Coaching legend

The victory over Blackburn made all Burnley players and Burnley fans happy, but in the last two league games, they had one draw and one loss in order to prepare for the Blackburn game. In the 16 rounds of the English League One, Burnley had 10 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, with 34 points. Although it is still at the top of the English League One, the second-placed Nottingham Forest is only two points away from Burnley.

After losing to Huddersfield, Burnley drew the fifth round of the League Cup.

As soon as the draw came out, all Burnley players cheered. Because Burnley was very lucky to draw Reading. Speaking of which, Reading is the team with the worst offensive power in the English League One, and it is the team with the fewest goals both at home and away.

If only this was the case, George would not underestimate Reading, but Reading is also the team with the worst defense in the English League One. Currently, it has only 14 points, ranking at the bottom of the English League One. It is the first favorite team to be relegated from the English League One.

But I don't know what went wrong. In the fourth round of the League Cup, they beat Leeds United 3-2 away. Leeds United has performed very well in the Premier League this season, and its ranking has been stable in the top six. The glory of Leeds United's young guards has begun, but Reading actually defeated Leeds United and entered the fifth round of the League Cup. This time Burnley's draw couldn't be better.

Because in the fifth round of the League Cup, there are three English League One clubs, Reading, Middlesbrough, and Burnley, and the remaining five clubs are all Premier League clubs. There are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, and West Ham United.

Speaking of which, the weakest one is Reading. Everyone cheered when Burnley drew Reading.

With a good mood, Burnley players' performance in the league is also very exciting.

There are two league games before the fifth round of the League Cup. These two games are hard-hitting games. Sunderland and Charlton, who are currently ranked fourth and fifth in the English League One, will take turns to challenge Burnley at Turf Moor.

At present, the points of the top few teams in the English League One are not far apart, and Burnley ranks first with 34 points. Nottingham Forest follows closely with 32 points, and Middlesbrough ranks third with 30 points. Next, Sunderland and Charlton are ranked fourth and fifth with 29 points and 27 points respectively.

These five teams are all popular teams for promotion to the English League One. Sunderland and Charlton did not come to Turf Moor to stroll around. They all came to get points, so these two games are the highlights of the English League One.

In these two games, George did not reserve his strength at all and faced the strongest lineup. Burnley, who had just defeated Blackburn, was in high spirits and did not give them face at home.

They won Sunderland and Charlton cleanly at home with 1:0 and 3:1.

In 18 rounds of games, 12 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, with 40 points. Sunderland and Charlton immediately opened up the score with the top three. But it is a pity that Nottingham Forest also won both games, but still had a gap of two points with Burnley.

On November 20, 1997, Burnley faced Reading, the opponent in the fifth round of the League Cup, at home.

Although Reading defeated Leeds United by luck, Reading's strength is limited. Now they are in the relegation stage in the English League One, so their energy is not in the League Cup.

George really didn't think much of Reading. Ljungberg, Neil Lennon and Klose in the team all chose to rest.

But even so, Burnley still easily defeated Reading 2-0 at home. Entered the League Cup semi-finals.

…………

"Tell me, why did the FA take care of us so much this time? Could it be that Mr. Kilby, secretly..." George made a gesture of counting money and smiled and talked to Evan Sawyer and Carl Pat.

Hearing George's words, Evan and Carl also laughed. Several people are in a very good mood now.

Because in the 19th round, Burnley beat Tranmere 4-0 away, while Nottingham Forest was tied by Queen's Rangers Park in the relegation zone of the English League One. The points gap between the two teams reached four points.

Of course, more important is the subsequent League Cup semi-final draw. After five rounds of games, there are only four teams left in the League Cup. Chelsea, Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Burnley. Burnley was lucky again this time, and unexpectedly drew Middlesbrough, which is also in the English League One.

Speaking of which, Middlesbrough has performed quite well this year, and Bryan Robson's coaching ability is definitely not covered. At the beginning of the season, because of the relegation, Middlesbrough lost a lot of backbone players. Many important players have fled Middlesbrough, but Bryan Robson has relied on his strong coaching ability to make Middlesbrough now ranked third in the English League One.

Burnley's ability to enter the League Cup semi-finals has a lot to do with the easy schedule. In the five rounds of League Cup, except for Blackburn, which is a Premier League club, the others are all League One clubs, League Two clubs and even League Three clubs. Moreover, Blackburn is still a team busy with relegation, so it is not a tough battle.

But Middlesbrough is different. They eliminated all the Premier League strong teams along the way. In the third round, they eliminated Bolton, in the fourth round, they eliminated Newcastle United, and in the fifth round, they eliminated Liverpool.

Under such circumstances, Middlesbrough can still hold on to Burnley in the English League One. George really admires Bryan Robson. Sometimes George would wonder why Robson can only play in some small clubs in the future when he performs so well. He even became the head coach of the Thai national team.

But no matter how well Middlesbrough performs, it is much better than facing Chelsea and Arsenal. Chelsea's performance has improved significantly in recent years, and Arsenal is needless to say. This year's Arsenal will become the double champion. It will also kick off the prelude to Manchester United and Arsenal's hegemony in the Premier League, and it will also be the beginning of Wenger and Ferguson's ten-year feud.

Now facing them, especially the two-round game, is not good for Burnley. Only when they despise Burnley, one game will decide the outcome, and there will be a greater hope of winning.

Therefore, when the draw results came out, Burnley cheered.

"George, do you know what impact your words just now will have if they spread out?" Carl said to George with a smile.

George shrugged. "I will definitely be banned, and the FA will hate me more and more in the future. Don't worry, I know the limits. Today's training ends here, let the players concentrate."

Because there are many games, many players have the opportunity to play. More importantly, the team has performed well in recent times, so all the players, whether they are the main players or substitutes, have smiles on their faces.

"You all know the result of this draw." George said with a smile standing in front.

"I know!" This draw is a good thing for the entire Burnley.

"You see, our opponents in the League Cup this year are all some English League One and English League Two clubs. God is helping us. With such a good opportunity, do you think we can let the League Cup champion go?"

"No! No!"

"Yes, no. There is more than a month left. Before the League Cup starts, we must consolidate our position in the league. Do you have confidence?"

"Yes."

"Okay, go back and have a good rest. When the next round of games starts, we must sprint and get all the points we can get."