Football: I can see player entries.

Chapter 37 Frequent Accidents

McLaughlin, then 29 years old, joined Burton Athletic two years prior.

Since his arrival, he has immediately taken the position of starting goalkeeper.

He used to be very low-key in the team, but after the team's miraculous survival last season, he seemed to have become a bit arrogant.

"His contract expires at the end of this season, and he still wants to renew it with the club, but he is demanding a 100% salary increase."

Perhaps due to Li Yanqing's authority within the team, the other party did not directly mention the salary increase to him, but instead relayed the message through Chris.

“His current salary is £200,000 a year, and if it doubles, it would be £400,000.”

“We have that much money, but if other players follow his example, it will be very difficult.”

Chris was actually quite willing to give him a raise, but the other party's asking price was clearly a bit high.

Li Yanqing agreed with this.

While McLaughlin occasionally displays flashes of brilliance, his performance as a goalkeeper is rather inconsistent.

If it weren't for the fact that the second-choice goalkeeper, Biwatt, was already thirty-five years old, and the goalkeepers in the youth training team were of such an absurdly low level, he would have already replaced him.

Considering that the season has just begun, after much deliberation, Li Yanqing decided to offer him a new contract.

“Raise it, but tell him that the maximum we can give him is another 50,000 pounds.”

McLaughlin was naturally very dissatisfied with the coaches' decisions, which led to his recent performance remaining consistently poor.

Li Yanqing thought the other person would recover from being unhappy for a while, but several days later, he still couldn't adjust his mindset.

This change was directly reflected on the field.

The eighth round of the English Championship.

Burton Athletic vs. Sheffield Wednesday.

The opponent was not strong, and they took the lead in less than 20 minutes. The game then proceeded smoothly.

Just when Li Yanqing thought he could maintain the 1-0 score until the end, an unexpected event occurred.

The opponent took a shot that posed no real threat, but McLaughlin made a crucial mistake while trying to save it, managing to push the ball into his own net instead.

This is almost an unforgivable mistake!

In the end, what could have been a sure three points turned into one.

This made Li Yanqing realize that the most unsafe score in a football match is one to zero.

He was furious about this and immediately removed the opponent's starting position, making veteran goalkeeper Biwat the temporary number one goalkeeper.

"You should have a clearer understanding of yourself."

"I'm only giving you one month. If you can't adjust, you can go find another job yourself."

Li Yanqing showed no mercy in dealing with McLaughlin, who was already extremely irritable at the time, and the other party was still walking into the line of fire.

He would never allow anyone to use their performance on the field to blackmail the club.

"Lee! Aren't we being a bit too harsh on Mike?"

"It was just a mistake; we can give him more chances."

"Biwatt can't handle all the games coming up."

Chris once again failed to understand Li Yanqing's actions; such things actually happen quite often in modern football.

The players are not satisfied with their current salaries, especially those who are approaching thirty.

Everyone wants to secure a big contract while they can maintain their form during the final stage of their career.

In his view, all that's needed is a slight warning, and then they can slowly discuss the contract.

“Normally there’s no problem, but if they bring their emotions onto the field, I will deal with them seriously.”

Li Yanqing has always believed in this kind of tough management style, as seen in Mourinho's Chelsea and Ferguson's Manchester United.

For him, condition is more important than ability.

He must ensure that the team is always united and can bring out its strongest fighting power.

Unlike a certain national team known for its internal strife, which boasts an incredibly luxurious lineup but gets thrashed by opponents as soon as they step onto the field.

In the next round of the league, Burton Athletic will face Brighton, who are currently ranked ninth.

The opponent is strong and needs to be dealt with seriously.

Nasri seems to be in better physical condition, with only a 20% chance of injury, so Li Yanqing chose to start him and find an opportunity to substitute him in the second half.

Right now, his biggest worry in the whole team is this "gluttonous" midfielder.

To his surprise, Nasri was fine, but the team captain, Bradford, who had been playing very well, was suddenly injured the day before the game.

His injury was not due to training.

Instead, they were robbed while shopping that night!

Two robbers, armed with knives, cornered Bradford in the alley.

To the robbers' surprise, this tough defender did not give in obediently, but instead fought them with his bare hands!

The end result was that both robbers were beaten half to death, while Bradford only suffered minor injuries.

However, to prevent the wound from reopening, he definitely won't be able to participate in tomorrow's match.

"Hold!"

"Are there really such clueless people in Burton?"

"They even dared to cut down Bradford?"

Li Yanqing almost lost his composure, but he didn't have time to laugh at others right now.

The competition is tomorrow!

His captain can only watch from the sidelines now!

He had already secured McLaughlin, and now he's lost Bradford.

Midfield maestro Nasri has only a maximum of sixty minutes left.

The game suddenly seemed to become tense.

“It’s okay. According to the data analysis, we actually have a greater advantage.”

"Even if Bradford doesn't play, he's fully capable of ending the game within sixty minutes."

Cheng Mengmeng appeared very calm, and spoke at a moderate pace.

Unlike Li Yanqing, who can pretend to be calm on the field but can hardly control his emotions when there are few people around, he is different.

"Actually, I think you should show your performance on the field."

"Brighton is just a team, they're actually quite easy to deal with."

"Huh?" Li Yanqing looked at Cheng Mengmeng with some surprise.

Since she came here, she rarely talks to herself outside of work.

But why does he speak in such a lecturing tone from the very beginning?

Li Yanqing was eventually persuaded.

He discovered that if his assistant was a soft and gentle woman, he would easily listen to whatever she said.

After carefully reviewing the analysis table prepared by Cheng Mengmeng, I found that theoretically there were no problems.

And he suddenly understood the importance of data analysis.

If the data shows that your team has won, all you need to do is ensure that the players perform normally and that no other unexpected incidents occur during the game.

Thinking of this, Li Yanqing suddenly punched himself hard.

He was just daydreaming. If the game were really that simple, how could the Galácticos of yesteryear have fallen behind the Dream Team Barcelona?

Data is just for reference...