Football: I can see player entries.

Chapter 53 Burtons' Weaknesses

There is still more than a month left before the winter transfer window opens.

There will be eight matches during this period, making the schedule much tighter, with multiple instances of playing two matches a week.

In terms of points, fourteen rounds of matches have been completed.

Burton Albion have eight wins, two draws and four losses, accumulating 26 points and ranking fifth in the standings. They have also completed a five-game winning streak in all competitions.

Fourth in the standings is West Bromwich Albion, just five points ahead of them, followed by Swansea City, Stoke City, and now league leaders Aston Villa with 36 points.

Li Yanqing has been in a good mood lately, and even sneaked out to the bar at night to have a few drinks with Will.

He had already secured Enzo's transfer and Hart's loan, and Nasri had also agreed to stay.

All that's needed is to make a little more addition during the winter transfer window.

The situation is excellent, and no team has an easier time in their upcoming matches than Burton.

But to his surprise, they soon encountered obstacles.

On the 21st, Burton Athletic will play Brentford away.

At the end of last season, they were defeated by Burton in stoppage time, and Quinn also learned the [Piercing Arrow] skill in that game.

This season, it's clear that the opponent has seriously studied the latter's playing style.

They changed their usual style and for the first time used a 4-1-4-1 midfield strangulation formation.

At first, Li Yanqing didn't think anything was wrong.

But as the game progressed, Burton found that their signature fast counter-attacking tactics were no longer effective.

When advancing, the opponent did not allow their forwards to attempt breakthroughs, but instead controlled the ball between their defenders and defensive midfielders, forcing them to compete in midfield intensity.

Murphy tried to intercept the ball, but as soon as he stepped forward, the opponent would decisively pass it away.

Even if you manage to get the ball, you'll immediately face a barrage of attacks from several defenders.

This is undoubtedly a tough situation for Burton.

"Hmm? Wait a minute, don't they always prefer a 4-3-3 formation for a head-on battle?"

"what happened?"

Li Yanqing looked at Cheng Mengmeng, but the latter also had a completely bewildered expression.

She had carefully analyzed the opponent's match, and this tactic was definitely the first time the opponent had used it.

It was much bolder than the tactics previously analyzed in the media, but it was also surprisingly effective.

Fortunately, Bradford's defense was relatively solid, and they held on without conceding a goal in the first half.

In the second half, Li Yanqing seized the opportunity to make substitutions.

Same old method, Jami and Ogradi come on, switch to the byline and cross.

But the other party was prepared for this.

Almost simultaneously, they brought on a taller guard, and the player who had been guarding Murphy was replaced by one guarding Jamie.

Throughout the entire match, they were completely contained.

The opponent defended very well and showed little offensive desire, seemingly only wanting to secure a point.

But Li Yanqing still wanted to score three points, so he kept trying to change the offensive options, with Jamie, Miller, and even Sun Yan making several forward runs.

But precisely because of this, in the 80th minute, they were caught out by the opponent's mistake.

In the end, Li Yanqing had no choice but to accept the result of 0 to 1.

The biggest problem isn't losing this match, but rather that Championship teams seem to have learned how to remain unbeaten against them.

In the next round, the weaker Bristol City team continued to use the same tactics as Brentford, defending desperately.

For Burton, this was a game they should have easily secured with three points.

Disappointingly, they still failed to score and only managed to take away one point.

If it weren't for the fact that their opponents weren't strong enough, they would probably have suffered two consecutive defeats.

After these two matches, Burton Albion has slipped to sixth place in the standings.

Li Yanqing felt quite helpless about this.

Given the current lineup, he can't find a better solution for the time being.

Simple tactics are easy to counter, while complex tactics require players with insufficient skill.

With so many young players on the team, it's easy to win when things are going well, but when they encounter obstacles, all the problems become apparent.

While technical immaturity is one factor, the most important reason is that their mentality fluctuates more than that of other teams.

They could convince themselves that they had lost to strong teams before, but now they can't even beat weak teams, which has caused their performance to mostly become "poor".

Especially the two young men who play as defensive midfielders, after being tormented in two matches, have been targeted to the point of being "extremely poor".

Other teams are also more convinced of the potential of this tactic against Burton.

"This is troublesome, we need to think of a solution quickly!"

"If the teams behind us play like this against us, we'll be at a huge disadvantage in terms of points!"

Chris was getting anxious; this was the team's most crucial period for closing the gap.

He no longer mentions his previous statement about winning the mid-season championship, but he at least aims to finish in the top four by the halfway point.

“That’s a good thing, Chris.”

"At least it shows that we've shed the 'weak team' label, hasn't it?"

"Moreover, this tactic also has certain requirements. There must be at least one ball-playing defender and a fast defensive player, and the midfield also needs someone to support the ball."

Li Yanqing didn't think the other teams were that dangerous.

Not every team has the resources to defend so effectively; blindly copying other teams' tactics will not yield good results in the end.

Nasri and Jami would be happy to teach their opponents this lesson.

The problem is actually more with the younger players' mentality.

Compared to last season, there aren't even enough substitutes to replace those who are not in good form.

His fears soon came true.

In the 17th round of the Championship, Burton Albion suffered another defeat, losing 1-2 to Reading, a weaker team.

The opponent didn't use the previous 4-1-4-1 tactic, probably because they haven't mastered it yet.

The problem lies with them.

Not to mention the defensive midfielders, they struggled a lot, which Li Yanqing was prepared for.

On the contrary, Murphy, who had always been someone I trusted, experienced a sharp decline in his condition.

In this match, he missed three one-on-one opportunities in a row!

One of them is an empty door!

At the start of the competition, his performance was "average," but it quickly and visibly plummeted to "very poor."

In the second half, Burton finally pulled one back after Ogradi came on.

"This is a really big problem."

Li Yanqing kept staring at Murphy, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

Last season, after witnessing his abilities, I decisively let go of the team's original main striker and promoted him to the starting lineup.

This enthusiastic and optimistic young man has consistently performed very well, even surpassing Quinn.

But he seemed completely out of form in this game, even missing open goals.

Li Yanqing doesn't want his players to follow in Sterling's footsteps and become successors of "happy football"!