Coaching legend

"Three pillars?"

"The league is halfway through, and the current situation is becoming increasingly clear. Manchester United, Leeds United, and Blackburn are the top three teams. The score difference between them is only one point. Manchester United is one point higher than Leeds United, and Leeds United is higher. One point against Blackburn. Leeds United have played nineteen games, while Manchester United and Blackburn have played eighteen games.”

"The current situation of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea is not very good. Arsenal has lost five games, and Liverpool and Chelsea have lost more games. Arsenal, which has the highest points, would be better off if they played one more game. They are already eight points behind third-placed Blackburn, although there is still half a season left, but they are basically out of the championship race.”

"Speaking of the team's experience in winning championships, among the three teams of Manchester United, Leeds United, and Blackburn Rovers, Manchester United certainly has the most experience. They have won four Premier League titles in seven years in the Premier League. Last season, they even won the FA Cup. Cup champions and Champions League champions. They have the most experience winning championships.”

"Of course, more importantly, Manchester United's ability to grab points in the second half cannot be ignored at all. The scene when Ferguson chased Newcastle by 12 points a few years ago is still vivid in my mind."

"Second Leeds United, their results this season are both unexpected and reasonable. At the beginning of the season, it seemed that this season should still be a battle between Manchester United and Arsenal. However, Leeds United suddenly emerged and ranked third in the Premier League. The second position. But if you think about it carefully, Leeds United's results are also expected. Last season, many of Leeds United's main players were just playing in the Premier League, but they already showed amazing strength. With more mature players and a more mature team this season, one can imagine their strength.”

"But the biggest problem for Leeds United if they want to win the Premier League championship is that their players are too young and can't stand the pressure. Last season, O'Reilly's Leeds United finally collapsed under the pressure of George. Eleven points However, Blackburn overtook them and lost their place in the UEFA Cup. With such mental endurance, whether Leeds United can hold on in the end is a big question.”

"In addition, O'Reilly is a new coach and was the head coach for the first time last season. He does not have any championship experience yet. It is difficult to withstand in front of the experienced Ferguson. So I am not very optimistic about Leeds United's championship prospects."

"Let's talk about third place Blackburn. In fact, Blackburn already showed strong strength last season, but their results at the beginning were too poor, so they only finished fourth. And Blackburn's head coach George, he also has the experience of winning championships. When he was at Burnley, George was promoted as a league champion in both the English League Two and English League One, and he even won the League Cup and the FA Cup at Burnley. Championship. But they are all in lower leagues.”

"Blackburn also have their own problems. George said very harshly at the beginning of the season that his goal this season is to win the League Cup. I believe George will never give up the League Cup, because that is self-defeating. So how much energy does he have? It will be placed in the league, which is also a big problem and is a burden for Blackburn now.”

On the 26th, after the 19th round of the Premier League, "The Sun" made a summary of the season and a half.

They have directly excluded strong teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea from the championship competition. The focus of analysis is on the three teams of Manchester United, Leeds United and Blackburn. He analyzed the strengths of the three teams, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

However, after analysis, Manchester United is still the most promising to win the championship.

However, there seems to be a problem with this report. Because just the day after this newspaper came out, Leeds United and Blackburn both won the 20th round of the Premier League.

Although Blackburn had many substitutes, they still defeated Watford 3-0 away with the goals of Davor Suker, David Dunn, and Henning Berg. As the season progresses, George is very satisfied with the purchase of Davor Suker and Henning Berg this season.

These two veterans do not require the main position. And he can perform very well as long as he comes off the bench. George feels it's great to have such a player on the bench.

Even the other three strong teams, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, also won.

Only Manchester United, which was most supported by The Sun, was tied 2-2 by Sunderland in the away game. The same points as Blackburn, one point behind Leeds United. In this way, Leeds United became first in the Premier League, while Blackburn ranked second in the Premier League with their goal difference advantage. Manchester United became third in the Premier League in just one game.

England's current Christmas schedule is not as intensive as it was later. Then around the 25th, there were three or four games in a week. But in the 1990s, there was always a game on the 26th and a game on the 28th. Either the 28th or the 29th.

And on January 3rd of the new millennium, the 21st round of the Premier League begins.

Leeds United and Blackburn, who have been quite strong recently, won again. Blackburn even defeated Bradford with a score of 6-0. Among them, Klose scored two more goals, bringing his number of goals in the Premier League to 14.

Arsenal was tied 1-1 by Sheffield Wednesday, Liverpool was defeated 1-0 by Tottenham, and Chelsea was tied 2-2 by Coventry. More importantly, Chelsea had to play the second and fifth rounds of the Champions League within a week because of the postponement. The schedule is very tight.

Manchester United, one of the championship contenders, missed the 21st round of the game because it had to play in the Club World Cup at this time. In this way, Leeds United surpassed Manchester United by four points and continued to occupy the top of the standings. Blackburn also surpassed Manchester United by three points after one more game.

Everyone was stunned. The current strength of Leeds United and Blackburn completely overshadowed Manchester United.

At this time, people were wondering who would be the Premier League champion this season. It would be Leeds United or Blackburn. No matter which team wins the Premier League championship, it will have a great influence on the Premier League.

Most of the players of Leeds United and Blackburn are young players. Their potential has not been fully developed. Once there is a Premier League champion, it will inject something new into the team.

At that time, the Premier League will have a real third pole after Manchester United and Arsenal.

George has been thinking about whether he should compete for the Premier League title. In fact, George looked down on Leeds United, who were just nouveau riche. In order to show their talents in the Champions League, Leeds United, which was doing well, could only hang around in the low-level league.

If Leeds United develops step by step, it may become an important force in the Premier League in the 21st century. Many of their young people are trained by themselves. Unfortunately, they are too eager for quick success and eventually hurt Leeds United.

George doesn't know why Leeds United is so strong this season, but George clearly remembers that the Premier League champion this season is Manchester United. The Premier League after Wenger took over Arsenal and before Mourinho came to Chelsea was a battle between Manchester United and Arsenal.

Occasionally, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Leeds United emerged, but they were just foils. Could it be that his arrival affected history?

George was in a good mood. On January 8, he welcomed the fourth round of the FA Cup. George's strategy is still to train newcomers and give substitutes opportunities. Unexpectedly, Blackburn's substitutes are still quite powerful. A 1-0 win away to Manchester City, who was still in the English League One. Entered the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Just as George was preparing for the 22nd round of the Premier League, a very big thing happened. Something that completely changed the current Premier League standings.

At this time, the media suddenly broke the news that two Leeds United players, Woodgate and Lee Bowyer, beat up Asian students. At first, it didn't seem to be a big deal, but soon the media's overwhelming accusations appeared in Leeds United.

And there was also news that the court also summoned Woodgate and Lee Bowyer.

Who are Woodgate and Lee Bowyer? Woodgate is currently the main central defender of Leeds United. At this time, Woodgate's reputation in the Premier League is no less than when Terry debuted later. Woodgate and Ferdinand are hailed as the two most promising young central defenders in England at this time.

And Lee Bowyer is even more hailed as a genius. Although he has a bad temper, his strength in the midfield is the best young midfielder in England in recent years. Even the two D'Antoni, Lampard and Gerrard who became famous later were not as famous as Lee Bowyer at that time.

They were the absolute main players of Leeds United.

As the two of them were involved in this scandal, the morale of Leeds United was greatly affected.

Even George did not expect that the young team of Leeds United would be so vulnerable. In the next four games, Leeds United lost consecutive games, and it was the first time this season that they had a four-game losing streak.

Not only George did not expect it, but it is estimated that the English football world did not expect it. Leeds United, which was almost invincible in the first half of the season, became a weak team that everyone bullied after this scandal. Or it can be said that Leeds United's mind was not in the game at all.

A four-game losing streak immediately made Leeds United slip to the third place in the Premier League. And Arsenal, the fourth place in the Premier League, was only one point away from Leeds United.

In January, Blackburn's performance was not very good. But it also won two wins and two draws, and Manchester United, who came back from the Club World Cup, won three games in the subsequent games. The momentum is still strong, and George, who is at the top of the list, can feel the aggressiveness of Manchester United.

The scandals of Woodgate and Lee Bowyer completely ruined Leeds United's strength in the first half of the season.

All media expressed regret for Leeds United. But they know that Leeds United's decline will never end. Now they are still ranked third and may still participate in the Champions League next season. But according to the current situation of Leeds United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea behind them may be able to catch up with Leeds United.

Unless Leeds United can quickly save the situation, it may get nothing at the end of the season.

Everyone sighed, who could have thought that such a thing would happen at Christmas.