Team Spirit

Chapter 29: The cornerstone of the defense joins, the Green Spear Sharks
"Lu Kai, someone is looking for you outside." Jiang Mengyun knocked on the door of the club chairman's office - a small room separated from the back of the convenience store.

Lu Kai opened the door and walked out, and found a tall man of 1.85 meters sitting next to him.

"Hello, I'm Lu Kai." Lu Kai looked at the other person and judged that the other person was a player, and should be a backcourt player.

Sure enough, the other party introduced himself: "Hello, I'm Michael Duff, former Cheltenham center back."

As soon as these two keywords came out, Lu Kai instantly determined the identity of the person.

When talking about Duff, of course the more famous one is the one who flew side by side with Robben in Chelsea in the future and was known as the four wings of the Blues together with Wright and Joe Cole.

But in fact, defender Michael Duff also has his own place in the football manager game.

The player plays for Cheltenham, a well-known lower-level team in England. He will join Burnley in the future. He played in the Premier League for a year and became an Irish international.

After retiring, he coached Burnley U21, Cheltenham, Barnsley, Swansea, Huddersfield and other teams, but was fired in all of them.

If you compare Michael Duff with players like Gerrard and Lampard, you can say he was a failure both as a player and as a coach. After all, his starting point was always the Premier League.

But if you compare his experience with ordinary people, isn't it a legend?
The biggest feature of his playing days was his abnormal physical data and strong frontal defensive abilities such as steals.

but……

Looking at the slightly plump Michael Duff, Lu Kai felt that something was not right.

"Don't look at me being a little fat now, but I am very capable. I heard that you need to strengthen your defense, and I am definitely the best choice." Duff boasted.

Then the two chatted for a while.

Lu Kai also asked Jiang Mengyun to serve a bowl of Oreo milk tea, which Duff enjoyed very happily.

He was unlucky to be honest. He had already secured the position of Cheltenham's main central defender, but he was seriously injured last year.

After being bedridden for a year, he not only gained weight but also lost his position in the team.

Cheltenham performed very well last year and is on the verge of promotion this year. It is expected that they will compete in the English League Three next season, completing a super transformation from semi-professional to professional level.

As the situation changed, the team looked down on Duff and relegated him to the bench.

Duff caused trouble many times in order to play, and eventually fell out with the team's chairman and head coach and was expelled from the team.

Since the winter transfer window, he has tried out for several fifth- and sixth-tier teams, but was unable to stay due to his physical condition.

As Dartford reached the semi-finals of both the Kent Senior Cup and the FA Bottle, Duff began to think about joining Dartford.

"So you want to prove yourself through our next game and find a satisfactory team this summer?" Lu Kai revealed Duff's thoughts. "I'm not opposed to this, but I've provided you with a platform. What have you provided me?"

Duff patted his chest and said, "I can improve the team's defensive strength."

Lu Kai smiled and said, "We are still in debt and may not be able to afford your high salary."

Duff didn't mind: "I don't need a salary, I just need a chance."

Lu Kai added: "But you can't just run away halfway through the game. We've already entered the promotion zone and every game is crucial."

Dave went all in: "I can play all the remaining games this season." Lu Kai immediately turned around and said, "Aunt Jiang, draw up a temporary contract and make me a cup of strawberry and taro milk tea. Dave, take it with you later."

Duff beamed. "I'm so embarrassed, haha. I swear I've never tasted Chinese milk tea this good before! I think I could finish several cups every day!"

Lu Kai was very generous: "Although there is no salary, I can guarantee that there will be enough milk tea!"

And so, Dartford signed free agent Duff, signing a two-month contract with zero weekly salary.

Looking at Duff's back as he held a strawberry and taro paste Bobo milk tea, Jiang Mengyun felt a little unreliable: "I felt like you were quite optimistic about him, so why did you only sign a two-month contract?"

Lu Kai narrowed his eyes slightly. "He has great potential. His abilities and characteristics are very suitable for lower-level teams. He's a cornerstone player for the defense."

"A person like that wouldn't be willing to stay in a ninth-tier team. He'll definitely leave in two months."

Jiang Mengyun seemed to be thinking thoughtfully: "So you took advantage of this and deliberately didn't pay him a salary, trying your best to squeeze out his value?"

Lu Kai looked stunned. "Am I that kind of person? I just found another way to keep him. Didn't you notice that he really likes milk tea?"

"A cup of milk tea has 300 calories, equivalent to three bowls of rice. Drinking it regularly can easily make a normal person gain weight, not to mention those with a physique prone to obesity."

Jiang Mengyun understood something: "You said he has a physique that is prone to obesity?"

Lu Kai nodded. "With his ability, there's no way there wouldn't be a team in the fifth or sixth tier who wants him, but he just can't find a job. It has a lot to do with his overweight appearance. He's probably prone to obesity, and in football, being overweight ruins everything."

"He must be aware of this problem, but he hasn't been able to lose weight in a few months, which means he really can't lose weight."

"So as long as we can maintain his appearance, he might still not find a satisfactory team in the summer. If we then offer him a satisfactory salary, the chances of keeping him will be very high."

Jiang Mengyun: "But if he gets fat, won't his abilities be substandard?"

Lu Kai shook his head: "His strength lies in his ability to fight and tackle head-on. A certain degree of weight gain will not make his ability decline."

"Many players even go to great lengths to increase their strength."

"That layer of fat will become their best armor, O'Neill knows? Duff will become the big shark of Dartford's defense!"

Jiang Mengyun: "But wouldn't his salary be too high if we kept him? I'm afraid the team can't afford the salary of a fifth or sixth-tier player."

Lu Kai shook his head. "It's not a big deal. If your internship salary is 3,000, then the salary to become a regular employee must be at least 5,000, right? But if you don't get any salary during the internship, wouldn't it be generous of me to give you 3,000 after you become a regular employee?"

Jiang Mengyun opened her mouth slightly. "Oh my God, so this is why you didn't pay him this season? You're not greedy for that little money, you're digging a hole... What's this trick called?"

Lu Kai: "Void card making!"

On the other side, after leaving the convenience store, Duff sipped his milk tea while sighing that Dartford was indeed just a small team with a narrow vision and a small scale.

Relying on the platform he has now, he is taking advantage of himself and not paying himself salary for the past two months.

It seems like I saved two or three thousand pounds, but I lost the chance of getting my own forever.

(End of this chapter)