Early the next morning, Zhao Zhao found Assistant Coach Breswell and told him his latest decision.
"Wh-what?" Breswell's mouth gaped exaggeratedly after hearing Zhao Zhao's words, "Rotate? Completely rotate for the Chelsea match???"
At first, Breswell thought Zhao Zhao was joking.
Sunderland isn't a big club; in fact, there are only about ten players who truly meet Premier League standards.
It's normal to make some rotations due to player fatigue, but it's absolutely impossible to do a complete rotation like those big clubs brimming with stars!
But when Breswell took another look at Zhao Zhao's serious expression, he finally understood that this young coach, always known for his unconventional approach, was serious this time!
"But isn't this too exaggerated?" Breswell still didn't understand why the boss wanted to do this, "Our players seem to be in good physical condition? Although it's two matches in a week, if we just grit our teeth and push through, the schedule ahead will be easier."
"You don't understand," Zhao Zhao pointed to the players on the training ground, "We've actually been using these 16 players in the past N matches, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Don't be fooled by their seemingly good spirits; that's just the excitement from the team winning, like they've had a shot of adrenaline."
"But adrenaline has its limits; their bodies are actually nearing a breaking point and could suddenly collapse, especially the starting players."
"Physical fatigue is like a slowly compressed spring; if there's no balance between work and rest, no proper breaks, then compressing the spring bit by bit until it reaches its limit will cause the spring's rebound force to become destructive to the body."
"And each time the spring rebounds to its limit, it becomes more fragile, so the next time it's compressed to its limit, it might just shatter."
Breswell's mouth slightly opened, a hint of noncommittal expression on his face: "Boss, isn't this a bit alarmist..."
Zhao Zhao's tone was firm: "For the players to have a healthier and longer career, and for us to win the final few relegation battles, we must let them rest now."
Breswell understood that Zhao Zhao's mind was made up and could only sigh: "If all the starters aren't playing, then this match..."
His mind was already racing, thinking about which lineup to take to London.
Sunderland's first team currently has only 23 players, including three goalkeepers.
If the regular starting 11 are excluded, the remaining players would just be enough to form a lineup to play Chelsea.
However, there are only two players in the center forward position; Defoe is the starter, but he didn't play in the last match.
So, for this match, should Defoe play, or should Anichebe continue?
Zhao Zhao seemed to read Breswell's mind and waved his hand: "Don't overthink it; I've already considered everything. Both center forwards will rest; let Josh Maja from the youth team step in."
"Also, the 11 regular starters plus Anichebe, all 12 of them will be on holiday and won't have to go to London on Thursday; it's too far and too tiring. As for the other substitute positions, we'll fill them with youth team players."
"And don't even think about having the starters come on as substitutes; not only are they tired, but playing mixed like that, the chemistry would actually be worse than a pure substitute lineup, understand?"
Breswell looked at Zhao Zhao in surprise; this young coach truly acts unexpectedly!
According to his initial thought, the original starters should have been listed as substitutes, and then brought on if the match situation called for it.
But unexpectedly, Zhao Zhao was directly not letting them go, and even giving them a holiday!
Of course, what surprised Breswell even more was that Zhao Zhao usually didn't seem to care much about the youth team's training, yet he knew the top players there!
Josh Maja is indeed a promising talent; he's only 18 this year but has already been promoted to the U23 youth team.
According to Youth Academy Director Sinclair, he was already planning to suggest promoting Josh Maja to the first team for training next season.
Breswell had no idea that Zhao Zhao was a man who had watched the Sunderland documentary in his previous life!
Although Josh Maja didn't become a top-tier star in the future, he did become Sunderland's top scorer and was later bought by Bordeaux in Ligue 1.
A player of that caliber is certainly capable of playing as a substitute in a Premier League relegation team.
As for why Zhao Zhao suddenly decided to play a full substitute lineup against Chelsea today...
It's simply because they couldn't win anyway!!!
After the coaching meeting yesterday, Zhao Zhao tried various methods to play Chelsea in the simulator.
Besides the initial 4-5-1 defensive counter-attack, he later used a pure bus 5-4-1, a 4-4-2 attack, a 4-4-2 quick defensive counter-attack, a 4-3-3 possession game, a 4-2-3-1 flexible defensive counter-attack, and even tried a 4-2-4 aggressive approach...
But he didn't win a single match, not even a draw!
The worst loss was 0:7!
It can only be said that this Chelsea team is truly in excellent form right now.
A team with superior strength and surging morale is likely an unsolvable problem for Sunderland.
To make matters worse, Zhao Zhao got carried away later and didn't pay attention to saving points, accidentally using all his simulation points!
This is a problem.
Losing to Chelsea isn't a big deal, but playing Swansea on the weekend is the real main event!
So, after much deliberation, Zhao Zhao made today's decision.
That is to completely give up on the Chelsea match, conserve energy, and fight to the death in the final three matches!
Since they can't win anyway, why waste their physical and mental energy?
Of course, Zhao Zhao wasn't without gains—he did receive nine weeks of coaching courses, and his tactical knowledge improved to another level!
"Swansea also has an away match against Manchester United this Thursday, and then they play us on the weekend, and their situation is worse than ours."
Zhao Zhao also explained his decision to Breswell—of course, from an angle they could understand.
This is very important.
Zhao Zhao had to make all his coaches and players understand that the match against Chelsea was a strategic surrender, which would minimize the team's morale drop.
At the same time, it would allow them to focus more on the upcoming life-and-death matches!
"They have to fight Manchester United to the death, while we will be well-rested, waiting for them at the Stadium of Light."
"Whether it's in terms of physical exertion or preparation time, we have the advantage."
"Believe me, going head-to-head with a strong Chelsea team away at this point is definitely not a good choice!"
Given the situation, Breswell could only nod heavily, indicating he understood.
Mainly because every time Zhao Zhao's seemingly bizarre moves had paid off in the past, how could he not believe him this time?
He even deeply admired Zhao Zhao's courage and decisiveness in making such a decision.
At this point, Zhao Zhao suddenly said:
"Oh, by the way, didn't Director Anderson say that Ground Football was still requesting an interview with me, and that they were changing to that female host? Let her come, the starters are on holiday tomorrow, and so am I!"