Pinpoint to Maimang

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the players from both sides walked back to their respective rest areas.

New Manchester United's players were panting. In this fast-paced match, physical energy was consumed quickly, but they hadn't been able to find many opportunities and could only continue to follow the opponent's rhythm.

"Our team still lacks a core player who can control the ball in the midfield," Levi muttered to himself.

Although Smith is good, his technique is not excellent. He used to play in the back and has a lot of physical strength, but he can't organize and direct the team's attack. However, New Manchester United currently considers him the best candidate for this role. Switching to Makinson might mean the ball wouldn't even be passed accurately, but Makinson's defensive ability is very strong due to his physical prowess.

In Levi's previous life, Manchester United's nuclear-free tactics had reached their peak. The team constantly opened gaps in the opponent's defense through brilliant off-the-ball movement, creating opportunities and eventually defeating their opponents. But that was the result of Ferguson's continuous efforts and improvements over many years.

In contrast, the current New Manchester United players' personal abilities are too weak, and their understanding and implementation of tactics are insufficient. When the game goes well, New Manchester United can play some exquisite combinations, but when facing a stubborn opponent like Glossop, they can easily be dragged down.

If a player who could control the rhythm appeared in the midfield, the progress of the game would be completely different.

"Although I don't know much about professional football tactics, I can see that Glossop suppressed New Manchester United's performance throughout the first half. If Steve can't think of a solution, I'm afraid this game will go badly!" Derek was worried.

Not much needed to be said; just look at the current Manchester United players, who are obviously showing symptoms of physical exhaustion, especially Karl Markinson and Darren Lyons. The former has been running across the field, leading to significant physical exhaustion. The latter is older, at 32 years old. Coupled with the fact that New Manchester United has not scientifically ensured his training intensity, his status and physical fitness cannot be guaranteed.

This is another big regret for a small team!

Even Derek could see the problem, and naturally, Bruce, who was standing on the sidelines, could see it too.

But as Levi said, in this case, the best solution is to have a player who can control the rhythm, stabilize the team's pace, and slowly use the overall advantage to overwhelm the opponent. But where could New Manchester United find such a player?

The break time passed minute by minute. Bruce always stood outside the rest area while the players sat inside, quietly waiting for the head coach to come over and explain the second-half tactics.

"Rich!" Bruce suddenly shouted at the bench player who was warming up.

Rich Willens was a little surprised but hurried over, excitedly saying, "Sir!"

Evra in the lounge area was sullen.

Since his outstanding performance against Arsenal, he had been continuously given starting opportunities, and his performance had been very good. Recently, he had been consulting with Lyons and adding some training tasks after each session. Although he hadn't made great progress, at least he was satisfactory.

However, he did not perform well in the first half and failed to show his advantage at all.

Is the head coach going to replace him?

Roy Williams in the distance was excited because, by convention, once Rich Willens comes on, the defender on that side will definitely be chosen for his more defensive capabilities.

"You watched the entire first half of the game. I won't say much. You go up in the second half and play left forward. Remember, don't worry about anything. Use your speed to impact the opponent's defense. In the middle area, I give you absolute freedom!"

Bruce's remarks shocked Rich Willens, but he put the bet to turn the situation around on him alone.

Other players, having received Bruce's gesture, gathered together.

"Patrice!" Bruce shouted.

Evra squeezed between Lyons and Markinson. The latter two comfortingly patted the unlucky guy's shoulder and head. Obviously, everyone thought Evra was going to be replaced in the second half.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked unexpectedly.

Evra's originally dejected heart rekindled with hope, "Sir, I... I can!"

"Can you run the whole second half continuously?" Bruce asked again.

Evra nodded without thinking and said resolutely, "Yes!"

Bruce grabbed him and, since he was a full head taller than Evra, bent slightly, "Well, Patrice, you continue to be our left-back in the second half. You should know that in our current situation, I don't have many options, so I can only put the responsibility on you!"

Evra trembled all of a sudden, "I... what should I do?"

"Ricky will hit the opponent's defense. You run with him. Remember how Coach Kassel taught you to run during training?"

"Yes, I remember!" Evra was clearly impressed with that training.

"Well, Patrice, you just run like that!" After that, Bruce encouraged him with a punch to Evra's chest.

"Okay, guys!" Bruce clapped his hands and motioned for everyone to pay attention. "We were suppressed by the other team in the first half, and they deliberately sped up the rhythm. So, we'll follow their wishes and focus on the left in the second half. Once you get the ball, don't hesitate; pass it to the left and give it to Rich."

After speaking, Bruce pointed to Rich Willens, "Rich, you are the core of our offense. You are now full of energy. You have to run more, use your speed advantage, run as much as you can, and see where there is space. Run there, open up the space for your teammates behind you, create opportunities, understand?"

Rich Willens nodded heavily.

"Darren, sorry, you need to rest in the second half. I can see that your physical strength is running out. We have to fight our opponents in the second half, and I can only say sorry to you!" Bruce went to Lyons and held his hand.

This veteran had performed very well this season, which could even be said to be the best season of his career. Although it was only the Northwest Division B League, it was clear that he still had a certain strength.

"Stephen, move slightly to the right. Cooperate with Frank to defend the right. Karl, you need to take care of the left. Once Ricky and Patrice are up, you'll close the back door for me, understood?"

The assigned players immediately nodded in unison.

"Alright, guys, there are 45 minutes left. We are going to knock out our opponents, and then we will be the champions!" Bruce vigorously cheered up the players and sent them back to the football field.

Glossop was obviously surprised by Rich's substitution for Lyons, because of the limited information they had collected about New Manchester United. Rich and Evra had never partnered before, and now they were playing together?

But very soon, just at the beginning of the second half, Richie used his speed to create a great opportunity. Jonathan's header narrowly missed, grazing the crossbar and going out of bounds, startling the Glossop players and signaling that they were playing to equalize and then surpass their opponent.

Unlike the first half, which was generally tangled near the middle circle, from the beginning of the second half, both teams concentrated their efforts on New Manchester United's left side. It was clear they both recognized the strengths and weaknesses of players like Rich and Evra.

However, due to Karl Marginson's emphasis on Bruce's instructions, he consistently provided cover for the two forwards. As a result, Glossop couldn't exploit any gaps on the left. Even when they managed to break through once or twice, Garrett Turner intercepted and neutralized the threats.

Just as Glossop couldn't penetrate New Manchester United's defense, New Manchester United found it difficult to breach Glossop's defense. Both teams seemed evenly matched.

Rich Willens' speed was impressive, but like many English amateur players, his technique was rough. Once he received the ball, controlling it and forming a threat was challenging, making it easy for the opponent to disrupt or intercept.

Evra ran back and forth tirelessly, but the ball rarely reached him from Rich or Smith. Even when he found space, the passes didn't arrive in time. Without Lyons, Evra lost much of his attacking support.

But perhaps because of this, Glossop, seeing New Manchester United struggle for almost 20 minutes, began to neglect defending against Evra.

Smith's diagonal pass was late again and intercepted by the opponent's full-back.

Despite running nearly 30 meters in vain, Evra still gave his teammates a thumbs-up, though he was clearly panting heavily.

In Manchester's humid climate, breathing was harder than usual, let alone with continuous running.

"Damn, we can't keep this up!" Evra thought as he slowly ran back to the defensive line.

Just then, Makinson intercepted the opponent's pass, sending it out of bounds and forming an out-of-bounds play.

"Ricky!" Evra shouted, seeing Rich approaching with no one around.

"What's wrong? Patrice, are you out of energy?" Rich asked with a grin.

"This isn't working; even an iron man couldn't hold up."

"So, what do you suggest?" Richie got closer.

Evra leaned in, and they discussed quietly for a moment.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Come on, man, Coach Kassel said that when necessary, both running and tactics can be adjusted. We don't have to stick rigidly to the training plan, right?"

Rich hesitated briefly before finally nodding.

Evra immediately signaled to Jonathan in the distance. The latter responded by raising his hand and then made a fist, as if to say, "If you can pass it, I can score it."

In recent games, Evra had indeed provided many good passes to Jonathan.

Glossop's throw-in was made, but Danny Collins cleared it from the penalty area, and the ball fell to Marginson's feet, who passed it immediately to Smith.

Smith looked up and saw Rich, Jonathan, and David Bell starting to run forward, with Evra following.

This is a chance! Smith thought.