Chapter Seventy-Five: Quiet Highbury
"Will it work?"
As he walked down the tunnel in the players' tunnel, Ljungberg was a little scratching his head. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info He actually wanted to tell this product: stop kidding, it's a lot of responsibility!
As a result, he was intimidated by obscenity and didn't dare to ask.
"Yes, it's not a joke."
Before Yumo could reply, Bald followed suit.
The two Dutchmen who were walking in front heard the question from behind and turned their heads in unison.
His eyes were also full of doubt.
No one wants to accept being substituted at half-time when they are fit, especially when they are dumped by their teammates, and there is no doubt about the frustration. However, the game at hand is much more than three points, and it would be too costly to tarnish your career in order to stay on the court.
"You're afraid that you won't be able to deliver on what you say, right? It's funny, to stay on the pitch in this way......" Anelka also turned his head and sneered.
The French are in a mood for the two appointments, and they are in a good mood at the moment.
Even if this guy can stay on the pitch, what amazing performance can he do as a centre-back?
"I hope you don't let go of the promises you've made because of these doubts."
Seeing that Yumo still didn't mean to speak, Adams said with a blank face.
The Englishman was actually a little annoyed by the self-assertion of the goods, but the decision was made by the manager, who was only the captain and could only obey unconditionally.
What I mean by this is that I naturally hope that this thing can learn a lesson and stop disturbing the order of the locker room with something different.
The results were unsurprising.
The guy who didn't see the Yellow River finally spoke, and what he said was as good as ever.
"Centre-back, I haven't played in this position in the senior team, it's exciting to think about!"
Hearing this, everyone stopped at the same time. I didn't even have the interest to look at him.
Only Anelka, who wanted to watch a good show, made a fuss as if he had heard a big joke.
"Oh, what does that mean, you're thinking of this as a game?"
The shouts of the French attracted a lot of attention, and the crowd, who had lost interest, pricked up their ears again.
"Whether football is a game or not is determined by the opponent. I think the best way to deal with an opponent who wants to provoke you is to pat him on the shoulder. Tell him with a smile, 'Keep working hard next time, try not to lose'. ”
As soon as the voice fell, the exit of the player's tunnel was already close in sight.
The afternoon sun was warm even in winter, and Ljungberg squinted his eyes slightly and looked at the greenery.
......
Ten minutes into the second half, Sky Sports' two commentators are still a little bit out of their minds.
What is the situation?
'It's amazing, what the hell is Wenger thinking, why not switch to a centre-back?
"yes. An incredible decision! Isn't the French afraid that after playing in other positions for a long time, this magical little guy will lose his sense of smell in front of goal and become mediocre? ”
"There are a lot of precedents for this kind of thing, after all, every player's talent is different, and the result of pursuing all-round development too much often comes at the cost of losing distinctive characteristics! What could be more valuable than the talent of a top scorer? ”
"Wait, are we ignoring something?"
"Huh?"
'He was positioned as a free man when he was Kaiserslautern and it was in that situation that he won the Bundesliga Golden Boot. Bundesliga MVP as well as the title of double champion. Could it be that if he is farther away from goal, he will be more efficient in scoring goals? ”
"Ugh. Perhaps. Staying further away from goal will make it more difficult to shoot and make opponents less prepared, which may be something like him that is looking for a difficult shot. ”
"What an amazing guy, now he's playing as a decent centre-back, and he's doing well!"
"Yes, grab it. Card position, protection, and defense, all done at a glance, if you don't pay attention, it's really hard to believe that he is playing this position for the first time! ”
"Maybe it's the role of a defensive midfielder for a long time. He adapted very quickly to the new position. Of course, Tottenham's attacking sharpness is a little insufficient, although there are many crosses, the landing point and timing are not very good, and the final threat is limited, so it is naturally difficult to really test him. ”
"Well, Tottenham's attack in the past ten minutes looks fierce, but in fact, the attacking method is too routine, and the Arsenal defense is already good at squatting in the low post, and it is natural to deal with this kind of impact style of play with ease."
"The impact of David Ginola's downfall on their attacking power is still obvious."
"Yes, the advantage of having one more man on the field cannot be directly converted into a victory, and Graham still has to think of a way."
"After withstanding the opponent's attacks, the Arsenal team has gradually found opportunities to counterattack, and it seems that it is too early to say whether the game will be won or lost!"
"The fact that this much-anticipated derby has turned out to be the way it is now really makes people feel the magic of the football world."
"Haha, it's exciting when there's suspense, let's continue to wait and see!"
The game time was rapidly moving towards the substitution point, and the managers of both sides seemed to be competing, and they were both holding their ground.
Graham had always thought he knew Arsene Wenger much better than the Frenchman knew about him, and now he has changed his mind.
Yes, the English, who are soaked in defensive consciousness in their bones, did not get carried away in this situation to the point that victory was within reach. In his opinion, the Arsenal team, which has one less player, still has the ability to change the game in an instant, as long as the intensity of the high pressing that his disciples are trying to maintain decreases, the rapid counterattack like mercury will immediately turn the situation around!
Therefore, no matter how fierce Tottenham's offensive is, it is also based on a solid foundation at the back. They did not make full use of the longitudinal width of the field, and the wide crosses rarely went down, in order to form an encirclement in time to return to the defense and use the numerical advantage to snuff out the opponent's counterattack.
Passing and returning is far less risky than passing forward, and it was this safe approach that Tottenham used after Ginola's departure. Their two sides were wide open, using the width of the field and the advantage of local numbers to maintain the offensive, and there was no intention of rushing forward at all.
In other words, it's the two teams that are competing for patience!
Whoever can't hold their breath can give their opponent a chance to deliver a fatal blow, which is often the case in evenly matched matches. It's rare to get carried away in such an atmosphere as fierce as a derby.
But then again, the score in front of us is acceptable to both sides, but it is the bitter fruit that is difficult to swallow to risk pressure and lead to defeat, so the two sides have been very tacitly entangled outside the penalty area.
Until a guy who is not willing to be lonely shouts.
"It's boring, if you kick it like this, the people in the stands are going to be finished!"
There were quite a few people who heard this, and some of the guys who couldn't hold their breath immediately turned their heads to look at the stands.
What a result? Not only are there no fewer people in the stands, but one by one they are highly concentrated, as if they will miss the wonderful scene if they are not careful.
Most people didn't take this nonsense seriously, only two guys not only listened to it, but also pondered it a few times.
Ljungberg, Overmars.
In the face of the opponent's provocation, the two have always been calm with their own red cards, but when they understand the meaning of this sentence, they can't be calm.
Truly. In the face of a deliberately provocative opponent, defeating him is the best counterattack. Even if you are defeated, your opponent is not defeated, and the referee is unfair, they are just excuses for the loser to excuse himself. Arsenal had a perfect start only to lose their adventurous spirit to win because of the provocation of their opponents, which is clearly not the style of a champion.
In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see the current situation.
Ljungberg and Ovemas are the left and right wings of the team, because they are worried that Jumo may go wrong in his first appearance as a central defender. has always been willing to defend in the backfield. If you risk pressing up, open the attack. The left and right wing-backs are bound to be the target of the opponent's breakthrough, and the quality of the cross in that situation is not the same as before, and the test for the central defender will obviously be on a big step.
Now the opponent is unwilling to take the initiative to make changes, preferring to accept the score of 1:1 rather than give them a chance. If they continue to hold their ground, the chances of teaching their opponents a lesson will diminish over time, until they become empty talk.
Willingly?
Library-like stands. Isn't that a return to the Graham era?
No!!!
......
The game started from the 65th minute, as if a sudden burst of bloody rain, both sides began to speed up!
The quality of the Tottenham Hotspur team under Graham's tutelage is really good, and they have adapted to the half-game situation, and they are no strangers to Arsenal's tactics of flying on both wings. The Englishman saw what his opponent was going to do. They immediately retreated deeper on the left side of their side, allowing the opponent to pass and possess the ball to be dazzling, that is, to firmly hold the back and the middle of the defense. On the right side, they no longer sent people close to Overmars, but left space for the opponent, and deployed heavy troops on the front defense and cut off the incoming ball route.
Overall, it's the two wings that retreat and make room!
For Arsenal soldiers, this space is both a soil for unbridled roaming and a thorny and dangerous place.
No one dares to guarantee that every attack can achieve good results, and even sometimes the offensive organization is good, and the goal kick almost rewrites the score, but in the end, it is used by the opponent because of the large pressure on the vacancy, and a wave of counterattacks leads to the loss of the whole game!
For the current Arsenal team, it is obviously unwise to spread out the attack in a situation of 10 to 11, which is tantamount to actively exposing the weaknesses of the defensive line to the opponent. Unfortunately, despite Arsene Wenger's frowning on the sidelines, the four guys on the pitch have ignored it.
Bergkamp, Overmars, Ljungberg, Anelka, the four of them spread out and ran wildly, in addition to pressing the attack actively, they actually crossed and changed positions in the frontcourt!
Needless to say, the first three of the four guys performed so hard, in addition to adding weight to the transfer, he also had the idea of making You Mo look foreign.
After all, he is the one who took the initiative to ask to be the central defender, and it is also he who instigates his teammates to take risks.
Of course, if he loses his position because of the goal, then the foreign appearance will be great!
Therefore, Anelka has done everything he can to make the team's attack sharp, so that the manager and all the players can see hope, so that they do not return to their previous boring form.
Of course, Yumo would not be stupid enough to make such a low-level mistake.
Playing as a centre-back was not a whim for him, having previously been at Kaiserslautern. Lu Wei had clearly informed this feasibility, but he did not take the opportunity to test it.
Do you have to test it if it's feasible? The answer is obviously not very positive. However, his goal is to be a free man, and he needs to improve himself with as much positional experience as possible. The central defender is a key position in the team that requires good awareness, excellent anticipation, decisive and not reckless tackling, and accurate and calm handling of the ball. All this is obvious for the improvement of the overall quality of free people.
He's past the stage where he can prove himself with goals, what needs to be improved is the ability to dominate the game
Force, of course, a further position on the field also helps him to read the game more fully and gain valuable experience.
In the first 20 minutes of the second half, the defensive posture of the team demanded little from his individual ability, so he did not hesitate to shout when the situation was already deadlocked.
In fact, it's okay to pat your chest directly and make sure to direct your teammates to plug it in, but it's obviously a bit of a nobody's sight to do that. Even if someone is willing to do what he thinks, they will make a bad impression on each other.
At present, the dressing room of this Arsenal team is still the workplace, and he is 108,000 miles away from the battlefield of life and death, and he will not ignore this because of his own urgency.
Thankfully, his two closest buddies on the team were on the field at the same time and in key positions, so as long as they were on both wings, the game would definitely go the way he wanted.
Now, here's your chance.
71st minute of the game. The test is coming.
After a series of flashy combinations up front, Bergkamp slashed down the middle and was saved by the Tottenham goalkeeper. A well-placed defender got in front of Anelka and smashed the ball out of the box.
Due to the long time of holding the ball, the overall formation of the Arsenal team was relatively high, and as a result, the high pressing failed to block the ball in the first time, and the entire defense line was directly exposed to the opponent near the middle line!
Without saying a word, everyone spread their feet and retreated.
Tottenham had a rare opportunity but were not carried away by the prospect of victory. This may also have something to do with the fact that their pre-race goals were not high. The guy with the ball got rid of it very calmly, passed the ball, and only when he was sure that the opportunity was close to him, did he round his thighs when he picked up the ball. Send an accurate long pass.
The ball landed very precisely, and David Seaman, who was already standing behind, just looked up to confirm it, then gave up the idea of attacking and quickly retreated to the penalty area.
Adams was supposed to be in charge of dragging, but the ball landed right in his defensive zone, and it was obviously unrealistic to expect the guy on the other side and in the front position to chase back and destroy, so the Englishman did not hesitate to do anything, and approached the past as soon as possible, wanting to make the opponent lose his position in the physical confrontation.
Unfortunately, his opponent didn't give him a chance.
Graham clearly saw Arsenal's intention to break the net, and in the 65th minute of the game, two substitutions came in, one of whom was the 18-year-old named Jermaine Defoe.
This black English man is only 170 tall and weighs only 65 kilograms, and his foot skills are not delicate, but his advantages in speed and explosiveness have left the 32-year-old veteran a street!
Raw trip!
This helpless approach sometimes seems reckless, sometimes despairing, and today it was undoubtedly the latter.
Among the two, Adams was originally stuck on the inside line and closer to the ball, but Defoe didn't make physical contact with him at all, and overtook directly on the outside!
Soon, the guy who was already in a single state adjusted his forward route slightly, wanting to make a more angled goalmouth push.
Seaman, who had retreated to the small forbidden area, secretly complained in his heart, and had no choice but to meet him again.
Defoe at this time has reached the corner of the left penalty area with the ball, facing the goalkeeper who opened his hands to meet the goalkeeper, he could have chosen to shoot directly to the goal, the result may be that the fledgling is a little lacking in confidence, he chose to use his right foot to buckle, left foot to go, and continue to rush along the ribs to the bottom line!
He-Man, who was rolling and climbing, was unable to keep anyone or touch the ball, but only allowed his opponent to adjust a few more steps.
Just when the England goalkeeper's heart was cold, just when Defoe was struggling to pull the ball back, adjust to his right foot, and then make an arc, just when the ball was about to cross the goal line, the guy who was used to sending the ball into the opponent's door was already in the air when he was still three meters away from the goal!
After a muffled "bang", the whole world fell silent.
Everybody, you look at me, I'll look at you, and finally turn their gaze to the linesman at the same time.
Including the referee.
The ball wasn't out of bounds yet, but there was no threat from the position, so the linesman could only shake his head, shake his head, smile and shake his head...... (To be continued.) )