Not only Gu Ran, most of Southampton's main players did not play.

After all, the Carabao Cup final was too tiring, and the celebrations after the tournament were also tiring, which seriously overdrawn the energy of the main players.

In addition, they will play the 6th round of the FA Cup against Sunderland on March 13, so it is most important for the main players to have a good rest.

There are a total of 8 rounds in the FA Cup. The 7th round is the semi-finals and the 8th round is the finals. Southampton has already fought to 6th place and has won the League Cup trophy and the English League One championship. The only things left are the English Championship and the FA Cup. So Southampton can be said to be relaxed now and there is no need to give up the FA Cup.

Therefore, in the match against Walsall, Southampton just sent out substitutes to play casually.

In the end, Walsall defeated Southampton away from home with a score of 2:1 and won the precious 3 points.

Southampton lost the game with an all-substitute lineup, but center back Aaron Martin and midfielder Ward Prowse performed well.

On March 5, the 33rd round of the English League One kicked off, with Southampton challenging Bournemouth away.

In this game, Coach Adkins still sent out all the substitute players and continued to let the main players rest.

In the end, Bournemouth beat Southampton 1-0 with a penalty kick and got the 3 points they had dreamed of.

Southampton's substitutes did a good job in defense, and Ward-Prowse continued to perform well.

With his performance like this, it is just a matter of time before he becomes a regular starter for Southampton.

On Tuesday, March 8, the 34th round of the English League One, Southampton faced Tranmere Rovers at home.

For this game, Coach Adkins called up the main players who had been resting for nearly 10 days.

Gu Ran, Mikel and others all started the game to adjust their competitive state, adapt to the rhythm of the game, and prepare for the next game against the Black Cats Sunderland.

Before this, Southampton had lost two games in a row, and Tranmere Rovers also wanted to take this opportunity to get the valuable three points from Southampton.

However, the final result was - Southampton 7:0 Tranmere Rovers.

If Gu Ran, Chamberlain and Lallana had not been substituted at the same time in the 75th minute to conserve their energy, Tranmere Rovers would have been beaten by double digits.

Southampton fans witnessed a hearty massacre at their home ground.

Southampton fans were extremely happy.

At noon on Saturday, March 12, Southampton players took a bus to the airport, flew to Newcastle, and then took another bus to Sunderland, which is adjacent to Newcastle.

Sunderland is located in the northeast of England and is also a famous port town.

Because the distance spans the entire British Isles, taking a plane is the most convenient way to travel. In order to allow Southampton players to be in the best competitive condition, the Southampton Club, whose financial conditions have begun to improve, specially booked a five-star hotel one day in advance.

Southampton also attached great importance to the sixth round of the FA Cup. After settling in the hotel, they immediately went to Sunderland's Stadium of Light for adaptive training.

After dinner, Coach Adkins gave the main players a tactical analysis lesson, emphasizing which players should be focused on and defended.

That night, Gu Ran turned off his cell phone and went to bed early.

The next morning, after getting up, Gu Ran did some extra training in the hotel's VIP gym.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, after having a nutritious breakfast, the Southampton team took a bus to the Stadium of Light.

Before noon, Southampton conducted another adaptive warm-up and then returned to the visiting team's locker room to rest.

Sunderland's Stadium of Light can accommodate 49,000 fans. At least 40,000 local Black Cats fans came, and the remaining 9,000 tickets were divided up by Southampton fans and Newcastle United fans.

Sunderland and Newcastle United are both northern clubs, the two teams are very close to each other, and they are also rivals.

Therefore, the number of Newcastle United fans is no less than that of Southampton fans.

After all, Newcastle United is much closer to Sunderland than Southampton is, so it is more convenient to watch the game live, and... Newcastle United really wants to see the Black Cats being abused.

Sunderland's ancestors were once wealthy.

Sunderland has won the English top league six times and the FA Cup twice.

This record is obviously much better than that of Southampton Club in the south.

Sunderland was at its peak between 1891 and 1913, winning almost all the titles and runner-ups in England's top league. Unfortunately, Sunderland did not establish its own Black Cat dynasty. Instead, it went downhill and eventually became Manchester United's second-team club. Whether in youth training or official matches, Sunderland became a factional vassal team of Manchester United for a long time.

Of course, this kind of team is also common among English clubs.

Strong teams allow their young players to gain experience by loaning them to affiliated teams.

For example, in addition to Sunderland, the Manchester United faction also includes Everton and Watford.

The Chelsea faction includes Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Leicester City.

The Manchester City faction has West Ham United.

The Liverpool faction has Southampton.

The Arsenal faction has Newcastle United.

These teams, at one time or over a certain period of time, have interconnected commercial interests, arrange friendly matches, and transfer talent to each other.

The reason why Sunderland is called the Black Cat comes from metaphysics.

In 1937, a Sunderland fan named Billy brought a black cat into the stadium during the FA Cup final and predicted to reporters that his black cat would bring good luck to Sunderland.

As a result, Sunderland won the FA Cup match, and after being reported by the media, the metaphysical effect of the black cat became widely known.

Someone said that he was blind for several years, but after hugging a black cat, his ears became very sensitive!

Someone said that he lost his wallet, but after hugging a black cat, he found that his wallet was back, but the thousands of pounds inside were gone!

Someone said that he suffered from azoospermia and had no children, but after his wife hugged a black cat, she became pregnant successfully!

What made him even happier was that his next-door neighbor Tom was also celebrating for him happily.

In short, Sunderland people believe in the black cat metaphysics wholeheartedly.

Although Sunderland's team emblem is two majestic black lions, and although Sunderland people don't always win when they watch the game with black cats in their arms, Sunderland people still like black cats.

The black cat is the symbol of Sunderland.

...(End of this chapter)