Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 13
Only Noblemtl
#13 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1638457
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God, we have the same dream
On September 24, at the club’s request, Kishin conducted an interview with the government-appointed journalist Champ. Champ is so biased that if Notts County lost 0:5, he would write an article criticizing the Football Association’s policies.
– First of all, congratulations on your ten consecutive wins. You have won all your matches so far, including seven consecutive league wins, one Football League Trophy win, and two League Cup wins.
“Thank you for your congratulations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the players, coaches and everyone at the club.”
– As a result, you won the Director of the Month award in August. If you keep this momentum, you might even win the Director of the Month award in September. What do you think about this?
“First of all, I feel infinitely honored to receive such an award. I think this award is not just for me, but also recognition for everyone at the club and our fans. I will work hard for everyone so that I can receive more.”
– The manager’s incredible tactical adjustment ability is becoming a hot topic. There are several tactical changes during the game, and the timing of player substitutions is different for each game. Is this to catch the opponent off guard?
“When I’m making my starting lineup, I try to be prepared for as many possibilities as possible. But no one knows how the opponent will perform before the game starts. So I try to change my tactics or substitute players to gain an advantage as the game progresses.”
– Lastly, this is a controversial issue. In three out of ten games, you made substitutions in the first half. In particular, in the League Cup, you made two substitutions in the first half. There have been criticisms that this is not respecting the players. What do you think, coach?
“There’s no other way to win. I always make the best choice. For the team to win, someone has to work hard, someone has to show their talents, and someone has to make sacrifices. I don’t think it’s a good choice as a manager to just watch and hope that the players do well when there’s an obvious problem.”
After the interview, Cham immediately wrote an article. At the end of the article, Kishin’s response to the controversy was included.
– All the players in the club want the team to win more strongly than their own personal greed. When there is a player who is more suitable for the tactic than themselves, they are not at all dissatisfied with being replaced. Of course, I am not a manager who thinks of the players as pawns on a chessboard. I am close to all the players and always talk to them after the game to resolve any misunderstandings. Thanks to the players’ unwavering support, our Notts County is currently cruising.
### I am the tired dividing line ###
On September 26, the morning of the League Cup 3rd round match, Kishin woke up from his soft hotel bed. The first League Cup match was against a 3rd division team, and the second match was against a 2nd division team. I joked that we would be facing a Premier League team in the 3rd round, but we ended up meeting Tottenham. And it was at Wembley Stadium.
We played a short team match at a nearby training ground that we had found in advance. Just watching for a few minutes gave me a rough idea of the players’ condition. After taking notes, I left the players with the coaches and went back to the hotel to think about the starting lineup for the evening.
With the experience of ten games, Kishin knew that it is not always good to send out players who are in good condition. The synergy between players is also an issue, and there are players who bring psychological stability to other players when they are on the field. The stress from being in the starting lineup is so great that he sometimes dreams of losing the day before the game.
“Okay, let’s do this for now and then discuss it with the tactical coach.”
Before lunch, I discussed with the tactical coach and decided on the starting lineup and informed the players. After arriving at Wembley on the club bus, there was a brief press conference before the game. This is where the starting lineup is announced and a brief Q&A session takes place.
“Some say it’s a miracle that Notts County have even made it to the third round. Do you think so?”
Kishin’s body tense up at the reporter’s somewhat aggressive question. Thinking that it would be nice if all reporters were like Champ, Kishin answered bluntly.
“I’ll show you that miracle today too.”
“Does manager Pochettino think there will be a miracle tonight?”
“I’m not a prophet so I don’t know for sure, but I don’t want to see it.”
‘Damn it, who are you and who are the director?’
Kishin waited for the start of the game, promising to show an example during the game. However, he lost to Tottenham, who played with only two players as reserves or youth players, by a huge score of 0:4. The difference in the players’ skills was useless, regardless of tactics. Manager Pochettino was not a puppet, and Tottenham had much more room for tactical changes.
### I am the tired dividing line ###
Kishin woke up in the morning and had a cup of warm tea. It seems like he had a nightmare last night. He fought a monster that shot fire with its mouth and played a game, but ended up losing the game. He shook his head to shake off the nightmare and watched the team’s game. He decided on the tactical coach and starting lineup, and after responding to the reporter’s provocation at the press conference in the evening, he lost the game. Luckily, he scored a penalty kick and barely avoided a scoreless draw.
### I am the tired dividing line ###
Kishin stabilized his trembling hands. It felt like he had dreamed of losing to Tottenham ten times. After assessing the players’ conditions, he decided on the starting lineup and tried changing some of the positions to other players. Despite the tactics coach’s dissuasion, Kishin persisted.
“Some say it’s a miracle that Notts County have even made it to the third round. Do you think so?”
“You think so. Reporter, what do you think?”
When the tone of the god’s speech seemed excessively aggressive, the reporter did not provoke him any further. In his languid tone of speech, he felt the cruelty of a beast aiming for its prey’s neck. Something like the venom of a beast that had been starving for more than a week was transmitted to the reporter.
Despite the disappointing 0:1 defeat, the players were not too discouraged. They only conceded one goal against the Premier League team and attempted several counterattacks that chilled the atmosphere in the stadium. However, Kishin’s face was still dark.
### I am the tired dividing line ###
Kishin, who woke up, lay in bed for a while longer. What nightmare was so vivid that the twenty or so games of losing to Tottenham were playing out in his head. Kishin immediately called the club and told them in a somewhat rough voice.
“Send Hunter and Gray to London immediately.”
When Hunter and Gray were included in the starting lineup, the reporters questioned Kishin if he had given up on this match. However, Kishin was unmoved by the reporters’ provocations, simply repeating that he would check it out at the match. These were clearly the fire-breathing monsters he had seen in his dreams.
The match was unexpectedly fierce. When Gray was instructed to mark a key player, he followed the opponent’s key player around and was substituted at the start of the second half. Of course, Gray also received a yellow card on his forehead.
Tottenham also knows that Hunter is not good at heading. However, that doesn’t mean they can let him head the ball as he pleases. Notts County looked quite threatening in set-piece situations because of Hunter and Gray, and thanks to that, the opponent couldn’t foul in the danger zone at will.
But in the end, they conceded two goals and lost 0:2. Kishin headed to the locker room, thinking about what to say in the post-match interview.
### I am the tired dividing line ###
As soon as he got up, Kishin ran to the bathroom. He vomited heavily into the toilet, but nothing came out. After wiping the drool from his mouth and washing his face, Kishin looked at his pale face in the mirror.
He must have lost at least thirty games. In his dreams. But they were so vivid that Kishin suspected that the dream spirit was giving him, a shaman, information through his dreams. After the water on his face dried, Kishin called the club.
“Send Gray and Hunter to London immediately. They are needed for the evening game.”
“Some say it’s a miracle that Notts County have even made it to the third round. Do you think so?”
Kishin responded leisurely to the reporter’s provocation.
“Ask me that question again when the League Cup final is over. I don’t really want to answer it now.”
Gray started as a defensive midfielder. Hunter was benched for the striker position and Sven was started. The formation was 4-5-1 with two defensive midfielders and Gray was assigned to mark the opponent’s key players. From the first half, they crouched down and focused on counterattacks through Sven and O’Connor.
The counter-attack tactic of long balls failed to create many effective counter-attack opportunities. The only success was that Sven’s speed kept Tottenham’s full-backs tied up. The centre-backs were slow, so the right-backs did not join the attack to prevent Sven’s counter-attack. With Gray marking a key player and the main attacking force on the right side gone, Tottenham’s attack was somewhat monotonous.
However, the skill gap between each player was large, and Notts County’s defense also made a number of mistakes. In the end, a mid-range shot was deflected by a defender’s outstretched foot after 36 minutes, resulting in a goal being conceded.
In the second half, Kishin replaced Sven with Hunter.
“If a fast full-back tries to stop you, use your body to get past him. If a centre-back tries to stop you, use your speed to get past him. But never shoot before you get into the penalty area.”
Hunter nodded to Kishin’s instructions and ran into the stadium. He didn’t know that his first professional debut would be against a premier team. It would have been better if he had started like Gray, but he was still satisfied with his current situation.
Hunter’s appearance gave a breath of fresh air to Notts County, who had been pushed back unilaterally throughout the first half. With Hunter’s speed and physical strength, Tottenham had no choice but to pull back a bit in their pressing formation as they had difficulty stopping him. This was because they had to give Hunter as little space as possible to run.
Hunter, who received the ball from O’Connor, passed it to Hasin, the right winger, without delay. Since his dribbling is a mess, he should pass it right away unless it is a deep pass. Hasin beat Tottenham’s left back, but the opponent grabbed Hasin’s shoulder and he fell down.
It’s a free kick in a good position. Gray also ran into the penalty area at Kishin’s shout. For some reason, Gray has a habit of staying in his own half. He only enters the opponent’s half if Kishin or other players tell him to.
The corner kick is Tuttle’s job. Antuy was not physically fit enough to play and was not in good physical condition. The goal in the first half was a breakthrough on the right side, which Tuttle was in charge of, and so Tuttle was waiting all through the second half to cover up his mistake.
The ball drew a beautiful parabolic arc that could be called the second coming of Beckham. Gray jumped higher than the opposing defender, who was 190 cm tall, and made a powerful header. Wembley Stadium fell silent, and the broadcast camera split the screen in half to simultaneously show the frozen face of manager Pochettino and the roaring figure of the god wearing sunglasses.
After scoring, Gray ran around the field like crazy. He grabbed his jersey with both hands and shook it wildly, as if it would tear and reveal his blue skin. Having grown up in an orphanage and being abused as a child, Gray does not like to invade other people’s territory. However, with today’s goal, his aggressive instincts as a beast began to awaken.
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