Chapter 142 Attack, attack, and attack!

"Master Huan!"

When Yang Huan walked into the team's coaching meeting room, Bielsa and others had just arrived.

When everyone saw Yang Huan, they all stood up and greeted him.

"It's okay, you guys have a meeting, I'm just here to listen."

After saying that, he walked to the corner and sat down nonchalantly, looking like he had no intention of participating at all.

Bielsa nodded slightly towards Yang Huan.

The reason why Yang Huan appeared at the Steptwood training base today was because of a phone call from Bielsa yesterday.

There has been a strange atmosphere within Southampton ever since Chelsea was drawn in the draw.

Some players were full of confidence, but some seemed very nervous or even a little timid.

In addition, two strange ways of preparing for the game emerged within the team.

Some people think that when Southampton plays Chelsea at home, they should choose to tighten up their tactics, which will give them a better chance of winning. After all, Chelsea's offense has not been ideal in recent times, and strong player Torres has not performed well.

But some people also think that Southampton's tactical style has always been unrestrained and gorgeous offensive football, and playing in a restrained manner is not Southampton's style at all.

There is nothing wrong with either tactical thinking; both are aimed at defeating the opponent; they are just different ways of thinking about the problem.

Bielsa stood in front of the tactical board, stretched out his right index finger to support his glasses, glanced at the people below, and after staying on Yang Huan in the corner for just a moment, he began to get into the topic of the meeting.

"Ancelotti's Chelsea was undoubtedly the most powerful attacking team in the Premier League last season. They scored a total of 103 goals in 38 Premier League games. This is an amazing offensive ability."

Everyone present had a serious look on their face.

An average of 2.71 goals per game, such offensive power is indeed quite amazing in the Premier League, far higher than other teams such as Manchester United.

"I've watched all of Chelsea's games this season..."

Bielsa's words amazed everyone present.

This season, Chelsea has played more than 40 games, nearly 50 games, from warm-up matches to the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League and Community Shield. It is not easy to watch all the game videos.

But no one will be surprised because this is Bielsa's style.

The Argentine madman is not called that for nothing!

When Yang Huan heard this, an idea came to his mind.

Although he admires Bielsa's ability, he feels that everyone's energy has its limits.

No matter how strong or outstanding Bielsa is, he is still a human being. As a human being, he will inevitably get tired and make mistakes.

As a head coach, Bielsa's greatest value does not lie in watching so many game videos of the opponents and analyzing everything about the opponents.

It seems necessary to equip Southampton with an excellent analytical team.

Bielsa had no idea that Yang Huan was thinking about him, he had completely gotten into the role.

"Before Torres joined this season, Chelsea's tactics had always been to play 4-3-3, with Anelka, Malouda and Drogba in the front. But Anelka and Drogba are already 32 and 33 years old, and the team's offense has also encountered some problems this season, so they spared no expense to bring in Torres during the winter break."

Anyone who is familiar with the situation in the Premier League and Chelsea's intelligence is aware of this.

"Torres, who was brought in for 50 million pounds, is the core of Liverpool. When he comes to Stamford Bridge, he will definitely play as a starter. But he is a newcomer and it will take some time for him to integrate into the team. So from the past few games, Ancelotti will continue to use the double striker combination."

Bielsa wrote down the names of Chelsea's two leading players on the tactical board with great certainty.

Drogba and Torres!

"I am so sure because Torres will not accept the wing. When he was at Liverpool, the head coach Hodgson asked him to play long balls, and he was already very unhappy. Ancelotti would not arrange him to go to the wing to serve Drogba."

"When Chelsea played with two strikers, it was almost impossible for Malouda and Anelka to play on both sides at the same time."

Once the two forwards and two wingers are on the field at the same time, there will be four people in the frontcourt. Chelsea's defense is also a four-back combination, so there are only two people left in the midfield, which is too weak.

"Choose one of the two!" Bielsa made a firm judgment.

"In the Premier League in midweek, Ancelotti asked Anelka to play as a front midfielder. The Frenchman performed very well and scored a goal. This was an attempt, but it was also a signal that Ancelotti should return to the diamond midfield position."

Bielsa quickly wrote down his own judgment of Chelsea's main starting lineup on the tactical board.

Anelka is the attacking midfielder, Essien and Lampard are in the middle, and Mikel plays as the defensive midfielder, forming a signature diamond midfield formation.

The positions in the midfield and frontcourt and the starting lineup have been determined, so the defense is simple.

Left back Ashley Cole is sure to start, Terry and Ivanovic or David Luiz will partner in the starting lineup, right back should be Bosingwa, and the goalkeeper will be Czech goalkeeper Cech.

Guessing the opponent's starting lineup is just the beginning of targeted preparations.

How to respond and formulate a competition strategy is the key and also the most controversial issue at present.

"I think we should tighten up the fight."

Some members of the coaching staff stood up and expressed their opinions.

"Our central defender, Benatia, is indeed very strong, but sometimes he is still a little unstable. Varane has good strength and potential, but he is too young to face top forwards like Torres and Drogba..."

Although he didn't say the conclusion, everyone guessed what he wanted to express.

The combination of these two central defenders will be in trouble when facing Torres and Drogba!

Almost as soon as the previous person sat down, another person stood up.

"I don't agree with the idea of ​​keeping the defense in place. We should note that Chelsea is a very experienced team. In the Premier League, many mid- and lower-level teams, and even many top teams, only send one striker to play against Chelsea. But Chelsea played very patiently and didn't make mistakes easily. In the end, they won."

At this point, the coach sighed earnestly and said, "Don't forget, they have the most powerful monster in the world!"

The horror of Drogba lies in the fact that he has left an indelible shadow on almost all English teams, and even all European teams, and has become the nightmare of all defenders.

"Don't hold back and play? Should we press forward and attack? Last season in the Premier League, teams like Burnley, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa and Portsmouth all played this way, but what was the result?"

When these teams met Chelsea in the Premier League last season, they all lost by more than five goals, with the worst loss being eight goals.

"That was last season. Chelsea's strength this season is obviously not as good as last season!"

"Really? I don't think so. Chelsea brought in Ramires in the summer and Torres and David Luiz in the winter break. They have a good run-in and their strength is not much worse than last season."

"These three reinforcements are indeed very strong, but it is not clear whether they can integrate into the team."

"That's right, but we don't have the quality to match Chelsea."

…

The discussion in the conference room became more and more heated. At first, there were only one or two people arguing, then it turned into a quarrel, and then more and more people joined the battle. Both sides insisted on their own opinions and no one could convince the other.

Soon, the whole scene became a mess.

Bielsa is also very troubled by this kind of thing. No matter which faction he supports, it will lead to disagreement from the other faction.

So, Yang Huan needs to step forward at this time.

When the argument in the conference room was at its most intense, there was a sudden loud bang and Yang Huan stood up from the corner.

The loud noise almost broke the table and shocked everyone present into silence.

Everyone looked at the angry boss with lingering fear.

Everyone then realized that although this young boss was usually kind and gentle, he was still very powerful once he got angry.

"What are you arguing about? Do you want to fight?"

The coaching staff, who were arguing with each other until their faces turned red, suddenly became silent and dared not say a word.

"Isn't it just Chelsea? Is it so scary? Is it necessary to make such a fuss?"

Yang Huan walked out of his seat and walked forward under everyone's attention.

"Such a simple question, is it necessary to make it so complicated?"

"How did we beat Arsenal? Attack!"

"What is our strongest weapon at Southampton this season? Offense!"

"What is the thing about us Southampton that all Saints fans are most proud of? It's still our offense!"

Yang Huan's powerful words made everyone present realize his thoughts.

This means we have to play a head-on game with Chelsea, we have to go all out and fight!

"Attack is our label at Southampton. It is our soul that is integrated into our blood. It is the root and foundation of our existence. We must attack whether we live or die. We must attack whether we win or lose!"

"We just want to tell everyone that when we Southampton appear on the football field, we only do one thing."

"That is a fearless, desperate attack!"

As soon as Yang Huan finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.

"Well, Master Huan, well said!"

"That's very well said. We support you, Master Huan!"

"Yes, we Southampton are going to attack, attack regardless of the consequences!"

"No matter who we face, no matter how strong the opponent is, we must attack!"

Outside the meeting room, many players who had heard the news gathered and followed Yang Huan to make a noise.

Some of the coaches were so excited that their faces turned red, some were a little ashamed, and some were a little dissatisfied.

But Yang Huan completely ignored all of this.

In his opinion, offensive football is Southampton's golden signboard, and they would rather lose the game than lose this signboard.

You know, the reason why Southampton can attract so many fans and create full attendances for every home game is largely due to this golden signboard.

Just like Coca-Cola always uses red cans.

This is the soul that is integrated into the blood. It cannot be lost. If you lose it, you will die!

"You may say I am being pretentious, but I still want to say that if you look at the Premier League situation this season and analyse it carefully, you will find that teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are not as strong as before. Their control is no longer as strong as before."

"This season, many mid- and lower-level Premier League teams have played very aggressively against top teams. Would they have dared to do so before?"

"Who dares to challenge Manchester United when Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney form a trident?"

"Who dared to fight Chelsea during Mourinho's time?"

"But what about now?"

All the coaches were speechless because it was the truth.

Yang Huan received a BBC analysis from Charlene Lahiri, which clearly showed that the overall strength of the four or five giants in the Premier League this season was indeed declining.

Even Chelsea, who introduced two strong reinforcements during the winter break.

The biggest problem of the Blues is that the aging of the player structure is particularly serious, and the renewal cannot keep up.

"I tell you, we only do one thing when we play against Chelsea!"

"Attack!"

"Whoever objects, get out of here!"

"We in Southampton don't want cowards who show weakness before the battle!"

After saying that, Yang Huan walked out of the meeting room with Long Wu amid the cheers of the players.

Before leaving, he exchanged glances with Bielsa, who nodded gratefully.

With Yang Huan's appearance this time, his tasks will become much easier.