With just over an hour to go, the bars around the Loftus Road stadium were full. British fans like to head to a nearby pub for a drink and chat with their old buddies before heading to their home stadium. As a result, there will always be many fans who are half drunk before the game starts.

Linda, the barmaid at the Dark Horse Cross Tavern, is actually quite annoying on game day. It's nerve-wracking enough to take care of a bunch of drunk fans, and she can always come across pretending to be crazy with alcohol and teasing her. Fortunately, she is already familiar with the road and will not let herself suffer a loss, but she still hates race day.

As the start of the game got closer, the fans gradually left the bar and walked towards the stadium. After Linda filled another glass to a skinny old man who had already drunk a lot, she could finally rest for a while. On the hanging TV, Sky Sports was presenting the two teams that were about to start the match. Linda glanced at her boredly, and then, she froze completely.

The man on TV is none other than Mr. who was nasty and charming that night. She looked again at the subtitles on the TV that had been typed out about him: Nicolas Flores, head coach of Queens Park Rangers Football Club. She opened her mouth slightly, and that was what he said when he left that night.

Then, Linda heard the heckling of several fans. They seemed to like him, she thought.

********

The home stadium of QPR, Loftus Road Stadium, is a small stadium with a capacity of only 19,000 people. But the attendance rate is very high, most of the time, it can reach 90%.

Half an hour before the start of the game, Nicolás Flores came out of the locker room. He wore a very formal outfit, black lace-up leather shoes, and a long black coat over the club suit, which made him look tall and slender, handsome like the actor in a Hollywood movie. He stood tall in front of the fans, his hands above his head and a round of applause from the home fans.

At Loftus Road, the second tier of England - the Championship, Queens Park Rangers are about to take on Derby County. Wearing the blue and white striped home team shirt is none other than Queens Park Rangers, while the burgundy away team is Derby County.

It was Spaniard's first game since taking charge of QPR and he sat in the dugout after shaking hands with Derby County manager Paul Clemente. To his left sat first-team coach George Morrison and assistant coach Gary Cole, while on his right-hand side was an unfamiliar face whose name could hardly be named. Sky Sports' camera swept over the QPR coach's bench and didn't linger too much on Lu Ling's face.

This is the first time Lu Ling has sat in the coach's seat in the English professional league. She had imagined this scene many times, but strangely, none of them resembled it.

Nicholas suddenly leaned to her side, covered his mouth and whispered, "Don't be nervous, pay attention to the game." ”

Lu Ling looked at the man, he didn't expect him to say such a sentence at all, the strange thing was that his words made her feel at ease.

After the opening, there was a noticeable improvement on the QPR side compared to the last few games.

Firstly, the players were running aggressively, and secondly, Nicholas played with a back three in the formation. The back three is essentially a back five when defending, which better protects the poor middle. So, despite the fact that Derby County had more possession, shots and corners than QPR for 40 minutes into the first half, they did not score.

Derby County are not an underdog, in fact, they will be one of the toughest opponents in the QPR promotion this season.

It's just that the QPR players are obviously not fully adapted to this style of play, and there are constantly people out of position and gaps, giving Derby County a lot of opportunities to take advantage of.

In the last few minutes, Lu Ling looked like he was on pins and needles, and he couldn't wait to rush to the sideline to command. Of course, she doesn't have that power, she's not even an assistant coach.

The first half ended with a score of 0:0. Derby County were desperate to get a goal in the first half and couldn't do so.

The locker room is divided into two sections, one is the players' rest area and the other is the area where the coaching staff discusses tactics. There is no barrier between the two areas, but they are clearly distinguished.

First-team coaches and assistant coaches have been emphasising the issue of attack, saying that it is about getting full-backs more involved in attack. In fact, in the formation of three backs, there is no such thing as a zài fullback, and the one corresponding to the traditional fullback position is called a wingback. Of course, George and Gary couldn't have been unaware, they were just used to saying that.

Nicholas remained silent. There was no room for delay, and both George and Gary were a little anxious, asking what changes could be made in the second half to be more proactive.

Lu Ling wanted to wait for Nicholas to ask her, but she finally couldn't hold it back at this moment, she said, "I think we played well in the first half, so we don't need to change in a hurry." Wait until around 65 minutes, if the score is still 0-0, you can bring Patrick on, he has played at left-back before, and he can play left-wing-back. He's got the ball very well, he's got some tackles, he's young, he's full of fitness, and as long as he can bring the Derby formation back from time to time, he's taking the pressure off the team. ”

As she spoke, Gary and George looked at each other, and then laughed together.

At the age of his early 50s, Gary is the quintessential old-school, dogmatic English coach. He had never liked the young woman in the reserves, and he didn't think it was sexist, but he thought it was an eyesore in a group of men mixed with a woman. What kind of football coach is a beautiful Asian girl?

He mocked, "Sweetheart, you don't know much about the pro leagues yet, and you can't expect a kid to change the game." Besides, haven't you heard the saying that the best defense is offense. ”

Lu Ling heard him call her sweetheart, and snorted, what a sweetheart. When he finished speaking, she said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Mr. Cole, this is another classic cliché, but in football, this sentence is the least universal. When the strength is weaker than the opponent in all aspects, taking the initiative to attack is to find death. ”

Gary never expected her to say this, her face flushed red for a moment, why did she contradict him?

But there was a subtle surprise in Nicholas' eyes. That's right! I don't want to attack it at all!

"Just like I thought. However, I think Patrick can play right now, and I don't have to wait until sixty-five minutes. ”

As soon as he said this, Gary and George were stunned.

Nicholas looked at the tactical board again. Then he turned around and walked to the players' lounge, "You played well in the first half! In the second half, I need your concentration to be more focused and not to concede the ball! James, you had a good first half, but in the second half we will change a little bit, and this change is that we need a dribbling hand." So, Patrick will replace you in the second half. ”

There was obvious displeasure on James' face, and no one wanted to be squeezed out of place by a young player who hadn't played. But he couldn't say anything, just snorted muffledly. Isn't the young man's favorite thing to do with flowers? He wants to see what this eighteen-year-old kid is capable of?

When it was time to play, Patrick was called aside by Nicholas to emphasize the tactical details. His task is heavy. The reason why Nicholas put him on the bench was because he was used as a surprise soldier.

At present, the ability of this QPR player wants to take the initiative to attack, it is impossible! Only by sneaking up on the bus and adding a little luck can it be possible to win.

Nicholas, on the other hand, needs those three points very much.

In the second half, Patrick came off the bench in the number 43 shirt. The home fans applauded and the England fans have always been unconditional and enthusiastic about their homegrown academy players.

It was Patrick Amber's professional league debut. There are a lot of people who don't know his name among the home fans. Sky Sports' camera cuts to his young face, and the commentator makes a joke: "Wow, you've got to admit it, this kid is handsome like twenty-year-old David Beckham." Who knows, maybe he'll surprise us. Then, there's a close-up of his eyes. Beautiful pale blue eyes burst with confidence.

Patrick Amber came to his position and jumped a few times, and he knew it was the best time.

The second half of the game was even more difficult for QPR. The fitness of the whole team was not as good as in the first half, while Derby County's attack became more and more ferocious.

Goalkeeper Robert Green's concentration was so focused that he couldn't afford to miss a bit. Fortunately, he had a good hand today and saved several dangerous balls.

The Derby County corner was sent again, given far away, and was picked up by their own men. The Derby County winger was given to the striker, who had no space to shoot, and in a panic his shot was blocked by QPR's centre-back. The ball landed at Patrick's feet.

The show is on!

Patrick took the ball, Patrick dribbled on the left, Patrick got past one, Patrick shook another one, and then in the 30-metre area, he made a long, diagonal pass to the feet of striker Charlie Austin who was just in place. It was already a one-on-one shot, with Charlie Austin shaking off the goalkeeper and pushing the ball into the back of the net.

The score becomes 1:0!

The Loftus Road stadium was boiling, and the home fans jumped to their feet, screaming and cheering.

Charlie Austin ran to the boy who gave him the assist, and Patrick ran to him like crazy. They embraced, and Charlie patted Patrick on the back of the head, muttering words in his mouth. Then, all the teammates gathered around.

Nicholas raced to the sideline in complete disregard of the moment he scored, swung his right fist into the air and shouted a word in Spanish repeatedly. The excitement and ecstasy on his face was no less than that of the players on the field.

When the Sky Sports commentator saw this footage, he couldn't help but joke, "I thought Mourinho appeared in the Championship." ”

Lu Ling sat on the coach's seat, clenching his fists tightly. She felt like her heart was going to pop out. She never felt so passionate about football and so eager to be a manager. She sat there, looking at her little boy, who was so excited, but soon so calm again.

When Patrick returned to his position, he glanced over here, and Lu Ling smiled at him, saying in his heart, Pat, this is the beginning of your legendary story. I will not forget this day.

The score of 1:0 was maintained until the end of the match. QPR finally ended a six-week run of slump with Spaniard Nicolas making his Championship debut in a victorious one. And after this game, Patrick Amber's name will be known to more fans.

At the same time, QPR climbed one place in the standings.

Just three days later, they will remain at home to Preston North End, three places above them.