Chapter 139: Inverted Wingers
Faced with Carter's repeated questions, Lynn finally spoke.
He said to Carter, "I'm sorry, Catherine. Right now, I have absolutely no thoughts of getting married."
"Why? You don't love me?"
"What do you think?"
Catherine Carter's eyes grew wet, her expression full of grievance. Although she was not some pampered princess, she was still a great beauty pursued by many men. Yet in front of Lynn, she was becoming someone who nearly lost herself.
"Deep down, you actually love that woman named Erin Taylor, don't you?"
Catherine Carter suddenly stood up and said those words to Lynn.
Lynn raised his head and looked at her. He shook his head slightly and said, "Catherine, you're overthinking it. This isn't a multiple-choice question. It's not that if I refuse to live with you or marry you, then I must be going to Erin. It's simply that I don't have that plan right now."
Tears blurred Carter's eyes as she kept shaking her head. Her voice choked as she said, "Lynn, you've broken my heart."
As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up her handbag, covered her mouth to stop herself from crying aloud, and left the private room.
Lynn did not chase her.
What would happen if he caught up?
He still would not be able to explain it clearly, and there would still be no result.
He let out a soft sigh, then gave a self-mocking smile.
He paid the bill, left the restaurant, got into his car, and drove home as usual.
The night breeze blowing in from Swansea Bay slipped through the window, cooling Lynn's whole body.
Alan Tam's "The One I Love Most in This Life" was playing in the car.
Lynn could not help singing along with the music.
"Whether true, whether false, if I could split myself and play my own part, I would offer the tenderness in my heart to you, my only confidante.
"Like obsession, like drunkenness, I still hope you'll know how to cherish yourself. Even if one day we part, I'll still miss you. I truly miss you..."
Had he ever loved?
He probably had.
It was not that he did not know how to cherish women. Otherwise, he would not have been so gentle toward Catherine Carter, nor would Carter be this heartbroken today.
It was just that in the life he had once lived, he had spent almost all his time on women.
Different faces had come and gone. Some only wanted one night of pleasure, while others longed for a relationship that would not grow stale over time.
He had also once tried to enter marriage.
Twice.
But in the end, because his family background was not wealthy enough, because of the bride price demanded by the woman's family, because of his own material conditions and other harsh realities, he had still ended up alone.
When he was given the chance to start over, he understood deeply that a man first had to have his own career, and had to be loyal to that career. He had also long since sealed off his heart.
He liked women, but he did not wish to be hurt again.
A lover's relationship was fine.
No need to love too deeply.
No need to be wounded too badly.
When he walked into the house, his mother, Tang Yue, was watching television with Lin Jiajie. When they saw Lynn return, Tang Yue asked in surprise, "Son, what's wrong? Are you unhappy? Didn't you win today?"
Lynn thought the smile he wore when he returned home was flawless, but he did not know how forced it looked in his parents' eyes.
He shook his head and said, "Nothing. I'm just a bit tired. I'll go upstairs and rest."
Lynn had just stepped onto the stairs when Lin Jiajie's voice came from behind him.
"Son, I have an old classmate. His daughter will be coming to study at Swansea University soon. I met her when I went back to China. She seemed like a very nice girl. Do you want to meet her and see?"
Lynn stopped.
In his heart, he let out a long sigh, but his expression showed a trace of cheerfulness. He turned to Lin Jiajie and said, "Sure. When the time comes, I'll host her and show her around Britain."
Hearing Lynn say that, Tang Yue and Lin Jiajie both smiled happily.
"Good, good, good. If you're tired, go back to your room and rest. If you get hungry, there's food in the fridge."
Lynn smiled and went upstairs.
His parents had not placed too much pressure on him. Although they often brought up marriage in his ears, they had never truly forced him. He also did not want to show a strongly resistant attitude. Since his parents wanted to introduce him to someone, even if it was only to make them happy for a while, he would go along with it.
He returned to his room, showered, and slept.
Before turning off the light, Lynn glanced at the desk calendar.
September 11 was not far away.
He had no time to think about women anymore.
...
Swansea's slaughter of Wycombe Wanderers at the Liberty Stadium shook the Second Division.
8–0!
On their first home matchday after promotion to the Second Division, Swansea had created a brutal massacre!
The Welsh media were unanimous in singing Swansea's praises.
The headline of the sports section in the South Wales Argus read:
"The Swans Reload, Fire at Full Power, and Crush Wycombe Wanderers!"
BBC Wales also repeatedly played highlights from Swansea's match against Wycombe Wanderers.
In the newspapers and on media platforms, no one mentioned Ibrahimović anymore.
Fleet Street automatically ignored the match and did not report the details. After all, there were so many matches in England. So what if they did not report one Second Division game?
The day before the League Cup began, Lynn carried out a card exchange in his office.
He had 16 points, which was enough to exchange for three S skill cards.
Last season, he had essentially completed the P-card and S-card investment for his main players. This season, Lynn's plan was to strengthen the substitutes!
The focus of reinforcement would still be on key rotation players and attacking players.
Ibrahimović was temporarily frozen out, which meant Badenberg among the substitute forwards would receive more playing time.
Besides, over the past season, Robert Badenberg's progress had surprised Lynn.
This player, who did not have a single card on him, had improved his technical ability very quickly. On top of his already decent speed and finishing, he had now grown to a level where he could be used.
If a player could improve on his own, then as the manager, Lynn naturally had to add some fuel to the fire.
He prepared three cards for Badenberg.
Super-Sub, Agile Touch, and Two-Footed Touch.
The main purpose was to improve his feel for the ball and footwork, allowing him to perform better as a forward. Since he was fast, his ball control was the area that had to be strengthened.
Then, he prepared a Surprise Interception card for Danny Gabbidon to expand his defensive coverage.
Finally, he prepared an Agile Touch card for Horatio Nelson.
The next day, before Swansea hosted their old Third Division opponent York City in the League Cup, Lynn sent all five cards into the bodies of those three players.
The League Cup was still not Swansea's main battlefield. It was their training ground.
Because of that, at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea fielded a rotated lineup.
Goalkeeper: Glendor.
Defenders: Balic, Gabbidon, Albutches, Arthur Wellesley.
Midfielders: Horatio Nelson, Poulsen, Kalunbel, Evra.
Forwards: Badenberg, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The tactical style of this lineup was very different from the first-choice lineup.
Cristiano Ronaldo pulled wide as much as possible to play left winger, with Evra behind him supplying ammunition.
Horatio Nelson was one of Lynn's experiments. Like Cristiano Ronaldo, he was an inverted winger!
However, Lynn gave Nelson more freedom, because Nelson was older and better able to withstand physical contact when dribbling.
At the Liberty Stadium, York City had originally come here intending to play on the counterattack.
But after seeing Swansea field such a young lineup that it almost made them feel insulted, they were somewhat angered!
It felt as if Swansea were humiliating them!
Cristiano Ronaldo was sixteen!
Nelson was nineteen!
Badenberg was nineteen!
Wellesley was eighteen!
Kalunbel was eighteen!
Balic and Evra were twenty!
The oldest was Danny Gabbidon, whose twenty-second birthday had only passed ten days ago!
Was Swansea determined to carry their youth storm all the way to the end?
York City's players would have had no complaints losing to Swansea's first-choice lineup, because Swansea's main lineup looked so overflowing with talent.
But how could they show weakness in front of this group of kids?
So they attacked actively at the Liberty Stadium. Swansea, meanwhile, played steadily, strengthening their defense in the middle and back lines while constantly creating quick attacking chances for the front group.
Cristiano Ronaldo used dazzling technique on the left to attack York City's defense, while Horatio Nelson repeatedly followed the coaching staff's instructions and cut inside from the right flank!
Horatio Nelson's stronger foot was his left. His technique was decent, and his speed was fast. The only thing he lacked was shooting. In his additional individual training projects, the focus had also been shooting!
Compared with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, whose flashy footwork left opponents dizzy, Horatio Nelson's performance was simpler, but more practical.
Touch the ball with the left foot, change direction, accelerate, break through.
Such a simple pattern still gave York City's back line endless headaches!
However, these young players' ability to take chances still needed improvement.
Horatio Nelson was able to create more shooting chances than Cristiano Ronaldo.
After cutting inside, he passed to Kalunbel arriving from deep, passed to Cristiano Ronaldo on the left side in front of the box when he was unmarked, and passed to Badenberg, who was constantly searching for anti-offside opportunities along the defensive line!
He himself did not dare to shoot, because he lacked confidence. At the same time, he did not dare waste chances. He always wanted to make sure his own performance did not contain mistakes.
Even so, Cristiano Ronaldo, Badenberg, Kalunbel, and Poulsen arriving from behind were able to continuously bombard York City's goal.
It was not until the 35th minute, after Horatio Nelson successfully broke into the penalty area, that he knocked the ball back outside the box. Poulsen, arriving from deep, struck a long-range shot toward the far corner and scored, finally giving Swansea the lead at home.
Once the team scored, the coaching staff relaxed slightly.
Sitting beside Lynn, Hughes said curiously, "Strange. Nelson's technical ability is clearly not as strong as Cristiano Ronaldo's, but although Cristiano Ronaldo's performance on the left is eye-catching, he can't create as many chances as Nelson."
Lynn said calmly, "Because Cristiano Ronaldo is too outstanding. He wants to become the hero, and he wants to show off his technique. Horatio is different. He cherishes every chance to play. Within this team on the pitch, he is humble and low-key. He wants to secure his position by making real contributions, not by enjoying himself while the team eventually loses.
"He's also somewhat afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes, that kind of mentality can hinder a player's development. But sometimes, it can also highlight his team spirit. For now, he's performing very well."
Hughes nodded and said, "It does seem that way. Sometimes I always think that if Cristiano Ronaldo reduced those stepovers on the spot, the feints, or those tricks where he knocks the ball behind himself and chases after it, and instead simply used sudden acceleration like Horatio Nelson to knock the ball past defenders before cutting inside, the threat he could create would definitely be astonishing."
Lynn smiled helplessly.
"That's true, but we can't suppress his talent. If we make him give up displaying his footwork now, perhaps it will hinder his growth. Sometimes players need to polish themselves. They need to freely try all the dribbling tricks they know, then continuously refine them and summarize the experience. In the end, it becomes a naturally integrated set of skills. And that is what makes a player different from everyone else."
Hughes looked thoughtful.
"Our transformation of Horatio Nelson seems to be effective. His performance on the right is clearly better than on the left. On the left, there are Tobias Rau, Grosso, and Evra, so it's hard for him to get opportunities. On the right, he plays in a completely different way from James Cook, which enriches our tactics. Today, York City look like they simply can't defend our right-side attacks."
Lynn smiled without saying anything.
Horatio Nelson and Cristiano Ronaldo's current style was a type of player that was about to rise in modern football: the inverted winger!
The 1950s had been a golden age for wingers. Brazil had Zizinho, Zagallo, and Garrincha. Hungary had Czibor. Real Madrid had the legendary Gento. England had Matthews, among many others. Those great names opened the curtain on the winger's era and built its golden age.
But after England won the World Cup in 1966, wide midfielders in the 4-4-2 formation replaced wingers, suppressing the influence of a role that was considered "flashy but impractical" at the time. It was not until the 1970s, when the Netherlands shocked the world with Total Football, that wingers once again became a mainstream role on football's stage. Even today, however, the vast majority of wingers still played on the same side as their stronger foot.
This had to do with the development of modern football tactics.
When France won the 1998 World Cup, the formation they used was essentially a 4-2-3-1, opening the door to a new era where the 4-2-3-1 began to be used in football and was soon to become mainstream.
Because one forward was removed, the role of wide players naturally had to increase, and wingers took on heavier and heavier responsibilities.
Inverted wingers had not yet become mainstream, but across Europe, new experiments were already beginning to sprout.
The first characteristic of inverted wingers was that they forced defenders to experience a drastic change in their defensive habits.
Second, when a player cut inside, the explosiveness of that movement increased dramatically.
It was easy to imagine. When a left-footed player dribbled from the right toward the left-front direction, combining acceleration with ball control, his left foot—his stronger foot—would be more skilled, the success rate would be higher, and his speed would also be faster. But if his stronger foot was the right foot, then touching the ball with his right would bring it closer to the defender, making it easier to tackle. From the perspective of shielding the ball and explosive speed, inverted wingers had more advantages than traditional wingers!
Horatio Nelson left York City's defenders dizzy, making them uncomfortable from the very start of the match.
But on the other side, because Cristiano Ronaldo preferred to keep possession and express himself, even if he could beat one opponent, the other team's overall recovery would already have arranged a tight defensive line. If he wanted to break through again, it would become extremely difficult. As a result, his performance was actually not as good as Horatio Nelson's.
Simply put, Cristiano Ronaldo's ball-carrying was complicated and dragged things out, making it easy to miss attacking opportunities, even though he was very fast.
Horatio Nelson was plain and efficient, focused on being quick, accurate, and ruthless. He was not as flashy, but he was very practical!