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Chapter 284 We are not stepping stones!
"...Are you disappointed that the record couldn't be continued? Of course, it would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed. I won't deny that. But I'm not really that disappointed. Compared to the record, I think the national team's victory is more important. After all, the World Cup group stage draw was based on FIFA rankings, and these two matches also earned FIFA points..."

Upon seeing the video of Wang Lie's post-match interview, Sam McNeil simply thought he uttered a "correct nonsense."

After all, even at his most arrogant, he wouldn't dare say something like, "Team victory isn't important; my personal record is what matters."

As for the claim that FIFA points are beneficial for seeding in the World Cup group stage, that's an even more flimsy excuse...

Can the points from just one match really allow the Chinese team to make a significant leap in the FIFA rankings?

Obviously not.

Whether this friendly match is won or lost, or what the result is, is actually meaningless.

The most important and biggest point of interest is whether Wang Lie can continue his goal-scoring record.

To be honest, when Sam McNeil watched the match between China and Canada end on TV, although he was disappointed that Wang Lie could not continue his scoring streak, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

It's certainly not a good thing that Wang Lie's scoring streak has been broken, but the fact that it wasn't broken by his own hand is a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

After all, even if Wang Lie was unhappy, he wouldn't take it out on me...

However, McNeil quickly realized—that might not be the case!
Wang Lie might very well cause him trouble.

After all, it was the idea of ​​the club's head coach to have Tyne Club negotiate with the Chinese national team to prevent Wang Lie from playing the full match.

If Wang Lie had started the game against Canada instead of coming on as a substitute with more than 20 minutes left, would he have scored a goal?

Therefore, if Wang Lie feels that his inability to continue scoring is because he didn't play the full match against Canada, then that blame can still be placed on McNeil...

Thinking of this, McNeil's previously relieved heart started to rise again.

So after Wang Lie returned to the team, he pretended to bump into him at Northumberland Soccer City and then naturally brought up the topic of the record ending:

"It's a real shame you couldn't score more goals. Canada isn't a strong team; you should have been able to score against them..."

Unaware of McNeil's ulterior motives, Wang Lie shook his head and said, "In fact, I didn't score, so don't say I 'should' have scored, Sam."

“I watched your post-match interview, and you said that the team’s victory was more important, which I completely agree with. But wouldn’t it be even better if you could both score goals and win the game? That would be the best of both worlds.”

McNeil seemed determined to find out Wang Lie's true thoughts because he wanted to confirm whether what Wang Lie said to others was just for show or what he truly meant.

This was a private discussion between the two of them, without reporters, cameras, or recorders, making it easier to glimpse Wang Lie's true thoughts.

McNeil believed that Wang Lie wouldn't pretend to be objective in front of him or say anything nice.

Generally speaking, scoring a goal and winning the game is indeed the best outcome.

Who wouldn't want the best possible outcome?
Unexpectedly, Wang Lie still shook his head:

“Indeed. But Sam, there aren’t that many ‘perfect’ outcomes in this world. It’s a pity that the record wasn’t continued, but every record has an end. If you feel sorry now, will you not feel sorry when it ends? Twenty-one games is a pity, but is stopping at thirty-one games a pity? Stopping at one hundred and one games, is that not a pity? So, since it’s over, don’t keep thinking about it.”

Hearing Wang Lie say this, McNeil had been observing Wang Lie's expression and found that he was truly calm. He then guessed in his heart that this must be Wang's true feeling...

He really wasn't obsessed with keeping records anymore.

Then McNeil heard Wang Lie continue speaking:
"...Besides, although the record ends here, it still belongs to me. From now on, when people mention the consecutive goal-scoring record, they will know that it was me who set it. That's enough."

McNeil nodded: "Yes, you're still the record holder. Ha..."

He had just chuckled when he suddenly stopped.

Because this made him think of something:
Wang Lie said the record still belongs to him.

That's right, the record for consecutive goals in all competitions does belong to him, and at least for the foreseeable future, no one can threaten his record—Arthur Ilo's personal best is eleven consecutive games with goals in all competitions, which is far from his record.

However, the record for consecutive goals in the league does not yet belong to him. Although the record for consecutive goals in the Premier League belongs to Wang Lie, in the context of world football, the record for consecutive goals in the league currently belongs to Brazilian Ronald Nascimento.

He set a record for scoring in nineteen consecutive La Liga matches for Barcelona.

How much is Wang Lie now?

He has scored in 15 consecutive Premier League matches.

There are still four games to go to reach that record.

Wang Lie said that although it was regrettable that the record was broken, the record still belonged to him, so he didn't mind.

Conversely, if the record is terminated and it no longer belongs to him, would he be very upset?

The thought of this made McNeil lose his smile.

When McNeil heard Wang Lie say that the record was still with him, he genuinely wanted to laugh out loud, because he was certain that Wang Lie didn't really care that the record had been broken...

The record for consecutive goals in all competitions has come to an end and is now in the past; Wang Lie doesn't really care about this record.

But isn't this still the record for consecutive goals in a league?

In other words, all the pressure is now on him...

He thought about it and decided not to let Wang Lie be a substitute in the league match against Sendham this weekend.

So he asked Wang Lie, "How are you feeling physically? How was the league match this weekend...?"

Wang Lie was completely unaware of the dramatic scenes McNeil was putting on for himself. Even though his laughter had abruptly stopped, which seemed a bit abrupt, he quickly followed up with the question, so it was still quite natural.

He didn't want McNeil to think he was unwell and cause him any hesitation, so he nodded readily, giving McNeil a very affirmative answer:

"Of course, absolutely no problem. I believe I can play the full match!"

really!

Hearing Wang Lie say this, McNeil secretly rejoiced—thankfully he had asked.

Wang Lie's answer clearly implied that he wanted to play the full match, and if he were to be placed on the bench... even if Wang Lie didn't say anything on the surface, he would definitely be unhappy inside.

So don't say anything.

In the upcoming ninth league match against Sendham, Wang Lie must be in the starting lineup no matter what!

Regardless of whether Wang Lie can continue his scoring streak in the league, at the very least, he shouldn't be denied scoring opportunities because of the coach's arrangements...

※※※

"I think Wang will start in the game against us."

When the head coach of Sedham heard his assistant coach say this, he was taken aback for a moment, and then looked puzzled:

why?
Because in the fifth round of the league, the situation was exactly the same as now, with the league being sandwiched between national team matches and the Champions League group stage.

In that game, Tyne fielded a reserve lineup, and Wang Lie didn't start at all.

So why is Wang starting in the match against our Sedham?

Didn't he still play for the national team?
Moreover, the next away game against Ruhr United should be even more important for Wang, and he cannot afford to lose. Doesn't he need to get plenty of rest?

In this context, it would seem deliberate for Wang Lie to start again.

He had a feeling that Tyne and the King were targeting him—why was he, a character who hadn't even had a name yet, being targeted by Tyne and the King? He began to rack his brains trying to figure out if he had any grudges against Tyne and the King that he himself couldn't remember or had overlooked...

After thinking it over, he remembered last season when he led his team to a 2-1 victory over Tyne at home.

But can this be considered "hatred"?

Isn't winning and losing a game normal?

Okay, I admit that after Wang joined Tyne, we were one of only two teams, along with Clayton Sports, to hand Tyne a defeat...

Losing to the defending champions is to be expected. Losing to us, however, might have made Tyne feel ashamed, which is why he's still holding a grudge.

But we can't be blamed for this, can we?

Wang had already joined your team at that time; it was your own fault for not bringing him to Whitehorse Park Stadium…

Given Wang's performance after joining Tyne, if you had brought him along, it would have been hard to say who would have won in the end!
It's not that I forbade you from bringing him, but that you didn't bring him.

I'm completely different from Kofi Rost, the manager of Helingham at the time. I have immense respect for Wong and have never publicly said anything as foolish as that he should retire. Even when Wong was struggling at Sofia, I never made any disparaging remarks about his situation…

The Sendham manager thought back for a long time, not just about Sendham, but about his experience coaching all the Premier League teams, but he still couldn't think of any grudge he could have against Wang Lie.

He was certain that he had no grudge against Wang Lie.

So, he has a grudge against Tyne?

Thinking about it this way, when Sendham beat Tyne 2-1 at home, Sendham fans were actually singing a song mocking Tyne from the stands...

The problem is, that song is one that all of Tyne's opponents can sing.

If this is considered an enmity, then isn't Tyne an enemy of the whole world?

The entire Premier League must be their enemy!

Just when the Sendham manager thought the reason was ridiculous, he suddenly remembered Tyne's unbeaten record so far.

They really do seem to be the enemy of all Premier League teams...

Clayton, who defeated them last season, have been held to a draw by Tyne this season despite having one more player than Tyne and playing at home.

Since Clayton Sports didn't win, shouldn't it be their team's turn next?

But if Tyne truly sees him as a thorn in his side...

He asked, "So Tyne isn't planning to rotate the squad in the league?"

The assistant coach, completely unaware of the complex thoughts running through the head coach's mind, simply took it as a casual inquiry and shook his head, saying, "I don't know. I don't know if they'll field their full starting lineup. But I think there's a high probability that Wang will definitely play."

"Just the king? Why?"

The assistant coach was surprised by the head coach's question and said, somewhat taken aback, "Because of the record. Wang has ended his streak of scoring consecutive goals in all competitions. But his streak of scoring consecutive goals in the league continues. Having just ended one record, I think Wang will be very concerned about the remaining one, since this record doesn't actually belong to him right now, but to Ronaldo. Wang will probably put pressure on McNeil to put him in the starting lineup for our game, so he'll have plenty of time to score."

The Sendham manager suddenly realized that he had fallen into a cognitive trap, completely misunderstood the situation, and had completely forgotten about it!

Then he asked the assistant coach, "So both Wong and McNeil think he can score against us?"

The assistant coach said, "It's not a matter of whether we can or we can't, it's a matter of necessity. Wang must score in the game against us. This isn't determined by our strength, form, or performance compared to Tyne's. It's determined by the result."

The head coach understood: "Because Wang must score, Tyne has no choice in tactics. Whether it works or not, it must be set up to ensure Wang scores."

The assistant coach nodded: "So this won't be a normal game - the entire Tyne team will do everything they can to create scoring opportunities for Wang. And before Wang scores, he will be Tyne's only offensive weapon."

The head coach fell into deep thought.

※※※

While the team was still on the field doing their final pre-match warm-up, the Sendham manager received the starting lineup for their opponent, Tyne.

Instead of looking through them one by one, he went straight to that particular name.

He actually found it:
99.Wang
Then he went to look at the other people.

There was no Ribeiro, and no Vitini.

Tyne's starting forward line consists of Wang Lie, Peter Oliver, and Milton Tucker.

The starting midfielders are Sergi Cabella, Matisse Van Ginkel, and Gianfranco Ramossa.

The backcourt consists of Charlie Cohen, Claire O'Neill, Hugo Gondouz, and Jacob Barnabas.

Goalkeeper Elliott Goetz.

The only true starters in the entire starting lineup are goalkeeper Goetz, right-back Barnabas, central midfielder Cabella, and forward Wang Lie.

Calling it half a reserve roster is not even accurate; seven out of eleven players are substitutes. It's practically a reserve roster!
Looking at the starting lineup in his hand, the Sendham manager could sense a kind of disdain for his team:
He originally thought that McNeil would arrange more key players to start in order to allow Wang Lie to continue his record, at least starting the front three, right?
result……

What does this starting lineup mean?

This means that in McNeil's eyes, even with such a reserve lineup, Wang Lie could still complete the task of scoring in fifteen consecutive league matches.

This means that Tyne can secure a win against Sendham even if he rests most of his key players in preparation for the important Champions League group stage match against Ruhr United next week.

But with this mindset and the "special mission" in mind, can Tyne really guarantee a victory over us?
When the Sendham players finished warming up and returned to the locker room, their head coach held up Tyne's starting lineup and told them that most of Tyne's key players had rested, but Wang Lie was the only one starting.

Then ask them:
Do you know why Tyne insisted on starting Wang?

The team members looked bewildered.

He explained:

"Because Wang failed to score in the last national team match, his consecutive goal-scoring streak in all competitions has ended. Now, the only consecutive goal-scoring record he can challenge is the league record. So now you know what he needs to do, right?"

Some players had already realized what was happening and asked, "Is he trying to extend his consecutive league goal-scoring streak against us?"

The Sendham manager nodded vigorously: "That's right! In their eyes, we're someone they can easily manipulate, a stepping stone for them to set records. Tyne's thinking seems reasonable, after all, they're first in the league, and we're eleventh, a huge gap. I admit, in terms of overall strength, we're weaker than them. But if Tyne just wants to let Wang score alone, then this match will be a one-against-eleven contest! We must let Wang and Tyne know that if they want to play an abnormal game against us, we will fight to the bitter end!"

The Sendham players roared with excitement, clearly inspired by their manager's improved morale and fighting spirit.

The head coach was very satisfied:

The army's morale is good!

This team once caused trouble for Wang Lie's former club, the powerhouse Sofia United, at Redstone Stadium... and it wasn't long ago, just in the seventh round of the league.

In that match against the powerhouse Sofia United, his team dominated for almost the entire game, but ultimately lost 0-1.

He was very dissatisfied, believing that his team should have won in the end, judging from the game's performance. Sofia United only narrowly escaped defeat.

In fact, it was clear from the way Sofia United manager Meler Shapman shook hands after the match that even the manager himself didn't think they deserved to win...

As it turns out, even though we, Sadham United, are far behind you in the league standings, we still have the ability to cause trouble for Sofia United at Redstone Stadium.

So this time, we also have the ability to cause you trouble on the road, Wang!
(End of this chapter)