Chu Zhongtian's goal gave Leeds United a heavy blow. Their performance was very bad in the next game, and even the home team fans booed sporadically for their poor performance - of course, more booed was dedicated to the visiting team Wimbledon Athletics.

But no one cares about these boos, anyway, they are the ones who win the game.

In the end, Wimbledon Athletic defeated Leeds United 2-1 away, ending the embarrassing history that he had never won against Leeds United since his founding.

After the game, the media praised Chu Zhongtian's decisive performance, but this time many media fully affirmed other players in Wimbledon. After all, they won the lead away without Chu Zhongtian's help. If they had no goal, Chu Zhongtian's goal would have only helped the team draw.

The media also said that the victory of this game allowed Russell to successfully survive a crisis of trust. After scoring three points in this game and defeating the league first, he can continue to coach with the team.

Although the club's top leaders never said they would fire Russell after the game was defeated, everyone believed it was true, including Russell himself.

Leeds United head coach Donald was criticized by the media after the game, believing that his performance after Chu Zhongtian came on the court was too bad. Just as Chu Zhongtian thought in the game, Donald's defensive strategy did not win the game for him, but instead turned him into a coward at home. Not only the media criticized him, but Leeds United fans were also calling him a coward. Leeds United fans believed that if the team insisted on attacking and put pressure on Wimbledon's competitive penalty area, Chu Zhongtian would never be able to control the ball so calmly in the midfield. Leeds United could score another goal and win. Now, a coward's choice gave up the victory, which also made Leeds United a laughing stock.

Many media are mocking the Leeds United team for being scared after seeing Chu Zhongtian. They only know how to hide in their own penalty area, just like a cat with a tiger, trembling all over and not knowing to resist at all.

The London media even publicized Chu's deterrence... "... He just appeared and did nothing. Leeds United no longer knew what to do..."

"This is Chu's ability. He does not belong to the English Championship. If it were not for helping Wimbledon upgrade, he should have played in the Premier League. So as long as Wimbledon uses him well, upgrading should not be a problem!"

"To be honest, I think Chu is like a nuclear weapon in Wimbledon, even if it is not used there, it is deterrent..."

This game also became a watershed.

Since this game, the whole Wimbledon Athletics team seemed to have been enlightened, and their performance has become more and more stable and better.

Although it is not said that you can win every game, the number of games you lose is reduced. What’s more important is that what the team shows in the game is the style that Chu Zhongtian and Russell pursue.

Under such an impactful football style, Wimbledon's performance began to gradually improve.

At the end of November, Wimbledon Athletics head coach Russell was selected as the league's best coach of the month, and Chu Zhongtian was awarded the best player. In the seven games of this month, Wimbledon Athletics has endured three tests of one-week doubles. In these seven games, they achieved five wins and two draws and have been promoted to the eighth position in the league.

After entering December, Wimbledon's momentum was also very good, winning the ball in the first game and winning three consecutive victories.

Although I lost the game next, the team's morale was not affected, and the media's comments were very positive.

This team is generally on the upward trend.

Everyone firmly believes that if you keep playing like this, you will be no difficult to upgrade in the end.

Many Wimbledon fans even began to look forward to what to do after they were promoted to the Premier League.

"...The team needs to buy people! We need to increase our investment! We need to buy more star players!"

“…I’m going to go to Old Trafford Stadium, haha!”

"Let Milton Keynes' idiots regret it! We are the most orthodox representatives of Wimbledon!"

"I think we should re-apply to the FA to inherit Wimbledon's history to us so that we are complete!"

Everyone is optimistic.

The same is true at Wimbledon Athletic Club. Although the team's schedule is very intensive during Christmas, it will even have to play three games in five days. The players didn't think it was a big deal.

But at this moment, Russell received a call from the overseas market.

※※※In the training class on December 17, Russell was explaining to all players on the training ground what the tactics they were going to practice in this class and what specific requirements were.

At this moment, the cell phone he put in his pocket vibrated.

Russell, who was talking, paused for a moment, obviously feeling the vibration of his phone.

He always took it seriously and planned to continue to finish his speech, but the phone in his pocket kept shaking, very tenacious, just like he had to ask Russell to pick it up.

Russell felt strange. Who would call him at this time? Reporter? They all knew that this was training time and he would not answer the phone. Parents? The jet difference was wrong. Club executives, such as Samuelson, the old man? They didn't know how to come to him directly, why did they call their phones?

The phone kept vibrating, and even everyone else could hear the sound.

Just as Russell was hesitating, Chu Zhongtian said: "Boss, go and pick it up, we can wait for you."

Other players also expressed their agreement.

Russell apologized to everyone, then took out his cell phone and connected as he walked out.

Chu Zhongtian noticed that he had taken a few steps, stood still, and then lowered his head.

After a while, Russell turned around and walked back. Chu Zhongtian noticed that something was wrong with his expression, and even tears appeared in his eyes!

Chu Zhongtian thought that something must have happened... but before he could ask, Russell clapped his face: "Okay, let's continue talking..."

His voice was a little wrong, but it was normal to hear it suddenly.

After he finished all he needed to say, he handed over his work to the assistant coach and hurriedly left the training ground.

Chu Zhongtian felt even more and more strange.

But he suppressed the doubts in his heart and still completed the training seriously.

Before the training ended, Russell returned to the training ground.

He seemed to have washed his face and there were still traces of water on his hair.

Not many people noticed that Russell had left the training ground. There must be something wrong with the head coach leaving occasionally during training, and it is not worth caring too much.

Although Russell was back, he didn't say anything. He just asked the assistant coach to summarize the gains and losses in the training and announced his disbandment. The training class this morning was over. Players can choose to go home, or simply eat in the restaurant at the club's training base and wait for the training class in the afternoon.

Chu Zhongtian drove home from the sky because he also had his own wife and daughter at home.

But he didn't do that today, and he went straight to knock on the head coach's office door.

After knocking three times, Russell's voice sounded inside: "Please come in..."

Chu Zhongtian pushed the door open and saw Russell sitting behind the desk in a daze.

"What happened?" Chu Zhongtian didn't talk much nonsense to him and asked directly.

"Nothing..." Russell shook his head and denied.

"What is the relationship between us, Alai? Do you need to hide it from me?" Chu Zhongtian walked to Russell and leaned over to stare at him.

Under Chu Zhongtian's gaze, Russell lowered his head.

"You answered a phone call when you were training. Who called that phone?"

"…my mom." Russell finally spoke.

Chu Zhongtian's heart skipped a beat. The phone call from home, and after receiving the call, it was easy to associate a bad scene with these things... Sure enough, Russell then told the truth: "My father was in a car accident..."

Chu Zhongtian asked in shock: "Is it okay for people?"

"Hosted, deep coma..."

"Uh... Don't worry, Alai, your father will be fine and get better. He may not wake up tomorrow?" Chu Zhongtian tried to comfort Russell. No one would feel good when encountering such a thing.

"I just called the hospital and they told me that the chances of becoming a vegetative person are very high..."

Chu Zhongtian could only swallow the other comforts that came to his mouth. The hospital said so... "Maybe it was the hospital's wrong judgment?" He immediately thought of another reason.

"I can only think so..." Russell said this without saying anything as if he believed this reason. He knew in his heart that the hospital's error might be very low. The doctor said that his father's head was hit during the car accident. In fact, the doctors were already surprised that his father could still be alive. The car his father drove was completely destroyed from his head to the driver's seat, which was beyond recognition, but the impact on his father's head was not caused by the car that caused the accident, but the airbag... Chu Zhongtian patted Russell on the shoulder to show comfort.

Russell raised his head and said, "Don't worry, Chu. This matter will not affect the team..."

Chu Zhongtian frowned and interrupted him: "What did you say, Alai? I didn't come to ask for punishment. Actually..." His mind turned around and a thought came to his hazy. "I think you should go back, Alai."

"Go back?" Russell was a little surprised.

"Well, go home and go back to the United States. I think your mother must need you very much at this time, and your father needs you too... Yes, you must go back." The more Chu Zhongtian said that the clearer the thought in his mind, the more he was sure that his idea was correct. "You only have you in your family. If you don't go back, what will your mother do? She also needs someone to take care of her. If I encounter such a thing, I will fly back to be with my parents... Well, that's right, that's it."

Chu Zhongtian nodded and said.

Russell widened his eyes: "Go back? But the team is working hard for their livelihood. I am the head coach, Chu. I am not an assistant coach, or physical coach or something like that... The head coach left, what should the team do?"

Chu Zhongtian said seriously: "Don't we still have Alvin?"

Alvin Stonefield is the team's assistant coach. He has always assisted Terry Brown before, and later assisted Allai Russell Russell to successfully lead at such a young age, which is not unrelated to Stonefield's help.

In fact, when Terry Brown was dismissed, some media thought that Stonefield would take over the stall left by Brown and become the team's head coach. Unexpectedly, the head coach of Wimbledon Athletics was the young Russell in the end, which surprised many people.

Only Russell himself knew the inside story - the club's board of directors was indeed looking for Stonefield, but Stonefield recommended himself to the club's board of directors. It is said that his reason was "Alei is much younger than me and can serve the team for many years. I can't do it, I'm too old."

Stonefield, who is 63 years old this year, is indeed not considered young, but it is not that old people can't do this position.

"We can have Alvin as interim head coach until you come back." Chu Zhongtian said.

When he talked about Alvin, Russell was indeed a little moved - he felt that what Chu Zhongtian said was feasible, and if it were Alvin, he would be relieved. His understanding of the team was that no one in the entire Wimbledon Athletic Club could compare to him. He has been working since he came to the club in 2006.

"In addition, I can help a little bit." Chu Zhongtian smiled at Russell. "So you have nothing to worry about. Just go back like this. Don't worry, we will wait for you. Your father will wake up soon. When you come back, maybe the season is not over yet. We can upgrade together!"

※※※Russell finally accepted Chu Zhongtian’s suggestion and decided to ask for leave from the club to go back to accompany his mother, hoping that his father would wake up.

There is no reason to refuse such a thing, and the club's board of directors also agreed to Russell's request in a reasonable manner. During this period, as the team's performance improved and stabilized, the relationship between the club and Russell also re-entered the honeymoon period.

However, before Russell left, the board of directors asked him to recommend the candidate for interim head coach, and Russell recommended Alvin Stonefield.

Once the candidate for interim head coach is determined, Russell will hand over the work and then take a leave to go home. In fact, there is nothing to hand over. Just as he said, Stonefield is the person the entire club knows the team best. If you hand over the work to him, you don’t need to hand over at all, he knows everything.

But two days after Russell submitted a candidate to the club's board of directors who could temporarily replace him, the club's chairman Samuelson found Chu Zhongtian.

"Let me be the interim head coach?" Chu Zhongtian was surprised.

When he came up with this idea to Russell, Chu Zhongtian did not expect that the position of interim head coach would fall on him.

"That's right... Russell originally recommended Stonefield, but Stonefield recommended you to us..." Samuelson also explained a little embarrassedly.

Samuelson still respects the opinions of the person who knows the team best, otherwise he would not have asked Chu Zhongtian whether he wanted to be the team's interim head coach, but went straight to someone else - he would definitely regard Stonefield's words as a madman's idea, and was a coward who was shirking responsibility.
To be continued...