The situation of Millwall this season is different from last season. The difference is not that she participates in the Championship and Premier League, but that Millwall has different strength differences from the opponent she faces.

Millwall, led by Zhang Yang last season, faced the strongest opponent only by Wigan Athletics.

Millwall will face this season with top teams such as Manchester United and Chelsea from England and even Europe.

During this period, Millwall's improvement was not very big.

If we use one data to analyze it, at the end of last season, Millwall's overall strength had just reached five-star rating. After a summer of signing, the overall strength of the lineup was only five-star rating and a half, and it is still less than six-star rating at most.

Wigan Athletics has up to six stars.

Manchester United and Chelsea's strength will definitely be rated more than eight stars.

For example, judging from the strength displayed by Manchester United on the court, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is almost nine stars. Millwall can only exert its strength at most seven and a half stars. The gap between the stars is too big, which is also the fundamental reason why Millwall is completely suppressed.

This is the difference.

In last season's league, Zhang Yang did not make many substitution adjustments because even if there was danger, he was still within a controllable range.

Now it's completely different.

The match between Millwall and Manchester United was too passive. When Manchester United scored the equalizer goal, let alone media reporters, even Zhang Yang knew very well. It was only a matter of time before Millwall could be scored again if the game continued.

But it's still a long time.

It is difficult for Millwall to defend the goal even with God's help. The abilities of the two teams are too different. Manchester United players are simply unscrupulous in the frontcourt, and even dribbling in a small range. Millwall's defense seems very weak.

If the game continues, you will definitely lose, so you have to make some adjustments.

This is a must.

Even if the small adjustments are not effective, the players on the court will know that as the head coach, he did not give up the game, but continued to work hard to win. The players will think, "The coach has made adjustments! This adjustment may be useful, and we still have hope."

So the whole team will have more confidence and fighting spirit.

Zhang Yang also hopes that the adjustment will be useful, not just to bring confidence in the game. He hesitated between the two: one is Jody Morris; the other is Kevin Braniff.

Jody Morris appears to increase the defense in the backcourt and also increase the team's control of the overall situation. Morris' personal defensive ability is enough to stand up to a defender player. Choosing Morris to strengthen defense will make the game more stable; Branif, needless to say, must be for increasing offense and allowing Branif to play is to bet. In the case of such a passive team, even if Morris appears, it is difficult to defend until the end of the game. It is better to take a gamble and strengthen his counterattack ability slightly, and perhaps create some surprises?

In the end, Zhang Yang chose Braniff, and the player who was substituted was Josh Simpson.

At this level, Josh Simpson was useless. His technical ability was average, and it didn't mean much to be fast. His free kick ability was excellent. However, the team could not even play half the offense, so it was difficult to get a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt. Most importantly, Simpson's defensive ability was too poor, and he was not even as useful as Darren Bente. In the game, he had already been broken through by Fletcher and Alan Smith. I don't know how many times he had.

"Maybe you can consider letting Simpson play forward?"

Zhang Yang thought.

Simpson's defensive ability is too poor, and his role in the wing is very limited. His long pass ability is also average, but his speed is fast, his shooting is not bad, and it is also suitable for rushing to the front.

It would be a difficult job for players to adjust their positions, but it would be nothing for young players. Josh Simpson is still young and will be able to adapt to the new position soon. However, Braniff is very capable and can play in multiple positions in the frontcourt and perform well in the midfield.

"You can try it later."

When Zhang Yang was considering the player position, Braniff stepped onto the field, and he replaced Josh Simpson and played on the right forward.

Braniff is quite excited!

When he walked onto the field, he said in Simpson's ear, "My secret weapon has finally appeared!"

“…”

Simpson was puzzled, "Secret Weapon? What does it mean?"

Braniff didn't explain much, he raised the corners of his mouth and took a light step to the field.

At that moment, he felt that he had become the focus of the audience.

In fact, the same is true.

Almost all cameras were aimed at Braniff, and he really became the focus of the media and fans. The difference from Braniff's idea is that the media are puzzled by the reason why Braniff appeared, "Is it necessary to strengthen the offensive?"

"Are you just a normal substitution?"

Many people don’t understand because it’s Josh Simpson who replaced him. Simpson is not good at defense, and Braniff replaces him, and the overall lineup seems to have not changed.

After Braniff appeared, he quickly entered the game according to Zhang Yang's instructions.

Braniff played as a right forward, but when Millwall was so passive, he only took care of the lower right side on the defensive end, and the position on the field was actually very free.

Zhang Yang reminded Braniff to have two points: one is to try to shoot from the periphery if you have the opportunity; the other is that when you don’t have the chance, you should cooperate more with Darren Bent.

First, Braniff is looking forward to it. His perimeter shooting ability is also good. Maybe he can "surround" one in a good position.

The second point...

Braniff was a little dissatisfied. Why did I, who is so outstanding, cooperate with Darren Bent?

The two are direct competitors.

Darren Bent ignored Branif, and Branif didn't like him. Thinking that he was playing as a "secret weapon", Branif suddenly became a little arrogant, "I don't care about this matter, cooperate with you more!"

Braniff's thoughts and thinking are probably difficult for ordinary adults to understand. He will definitely have a common language with children under ten years old.

Braniff's appearance did not have much impact on the situation.

After the game continued, Manchester United still suppressed Millwall in a big way, with a tendency to break through the goal in one fell swoop and quickly overtake the score. Soon everyone forgot about Braniff and focused their attention in front of Millwall.

There is the most attention-grabbing place.

———

Livermore is a midfielder.

Half a day last season, Livermore was just an ordinary player and it was difficult to play in the Championship. His only hope was to play more, to complete a contract renewal with the club, and to continue to get a salary to support his sister's studies.

It was a very ordinary dream, and a very great dream!

Zhang Yang's appearance gave Livermore's career a turnaround. Zhang Yang told him that he had a good long-range shooting talent. Livermore believed it and began to train hard. He was one of Millwall's best performers in the second half of the season. He easily got a contract extension in the summer and his salary increased by more than twice.

Livermore is very grateful to Zhang Yang, and at the same time he has a bigger dream: he hopes to create his own sky in the field of football!

That's not easy.

The biggest limitation on Livermore is his technical ability. His technical level is very poor. In addition to being strong, physically abundant and a long-range shot, he is very dull in other aspects. But he still hopes to continue to improve and is unwilling to just stay in this way, so he cherishes the opportunity to play more than others.

Now, the opponent is Manchester United.

In the past twenty years, Livermore has never thought that one day he would become an opponent with Manchester United, which is an unimaginable stage.

Premier League!

The opponent is the Premier League overlord Manchester United!

This is something Livermore can't imagine, but Millwall did it. Their game against Manchester United has been played for so long, and the team is still tied.

They still have hope!

Livermore won't think about anything else, as long as there is hope, the score is just a tie, and as long as they work hard and persevere, they may not necessarily lose.

Maybe... can you find another chance to score a goal?

This is Livermore's simple idea.

Although the goal is far away, he has been working hard and running hard to help the team stop Manchester United's offense, just a hope in his heart.

———

Darren Bent, who is at the front of the formation, is also working hard.

Darren Bent's dream is to become a big star. He is much clearer than Livermore. He has been doing well all the time. After several good seasons in Ipswich, he became one of the top strikers in the Championship.

But not enough!

If you want to become a big star, you must perform in the top league. Darren Bent knows clearly what he should do.

So he chose to come to Millwall.

Millwall is a new team. Maybe he can't stay for a long time, or maybe he can compete with the team for several seasons. The only thing that can be sure is that if you want to control your own destiny, you must have excellent performance.

In the previous game, Braniff scored more goals than himself. The media talked about Braniff, and Darren Bent was also a little envious, but he knew better that he was no worse than Braniff, and all he lacked was the opportunity to perform.

Now is the opportunity!

What Darren Bent thanked Zhang Yang is that he has the opportunity to start against Arsenal, Liverpool and now Manchester United, but that is not a fixed rotation: if it is just a normal rotation, it should be Braniff's turn in this game, but he is still placed on the starting roster.

This shows that the coach trusts himself!

When Braniff scored more goals and more reports from the outside world, the coach still trusted himself and allowed him to play in key games. Darren Bent was still a little excited. He was very grateful for this trust and vowed to perform on the big stage.

Darren Bent scored a goal in the first half.

Darren Bent knew that that was far from enough. If Millwall lost the game, what would a goal be? Others would not see the goal, they would only see Millwall lose.

Football is a game for winners, and he must strive to make the team win!

———

Braniff is also working hard in his own way.

Braniff's thinking is different from Darren Bent. The two have a direct competitive relationship, but he doesn't think Darren Bent will be his opponent, and he also thinks that the coach prefers himself: Look! In the game against Manchester United, I am the team's secret weapon!

Now that I am on the court as a secret weapon, the team will of course win against Manchester United!

That's what Braniff thinks.
To be continued...