Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 73

[Goal! It’s a goal! Arsenal’s central striker Alexandre Lacazette! He receives an assist from Bukayo Saka, who broke in from the right, and scores another goal in just 15 minutes of the first half!]

At the commentator’s exclamation, the analyst watching the replay of Burnley’s second goal shook his head.

[Burnley was too naive. Arsenal’s central defense duo, Ben White and Gabriel, exchanged short passes, drawing Burnley’s attack and midfielders forward. When a gap appeared, they connected with Bukayo Saka with a single long pass. Bukayo Saka then broke through Burnley’s defense with speed and individual skill, connecting with Alexandre Lacazette.]

[Alexandre Lacazette may be aging, but he’s not one to miss such opportunities. His shot came in at an angle that Burnley’s goalkeeper Nick Pope, in a one-on-one situation, couldn’t reach.]

Precise passing, brilliant individual skill, and a clean finish.

The commentator, seeing the Burnley players looking at each other in frustration after conceding a goal without even being able to try, also shook his head.

[When they faced each other in the first half of the season, Burnley had the upper hand overall but lost 2-0 due to a series of unfortunate events. Today, the atmosphere is uneasy, and there’s a high risk of a heavy defeat.]

[Basically, Burnley’s squad isn’t at the level to compete with Arsenal. Of course, Burnley has performed exceptionally well compared to their power, but they couldn’t avoid severe disadvantages against Manchester City or Liverpool, who are currently maintaining the top ranks in the league.]

[It seems they can’t handle Arsenal’s power, as Mikel Arteta’s tactics have begun to take root properly.]

The commentator tilted his head as if in doubt.

[Anyway, as of the 26th minute of the first half, both teams have the same number of shots on target, three each, and Burnley even has more total shots, five, compared to Arsenal’s three. The possession rate is also tight at 50:50. Statistically, they look similar…]

[Arsenal and Burnley came out with the same formation today. However, Arsenal’s squad is younger, better, and deeper. Moreover, Mikel Arteta has been managing Arsenal for over two seasons now. The quality of the players is better, and the tactical execution is also higher. That seems to be the difference today.]

The commentator pointed this out, and the caster nodded.

[In the end, the two-goal difference is because Burnley can’t match the quality of opportunities and sharpness of finishing that Arsenal’s squad creates.]

Hyungmin bit his lower lip slightly as he watched the game unfold before his eyes.

The threat he felt after conceding the first goal was now a reality.

Arsenal doesn’t just apply forward pressure and switch from side to side like Burnley.

They skillfully adjust the tempo, dropping back to circulate the ball, or launching counterattacks in an instant by sending long passes from the central defenders to the left and right flanks.

If necessary, they can variably deploy tiki-taka [a style of play characterized by short passing and movement], pressing football, and quick counterattacks within the same game with the same squad, without substitutions.

Perhaps their tiki-taka is less refined than Manchester City’s, and their quick counterattacks after forward pressure are less effective than Liverpool’s, but from Burnley’s perspective, which is a step below both, it feels like a crushing blow.

“Ah… there’s no way we can do this.”

As Hyungmin muttered, Arthur shrugged.

“Top teams have the ability to deploy various styles on the field. As you said, we, who only have one option, are still not good enough to compete with them.”

“Not yet.”

“Hehe, yeah. Not yet. I like that spirit.”

Hyungmin nodded at Arthur’s words.

Burnley was not yet flexible enough to make several gambles during the game or make flexible tactical changes.

Last season and this preseason, they trained mainly in defensive, solid long-ball football according to former manager Sean Dyche’s style.

During the first half of this season, they barely managed to embody the forward pressure and short, quick counterattacks that Hyungmin introduced while the season was in progress.

From the second half of the season, they have been trying to play a game that adjusts the tempo a bit more by loaning in technical players like Nico Gonzalez.

However, there is still a limit to changing the big picture by putting in Nico Gonzalez, who is good at controlling the tempo and defending, instead of Jacob Ramsey or Hannibal Mejbri, who are midfielders who mainly make penetrating movements.

When will Burnley be able to make these tactical changes smoothly?

Hyungmin sighed deeply.

***

The night of the 3-1 defeat in the away game against Arsenal.

All the staff have left work, and the club office is quiet.

“Haa… I thought I’d find you here crying.”

Helena said as she entered the manager’s office.

Hyungmin frowned at her.

“The expression ‘crying’ is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Really? Then I’ll tell people you were drowning your sorrows in cheap whiskey. But are you drinking that cheap whiskey again? Where’s the good stuff I got you last time?”

Hyungmin didn’t point out that Helena had secretly brought it; the way she phrased it made it sound like she had acquired it through legitimate means.

“Um… I drank that with a friend.”

“Friend? Do you even have friends, Hyungmin?”

When Hyungmin raised his eyebrows at Helena’s words, she chuckled and placed a large bottle she had brought in front of Hyungmin, along with two shot glasses.

“I mean, is there anyone you can really call a friend at Burnley? Not that you’re incapable of having friends. Anyway, this is Cachaça [a Brazilian spirit] I mentioned before. It was so hard to find in this rural place.”

Hyungmin looked at the dark golden liquid being poured into the shot glass with an uneasy expression and said.

“I think I’m still friends with Arthur or Jonathan. Wouldn’t you… be considered a friend, Helena?”

“Really?”

Helena, who filled the two shot glasses in front of Hyungmin, said with a smile.

“Friend… Then, a shot for friendship?”

“Um… maybe I shouldn’t have friends…”

“Shut up and drink!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

***

A few days after the game against Arsenal, when Hyungmin had finally shaken off most of his hangover.

Amidst the preparations and training for the FA Cup semi-final match against Manchester City, one of Burnley’s veterans came to Hyungmin’s office.

“Manager.”

“Yo, James. Come on in. What’s up?”

James Tarkowski, who suddenly requested a meeting after that day’s training.

He is Burnley’s key defender who gives 100% on the training ground and in the game, even though his contract expires at the end of this season. The fact that he suddenly requested a one-on-one interview with the manager was unexpected for both Hyungmin and the head coach Arthur.

Still, could there be something wrong?

His next destination may have been decided, and he may have come to inform them out of courtesy.

Without much thought, the sturdy defender came into Hyungmin’s office, where they had agreed to meet after training.

And Hyungmin, who invited him to sit on the sofa opposite him and sat down, heard a statement that made him regret his carelessness.

“I came because of the contract renewal issue.”

“Ah! Uh… Ah… Um… Didn’t you get a message from the agent or Jonathan? With our club’s current financial situation… I mean, it’s impossible to renew the contract with a raise in salary…”

James Tarkowski gently stopped the young Asian manager, who was flustered and revealed that he was not prepared for the sudden question.

“I already know that.”

“Ah, I see.”

The manager, who openly showed a sense of relief that he rarely showed during the game, tilted his head and asked.

“Then what do you want to talk about?”

“I still want to renew the contract. Even if it means lowering my salary.”

“…Are you serious?”

James Tarkowski is an English defender who is now at his peak age of 29.

Thanks to the incredibly thick pool of central defender candidates for the English national team, he has only appeared in two national team games, but for the past few seasons, he has been rumored to be joining medium and large clubs such as Leicester and West Ham.

As Burnley’s technical director Jonathan Landris assessed, honestly, any Premier League club below Manchester United could use him as at least a backup option, or even as a starting defender.

Moreover, if he stays here for another year or two, the teams willing to pay a large transfer fee will gradually decrease, and he himself will lose the opportunity to receive a high salary at a club that is not as financially strapped as Burnley.

Hyungmin, who could not hide his surprised face as he looked at the starting central defender who said he would stay at Burnley even considering all of that, smiled.

“I came here from Brentford in the summer of 2015, when Burnley was still in the Championship [the second-highest league in English football]. This is my seventh season now, right?”

James Tarkowski smiled as if reminiscing about the past.

“It was great under Sean’s leadership. That season, we crushed our competitors in the Championship and were automatically promoted to first place. Since then, we have been named as relegation candidates every season, but we have never been relegated. In the 2018/19 season, we also went to European competitions, and I was called up to the national team while I was here.”

The sturdy defender’s eyes returned from the past to the present and looked at Hyungmin.

“It was really fun, and I never regretted it for a moment. But I’ve never been this excited.”

“…James…”

“Yes, I know. If I become a free agent this time, I can go to a bigger club with a much higher salary. I can make a lot of money and win more trophies. But I don’t need a great life, and I’ve made a decent amount of money anyway.”

James Tarkowski said to the young manager, who had heard things he had never imagined, with conviction.

“I’ve already talked to my agent. I don’t want to leave Burnley yet.”

“James…!”

He didn’t film a tearful melodrama of an emotional manager hugging a player in his office, but Hyungmin, who was still moved, promised that the contract renewal would be made as soon as possible and sent James Tarkowski out of his office.

Hyungmin stood at the door of his office and saw off the sturdy defender who disappeared at the end of the hallway with a happy expression, then returned to his seat.

Whether it was because of the hangover, the thought that had not occurred to him while he was talking to James Tarkowski finally surfaced.

“Oh, wait a minute. But was it okay for me to agree like that?! Shouldn’t I have talked to Jonathan or Helena first?!”

Hyungmin, who suddenly realized the situation, burst out of the manager’s office and desperately began to search for someone who could take responsibility for this situation.

“Helena! Jonathan! Anyone, hurry!”