Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 39

39: Nowhere to Retreat

Burnley essentially forfeited the Carabao Cup, fielding a largely reserve squad and suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat against Norwich. Four days have passed since then.

In the previous round, Burnley fans, fresh from witnessing an unexpected victory against Chelsea at home, were enthusiastically singing their support songs, creating a vibrant atmosphere even before the game began.

In the director’s box at Turf Moor, Helena was welcoming Amanda Staveley and her entourage. Amanda, representing the PIF [Public Investment Fund] consortium that had successfully completed the acquisition, was now officially appointed as a director of Newcastle United Football Club.

“It’s been a while, Amanda!”

Amanda Staveley greeted Burnley’s young American CEO, who welcomed her warmly with a bright smile and introduced the man standing next to her.

“This is my husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Helena.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Helena Cartwright.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Cartwright. Amanda has told me a lot about you.”

The three exchanged greetings and took their seats in the director’s box, which offered a prime view of Turf Moor.

“Is this your first time at Turf Moor?”

Amanda Staveley nodded at Helena’s question.

“I think I’ll have more opportunities to visit in the future, but there are still many places I haven’t been.”

“But Turf Moor is so vibrant, which is great. I like that it’s not one of those bland, modern stadiums.”

Mehrdad Ghodoussi chimed in.

“Helena, you must come to St. James’ Park when we have a game there next time. It’s old, a bit outdated, and the structure is a mess in many ways, but that’s what makes it so wonderful. The roar of 50,000 Geordies [nickname for people from Newcastle] there will give you a different atmosphere than Turf Moor.”

Helena smiled and nodded at Amanda Staveley’s invitation.

Warm drinks were served to the two guests and Helena.

Amanda Staveley took a sip and asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Is this the famous Burnley Benedictine?”

“Oh, you know about it?”

As Helena replied with a smile, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, who was listening to the conversation, said.

“I don’t! Tell me about it.”

He looked back and forth between his wife and Helena, and Amanda smiled, deferring the explanation to the host.

“I only learned about it after coming to Burnley. During World War I, the men from Burnley who fought in France discovered this liqueur in Normandy, France.”

Helena continued her explanation.

“At that time, it was mixed with hot water and given for medicinal purposes. They discovered that it helped soothe throats roughened from working in the mines, and brought it back. Now, Burnley has become the largest importer of Benedictine liqueur in the world.”

“Personally, I think those men just liked the wine,” Helena added, finishing her explanation.

Mehrdad Ghodoussi listened to the story with interest and took another sip of the drink.

“This is really excellent. I think we should offer something like this at St. James’ Park too. Actually, history and tradition are revealed in things like this.”

Amanda Staveley laughed, gently stopping her husband, who kept sipping the warm liqueur under the pretext of appreciating history and tradition.

While the two women, not yet friends but forming a temporary alliance, were talking in the director’s box, Hyungmin was conducting a final tactical review with the team in the home team’s locker room.

“Newcastle has appointed Eddie Howe as manager, but they haven’t made any additions to the squad yet. Of course, there have been quite a few tactical changes.”

Hyungmin pointed to the tactical board showing Newcastle, which was expected to play in a 4-3-3 formation.

“The goalkeeper is Martin Dúbravka. The defense is a back four, from right to left: Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schär, Jamaal Lascelles, and Jamal Lewis. The midfield consists of Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey, and Joelinton.”

“Wasn’t Joelinton a striker?”

Hyungmin nodded at Charlie Taylor’s question.

“He was originally a striker. But honestly, he wasn’t very effective in attack, was he?”

Burnley’s veteran defenders, who had enjoyed some success against him, chuckled at Hyungmin’s remark.

“Eddie Howe converted him to a midfielder… I think his work rate and pressing will be similar to Niki’s [Nicholas Seiwald].”

The smiles disappeared from the faces of Burnley’s defenders at the mention of Nicholas Seiwald, who anchored Burnley’s midfield.

“The attack consists of Callum Wilson in the center, with Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almirón on the flanks.”

Hyungmin pointed to the two wingers on the left and right.

“As you know, Callum Wilson has very good finishing, and Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almirón are technically excellent. They even switch positions throughout the game. Their strategy is to create chaos and then connect with Callum Wilson to finish, so Matt and Charlie, be careful not to get dragged out of position by them.”

Burnley’s left and right backs, Charlie Taylor and Matt Lowton, nodded with serious expressions.

“On the other hand, Newcastle’s defense is a bit shaky. Jamal Lewis is very attack-minded, but the central defenders, Fabian Schär and Jamaal Lascelles, aren’t particularly fast. And Javier Manquillo’s defense isn’t great either.”

Hyungmin pointed to the three midfielders.

“Newcastle’s key is to keep the center solid and unleash their fast, technically gifted attackers. None of the three midfielders move forward much, but they shift from side to side to control the midfield. To be precise, Isaac Hayden and Joelinton are in charge of pressing and tackling, and Jonjo Shelvey is in charge of passing.”

Hyungmin grinned.

“So, if we can break down their midfield, they won’t be able to do much. The midfield battle is key, so Niki, Hannibal, and Josh need to run wild. Simple, right?”

***

“Coach, what’s so simple about that…?”

The first half was a fierce battle in midfield.

“Hannibal!”

Hannibal Mejbri, the promising player on loan from Manchester United, grumbled but diligently ran to disrupt the opposing team’s attack at the call of his teammate.

Newcastle’s central midfielder, Isaac Hayden, received a ball sent up from the defense, but before he could turn, he was unable to develop the play due to the pressure from Burnley’s defensive midfielder, Nicholas Seiwald, pressing from behind.

Before he could find a teammate to pass to, Burnley’s midfielder Hannibal Mejbri and Newcastle’s midfielder Joelinton collided in front of him.

Thud!

Shoulder to shoulder, the slender, lion-maned loanee was bounced away by the solid Brazilian striker-turned-midfielder.

“Foul!”

Hannibal sat down on the grass and appealed to the referee.

*Are all your limbs still attached?*

But the referee ignored Hannibal with such an expression and raised both arms to signal play on.

Hannibal pounded the ground in anger, and just as Isaac Hayden was about to pass to Newcastle’s Joelinton, who was passing by him.

Tap!

Nicholas Seiwald, Burnley’s midfield enforcer, stretched out his long legs and stole the ball from under Isaac Hayden’s feet.

Isaac Hayden, having lost the ball, was unable to move, held by Seiwald’s arm.

“Joey!”

At Isaac Hayden’s cry, Joelinton quickly turned to support his teammate.

Hannibal Mejbri, who had not yet gotten up, put his hands on the ground and swung his legs to kick the ball rolling away without an owner.

The exquisite pass (as Hannibal later strongly claimed), closer to a hip-hop move than football, connected with Josh Brownhill’s feet, who was leading Burnley’s attack.

As Burnley immediately launched a counterattack, a strong arm grabbed and lifted Hannibal, who was about to lie leisurely on the side for a while to watch his team’s game.

“I told you to get up and win the ball back instead of appealing, right?”

Hannibal scoffed at Nicholas Seiwald’s words.

“Hey, then I wouldn’t have been able to send that great pass just now!”

“Pass? It just looked like you were waving your feet in the air and got lucky?”

“No, it wasn’t!”

Hannibal denied it to Nicholas Seiwald, who was already moving away to support his teammates, but it was unlikely that his friend, focused on the game, heard him.

“Aish!”

Hannibal shouted annoyingly and turned to start strolling towards the Newcastle side.

It would be difficult to participate in this attack, but it would be better to be further up when the next pressing situation starts.

You never know, right?

Maybe I can score a long-range shot from a lucky deflection?

Ah, just thinking about it makes me feel good.

Arthur clicked his tongue as he watched the promising player grinning and rubbing his hands as he leisurely went up the pitch.

“That guy has great talent, but his attitude is…”

“He’s only 18 years old. He’s at an age where he doesn’t know how scary the world is. And there aren’t many serious friends with creativity.”

Hyungmin chuckled and defended the young loanee.

“Over there.”

Hyungmin raised his head and looked at the target Arthur was pointing at.

Dwight McNeil, the academy ace loved by Burnley fans, was moving his position on the left side of the field with a serious expression, distracting the opposing defense.

“Dwight is a special case. Rather, I…”

“Rather what?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just hope he doesn’t feel too much pressure. Dwight takes everything too seriously.”

“Hmm…”

Arthur let out a groan mixed with agreement and doubt.

Halftime.

The game was tight in midfield, and neither team was able to gain a clear advantage.

However, in the midst of a back-and-forth battle, Newcastle eventually scored in the 43rd minute through a moment of individual brilliance from Allan Saint-Maximin.

The Burnley players did not look happy as they faced the end of the first half, losing 0-1 at home.

“Alright, alright! Why are you all so gloomy!”

Hyungmin, who entered the locker room energetically, shouted as he looked around at the players.

“It’s okay! It’s okay! We all know Saint-Maximin is like that! I guess he decided to channel Messi for 60 seconds in the first half today!”

Newcastle’s unpredictable winger, who is better than Ronaldo or Messi on some days and so quiet on other days that you can’t even tell if he played.

The players chuckled at Hyungmin’s words, which downplayed Allan Saint-Maximin’s moment of magic.

“It’s okay. It was a fierce battle in midfield, but we definitely had more possession and shots in the first half. There’s no need to change the strategy in the big picture. Trust our play and keep going as is.”

The players, who had been nervous, visibly calmed down at the coach’s reassuring words.

“Instead, be more aggressive in attack! Got it? Don’t hold back on shots in the home game, just shoot wildly. Newcastle’s defensive line isn’t that fast or solid. If we keep putting pressure on Martin Dúbravka, he’ll definitely show a gap!”

Was it thanks to Hyungmin’s relaxed attitude?

Or was it because Newcastle, having scored in the first half, were passively trying to solidify their defense in the second half?

As soon as the second half started, Newcastle faltered under Burnley’s all-out offensive, opening up vast spaces in front of them.

Dwight McNeil, Burnley’s left winger, unleashed a powerful shot from the right side of the penalty box, which was deflected by Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka’s save.

“Ahhh!!!”

The home fans let out a regretful sigh.

At that moment, Karim Adeyemi, Burnley’s right winger, moved quickly towards the ball that had bounced to the left side of the penalty box.

Newcastle’s left back, Jamal Lewis, tackled him aggressively from the front, but Karim Adeyemi lightly pushed the ball back and jumped over Jamal Lewis.

“Hannibal!”

“I know!”

Hannibal, who had been loitering near the penalty box, responded to Karim’s cry and controlled the ball at his feet.

“One-two!”

At Hannibal’s cry, Karim Adeyemi glanced back and slightly opened his body to prepare to receive the pass.

And to block Karim Adeyemi, Newcastle’s central defenders, Fabian Schär and Jamaal Lascelles, threw themselves in front of Karim Adeyemi.

The spectators watching, the defending Newcastle players, and most of all, Karim Adeyemi, who was penetrating inside the penalty box, were waiting for the ball to be delivered to him.

Hannibal Mejbri mercilessly betrayed everyone’s expectations.

A right foot swung like a whip.

The ball was wrapped around Hannibal’s right foot and soared up with a fierce spin.

It was a high, fast cross towards the goal, and the recipient was not Karim Adeyemi or Newcastle’s defense, who were looking at the ball floating in the air with bewildered expressions, but Burnley’s tall striker Chris Wood.

The New Zealand international striker, who had temporarily taken advantage of the defenders’ attention being focused on Karim Adeyemi to penetrate to the front of Newcastle’s goal, leisurely floated his large body in the air and powerfully headed the incoming ball down.

Bang!

“Uwaaaaaaa!”

The home fans, Chris Wood, and the Burnley players running to celebrate him cheered.

It was the 49th minute of the second half.

With the enthusiastic support of the home fans who celebrated the equalizer, the Burnley players fiercely pressed Newcastle, but Newcastle did not budge, as if trying to protect the precious point they had earned in the away game.

The replacement of Jonjo Shelvey, whose lack of mobility was constantly exposed, with the more active Joe Willock was somewhat meaningful.

With Newcastle manager Eddie Howe determined to defend firmly, Hyungmin, who had already used two substitution cards by bringing in Ashley Barnes and Maxwel Cornet, prepared for his final substitution in the 70th minute of the second half.

“Jacob.”

“Yes, Coach.”

Hyungmin, who lightly put his arm around the shoulder of the Aston Villa-born midfielder prospect who was standing on the sidelines warming up for the last time while waiting for the substitution board to be raised, said.

“You have more ability than you think.”

“Me?”

Hyungmin chuckled at the expression on Jacob Ramsey’s face, who looked slightly bewildered as he turned to the coach.

“Yes. I think you’re better than Hannibal. Of course, I would never say this in front of the other guys.”

The pure expression of the British prospect became even more embarrassed.

“Then why did you say it?”

“There’s one thing you lack compared to Hannibal.”

Jacob Ramsey smiled shyly.

“Only one thing? What is it?”

The referee’s whistle blew, and the fourth official raised the substitution board.

As Hannibal, who had confirmed his number, ran over with a disappointed expression, Hyungmin grabbed and released the shoulder of his player, who was preparing to run out.

“Confidence!”