Some say the British are serious and rigid, but in reality, if you truly understand them, you will find that they are not just rigid, but always guided by reason.
Even for a primary school warm-up match, the school still organized it very well, and the team's tactics had a distinctly English character: long balls and direct runs.
After Ishmael scored the equaliser, Windsor clearly tightened their defence in the middle, and Michael Johnson dropped a little deeper, making it harder for the opposition to get the ball to Ishmael.
Since they could not play through the ground, they simply started sending high balls forward, after all, Ishmael was taller than Curtis.
However, the high balls were not especially effective. First, the young players' passing accuracy was poor. Second, although Curtis was shorter than Ishmael, his positioning and anticipation were better, so he could always get into place before Ishmael and head the ball away.
Windsor's attack was straightforward: get the ball to Michael Johnson, who would either spread it wide or thread a through ball, but it would always end up at Messi's feet.
This short Argentine teenager had astonishing pace and excellent technique. Once the ball reached his feet, it looked as if it were stuck to his legs, and almost no one could take it away from him.
Soon, before the end of the first half, Messi scored twice more and put them back in front.
"Hehe, Leo, you were brilliant!" Evra gave Messi a thumbs-up as he ran over for a drink.
Messi shook his head modestly. Back in Argentina, he had always played against the Newell's Old Boys youth team, where the players were stronger than these primary school students and had already gone through years of professional football training, yet even there, Messi had still stood out.
Watching Messi, Ethan could not help feeling a little uneasy.
In his previous life, Messi had played in Argentina and then moved to Barcelona, where the environment was fiercely competitive. But after coming to Manchester, New Manchester United did not even have a youth academy yet, let alone enough challenging matches to push Messi's development and progress.
Would this hold back Messi's growth?
When Ethan put this question to Bruce, the answer immediately reassured him.
"The most important thing for Messi right now is treating his illness, and Derek also said that in his current condition, he is not suited to long-term intense exercise, so our club's current environment is actually the best place for him."
After talking about Messi, Bruce pointed with interest at Windsor's Michael Johnson.
"This player has a very distinctive passing style, and he's very well-rounded. His technical base is good, and he has a lot of talent. As for the one called Ishmael, although he's tall, he's very quick and technically outstanding, but what stands out most is his never-say-die attitude."
"So, you're interested in them?" Ethan asked with a smile.
Bruce nodded without hesitation. "Didn't you ask me before to help you find some good youth coaches?"
"Oh, you found them?" Ethan asked in surprise.
Bruce nodded. "Yes. Keane introduced a youth assistant from Carrington, who supposedly resigned a few months ago. I also have a friend in Birmingham, and both of them have agreed to come and take a look. If they're suitable, we'll keep them. But I have to remind you, building a youth system is very expensive."
Ethan laughed when he heard that. "I've made a lot of money from stocks I invested in over in the US recently. I'm not the poor man I used to be anymore. I'm now a generous old rich man. We have to buy the stadium, build the youth system, and improve the training ground. Just give me some time, and I'll definitely satisfy you!"
Bruce was delighted to hear that, and the way he looked at Ethan was full of admiration.
Anyone could see how devoted Ethan was to New Manchester United. Back then, he had ruined himself to found the club, and now he was trying every possible way to pour his entire fortune into it. The moment he made a little money, he invested it straight back into the club's development and construction. Bruce would not dare say that a chairman who loved both the club and football this much was one of a kind, but at the very least, he had only ever met one.
"By the way, Walsh, you went to the city council again yesterday for another meeting. What did they say?"
Walsh sighed, looked at the children resting on the pitch, and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Same as before. They're split into two camps. One wants to sell, one doesn't. They're still arguing nonstop. In the end, they're still worried that our results are too poor and that we're a newly established club. You know, Manchester City also wants that plot of land. They've felt for a long time that Maine Road is too small."
Ethan felt completely helpless about it. Was he supposed to take money and bribe the FA, then say, "Hey, lads, I'll pay 10 million pounds, let us into the Premier League!"
Everyone knew that was impossible.
Although teams do sometimes get promoted into the National League through guaranteed places, that is still an amateur league. Once you want to move up from the National League into Division Three, Division Two, Division One, or even the Premier League, only results matter. Without results, no one gets through.
After all, professional leagues are built on interests, and no one is willing to give way that easily.
"Take it slow, Ethan, things will get better!" Walsh comforted him.
"Actually, I have a suggestion about setting up a youth team!" Bruce suddenly said as he thought of something.
"Let's hear it!"
"Once the coaching staff is in place and the youth facilities are built, we might as well speak to the primary schools and let their students come train with us. After all, we're professional youth coaches. Then we can pick out a group of talented players from among them to form our youth team, and we can apply to enter the regional youth league."
At that point, Bruce paused, then laughed. "But if we do it this way, you'll definitely have to spend even more money."
As soon as Ethan heard it, he felt it was a good idea. As for spending money...
"It's fine. As long as it helps the club, it doesn't matter how much it costs!"
The matter was settled on the spot, and the second half began soon after.
The Windsor side led by Messi and Curtis carried on their strong first-half form. Right after the restart, Messi went on another long run and scored again, his fourth goal of the match, becoming the brightest star on the pitch.
But after the break, Ishmael was not about to be outdone. Realising he could gain no advantage at all in direct battles with Curtis, he cleverly dropped deeper to receive the ball, then used his sharp technique and agile body to throw Windsor's defence completely out of shape, taking advantage of the chaos to score.
The rest of the match turned into an end-to-end scoring contest. Messi, Michael Johnson, and Curtis all found the net in succession, while Ishmael scored four goals with both his head and his feet.
But in the end, even Ishmael's heroic display could not stop Windsor from winning. The 7-5 scoreline showed just how exciting the match had been. Some even said it was the most thrilling game since the two schools established the Newton Heath Cup.
After the match ended, Messi and Curtis had to return to school with the Windsor team to celebrate, while Ethan took Bruce and Walsh straight to the headmaster's office at Cambridge School.
When Ethan explained his purpose, the headmaster of Cambridge School said he was very interested as well, but it would still have to be discussed with the school's board before any decision could be made.
Windsor and another nearby school, Newton, gave the same response. They all expressed a willingness to consider working with New Manchester United.
Although it was only a newly established club, New Manchester United already had an excellent reputation in the Newton Heath area. Working with them would also benefit the schools. After all, New Manchester United had promised to share part of the schools' annual football budget and would also send professional football coaches into the schools to run training.
On top of that, all expenses for the young players sent by the schools to train at New Manchester United would be covered by the club, saving the schools a considerable amount of money.
It was precisely because of all these benefits that the boards of several nearby primary schools unanimously agreed to cooperate with New Manchester United. They promised that, at the agreed time, they would gather the children in their schools who played football and send them to New Manchester United's training ground for trials, after which the coaches at New Manchester United would make a central selection of the most promising players.
Of course, that did not mean that once these players were selected, they would automatically become members of New Manchester United's youth team. The club would still have to negotiate with the players' families before anything could be finalised.
In addition, the Carrington youth assistant coach Jim Cassel, whom Keane had introduced, had already arrived at the club to take up his post. Alongside him was Paul Hampson, whom Bruce had poached from Birmingham. Both were middle-aged men in their fifties who had spent twenty or thirty years working in player development.
Among them, Jim Cassel had the most impressive résumé. He had been Eric Harrison's trusted assistant at Manchester United's Carrington youth academy and had worked under him for more than ten years. This time, he had only resigned in anger because of conflicts and disagreements with certain club policies, and New Manchester United had taken the opportunity to bring him in.
As for the name Eric Harrison, no Manchester United fan would fail to recognise it, because he was the man who built Manchester United's tactical system of off-the-ball movement. At the same time, the famed Class of '92 had also been developed under him as an assistant coach and youth coach.
Not only that, the modern theory of passing and receiving that he developed classified the responsibilities of each position, which led to him becoming FIFA's chief football instructor. Later, despite his advanced age, he went on to serve as a scouting consultant for Manchester United and a technical consultant for Ferguson.
Whenever Ethan thought of the far from glamorous Manchester United squad from his previous life, yet how they could always tear open the opposition with slick passing combinations, constant and organised off-the-ball movement, then score goals and produce brilliant results, he could not help feeling full of admiration.
And Jim Cassel was Eric Harrison's trusted assistant, which made Ethan think very highly of him. The moment he arrived, Ethan appointed him as New Manchester United's youth academy director, offered him a high-paying contract, and did his utmost to keep this outstanding talent at the club.
The value of this Manchester United system had not yet fully revealed itself, but once they won the treble, and once Ferguson kept driving out key players time and again in the new century yet still led the team to even greater glory, people would finally understand the true core value of Manchester United.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)