Chapter 114 The crisis has passed

Leeds United finally swept Reading away with a score of 5:0. Reading's central defender Ryan Bennett gave an own goal in the Western half. In the next 77 minutes, Nelson Oliveira made up Pivkowski's shot into the goal, and finally locked the score at 5:0.

After the game, Leeds United surpassed the "Gunners" Arsenal, who lost 1:2 to the "Red Army" Liverpool, with 19 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses, and 58 points in this round, and once again became the leader of the Super League with a 1-point advantage.

At the post-match press conference, Simon Grayson smiled happily: "I am very satisfied with the result of this game. The most important thing is that I saw that the team has overcome the physical crisis. We rely on external signings and internal potential to tap the potential and quickly got out of the trough. This can be seen from the running distance statistics of the two teams in this game. We ran a full two kilometers more than our opponents!"

When the reporter asked if Leeds United had a chance to win the championship this season, Simon Grayson said cautiously: "Our players are still very young, our team is still very young, and even my own coaching career is just starting, so... I am more optimistic about the team's future. I am already satisfied that we can compete for the European competition next season this season."

Simon Grayson said it was quite modest, but others didn't think so. "Old Sir" Ferguson commented on Leeds United's recent performance at a press conference after defeating Aston Villa 3:0.

"Leeds is very powerful. Although they are the newly promoted team this season, they do have the possibility of winning the championship. The strength of this team is improving every day. Simon Grayson has a strong working ability. He has basically solved the physical difficulties they face in just one month! Look at the current game status of this team. It is really hard not to regard them as a popular team. And... the best future stars in England in this team have, and their future is limitless."

A reporter passed this to Simon Grayson, and then the Leeds coach laughed. He knew what Ferguson's heart was. The old man was playing psychological warfare again. Now the "Red Devils" have caught up. They ranked Leeds, Arsenal and Manchester City with 51 points. With fourteen rounds left in the league, even if Leeds United has already led Manchester United by seven points, no one can tell the final result. The second round dialogue between several strong teams is about to begin. Who can tell what performance each team will perform clearly?

I am too lazy to care about Ferguson and Simon Grayson only believe that his own path must be carried forward step by step. His current task is to lead the team to score more points before the second leg of the league with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. If you want to maintain the hope of winning the championship, at least you must not make mistakes.

The physical difficulties faced by Leeds United are no longer so severe. The three players who signed in the winter performed well. The rotation system gave those players who were exhausted to recover. The most important thing is that internal potential has begun to show results.

Pivkovsky, who is in the team, can also be rotated on the court. The Swedish big man's performance is still remarkable. With Nelson Oliveira and Pivkovsky, Simon Grayson felt that playing ordinary teams would no longer need to use the "Beast" as a killer weapon.

Ashley Hood, the sixteen-year-old guy, brought Simon Grayson a surprise. He succeeded 31 passes 29 times, 1 steal, 1 header, 1 interception, and ran 9.4 kilometers. Although this kid's appearance was not as amazing as Shake, considering his age, the little guy's potential may not be smaller than Shake, and Simon Grayson found that this guy didn't seem to be nervous at all. His brown face was still very immature and he didn't have any advantage when he was in contact with his opponent on the court, but his running and steal were not bad at all. He was really a natural defensive midfielder, but I don't know if this kid can catch up with his senior Shake in the future.

At this point, Simon Grayson has even lost the idea of ​​going to the transfer market to buy a midfielder. After all, what he bought was cultivated by others, so how can he compare with the benefits he cultivated by himself?

Dig internal potential and cultivate it yourself. This has always been the policy of the "Youth Guards". If you only buy players from outside, Leeds United may still be hang out in the League One or the Championship. It is precisely because Simon Grayson boldly uses the players trained by his team that the "Three Musketeers of Leeds" have been created, the "Youth Guards" have returned to the ranks of the super team, and the team's excellent performance in the 24th round of the English Premier League.

Maybe... I should give these kids more opportunities!?

Simon Grayson is still considering the arrangement of the 25th round of home match against West Ham United, but the outside media have already exclaimed and admired the performance of the "Young Guards"!

"Sky Sports News" said: Leeds United has completely become a youth army. In the game against Reading, the average age of players on the team's field reached an astonishing 20.8 years, and six of the eleven starting players were from the Leeds youth training camp. Simon Grayson has truly owned his own guards.

bbc report: After the twenty-four rounds of the league, the "Youth Guards" were not defeated by the lack of lineup thickness and the main players' physical condition was poor. Simon Grayson solved this problem by signing and tapping internal potential. Perhaps Leeds United will create a miracle in the Premier League and win the league championship that year as a newly promoted team. Simon Grayson and his disciples have already set off a youth storm in English football.

The Times analyzed the reasons for the success of the "Young Guards": Leeds United mainly uses the players they have trained, and uses the right signings to strengthen the team's strength and embark on a correct path to success. Their current situation is somewhat similar to the "Red Devils" at the time. Sir Ferguson used Manchester United's 92 Golden Generation as the main framework, introduced Cantona, Stam, York, Cole and other stars to strengthen their strength, and eventually became the well-deserved overlord of English football. Perhaps in a short while, we will see another team succeed in this model, which is even more valuable in today's modern football world that relies more heavily on money. I wish Simon Grayson and his disciples good luck!

Simon Grayson attaches great importance to the comments of the Times, the most authoritative and cautious media in England. He even interprets the media's warning to himself from this report. Today's football world... the power of money...

Simon Grayson suddenly realized a problem. The new stars raised by his team are indeed getting better and better, but their treatment problems also need to be solved. Otherwise, can they really maintain their loyalty to their parent team when facing poaching from other teams?

After a closer look, Simon Grayson found that the main contracts of the four first-team teams, Zach Thompson, Jonny Hausen, Ben Parker, and Ronegan, were pretty good, but Pivkowski and Ashley Hood’s personal treatment was a bit untenable. The Swedes only had an annual salary of 135,000 pounds, and Ashley Hood only received an apprenticeship salary of 3,300 pounds. This is not possible!

Without a second thought, Simon Grayson immediately conveyed to the two kids that the club wanted to discuss a new contract with them, and hoped to get everything done within a week after the end of the game against West Ham United, because by that time everything for Leeds United will be back on track, and after the 25th round of the league, the team will usher in a nine-day rest period. England will play a friendly match with Sweden on February 13. Leeds United only has Zach Thompson selected for England this time, which has won enough rest time for the others.

As for Shaq's physical condition... Simon Grayson has never been worried. Since the kid's ankle injury, he has become a man of iron. Injuries, poor physical fitness and other physical problems have disappeared, and he has simply become a bear, bird, beast on the green field.

In the home game against West Ham United, Simon Grayson once again used the lineup of the previous game, and the "Youth Guards" went out again. The youth team still had an average of only 20.8 years old. Leeds United relied on two goals from Nelson Oliveira and the goals from Pifkowski and Jonny Hausen to win another 4-0 victory at home. What made Simon Grayson happy was not the score, but Leeds United's running distance of 120 kilometers exceeded West Ham United by up to 8 kilometers. This can fully show that the team has overcome the physical difficulties.

After the game, Leeds United continued to top the list with 20 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses in 25 games, with 61 points. The Gunners Arsenal lost 1:2 to Liverpool in the last game and lost 1:2 to defending champion Manchester City on the road, and was surpassed by "Blue Moon" in the standings and fell to third place.

Manchester City's two heroes continued to move forward, "Blue Moon" ranked second with a difference of 2 points. "Red Devils" ranked fourth, and the 54-point score indicates that they can still catch up at any time.

Tottenham Hotspur, ranked fifth, has 53 points, and an 8-point gap between them and Leeds United. It seems that even if the "Youth Guards" have no hope of winning the championship, it is still very promising to keep the top four and participate in the Champions League next season. As for the qualifications of the top six, it is not a problem at all.

After the 25th round of the league, Zach Thompson reported to Hodgson's "Three Lions", but this national team trip made Zach Thompson very unhappy, because England lost to Sweden 0:3 away. Hodgson gave many veterans the opportunity to play, saying that he planned to take the postgraduate entrance examination in the state of these players. As a result, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Ferdinand and other exhausted veterans who had already fought in the league were in a sluggish state, which eventually led to the complete defeat of the "Three Lions".

Only one teammate bonus skill point was obtained, which made Zach Thompson quite unhappy. He was eager to have more skill points now. Pivkowski, the little brother of the "Swordsman Group", had a chance to appear, and he had to take care of it. After returning to Leeds, Zach Thompson learned another news that made him happy and troubled... The scale of the "Swordsman Group" has grown again.

16-year-old Ashley Hood also joined the "Swordsman Group". This little guy must have joined the "Swordsman Group" for the sake of the big tree. The goalkeeper Ronegan, who has always been wandering, also joined this time. The boy's girlfriend took his son back to Ireland to settle down, saying that he would give him free space and let him get married after he had enough fun. So... the scale of the "Swordsman Group" has expanded to 10 people!

The "Swordsman Group" of ten people is already the most powerful force in the Leeds United locker room. These ten people are not substitute players or elderly veterans. They are the future of the "Youth Guards".

However, Zach Thompson now has only 34 points in total for teammate bonus skill points, which seems to be quite large, and on average only 4 points per person. This is obviously not enough. Zach Thompson is now looking forward to the 2014 Brazil World Cup coming soon. Only then can he get enough for teammate bonus skill points due to frequent friendly matches and official matches.
Chapter completed!