Chapter 7 No choice

After Wang Tiezhu changed to the position of the back midfielder, he still had to practice many basic defensive skills. He had actually done many similar trainings when he was in China. The back midfielder is the most comprehensive requirement position on the football field, such as physical confrontation, steals, people-to-peer, long-range shots, etc. These are all Wang Tiezhu's previous practices, but Chris Sally didn't know this, so he arranged a lot of training for him. Fortunately, Zach Thompson's physical condition is very good, and there is no need to train specifically in terms of speed and endurance, otherwise Chris Sally would have to consider whether he could still train people.

As for the most important consciousness and overall situation of the midfielder, this thing cannot be cultivated in a short time. Wang Tiezhu himself has accumulated this aspect. After discovering this, Chris Sally could only attribute it to the reason "this kid is a genius of the midfielder". At present, Wang Tiezhu is not a first-team player, and Chris Sally can only arrange for him to see more of how the stars in the midfielder position handle various situations in the game. There are only three people in the video materials he prepared for Wang Tiezhu, namely the organizational midfielder Pirlo, the butcher Gattuso, and the most comprehensive Harvey Alonso.

Wang Tiezhu's game against Pirlo and Gattuso was just a little bit of a look, but the game video of Xavi Alonso was watched over and over again, and in-depth analysis again and again, because this is his former idol. This Spanish midfielder has comprehensive skills and is far-reaching, with strong fighting skills and a broad overall view. These have helped him become his own offensive and defensive hub on the court, and a player who can become the core of the midfield. Wang Tiezhu also wants to be such a player himself.

As for Pirlo's excellent organizational ability and Gattuso's cruel battle, Wang Tiezhu felt that one of them was too elegant and not like a midfielder, and the other was rough, like a force worker on the court, and was just a scavenger in advance. Not only did they do rough work, but there was no big difference between him or him, and they could not play a decisive role at all. How could such a player have the style of a star?

In Wang Tiezhu's dream, he wants to become the kind of person who can lead the team to keep moving forward to victory, and has the ability to control the overall situation. In other words, although he plays as a midfielder and is not as eye-catching as a forward player, he wants to become the protagonist on the court.

For this great ideal and lofty goal, Wang Tiezhu fell silent in the Leeds youth team, quietly waiting for the opportunity to explode in the devilish training plan arranged by Chris Sally, and his progress is also very obvious, which can be seen from the constant roar and secret smiles of Chris Sally, Nell Redfein, and Rudy Crino every day.

As the days passed day by day, the new season of the England Champions League began. Simon Grayson, who failed to completely transform the team, became sad. In September, Leeds United only scored 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses in the five games that had been played, ranking 20th among the 24 teams. In the second round of the League Cup, he lost 1:2 to the English League One team Walsall, which made Simon Grayson even more worried.

To this end, Simon Grayson held a collective meeting of the Leeds United coaching team, and the coaches of the three youth teams, including Chris Sally, Nell Redfein, and Rudy Crino, were all found. In Simon Grayson's view, it is time for Leeds United to have a revolution at the moment, otherwise they will most likely fall back to the First Division at the end of this season.

Leeds United is no longer the "Youth Guards" they used to be. The team is incomparable in all aspects. Not only the number and quality of the players have declined, but even the entire coaching team is short of personnel. Chris Sally and the others are in control of the youth team and the reserve team, and he is barely busy. Including the first team controlled by Simon Grayson, he only has five coaches.

Sitting in the main seat of the conference room, Simon Grayson's serious face looked a little gloomy, and his tone of speaking after opening his mouth also seemed heavy: "I believe everyone knows that the team's performance has been very unsatisfactory recently. I found it here today not to summarize why the team is in such a bad state. We have found it because of the reason. It is because our team's defense has had problems. We scored 5 goals in five league games, conceded 6 goals, and conceded 4 goals in two league cup games, which shows that our defense has really had a big problem!"

Simon Grayson paused and continued: "And after analysis by our first-team coaching team, we believe that it is not the team's defense line or goalkeeper that caused the team to concede frequently, but because our team's midfield defense ability and hardness are not enough, the defense line is directly exposed to the opponent's attack, which determines that we will lose more balls! Moreover, the team's current attack lineup is still being adjusted, and we cannot make up for the losses on the defense line with more goals, so I decided that the team's tactics must be adjusted, especially in the midfield. We need a midfielder who can provide protection for the defense line. But now there is no such player in our team at all, and the transfer market has been closed, so our only way to solve this problem is to tap internal potential. Chris, are there anyone I need in the reserve or youth team you are responsible for?"

"Swish!"

Everyone's eyes were looking at Chris Sally. The first team coaches were anxious and expectant, while Nell Redfein and Rudy Crino seemed very excited. In the past two months, Wang Tiezhu's progress has definitely been a thousand miles a day. Every week or even every day, the three coaches of the youth team can see his progress. Although Wang Tiezhu is not a qualified midfielder, he has definitely shown quite strong strength. This kid has even become a core figure in the youth team. He has won the trust of every teammate with his ability.

Chris Sally thought for a long time before he said slowly with a wry smile: "Simon, I think... Well, I do have a talent you need in my hand."

"Oh? Chris, talk to us!"

Simon Grayson and his first team coaches were all interested. Their first team coaches are so busy this year, so they don’t know much about the current situation of the reserve and youth teams.

Chris Sally smiled bitterly and said with a little unwilling resignation: "I'm talking about Zach Thompson!"

"Zach Thompson?"

Simon Grayson's assistant Green Snouting shouted: "Isn't he a striker? Chris, you're not kidding me, are you?"

Chris Sully glanced at Green Snouting. He still admired this colleague very much because this person has trained Bale, who is currently at the peak of his career in the English Premier League... Gareth Bale!

"Green, I'm not kidding. I'm talking about Zach Thompson. He has given up playing offensive players and started practicing defense. And I can guarantee that he is definitely a genius who plays in the back midfielder!"

"Chris is not kidding, I can guarantee that Zach Jr. will definitely become a player like Gerald!"

"I can also guarantee it! Zach is a genius who plays as a midfielder!"

As soon as Chris Sally finished speaking, his two good partners, Nell Redfein and Rudy Crino, spoke together to support him.

Simon Grayson was interested at this time, and a serious smile appeared on his face: "Chris, can you tell us something about Zach?"

Chris Sully nodded and sorted out his thoughts and said: "It's not been a year since Zach Jr., who used to play football at Everton. He was still a forward or a forward after coming to us. However, Nell and Rudy, I, have discovered his defensive potential, but because he suffered some misfortunes and lost his relatives in a car accident, he became a lonely person, which led to his personality becoming a little withdrawn, so we couldn't successfully persuade him to switch to defense. But about three months ago, this summer, he tore his ankle ligament during a training session. After he recovered from surgery, the kid took the initiative to ask for a defensive player, saying that he just wanted to tackle other people's feet instead of being shoveled again."

When Chris Sally said this, he couldn't help laughing with Nell Redfein and Rudy Crino around him. Even Simon Grayson and others couldn't help laughing. This kind of thing is still very common on the football field.

After everyone laughed, Chris Sally continued: "Because Zach used to play forward and forward, I think his skills are still over the past, so I think that letting him play defensive midfielder will not waste his previous foundation, and he himself also requires playing back midfielder, so his new position is fixed on back midfielder. After more than two months of training, I think he can be considered a qualified back midfielder. At least with his current ability, he should be able to play some role in the Championship level, but... Simon, I still think the time is shorter. I think if he can wait until the winter transfer, he will definitely become a qualified back midfielder."

Simon Grayson understands Chris Sally well, and knows what he is worried about, so he said solemnly: "Chris, if there are other choices, I will definitely not snatch Zack from you right away, but we really have no choice now. The team's performance is very bad, fifth from the bottom. This is too different from the fans' expectations. We are already under a lot of pressure! Chris, please believe me, I promise to use Zack Jr. at least as long as I am the head coach of Leeds, I can guarantee that he will not be ruined, okay?"

"Oh, Simon, can I say bad? I haven't forgotten to send players to the first team. This is the only task of my job! But you must remember what you told me. If something really goes wrong with Zach, I can't spare you!"

Simon Grayson saw how much Chris Sally valued Zach Thompson, and quickly said, "Don't worry, Chris, I will definitely take good care of him! I promise!"

"well……"
Chapter completed!