Chapter 1 The Rant

"Three people! Three people couldn't hold him! And he's just a Championship player! Are you three utterly useless or what?!" Inside the locker room, Falk was raging.

Premier League midfielders?

Think you're all that?

Mata and Blind both hung their heads. Mata felt the worst, the most frustrated. His task was to mark Zhao Gang.

But he never expected such a blunder near the end of the first half.

"Is this the attitude you're showing me? The Premier League is failing, the FA Cup is abandoned, and now you're getting thrashed by a Championship team in the Europa League? Have you no shame?" Van Gaal was nearly driven mad.

Usually, he would encourage the players at halftime, but today he had no heart for it.

If they were facing a formidable opponent, it would be understandable.

But Norwich's midfield couldn't hold the ball, and their defenders couldn't stop the forwards.

And the result? They'd been robbed of three goals!

This was definitely not his tactical error; it was a problem with the players' attitude!

Ever since Ferguson retired, the Manchester United locker room had been a mess.

These players acted like pampered lords, boasting about being invincible before the game, then drifting around and getting their faces kicked in during the match.

"A Championship team! Their total value isn't even a tenth of ours! You could buy their entire team with what you're worth! And you let them score three goals! And got one of our own sent off!"

"De Gea, are you eating..." Van Gaal waved his hands forcefully, swallowing the curse words.

He couldn't really blame De Gea for the first goal. Given the power and angle of that free kick, any other goalkeeper would have struggled to save it.

But what about the second goal?

That was a set play.

How could their center forward jump so freely?

What were the defenders doing?

Did they all think he was going to shoot directly?

What were they even there for?

Might as well let De Gea defend alone!

They all ran up to the opponent's box, waiting for the goalkeeper to kick the ball long so they could score?

Van Gaal, breathing heavily, said, "You're a bunch of shit. I won't substitute anyone. You'll play with ten men. I want to see how badly you can lose. You think you're the only ones who are humiliated when you lose?"

Van Gaal looked at these fools. The opposition couldn't even win the ball cleanly. Compared to Manchester United, they were practically amateurs.

And yet, these players had easily pierced their defense with a few simple passes.

What was this if not a problem with these lords' attitude?

Until Van Gaal stormed out of the locker room, an eerie silence remained.

Blind and Fellaini, who had come prepared to show Zhao Gang the might of the Premier League defense, wore the most awful expressions.

The three of them, along with Mata, had been toyed with.

Tomorrow, no, tonight, photos of the three of them, along with Zhao Gang, would be headlining the news.

Norwich Messi, Championship Messi, Dragon Country Messi.

In any case, the three of them were destined to become the background.

Winning would have made it look a little better, but losing meant they'd be cursed by thousands.

Rooney sat there, shaking his head. He really wanted to boost morale and win the game.

But when defeat came like a landslide, and they were down three-nil at halftime, with a man sent off…

If it were Ferguson, there might have been a chance to rally the team.

But Van Gaal?

While he was a famous manager, these players in the Manchester United locker room already held some dissatisfaction towards him.

His tactics were too rigid, preventing good chemistry among the players.

So Rooney covered his face with a towel. The second half would likely be even worse.

As the Manchester United players emerged for the second half, Brooke couldn't help but laugh.

"Look, look, Van Gaal is indeed a world-class manager, he's instructed the team during halftime to maintain this quiet, subdued demeanor to confuse the opponent, to lull the Norwich players into a false sense of security, then they'll suddenly unleash their power and come back from three goals down, hahahaha…" Brooke laughed wildly. Rod could only shake his head. Viewers at home and fans outside the stadium could all see Brooke's commentary.

Roars of laughter erupted.

Their team was ahead, they were jubilant, and hearing Brooke's mockery made them even more relaxed.

"The Manchester United players don't look too good. Van Gaal probably blew up in the locker room. This isn't good news for their second-half performance!" Shen Jian tried his best to restrain his words and actions.

Norwich was going to win!

Norwich was going to defeat Manchester United!

If he wasn't commentating, he would have been sliding on his knees in celebration!

Looking at Manchester United's listless appearance, Shen Jian couldn't suppress his joy, even though he was a fan of Manchester United.

And while it was rumored that there were many Manchester United fans in Dragon Country, more than eighty percent of them had defected and become fans of Zhao Gang.

Tonight, we are all Zhao Gang fans!

In contrast to the dark faces of the Manchester United players, the Norwich players looked visibly excited as they walked onto the field, as if they were celebrating a holiday.

Victory!

They yearned for victory!

Beating the mighty Premier League giants was a great honor for them!

The fans in the stands saw their home team come out and began singing and jumping.

The second half began!

Van Gaal's face was still dark.

The camera captured him several times, causing Brooke to laugh even more wildly.

But Manchester United was a top team after all. Although they were a man down and their morale was low, their individual abilities were still strong.

Hilo and Ospina were almost completely shut down.

Mata, who had been holding back his anger, stopped trying to play mind games with Zhao Gang and just stuck to him like glue.

He wasn't even participating in the attack!

As a result, even with an extra man, Norwich still found it hard to create attacking opportunities.

And Manchester United kept passing the ball around, unable to penetrate the penalty area, as if they had given up.

Norwich didn't press, and they just kept passing in midfield.

It was as if they were deliberately showing Van Gaal.

The scene was extremely boring.

However, the singing at Carrow Road was still a major highlight.

"The sky in Manchester is blue!"

"You can't beat Manchester City, you can't beat Liverpool, you can't beat Chelsea, you can't beat Arsenal, you can't beat Tottenham, you can't beat Everton, you can't even beat Norwich!"

If it were any other team, they would have at least tried to score a goal to save face, but the Manchester United players seemed to be used to it.

"Damn! Manchester United is used to losing now, they're not even attacking anymore?"

"And they call themselves a giant?"

"Hey, the locker room must be a mess. These players want to get rid of Van Gaal, right? No matter how much the management trusts Chef Van, they can't keep him after losing to a Championship team!"

"Even if there weren't problems in the locker room, they still couldn't beat Norwich! Zhao Gang is invincible!"

"Zhao Gang is amazing, but you can't be too blindly optimistic. Those three goals actually have a lot to do with Manchester United's own problems."

"If it were Ferguson's Manchester United, Zhao Gang wouldn't even have been able to get the ball."

"Van Gaal should just leave early and let Mourinho clean up these lords!"

In the following minutes, Rooney and Di Maria tried to combine a few times, trying to get into the penalty area and create opportunities, but it was clear that the rest of the players had already given up.

They didn't attack at all!

Only the defenders were still doing their job, determined not to let Norwich score again. Norwich's two forwards had no chance at all.

And with Mata sticking to Zhao Gang, Zhao Gang couldn't get the ball with his dribbling skills. Manchester United's defenders still showed their quality.

But they just didn't attack!

Van Gaal's face darkened further. He was starting to understand what these players were doing.

Originally, he was supposed to leave at the end of the season with some dignity, and Mourinho would take over.

But it looked like he had to leave early.

They were showing the management!

Moreover, Manchester United would be playing Norwich at home next week. If Van Gaal was still in charge, these players would definitely play the same way!

Manchester United hadn't won a single trophy this year, and the Europa League was their only hope. Was the management going to give up?

If they didn't want to give up, they should fire Van Gaal quickly so they still had a chance!

In the end, the game ended. Zhao Gang was still thinking about using that lucky card, but he didn't expect the Manchester United players to start an internal strife!

They were trying to get rid of Van Gaal!

Then he could wait until the second leg next week to use the card.

Perfect!

The fans at Carrow Road celebrated wildly, and flags of all colors waved outside the stadium.

The cheers that soared into the sky spread to every corner of Norwich County.

"A miracle, Norwich is still moving forward!"

"Since Zhao Gang joined, Norwich has won eighteen consecutive games in all competitions!"

"Norwich's trident each scored a goal, the legendary teenager had two assists and a goal, defeating the Red Devils Manchester United!"

"Manchester United players are suspected of being dissatisfied with Van Gaal. Can this Manchester United overcome Norwich?"

"The only trophy of the season, is Manchester United going to give up?"

"Century Clown! David's wonderful performance!"

Among the many newspaper headlines, only one bluntly cursed David.

Falk watched from beginning to end, gleefully patting the sofa.

This Brooke still had some personality.

Other media outlets seemed to deliberately ignore David's matter, and instead reported extensively on the Manchester United locker room being out of control.

Only Brooke wrote three full pages, and the Carrow Road Sports Newspaper was kind enough to publish them all!

A large number of headlines analyzed the timing of Van Gaal's departure.

Countless people speculated that this defeat was a conspiracy by the Manchester United players against Van Gaal!

No one believed that a Championship team could defeat Manchester United.

Moreover, Manchester United seemed to have been in a dominant position from the looks of it!

In the past, the conflict between players and the head coach was only in secret, but now it was out in the open!

Some newspapers even thought that Zhao Gang had accelerated the time of Van Gaal's departure.

After all, he had two assists and a goal, kicking Manchester United halfway out of the Europa League.

Zhao Gang quite liked reading these media speculations.

These nonsense rumors were quite interesting.

Of course, he wouldn't comment on anything.

He would only develop secretly.

After defeating the strong opponent of Manchester United, he finally received a reward.

"Permanent Injury Immunity Card."

When Zhao Gang saw these five words, his eyes almost popped out.

Injuries were the biggest enemy of all athletes.

Countless geniuses and superstars had fallen because of injuries.

Whether it was Liu Xiang or Yao Ming.

The pride of the two Dragon Country people had retired early due to injuries.

There were even more in football, such as Dong Fangzhuo, superstar Kaka, and countless other football players whose conditions were severely affected by injuries.

Moreover, the psychological impact of injuries was even greater. After an injury, one would not dare to confront or make moves easily.

So an injury immunity card was simply a god-level card!

The most important thing was the word "permanent"!

Unlike the experience cards he had obtained before, this one was permanent!

Zhao Gang hurriedly checked, frowning, he was a little too happy too early.

"Level 1 Injury Immunity Card, can prevent minor injuries, such as mild muscle strain, sprains. Applicable in all scenarios." This meant that it also worked outside the football field!

This was very powerful!

"Can be upgraded, upgrade requires 100 system points."

It was also a card that could be upgraded!

In the end, it should be able to prevent most injuries!

This should be the strongest card he had obtained.

And it was considered a passive ability.

But…

"Now activated, if the Europa League cannot advance to the round of sixteen, the card will be taken back. After advancing to the round of sixteen, it will permanently become the host's buff."

Now he already possessed this passive ability. Simple tackles on the field wouldn't injure him, and he wouldn't even cramp even if he was overworked!

However, it wasn't permanent yet.

He had to eliminate Manchester United!

"Hopefully the chances are pretty good?" With Manchester United's current state, it was too difficult to reverse the situation.

But what if they changed managers?

Then it would be hard to say.

On the other side, Hilo, who had a personality opposite to Zhao Gang's, wasn't so low-key.

Of course, he wasn't targeting the Manchester United players; he was targeting only one person: David!

In his mouth, David had become a useless person who didn't understand football.

As for whether he would offend a big shot like David?

You, David, can't even manage Manchester United well, do you have the heart to manage others?

"I think Mr. David should resign voluntarily. If he is willing to speak, I can take over his position."

"He thinks Zhao is not worthy of their youth training. Their youth training is so powerful, they can definitely beat the Manchester United first team to the ground, and easily win the Premier League title, right?"

Originally, David had already used his connections to have many media outlets focus on Van Gaal, but Hilo's words were too eye-catching, and many media outlets felt that there would be more traffic with this kind of thing!

So, on the third day, Van Gaal and David became true traffic giants.

Although David held an important position and the media had reported on him before.

However, it was the first time that he had truly achieved such a widespread coverage!

David sat in the office with a sullen face. At first, he was only bothered by some annoying reporters, and his counterattack didn't cause much of a stir.

After all, his words were the truth.

However, as Manchester United suffered a crushing defeat, all his previous words were dug up.

A large number of media outlets began to interpret his evaluation of Zhao Gang and Norwich.

Now, wherever he went, media reporters ran over to ask him how he felt at this moment.

How did he feel??

Van Gaal was trash!

The Manchester United players were all useless!

That was how he felt, but how could he say it?

A group of players worth tens of millions were beaten to a pulp by an eighteen-year-old kid, a striker who had been useless for most of the season, and a striker who had been promoted from the youth team.

If they weren't useless, what were they?

But David couldn't say it, even though he was full of anger and grievances.

If he said it, it would really be over completely. Not only in Manchester United, but in the entire football circle, he wouldn't be able to stay.

"Zhao Gang, it's all because of this guy! Buy, buy him! Buying him would be a great story, turning hostility into friendship! Everyone would say I have great magnanimity!" David suddenly found a solution.

The media was reporting about him like crazy now. If news broke that Manchester United was interested in Zhao Gang, everyone would shift their attention.

If he went to negotiate himself, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.

So, he found someone, his good friend and partner of more than twenty years.

Ferguson.