The day before the game, Derby County was training seriously, and the whole team was working hard because this FA Cup was a match against Premier League teams.

What Wan Sheng said to the media did not affect the team. He clearly told every player that he should work hard to win this game, and everyone knew that the team was going to really fight.

Tottenham Hotspur’s performance this season is not very good, but they have always been one of the most popular teams in the Premier League. They have always had good results and have received a lot of attention. If they can defeat Tottenham Hotspur at the White Hart Lane Stadium, they will also receive more attention at that time. This is a good opportunity to become famous. Players only have the opportunity to become famous in one game as long as they play on a larger stage. In comparison, the White Hart Lane Stadium is a larger stage, and there will be more fans and more reporters than the league.

If they can perform well in this game, perhaps some of them can really become famous in one battle?

Everyone feels excited when they think of this.

So their training worked harder, and with everyone's efforts, the training ground in Derby County had already had a pre-war atmosphere.

...

On the other hand, there is no special news in the Tottenham Hotspur match, the only news comes from a press conference held by Tottenham Hotspur Club.

That was two afternoons before the game.

Tottenham Hotspur coach David Plitt announced the 18-man roster at a press conference and emphasized that Tottenham Hotspur is a team that has been chasing FA Cup victory. In history, and now, even if the league encounters setbacks, they will still not give up on the FA Cup easily.

The meaning expressed by David Prit is actually to build confidence for fans, and to emphasize Tottenham's historical heritage in front of the media and fans.

Tottenham Hotspur’s historical performance is not as good as that of a traditional aristocratic giant like Liverpool. But they have full pride in the honor of the FA Cup - they have won the FA Cup eight times.

The last championship was in 1991. After that year, Tottenham Hotspur only defeated Leicester 1-0 in the 1999 League Cup final and won the club's most recent title, which also represents the decline in Tottenham's performance. However, after winning eight FA Cup championships in a century, he can proudly call playing the FA Cup a "tradition".

Tottenham fans can proudly say, "Fighting for the FA Cup has always been Tottenham's tradition."

David Plitt also expressed his determination to win the FA Cup at a press conference. "We have encountered setbacks this season in the league, but as a century-old club, Tottenham never gave up on the FA Cup. This is our tradition. We will try our best to win every FA Cup game!"

While talking about this, David Plitt did not talk about the next match against Derby County, as if the victory of this match had been booked by Tottenham Hotspur in advance, he was a bit of looking forward to the next round. He also said that 'The FA Cup is not only about honor and history, but also a way to strive for qualifications for European competitions next season'.

In short, what David Plitz said is that Tottenham Hotspur will attach great importance to the FA Cup.

When mentioning this, Alex Inglesops also said a few words, expressing his disdain for Derby County to media reporters. Because Derby County gave up the FA Cup early, this is not what a normal English club should do.

"They hired a Chinese coach and gave up the tradition of the English team."

"The FA Cup represents the culture and heritage of English football and is the most meaningful championship event in England. There should not be any English teams giving up..."

"That Chinese probably doesn't understand this..."

“…”

Alex Ingleps said just a few brief words, but what he said was much more attractive than David Prit's words, because it was equivalent to directly criticizing Derby County. It was the most direct provocation, just like two boxers were preparing to have a boxing match, one gave up early, and the other party kept scolding the other party at the audience, "How can he give up? Even if he can't beat it, he must try his best to be worthy of the boxing sport." This is not a direct provocation, what else can it be?

So Alex Inglepus's words became the biggest news for Tottenham before the game. After hearing his words, many media immediately rushed to the town of Derby County, wanting to interview Wansheng and looking forward to his response.

It’s a pity that this day was not open training time. Derby County Club did not hold a press conference, and Wan Sheng had no intention of accepting an interview at all.

A few reporters were lucky and waited for Wansheng in front of the club department, and were told directly, "This is private time, no interviews are allowed!"

Then the media said a lot about Derby County and Wansheng.

In the ten thousand wins the day before the game, many media reported that Derby County had sarcasticated the FA Cup. They quoted Alex Inglepus and claimed that "the Chinese can only escape by refusing to interview," and then began to constantly criticize Derby County for giving up the FA Cup.

"This is shameful!"

"They shouldn't give up on the tradition of England's team!"

"That Chinese doesn't understand the significance of the FA Cup to the English! This is not an event that can be easily given up!"

"He's a coward!"

"He is so utilitarian, he doesn't care about anything for the league results..."

“…”

If you read these media reports, you will really think that Wan Sheng has done something that is so angry that people are resentful. But in the eyes of other club head coaches and various football people, Wan Sheng and Derby County's approach is correct. After all, winning the FA Cup championship cannot make the club upgrade, not to mention that you encounter a Premier League team in the first round of the FA Cup. Give up the game rationally should be what a normal head coach should do.

But the media doesn't think so.

They are not talking about the matter itself, they are all aimed at Wansheng. Now, with Alex Ingleps starting the words as an excuse, they have enough reason to criticize Wansheng.

Among them, the Daily Mirror is the leader who stands at the forefront of criticism and remarks.

The Daily Mirror almost never reports on Derby County. They only say a few words when Derby County has achieved great results. However, on the official website, there will definitely be no specific paper-based praise reports. But whenever there is any negative news or negative news in Derby County, they will stand up as soon as possible.

Derby County met Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup this time, and they thought a good opportunity was coming again.

They originally wanted to stand up after losing to Tottenham in Derby County, but they didn't expect that they had a chance before the game, and the Chinese actually gave up the game early? If it were the League Cup, there was really nothing to say, there was too much to say in the FA Cup!

So they raised the banner of criticism again.

Unfortunately, these reports have little impact on Derby County Club. Derby County fans have long been accustomed to some external media criticizing the club's practices. Fans actually have some complaints about the team giving up the FA Cup. However, thinking of the club's achievements and the bright prospects for upgrading to the Premier League this season, this complaint is nothing - compared to the team being able to upgrade to the Premier League steadily, what is the difference between giving up the FA Cup?

More importantly, there are twenty Premier League teams participating in the FA Cup. Even if you win one or two games, you will not be able to win the championship. Instead of wasting your energy on meaningless games, it is better to stabilize the league results.

The most common fans can understand this truth clearly.

At the same time, the media's remarks also reached David Prit's ears. In fact, David Prit was still a little complaining about Alex Ingleps. Derby County chose to give up the FA Cup, but Ingleps was still provoking the media. Isn't this forcing Derby County to work hard to win the game?

How good is it to win steadily. Why do you have to anger your opponent?

David Pritt was quite dissatisfied with Alex Ingleps' approach, but the two were in a cooperative relationship. In order to ensure the team's results, David Pritt would not turn against him directly. He could only hold his dissatisfaction in his heart. When he heard the media say that the Chinese coach of Derby County refused to be interviewed, the Derby County Club did not come forward to clarify, he felt relieved again.

If you can endure such provocations, Derby County is probably really going to give up the game!?

This is the best.

...

On the day of the competition, Derby County conducted daily training in the morning. After lunch, we got together and took a bus to North London. The town of Derby County is not far from North London, and it only takes about an hour to take the bus. By two o'clock, the bus had already entered the White Hart Lane Stadium.

There are two hours left before the start of the game.

Derby County players went to the locker room to pack their luggage, and then, one hour ahead of the game, Wan Sheng handed over the 18-man roster to the FA officials.

This is the FA's rule.

Normal English League Two or above, FA Cup and League Cup matches need to report the 18-man roster to the FA one hour in advance, and the FA will then announce the roster to the media.

Unlike European competitions, the FA does not force the team to register for the starting roster, it is just an 18-man roster. The reference value of this list is much less. After all, it is not easy to guess based on the list.
Chapter completed!