Chapter 9

Ian Taylor was once a legendary player for Aston Villa.

Being a legendary player for a team, Ian Taylor was certainly no fool. He just really wanted to play against Aston Villa. If he missed this opportunity, he probably wouldn't have another chance in his entire career. So, he hoped he could recover quickly and thus went to consult his private doctor, Davis.

Davis had been Taylor's doctor for over a decade and was already quite familiar with him.

He knew Taylor was eager to play against Aston Villa. If he told him, "Your injury cannot possibly recover in two months," it would be too cruel. So, Davis only told him, "Medical means alone cannot help you recover. If you can find an extremely capable coach, perhaps they can use sports science training methods to speed up your recovery."

This gave Taylor a glimmer of hope.

Ian Taylor immediately sought out the head coach, Gregory, hoping he could recommend a capable 'sports science' coach.

When Gregory heard Taylor's request, he felt a headache coming on. There might be coaches with such abilities in the world, but he definitely didn't know any.

He was about to refuse Taylor when he suddenly remembered Wan Sheng's resume.

That was given to him by Gie Smith.

Gie Smith hadn't looked at the resume, as Wan Sheng would be working under Gregory, so he handed it over to Gregory. He wanted Gregory to understand Wan Sheng better and hoped Gregory could help judge whether Wan Sheng had real skills.

Gregory had read the resume and didn't doubt its authenticity. After all, no one would lie about things that could be verified, such as "proficient in seven languages," "Bachelor's degree in human kinetics," and "Level 1 certificate from the International Coaching Association."

However, having these certificates didn't mean Wan Sheng was capable.

The certificates had no direct connection to football. Even if he had excellent grades and more certificates, it didn't mean he could become an outstanding coach.

Moreover, Gregory had no good feelings towards Wan Sheng, not just because he doubted his abilities, but for a more important reason—Wan Sheng was recommended by Gie Smith.

Gregory had always wanted complete control over the team. He was quite unhappy that he had no say in the summer transfers. He had always resisted Gie Smith's involvement in team affairs.

Now, Gie Smith seemed to be overstepping. He had even reached into the team. If the assistant coaches were all Gie Smith's people, then what say would Gregory have in the team?

Unacceptable!

Gregory wanted to find an excuse to fire Wan Sheng. If he could prove that Wan Sheng was a fraud, even Gie Smith would have no choice but to agree.

He remembered that Wan Sheng's resume mentioned a "Bachelor's degree in human kinetics."

Facing Ian Taylor's hopeful eyes, Gregory immediately changed his mind. He told Taylor that the club had a new and very capable assistant coach who was particularly skilled in human kinetics and could definitely help him. He then said many good things about Wan Sheng, making Taylor completely believe that "Wan Sheng was the kind of coach Dr. Davis had mentioned."

This way, Taylor would trust Wan Sheng.

...

Wan Sheng was a bit dazed when he heard Taylor's request.

"Training to help recover from an injury"?

He had never even heard of such a thing. After a moment's thought, Wan Sheng realized why Gregory, who had been cold to him in the morning, had suddenly been so enthusiastic and had spoken so highly of him to Taylor.

It turned out Taylor's request was so peculiar...

Gregory definitely couldn't do it, so he had passed Taylor off to him. Wan Sheng didn't know that Gregory was just looking for an excuse to fire him; he thought it was just a case of a superior passing a troublesome task to a subordinate.

But what could he do?

Tell Taylor it was impossible?

If that were the case, Gregory might have done it himself and wouldn't have passed it on to him. Moreover, facing Taylor's hopeful eyes, Wan Sheng couldn't bring himself to say no.

He finally sighed and decided to give Taylor some hope, "I can try."

"What did you say?"

"I said, I can try, but don't get your hopes up too much..."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Taylor, seeing Wan Sheng's expression, thought he couldn't do it. He never expected Wan Sheng to say he would try. He didn't even listen to what Wan Sheng said next, just thanked him profusely.

Wan Sheng could only smile bitterly and shake his head, saying, "I'll give you a training plan tomorrow. I hope it can help you."

After they agreed, Wan Sheng went to ask Gie Smith for leave.

He was going to move his belongings from Manchester to Derbyshire. The distance from Derbyshire to Manchester was not short, and if he went back to Manchester now, he wouldn't be back until the next morning.

He originally wanted to find Gregory, but since the latter had just given him a 'troublesome task,' asking for leave would make Gregory think he was shirking, which would leave a bad impression. So, he went to Gie Smith instead.

What he didn't know was that no matter what he did, Gregory wouldn't have a good impression of him.

Gregory had already planned how to 'deal with' Wan Sheng.

In his mind, Wan Sheng, upon learning of Taylor's problem, would definitely refuse on the spot. After all, he couldn't possibly have the ability to help Taylor 'recover through training.' If he refused and said he couldn't do it, Taylor would be very disappointed, and Gregory could use this as an excuse to fire Wan Sheng.

Even if Gie Smith asked, he could use this as an excuse, as not only he but Ian Taylor would be disappointed with Wan Sheng.

This was Gregory's plan.

The plan was simple but practical. After all, to deal with a temporary assistant coach, he just needed an excuse. Whether the excuse was good or bad, Gregory didn't care; it was enough to give an account to the club chairman, Gie Smith.

After spending half an hour in the office, Gregory returned to the training ground.

He went to find Wan Sheng.

But after circling the training ground and asking Diomares, he still couldn't find Wan Sheng. Just as he was about to leave and return to the office, he saw Ian Taylor and Lee Morris chatting and preparing to leave the training ground.

"Ian!"

Gregory waved to call Taylor over.

Taylor looked very happy, "Mr. Gregory, thank you. Wan Sheng is really very capable. He said he would create a training plan to help me. I didn't have much hope, but I didn't expect him to really be able to do it."

"What?" Gregory was a bit stunned, "You mean he agreed? How is that possible? He must be lying to you!"

Taylor was a bit puzzled, "Mr. Gregory, wasn't Wan Sheng introduced to me by you? You even said he was very capable. I didn't believe it at first, but now I do."

"No, no, no."

Gregory didn't want Taylor to know he had been 'fooling' him, as that would mean no player would trust him in the future. He could only force out a few words, "Yes, he, really, is, very, capable!"

Taylor nodded and pointed to Morris, "Thank you again, sir. Lee is waiting for me, so I'll go now."

"Then, goodbye." Gregory waved to Taylor.

Before leaving, Taylor carefully looked at Gregory, feeling that the head coach seemed a bit strange, but he didn't think much of it and left with Lee Morris.

Behind him.

Gregory watched Taylor's limping figure and cursed in his heart, "Idiot! He says he can help you, and you believe him, what an idiot!"

He didn't even consider that Taylor's trust in Wan Sheng was largely due to him.

...