When Cassel was teaching some basic tactical theory courses to the New Manchester United players, Ethan used to listen very attentively from the side.
Regarding the passing ability of midfielders, especially central midfielders, Cassel felt it could be subdivided into three skills: vision, the ability to read the game, and passing technique.
These three terms were not hard to understand. The so-called vision actually required the player to be able to find loopholes in the opponent's defensive system and then use passing to break down the opponent's defense.
The first person Ethan thought of was Real Madrid's Golden Wolf, Guti. His vision was truly innate. His surgical through balls were peerless, and even Barcelona's Xavi could not compare to him.
However, this did not mean Xavi was inferior to Guti, because Xavi was superior in reading the game, which also had a lot to do with Barcelona's tradition of producing number 4 players.
As for passing technique, that relied more on training.
Smith had always played in amateur leagues and had never received formal football training, so his passing foundation could only be considered average. But it was precisely because of his vision, the occasional ability to spot loopholes in the opponent's defense, that Bruce took a shine to him and developed him into New Manchester United's midfield core for this season.
Now, Smith once again saw a loophole in the opponent's shape, but should he pass?
Several times, Smith had seen it, but his passes had been off, and some of those had resulted in Evra having to run back and forth for nothing.
"Stephen, give it to me!" Richie broke free from the opponent's pressure and cut from the left flank toward the middle.
Smith passed it almost without thinking.
Because the distance was short, the ball arrived smoothly at Richie's feet. The latter, almost without thinking, simply controlled the ball and immediately sent a long pass toward the left corner flag area.
The opponent's full-back and defensive midfielder were both drawn in by Richie's inward cut, leaving a large gap behind them on the left.
The players on the field did not see it clearly, but Ethan and the fans in the stands saw it clearly.
Evra's dark figure had already crossed the halfway line by this time, chasing the ball with lightning speed.
At the moment Richie cut inside, Evra was still in an area the opposing defenders considered non-threatening, but in the blink of an eye, he had already appeared in a vital position.
To avoid being caught by the opponent, Richie had played the pass with considerable force. The ball looked as if it was about to go out of bounds, but Evra was still accelerating, and accelerating again!
"Patrice!"
"Patrice!!"
"Patrice!!!"
The cheers from the fans in the stands grew louder and louder, especially at the end, when Evra controlled the ball just before it went out of bounds. The fans in the stands erupted into thunderous shouts.
At this moment, regardless of whether Evra could bring the team a goal or even a victory, he was a hero in the hearts of the fans.
Evra steadied the ball, paused, and noticed that David Bell was moving toward the right. One of the opponent's centre-backs and the right-back were also shifting to the right. This was a great opportunity.
Evra immediately sent in a powerful low cross, which quickly reached the near post. Then Jonathan's sturdy frame appeared exactly where it should have been. All he had to do was lift his foot, and the ball struck his shin heavily and bounced into the goal.
With such a close-range shot, the opposing goalkeeper did not even have time to react, and the centre-back who had been held off by Jonathan looked dejected. Who told him he could not compete with Jonathan physically?
Jonathan immediately changed direction and ran toward Evra on the left. Before the latter could react, he tackled him to the ground, followed by Richie, Smith, Bell, and finally Makinson.
"Hey, Carl, do you want to crush him?" Ethan sat in the front row and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Makinson on the field was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
After being suppressed for 70 minutes, the team finally let out a big sigh of relief, so the players were particularly excited.
Under the referee's intervention, the celebration did not last long, but the celebration in the stands had only just begun.
Glossop were clearly stunned by the sudden goal, especially since the cooperation between Evra and Richie was becoming increasingly flexible.
When Richie cut inside, Evra would definitely charge forward, and once Richie went to the byline, Evra would support from behind. After that, he could either cut inside or pass to Smith in the middle.
In this way, New Manchester United's entire left flank was completely activated!
After assisting Jonathan's goal, Evra became more and more excited as he played, running all over the field. He could be seen during attacks, and he could return to his position during defense. It was just like his peak period.
The only difference was that his current ability was far from comparable to his peak period as the world's best left-back, but don't forget, he would only just turn 18 in May. He was still very young and had a lot, a lot of room to improve.
Because Richie's help in front attracted the opponent's defensive pressure, Evra played more and more freely.
In the 81st minute of the second half, Richie received a pass from Smith and went down the left flank. Facing the double-team of the opponent's defensive midfielder and full-back, he was forced to knock the ball back to the following Evra.
After receiving the ball, Evra cut inside to the area near the left corner of the penalty area. Seeing that the opposing goalkeeper's position was a little too far forward, he gritted his teeth and fired a powerful long shot.
The ball was like a cruise missile, drawing an arc in mid-air. Amid everyone's stunned silence, it brushed against the near post and went into the net, while the goalkeeper did not even have time to react.
The stadium immediately erupted with even louder cheers than after Jonathan's goal. Even Evra himself was stunned, standing there foolishly until Richie ran over and hugged him, at which point he finally woke up.
Yes, he had scored! He had scored the first goal of his life!
Then he started running, broke free from Richie and the others, and began running toward the stands, directly to the front of the stand where Ethan was. By this time, he was already in tears.
"Thank you! Thank you! Boss! Thank you!" Evra held tightly onto the hand Ethan extended down, shouting while sobbing.
Many fans nearby reached out to pull at Evra's jersey, but Evra held onto Ethan's hand tightly, crying loudly.
Evra was not a transmigrator, so he did not know that even if Ethan had not appeared, he would have been spotted by an Italian team, gone to Italy, and after a few years of tempering in the semi-professional leagues, returned to France and become famous.
Now, he only clearly knew that it was Ethan who had made him a professional player, and it was also Ethan who had constantly encouraged him, let him learn from Lyons, and made him understand how to keep strengthening himself. Ethan was like a close elder brother, making him feel warmth in Manchester, where he was all alone.
"Patrice!" Ethan shouted from the stands.
Evra lifted his tearful eyes.
"Go, get the ball and bring it to me. I'll help you take it back and frame it as a keepsake. This is your first goal, go!" Ethan was in a great mood, smiling as he pointed to the ball the Glossop striker had placed in the center circle.
Evra was stunned, but soon ran over, took another ball from the side, ran all the way to the center circle, swapped it with the ball he had scored with, and then ran back to hand it to Ethan.
And just at the moment Evra handed the ball to Ethan, Scarlett was not far away, raising the camera in her hand to capture this moving scene.
She had even thought of tomorrow's headline, believing that all readers would love it.
Although the amateur league referee's officiating was rather lenient, it was also lenient in some areas, such as taking off one's jersey to celebrate, or delaying the game during goal celebrations. These behaviors were sometimes not penalized.
After the referee urged him several times, Evra walked back onto the field. When passing the coaching bench, he specifically walked over to give Bruce a deep hug, obviously thanking him repeatedly as well.
After Evra scored the second goal for New Manchester United, this match had completely lost its suspense, especially when Glossop saw that the morale and state of the New Manchester United players had been completely brought out. Their only hope was that they had better not concede again.
In fact, even this hope became a luxury.
It was still Evra. This left-wing demon, who had gone crazy, performed very well in this match, especially in the second half.
In the 89th minute, he pulled out to the left flank, received a pass from Makinson, and swung a diagonal cross into the penalty area from midfield. Jonathan intentionally let the ball run past, and David Bell, lurking at the back post, easily pushed it in to score.
3-0! New Manchester United sealed the victory in one fell swoop!
At the same time, a chorus of "We Are the Champions" rang out from the Manchester United fans in the stands.
Yes, at this time, singing this classic song was the most appropriate for the situation, because by winning this match, New Manchester United would win this year's North West Counties League Division Two championship. All that remained was the North West Counties League Challenge Cup final on May 19. New Manchester United's opponent would be the Ashton team from the Super Division. This semi-professional team had always had stable results. They could not be promoted or relegated and were always ranked mid-table.
For this final, everyone at New Manchester United was full of confidence. At the same time, Bruce also gave the team a strict order: since they had lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup, New Manchester United had to win the Challenge Cup as compensation.
And after a brilliant and magical season, no one could deny that New Manchester United were the big favorites for the Challenge Cup.
When the referee blew the final whistle, the stadium immediately turned into an ocean of joy. The players hugged each other, and even the substitute players rushed out.
No one had expected that New Manchester United would be able to win a championship in its first year of establishment. Although it was only the North West Counties League Division Two championship, it was enough to be surprising.
Ethan sat in the stands, seeing the fans around him celebrating with each other, and felt very happy. After a year of hard work, he had finally won a championship. This was New Manchester United's first championship, so Ethan was naturally very serious and excited about it.
The only regret was that the championship trophy would have to wait until the 42nd round of the league, when New Manchester United were playing at home. After the match, the FA would send someone to present the trophy, which inevitably reduced some of the joy.
"I believe that right now in Manchester, there must be a whole bunch of fans who have heard the news and are celebrating, or discussing how to welcome the team's arrival!" Derek, who was at the side, also appeared particularly excited.
(To be continued.)