A week before the start of the fourth round of the FA Cup, York City first encountered a difficult opponent in the English League One.
That would be a home game against Sheffield United.
Sheffield United are currently chasing York City, and this direct dialogue between the top two is undoubtedly a high-profile dialogue.
Sure enough, 10 minutes into the game, Sheffield United relied on a header from center back Randall to knock on York City's goal.
Scaloni had already anticipated how difficult this game would be, so the York City players seemed relaxed and relaxed on the court, without any impatience to fall behind.
In the 30th minute, Alphonso Davis seized the opportunity from the left and crossed the ball. Baker, who knew it well, would not miss such a good opportunity and equalized the score with a header.
After Baker scored his 22nd goal of the season, York City's offensive firepower was completely activated.
In the 48th minute of the second half, Kulusevski dribbled the ball inward and shot a long shot from the edge of the penalty area, leading the score 2:1!
After taking the lead, York City obviously slowed down its offensive in view of the subsequent FA Cup match, and Sheffield United took the opportunity to pounce on York City, which also made York City passive on the field.
Fortunately, goalkeeper Isaksson stood up again at this time. He played well and resolved at least four close shots from the opponent, and finally maintained the 2:1 score until the end.
In this battle of Tianwang Mountain in League One, York City had the last laugh!
As a result, York City, which has won consecutive games, has further expanded its advantage in the standings and now tops the list with 62 points.
The defeated Sheffield United actually lost their second place in the rankings, and even dropped to fourth place all at once!
Now in second place is Scunthorpe with 55 points, while Bolton and Sheffield United share 53 points, but are ranked third due to their goal difference.
The point gap between York City and third place has widened to 9 points, which also allows them to devote more energy to the FA Cup match against Tottenham.
——
"Boss, you come to the cafeteria to eat too."
In the York City team cafeteria, the sharp-eyed Fuan Jianyang saw Pan Yi sitting in the corner eating, and walked over with a plate.
The conversation between him and Pan Yi was in English. Now he is able to use English relatively proficiently, but it is inevitable that he will still have a unique Japanese accent.
And soon, players like Lin Liangming, Rice, Kulusevski, De Ligt and other players also came over and sat down next to Pan Yi.
These young people of similar age usually get together more often and have a good relationship with each other.
Obviously, the relationship between them and Pan Yi is not as harmonious as that of ordinary bosses and employees. Otherwise, they would have pretended not to see it and ran away to eat by themselves.
"Hello everyone." Pan Yi also greeted the players.
If he was still at the club during meal time, he would eat in the cafeteria.
On the one hand, he doesn't really care about where to eat. On the other hand, the food in York City's cafeteria is still very good.
This is because Pan Yi also attaches great importance to the team's canteen and the budget given to them is very high.
After all, if a player gets injured, most of the time it's because they're not living the right way.
In a player's life, eating and drinking account for a large part, so York City will invest in this area, hoping to ensure that every injury suffered by the players will not be a muscle injury.
While things outside of one's control can happen, given how much money a player earns every week, if he misses four weeks or more, the club will lose much more than what it would cost him to eat and drink.
Besides, allowing players to eat well and feel comfortable can also make them feel happier and devote themselves more fully to training, right?
So in a successful club, every detail is important and everything must be taken seriously.
"Boss, do you think we will beat Tottenham?" Rice suddenly asked.
All the players around him immediately stopped eating and looked at Pan Yi.
Pan Yi showed a relaxed smile: "What do you think? I won't be playing, and you will be the player playing on the court. Do you think you can win?"
"Of course!" Rice said without even thinking, clenching his fists as if he had a chance to win, "Tottenham are not terrible. Since we can beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, this time we play Tottenham at home, it will be even more Possibly defeat them!"
I have to say that this little guy who became the captain of West Ham United in Pan Yi's previous life seems to have such a convincing leadership temperament no matter what he says or does now.
And after hearing what Rice said, the young players around the dinner table also started to cheer, shouting slogans such as "We can win, we can beat Tottenham."
Pan Yi laughed.
This is a young player who is not afraid of strong opponents at all.
To be honest, Tottenham are still very strong this season.
At present, after 22 rounds of the Premier League, they are also ranked third in the standings with 46 points, second only to Chelsea with 55 points in first place and Arsenal in second place with 47 points.
In fact, Tottenham were originally ranked second, but they just had a strong dialogue with Manchester City in the away game a few days ago. As a result, the two sides shook hands and drew 2:2, which allowed Arsenal to surpass them.
More importantly, Tottenham coach Pochettino said in an interview that he will not give up the FA Cup competition:
"I am confident that I can add another trophy to Tottenham's honors room!"
This means that unlike Arsenal, which uses a rotating lineup, Tottenham is likely to send in all the main players this time.
In other words, in terms of the actual strength of the players on the field, Tottenham may be stronger than their North London rivals.
Of course, Pan Yi doesn't want to say this kind of cautious words now.
If even these young players are so confident, then as the owner of the club, how can he throw cold water on them now?
Anyway, there is no hard goal for the FA Cup. Young players don't have to think so much. They can just do it while they are passionate!
So Pan Yi put down the basin in his hand and said to everyone:
"Yes, Rice is right. We will beat Tottenham!"
"As you all know, we are preparing to build a brand new stadium and we will soon have a team to match this new stadium."
"We will make it clear to everyone that there is a strong team in English League One that is growing rapidly. In the near future, we will appear in the Premier League and we will also compete in European competitions!"
"And the history of York City will be created by you young people! It all starts from this season, with the victory over Arsenal and Tottenham!"
——
"We are York City and we can beat any opponent!"
In a short ceremony before the start of the FA Cup, boss Pan Yi gave a small speech, and this was the last sentence of the speech.
Because today is the first day that new seats are officially opened after the successful expansion of the West Siberian Stadium, such a ceremony was held to celebrate.
And as Pan Yi threw these last powerful words, passionate music, exciting drums, and fans' shouts and cheers rang out from the stadium stands, bringing the atmosphere to the highest point.
The momentum created by 20,000 people was certainly greater than before!
And these sounds passed through the walls of the locker room and reached the ears of the home team players, making all York City players' eyes flash with something called fanaticism, which quickly burned the hearts of every player.
Infected by this atmosphere, all the players in the York City locker room seemed very excited and excited, without any fear of facing the Premier League giants.
Because Pan Yi just said on the stage that York City was born to create one miracle after another!
And everyone in the club, including coaches, players, team doctors, all staff, even the old security guard guarding the gate, and of course the fans, they will all be part of the miracle!
As the head coach, Scaloni looked at the fighting spirit exuding from his players and could only sigh secretly. Having such a boss saves him a lot of trouble. At least he doesn't have to say anything to boost the morale of the players... …
Of course, Scaloni was slightly surprised when Pan Yi gave a speech at the stadium expansion ceremony and said in public that he could beat any opponent.
Because today is the FA Cup, saying this is tantamount to directly challenging Tottenham.
so……
"Everyone, the boss just said that we can beat any team, which of course includes Tottenham. Do you think the boss is wrong?" Scaloni suddenly asked all the players.
The players were stunned at first, but soon shouted in unison: "That's right! The boss is right, we can beat Tottenham!"
Scaloni smiled: "Then, if you don't want the boss to be slapped in the face in front of so many people, you have to work hard to prove it with facts. After all, on the football field, just talking is useless. , we still have to show our strength to others!"
After speaking, Scaloni gave De Zerbi a wink, and the latter immediately put Tottenham's starting lineup on the tactical board.
Now that everyone's morale is high, it's time to strike while the iron is hot and implement the tactics.
As for this initial tactic, including possible changes that may occur during the game, the coaching staff has actually met Pan Yi before.
Faced with such a powerful enemy, Scaloni took the initiative to find Pan Yi for advice. Of course, Pan Yi analyzed both the enemy and ourselves in detail before formulating today's battle plan together.
"Tottenham sent almost all their main players on the field in this game. In Pochettino's 4-2-3-1, the goalkeeper is Lloris, and the defense from left to right is Danny Rose and Alderweir. Germany, Vertonghen, Kyle Walker, the midfielder double midfielder is Eriksen and Moussa Dembele, the left and right wingers are Son Heung-min and Lamela respectively, the shadow forward is Alli, and the center forward is Wei Sent Jensen.”
"Judging from the starting lineup, this is basically the same personnel they played against Manchester City last week, which shows that Tottenham attaches great importance to this game. It is obvious that Pochettino wants to gain something in the FA Cup."
"After acquiring Dutch center Vicent Jensen from Alkmaar this season, Pochettino has put Son Heung-min more in the winger position where he is better at, so we must pay special attention to Tottenham's wingers. . Especially Son Heung-min, he is very fast, cuts very sharp inside, and his shots are very accurate. You must pay attention to this."
"As for Vicente Jensen, although he is not fast, he is an all-around shooter with very good skills and ball-making ability. He is expected to be the bridgehead of Tottenham's offense in this game. Of course, his shooting ability Not bad, he scored 27 goals in 34 appearances in the Eredivisie last season."
"Son Heung-min, Lamela, Alli, even Moussa Dembélé, Eriksen and Danny Rose, they will be the second and third wave of attackers behind Vicent Jensen. Also beware of such attacks.”
In order to cope with this game, York City sent scouts early to follow Tottenham's game and try to understand Tottenham's offensive routine as much as possible.
At the same time, in the previous two days, Scaloni continued to play some edited videos to the players to make them more familiar with the way Tottenham players play.
This method is of course what Pan Yi often does.
Scaloni naturally learned these skills under Pan Yi's words and deeds.
After introducing the opponent's starting lineup, Scaloni and De Zerbi arranged corresponding tasks for their players in each position.
"Guys, this is going to be a very, very tough game. Tottenham are a strong team in the Premier League and their attacking power is terrifying. In fact, they have only scored two goals less than Chelsea, who are at the top of the Premier League."
"So even if we are at home, we can't be arrogant enough to play against them. In this game, we have to defend and defend desperately. We have been conducting defensive drills in the past few days. I hope we can be able to do it today See results!”
"De Ligt, our defense needs to be retracted in this game. Your area will be limited to your own half. Wherever there is a loophole, you will go there. Including Rice, you must consider defense first, and then attack. Do you all understand?"
Players like De Ligt, although they are defenders, like to get involved in the attack; while Rice himself is a midfielder with both offense and defense.
So Scaloni specifically emphasized that they should not rush forward yet.
After hearing this, the players responded one after another.
"Because of their midfield combination, Tottenham's defensive tasks may fall more on him." Scaloni slapped his right hand heavily on Moussa Dembele's name on the tactical board, "But Although he looks tall and strong, he actually prefers to attack, has an average defensive position, and average aggression. Therefore, he may be our breakthrough point to disrupt their midfield. Give him some color. have a look!"
In this Tottenham team, there is actually a full-time defensive midfielder, and that is Wanyama from Kenya.
But today Pochettino faced York City from League One, and he obviously still hoped to use a powerful offense to tear apart the opponent's defense, so he sent a combination of Eriksen + Moussa Dembele.
Compared with Moussa Dembele, Eriksen's role in the midfielder position is more like Pirlo back then. He is more responsible for organizing passes from the back position. Therefore, if you want to defend, It mainly depends on Moussa Dembele.
The problem is that Moussa Dembele doesn't usually play as a defensive midfielder, and is often pushed forward to play as an attacking midfielder. So this is the weakness of Tottenham that Scaloni has now found and asked the players to address. Pay more attention to this point.
As everyone nodded, the pre-match arrangements for York City were all in place! ——
In the stands of the West Siberian Stadium.
Walking among the noisy fans, Pan Yi kept saying hello to the fans along the way.
"He is really popular with the fans!" Lineker, today's commentator, praised with a smile.
As a "Pan Yi fan", although he will not commentate on English League One games, when York City has a game in the FA Cup, he will always apply for him to provide on-site commentary.
"As York City are doing better and better and after beating Arsenal in the FA Cup, more and more Yorkshire fans are starting to support York City more."
"This does not only refer to South Yorkshire, where York City is located, but also includes West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, as well as the counties of Crossside and Cleveland. This was unimaginable before."
"After Pan Yi announced that they are going to build a new stadium with more than 40,000 people, I heard that the number of members in their club is also expanding rapidly. This shows that Pan Yi is definitely right to prepare for a rainy day. Look at the stadium today, the two Thousands of people were seated in a packed house, and it was extremely popular.”
"And because of Pan Yi's existence, their popularity on the Internet is not even inferior to some Premier League teams. Well, if it were in the Dragon Kingdom, York City's popularity would definitely be the first! After all, Pan Yi is in the country The website has too many fans..."
"Today against Tottenham in the FA Cup, Pan Yi's speech before the game was equivalent to a challenge to Tottenham in person. This is a bit surprising. After all, his current team is the best team in England. Team A is not the Chelsea he coached a year ago!"
"Even a Pan Yi fan like me doesn't understand why he is so confident. Is it because he defeated Arsenal in the last round? But after all, it was just an upset. Arsenal did not send all the main players, and Xhaka He also received a red card, which led to York City's desperate counterattack."
"Today's Tottenham obviously pay more attention to this game and use all their main players. With the attack line composed of Son Heung-min, Alli, and Lamela, can York City really stop it?"
"And if you want to advance, it's no use just defending, you also have to score goals. And Tottenham's defense line, which consists of the Belgian national team's main center back combination + the England national team full-back combination, is really so easy to be defeated. breakdown?"
"Of course, it is obvious that York City fans believe that their team can create miracles..."
At this time, the live TV screen turned to the stands. All the York City fans wearing red jerseys had raised the big flag with the York City team emblem and sang the team's anthem in unison. Many of them even smiled on their faces. It is covered with oil paint.
The 20,000 fans created an extremely lively atmosphere, making this game truly as good as any Premier League game.
"Today is the first official game after the successful expansion of the West Siberia Stadium, and I heard that the home game tickets were sold out two weeks before the game."
"Obviously, this is a very memorable game. Although being drawn against Arsenal and then Tottenham seemed a bit too 'cruel' for a League One team, York City fans seemed Enjoying it all.”
"Having said that, although I have some doubts, if York City can really beat Tottenham today, then the Football Association will not arrange for them to play Chelsea? Haha, just kidding."
"The live broadcast turned to the rostrum, let's take a look, hey, look, isn't that Tottenham boss Levi? He also came to the away game with the team today and sat with Pan Yi."
"I remember that Levi wanted to invite Pan Yi to coach Tottenham, but Pan Yi refused. Now, both of them are sitting together and chatting as bosses. It really feels like the world has changed... Even at this time, Pan Yi Yi's identity is even higher than Levi's. After all, Pan Yi wholly owns York City, while Levi is just the small owner of Tottenham..."
"So today, let's see which boss will have the last laugh!"
——
As players from both sides entered the field one after another, Lineker first reported the starting lineups of both sides.
Here in York City:
Forward: Baker, Armand.
Midfielder: Lin Liangming, Alonso, Rice, Kulusevski.
Defenders: Alphonso Davies, Westerman, De Ligt, Toyasu Kenyo.
Goalkeeper: Isaacson.
Tottenham's side is the lineup Scaloni mentioned in the locker room.
This is similar to the speculation of the outside media. It can be said that they are all the main players.
It's just that Tottenham will be richer in lineup selection. Today they also put some good players on the bench, such as Ben Davis, Dell, Trippier, Wanyama, and Moussa Sissoko. ,etc.
There is no change in York City's side. Captain Carlstrom is still recovering from injury. The midfielder still uses the combination of Alonso + Rice. On the bench, only Gary Fletcher and Joe ·Veterans like Partington.
But this is also the norm in York City. Anyway, as long as it can cope with the current two-front battle!
As the players on both sides stood still on the court, the referee blew the whistle and the game began!
