Chapter 354: Chapter 354
"The fans actually have bright eyes, and at this moment no one is shouting Tang’s name, because when the team falls into a crisis, his role is far less than Agüero!"
"Although Tang can provide many assists, when the team truly needs goals to restore its form, he retreats behind everyone and becomes a coward!"
"The price of this Chinese player is enough to buy two Agüeros, but is his importance on the field even worth half an Agüero?"
At the end of the article, the Daily Telegraph even said harshly that if Manchester City does not win the League Champion this season, then the match against Southampton is an important turning point, and Manchester City’s most expensive player, Tang Long, must take full responsibility.
Meanwhile, Milner, who lost his starting position due to Tang Long joining and was forced to leave Manchester City due to imbalance and poor performance, found new life at Liverpool.
Coach Rodgers is Northern Irish, starting his coaching career in small clubs like Watford, Reading, and Swansea.
His coaching track bears the deep imprint of traditional English football, very fond of midfield players like Milner who can fight and snatch balls.
In Manchester City, Milner, who was sold off due to not being able to play, became the starting midfielder after joining Liverpool!
And in his debut match for Liverpool, he contributed a goal and an assist, helping Liverpool beat Fulham 2-0 at Anfield and was named the best player of the game.
The match between Liverpool and Fulham took place at the same time as the Manchester City and Southampton match.
In the post-match interview, when Milner learned that Manchester City actually lost at home to Southampton, the English strong player was first stunned, finding it unbelievable, what? They lost at home to the mediocre Southampton? Impossible!
But when the reporter explained to him that Manchester City, without Joe Hart and Agüero, performed poorly, the forwards couldn’t score, the goalkeeper kept making mistakes, and even intentionally emphasized to Milner that "Tang performed quite ordinary", Milner and the reporter exchanged a knowing smile, immediately showing a "I get it" expression, then replied to the reporter’s question with a sense of revenge.
"As a player leaving Manchester City, saying the following words might be disrespectful to former teammates, but since you asked, I’ll be honest with you, Manchester City is actually just Agüero’s team! Nobody else, including Tang, whose transfer fee broke the record, can replace him."
"Because Tang is just a player who excels at assists, but if no striker can score, what’s the point of his passes?"
"You say he’s expensive? Haha, that’s a funny question. Expensive, is that necessarily good?"
Milner used himself as an example: "Look, when I transferred from Manchester City to Liverpool, the transfer fee was just over 10 million British Pounds, but you saw my performance tonight at Anfield. What I want to say is, in this age of rampant player valuations, some players’ fees are indeed inflated, worth less than their names!"
Thus, Tang Long was once again caught in the whirlpool.
Tang Long originally thought that the Italian media was already harsh enough.
However, beyond his expectation, upon arriving in the more advanced media industry in the United Kingdom, he was twice thrust into the public’s spotlight.
If being thrust into the spotlight for the first time was due to his lower back injury, not being able to play, causing media concerns over his health and speculative malice about the injury cause.
Then being thrust into the spotlight the second time seemed full of malicious intent.
If you don’t play and the team wins, I’ll criticize you; if you play and the team doesn’t win, I’ll still criticize you even harder, flooding Tang Long with all kinds of derogatory words like an overflow.
It truly confirms the saying, "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight."
Under the pressure of public opinion, the entire Manchester City team felt injustice.
They put extra effort and rigor into training this week.
The old coach Pellegrini was even more filled with fighting spirit, frequently destroying ball possession using tackles during practice with the players.
"What’s wrong? What’s wrong with you? Can’t a bunch of young guys in their twenties beat me, a man over sixty?" Pellegrini shouted loudly, "Next match at Anfield, if this is your state, then prepare to be ridiculed by them again!"
Pellegrini was very anxious inside.
This anxiety partly comes from his desire for the Premier League champion, and the other half from his inner self-blame. If it wasn’t for losing composure against Wenger’s provocation on the pitch, it wouldn’t have led to the ensuing fight between both teams’ players, nor would it have resulted in Joe Hart and Agüero each being suspended for three matches!
For Arsenal, winning the title isn’t important; as long as they maintain a top-four finish each season, they complete the board’s KPI for Wenger. But Manchester City is different, the Abu Dhabi Consortium’s desire for the championship is like a wolf to meat. If Manchester City doesn’t clinch the Premier League champion this season, Pellegrini senses he might have to pack up and leave by season’s end!
This anxiety spreading from top to bottom within the entire team has also affected Tang Long’s mood significantly.