Damn it, these bastards are digging pits for me again.
Truly scoundrels!
When Chen Ran saw these news reports, the joy of achieving his first managerial victory was instantly diluted.
Who knew how those three massive figures would react?
Whatever.
Crystal Palace is still in the Championship anyway; we won’t be facing those three giants head-on for now.
By the time Crystal Palace gets promoted to the Premier League, it will be at least a year from now.
By then, he’d have money and manpower, his wings would be fully grown, and he wouldn’t be afraid of anyone.
Having made up his mind, Chen Ran ignored the malicious provocations of the media and focused entirely on polishing his team.
Soon after, Chen Ran arranged several more warm-up matches.
Although they were all against lower-league teams, Crystal Palace won every single one.
Suddenly, many media outlets that previously looked down on Chen Ran did a complete 180 and began loudly praising him.
This immediately put Chen Ran on high alert.
He quickly summoned Guardiola, Simeone, and Southgate.
“Have you seen the media reports about us lately?” “We have, Boss.
They all say you’re a genius manager.” “Exactly.
They also said our defensive counter-attack is incredibly sharp, and no team in the Championship can stop it.” “Yeah, many people are saying Crystal Palace is definitely getting promoted to the Premier League this season.”
Looking at the three guys looking rather smug, Chen Ran couldn’t help but shake his head.
It seemed this winning streak in the friendlies, combined with the media’s flattery, had made them float a bit.
They hadn’t even achieved anything real yet, and they were already getting big heads?
No, he had to pour a bucket of cold water on them.
“Alright, just listen to what the media says, but absolutely do not take it seriously.” “Moreover, after their massive coverage, our Crystal Palace has now become a live target.
The other Championship teams are definitely studying our tactics, so we must be prepared.”
The entire office suddenly fell into a dead silence.
Chen Ran’s words greatly exceeded their expectations.
Fortunately, none of them were rash kids; with just a slight hint from Chen Ran, they immediately realized the current media atmosphere was indeed a bit off.
Looking at the excessively young face of their boss, the three couldn’t help but sigh inwardly:
So calm, so composed…
Who is the older one here, really?
“Boss, you’re right.
We were a bit too optimistic earlier.” “Agreed.
Don’t worry, Boss, we will stay focused.” “Boss, do you already have a countermeasure?”
Seeing their sincere attitudes in admitting their mistake, Chen Ran nodded.
Not bad.
After all, they were veterans in their thirties; they understood as soon as they were pointed in the right direction.
“Our defensive counter-attack is already initially formed and has performed quite well in actual combat.
But because of these warm-up matches, this tactic has been exposed.
Our opponents will definitely make targeted arrangements when they face us later.” “So, starting today, begin drilling Gareth’s tactic in training.
That system emphasizes a balance of attack and defense, focusing on wing attacks.
Once we master it, we can catch our opponents by surprise and render all their preparations useless.”
“Boss, you are too clever (insidious).” “Cut the flattery, get to work.”
Southgate’s tactic was a typical English 4-4-2, very common in English football, so most players adapted to it without any issues.
The biggest difference in the lineup compared to before was dropping Modrić, the attacking midfielder, and deploying another striker, Crouch, to partner with Toni as the “Twin Towers.”
Then, the two wingers, C.
Ronaldo and Ribéry, would break through and cross, continuously bombarding the opponent’s goal.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to his outstanding performance in the warm-up matches—dribbling past players like they were hemp and scoring repeatedly—C.
Ronaldo much preferred cutting inside and driving into the penalty box to shoot.
He seemed to have no interest in going down the line to cross.
Not only Chen Ran noticed this, but Guardiola, Simeone, and Southgate noticed it as well.
All three had individually pointed this out to C.
Ronaldo during training, but C.
Ronaldo went his own way, seemingly unaffected.
Chen Ran knew perfectly well that in his previous life, during C.
Ronaldo’s early days at Man Utd, he also only focused on dribbling and breaking through, which drew criticism from many.
But for an 18-year-old boy in his rebellious phase, you couldn’t just stiffly command him to correct himself; that would likely backfire.
So, when Guardiola and the others came together to report this issue to Chen Ran, Chen Ran burst into laughter.
“Let me ask you a question.
When you were 18, did you like hearing others say, ‘You’re doing it wrong, you must do it like this’?”
“Uh…
probably didn’t like it much.” The three looked at each other and instantly understood what Chen Ran meant.
“Alright, leave this matter to me.
But it might take a little time.
Sometimes, letting him figure it out himself is more effective.” “Understood, Boss.”
After training the next day, Chen Ran asked C.
Ronaldo to stay behind alone.
“Ronaldo, do you know why I asked you to stay today?” Chen Ran didn’t take him back to the office; that was too formal.
The two just strolled casually along the training ground’s pitch.
“I can guess.
Is it because I don’t want to pass the ball?” C.
Ronaldo looked at Chen Ran somewhat stubbornly.
Those three old guys definitely snitched on me.
“Haha, then you guessed wrong.
I only kept you to tell you some good news.
Want to hear it?” “What good news?” C.
Ronaldo was stunned; this was completely different from what he expected.
“It’s like this.
I heard you like sports cars, so I prepared a gift for you.
As long as Crystal Palace wins promotion to the Premier League this season, and your personal assist tally reaches 10…
then after the season ends, I’ll give you a Porsche 911.
How does that sound?”
“Really?
Boss, are you telling the truth?” C.
Ronaldo instantly screamed in excitement.
Transferring to Crystal Palace gave him his first big contract, an annual salary of 2 million euros.
But that money wasn’t given to him all at once; it was distributed monthly.
So, a Porsche 911 was truly not a small sum for the current C.
Ronaldo.
What man doesn’t like sports cars?
Even if he was only 18.
Now, hearing Chen Ran say he was willing to gift him a Porsche 911, C.
Ronaldo was ready to explode with excitement.
He made a military pledge on the spot, terrified Chen Ran would go back on his word.
“Boss, don’t worry.
I will definitely help our Crystal Palace get promoted to the Premier League, and I will definitely get more than 10 assists.” “Good, I look forward to the day I hand you the car keys.”
Watching C.
Ronaldo’s joyful departing figure, Chen Ran smiled slightly.
Tuning Ronaldo is actually quite simple.