167 Applause (Part I)
The Blackburn players celebrated with a bang, not hiding anything from the media. Although no media appeared that day, the carnival scene was filmed by some reporters.
The photos caused an uproar the next day, and many media sneered at George.
George's criticism includes unhappy fans, media, journalists, football commentators, and many football celebrities.
"A victory that made Coach Levy dizzy. But understandably, Blackburn got their first win this season. Eleven rounds were finally a victory, and the celebration was well deserved. But Coach Levy seems to have forgotten that Blackburn Rovers are still at the bottom of the Premier League. At this time, what Coach Levy should do is not celebrate, but think about how he can get out of the situation. ”
This one is quite polite.
Mark Laurenson's BBC-hosted show didn't save face for George at all. "This is clearly inappropriate. George, as a head coach, is completely unqualified. Drinking is common in English football, but a manager celebrates with his players and then drinks together. Where is the discipline in the team? What kind of fighting power can such a team have, and it is no wonder that Blackburn's results are so poor now! ”
"A lot of people are saying it, but I also want to remind Coach Levy. Your team is still the favourites to be relegated and are still bottom of the Premier League. With such a big celebration after winning a game, it seems that Coach Levy doesn't want to be relegated. ”
George arrived at the club's entrance the next day when he was blocked by a large crowd of reporters. George, who was originally in a good mood, pouted when he saw so many reporters.
Hearing the reporter's question, George smiled slightly. "The game was won, so I celebrated. Could it be that our team has won three points, and I still have to cry? George scoffed at the reporter's question.
"You journalists, if you have time to care about the Winter Olympics. I understand you need news too, but it's really okay to even take care of our gatherings. ”
"But when I hear you say that, I may become a common practice in the future. As long as the game is won, get together to celebrate. I think this is good. ”
George's answer made many reporters laugh and cry.
Immediately after the reporter asked, George led the team to drink when there were only three days left in the next round. This is disrespectful to Southampton. In the twelfth round of the Premier League, Blackburn will face Southampton at home.
George, who had been smiling, looked at the reporter in surprise. "What, you say we don't respect our opponents. How can we disrespect our opponents, Southampton are a little worse than us, but I don't underestimate any opponents in the slightest. ”
As soon as George's words came out, it made Southampton's side smoke.
The chairman of Southampton scolded George in the media. Then sarcastically George. "I think we may be a little bit worse than Blackburn, but we have more points than Blackburn. I think the biggest factor in this is probably the coach, Coach Levy should reflect on himself. ”
George immediately responded: "I've only been a manager for three years and I've already won the League Cup and the FA Cup. Don't know how many trophies there are in Southampton's 100-year history? ”
George is already a naked slap in the face of Southampton FC, because Southampton has only won the FA Cup in its 100-year history.
So Southampton FC and George spat on each other before the game had even started. The media was excited, and of course no one cared about George leading the team to celebrate.
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On 31 October 1998, Blackburn Rovers hosted Southampton.
Southampton are also a 100-year-old team, but their results are almost lackluster. The only FA Cup title was won nearly three decades ago.
Southampton are currently 18th in the Premier League, also in the relegation zone. Just a few points above Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest, they are also the favourites to be relegated this season. Speaking of which, Southampton is one of the worst in the Premier League, both in attack and defense.
From the start of the league until now, Blackburn have played eleven rounds. Of those 11 league games, Blackburn Rovers have seven away games and four at home. However, the home results are very average, and there is even a 0-8 humiliation by Arsenal.
And Blackburn fans have always disliked George, and in George's first home game, they tasted what it means to be booed.
Although with Williams' strong support, the boos against George have weakened a lot. But there are still a lot of boos for George. Every time he plays at Ewood Park, George is not at all affected by the feeling of being at home.
In the twelfth round of the league, Southampton is about to be faced. George was still a little nervous, not afraid of Southampton's opponent. It's tough for the fans at Ewood Park.
After the last time he quarreled with Blackburn fans, George was even investigated by the FA. In the end, it was because George didn't make any drastic moves and didn't suspend George. However, George was warned by the FA that they would not make drastic moves.
If you quarrel with your home fans, you will be banned. George is really going to go down in history.
As the players warmed up before the game, George entered Ewood Park nervously. Despite the good results in the last two races, George still heard some sporadic boos the moment he stepped into Ewood Park. This made George sigh helplessly.
"It looks like it's going to take some time for George to conquer the Blackburn fans." Even the commentators heard some sporadic boos from the field.
But George got used to it. Compared to the boos of the audience at the beginning, George didn't care about this small boo.
"Did you just hear the boos?" After the warm-up, everyone went into the locker room. George asked with a serious expression as he pointed outside the locker room.
All the players at the bottom nodded silently, being booed by the home fans, how could they be embarrassed?
Many of these people are no longer hairy boys who have just started their careers, they are also players who have been around for four or five years, or six or seven years. It's very common to be booed and provoked by fans away from home. But being booed at home is really rare.
"I would say that most of their boos were for me." George doesn't hide it at all, and many of these original Blake players and Klose are clearly understood. The feud between George and Blackburn back then could not be finished for three days and three nights.
The new transfer players also know that George was once the manager of Blackburn's rival Burnley. You can also guess a thing or two.
"But among their boos, they also include you. Your poor performance in the first 11 rounds of the league is also a big reason. George's tone changed. But fans, it's easy to get it done. If you don't get good grades, they will boo you. If you get good grades, they will naturally support you and support you. ”
"So don't worry about the boos from the fans, as long as our results are good. Boos quickly turn into applause. ”
"Do you want to hear the applause or boos of the home fans?"
"Applause, of course!"
George clapped his hands. "By the way, I also like applause. But applause isn't something that can be given to you for no reason. My request to you is simple, I just want to win this game. Only in victory can you hear applause. Do you have the confidence to get applause? ”
"Yes! Yes! Yes! ”
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Since it's at home, George certainly can't be conservative.
And after joining Blackburn, George's style of play has become a tactic of controlling the ball in the midfield and pressing the opponent. Coupled with the lure of a first win at home, Blackburn Rovers launched a fierce attack on Southampton from the start of the game.
Soon Southampton, under Blackburn's pressure, could only retreat.
However, Blake were not a team that could have been helpless against a dense defence, although it was a dense defence. But in terms of defense, the English team is still not as good as the Italian team. And Southampton turned out to be poor.
At the 23rd minute, Pire, on the left, used technique to break through in succession, and finally the Southampton defender had no choice but to bring Pire down. Won a free-kick on the left for Blackburn.
'Pire's performance was really good, not as fast as Arsenal's Overmars, but his technique was better than Overmars. Seeing Pire's performance, even the on-site commentators were amazed. "George's £5.5 million is a bargain."
"It was Miku's free-kick...... Blackburn Rovers have made their way to Southampton's penalty area with several highs...... Pass, Hyypia! ”
Miku's free-kick was passed to the back post, where Hyypia leaped high and flicked his head hard. The ball was so tight that the goalkeeper just made a gesture and couldn't stop the ball from rolling into the goal.
"It's one to zero, and it's less than twenty-five minutes now. Blackburn Rovers lead Southampton 1-0 at home. "The Sky commentators are just commentators.
But the on-site narrator at Ewood Park was not so calm. Because the Premier League has been going on so far, Blackburn have not scored at home. It was Blackburn's first goal at home this season.
The on-site commentators held back for a long time at Ewood Park, commentating on several games, but they didn't see a single ball. So seeing Hyypia's goal, the on-site commentators were excited.
“gooooooooooooooooal!!!!!!!!!!” His cheers echoed throughout the stadium. Sami Hyypia, the Finnish player from the Eredivisie, is already a pillar of Blackburn's defence. But he can not only defend, but also score. ”
If it was any other home stadium, it would have been cheering along with the goal and the commentary from the on-site commentators. However, the Ewood Park fans did not respond enthusiastically to the commentators, and there was only a small round of applause, just like the boos before the game began.
George stepped forward and clapped his hands, then made a pressing motion. A ball, George would not be satisfied at all. George wanted more balls to counter the humiliation of 0-8.