Before walking into the tavern, Lu Ling saw the small blackboard supported outside that said skysportshdsat17:ance. The dim light is sandwiched with small snow drops, and at first glance, I thought it was the name of some vampire movie. She couldn't help but laugh, then glanced up at the tavern's sign.

blackhorsecross

Following the tavern's name is the image of a black horse that resembles her Luca. She looked at the sign and was stunned for a moment.

She couldn't recall the state of mind she had when she walked into the tavern three years ago.

Three years ago, she lived in the attic of a convenience store, receiving less than £2,000 a month after tax deductions, paying less than half of the rent for four weeks, complaining about the high rent in London like all ordinary Londoners. She also calculated that even if she didn't live in west London and lived in other areas, the rent might be a little lower, but the cost of transport would be about the same.

The future is bleak, and she plans for a future in which she may not become the manager of a professional club until she is forty. And the relationship with her father Lu Yungui also makes her often fall into bad moods.

At that time, she had nothing.

Now that I think about it, it seems that everything changed from that night. More precisely, it started with Nick becoming the head coach of QPR.

If this was a tape, rewinding and rewinding, and she wondered if everything was predestined, or was it just random events, just accidents, and what would Nick's life be like if she hadn't been the head of QPR?

****

Natalie's exclamation startled the couple who were making out and the old man who had been sleeping on the table for a long time, and they all looked at the bar in unison.

Lu Ling lowered the brim of his hat, turned sideways, and quietly made a silent gesture to the female bartender.

Nicholas stood up, turned around, picked up the remote control on the bar, and pressed the pause.

The tavern immediately fell silent, in fact, a little scary.

"Are you alright?" asked the old man, squinting his eyes.

Natalie looked at the two people in front of her, then looked at the old man, and shook her head, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm sorry, it's just ......" She looked out the glass window and continued with an embarrassed smile, "This snow seems to be getting heavier......"

The old man glanced out the window as well. He didn't even know it was going to snow. He said damn it and jerked to his feet. He picked up his glass, drank the rest of the beer in one gulp, and then walked out of the tavern with his shoulders hunched and his head hunched, not looking at the two guests in front of the bar and the bartender behind the bar.

And the couple whispered a few words and stood up.

When the couple went out, Lu Ling took off his velvet hat. She looked at Nicholas, and he smiled at her.

Then, Nicholas turned to the bewildered Eastern European girl behind the bar, "When are you closing?"

Natalie looked at the clock, it wasn't eleven yet, and on Saturday night, the tavern closed at one o'clock in the morning. So she told Nicholas.

"May I ask what your turnover is for two hours?" he asked, pulling out a card from his coat.

Natalie's expression was embarrassed.

"You can call and ask your boss, if your boss doesn't mind, I hope the next two hours ......"

Natalie already understood what the current Everton boss meant, she took out her mobile phone and dialed her boss's number, made a wait-and-wait gesture, and went to the other side.

Lu Ling glanced at the bar, then at the table where Nick was sitting before, and pouted, "You didn't help me get Long Island Iced Tea." ”

Nicholas's attention was on her hat. He was under the impression that she had never worn such a hat. Moreover, instead of wearing the down jacket she wore during the afternoon race, she changed into a dark blue coat. In her eyes...... Some dissatisfaction.

He shrugged his shoulders, "My bad. One by one, I'll deal with this first. And then...... If that girl agrees, it's my pleasure to make you a cup of Long Island Iced Tea myself. ”

Lu Ling knew that Nick liked wine very much and understood wine, but when they were together, the most they drank was red wine. And he never told her that he would make cocktails. However, it is not surprising that this person can make such delicious steaks, so he can make cocktails.

I thought I was very familiar with someone, but it turned out that there were still so many things in him that you didn't understand.

"Is it cold?" he asked again.

"I was a little bit out of the car, and now it's ......," she said, taking off her coat, "I'm warm. ”

She only wore a white cashmere sweater, and the outlined upper body line was very beautiful. Nicholas smiled and complimented: "It's sexy. ”

"Thank you. You too. She smiled too, her eyebrows moving as she spoke.

The smile on Nicholas's face grew thicker and thicker, and the phrase "you too" sounded perfunctory.

"You seem much warmer than I am, though. Lu Ling added again.

True, Nicholas didn't even take off his blazer, just unbuttoned it.

Over there, Natalie's call was over.

"Sir, our boss said yes, you can give the turnover for these two hours depending on the situation...... To be honest, business hasn't been good lately, and it's snowing today, so there won't be any guests......"

"Aren't you worried that your boss will be angry if you know that?" Nicholas smiled and handed over the card.

"Oh, that's our boss's exact words, he's a ...... Very nice and cool guys. Natalie took the card and inserted it into the machine.

Lu Ling noticed that Natalie's eyes were a little shy when she said this.

Natalie didn't realize it at all, she handed the card machine to Nicholas, and then turned her gaze to Lu Ling, "Moreover, he's your fan...... Sorry, I told him that he was here, he was a fan of qpr, a season ticket holder, and he only had one request, I hope you can sign him...... He said he promised not to tell the story. ”

Lu Ling then asked Natalie the name of their boss. Listen to the name, is a man of Indian origin.

"Please help me thank him, if you sign it, of course it's fine, actually, if he's interested, he can come to the players' tunnel after the next home game, I'll say hello to the staff in advance......"

"I think our boss will be pleased!" said Natalie.

Lu Ling smiled and nodded, "I'm looking forward to seeing him." ”

Natalie took the card machine that Nicholas handed back, and saw a number that made her jaw-dropping. She looked up at the Everton manager in amazement.

"I have a request. Can I make her a cup of Long Island Iced Tea?"

His voice and tone were so sincere that Natalie felt that no one would refuse his little request.

****

Nick ended up with not a cup of Long Island Iced Tea, but a large jar of Long Island Iced Tea. Natalie followed with two empty glasses. The young bartender finally winked at the two of them, "Enjoy, I'll make sure no one bothers you." Of course, I won't. ”

After Lu Ling thanked Natalie, he looked at the big jar and couldn't cry or laugh, "Are you going to get me drunk?"

Nicholas sat down across from her, poured her a glass and said, "You say stop, we'll stop." Don't be stressed. ”

Lu Ling stared at his hand and then at his face. He poured, looked up, and met her gaze. They just looked at each other. Have you been watching it for a long time? No. She turned her head and looked out the window.

The snow is still falling. Under the street lamp, there are pedestrians hurrying by.

Thankfully, she thought, there was no snow during today's race.

She caught another glimpse of Natalie flipping the sign hanging in the doorway.

Then she looked at him again, his gaze still on her face.

"Hey, you've been pausing for a long time. She lifted her chin, referring to the TV.

The TV screen paused for a shot that was the moment when the first goal of the game against Everton was scored by QPR.

Nicholas glanced at the TV and picked up his cup, "cheers!"

“forhat？”

“forallthetistsandturns.”

“rs!”

As they raised their glasses, the lights in the tavern dimmed a bit.

Natalie turned off most of the lights, leaving only the wall lamp at their table.

"I think she misunderstood something. Lu Ling took a sip and said, she immediately continued, "Is this really your mix?"

"What did she misunderstand?"

Lu Ling took another sip, ignored Nicholas's question, and repeated the question, "Is this really what you tuned?"

"Yes, there was a step I don't remember, I asked Natalie, her name is Natalie. ”

Nicholas got up and went to the bar to get the remote control, and the bartender had shrunk into a corner behind the bar. Natalie looked up at him and made a strange gesture at him. Nicholas guessed she was cheering him on or something. He smiled and nodded in thanks. Then he picked up the remote control and pressed it again.

In that scene, Everton's centre-forward, Mexican Felipe Delgado, leaps high and heads the ball into the gate behind Hans. The duration of the game is 32 minutes.

In this game, the two did not make any reservations and discharged their strongest lineups.

QPR starters: Hans Bachmeier, Yu Zixiang, Mensah, Mario Fernandez, John O'Connor, Sorin Mitulescu, Ian Parker, Claudio Lamas, Henk De Graf, Leon Ferreira, Mitsy Batshuayi.

(Phil Warren on the bench)

Everton's starting XI: Renato (goalkeeper), Gaya, Rojas, Jimenez, Norwood, Van der Bergh, Oliver Torres, Barkley (c), Brahimi, Delgado, Dembele

Lu Ling's eyes stayed on the wine glass in front of him for a short moment before turning to the TV.

In the first 30 minutes at the new Queen's Park, she followed her usual style of play and launched an onslaught at Everton's position. Mensah has returned, making her less worried about defending.

But to her somewhat surprising at the time, Nick was playing low on the road.

However, she quickly understood why.

QPR tries to launch a direct vertical attack near the center circle, trying to quickly find lines and gaps in the front court as they have done in the past five consecutive wins.

However, Everton's voluntary retreat made it impossible for QPR to implement this style of play.

Speaking of setting up a double-decker bus...... This is obviously not Nick's usual style, but if he really wants to swing, then there is probably no team in Europe that can easily break down.

And the key point of this opening bus is the young boy that Nick brought in in in the summer, 19-year-old Spanish of Colombian origin, Antonio Rojas. Previously, Rojas suffered a minor injury and did not return until the last round.

Lu Ling knew that he was powerful, but he didn't expect Leon, who had the strongest individual ability in the team, to also encounter difficulties in front of Rojas.

Last season, León had somehow found some way to deal with Everton's other main centre-back, his Uruguayan compatriot Jimenez. But in the face of Rojas, Leon was at a loss.

Rojas is only 181 tall, and in central defenders, height is obviously not his strength, and it can even be said that he is a bit of a disadvantage. But the centre-back has a lot of explosiveness and flexibility, and every time Leon tries to carry Rojas with his back to the ball, the latter sticks up to him and stabs the ball from the side of Leon's body, even between Leon's legs.

Moreover, Rojas also has some hidden but effective arm movements that firmly hold Leon in check. You know, Leon himself is amazingly flexible, but Rojas actually made Leon feel like he was stuck in quicksand, unable to move, unable to perform. At the same time, Rojas will also hit and collide with some parts of his body, intentionally or unintentionally, making the Uruguayans miserable.

The Spanish boy's defensive style is essentially South American, and last season, some Spanish newspapers had already given him a sensational name: "Death Entanglement".

Under this death entanglement, one of the most stable transit points and offensive points in the front court of QPR was strangled to death. And don't forget, next to Rojas, there are also Jimenez and Van der Berg, all of whom can be called "genius" defensive players.

Finally, when Zixiang's cross bypassed the encirclement and found the center forward Mitsy Batshuayi, who has a height advantage-

Rojas, who looked far less tall and strong than Batshuayi, actually rose into the air with unimaginable force, and his head even crossed the height of the beam.

After the game, Tim told Lu Ling that Rojas's take-off this time, without a run-up, his foot was close to 1 meter off the ground. And, it looks like there's even room for it.

It's NBA-level bounce!

The 19-year-old Rojas, with his domineering and powerful strength, allowed him to completely crush the tall Batshuayi in this battle for the top. The QPR center didn't even touch the ball, and Rojas took the lead to carry him behind him before blocking it with his chest.

A high-flying cross that he took with his chest......! This was what Lu Ling had in mind at that time.

Like Gabriel Jesus, Rojas is the monster of defenders.

It's more than just a clearance. Rojas slammed the ball into the right-back with his chest, and it was also the England homegrown talent that Nick brought in this season, Kieran Norwood.

Norwood has been dubbed the 'right-footed version of Luke Shaw' and he and Manchester United's left-back did come through the same Southampton academy system.

Norwood received the ball and swooped straight away, linking up with the team's first core Ousmane Dembele to launch a counter-attack, which eventually forced QPR to retreat to defence.

At that time, the QPR penalty area was busy, and she was also terrified on the sidelines.

Before this game, Lu Ling had envisioned Everton scoring first and her team scoring first, but no matter how she envisioned it, she knew she couldn't predict the flow of the whole game – she had told current Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola that she wasn't bothered by it because she knew she wasn't God. However, she still doesn't want Everton to score first in this game.

Later, when Leon finally had a hard chance to shoot, the ball hit Jimenez's leg and deflected into the opposite corner.

It's a balloon, but luck seems to be on the side of the QPR......

The twist is here again.

Everton's 20-year-old Portuguese goalkeeper Renato reacted with ease, twisting his body in the opposite direction before stretching his arms to lift the ball over the crossbar with the agility of Spider-Man.

This Renato was also brought by the Nicks this season.

Therefore, now Everton's defensive axis is composed of four extremely strong young men: Dutch defender Van der Bergh, Uruguayan central defender Jimenez plus Spanish central defender Rojas, and Portuguese goalkeeper Renato.

Indestructible.

Nick's ability to tune/coach young defensive players is certainly not to be underestimated. Perhaps, it may have something to do with the fact that he himself used to be a good midfielder. Because in a way, some of their ways of thinking are very similar to the young Nick in the video tape that Lu Ling saw.

In the first 30 minutes, Everton allowed the QPR to attack, but the QPR was completely unable to score.

And after 30 minutes, Nick's counteroffensive mode kicked in.

Everton began to launch direct long balls and find Felipe Delgado for the ball. The young Mexican center, who was "stolen" by Ninick, constantly attacked QPR's fullbacks John and Zixiang on both flanks, and could also compete directly with Mario and Mensah. So, with Delgado as the center, Everton's attack unfolded quickly.

At this time, Nicholas's hand pressed the remote control again, pulling Lu Ling's thoughts back.

She smiled wryly, "Nick, I have to say, you're a transfer master. Of course, your director of football, Mr. Walsh, is also a master. However, if Monchi had joined us sooner, we could have signed Rojas. ”

"No, I think Rojas would have chosen us anyway. Nicholas quickly answered, but he seemed reluctant to get too involved in the dispute between the two in the transfer market, and he seemed a little hesitant after the exit.

He pressed the remote again.

The footage on the TV screen helped the pair divert the conversation as it aired into the 42nd minute when Everton's second goal arrived.

Ousmane Dembele was completely powerful, and when he began to attack the defence at high speed, the QPR defenders were difficult to resist, even if they were very capable.

The Frenchman shook off Mensah, burst into the box and then fired a one-on-one shot from Hans. Hans touched his fingertips, but the ball went into the net.

In the first half, QPR trailed Everton 0:2 at home.

Lu Ling had already drunk the second cup, and she was faintly drunk.

She squinted at the man opposite, and the dim wall lamp flickered for a moment, so that she didn't catch Nick's expression for a moment.

Lu Ling admits that at the end of the first-half whistle, the poor score reminded her of the fiasco she had in her first game against Nick.

It was at Loftus Road Stadium, not far from this tavern.

But now that stadium no longer exists.

Gone are the same.

All memories of that field, including the last ones, should collapse with the disappearance of that field. Like this former QPR-themed tavern - is there any trace of QPR here? Except for the three letters of QPR on the little blackboard outside, she couldn't see anything she had seen three years ago.

After that fiasco, where Nick hugged her on the sidelines, there was no grass or grandstands, and a brand new residential area was springing up there.

At that time, she was so frustrated, and she was in a state of panic and despair that she was completely controlled by Nick's tactical layout, and she didn't even understand Nick's meaning at the first time.

However, that was me in March 2017, not me in November 2018.

She thinks she's said goodbye to Christine Lu on Loftus Road.

The wall lamps continued to flicker, and the lights became dimmer. A shadow covers one of Nick's cheeks. He picked up his glass and took a big sip.

Then, the voice came from opposite Lu Ling.

"You know better than you ever know how to take control of yourself, Christine. ”

"I think so, Nick. 166 Reading Network