6 p.m.
The West Bromwich Albion home game against Tottenham Hotspur is still an hour and a half away from kicking off.
But the Hawthorn Field was already bustling with noise.
The fans who arrived early were happily waiting for the game to begin, and every now and then some fans would turn their heads to look at the top of the stands.
Furthermore, some fans were holding homemade portraits of Howard and wearing Howard's No. 25 jersey, which had just gone on sale yesterday.
West Bromwich Albion's performance in the first half of the season was undoubtedly disappointing for fans. Their weak attack, disorganized midfield, and flimsy defense made every game a terrible experience for home fans.
After a humiliating defeat to Liverpool last week, West Bromwich Albion have been relegated to the relegation zone, which is even more unacceptable to their fans.
Fortunately, the stingy boss, Bates, seemed to realize the seriousness of the problem.
Within just three days of the winter transfer window opening, they not only strengthened their midfield and forward positions, but also spent a lot of money to bring in the outstanding Howard, and also brought in Leeds United manager Blackwell.
Such proactive signings have made fans very excited for today's match; they are desperate for a victory.
Meanwhile, on the stadium's big screen.
Bates and a group of club shareholders were also seated on the upper dais, and their relaxed expressions showed that they were full of confidence for today's game.
..............
In the locker room.
Blackwell, his expression stern, growled at Howard, "Timothy, are you kidding me?"
Howard, sitting opposite him, knew he was in the wrong and hung his head, not saying a word.
Perhaps it was because they were undefeated in the first half of the season, or perhaps they were blinded by their soaring market value in a short period of time.
Despite having a match today, he went to a bar last night at the invitation of a friend and didn't return to the apartment the club had prepared for him until almost 3 a.m. Even when he arrived at the training ground this morning, he still smelled of alcohol.
Because of the game that evening, Blackwell only led the team in some simple training in the morning. Following his habit of the past few months, he did not pay much attention to Howard's training.
However, Howard made several basic mistakes during the warm-up, which made Blackwell feel uneasy.
At first, he thought there was something wrong with Howard's physical condition, so he made Howard finish warming up and return to the locker room early. After arranging for the assistant coach to continue leading the other players in warming up, he also returned to the locker room to ask Howard what was wrong.
Howard initially hesitated, saying it was because it was his first game after the transfer and he was a little nervous.
But Blackwell simply didn't believe it. He hadn't seen you nervous at all during your first game at Leeds United.
After some questioning, it turned out that Howard had actually gone clubbing last night!
Blackwell glared angrily at the silent Howard, already contemplating whether to bench him for the game.
Although he knew that if Howard didn't appear in the starting lineup, Bates would definitely cause him trouble after the game, since Howard was someone Bates bought for 15 million euros, and Bates certainly wouldn't accept him being a substitute in the first game.
However, today is his first home game in charge of West Bromwich Albion, and the opponent is Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently in the middle of the table.
His original plan was the same as when he was at Leeds United: with Howard anchoring the defense, he would keep a clean sheet, and then steal another goal in the second half when the opponent's energy was low, which would give him a perfect start.
But no matter how much he planned, he never expected Howard to betray him!
After thinking it through, Blackwell looked coldly at Howard, preparing to ask him to come off the bench.
Before he could finish speaking, Howard, who had been silent for a while, raised his head and said, "Boss, don't worry, there's still almost an hour before the game starts. I can adjust."
Fearing Blackwell wouldn't believe him, he patted his chest and continued, "You know I've been in top form these past few months, so I definitely won't let you down today."
Seeing Howard's confidence, Blackwell, who was used to Howard's miraculous performances, finally gave up the idea of making him a substitute, nodded, and turned to leave the locker room.
.................
The competition started promptly at 7:30.
Led by the referee, the players from both sides lined up and walked out of the players' tunnel.
The on-site director promptly focused the camera on Howard, and his image was instantly projected onto the large screen.
Although everyone knew Howard would start in today's game, the eagerly awaiting fans still gave him a huge cheer when his image appeared on the big screen.
Caught up in the atmosphere, Bates and the club's shareholders stood up, smiling and applauding, as if they could already foresee victory in today's match.
At this moment, Howard's heart was no longer so passionate.
From the moment he stepped out of the players' tunnel, he felt like something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
During his time at Leeds United these past few months, every time he stepped onto the pitch, whether in training or a match, he had a strong feeling that he could make a solid save on every shot from the opponent.
But today he was surprised to find that this feeling had actually disappeared!
So, in the 9th minute of the game, he lost the ball!
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