That night,
Crystal Palace fans received a piece of exhilarating news—
This season, Crystal Palace will not abandon the cup.
They've decided to fight on two fronts.
Their targets:
The league title and the FA Cup!
Fans instantly erupted in excitement.
This would be the first time in club history they'd be going for a double campaign!
Their young captain, Kai, had just recently made a bold championship declaration to the fans.
And now—
They weren't stopping at just one.
A second trophy was officially added to Crystal Palace's season blueprint!
Crystal Palace fans were on cloud nine.
They had never experienced a season this glorious!
Over the next stretch of training,
substitute players began appearing frequently in practice matches.
In intra-squad scrimmages,
Kai was no longer paired with the regular forward Vaughan,
but instead with the backup striker Zaha.
With less than a month left until the FA Cup began,
Crystal Palace, now preparing for double duty,
needed to quickly integrate their rotational lineup.
And through this adjustment period—
Zaha, who had wasted nearly half a season on the bench with only one appearance,
suddenly began to shine!
His chemistry with Kai improved noticeably.
The two started scoring repeatedly during scrimmages!
Kai's passes were like being spoon-fed golden chances.
Zaha, who'd spent months frozen out of the squad,
suddenly rediscovered his confidence.
He was beginning to understand the joy Vaughan experienced.
With glee, he thought:
"So this is what it's like to be on the same team as the captain? Even if you put a dog on the front line, it could score like crazy!"
Even Vaughan was getting jealous!
"Kai, I'm still your favorite striker, right?"
Vaughan asked like a wronged wife, eager to reassert his place as the 'main one.'
Kai simply chuckled and called both Vaughan and Zaha over.
He emphasized seriously:
"The pressure of playing on two fronts will be huge. You two are the only strikers in the squad, so you'll be rotating in and out of the starting eleven."
"Sometimes when we play 4-4-2, both of you will be on the pitch at the same time. So make sure to train hard and avoid injury."
On the sidelines,
Coach Holloway and assistant Millen watched the scene with emotion in their eyes.
"This super-genius… when he retires one day, he'll definitely make a great coach."
Two days later.
Round 21 of the Championship.
Crystal Palace faced Portsmouth away from home.
Portsmouth was a solid mid-table Championship side and a newly promoted team this season.
Unlike Palace, they had a prestigious history.
Just three seasons ago,
Portsmouth stood atop English football, having won the FA Cup.
But like Crystal Palace, they'd since suffered financial collapse and had been taken over by the government.
They tumbled through relegations, at one point dropping to League One.
Before kickoff,
as the starting lineups were announced,
Portsmouth manager Richie lit up with excitement.
"This is it. This is the opportunity!"
The Portsmouth coaching staff were ecstatic.
They looked at Crystal Palace's starting eleven, which had rotated in many substitutes.
"That Crystal Palace coaching staff are a bunch of idiots!"
"They actually think they can pull off double campaigns? And they rested nearly all their main players in a league match just to prepare for the cup?"
"Do they think their bench is that deep?"
"They're going to pay the price for their greed!"
Richie scoffed.
But in that moment, he saw his best shot at ending Crystal Palace's terrifying winning streak.
Right now, Palace were the biggest talking point in the Championship.
With a 10-match win streak, they had struck fear into the league.
It was obvious—
Whoever could end that streak would instantly become the next media darling!
Portsmouth's assistant coach was a little worried.
"Their No. 10 in midfield is this season's undisputed assist king in the Championship. Most of the other starters were rotated, but he's still on the list..."
Richie waved him off with a grin.
"Let me ask you something. If I put you in Pep's Barcelona squad, and Xavi and Iniesta were feeding you passes all game, how many goals could you score?"
The assistant blinked.
"None! I've never even touched a football professionally. I only know the theory. Forget playing—I'd have trouble even being the ball boy!"
Richie burst into laughter.
"Exactly! That's the point!"
"Even if they have a world-class midfield, it's for nothing if they have no forwards to finish the chances!"
"Without his usual strike partner, that so-called genius midfielder will soon have no one to pass to—and he'll just fade into mediocrity!"