Red Rebels

665 Take the initiative to ask for help

As night fell, the players left the Newton Heath training base one after another, and the parking lot gradually became empty.

The row of Red Rebel sports cars were driven away one after another, except for Mourinho's car, which had been parked in that place. The security guard patrolling the stadium led a dog and looked up, just in time to see On the second floor of the training building, light shines from the window facing Mourinho’s office.

"Wangcai, it seems that Jose is in trouble again." The old security guard sighed deeply. After speaking, he pulled the dog and went to patrol elsewhere.

As the old security guard said, Mourinho is really having a headache now, and he is having a headache about the lineup for the game against Birmingham the day after tomorrow.

Birmingham's results this season are indeed not ideal, but their strength cannot be underestimated. The team coached by Steve Bruce can always cause trouble to opponents, especially when facing the Red Rebels.

Perhaps it is because Steve Bruce coached the Red Rebels and had a profound influence on the Red Rebels' tactics, so every time they faced Birmingham, the Red Rebels would have a very difficult time.

Every team has their victims. Perhaps when the Red Rebels became the victims of countless teams, they also had their own victims, and that was Steve Bruce's Birmingham.

Muamba, who was under 0 years old, was once a defensive midfielder valued by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, but he was not reused at Arsenal. Steve Bruce took him to Birmingham City in the English Championship. He was only on loan in the first year, but Muamba, however, relied on his outstanding performance to become Birmingham's rising midfielder, helping the team return to England and becoming Birmingham's best young player.

In order to get Muamba, who Wenger hailed as the new Vieira, Steve Bruce paid a transfer fee of 4 million pounds for him. Wenger also personally called Muamba, hoping that he could stay at Arsenal. , but in the end Muamba chose Birmingham and made great progress again this season.

Although this player is a defensive midfielder, he came from the Arsenal youth training camp. He also has some passing skills. Under the training of Steve Bruce, he became Birmingham's field commander. He is 88 meters tall. He is very strong and has excellent dribbling and passing skills. He has now chosen to become an English citizen and has been selected for the U9 national team.

Although the British game is becoming more and more technical, sometimes you have to admit that the role of strong men on the football field is still obvious. Just like Muamba, when a player like this is present, someone must be able to restrain him. , otherwise, once he attacks from the back, he is likely to destroy the Red Rebels' defensive system.

But no matter how you look at it, Cesc Fabregas and Beckham don't look like such candidates. Curtis moving forward is a good choice.

However, his game against Manchester City exposed the shortcomings of a defender playing as a midfielder, and it is difficult for him to provide a reliable guarantee for the defense.

At this time, Mourinho missed Essien and Mikel so much. With such two powerful midfielders, the Red Rebels' field hardness has really improved to a higher level, especially in a team that pays more and more attention to confrontation. In modern football, the existence of a beast-level midfielder can definitely improve a team's strength to a higher level.

Just when Mourinho was in trouble, there was a knock on the door of his office.

"Michael?" Mourinho was a little surprised. Standing in front of him was the well-behaved Michael Johnson.

"Hello, boss" Michael Johnson was a little embarrassed.

Mourinho stepped aside and said, "Come in and we'll talk later." But he was wondering, what's going on?

Michael Johnson obviously doesn't often appear in Mourinho's office, and even the Red Rebel players don't come here very often, so they looked around curiously as soon as they entered.

"What's the matter, Michael?" Mourinho asked Johnson to sit down.

"Boss..." Johnson seemed hesitant.

Mourinho couldn't help laughing. He was very optimistic about this Englishman. In him, you can see the fierceness and hard work of traditional English players, and at the same time, you can also see the advantages of the Red Rebels youth training system. With the kind of delicate skills he has carved out, Michael Johnson is a very versatile player.

Many people say that he resembles Liverpool's Gerrard, but Mourinho feels that if he performs well, he must be better than Gerrard because his skills are more delicate, passing and controlling the game. The awareness of rhythm is stronger, and the overall situation and ability to read the game are also better.

"Just say whatever you have to say, Michael, here, we are just two people, we are friends, understand? You can say anything." Mourinho tried his best to look kind, but in fact there was a hint of sadness between his eyebrows. The trouble is still very deep.

"Boss, I think I can replace Daniel," Michael Johnson gritted his teeth.

Mourinho's expression was solemn, but he couldn't help but nod. Michael Johnson's physical fitness is indeed better than that of Cesc Fabregas and Beckham. After being cultivated in the laboratory since childhood, his body is very strong and well-proportioned. A lot of injuries, good resistance ability.

"Boss, I know you are troubled by De Rossi's injury, but I believe that I can replace him and become the team's midfielder. I can cooperate with David and Cesc." Michael Johnson said very seriously ensure.

Fabregas has performed very well this season and has helped the Red Rebels, but it has also caused trouble for Michael Johnson, because as Fabregas's performance becomes more and more outstanding, what Michael Johnson said The fewer opportunities you get.

The situation between Michael Johnson and Cesc Fabregas is somewhat similar to the situation between De Rossi and Essien. The two pairs of players are very close to each other and the competition is very fierce. Especially this season, Cesc Fabregas has made great progress. , has almost replaced Beckham's main position, while Michael Johnson is somewhat behind the Spanish genius.

Cesc Fabregas has performed very well this season. Mourinho cannot abandon him. Beckham is strong, experienced and the captain of the team. Mourinho cannot abandon him, so Michael Johnson He can only play in some cup matches or as a substitute.

Some time ago, the team played a dual-core strikerless tactic, and Michael Johnson got a lot of opportunities and performed well. However, with the rise of Ismail, the team's tactics returned to the magic quartet, and Michael Johnson had fewer opportunities. , which makes it very likely that he will not be selected for the national team.

With Michael Johnson's strength, he is definitely worthy of becoming a national hero in England's organizational field. Even though he is only 9 years old, there is a high possibility that he will not be selected for Capello's national team. Capello is unlikely to be included in this. The reason for attaching importance to the organizational midfielder is also related to his inability to play in the game.

At this time, Mourinho had to admit that he had indeed ignored Michael Johnson during this period of time.

In this season's summer transfer and winter transfer, Michael Johnson has no shortage of buyers, including some wealthy teams in the UK and abroad, who are quite optimistic about him. Pellegrini also wants to introduce Michael Johnson. Johnson, but he refused to switch to his team, saying that he was only willing to play for the Red Rebels.

"I don't want to leave the Red Rebels, and I have never thought about leaving the Red Rebels. The day I joined the team, I told myself that I just want to play for the Red Rebels in my life." This is Michael Johnson Said in response to transfer rumors.

Mourinho had to face up to the local young man in front of him who was still a little childish. He grew up watching Michael Johnson and knew the latter's character. The reason why he took the initiative to ask for the job was probably because he wanted to work hard to get selected. Capello's national team considerations, but more to help the team.

For some people, you never need to doubt his love and loyalty to the team, just like Gerrard of Liverpool, Raul of Real Madrid, Maldini of AC Milan and others. In the Red Rebels, these They include Kaká, Messi, Curtis and others, and naturally include Michael Johnson.

"Very good, Michael, I'm glad you are willing to take the initiative to tell me this. I will consider your request very seriously. Please believe it." After saying that, Mourinho patted Michael Johnson's shoulder encouragingly. .

The latter nodded heavily. He knew very well that Mourinho must consider all aspects when formulating tactics. It is impossible to say that he will be given a chance as soon as he asks for a fight. That is unrealistic.

"Please believe, boss, no matter what the circumstances, as soon as I put on this jersey, as soon as I step into the Red Rebel Stadium, I will do my best to help the team at all costs. Win," Michael Johnson also promised.

"I've always believed that, Michael, I never doubted you, because no one knows you better than me, just like no one knows their children better than parents, right?"

After finishing speaking, Mourinho patted Michael Johnson's shoulder encouragingly again, "Go, Michael, go back and have a good rest. We will train at Newton Heath for another day tomorrow and rush to Birmingham in the evening. You have to be ready." "

There is a shortage of midfielders. Even if Michael Johnson is not available, he will definitely play with the team as a substitute. Mourinho can guarantee this.

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Early the next morning, the players gathered on time at the Newton Heath training base. Except for Kaka, De Rossi and others who were injured and were not allowed to participate in joint training, all the players stood in a row.

Redondo, who has rarely appeared at the Newton Heath training base, returned to Manchester today and put on the training uniform of the coaching staff. Obviously he returned to the club as a temporary coach, but he usually goes to Youth training camp, but today he came to the first team.

Cassell directed the coaching staff to distribute training vests to the players. This morning's training session was temporarily changed to a confrontation training to practice tactics. This was somewhat surprising, but what was even more surprising came from the personnel adjustments.

"Curtis" Cassell called out a name.

Curtis was good friends with Michael Johnson, and he also knew that Michael Johnson had gone to Mourinho and asked for a fight, so the moment he heard Cassel calling his name, he looked Michael Johnson, the latter was obviously disappointed and his expression darkened.

After taking over the vest that represented the main defensive midfielder, Curtis really didn't know how to comfort Michael Johnson.

Mourinho called Curtis over, whispered a few words into his ear, then kept pointing to the position on the field, signaling him to press forward, and then called the main team over and signaled them Pass the ball away from Curtis as much as possible.

After the confrontation training began, Curtis faced Michael Johnson's area.

Obviously, the main team's ball often finds Curtis directly, and the latter serves as the main team's ball release point. This also allows Michael Johnson, who is responsible for marking Curtis, to have more direct contact with Curtis. Opportunities for contact.

Curtis has excellent physical fitness. He is 5 centimeters taller than Michael Johnson. He is very fast, flexible and full of confrontation. He is a very good defender, which makes him more capable when catching the ball. Most of it relies on his body, especially the sudden jump after catching the ball.

Michael Johnson tried to stop him several times, but either committed a foul or was suppressed by him with his body, so Curtis was able to achieve his goal almost every time.

Don't think that it doesn't matter if a defensive midfielder breaks through. In fact, everyone knows that the most effective and direct way to destroy the defensive system is to break through one point and then hit the entire scene. Therefore, Essien and De Rossi's back row insertion It's terrible, so the personal breakthroughs in the frontcourt by Messi, Ronaldinho and others are fatal.

And Curtis used his body to get rid of Michael Johnson's defense for the same purpose.

Of course, Mourinho can fill this gap by strengthening the defense, such as arranging a defensive player to help defend behind Michael Johnson, but in this way, the Red Rebels' offense will be weakened. Rinho's last option.

Redondo watched from the sidelines as Michael Johnson repeatedly went directly to Curtis to fight and fight, making him shake his head constantly. This is a very stupid tactic of using one's own shortcomings to counter the enemy's strengths. , even if Michael Johnson's physical fitness is not weak, he still suffers a lot against Curtis.

"This kid has probably played too many substitutes, and even his head has been damaged," Redondo said with a wry smile. He had been very optimistic about Michael Johnson from the beginning to the end, even though it seems that Cesc Fabregas has achieved more. High, but Redondo has always felt that Michael Johnson is more like him.

how to say? If crafted well, this guy seems to have Gerrard's confrontation and hard work, and at the same time has Xavi Alonso's strategizing and coordination ability, a very comprehensive midfielder who can attack and defend well. .

In this year when the division of labor in the defensive midfielder is becoming more and more detailed, there are not many defensive midfielders like Michael Johnson who can attack and defend well. Some people say that De Rossi and Essien are. In fact, in Redondo's view , they also use their bodies more. This kind of players are very good when they are in good condition, and very poor when they are in poor condition, and their peak period will not last long.

But Michael Johnson is not of this type. He relies more on awareness, anticipation and positioning. This depends on when Michael Johnson gets the hang of it.

Cassel shook his head and said, "Maybe, Fernando, you have to give him a beating."