Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 16
Only Noblemtl
#16 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1640039
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Kishin, overcoming the bias of the referee
Notts County, who are leading the league with 13 wins and 39 points from 13 games, will face Luton Town in an away game. Luton Town, who are currently in second place in the league with 10 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses from 15 games, are playing two games less in the league because of the League Cup.
The media also thought that it was time for Notts County to lose. They had not been able to continue their strong start to the season, winning their last five games 1-0, and their performances were not very satisfactory. On the other hand, Luton Town have been in good form recently.
“I have a question for Manager Ki. We have won the last five games by a score of 1-0. Everyone says that Notts County are going downhill, so I would like to know what you think.”
It’s the pre-match interview time that Kishin hates the most. Once, a player who was present got angry because of the reporters’ rude questions. However, Champ always repays the opposing coach in kind, and Kishin is able to regain his composure as soon as the match starts, so the match is not affected.
“I think so too. I heard that Manchester United recently won 6 of their 10 games by 1-0 and are cruising with 3 draws and 1 loss in their remaining four games. I hope our team can show good form like Manchester United.”
At Kishin’s answer, the reporters who were friendly or neutral towards Notts County burst into laughter. Among them, Cham laughed loudly. Cham, who had caught everyone’s attention, raised his hand and asked a question.
“I have a question for the Luton manager. The gap between them and the leaders is only 6 points. The leaders have to compete in three competitions in addition to the league, the League Cup, the FA Cup, and the Football League Trophy, so they are in a physically difficult situation. With this handicap, can we expect a draw in today’s game?”
Someone in Luton’s staff let out a small curse. It is a common tactic for some journalists loyal to the club to try to shake up the opposing manager. However, the opponent has won every game so far and cannot be shaken up, and they are being provoked unilaterally.
“If you look at our recent games, we’ve been playing much better. I think we can hand Notts County their first defeat today.”
Before the game started, Kishin took a deep breath. Last night, I had a dream that I lost the game. It wasn’t just once or twice, it was multiple times. The reason was all the referee’s biased decisions. That’s why I filled the starting lineup with players who wouldn’t be easily shaken. In other words, I made up the starting lineup of veterans who were rich in experience and wouldn’t be shaken by biased decisions, or young players who just played hard without thinking about anything.
In the second or third dream, O’Connor, who was put on the bench but protested violently to the referee and received a red card and was kicked out, was not even included in the bench list. After asking Gray and Hunter to refrain from excessive physical fighting, he made them start.
Kisin has won the Manager of the Month award for September, following August. And with only two games remaining in October, one is a League Cup tie against West Ham. With Notts County and Luton Town currently on a winning streak in the league in October, the manager of the team that wins today’s game will be awarded the Manager of the Month award.
Some people think that it is an insult to English football for a young Asian manager to be awarded Manager of the Month for three consecutive months. The referee is one of those who thinks so and has a vested interest in this match, so he wants Luton to win this match. However, after about 30 minutes of the match, the referee got goosebumps on his forearm.
Kishin strongly advised the players before the game not to question any of the referee’s decisions. The way the referee plays is very simple. He sets the level of the decision according to the level of the team that wants to win. He just needs to match the body fight or other criteria to Luton. Any body fight stronger than Luton is called a foul.
If that happens, Luton’s players have nothing to complain about. If Notts County’s players protest strongly, they can just pull out the card. The referee only responded strongly to the act of challenging the referee’s authority and made the decision of the game ‘fairly’. No matter how many times you watch the video after the game, you can’t find any shadow of biased decision. However, Notts County didn’t come to question any decision. If this happens, the referee will have to take a little risk.
At 35 minutes, Tuttle attempted an overlap. Tuttle, who caught Smith’s exquisite pass, accelerated rapidly and beat the opposing defender. The opposing defender pulled his uniform, but Tuttle did not stop and continued to run. Eventually, the defender grabbed Tuttle’s waist and tripped him.
The referee called a foul but did not show the card. Tuttle, who had been shown a yellow card for the same foul a dozen minutes earlier, was dumbfounded but just shrugged. The pre-match shaman had told the referee not to make any complaints.
Tuttle’s free kick was a high-quality pass that comes once in ten. Gray’s heavy new body soared high and headed it. However, the defender’s interference caused it to miss the head and it became a pass instead of a shot. Hunter, who appeared at the drop point, pushed the ball into the goal, but it was ruled offside.
The referee acknowledged that he was feeling intimidated as he watched the Notts County players return to their defensive positions without any protest. He looked at the manager’s table and saw the Asian manager nodding as if he had expected this. Even the most stone-faced manager would have a change in expression or reaction in this situation, but Kishin’s reaction was very calm.
Luton’s players are not fools. When they felt that the referee was on their side, their movements became bigger. The referee was internally cursing Luton’s players. If this is the case, we should turn a blind eye to most of Notts County’s fouls. If we become more lenient on physical contact, Dixon, Gray and Hunter will be able to run wild even more than they are now.
At 40 minutes, Kishin sent a secret signal to captain Carl Dixon. Notts County gradually retreated under Dixon’s command. However, Luton, who had increased the tempo despite the strong physical fight and the referee turned a blind eye, failed to detect Notts County’s moves.
Notts County, who had a chance to counterattack due to the opponent’s pass error, passed the ball to the left. Usually, the right side, where Tuttle and Noor Hasin are, is the main attack route, but Noor Hasin was not playing today. Then, with the idea of exploiting the opponent’s weakness, they passed the ball to Liam Walker on the left.
Walker is a bit slow for a winger. While Hasin is a winger who scores directly after breaking through, Walker is a winger who creates space with traditional dribbling and then centers or passes. Walker, who got the ball, caught the ball off guard again and passed it diagonally without dribbling.
Hunter, who had a good ball offside a few minutes ago, vented his frustration at the referee with both feet. The opposing defender tried to grab it with his hands, but Hunter didn’t give him the chance. He has only scored one more goal in almost a month since scoring two goals against Tottenham. Today, he scored the only goal that the referee ruled offside and ruled it out.
In less than a month, Hunter has played in quite a few games, so many rival teams are already aware of his peculiar habit of not shooting before entering the penalty area. The Luton keeper also thought of Hunter’s shooting timing after entering the penalty area and was judging the timing of his departure.
When there was still 5 meters left from the penalty area, Hunter suddenly fired a shot, and the ball rolled accurately into the goal. After the goal was acknowledged, Hunter ran towards Kishin. Kishin had told him that if he shot before entering the penalty area before the game, he could confuse the opponent. He did as Kishin said in the first one-on-one opportunity and succeeded in scoring.
As the second half progressed, the referee’s decisions became more and more blatant. At the 70th minute, Kishin replaced Gray and Hunter, who had each received a yellow card. Terry Thompson, who had a wide defensive range, came on in place of Gray, and Sven Eriksson came on in place of Hunter.
Sven was a nuisance to Luton’s defenders, moving left, right and sometimes even in the middle. He was a little faster than Hunter, so the defenders had to mark him alternately. In the ten minutes since he came on, Sven caused four fouls and presented two yellow cards to Luton’s defenders. If it had been a normal decision, Luton would have only nine players left.
In the 85th minute of the game, Luton’s long-range shot hit Dixon’s body. The referee’s hand went straight to the penalty mark without a moment’s hesitation. As the Notts County players headed out of the penalty area without protest, the referee felt a dampness in his groin. He had a strong feeling that something strange was going on.
Turner, who saw the opposing team player putting the ball down on the penalty mark, recalled the information that Kishin had given him before the game. When asked to memorize the information about which Luton player liked to kick which course, Turner had some doubts, but he memorized it without a second thought.
‘Left-handed low course. Has a habit of changing rhythm by pausing for a moment before shooting.’
Turner lowered his stance when his opponent hesitated, and as soon as his foot swung, he dived to the left. Instead of kicking the opponent’s penalty kick, he caught it with his hand. Turner caught the ball and kicked it long without giving his opponent time to react.
Sven immediately started to speed up. The defender tried to take Sven down, ready to be sent off, but his determined back tackle failed. The referee hesitated for a moment and pointed to the penalty mark as the Luton keeper tripped Sven, who had dribbled past him. There was no time to change the result, and if he ignored this clear penalty kick, he should be investigated. It was a shame to risk ten thousand pounds for Luton to win, but even if God came, it would be difficult to change the result, so he should protect himself.
Tuttle converted the penalty with ease. Luton fought hard for the remaining few minutes, but the game ended without any results. In his post-match interview, Gisin made no mention of the referee.
The League Cup match against West Ham, a Premier League team, is just around the corner. Kishin has been busy preparing for it. He knows that his luck is not just a series of coincidences, unless he is a fool. So he is trying to learn one more thing before this luck disappears. No matter how much I think about it, it is hard to understand why Gray and Hunter were suddenly called in before the match against Tottenham.
– I had dozens of dreams.
These are the words written in his notes. He wrote them very simply, as if he was worried that he would be disadvantaged if he wrote them in detail. After that, there are strange records in his notes, with the date written and only the word dream written. Some of them I remember, and some of them I don’t remember if I dreamed them. However, all the dreams I remember were related to the game.
The morning of the West Ham game was a very good mood for Kishin. Because the conscientious journalist Cham, who can even manipulate the league rankings in the article for Notts County, delivered good news. In the last few minutes of the Notts County-Luton game, the referee sent off a Luton player to cover up a previous mistake and ignored Dixon’s handling that could have been awarded a penalty. That’s why Luton asked the association to investigate the referee.
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