69novels Chapter 66 The Warm-up Matches Begin
Chapter 66 The Warm-up Matches Begin
During dinner that evening, Moyes sat next to Ye Xian and kept asking questions.
The questions asked were naturally all about the details of the team's intra-squad scrimmage in the afternoon.
For example, Ye Xian's team's cross-positional switching in the attacking third, the coordinated pressing between the midfield and the forward line, the timing of the full-backs' runs, the passing choices of the center-backs, and so on.
Moyes really felt that he had so much to learn!
Moreover, he truly admired Ye Xian.
If you previously thought Ye Xian's level was above your own simply by observing his matches and listening to his tactical ideas;
This match can be described as completely defeating Moyes and forcing him to submit.
Everyone could see that Moyes' team was completely dominated in this match and had absolutely no hope of winning.
As a professional coach, Ye Xian was well aware that this was mainly because he used advanced tactics, which allowed him to achieve a decisive victory over Moyes' team.
In addition, Moyes' team players are all veterans of the Premier League.
Although they had just returned from vacation and might not be in top form yet, they had worked together before, had good chemistry, and were capable.
As for Ye Xian's team, most of the players were new to the team and didn't even know each other before!
But Ye Xian was able to mold them into a complete team in a short period of time.
Judging from their performance on the field, many new players not only demonstrated excellent individual skills, but also showed their teamwork and adaptability.
This also shows that all of these players are highly skilled!
This further demonstrates that Ye Xian has an excellent eye for talent; every player he buys is incredibly useful.
Moyes believes that even if Ye Xian doesn't become a coach, but instead works as a scout or something, he would definitely be top-notch!
Well, of course he couldn't have imagined that Ye Xian was actually a time traveler.
The players Ye Xian bought are all players who will make a name for themselves in world football in the future, and the upcoming season will be the season when they truly begin to become stars...
It wasn't just Moyes who was convinced.
Many of the coaching staff members came to Everton with Moyes, and since Moyes said he wanted to be Ye Xian's assistant, they followed suit.
But deep down, I always harbor some doubts.
They trust Moyes, but they don't know Ye Xian, this "parachuted leader"!
After this match, any remaining doubts vanished.
A true expert's skill is immediately apparent upon their first move.
Those with expertise can naturally see the intricacies involved.
Therefore, while eating, the teaching assistants listened attentively to Ye Xian's answers to Moyes' questions.
This meal felt just like attending a class!
As for the players, they also became close friends through this big dinner party.
For example, Cristiano Ronaldo can communicate with Li Tie and Dani Alves in Portuguese, and Li Tie frequently recommends delicious Chinese food to them, such as Kung Pao Chicken and Peking Duck...
Cech, on the other hand, speaks French and had a pleasant conversation with Drogba.
Of course, they can also get along well by using a little English that everyone knows and by gesturing.
Thus, this dinner, hosted by Moyes, inadvertently further strengthened the cohesion within the Everton team...
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Everton have begun their preseason preparations, which will last about a month.
Ye Xian also began to use the advanced training methods he would learn in the future to form training standards.
In particular, tactical training is of paramount importance.
If those new recruits are more like blank slates, then their comprehension is also more likely to understand Ye Xian's new tactics;
So, it will take some time for Everton's veteran players, who have been playing a 4-4-2 formation for many years, to completely change their mindset.
In fact, if Ye Xian could choose, he would naturally want the whole team to be those future superstars he personally selected, so that there would be no problem with their individual abilities and tactical acceptance.
But that's obviously impossible—we don't have that much money!
However, it's unrealistic to expect to play a successful full Premier League season by relying solely on young players.
So you have to practice slowly.
In this process, a warm-up match will be arranged every few days.
The goal is to allow players to regain their form through matches and gain a deeper understanding of their responsibilities and tasks within the new tactical system.
The initial opponents were all weak.
The first match was against Wiesbaden from the lower leagues of Austria, and they were thrashed 8-0!
Then came Shrewsbury Town in League Two, 3-0.
Queen's Park, a lower-league Scottish team, 6-0.
They kept a clean sheet in three consecutive matches and scored numerous goals.
Rooney scored hat-tricks in two consecutive matches, demonstrating excellent form.
Cristiano Ronaldo also played well, scoring three goals.
Drogba also scored two goals.
This is actually a characteristic of this 4-3-3 formation, where the center forward in the middle often scores fewer goals than the wingers or inside forwards on the sides.
Ye Xian also observed that although Ronaldo scored, he was still somewhat accustomed to dribbling past opponents on the wing during the game, and was not as aggressive in shooting as Rooney.
Therefore, Ye Xian also gave Ronaldo guidance, telling him to increase the frequency of cutting inside and shooting.
"Don't be afraid of making mistakes, you have the right to fire!" Ye Xian encouraged.
Of course, Ye Xian also understands that the difference between Ronaldo and Rooney stems from their different roles in the past.
Rooney was originally a striker, so he'll adapt to playing inside forward more quickly.
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, is a winger who is more inclined to dribble and beat defenders, so he is naturally weaker in shooting.
There's no need to rush. With his comprehension and perseverance, he'll definitely improve gradually.
……
As time slowly moved forward, Everton played three more pre-season friendlies.
The opponents in these three matches are relatively strong.
Everton's performance was not as "brilliant" as it had been.
They lost 0-1 to Athletic Bilbao from La Liga.
Hamburg drew 1-1 with Bundesliga side Hamburg.
They lost 0-2 to Anderlecht of Belgium.
This has drawn criticism from local Everton media, who believe that Everton's tendency to falter against stronger opponents is not a good thing for their upcoming Premier League campaign.
But Ye Xian was naturally unconcerned about the results of the warm-up match.
In these matches, he spent more time experimenting with various combinations.
In the long Premier League season, you can't rely on just one lineup, so all sorts of combinations are possible.
Take the forward line as an example. The combination of Ronaldo, Drogba and Rooney is indeed getting better and better, but you also need to consider the way you play after replacing Drogba with Kevin Campbell, and replace the two wingers with Chadwick or Rajinski.
This will naturally lead to a decrease in teamwork, resulting in an overall decline in the team's ability, and it's quite normal that they can't win games.
At the same time, by constantly using various players, Ye Xian is also increasing his familiarity with the players in the team, especially the veteran players.
There were very few well-known players in the original Everton squad, which meant that Ye Xian couldn't quickly learn about a player from his memories of his previous life.
Kevin Campbell, Radzinski, I vaguely remember him, but that's about it.
Do you recognize left-back Gary Naismith and center-back David Weir, both Scottish internationals?
Captain Alan Stubbs has made nearly 200 appearances for Everton, but Ye Xian can't recall what he looked like playing.
So these things all take time to get used to.
Only by being completely familiar with your players and their technical characteristics can you place the most suitable players in the most suitable positions.
This is something a qualified Premier League manager must do!