Because it is an internal training match, there is no referee and no score calculation, but discerning people can see that the team led by Keane and Giggs is clearly ahead. Giggs alone scored five or six goals.
After finishing the training match, the players went aside to rest, drink water, and wait for the next training tasks.
"Hello, Levi!" Keane and Giggs approached side by side. For professional players, this training match wasn't very intense, and the pace on the field was average.
"Hello, Roy, Ryan!" Levi greeted them with a smile, then introduced them to Messi and his father, Jorge, beside him.
"Messi, do you need a signature?" Keane asked.
Messi hesitated, then quickly nodded and clutched his head in distress. "I ... I didn't bring anything to sign!"
The crowd burst into laughter.
"What's your name?" Giggs asked, taking a few steps forward and squatting down.
"Lionel Messi!" Messi replied, trembling. He never dreamed that the superstars he saw on TV would appear before him and squat down to talk to him.
"Oh, Lionel Messi, I remember! Are you a player?" Giggs asked again.
Messi looked at his father, Jorge nodded, and then Messi nodded immediately, "Yes!"
"It looks like you should have outstanding technique, but you are physically thinner. If you want to be a professional player, you need to exercise more and make yourself stronger!" Giggs encouraged with a smile.
With Giggs' encouragement, Messi nodded excitedly.
"Playing in England is impossible without body strength!" Keane said seriously.
Levi nodded. He knew this better than anyone. For example, Verón, the White Wizard, had undeniable game skills, but due to his lack of physical confrontation, he couldn't integrate into Manchester United and was deemed an overpriced flop.
"Roy, are you counting Ryan? He wasn't very physically fit back then!" Bruce came over with a smile.
They were all old acquaintances at Manchester United, and Bruce was their lead brother. So when he spoke, Keane and Giggs didn't say much more.
"But Roy is right, you should pay attention to this problem," Bruce, knowing Messi's physical issues, cautioned Levi carefully.
Levi understood that these professional stars had a sharper eye than himself and accepted Bruce's suggestion with an open mind.
"Or try controlling your diet. I have a friend in Manchester who is a dietitian. You can ask him for help. I tried it myself and it worked well!" Bruce went on to recommend.
"Okay, we can try it! I also plan to take him to the Royal Manchester Hospital in the next two days to find a specialist for a detailed medical examination. Additionally, I have his physical data from the past year. We'll find the most effective and reasonable treatment plan," Levi agreed with a smile, intending to call the diet nutrition expert.
"Then you're right to find him. He is authoritative in this field and has many friends, so let him introduce a reliable expert," Bruce said with a smile.
Jorge felt touched by the concern these men, whom they had just met, showed for Messi. It was all because Messi was a newly signed player of New Manchester United. This made Jorge feel that signing with New Manchester United was the right decision, especially seeing Levi's concern for Messi, which solidified his belief in his decision.
"Steve, what do you think of Evra?" Levi asked Bruce as Walsh walked around with Jorge and Messi.
"He's fast and has some basic skills, which can make him the main force of an amateur league or a substitute for a lower professional league," Bruce thought for a while and said.
Levi was shocked. The future world-class left-back was described this way, but after thinking about it, Evra was indeed ordinary now. Other than speed, he didn't have much.
"I don't think he is suitable as an attacking wing forward. His skills are a bit rough, and he hesitates when he excels," Giggs evaluated, as he played in the same position as Evra in this training match.
"My suggestion is to move him to the left-back position. You know, our team also lacks a left-back now," Levi suggested.
In terms of team tactics, Levi would put forward his opinions, but it was the experts who decided the team's head coach.
Of course, Steve Bruce was not yet the head coach of New Manchester United, but it should be said that he was slowly falling into the trap set by Levi and unable to extricate himself.
"His running ability is excellent, and he has great fighting spirit, and he's young. It's a good idea to train him as a left-back," Keane also expressed his views.
After listening, Bruce nodded, apparently accepting everyone's opinions.
Levi realized why head coaches liked to have their own coaching teams; they needed people to discuss with and assist them. But currently, New Manchester United had only Bruce alone.
The coaching staff, scouts, and other staff were key additions that New Manchester United needed next. Of course, all this required funding. Levi suddenly wished for the World Cup to end soon, so his funds would be available as soon as possible.
With money, everything would be easier!
"By the way, Andy approached me before and asked if there would be some warm-up games. What do you think?" Bruce suddenly remembered.
"Warm-up match?" Levi frowned.
"Well, this would be the first game since the formation of New Manchester United!" Bruce said cautiously.
Keane, after thinking about it, proposed: "How about playing against Manchester United? I'll go back and discuss it with the old man."
"Will he agree?" Bruce asked.
"He should. He had a quarrel with the board over Levi establishing a new club, and later said that New Manchester United was forced by the board's gang of turtle grandsons. Moreover, this is just an ordinary warm-up match."
No matter how Keane said, Levi immediately rejected it.
"No, if I want to play against Manchester United, I hope it is in the Premier League, or in the FA Cup, the League Cup, not a warm-up match, because I believe it will be recorded in the history of Manchester United and New Manchester United as a legendary game! Moreover, it is not the time for us to challenge Manchester United!"
Keane and Giggs were a little surprised by Levi's attitude. Did he have resentment against Manchester United for founding New Manchester United?
But after thinking again, Keane and Giggs understood that Levi didn't hate Manchester United but despised those who brought the smell of money to Old Trafford. He stubbornly wanted to prove himself right in his own way.
For the first time, Keane and Giggs agreed with anyone who wanted to beat Manchester United.
"Let's play with Droylsden when their team gathers for training!" Levi suddenly proposed.
Bruce and the others were stunned but soon understood Levi's intentions. In this way, he was expressing his gratitude to David Pace.
"Good guy!" Keane slapped Levi's shoulder hard. Apparently, from this moment, Levi's name was added to his friends list, and the same was true for Giggs.
No matter who the opponent was in the warm-up match, Bruce had no objections, let alone Droylsden.
After finalizing the first warm-up match, they needed to schedule a few more warm-up matches to prepare for the new season of the Northwest Division B League, the B-Northwest Division Challenger Cup, and of course, the FA Cup in which Levi dreamed of participating. Although Levi dared not say they could win the championship in the next few years, they could at least participate in the FA Cup, which was open to all English clubs.
"It looks like we won't be competing with you this year, Steve!" Keane shrugged and said with regret.
Although New Manchester United had registered for the FA Cup, as a Premier League team, Manchester United would start directly from the third round, whereas New Manchester United, as a tenth-level team, had to start from the initial preliminaries. Even if they were strong enough to pass the preliminaries and four qualifying rounds to reach the first round of the main competition, with the addition of professional teams like English B, English B, and C, it was almost impossible for New Manchester United to advance. Not to mention, eliminating two strong teams consecutively to enter the third round and then having the good luck to face Manchester United.
"That may not be true. Who knows what might happen on the football field?" Levi retorted with a smile.
"Levi is right; it's not necessarily impossible!" Bruce followed.
Bruce had increasingly regarded himself as the team's head coach.
The sun was setting, reddening the vast western horizon.
Keane and Giggs walked out of the Butcher's Knives Stadium and looked back, finding Bruce still directing how New Manchester United's players should cooperate and pass the ball, even the most subtle details.
"It seems he intends to coach this team!" Giggs said with a smile.
"Of course, otherwise, he wouldn't have called us to help him train these players. But he will definitely be an excellent head coach!" Keane was very confident in Bruce.
"Why?" Giggs was surprised at Keane's affirmation.
"You'll know later. This is not an ordinary team—a group of avid fans, a strong and excellent head coach, plus a dedicated and ambitious boss. This will become a formidable team!"
"But it should be impossible to reach the Premier League in at least ten years!" Giggs sighed with regret.
Keane's eyes flashed with indignation. He naturally understood Giggs' point: modern professional football is no longer just about pure football; money is a significant factor.
The upgrade of a club depends not only on competitive performance but also on financial resources. Any football giant in the world is wealthy. As professionalization progresses, although many poor teams can suddenly rise and become dark horses, they are soon exposed.
The reason is simple:the players get poached and the funds run dry.
This is especially true for those lower-level professional teams. It is conceivable that as the bottom of the English League, New Manchester United would find it nearly impossible to upgrade and enter the Premier League; it's a task more difficult than reaching for the sky.
"But from those carnival-like fans and from Levi, Bruce, and the others, I see the pure Manchester United again. Ryan, don't you think Old Trafford has become much quieter now?" Keane's words were full of irony.
The ticket prices had increased, pushing out the real fans who loved watching the game, and attracting more people who didn't understand or enjoy the game, who just came to show off or network, drinking wine and eating steak—pseudo-fans. That's why Old Trafford had become quieter.
Football, must it be so complicated? Can't it be simpler?