Villarreal's Female Team Doctor's Office-Whipping Sounds? Tang Long Curiously Pushed Open the Door...
Monday, Manchester City club meeting room.
Pellegrini convened an emergency meeting with the first-team coaching staff.
The meeting's main theme was a reassessment of England Milner's role in the team.
"Milner made a serious mistake in the game against West Bromwich Albion. I called everyone here to hear your opinions on whether he should continue playing for Manchester City!"
These words sparked a flurry of discussion in the meeting room, as everyone knew that Milner was about to be fired.
Many people began to speak up for Milner and oppose Pellagrini's proposal.
"Milner is tenacious and aggressive; he's one of our few players who can create chaos in the attacking third. He deserves to stay and compete with Tang for a starting position!"
"Although Milner's dribble was foolish, we can't condemn a player based on just one mistake. Besides, Milner could have redeemed himself if Sterling hadn't missed that chance."
A first-team coach who has been with Manchester City for ten years said, "Mr. Pellegrini, in my ten years at Manchester City, I have only felt the warmth and hospitality. Today is August 29th, and the summer transfer window will close in a day and a half. Where are we going to sell Milner? He has played for Manchester City for a full five years. To throw him away like trash, I personally think, is unfair to him!"
The coach's words drew frequent nods of agreement from the audience.
Putting Milner's position aside, the summer transfer window is about to close, and a day and a half is simply not enough time for negotiations. Milner will most likely stay at the club.
Some neutral parties also expressed their views.
Fitness coach Mario said, "Don came to Manchester City to replace Milner in the attacking midfield position, and the results have been quite good. However, Milner is still a good substitute for Don. He is in very good physical condition, and his fitness level is among the top three in the team."
Some people said, "Milner was clearly out of sorts in the last game, but his tenacity in tackling is still undeniable. Selling Milner isn't out of the question, but we need to add a player with similar characteristics."
However, those who supported Milner insisted on selling him, claiming he had become a marginal figure.
"Don and Milner have completely different styles. How can Milner be Don't stand as a substitute? If you ask me, if Silva doesn't play on the wing, he can be the second choice for attacking midfielder. There's absolutely no need for Milner."
"Look at our midfield and attack. Milner's footwork is absolutely the worst. Since we're determined to play possession-based football, why keep a player who can only tackle but has no footwork? It's really baffling."
"Milner's mentality has recently collapsed. Not only did he refuse to high -Tang Long, but he also clashed with Ranocchia. His continued presence is detrimental to team unity!"
These three groups argued over Milner's future and position, and their opinions were not in agreement.
Pellegrini listened with a furrowed brow.
At this moment, a young coach who hadn't spoken until now suddenly spoke up!
"Milner can only leave, not stay! He has begun to challenge the bottom line of social values. I asked Ranocchia what Milner shouted at him back then, Ranocchia was very magnanimous and didn't say. I then pressed Captain Kompany, and he was the one who told me the truth!"
The young coach repeated Kompany's words verbatim in front of everyone.
After hearing this, the supporters cursed and became even more insistent that Milner must be sold!
They said Milner was not only jeopardizing his own career, but also Manchester City's reputation. Keeping such a low-quality player in the team would be a cancer, a ticking time bomb.
"Luckily, the referee didn't hear it. If it had been written into the post-match report, Milner would have been suspended for ten games, which would have been no different from selling him! The club would have been fined, and we coaches would have been disgraced!"
The neutral faction unanimously sided with the supporters.
Some of Manchester City's coaching staff have been with Pellegrini since his time at Villarreal; they are his close associates.
They were acutely aware of the discrimination and injustice they faced from the locals when they arrived in a new place and a new country.
"Milner is engaging in locker room bullying. I've heard about how he bullies Sterling, but he dares to bully Ranocchia too? What was he thinking!"
"Manchester City is not primarily England club; our players come from all over the world. Regional and cultural discrimination should absolutely not exist here. Putting aside whether Milner leaves or not, if he doesn't publicly apologize to Ranocchia in the locker room, I'm quitting. I'm submitting my resignation right now!"
Those who had previously spoken out in support of Milner were now completely silent.
They looked at each other, not daring to breathe, and no one dared to utter a sound.
Given the sensitive nature of the matter, especially given that it took place during a meeting of the entire first-team coaching staff, the young coach certainly wouldn't dare to fabricate anything.
If this is true, Milner has indeed dug his own grave.
Even the old coach who had worked for Manchester City for ten years and claimed that Manchester City was a humane club and shouldn't have thrown Milner away like trash could only put his hand to his forehead and sigh inwardly, "Milner, you brought this on yourself!"
The coaching staff meeting merely fueled the fire.
What truly convinced Pellegrini to sell Milner was a private conversation he had with Sterling after the meeting.
The 21-year-old new signing Sterling carries the hopes of the entire Britain, who expect this black winger to make a qualitative leap after joining Manchester City and help the England national team achieve good results in next year's UEFA European Championship.
If it weren't for Tang Long's €71 million transfer fee, Sterling's €63 million could have broken the club's transfer record, which is enough to demonstrate Manchester City's high regard for him.
Despite Sterling scoring Manchester City's first home goal of the new season, he's now under immense pressure!
The reason lies in Tang Long's remarks at the post-match press conference. "... Milner has a strong desire to win. It's a pity that Milner could have gotten an assist if Sterling hadn't failed to score. It's such a shame."
The tabloids, always eager for drama, believed that Tang Long's words had revealed a major conflict between Milner and Sterling in the Manchester City dressing room.
[Shocking! National team teammates get into a fight after the match, all because of a missed chance?]
Milner believes Sterling is dragging the team down, saying, "He doesn't deserve to play for Manchester City!"
[From Liverpool to Manchester City, his market value has increased, his age has increased, but his shooting skills remain terrible?]
[£63 million down the drain! Liverpool are laughing all the way to the bank, while Manchester City are left holding the bag!]
[Breaking news! Pellagrini is preparing to replace Sterling with Milner, who has been sidelined!]
These sensational headlines, coupled with screenshots of Milner angrily berating Sterling during the match, created a vivid and seemingly serious article that was captivating, irresistible, and thought-provoking.
The Sun went all out, claiming that Milner's irritability towards Sterling stemmed from his wife's affair with Sterling, with the two frequently meeting secretly, and so on.
Pellegrini had also heard about these messy news stories.
He was worried that 21-year-old Sterling wouldn't be able to handle it, so he talked to him.
When Sterling arrived at the head coach's office, he was initially nervous, but upon seeing Pellegrini's silver hair and kind face, he was suddenly reminded of his late grandfather. The sense of familiarity, combined with his current predicament with Milner, brought tears to his eyes.
Pellegrini had barely asked a few questions when Sterling, following his lead, launched into a long conversation.
The content, over and over again, was nothing more than Milner bullying him, accusing him of locker room bullying, and claiming that he didn't intentionally kick the ball away. Tang Long, on the other hand, was different; he often encouraged him, and his goals came from his assists, proving that he could still score. Tang's passing was better than Milner's, and he preferred partnering with him, and so on.
In the end, a highly emotional Sterling even childishly retorted, "If Milner continues to treat me like this, I'll submit a transfer request in the winter transfer window, and I'm quitting Manchester City!"
Seeing this rising star of Great Britain crying like a primary school student in front of him, Pellegrini was greatly shocked. He never expected that the seemingly carefree young black man would be so repressed inside.
Summer has just arrived, and winter is about to leave. While much of this was said in anger, it was also a heartfelt expression of Sterling's true feelings.
Sterling is only 21, Milner is already 29.
Whether considering development potential, tactical role, or player appreciation, if Pellegrini had to choose between the two, he would choose the former without hesitation!
In fact, this further solidified Pellegrini's original intention to buy Tang Long.
That is to establish Tang as the absolute core of the attack in the frontcourt, and use his forward-thinking passing to motivate his teammates, thereby revitalizing the entire game and achieving a synergy greater than the sum of its parts.
Time is never an issue.
After communicating with Manchester City's Chief Operating Officer Begiristain, Milner was quickly put on the club's roster, and as soon as he was, Aston Villa, Stoke City, Norwich and other teams made offers.
Milner had hoped to make a last-ditch effort, using his influence to get Hart, Sterling, Delph, and other members of the English-speaking Faction to plead with the club.
Hart did go and spoke with Pellegrini for 20 minutes, but the latter claimed it was the club's decision and there was nothing he could do about it.
Delph's answer was ambiguous, and it's unclear whether he actually said anything or not.
As for Sterling? He simply blocked Milner's number!
Milner sensed that all was lost.
The final straw that broke the camel's back was a short message from Mancini.
[Milner, your performance last round was absolutely terrible! Nobody knows Dom better than me. You can't compete with him at Manchester City. Here's a piece of advice: if you want to participate in next year's UEFA European Championship, you must secure a starting position. You should start thinking about your next club.]
Liverpool suddenly announced the signing of Milner half an hour before the transfer window closed!
Milner's removal from the team didn't actually cause a particularly big stir within Manchester City.
Aside from the sullen English-speaking Faction, Joe Hart, the members of the French-speaking Faction and Spanish-speaking Faction didn't express much reaction; some were even quite pleased to see this.
The reason is that Milner is just too versatile!
Aside from center forward, he can play in every position in the attacking third, and has even filled in as a full-back.
Such a versatile player is actually a great threat to many people.
Don't be fooled by Milner being squeezed out of the starting attacking midfield position by Tang Long. Who knows, one day he might take my starting wing-back and starting defensive midfield positions because of an injury. By the time I recover, I'm afraid I won't have a place anymore.
Manchester City already has few England players, and even fewer who can secure a starting position.
At this stage, only Hart and Sterling remain.
However, Sterling frequently spent a lot of time with Tang Long during training, even asking to practice passing and receiving with him instead of with another new England signing, Delph, which greatly troubled Hart.
With Milner gone, Hart was left to fend for himself, the influence of the English-speaking Faction greatly diminished, and Manchester City continued to be controlled by the Spanish-speaking Faction and French-speaking Faction.
That day, after training, Tang Long suddenly felt a soreness in his lower back.
It's that kind of sour feeling where you can't pinpoint exactly what's sour, but it's sour all over.
He recalled that during his pre-employment physical examination, the female team doctor, Gracie, told him that he could also contact her for physical therapy and that she would be available anytime.
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Tang Long was about to push open the slightly ajar door to Gracie's office when he heard strange cracking sounds coming from inside, as if something was being whipped...