While Ethan brought Moniz and Meulensteen over from the Netherlands, a major piece of news also broke in English football.
The American Glazer family had acquired Manchester United shares from Edwards, officially entering the Manchester United board of directors!
This news made Ethan feel uneasy, because he realized that with his appearance, the course of history had already begun to deviate. The Glazer family, who were originally supposed to acquire their first stake in Manchester United in 2003, had now started eyeing the Red Devils ahead of schedule.
"Will those guys complete the acquisition of Manchester United early?" Ethan wondered with some worry.
Once history changed, perhaps future events would no longer proceed according to the original path.
In fact, Ethan had already realized this point.
Take Kljajevic, for example. He was originally supposed to transfer to Nuremberg in the German second division and become a key player there, but after being brought to England by Ethan, he was now Birmingham's main left winger and had performed quite well in League One. It was said that he had even attracted the attention of Premier League teams.
There was also Zigic. In Ethan's previous life, he was supposed to play for a team in the Montenegrin First League and perform exceptionally, scoring fifteen goals in twenty-three appearances. However, after coming to England, despite his brilliant performance last year and his transfer to Chelsea, he had not been able to continue his good fortune.
The coach who favoured Zigic was Vialli, but this unlucky Italian was sacked by Bates in September, just as the league had started. Bates then brought in Ranieri, another Italian tinkerer, who had an almost obsessive admiration for Hasselbaink and was somewhat dismissive of Zigic, despite the latter costing a considerable sum.
This led to Zigic being immediately benched after a decent start to the season.
But no matter what, Zigic had already made a name for himself in England. Ethan believed that even if he left Chelsea, he would not have to worry about finding another club, and he was still very young. No matter how one looked at it, he had more potential than his counterpart in Ethan's previous life.
The same was true of the people at New Manchester United Football Club.
"According to Beckham, Ferguson currently has a very good relationship with the two Irish shareholders, but if the Gibraltar horse racing incident happens, they are bound to have a major dispute. That would obviously be an opportunity for the Glazer family, and they shouldn't miss such a chance!"
The more he thought about it, the more Ethan felt that the Glazer family's early arrival was very likely.
However, this had absolutely nothing to do with New Manchester United, as these two clubs could even be considered sworn enemies.
Ever since Edwards publicly criticized New Manchester United, New Manchester United supporters had held a strong grudge against Manchester United. Even after Edwards stepped down, they still did not care much for Manchester United, although there were some supporters who followed both Manchester United and New Manchester United. But this did not prevent New Manchester United and Manchester United from gradually becoming sworn enemies.
Similarly, Manchester City and Arsenal were also considered sworn enemies by the supporters. In addition, Leeds United and Bolton, who had once insulted Manchester United after the air disaster, were also considered enemies, and Bolton were also in Greater Manchester.
Ethan and the club did not participate in any of this, because he understood one thing. Rivalries were also part of English football culture.
...
As February began, New Manchester United's performances remained consistently strong.
First, on February 3, in the thirty-first round of League Two, they defeated York City 1-3 away. Then, in the thirty-second round, they defeated Darlington 0-2 away. This match plunged Darlington, who had just started to escape the relegation zone, back into the relegation abyss. After thirty-two league rounds, they had the same points as Halifax, only ranking twenty-second because of goal difference.
Similar to the situation in the relegation zone, the top four in the league were also locked in a tight race. Brighton continued their strong run, ranking first, New Manchester United were second, Cardiff were close behind in third, and Blackpool were equally unwilling to be outdone, ranking fourth.
Moreover, the points difference between these four teams was only one match. Brighton were only four points ahead of Blackpool, making the suspense around the title and automatic promotion increasingly captivating, especially with the three crucial matches in February. Granada TV even broadcast the thirty-third round of the league live, New Manchester United's home match against Blackpool.
At the same time, the match between Brighton and Cardiff at Brighton's Withdean Stadium would also kick off.
The clash between first and third, and second and fourth, clarified the previously uncertain title situation. Everyone believed that after this round, the losers would essentially be declared out of the title race.
Everyone at New Manchester United attached great importance to this match against Blackpool. Everyone knew it was a match they could not afford to lose.
...
"In your hands, you have the information on the players you'll be facing in this match. Their strengths and weaknesses, their left and right foot ability, their technical characteristics, and any injuries they might have are all clearly displayed!"
In the home dressing room at City Ground, Mourinho had Villas-Boas hand each player a dossier.
In fact, the players had already seen this information. For the past few days, they had been watching match footage of Blackpool, as well as individual clips of each of their players. The coaching staff would then help them analyse and study how to deal with each player.
"Blackpool's favourite formation this season is 4-4-2. They have good attacking ability and decent defence, and they are very resilient. Although we have home advantage, we absolutely cannot be careless." After speaking, Mourinho walked to the tactics board and glanced at the tactical diagrams drawn on it.
"Blackpool's weakness lies in their defensive flanks, so in this match, our focus will be to attack their wings. From the very first second of the match, Wright-Phillips and Hleb, I want both of you to stick to your positions, push forward, stay tight to their defensive line, and tear them apart. Understood?"
Wright-Phillips and Hleb both responded in unison to Mourinho's words. Wright-Phillips, with his stronger attacking ability, started as the left winger in place of Malouda for this match, clearly showing Mourinho's intention to attack down the flanks from the very beginning.
"Juninho, try to push forward as much as possible in this match, whether on the left or right, and suppress them firmly. I hope we can establish an advantage in the first half!"
Juninho nodded in agreement. He controlled the team's rhythm and had a mutual understanding with Mourinho, so he naturally knew what the manager meant.
"All right, lads, this is a life-or-death struggle, a close-quarters battle. We can't back down, and our opponents won't either. So if we want to win and get our ticket to League One, then we have to defeat our opponents. Tell me, do you have confidence?"
"Yes!" the players shouted in unison.
Mourinho waved his hand, and the players immediately gathered around. Even the assistant coaches came closer. Everyone surrounded Mourinho, and more than a dozen hands clasped together. Then they all shouted, "One, two, three," before roaring, "Red Rebels!" and dispersing.
...
"The players are entering the pitch. We can see that New Manchester United's starting lineup for this match hasn't changed much. The striker is still Kitson, a player who has made twenty-eight appearances for New Manchester United this season, scoring eleven goals. Although his scoring efficiency isn't high, as the team's attacking spearhead, he plays a very important role for the team."
Scarlett Elland served as the commentator for this match, partnered with Martin Tyler.
"The two wingers are Wright-Phillips and Alexander Hleb. These two young players have performed exceptionally well this season, especially Alexander Hleb. He has made twenty-six appearances for New Manchester United, scoring fourteen goals and providing eleven assists, making him one of New Manchester United's best-performing players this season."
"The three midfielders are Alou Diarra, Juninho, and Poulsen, who are also New Manchester United's main three midfielders this season. The defensive line, from left to right, consists of Abidal, Terry, Curtis, and Bosingwa, with Almunia in goal. There are rumours that New Manchester United's starting goalkeeper and team captain, Peter Schmeichel, intends to retire, but the news has not yet been confirmed!"
Tyler, beside her, took over. "Schmeichel is already thirty-eight years old this season, and ever since his serious injury, his form has never returned to what it once was. Moreover, he also serves as the goalkeeping coach at New Manchester United. I think retiring now and focusing wholeheartedly on developing as a coach might not be a bad thing!"
"Yes, Martin, Schmeichel holds a very important place in the hearts of New Manchester United supporters. He was a hero for Manchester United back in the day, so New Manchester United supporters hold him in high regard."
As they spoke, the players had already lined up on the pitch. Both captains, under the referee's supervision, tossed a coin to decide possession, and it was determined that New Manchester United would kick off first.
"The match has begun! New Manchester United kick off through Kitson, who passes to Hleb on the left. Hleb taps it back to Alou Diarra in midfield, and Alou then passes it back to Terry behind him. Terry suddenly switches the ball to Bosingwa on the right wing. Bosingwa carries the ball into Blackpool's half and passes to Wright-Phillips, who has dropped back to receive it!"
Wright-Phillips combined with the overlapping Bosingwa. The latter cut inside, attracting the attention of the opposing defenders, but then suddenly passed the ball back out to Wright-Phillips on the wing.
"Phillips faces the opposing left-back, a very light flick, then accelerates, breaks through the defence, gets to the byline... Cross!"
"Kitson in the middle meets it, header at goal, the ball goes over!"
Although they failed to score, the more than nine thousand supporters in the New Manchester United stands still gave the players a warm round of applause, satisfied with their excellent performance on the pitch. However, as soon as the opposing goalkeeper placed the ball for the goal kick, the cheers immediately turned into overwhelming boos.
Imagine how terrifying the sound of more than nine thousand supporters booing in unison would be, and how much psychological pressure it would put on the visiting players.
That was not all. Almost every time a Blackpool player touched the ball, New Manchester United immediately unleashed a torrent of boos, whereas whenever a New Manchester United player had possession, it instantly turned into cheers and encouragement.
This was the most terrifying Devil's Home Ground in League Two!
(To be continued.)