Goalkeepers: No. 1 Miller (34, English), 22 Jussi Jaskelainen (22, Finnish), 27 Martin Miems (22, English).

Defenders: No. 2 Grant (33, English), No. 5 Mitchell King (34, English), No. 4 Gary Brin (23, Irish), No. 3 Daniel Morrison (19, English), No. 17 David Ward (26, English), No. 24 Aman Donaldson (27, English), No. 28 Steve Finnan (21, Irish), No. 33 Matthew Upson (18, English).

Midfielders: No.7 Frédéric Ljungberg (20, Swede), No.8 Matthew Holland (23, Irish), No.6 Ian Coyd (29, English), No.11 Ashley Chapman (20, English), No.13 Michael Ballack (21, German), No.19 Neil Lennon (26, Irish), No.23 Sierra Mauro Camoranesi (21, Argentinian/Italian), No.42 Solkamp (32, English).

Forwards: No.12 Kevin Phillips (24, English), No.9 Robbie Keane (17, Irish), No.15 Klose (19-year-old, German), No.33 David McGurk (31, Irish).

Here's the list of Burnley's players for the 97-98 season. Starting this season, George is going to change the previous problem of attacking the right and prepare to come with a two-winged strategy. And Burnley has always been a solid defence and then a counter-attack.

But George is ready to change that, so he won't be playing with three midfielders like he did last two seasons. The resumption of the traditional 4-4-2 began, and Ljungberg had to sacrifice himself a little for this tactic.

Ljungberg is an all-round player who can play left and right, but the best position is in the right midfield. But with Camoranesi, George is ready to move Ljungberg to the left. Let Ljungberg and Daniel form the left flank, and Ljungberg can cut inside and shoot.

And the bigger move is to free Ballack, and George is ready to make Ballack a free man in midfield. Depending on the situation on the field, when it is necessary to defend, Ballack has to be a midfielder. When attacking, it's not just about controlling the tempo of the midfield, it's about getting involved in shooting.

In George's tactics, Ballack should be the ruler of the 30-metre zone from his own penalty area to the 30-metre zone of the opponent's penalty area. Although there is some pressure on Ballack, who is now only 21 years old, George believes that Ballack can still do it in League One.

These are just tactical changes, but there are two veteran players who are starting to give up their main positions this season. It's right-back Grant and goalkeeper Miller, but these two and captain Mitchell King are the old men of the team.

Not only has a lot of influence in the team, but also has a high appeal among fans. It was also George's job to appease them.

…………

"Mitchell, Grant, Miller, I want to thank all three of you in advance." George invited the three of them to York's hotel.

All three have been working with George for a long time, and have known each other for seven years. All three, like the traditional England players, are very fond of drinking. So George poured each of them a glass of wine, and for these veterans, drinking was the happiest thing.

Many of the rules that George had made at the beginning, these three were able to follow. However, he was quite unhappy with George's prohibition of alcohol.

"Head, what do you want to thank us?" Mitchell was about to drink it, but when he heard George's words, he put down his glass.

"Thank you for supporting me in the first place. We were able to get promoted from the second division, which would have been impossible without the support of the three of you. "George brought in eight new players, even though they were all great stars in the future. But at that time, he was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old child.

And the three of them, as the old men of the team, supported George, so that George could get through that time safely.

Mitchell shook his head, put down his wine glass and asked with a smile: "George, there is a saying that I wanted to ask you when I was very early on. All of a sudden, Mitchell called George's name as usual.

"You say."

"I've always been curious if I objected to you purging the players at the time. Will you put me on the list? Not only Mitchell, but Grant and Miller next to him also looked at George.

"Yes." George didn't hesitate to answer in the affirmative. "But Mitchell, I'm pretty sure I won't get there. Because I know you're more attached to the club than anyone else, and you're not going to do anything stupid. If you really got to that point, you and I, and of course the club, would have been ruined. ”

"George, refresh." Mitchell laughed and toasted heartily. "Actually, George, you don't have to thank us. We are at the end of our careers and we can see hope in Burnley and that is the best gift you can give us. ”

"Yes, George. We couldn't see the future of the club before, but you give us hope. What you said at the press conference was really uplifting. Miller echoed Mitchell on the side.

Gran nodded, also in high spirits. "yes. George, because of you, maybe I'll be able to go to the Premier League. ”

George wasn't much of an alcoholic, but he didn't drink much. I drank several glasses with the three of them, but apart from being a little excited, I was still quite sober.

"Mitchell, Grant, Miller, you've all contributed your whole career to the club. However, I'll ...... you today" George was very helpless for them to say such things. But professional football is so brutal.

"George, you don't have to say it." Mitchell interrupted George's words and sighed. "George, I understand. You're looking for the three of us old guys because you want us to give up our main position. We all understand that from the moment you asked the three of us for a drink, we guessed. ”

George looked up at the three of them, they were getting old.

'I'm sorry, I'm thinking about Burnley's development. Grant, Miller, you will have Finnan and Jaskelanine in your place. I hope you understand. George spoke to the three of them very sincerely.

These three people are not only in the present, but also in the future. George and Kilby have spoken about the three of them, with Burnley struggling in the lower leagues for decades and few such veteran players. Now there are these good players who have been playing for the team for more than a decade and the club should treat them well. It's also the process of cultivating a club culture.

Miller nodded, and suddenly laughed. "George, I already knew it when I trained. You've got a good eye, and Jaskelanine is much better than me. Even when I was younger, I didn't have the strength of him. ”

"George, thank you for preparing for such an occasion today. You don't have to worry, I'm not going to make trouble. I'm past that age. ”

Grant next to him didn't speak, but he also nodded.

"Thank you, I've wanted to talk to you for a long time. Have you ever thought about what will happen after retirement? If you could, I would like you to stay at the club. Or join my coaching staff, or become a member of the club's staff. George is very grateful for the attitude of these three people, and if they are not convinced, then it will be another storm.

Grant and Miller were hearing it for the first time, so they looked at each other.

Soccer players are stars and are loved by thousands of people. But that's only for the stars, and the average player has to think about how to make a living after retiring. Now that George had even thought of this, the two of them were of course overjoyed.

'George, it's an honour to be at the club.

"Let's find a time to sign a new contract, a player/coach contract. Of course, if you want to continue to develop, you should go for a coaching course. It's okay to be a scout if you want to, and Burnley are now increasing their scouting numbers anyway. ”

(Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, I wish you all a happy new year.) ）