Forest's many long pass attacks were almost all disrupted by Pepe.

As a result, Serric, who failed in headers many times, could only use hand moves, causing Pepe, who had clean defensive moves, to suffer a loss.

The referee on duty decisively called a foul on Seric, and Ramos, who rushed towards Seric at the first moment, was stopped in time by Palinha.

"Oh! Oh! Seric was too impulsive. He actually gave Pepe an elbow! Doesn't he know what kind of opponent he is facing?"

The Sky Sports commentator joked.

But Pepe, who suffered a loss, just rubbed his chest and smiled at his teammates, indicating that it was okay.

He did not commit any retaliatory fouls against Seric in the subsequent defensive confrontation.

Instead, Ramos deliberately switched positions with Pepe during a defense, and then intentionally returned an elbow to Seric, causing the opponent to fall directly onto the grass.

This time, no fans said that Ramos was dirty. The Newcastle fans at the scene even excitedly cheered for Ramos' counterattack!

The referee did not show a yellow card to Seric before, so it is naturally difficult for him to make a harsh penalty against Ramos now, and he can only give a verbal warning.

Nottingham Forest, whose repeated attempts at active attacking ended in failure, eventually fell into a situation of being completely suppressed by Newcastle.

Grimaldo, who was in excellent form, received a back-heel pass from Ronaldo and broke into the Forest penalty area again in the 61st minute of the second half.

However, he failed to complete the threatening pass this time because Nottingham Forest's right-back Williams took the risk and tripped him in the penalty area!

The referee on duty called a foul on Williams without hesitation.

"Penalty! Oh! The referee has sentenced Nottingham Forest to death! The Forest players came up to appeal, but the referee's decision was very firm, and Grimaldo gave the ball to Ronaldo."

Ronaldo took the football without hesitation, wiped it a few times with his jersey, and then stepped towards the penalty spot.

Ignoring the interference of former Manchester United teammate Dean Henderson, Ronaldo sprinted forward and kicked the ball towards the Forest goal after hearing the referee's whistle!

Henderson resolutely dived to his lower right, but he still dived in the wrong direction, because Ronaldo kicked the ball to the middle this time!
After scoring twice, Ronaldo once again signaled to his teammates to celebrate with him in the corner flag area.

At this time, the Forest players who were standing on the field with their hands on their hips and their heads down had already lost their spirit.

Li Chen satisfiedly replaced today's goal scorers Maddison and Ronaldo with Elanga and Murphy.

In the 70th minute of the second half, he replaced Guimaraes and Parinha with Willock and Longstaff.

Finally, he gave Gvardiol a 20-minute debut and replaced Pepe.

This obvious substitution gave Nottingham Forest a last shred of dignity.

Li Chen's decision to quit while he was ahead made Newcastle lose a great opportunity to create a massacre, which inevitably made the home Newcastle fans feel a little regretful.

But after the game, the media unanimously praised Li Chen and Newcastle's demeanor.

"A team like Newcastle with a strong foundation should master the 'scale' of winning by a large margin."

"Nottingham Forest is just a newly promoted team. It is too cruel for them to face an opponent like Newcastle in the league opening game. However, Lee still gave them dignity in a gentlemanly manner."

"That's how real big clubs are made. Newcastle have chosen the right manager and they are on the right path."

Newcastle fans felt very comfortable with the praise from the British media.

However, for Li Chen, he had long seen through the tone and true face of these media.

The praise is just because Newcastle won a big victory, not because of any bullshit manners.

He did not become complacent about this, but instead kept reminding the players in the following training sessions to be careful of Brighton's penetrating attacks.

"They have completed the running-in work after the team was established. Even though they lost Cucurella and Bissouma this summer, the overall structure of the lineup is still quite complete and new signings have been completed.

The coaching staff's assessment of their strength is that they will be in the top six of the league in the new season, especially their offensive level, which is likely to rank in the top four of the league, so we must do a good job of defense in the next game..."

Li Chen quickly laid down the tactical basis for the next round of league matches against Brighton.

The foundation of Brighton's rise is their midfield control and excellent attack.

So in the next game, no matter what tactics Newcastle adopts, Brighton will take the initiative to press forward and try to create more offensive opportunities.

When dealing with such opponents, counterattack is always an appropriate tactic that will never go out of style.

Newcastle's current lineup is undoubtedly very suitable for low-post strangulation counterattacks.

Six days later, after attending the pre-match press conference, Li Chen led the team to the away game in advance.

In the new season, he has set up several new preparation rules for the team, including team gathering before the game and collective accommodation.

Regardless of whether the game is at home or away, and whether the journey to the away game is near or far, he requires the team to stay in a hotel together the night before the game.

This will help the team members to further communicate, coordinate and maintain discipline.

The Newcastle players who obeyed the orders obediently also had a good sleep in the collective accommodation environment, and faced the crucial match with Brighton in full spirits.

However, on the morning of the same day, after completing the pre-match activation training at a small training ground rented locally, Li Chen was besieged and interviewed by a group of reporters.

When Li Chen heard the questions from reporters, his first reaction was confusion.

"Manchester United's signings? Sorry, I haven't been paying attention to anything on the internet recently, and I'm no longer the head coach of Manchester United. You should ask this question..."

"It was at the suggestion of new head coach Ten Hag that Manchester United spent 9000 million euros to introduce Dutch winger Anthony."

"..."

Li Chen was really silent this time, because he thought that with his own butterfly effect, Ten Hag should not be in a hurry to recruit players anymore.

Maybe the Manchester United executives suddenly came to their senses and really got him the De Jong and De Ligt he wanted?
But now it seems that Ten Hag is still obsessed with his favorite player Anthony...

"Do you think Ten Hag can achieve the same success you had last season at Manchester United? And what do you think of Ten Hag asking the club to spend 9000 million to bring in Anthony?"

A reporter asked again, and Li Chen looked at him, forced a smile, nodded and said:

"I wish ten Hag all the best at Manchester United."

(End of this chapter)