On October 23, in the ninth round of the 2016-2017 Premier League season, Queens Park Rangers welcomed Chelsea at home.

Current Blues boss, 47-year-old Italian Antonio Conte, who led 'Old Lady' Juventus to a dominant treble in Serie A in previous years, is known for his 352 formation. His success at Juventus has also led to a resurgence of the "back three" tactical style of play in football.

Although he led the Italian national team to a poor record as manager at this year's European Championships, this is more due to the current talent gap in Italy, and public opinion is still widely regarded as a first-class manager.

This is a manager who is calm on the outside, but passionate on the inside. Italian star Andrea Pirlo said in his autobiography that the seemingly elegant coach peptalk the players in the dressing room was as wild as a cobra attacking, and that a few simple words could conquer the hearts of the players.

In addition to his charisma, he, like many Italian coaches, is a footballer who is extremely tactically demanding and demanding.

Antonio Conte's arrival at Chelsea underwent a major overhaul in defence, bringing in a series of backfield players, with John Terry, the soul of the team, replaced by the likes of young Greek centre-back Manolas.

That caused some of the Blues' hard-core frustrations, but they were unbeaten in the first eight rounds with five wins and three draws, just like Everton, and finished third on goal difference. This is a huge improvement from last season's final result of 10th.

In the box at Loftus Road, QPR owner Tony Fernandes was spotted after not being present for his first game as acting manager.

But this one, he appeared.

The fans still gave acting coach Kristen Luke great encouragement. Even if many of them don't really support her. But England fans have always been loyal and fanatical about their support for the home team in the stadium.

Chelsea continued to field a 352 formation, while Lu Ling's 4231 formation made just one change, with Eduardo Vargas back in form and the Chilean replacing striker Jamie McGee, who started last game. This is almost the strongest lineup in Lu Ling's heart.

Ninety minutes later, when the camera panned to Tony Fernandez again, he shook his head and turned around, disappointed. Chelsea are a tough opponent, but he would have liked to have picked up a draw at home. And this is indeed possible. They were overtaken in stoppage time.

The score on the scoreboard is very harsh, 1:2.

It was the sixth defeat in nine league games for QPR so far this season.

Lu Ling stood near the sideline and didn't move for a long time.

She suddenly remembered that she hadn't shaken hands with the Italians yet, and then she turned around. Conte was smiling as he walked towards her. The Chelsea boss was in a good mood and said a few words of encouragement. She only felt harsh, and she couldn't even give a polite smile.

Patrick walked up to her side and patted her on the back. She shuddered, turned her head to look at the boy, her voice trembling a little, "Pat, this is too bad. I didn't expect it to be so tough. ”

Patrick lowered his eyes, he scored a goal in this game, but it didn't help. He wanted to take her into his arms, but he knew it was out of place and didn't change anything.

Together, they walked to the players' tunnel.

As she fast into the locker room, the boy tugged at her arm.

Lu Ling looked up at him, Pat's eyes were blue, "Tina, it's going to be okay." ”

Lu Ling didn't know if her eyes were blank, she only knew that she had to go back to the locker room to appease the players first, and then she had to go to the fucking press conference, she grinned, but it was difficult to really give a smile.

She received a call from Tony after the press conference. They had seen each other briefly before the game, and presumably he had already left Loftus Road by now. He said they needed to talk, right in Harrington. She said yes and hung up.

There were also several missed calls, all from Nick, and she wasn't in the mood to call him back for the time being.

Lu Ling went to the locker room to take a look before leaving, and the players were basically gone. Only Pat sat there. He had already finished his shower and changed into his own clothes. He looked up and saw her, not moving, as if waiting for her to say something.

"Tony was waiting for me in Harrington. Lu Ling whispered to him.

Patrick frowned and stood up abruptly, "Didn't he promise you three months?"

Lu Ling pursed her mouth, she was still hesitant to tell him the truth.

"Tina, sue me. He walked up to her.

"In the first four games, I had to get four points. If I don't, I'll have to get out of here. She smiled, a little bitter.

"Why didn't you sue me sooner?" Patrick's voice suddenly rose louder, echoing through the empty locker room.

"Do you know it doesn't make much difference. Lu Ling saw that the boy seemed to want to hug her, and she hurriedly took a step back, "I don't need a hug, and I don't need comfort." Pat, keep it up. We'll see you in the training session the day after tomorrow. She turned around with that.

"Tina, it's not over yet. Trust me and believe in yourself. He shouted from behind.

Lu Ling looked back, and this time she smiled from the bottom of her heart, "I have to believe it." I had no choice. ”

****

Tony Fernandes remembers the girl's childhood smile when he met her home in west London. Oh, just three weeks ago. He likes other people's feelings very much, and because of his own decisions, he is happy or sad. It gave him a sense of accomplishment.

He chose to believe her, why?

The reason is simple, she convinced him. With her language and aura.

However, he now doubts his decision. Maybe she's not ready.

At the moment, she was sitting across from him, and he couldn't quite see her affection. Unlike at the end of the game, when she was full of loss and could see it at a glance.

"Christine. ”

Lu Ling looked over.

"It's a tough schedule. My words are simple, the team is looking for a new manager. I don't want to put too much pressure on you, Tottenham are strong and we won't necessarily wait for City. You do what you can. ”

Tony's meaning couldn't be clearer, and Lu Ling stood up.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Tony asked with some surprise at her reaction.

Lu Ling thought for a moment, "No." Then she walked out.

****

The next day, media reports on QPR focused on questioning Kristen Lue's future.

QPRKeepFalling:IsChristineLutheSolutionortheProblemItself

QPR Keeps Falling: Is Kristen Lu the Solution, or the Problem in Itself?

- London Evening Banner

U-turnforTonyChristineLuSummonedtoHarlingtonbyQPRChairman

Toni changed his mind? Kristen Lue was summoned to Harrington by the QPR chairman

- Daily Mail

NotGoodEnough,Christine! FansNOTSatisfiedwithRookieCaretaker

It's not good enough, Christine! Fans are unhappy with the rookie acting manager

- Daily Star

A huge haze hangs over the QPR club and, at the same time, over acting head coach Kristen Luke.

Nicholas' call lasted less than a minute before the girl hung up.

She told him: I'm fine, I'm very busy, and I won't have time to contact him for the next week.

He was silent for a long time and said yes.

The Spaniard put down his phone and threw the newspaper on the table into the trash.

He thought that if she really had to leave Loftus Road afterwards, she would not accept it even if he offered her a position.

The next away game against Tottenham will be a life-and-death battle for the girl's career.

****

Lu Ling has not left Harrington since playing Chelsea on Sunday. She went home at three or four o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, took a shower, slept for four hours, and then packed up her things and prepared to go back to Harrington.

As soon as she went out, she saw Lu Yungui. She had received a call from her father once before, and she didn't expect him to come over.

He was wearing a lot of clothes, but winter hadn't come yet. But London at the end of October was really chilly.

"Xiao Ling, you look so bad. Lu Yungui didn't expect her daughter to look like this at all, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and she was extremely haggard.

Lu Ling was stunned for a moment, didn't speak, just walked over and hugged his father.

"Stressful?"

“……”

"Xiaoling, actually...... No big deal. ”

Her father's hug was reassuring, but his words angered her.

"It's not a big deal? Do you know what it means if I fail? Do you know that David Moyes and Brendan Rodgers are two people who have managed to get through to the big teams, but it's hard to get into the big clubs after the defeat? Did you know that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is back in the Norwegian league because of his defeat at Cardiff City? He is still a Manchester United legend. Did you know that Sherwood, Holloway, Poyet and others didn't have a Premier League team to ask for them after their defeat? At least these people are men and have played professional football. If I fail this time, maybe no Premier League team will want me for ten or twenty years. It's not a big deal?" Lu Lingqing was very excited and smiled sarcastically, "Do you want me to be like you, to live a life with dreams but nothing to do?"

Maybe it was the cold wind, maybe it was his daughter's words, Lu Yungui shuddered, he opened his mouth, not to justify, but to comfort her, but he couldn't spit out a word.

Lu Ling looked at her father for a few seconds and got into the car, she still had a lot of work to do, a lot.

****

The training atmosphere on the training ground was sluggish. Even a few young players don't talk much. Nedham looked distracted.

Lu Ling was standing on the sidelines, and she had to talk to the captain.

In the game against Chelsea, QPR scored first and led the entire first half. She thought she could steal the three points from Antonio Conte, but Chelsea equalised at the start of the second half. After that, the stubborn defense and counterattack were not very effective. The stoppage-time goal Chelsea scored had a vague premonition. They had been besieged for seven or eight minutes, and both sides were easily tired after a long siege. And they were the ones who fell first.

Nedham. That ball was his clearance error. He is equally responsible for conceding the goal against Crystal Palace.

Although his abilities are limited, he does not always make such low-level mistakes. For a centre-back, there won't be a lot of room for mistakes. Lu Ling knew that he was not in good shape in these two games. Don't have faith in her? maybe.

Either way, she was going to tell him that he needed to adjust and that he would have to sit on the bench for the next game.

"Captain—" Lu Ling shouted from the sidelines.

Nedham looked over, "What's wrong, Coach?"

"We need to talk. She said. Nedham is the captain of the team, and she doesn't want to accuse him in front of everyone.

"Coach, let's talk about it here. Nedham pinned himself to the spot, too lazy to move, and shouted casually.

"No, privately. Lu Ling's tone was decisive. As he spoke, he took a few steps back, waiting for him.

Patrick didn't seem to hear their conversation at all. He was practicing group passes with Vargas and Zixiang, as well as turning and shooting.

Nedham pursed his lips, glanced at Robert, and reluctantly walked over.

"In the last two games, I don't think your watch is satisfactory. There is a big problem with your concentration......" Lu Ling's voice was not loud.

"Really?Christine?Do you think it's my fault for losing?" Nedham said in a loud voice, not minding the other players overhearing their conversation. He didn't trouble her, she did come to trouble him. He glared at the young coach, who was almost three years younger than him.

"I didn't say it was your fault for losing, but you can't get away with the goal. And it's not just that ball...... I just want to ask you a question!" Lu Ling looked up at Nedham, "You have been in much worse shape than usual in these two games, what are you thinking about?"

"What the was going on in my head? Do you know what you're doing?" In fact, the past relationship is not without good memories. He immediately felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know how to turn it around. He wasn't very willing to apologize.

"Since you don't know what's going on in your head, don't play the next one. And, of course, I know what I'm doing. After Lu Ling finished speaking, he walked towards the training ground of the reserve team.

"Oh, what the fuck are you really? you don't need me, are you going to go up and play the next game yourself?" Nedham couldn't believe he was a little sorry for saying that. This woman is simply a madman.

Nedham's roar caught the attention of almost everyone, and Lu Ling didn't look back.

The captain of the QPR kicked the football on the sidelines, and several balls rolled together. His anger was evident, but the young acting manager never looked at him again.

Nedham shook off his hand and left the training ground.

Old Tom looked at the captain's back and asked the former assistant and now the acting manager, "Are you really going to do this?"

Lu Ling nodded.

She finally pushed herself to the edge of the cliff, and she had no choice.

Skip the captain, which almost no manager in crisis would do.

Will the locker room be completely messed up? She didn't care.

All she knew was that she couldn't use a player who didn't listen to her at all on the field.

The tactics she needs to use in the next game require absolute and absolute execution, and she can't go out of the way.

****

In Harrington's media room on Friday, Queens Park Rangers are holding a pre-game press conference.

It's very different from what journalists imagined. Christine didn't look depressed or dazed. Everyone, including Josh Williams, the press officer who knew her well, was surprised. How could a 27-year-old young coach have such a powerful aura? It seems to be sudden, but it seems to be reasonable.

The Sun reporter was the first to ask: "Christine, I heard that you had a big fight with captain Nedham during training......"

"Who did you listen to?" Lu Ling asked with a chuckle.

"There are reports ......"

"You can choose to believe it or not, and I won't answer that question. She looked away and ignored the reporter.

Chloe sat in the last row, feeling strange. Kristen Lu is obviously likely to leave soon, why is she so tough?

She looked at the woman behind the long table and sighed slightly.

Christine is beautiful, and if she weren't a football coach, Chloe bet more than half of the men in this conference room would want to ask her out. Christine is also very confident, the team's results are so bad, she is not willing to let go of her body against a strong opponent in the next game. Kristen was a little arrogant and reckless......

Chloe soon realizes that she is distracted. She put her mind away, and she asked her a question.

"Christine, I would like to ask, is Nedham Onoha injured?" Chloe's voice was good, and many of her peers turned back. Everyone knows her. However, no one has yet managed to make an appointment with the Sky Sports reporter.

Lu Ling looked over. It's her. She thought. Lu Ling first smiled politely at her, then shrugged his shoulders, "No, his body is fine." She knew they were beating around the bush and asking the captain if he would play, but she deliberately ignored her subtext.

Chloe hurriedly said, "He made mistakes in the previous two games, and your team conceded ...... goal."

"Yes. He made a mistake. I think he'll think about it himself. "The point is never that he made a mistake, but that he is unwilling to think about the mistakes he makes. Of course, Lu Ling will not tell the reporters this. She didn't want to criticize Nedham in public for a while.

"So ......"

Press Officer Josh interrupted Chloe, "One last question. ”

'Christine, there's speculation that you might leave QPR after this Tottenham game......,' said the BBC reporter.

"Tony sue you?"

The atmosphere at the press conference became more and more tense with the tone of the acting coach of QPR.

"No, it's ...... on social media"

"You're a professional journalist, and you told me about social media at the press conference? No, I don't think that's the end. Lu Ling said and stood up.

Was she really as confident and calm as she appeared? Chloe's gaze followed the same person who was only a year older than herself, until her back disappeared into the crowd and into the press room.

No, it's not.

It's not called self-confidence, it's not calm, it's more like madness when there is no way back.

She had nothing left to lose anyway.

Chloe was looking forward to the QPR away game against Tottenham the day after tomorrow, and she decided to switch to her colleague that she would go to the QPR game instead of the Arsenal one.

She was going to witness Kristen Lu's final hysteria at White Hart Lane.