Matthew Miller stood in the stands, waiting for Andrew Thurman, his teammate in the Leeds City youth team, to buy him a drink.

Now that the first half of the game is over, the score is displayed on the big screen:

1:1

 Leeds City, who are playing at home, are temporarily tied with their opponent Sydenham.

There were not too many fans in the stands. Even excluding those who took advantage of the intermission to go to the toilet or buy beer and temporarily left their seats, the number of Leeds City fans attracted was far less than before.

For Leeds City, this game is related to the general trend of relegation - Leeds City is currently ranked 18th, with 19 points. Their opponent Sydenham is ranked 14th, with 22 points, two

The team is only three points behind. This also means that if Leeds City can defeat Sydenham at home, their league ranking may be able to improve several places at once.

 For such an important game, Leeds City fans were not very enthusiastic.

 The Flanders Stadium, which can accommodate 30,000 people, was not full.

 Obviously, there are not a few Leeds City fans who share the same camp as their father.

 They put pressure on the club by not coming to the games.

 But what’s the point of such pressure?

As a Leeds City fan, do you hope that Leeds City will be relegated from the Premier League before the club management can change its mind?

But even if the club’s top management changes its mind at that time, so what?

 We have been downgraded!

 Is relegation from the Premier League back to the Championship a happy event?

Can it be celebrated as a victory for fans?

  Matthew Miller can’t understand his father, nor can he understand fans like his father.

If Leeds City is relegated, financial revenue drops sharply, and the club's operations become unsustainable, then the executives can change careers and jobs without damaging their high incomes. The club owners can also sell the team and lose money to their huge assets.

To put it simply, it can't hurt your muscles and bones at all.

 What about the players?

 There will be a large number of players leaving the team. They don't have to worry about their next home, it's just a matter of making more or less.

 Who will ultimately bear the consequences of relegation?

 Fans.

 All the results after the team is relegated still have to be borne by the fans.

The team was relegated, performance was poor, and the club was in financial crisis...

Can Leeds City fans choose another home team to support?

 So Matthew Miller feels that no matter how the club's top management tries, he still hopes that the team can hold on and successfully stay in the Premier League.

 As for whether the club's top brass should pay the price for what they have done... this kind of thing should of course wait until the end of the season to discuss.

Besides, shouldn’t clubs and teams be treated separately?

 You are dissatisfied with the club, but the team is innocent.

There is no reason to hate Tony Clark. Lauren Galli was not driven away by him, let alone because of him. He was just a replacement who was recruited by the club after Lauren Galli suddenly resigned."

"Firefighter", now it seems that he is still an "unlucky guy" and "poor guy"...

 What is there to target with such a coach?

Now our team is fighting for relegation, but our fans are stabbing us in the back... How can any fan do this?

Matthew Miller’s father accused the club’s senior management of violating Leeds City’s traditions, but in Matthew’s view, it was the Leeds City fans represented by his father who violated Leeds City’s traditions.

 Leeds City’s tradition is to love their hometown team as much as they love their own home.

 What they are doing now is nothing more than doing "hate" in the name of "love".

"Matthew, what are you doing?" Andrew Thurman's voice sounded next to him, and he handed Miller a drink.

 “I’m still thinking about the fans who didn’t come to the scene...” Miller sighed after taking it.

"Don't think so much, the key is our team's current performance." Thurman shrugged, not wanting to discuss the topic of the fans, "We actually played very well in the first half, and Williams' goal was really beautiful.

But it was bad luck that we couldn't hold on before the end of the first half. I actually don't think about it that much now, Matthew. I think we can just not lose the game at home."

Miller stopped talking and just looked at the court below.

 During the halftime break, substitute players from both sides enter the court to warm up.

Miller’s eyes fell on Leeds City’s new signing.

 Hulai.

 He was selected into the match list for this game, but did not start.

 Throughout the first half, he did not leave his seat on the bench except for getting up once to warm up and to cheer for Pete Williams' goal.

Miller would like to see him come on as a second-half substitute.

Like Andrew said, Leeds City actually performed really well in the first half. We created some opportunities, but unfortunately we only took advantage of one.

 Judging from Matthew Miller's understanding of Hulay, he is a forward who is very good at seizing opportunities.

Should coach Tony Clark bring him on in the second half?

At this moment, he saw Hu Lai, who was warming up, being called off the field, and then he dived into the tunnel and disappeared.

 He became excited.

 Because he knows what it means!

  ※※※

 Equally excited were the Chinese reporters at the scene. They had been looking forward to this game ever since they learned that Hu Lai had been selected into the squad.

Hu Lai didn't get a chance to play in the entire first half. This is considered normal. After all, unless someone is injured or plays very poorly, no head coach will make substitutions in the first half.

Although Leeds City was tied in the first half, to be honest, they actually played well, so there was no need to make substitutions.

 During the halftime break, everyone gathered together to discuss whether Hulay would come on as a substitute, and if so, when.

After some discussion, everyone reached a consensus on whether Hulay will play, that is, he will definitely play. Because from the first half, it was obvious that Leeds City had an advantage at home, but there was no way to convert the advantage into goals.

ball.

And Hu Lai is good at doing this.

 Didn’t Tony Clark boast that Leeds City has the video analyst who knows Hulay best in Europe?

 If they really understood, it would be impossible not to bring Hu Lai on.

 The only suspense is when Hu Lai will play.

 Is it sixty minutes, seventy minutes or the last ten minutes?

 There are supporters in every time period, and they can explain their reasons clearly and clearly.

Unexpectedly, Hu Lai was called back to the locker room during the halftime break!

 We are all experienced football reporters, so we naturally know what this means:

Hulai may be substituted at the beginning of the second half!

 Tony Clark should give him a full forty-five minutes of performance time!

 Then they all took out their mobile phones, eager to post their speculations online and be the first to announce this big news that will definitely cause a sensation among Chinese fans.

 But soon they looked at each other with their mobile phones in hand.

 Because none of their mobile phones have network access - tens of thousands of people are crowded into this stadium at the same time, and the mobile phones they carry are connected to the server at the same time, which has long blocked the network...

“Damn it! What kind of infrastructure is there in the UK! Don’t you know how to build more signal cars?!”

  ※※※

As soon as Hu Lai opened the door after returning to the locker room, he saw everyone in the locker room looking at him.

 “Boss, are you looking for me?” he asked.

 Clark instructed Hu Lai to return to his seat, and then said to him: "Hu Lai, get ready, and you will be replaced at the beginning of the second half."

 In fact, Hu Lai had roughly guessed the outcome on the way here.

This is not something particularly difficult to guess.

Counting the FA Cup, he has not been able to make the squad or play in three consecutive games. This has never happened before in his career - even if he had just transferred to Flash Stars, he had just transferred.

I sat out the game when I was there. In the second game, I came on as a substitute and scored a goal.

 But despite this, when it came time to actually appear, Hu Lai didn't feel any excitement.

 It was as if he had anticipated this day.

 There is a feeling that things come naturally and naturally.

Facing the head coach’s gaze, he nodded: “I understand, boss.”
To be continued...