Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 26

26. The Relentless Advance of Burnley

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club is located in Brighton & Hove, a premier resort city in the southeast of England.

Similar to Burnley, this small club has successfully avoided relegation for four consecutive seasons in the Premier League.

However, unlike Burnley, Brighton is situated in the second-largest city in southeastern England, with a population of 270,000, and has built a solid player base through stable financial management.

Brighton is particularly praised for playing attractive, possession-based football, a contrast to other mid- to lower-tier clubs that often focus on pressing or counterattacks.

This distinct style was cultivated under the command of Graham Potter, a 46-year-old manager considered young and brilliant, and expected to take on other top clubs or even the England national team in the near future. He also had the full support of the club’s leadership.

Of course, calling Potter “young” is relative, especially when compared to Hyungmin, who, at 34, is the youngest manager in the Premier League – nearly a dozen years younger.

“Potter’s Brighton primarily uses a three-at-the-back formation with wing-backs on both sides, but it’s different from Brentford or Wigan,” Hyungmin explained to the players the afternoon before the game.

“Essentially, they flexibly transition between a 5-2-2-1 formation, where four midfielders form a square and one striker pushes forward, and a 5-2-1-2 formation, where one midfielder moves up to support the attack.”

The players nodded, studying the opponent’s roster and formation displayed on the tactical board.

“Because the four central midfielders form a square, they rarely lose control of the midfield, and it’s easy for them to circulate passes. When an opportunity arises, one of the midfielders will push forward to join the attack.”

To illustrate his point, Hyungmin adjusted the formation on the tactical board, shifting one of the vertices of the square to create an hourglass shape.

“Tomorrow, Leandro Trossard, Alexis Mac Allister, or even Adam Lallana will likely be among the two advanced midfielders. Trossard and Mac Allister can also play as forwards, while Lallana, if he plays, will focus on linking plays in the attacking midfield position. He’s less mobile than the other two.”

Hyungmin displayed profile pictures of the three midfielders on the large screen.

“If both Trossard and Mac Allister play, they’ll be aggressive. But if only one of them plays alongside Lallana, they’ll be more cautious.”

Then, Hyungmin pointed to the three-man defense and the wing-backs on the tactical board.

“Finally, Brighton is very good at building out from the back. Having survived in the Premier League for a long time, they are adept at evading pressure and connecting passes forward. All their players are capable passers, so it’s difficult to simply target specific individuals.”

Ben Mee, the captain, who had been attentively listening to the manager’s analysis, tilted his head and asked on behalf of the team, “So how the heck are we supposed to stop them?”

“Stop them? Who said anything about stopping them?”

Hyungmin grinned. It was the same enjoyable yet slightly ruthless smile the players saw whenever they were fined at the training ground.

“Just go out there and trample them.”

“Huh, is that even possible?”

On the day of the match against Brighton, Arthur, watching from the technical area, exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and delight.

Burnley’s players swarmed into the opponent’s half, pressing and intercepting passes, followed by a relentless barrage of shots. Brighton’s players were unable to maintain possession or develop their attacks, and were being thoroughly dominated.

Hyungmin, also enjoying the spectacle, replied, “Their stamina has really improved, and they’re confident in their passing. I owe a lot to Paulo for that. I didn’t expect him to improve their stamina this quickly.”

“The arrival of Karim and Nikki has also been huge. Especially Nikki… Wow, he’s just devouring the midfield.”

Arthur was impressed by the performance of Nicolas Seiwald, who was running rampant and almost single-handedly neutralizing Brighton’s four-man midfield.

“Hehe. To be able to bring in a guy like that for just £13 million with an option of £1.5 million… that’s a steal. A steal.”

“But do we even have the money to sign him permanently?”

At Arthur’s question, Hyungmin pretended not to hear and focused his gaze on the field.

Arthur noticed Hyungmin subtly wiping his eye, but decided not to tease him this time and pretended not to notice. He is a kind assistant coach, after all.

***

Press conference after the match between Burnley and Brighton.

Graham Potter, the manager of the away team who had lost at Burnley’s home ground, Turf Moor, calmly assessed the game.

“…To be honest, it felt like we had entered a jungle. The opponent’s players were so densely packed in front of the goal that it was hard to see, and it felt like beasts were attacking from all directions. I could really feel how intensely Manager Kim had been training Burnley.”

“…That’s right. The pressure was relentless, from the front to the back, and today we failed to break through with our passing game in tight spaces. Burnley’s pressing was excellent.”

“…Yes, that’s a good way to put it. From our perspective, it felt similar to [Liverpool manager Jürgen] Klopp’s heavy metal football.”

***

If you travel a little northwest from Birmingham, a large city in the center of England, you’ll find Wolverhampton, a city with a population of about 250,000.

The city, which prospered through the wool trade in the Middle Ages, continued to develop around industries such as coal, steel, and automobiles in modern times.

Wolverhampton’s representative football team is Wolverhampton Wanderers, founded in 1877 and one of the founding members of the English Football League, nicknamed Wolves.

After being acquired by China’s Fosun Group in 2016, Wolverhampton formed the ‘Portuguese Connection,’ showcasing attractive football centered around Portuguese and South American players.

For the 2021/22 season, they parted ways with Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who had held the position for a long time, and appointed Bruno Lage, also from Portugal.

The 45-year-old manager, who led Portugal’s prestigious Benfica to victory, was known as a workaholic, particularly famous for watching as many videos of the opposing team’s previous games as possible.

Naturally, Bruno Lage meticulously studied all the games Burnley had played this season and carefully listened to the press conferences of both managers.

As he watched the scene unfolding before his eyes, he deeply sympathized with the lament that Graham Potter, a manager of a similar age, had uttered after Burnley’s previous game.

This is Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton’s home ground, and 90% of the 30,000 spectators filling the stadium are Wolves fans.

So why does it feel like I’m in the middle of a jungle, being torn apart by beasts?

Of course, it’s also true that the team is undergoing a transition as he implements his more aggressive style to the solid defense and counter-attacking approach established by his predecessor, Nuno Espirito Santo.

As a result, there are many games that end in either a big win or a big loss…

Even so, except for the opening game against Chelsea, the reigning European champion, and the away game against Liverpool, the current league leader, they had never failed to score a goal.

Even against Manchester City, they conceded 3 goals but managed to score 1 in response, right?

His first 7 games in the Premier League resulted in 3 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses – exactly half.

However, since he had already faced Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester City among the Big Six [the six historically most successful and wealthy clubs in the Premier League], the club’s executives and fans considered the results to be acceptable.

However, after the game started and they continued to be pushed back, in the 26th minute of the first half, Wolverhampton’s central defender Willy Boly fouled Burnley’s central striker Chris Wood in a corner kick situation.

Burnley, who took the lead with a goal after Chris Wood successfully converted the penalty he had earned, relentlessly pressed Wolverhampton as if they were the home team that had conceded the first goal.

The experienced midfield composed of Leander Dendoncker and João Moutinho was being torn to shreds by Burnley’s young defensive midfielder, Nicolas Seiwald.

The three-man defense of Romain Saïss, Mateo Musacchio, and Willy Boly had already conceded a penalty and couldn’t even breathe comfortably under the constant pressure from Burnley’s three attackers.

And then came the 15-minute respite of halftime for Wolverhampton.

However, Bruno Lage, who had hastily made tactical adjustments, was met with the same relentless Burnley in the second half, rampaging as if they had rapidly recharged their batteries during the break, just like in the first half.

Eventually, Burnley, who continued their relentless attack, got another chance in the 76th minute of the second half.

Burnley’s attack pattern that they now know but still fall for.

Matt Lowton, Burnley’s right defender, who intercepted Wolverhampton’s wing-back Toti’s attack from the left, bypassed James Tarkowski, the central defender who usually initiated the build-up, and sent a long pass directly to Josh Brownhill, who was waiting in central midfield.

Hyungmin’s permission to ‘allow selective long passes when winning!’

The seal was broken, and Burnley’s players were now full of confidence and composure to choose the option that could advance the ball the fastest.

Josh Brownhill, who received the ball, sent another long pass towards Dwight McNeil, Burnley’s left winger, who was sprinting diagonally from the left sideline towards Wolverhampton’s goal.

“Ah… Damn it…”

I’ve seen this a lot somewhere.

Bruno Lage, recalling the scoring sequences of Burnley this season that he had repeatedly studied, sighed as he anticipated conceding a goal.

Watford had at least 4 passes from the time they gained possession until the shot…

Why does it only take 2 passes for us to face a shot?

Dwight McNeil, who ran towards Wolverhampton’s goal as if ignoring the efforts of the opposing team’s manager who had stayed up all night studying the game between Burnley and Watford.

The ace from Burnley’s youth academy connected with the ball, which was smoothly rolling onto the grass in front of him, with a left-footed shot as if he knew nothing about passes or crosses.

“Goal! Burnley’s number 11, Dwight McNeil, scores a goal!”

As the announcer of Molineux Stadium reluctantly suppressed his annoyance and calmly announced the away team’s goal in the stadium, the 2,672 Burnley fans who had traveled to the away game enthusiastically celebrated the goal with the players who had run towards them.

And then, the press conference after the game.

This time, Bruno Lage, who lost to Burnley at home, expressed his feelings without hiding his frustration.

“…I fully understood what Graham Potter meant by that.”

“…Yes, this is a jungle, a jungle. What… a Roman circus full of beasts? Next time, I want to put gladiators in instead of football players.”