Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 53

53. A Great Victory and a Great Battle

Regardless of how the player recruitment was progressing, time continued to pass, and league matches had to proceed.

Having won the FA Cup against Cambridge, Burnley traveled to London Stadium, the home of the prestigious London club West Ham, for an away game.

Founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC, West Ham United Football Club originally used Upton Park in East London as their home ground.

However, to improve their finances, they sold Upton Park to a redevelopment company in 2016 and moved to the Olympic Stadium, built for the 2012 London Olympics, renaming it London Stadium.

The London Stadium, with its approximately 57,000 seats, was filled with home fans eager to avenge their 2-0 defeat to Burnley earlier in the season, creating a charged atmosphere.

Leading the West Ham squad, who were under pressure to meet these home fans’ expectations, was veteran Scottish manager David Moyes.

During his time managing Everton, David Moyes transformed the team, which had been languishing in mid-table obscurity after their glory days (much like their neighbors Liverpool), into a contender for European competition qualification.

Spending an impressive 11 years at Everton, he earned praise for his exceptional ability to scout and develop players, as well as his tactical acumen. Sir Alex Ferguson, who had built a legendary career at Manchester United, personally appointed him as his successor upon retirement.

However, whether it was the pressure of moving from a mid-table Premier League team to a top-tier club, or a failure to manage the dressing room after replacing a legendary manager,

The exact cause remained unknown, but after a disappointing 7th-place finish in April during his first season leading the reigning champions, he was sacked after only 10 months, not even completing a full season.

Afterward, he managed teams such as Real Sociedad in the Spanish Primera Liga [Spanish First Division] and Sunderland in the Premier League, but faced repeated sackings due to poor performance.

Amidst evaluations that he was a spent force, he took a break. West Ham, who had sacked their existing manager Slaven Bilić mid-season in 2017/18 and were urgently seeking a manager to save them from relegation, appointed him on a short-term contract until the end of the season.

Moyes successfully steered West Ham away from relegation during his tenure after being appointed in November, demonstrating his potential.

However, the club’s executives, desiring quicker and greater achievements, declined to renew his contract and appointed Manuel Pellegrini, who had won the Premier League with Manchester City after managing Real Madrid, as their new manager in the summer of 2018, effectively releasing Moyes.

However, Manuel Pellegrini was sacked for poor performance by December 2019, with the team in 17th place.

With the team only one point above the relegation zone, he was sacked in less than two seasons, ironically leading to Moyes’s return.

And after avoiding relegation in the 2019/20 season, they finished 6th in the 2020/21 season, recording the most points in West Ham’s history.

By elevating West Ham, who had been oscillating between mid-table mediocrity and relegation battles, to 6th place and securing European competition qualification, he was considered by critics, along with Leicester, as a potential challenger to the established “Big Six” clubs [the historically dominant top six teams in the Premier League].

The cornerstone of the West Ham squad under David Moyes, according to critics, is Declan Rice.

Declan Rice was originally part of Chelsea’s youth academy but was released at the age of 14 for being deemed too small. He then joined West Ham, a rival London club, as a youth player.

After experiencing a growth spurt, he not only debuted in West Ham’s first team at the age of 17 and established himself as a key player but also secured his position as a starting midfielder in the England national team.

Amidst rumors that Chelsea’s head of youth development regretted the decision, he emerged as a versatile player capable of playing as a central midfielder, defensive midfielder, and even a central defender, possessing tenacity, stamina, and technical skills.

Facing such a West Ham team in an away game, Hyungmin replaced Hannibal Mejbri with Jacob Ramsey in Burnley’s starting eleven from the first half of the season and fielded the same squad.

The goalkeeper was Nick Pope.

The defenders were Matt Lowton, James Tarkowski, Ben Mee, and Charlie Taylor.

In midfield, Nicolas Seiwald played as the defensive midfielder, with Josh Brownhill and Jacob Ramsey as the central midfielders.

In attack, with Chris Wood transferred, Jay Rodriguez was the center forward, flanked by Dwight McNeil and Karim Adeyemi on the left and right, respectively.

And Burnley’s starters, who had enjoyed a well-deserved two-week break after missing the FA Cup match, mercilessly crushed West Ham, who were fielding their best lineup and dreaming of revenge.

Before the match.

The manager, who had benched Hannibal Mejbri and given him a start in a non-cup game, approached Jacob Ramsey, who was sitting in a corner of the locker room, visibly anxious.

“Hey, Jacob.”

“Yes, Manager!”

Jacob Ramsey’s response was as sharp as ever, causing Burnley’s other players, especially the veterans, to chuckle.

“Jacob, don’t be so nervous, it’s not your first start!”

Someone shouted from across the locker room, but despite the chorus of agreement, Jacob Ramsey couldn’t stop his legs from shaking.

“But it’s my first time starting when Hannibal isn’t injured or suspended.”

A warm hand landed on Jacob Ramsey’s shoulder.

“Jacob, do you remember what I told you before?”

“What are you talking about?”

Hyungmin chuckled at the young midfielder’s puzzled expression.

“You know, what I told you when I subbed you in at Newcastle.”

“Newcastle? Ah…!”

The manager who told him that all he lacked was confidence.

In that game, Jacob Ramsey scored the winning goal in added time after being substituted in.

The young Asian manager gave Jacob Ramsey, who was looking up at him, a warm smile.

“I picked the best lineup I could think of. I’ll take responsibility for winning or losing, so you just go out there and play your game.”

“Play my game.”

“And there’s one thing I’m sure of…”

Jacob tilted his head, looking at the manager who trailed off.

Hyungmin smiled at Jacob again.

“…Even if I don’t know anything else, I’m sure you’ll devour Declan Rice today.”

“…Devour Declan Rice. Devour Declan Rice.”

Josh Brownhill approached Jacob Ramsey, who was muttering to himself while waiting for kickoff.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Jacob Ramsey, turning his gaze to Josh Brownhill, muttered.

“…Devour Declan Rice. Devour Declan Rice. Devour Declan Rice.”

“…This guy, he’s gone crazy!”

Josh Brownhill stepped back in shock.

While the horrified teammate was confused, unable to decide whether to call the referee, the assistant referee, or the team doctor, the referee’s whistle blew, signaling the start of the match.

Jacob Ramsey’s eyes gleamed as he watched the match begin with the home team’s kickoff.

“Declan Rice. Devour!”

[Ah… Goal! Another goal! In the 89th minute, Jacob Ramsey scores his second goal!]

[Burnley has now scored their fourth goal. There were signs of home fans leaving after the third goal, but now they are all heading towards the exits.]

The commentator’s lament was echoed by the analyst.

[Jacob Ramsey is having a fantastic game today. It clearly shows why Burnley’s manager Kim benched both Hannibal Mejbri and Nico Gonzalez and started him.]

With the commentator’s assessment, the two explained the slowly replaying goal scene on the screen.

[The West Ham players, having conceded three goals, were too focused on pushing forward to score a consolation goal. While West Ham’s attackers and midfielders were all in Burnley’s territory to attack, Burnley’s central defender James Tarkowski dispossessed West Ham’s central striker Michail Antonio and immediately launched a counter-attack towards West Ham’s goal.]

The analyst explained the overall context of the counterattack, and the commentator picked up the thread.

[There, Jay Rodriguez, who started as Burnley’s central striker, shook off West Ham’s right defender Kurt Zouma’s marking and headed the ball back. Jacob Ramsey, playing as Burnley’s central midfielder, reached the ball before the two West Ham defenders running towards it and immediately unleashed a volley.]

The analyst admired the young midfielder’s powerful shot.

[Ah… Honestly, goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański had no chance. It soared into the upper right corner of the goal, look at that net rippling.]

[Today, manager Kim’s strategy of exploiting the space between Declan Rice, who played as the left center back, and Levan Kurzawa, who played as the left back, through Jacob Ramsey was highly effective. Both players are having a terrible game, completely unable to contain Jacob Ramsey.]

[Jacob Ramsey! With 2 goals and 2 assists in his first Premier League start in a while, he deserves to be the King of the Match [Man of the Match], and he deserves to be named the best player of the week!]

While showing Burnley’s players gathering at the corner flag and celebrating with goal celebrations, the commentator pretended to listen.

[The home fans are in stunned silence. The voices of Burnley’s fans, who number less than 2,000, can be heard more clearly.]

While the commentator and analyst expressed their sympathy for West Ham’s miserable defeat at home,

Burnley’s fans, who were in high spirits, were loudly singing a chant for their young manager, not for the veteran striker Jay Rodriguez, who scored two goals in the first half, nor for the young loanee Jacob Ramsey, who scored two goals in the second half after two assists in the first half.

“Welcome! Welcome to the Jungle!”

“Kim’s got fun and games!”

“Kim’s got everything you want honey!”

“Kim knows the names!”

“In the jungle, welcome to the jungle!”

“Watch it bring you to your shaking knees!”

(*Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”)

As the away fans’ singing echoed in the home fans’ silence, Hyungmin scratched the back of his head and looked back at Arthur.

“I never get used to that song, no matter how many times I hear it.”

“Hehehe. But it feels good when they sing it, right?”

“Um… It does. It’s embarrassing but it feels good?”

Jacob Ramsey, who was sharing the joy of scoring with the away fans and his teammates and returning to his own half, saw the young manager waving his hand shyly at the fans.