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Chapter 8: Unrepentant villain

The stadium instantly fell silent!

Upon witnessing this scene, the younger players couldn't bear the blow and covered their faces, weeping!

Rio Cornell, a midfielder who had just been promoted to the reserve team, was now clutching his ankle, which was bent at a 90-degree angle, and letting out terrifying screams.

Harris stood up, brushed the dirt off himself, and spread his hands, looking indifferent as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Team doctor! Team doctor!"

The reserve team Head Coach, Nick Young, rushed forward anxiously to check, then shouted at the sidelines with all his might.

The U23 team doctor immediately ran over with the first-aid kit, and after a quick check, instantly realized the seriousness of the situation.

Nick Young, walking out of the crowd, looked helplessly at Huang Hao on the sidelines and gently shook his head.

Huang Hao sighed softly, knowing that this unfortunate player would likely have to bid farewell to the football field.

With such a severe injury, the recovery period alone would be about a year, and most importantly, the psychological trauma it brought to Cornell would probably be difficult to overcome in a short time.

Huang Hao walked directly from the sidelines to Harris, staring coldly at him, while Harris remained fearless, trying to use his 1.9-meter height to suppress Huang Hao's aura.

"Starting today, no more matches, no more training, and no more salary!"

"You can go back and reflect on your actions properly."

Huang Hao told Harris his decision word by word, his tone icy, his face expressionless.

"On what grounds, you rookie! Who do you think you are?! This is just a normal challenge on the field."

Upon hearing that he was suspended from three things, Harris immediately roared at Huang Hao.

Huang Hao did not want to get entangled with Harris any further and turned to check on Cornell's injury, hoping this young player could withstand this blow.

"Damn it! I hope you don't regret this!"

Harris said fiercely to Huang Hao's retreating back.

Soon, an ambulance arrived, sirens wailing piercingly.

Cornell was taken to Northwick Park Hospital, the closest hospital to Cambridge United Training Base, for treatment.

After the commotion subsided, the team resumed normal training, but everyone was a bit distracted due to Cornell's serious injury.

Huang Hao hadn't expected to experience such a scene during his visit.

Looking at Harris's retreating figure, Huang Hao felt quite troubled.

It seemed that this high-earning troublemaker needed to be dealt with quickly, otherwise, it would always be a ticking time bomb for the team's management.

Unbeknownst to him, it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

After returning to his office from the reserve team training ground, Huang Hao continued to review the information provided by the scouts.

Unlike the Premier League, which only has a little over a month for the transfer window, the National League allows players to be brought in almost throughout the entire season.

However, with tight finances, loans were almost Huang Hao's only option for reinforcements, and they had to be free loans, where the other club also had to bear at least most of the salary.

But where in the world are there so many free good things?

Huang Hao stretched, put down the documents he was holding, and looked at the brightly lit Bird's Nest Bar not far away; perhaps going for a drink was a good choice.

So, Huang Hao turned off the office lights and went downstairs towards Ronnie's bar.

Bird's Nest Bar was just opposite the training base; on non-match days, it was naturally less noisy.

Huang Hao walked through the small path in the middle of the base; at night, Cambridge United Training Base seemed exceptionally quiet.

Suddenly, Huang Hao felt a strong gust of wind coming straight from behind him!

He instinctively dodged sideways, only to see a football flying past him at high speed, with a thud!

It hit the wire fence on the side of the base!

The sudden noise caused a chorus of dog barks from the surrounding residential houses.

"Oh wow! Isn't this our especially imposing boss!"

From the shadows, the tall and burly Harris slowly emerged.

"I'm really sorry, I kicked the ball a bit too hard just now, I wonder if I scared our boss?"

Harris's face was grim, overtly expressing his threat to Huang Hao.

"If you want to continue your professional career, I think you should wear a balaclava when you come out. Because then, I won't have any evidence to accuse you, Harris."

Although a little surprised to see Harris, Huang Hao did not show any timidity.

"No, no, no, my dear boss, I just want to play matches, after all, I train so hard."

"I think I should join the first team, it would be good for you too."

Harris clearly knew that the area around the base was covered by cameras and had no intention of resorting to violence.

"Big guy, originally we didn't have much conflict. Maybe after a while, if your attitude improved, you would return to the first team."

"Unfortunately, you made a foolish decision today. I don't think Cornell can forgive you."

Huang Hao's tone was very calm.

"So, it seems we have nothing more to talk about?"

Harris also saw Huang Hao's resolve.

"Do you think the club will let a top-earner in the team retire in the reserve team?"

"Do you think the old guys on the board really saw your talent and let you coach Cambridge United? That's too damn naive!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Huang Hao, who had already been preparing to turn and leave, couldn't help but freeze and stopped in place.

Indeed, Huang Hao had never found a suitable explanation for how he inexplicably became Head Coach.

The Cambridge United board choosing him couldn't possibly be just because his salary was really low, could it?

"They just want to use you to tank and then naturally disband the team! You are destined to be just the poor guy who bears the blame in the end!"

Disband?!

Although Huang Hao didn't entirely believe Harris's words, it had to be said that this reason sounded much more logical than the board being impressed by his coaching talent. Moreover, the board had always refused all of Huang Hao's requests for reinforcements, citing a lack of funds.

"So, rookie, let me play, and maybe I'll use goals to make your results look less ugly. Maybe then, you won't be the culprit for disbanding Cambridge United!"

Harris was clearly very confident in his abilities. After all, his past statistics were there.

"No need."

Huang Hao had no interest in Harris's suggestion.

"Big guy, if you had a proper attitude, you might have seen a surprise. But now you might not have the chance to see it."

"I think you can look for a new club during the transfer window."

With that, Huang Hao walked towards Bird's Nest Bar, no longer bothering with Harris.

"Shit!! This damned oriental!"

Harris furiously punched the base's wire fence, hurling every vile curse imaginable at Huang Hao!

But it was clear that his story with Cambridge United was over.

"It's a Cambridge United corner kick now, taken by Cambridge United's number 11, Brophy from England."

"Brophy sends the ball to the back post! El-Ouar of Hereford gets to the first ball! But the ball is still inside the box!!!"

"Pasquel makes a run! Shot!!!"

"Goal!!! 1-0!!!"

"The match is now in the 65th minute, and Cambridge United has been awarded a free-kick in the attacking third. The one taking it is the team's main right winger, Pasquel."

"Pasquel lobs the ball into the box!"

"Ricardo Longolo gets to the first ball."

"O'Shea gets the ball and organizes a counter-attack!!!"

"Long pass to the right side of the attacking third!! Della Verde dribbles and suddenly takes a shot!! That long pass was so precise!!!"

"Oh, oh, oh my god, that ball was like it had eyes, finding G. Ippolito!"

"He adjusted his angle and took a low shot!!! Hereford equalizes!!!"

"After conceding, Cambridge United continued their high press. MacKenzie made a tackle in the center circle and quickly passed the ball to McConnell. McConnell got past a defender and took a shot from the top of the box. Hereford's goalkeeper, O'Keeffe, was very focused this time and made a diving save, barely tipping the ball away."

"Pasquel takes the corner, Goal!!! An incredible header!!! Sager puts them back in the lead."

"As the referee blows the final whistle, congratulations to Cambridge United's Head Coach, Huang Hao! Although Hereford equalized at one point, Cambridge United still secured the victory in this match! This is also the rookie coach Huang Hao's first victory since becoming a professional coach. This mysterious oriental has tasted victory in just two matches."

Huang Hao successfully secured his first home win, although there were only over 1000 fans present, a far cry from the roaring celebrations he dreamed of. Cambridge United, having spent a long time in lower Leagues, had lost much of its former popularity.

These were clearly beyond Huang Hao's control; without any aura, he lacked sufficient talking points and hot topics to attract Cambridge United fans back to the stadium.

As for star players, in the fifth-tier League, it was simply out of the question.

Only by securing victory after victory could the fans who had drifted away from the stadium be enticed to return.

And currently, Huang Hao's primary task was to stabilize the team after his appointment.

Next, Qiao Zhuoyan would have to find a way to investigate the board's intentions for appointing him.

After all, Harris, who had been lingering in the lower Leagues, had far more intelligence-gathering capabilities than he, a Chinese man with no connections. Moreover, even to get playing time, Harris wouldn't say something so outrageous for no reason.

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