Football Card System

But obviously, now was not the time to make drastic changes, as this was Gao Bo's first opportunity to meet his players in person.

Over the past few days, he had repeatedly reviewed the profiles of the players he could consider using. However, to finalize the main framework of the team, he needed to combine his daily-use skill of player evaluation with observations during training sessions.

In his previous life, Gao Bo had been a die-hard football fan and was deeply inspired by Leicester City's legendary 2015-2016 Premier League season. Under Ranieri, Leicester went from a relegation-threatened side to pulling off one of football's greatest underdog stories by winning the Premier League title.

It wasn't sheer luck that brought Leicester the title—long league campaigns require consistency and tactical brilliance. Now, as a professional coach in this life, Gao Bo had carefully analyzed the key elements of Leicester's success: rapid transitions, creating space through off-ball movement, a compact defensive structure, forcing opponents to attack from the flanks, and relentless pressing to disrupt opposition play.

Leicester City's hallmark was their classic 4-4-2 formation. Ranieri ensured the team maintained compactness, making it difficult for opponents to dominate possession. On the attack, Vardy spearheaded the frontline, while Shinji Okazaki played just behind him, often dropping back to support the midfield. Their defense forced opponents to attempt crosses from wide areas, which were largely neutralized by crowding the penalty area with defenders.

When Leicester won possession, they transitioned rapidly from defense to attack. A long ball to Vardy would quickly initiate a counterattack, with Vardy and Okazaki splitting the opposition's central defenders, creating space for second-wave attackers to exploit. If the counterattack failed, Leicester would shift to a positional attack, relying on players making vertical runs into the box.

On the defensive side, Leicester employed a high press immediately after losing possession. Vardy was the first line of defense, harassing ball handlers, while Kante and Drinkwater supported him in midfield. If the initial press failed, the team would retreat into a compact defensive block.

Gao Bo was confident that these tactics, which had brought Leicester glory, could also be adapted to Luton. He even had some of Leicester's key players from that era: Vardy, Drinkwater, and Kante.

The plan was to spend the first week bringing players back to their physical condition from the previous season—many of them had gained weight during the off-season. This would be followed by ten days of intense physical training, as physical fitness was the foundation of Gao Bo's tactical system.

Once training began, Gao Bo activated his football card evaluation system.

When the holographic interface appeared, Gao Bo felt a pang of guilt, glancing around to ensure no one else could see it.

"Equip card!"

With a satisfying "click," a glowing blue card was embedded in the system. A message appeared:

Training effectiveness increased by 15%!

Over the next week, Gao Bo began to notice the impact of this skill. His suspicions were confirmed when the fitness coach and Haruko Sakuragi reported on the players' progress.

"Gao, it seems the players have been very committed to training. Almost all of them have lost weight within a week!" said Mel Donald, the fitness coach, excitedly.

Gao Bo, however, knew it wasn't just the players' commitment—the training card was clearly working.

"In that case, let's move on to the next stage of training!" Gao Bo announced.

Pre-season preparation was critical for the entire season, but Mel Donald hesitated.

"Uh... there's one player whose progress has been less than ideal."

"Who?"

"Sam Parker."

Donald seemed distressed, as Sam Parker, a 27-year-old experienced striker, was expected to be a key player in the team. However, his attitude toward training was lackluster, with inconsistent effort.

Gao Bo wasn't overly concerned. In his eyes, Parker wasn't a key striker but rather a substitute. With talents like Vardy and Charlie Austin in the squad, Gao Bo didn't see Parker as essential.

"Then let him train alone until he gets his weight under control," Gao Bo said casually.

Donald looked uneasy. "But... Sam Parker is a good striker for the Second Division."

Gao Bo smirked confidently. "Mel, Vardy and Charlie Austin aren't just Second Division strikers!"

Donald clearly wasn't convinced, but Gao Bo didn't feel the need to explain further. Instead, he leaned forward with interest. "If we put Parker on the transfer market, would there be interest?"

Donald nodded. "Yes, several Second Division teams would likely want him."

"Great. Let's trade him for a tall center-back with strong defensive and aerial abilities!"

Gao Bo had been observing his squad and identified several areas that needed reinforcement. The team already had solid forwards (Vardy and Austin), a reliable midfield duo (Drinkwater and Kante), and a dependable captain in Kevin Keane. However, the defense lacked a physically dominant center-back to handle aerial threats.

With £100,000 in transfer funds and the potential sale of Sam Parker, Gao Bo was confident he could acquire the defensive reinforcements needed.

"Let the scouting department search for candidates. Meanwhile, our training continues!" Gao Bo declared.