Chapter 144
Translator: uly
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Start (7)
[144. Start (7)]
Black-Haired Tactical Genius
Chapter 144 Start (7)
League Round 6, Huddersfield Town AFC vs Bolton Wanderers.
Second half, 37th minute.
[Josh Koroma! Josh Koromaaa-!]
The commentary booth erupted.
For the first time in a while, Huddersfield Town's left winger, Josh Koroma, had darted inside from the flank.
"Where do you think you're going-!"
Just then, Bolton's David Dignity came charging from behind with a standing tackle.
In that instant, Koroma flicked the ball away with his right foot's outside instep and slipped past.
Screeech-!
[Aaah! Dignity! He only clips the turf!]
"Fuc...!"
Before the curse could fully escape, Dignity swung his left arm wildly as if swatting him away.
He was trying to slam into Koroma's upper body to stop him from breaking free.
But it failed.
Thwack, thwack!
[Ooooh! Koromaaa! Stumbling under Dignity's pressure, but he holds on and powers into the center!]
In less than a second, he shoved off the tenacious Dignity, using the momentum to surge deep into the box.
Thud-!
Oooohhh-!
Huddersfield Town's home fans began rising from their seats one by one, buzzing with anticipation.
The other players saw it as a golden chance too, darting quickly to the flanks.
But in the end, Koroma's face crumpled in frustration.
Tap-!
"What the fuck?"
In his sinking vision, a toe had perfectly nudged the ball—clear as day.
"Uwaaaah!"
Gary Todd let out a bizarre roar, but his lower body awkwardly halted midway through Koroma's legs as the winger froze.
The ball, deflected off his toe, went straight to David Dignity.
The commentators now sounded utterly baffled.
[Gary Toood...! This kid, subbed on as a freeback, has attempted 10 tackles today and succeeded on all 10—an absurd record!]
Bolton Wanderers were struggling quite a bit against Huddersfield Town, who sat 9th in the table.
You could tell just from the 0-0 deadlock stretching past the 43rd minute of the second half.
Huddersfield had racked up 19 shots, while Bolton managed only 6.
But the commentators were now voicing concerns about Huddersfield's attack instead.
[Huddersfield Town...! They've had shot after shot, but out of 19 attempts, only 1 was on target!]
The reason was simple.
Bolton's defense, led by Gary Todd, had narrowed the shooting angles so tightly with zonal marking alone.
That's why Huddersfield's attackers, Koroma included, kept blasting home runs or shots way wide of the goal.
Meanwhile, Bolton had 4 shots on target out of their 6.
Second half, 45th minute.
Two minutes into the three minutes of added time...
Thwack-!
Swoosh-!
Owen stabbed a straight pass toward the right post from outside the arc on the left.
In that moment, Shearer Kane surged into the right area from his position.
"Block him!"
Huddersfield Town's goalkeeper Ryan Schofield yelled in panic.
Even without the shout, center-back Christopher Schindler and full-back Jayden Osho closed in on Kane from left and right as he entered the box.
Thud-!
The veteran captain Schindler then slyly shouldered his way in front of Kane from the left.
Their thighs grazed in the process, and Kane lost his balance, tumbling forward.
'Got him...!'
The experienced center-back was certain, even as Kane fell.
No penalty there.
The thigh contact was definitely not intentional.
But his expression hardened in a blink.
"What...?"
Crash-!
As Kane fully collapsed forward, Owen's pass slipped right through the gap at his side.
Schindler's spine chilled.
Clang-!
[Goooaaoaoal!]
[Shearer Kaaaane-!]
Even as he sprawled sideways, Kane somehow swung his left foot desperately, bundling the ball into the net.
* * *
September 20th.
Bolton Wanderers secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Huddersfield, solidly holding onto 3rd place.
The next day, September 21st.
Bolton first-team training ground.
"Hmm."
Jeong-woo sat crookedly on the bench, gazing out at the pitch.
"Huff, huff, huff-!"
Despite giving the squad a day off, one player was still sprinting from the halfway line, striking the ball toward goal over and over.
A young man over 190cm tall with tanned skin.
Wearing a headgear, it was none other than Gary Todd.
Thwack-!
Splash!
Todd approached the penalty spot and unleashed a right-footed instep shot without hesitation.
No pressure, empty net—the goal rippled cleanly.
"Yesss!"
Unlike in games, Todd roared in celebration after scoring.
Park Hee-won, watching from the bench beside him, narrowed his eyes and muttered.
"He slips in and out of the opponent's half like it's nothing when no one's around?"
"Ultimately, injuries happen because of opponents."
Jeong-woo nodded slightly and continued.
"It's a real shame, though."
Even training shots alone, Jeong-woo could see it.
The stance and power on those shots were like a razor-sharp blade, unheard of for his age.
'Pure talent, nothing else.'
Seeing that kind of shooting in actual games was what felt lacking.
"We've got several psychologists on him, but... hmm."
Freeback might be the best role for him through this season.
Personally, though... he was more than satisfied—extremely so.
Sure, striker deployment had its regrets, but Gary Todd as a freeback was perfect beyond expectations.
'Thanks to him, zero goals conceded in six games.'
One player had instantly erased the chronic defensive anxiety that had plagued them since League One.
That's when it happened.
"But is that guy really a striker, lips-wise?"
Hee-won asked with a skeptical look.
He tilted his head and added right away.
"No, even just playing without crossing the halfway line—he's a total tank."
"He's basically Leo Part 2." "Leo Part... what?"
When Hee-won asked back, Jeong-woo shrugged.
"The German tank, man. The world's most expensive one."
"Look at you? Since becoming manager, your metaphors are getting weird."
"I'm just finally wearing clothes that fit, so I can flaunt my trivia freely. Ahem!"
Even as he said it, a smile tugged at Jeong-woo's lips.
Just watching Todd brought on a dad smile, no exaggeration.
'Ah, my boy.'
Good performance makes anything look pretty, right?
And like Hee-won's doubt, Jeong-woo sometimes wondered if Todd really fit as a striker watching his play.
No, he wanted to correct that now.
'Not lips—it's just a temporary limit. Too OP otherwise...!'
Just then, Gary Todd stopped and looked their way.
Jeong-woo met those passionately burning eyes.
"..."
"..."
Somehow, the flames in them seemed to blaze even hotter the moment they locked eyes.
Just as he thought, Todd was vowing to himself while staring at Jeong-woo.
'I'll repay you...! You trusted and used me, so I'll repay with results...!'
To Todd, Jeong-woo was a true mentor.
He was here at the training ground, observing his play so intently.
Of course, the two were actually there early for tutoring another player, not Todd.
Oblivious to that, Todd suddenly thrust both clenched fists skyward and shouted.
"Boss! I'll work hard on rehab and definitely return as a striker! Raaaaah!"
For some reason, Jeong-woo's dad smile twisted into an awkward one right then.
Seeing it from the side, Hee-won narrowed his already slitted eyes further, convinced.
'This punk doesn't want to return to striker at all...!'
* * *
This season, Bolton Wanderers had arguably had the best transfer window ever.
Snagging Frank Gerrard and Gary Todd while skimping on fees was a prime example.
The press praised it too.
Both had started all six games, wowing everyone each time.
But transfer windows don't always end in success.
"Work visa application denied."
"Huh."
Jeong-woo let out a deflated sigh, looking at Emma sitting primly on the opposite sofa.
With the domestic window still open, he'd quietly pursued a signing.
But now, with Executive Director Richard Geers on personal leave, acting stand-in EMad Dogelivered the news.
"He hasn't met the 30% national team cap over two years, so no automatic work visa qualification."
"And until reapplication?"
"120 days later, he'll qualify to try again."
Jeong-woo said with a hint of injustice.
"No, the reviewer said it'd go through no problem...! Plus, this guy's a top talent."
"Complaining to me won't change what's done."
"Can't he make up points elsewhere besides national team?"
"League games and League Cup activity fell short of requirements too..."
"They said 90% chance!"
"The league he played in is low-level, so points are stingy. And nothing's guaranteed here."
All for nothing, then.
The £20,000 (₩32 million) application fee down the drain.
The next deal wasn't much different.
Club agreement reached, player desperate for Bolton.
Agent was the issue.
"£3 million (₩4.8 billion) buyout clause as top demand."
"Crazy bastard."
£2.5 million (₩4 billion) transfer fee, and they want £3 million buyout?
Treating Bolton like a pit stop.
Jeong-woo shook his head with a baffled laugh.
"Reject it...!"
But he couldn't finish.
"Final ultimatum from the agent side."
"Sh..., damn."
He nearly swore but swapped it out under Emma's clear gaze.
Another failure was straightforward.
Opposite club dragging feet using deadline.
"Sunderland offered £3 million (₩4.8 billion), seemed done, but... the loan signing rep just brought new info."
"Those dogs."
Jeong-woo chuckled dryly, waving a hand.
"No need to say it—I get it."
Deadline pressure to inflate the fee suddenly.
As he thought, Emma said quietly.
"They've upped it to £5 million (₩8.1 billion)."
Almost double.
Jeong-woo had dealt with this since League One, so it didn't rile him much.
Standard practice here.
Sunderland doc proved it.
So he leaned back into the sofa, sighing deeply.
Then, to change the subject and vent frustration instinctively, he slipped in:
"Team leader."
"Yes?"
"Wanna come feed the cat with me?"
One of those pickup lines he'd seen recently—went for it.
Kids these days use cats over ramen, apparently.
Then it hit him mid-thought. He let out a short "Huh," like reality crashed in, with a loser's grimace.
Come to think of it... he had no cat. Or house.