Chapter 238: Too much money! Army expansion! Procrastination! The first line of defense in history [Subscribe]

Central Park Southwest, New York City, USA.

In the chairman’s office of RSE Venture Capital, real estate tycoon Steven Ross, who had just finished his Christmas vacation, was meeting with Matt Higgins and Charlie Stillitano who had specially returned from London.

The two are the CEO and director of football of Premier League team Queens Park Rangers respectively.

But at this moment, the faces of the three of them were very ugly.

Because Queens Park Rangers are currently at the bottom of the Premier League standings.

Yes, they also got 14 points, the same as Blackburn, but the goal difference was negative 25 goals.

Blackburn is at a loss of 14 goals.

According to the rules, Queens Park Rangers replaced Blackburn and gloriously became the new vice-captain.

So, right after the Christmas holiday, Matt Higgins and Charlie Stillitano flew to New York.

Queens Park Rangers have no money!
Before the season, the Italians did deliver on their promise, giving them a Premier League club without much foreign debt.

But this newly promoted Premier League team is simply not competitive.

Last summer, in order to sell the club, the Italian did not invest in any new players.

The newly promoted team doesn’t recruit any new players and will risk their lives to avoid relegation?

The whole office was filled with gloom.

Obviously, this result was something they had never thought of before the acquisition.

What a trap!
“What should we do now?” Steven Ross asked his two right-hand men in front of him with a serious face.

There was even some complaint in his tone.

Because they were the ones who personally checked it at the beginning, they thought there was no problem.

But to be honest, we can’t blame them entirely.

There is no promotion or relegation in American sports leagues. Who can accurately evaluate the combat effectiveness of Queens Park Rangers?
“We are in a very bad situation now. Charlie, Danny, who is staying in London to run the affairs, and I have discussed it with the three of us. We have also asked for the opinions of several players.”

“We are considering changing the coach.”

Steven Ross nodded, “Go on.”

“But there is also the problem of changing the manager, which is to pay Neil Warnock a release clause or continue to pay him a salary in the future until he finds a job.”

When Steven Ross heard this, he immediately clicked his tongue and frowned.

“What about the new head coach?”

“We have considered quite a few people, but the most important thing now is to avoid relegation.”

Steven Ross nodded, “Yes, we must stay in the league.”

“I spent 1 million pounds to buy a Premier League team. If we are relegated, won’t we become a Championship team? By then, the Premier League broadcasting fees will be gone, and it will be even more difficult to attract investment. In the case of Queens Park Rangers, how much money do we have to invest to fill the hole?”

The most hateful thing is that you have to make up for it!

The Premier League and the English Football Association will review the financial situation of major clubs. If they are in debt or owe players’ salaries, the clubs will be deducted league points at the very least, or directly relegated at the worst.

Then it will change from the Championship to English Football League One, or even English Football League Two.

Wouldn’t that mean the 1 million pounds would be wasted?
“Also, we have been preparing for this summer’s US tour in the US. Queens Park Rangers will come as a Premier League team. If we were to drop into the Championship, would we still be able to come?”

Steven Ross has been planning this event for a long time. Not only will he come, but he will also participate in the World Football Challenge.

This was a big move for him to support Queens Park Rangers and open up the American market.

But once relegated, 1 million pounds would be wasted and his carefully prepared plan would be ruined!
At this moment, Steven Rose finally understood why the Italian smiled with his eyes narrowed when he sold the football club that had finally been promoted to the Premier League and was about to have revenue of more than 5000 million pounds.

Because running a football club is too expensive!

Steven Ross also runs a sports club, but he doesn’t spend so much money.

In the United States, is there any need to worry about downgrade?
After getting the quota and setting up a club, you can just lie down and make money.

Who the hell still worries about relegation?

“By the way, who are you considering to be the head coach?” Steven Ross asked again.

“Mark Hughes is a very experienced head coach. He is confident that he can lead the team to avoid relegation, but…”

“but what?”

“He asked us to invest in the winter break.”

Steven Ross had an expression on his face that I had guessed would be the case.

“How much does he want?”

“At least £5000 million.”

Steven Ross almost fell over, looking at Charlie Stillitano in front of him with disbelief, and raised his voice, “How much?”

“Fifty million pounds,” Charlie Stillitano repeated.

“I might as well just demote him!” Steven Ross exploded on the spot.

A transfer fee of 5000 million pounds?
Crazy?
“Premier League players are expensive now, and it’s the winter break, so it’s really not cheap!” Matt Higgins sighed.

In fact, everyone knows that 5000 million pounds was a high price that Mark Hughes asked for and he shouted it out to investors for bargaining.

“I tell you, if you really want £5000 million, then Queens Park Rangers will be relegated and I won’t play anymore!”

When he said this, Steven Ross felt a burning pain in his heart.

What on earth went wrong in the first place that I ended up stepping into such a big mud pit.

Really blind!

Now it’s completely rotten in my hands.

If we don’t recruit new players, there is a high probability that we will be relegated and the 1 million pounds will be wasted.

Once demoted, it’s difficult to come back!
We can recruit new players, but that will require a large investment.

The most important thing is that this is still a black hole with no end in sight.

God knows how long Queens Park Rangers will have to wait before they can become self-sufficient?
If you want to maintain your competitiveness, you will most likely have to keep pouring money into it.

“It’s hard not to play now. Premier League clubs are not easy to sell now. The market is not very good.” Matt Higgins sighed again.

He discovered that being the CEO of a Premier League club is not a job for humans!
Steven Ross took a deep breath, calmed down, and then said, “To be honest, I definitely don’t have 5 million pounds. It’s impossible for me to invest so much money.”

“At least £3 million. For the rest, Mark Hughes said he could loan a few players to Manchester United or other teams, but asked us to give him more authority on the salary budget.”

Steven Ross is no rookie either, at least he has run an NFL club.

Transfer fees and salary budgets are the difference between short-term pain and long-term pain.

Even with higher salaries, the financial pressure is also great.

“Mark Hughes has his eyes on Manchester City’s Wright-Phillips, who is currently valued at around £600 million.”

“There is also Lazio’s French striker Cisse, Fulham’s striker Bobby Zamora, Manchester City’s central defender Onuoha…”

All four players are valued at around £500 million.

In other words, these four people alone cost more than 20 million pounds.

Adding players such as Campbell Jr., Traore, Anton Ferdinand, Luke Young, etc., the transfer investment is expected to reach 3000 million pounds.

The rest are some free transfers and loan players.

The problem is that QPR have already signed several players on free transfers this summer and the club is now spending a lot on wages.

The club is now out of money.

“Can’t the transfer fee be paid in installments?” said Steven Rose.

“It can be paid in instalments, but the club will soon be out of money to pay salaries. Also, Mark Hughes’ salary is quite high.”

“How tall?”

“Four million pounds!”

Steven Ross felt a sharp pain in his heart.

“Who the hell is this? Why is his salary so high?”

“He has a lot of connections and can loan players from Manchester United, AC Milan and other teams. He also has a lot of coaching experience and is considered a well-known coach in England.”

After a pause, Charlie Stillitano added, “He used to coach Fulham, the club whose stadium we visited. His annual salary was 500 million pounds, and his results were always good.”

Steven Ross’s heart began to bleed.

“Then can he guarantee relegation?” Steven Ross thought of the most critical question.

Matt Higgins and Charlie Stillitano looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.

Who can guarantee such a thing?
Steven Ross completely collapsed.

In other words, even if they spend another 3 million pounds, they may not be able to stay in the league.

If they fail to avoid relegation, wouldn’t the sunk cost become 1.3 million pounds?

Even if we succeed in staying in the league, what about next season?

What if we are relegated? How will we survive the next season?
Steven Ross found that this business was a loss no matter how he calculated it!
In the end, won’t you just keep throwing more and more money into it?

Don’t vote?

Sunk costs can bring you down.

“I’ve invested the 3 million pounds. When you return to London, go to the City of London and find that fat guy named Cash Harris. Tell him to sell this club to me as soon as possible.”

“My asking price is not high, 1.3 million… no, 1 million pounds. Just sell it to me at the original price, and I’ll give him a commission!”

Steven Ross has also worked in big business and knows how to calculate the pros and cons.

If you hit your hand at this time, you will definitely get a big hole burned in it.

It’s better to throw it away quickly.

Matt Higgins and Charlie Stillitano looked at each other and saw the difficulty in each other’s eyes.

At the beginning of the season, we were a newly promoted team and had high ambitions.

It is now the deputy class leader and a hot favorite for relegation. Let alone the original price, it would be difficult to sell it even at a discounted price.

But do they dare to say this?
……

While American billionaire Steven Rose was on the verge of collapse in New York, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was pacing in the living room of his home near Knightsbridge in London.

He also encountered a very difficult problem.

Should we fire Boas?

The current situation is that everyone from the media to fans to players to management, and even his personal adviser Pete DeVisser, is suggesting that he change coaches.

Isn’t it just the termination fee?
Just compensate him!
But it was difficult for Abramovich to make this decision.

Because just half a year ago, he made the promise to Boas himself.

I also paid the penalty for breach of contract for him.

Now, I have to pay another penalty to send him away?

Wouldn’t Abramovich become a big joke then?
But the fans outside were making a lot of noise.

If American real estate tycoon Steven Rose is worried about his reluctance to spend money, then Abramovich has made it clear that he is willing to spend money. He is even willing to spend more than 1 million pounds on signings.

But this time, he wants to participate personally and he will inquire about every transfer.

But what worries him is whether Boas should stay?

“The players’ opinions are clear. Apart from a few who did not express their opinions, everyone else agrees that Villas-Boas should be sacked or the team’s results will not improve.”

Marina Granovskaia reports.

She handled this matter personally and guaranteed it to be absolutely true and reliable.

“Are there not a few people standing up to speak for him?” Abramovich found it unbelievable.

“Doesn’t he have several direct descendants? That one… the one who came from Porto, his name is…”

“Alvaro Pereira.” Pete DeVisser on the side reminded.

“Yeah, he didn’t say anything?”

Granovskaia shook her head. “He just sat in the corner and kept silent.”

This kid has a low presence and has been suppressed by Ashley Cole this season.

“What about Bosingwa and Ferreira? They are both Portuguese, what do they say?”

“Both of them remained silent.”

When Abramovich heard this, he almost laughed out of anger.

Boas has been coaching for about half a year, and he has really become deserted by everyone!

God knows how he did it?
What a talent!

“It’s simple. Chelsea’s current performance is so bad that no one dares to say anything,” said Pete De Visser incisively.

“In the professional arena, if you can’t produce results, everything is in vain.”

“If Villas-Boas was at the top of the list right now, I would support you and just fire the veterans in the dressing room, but in this situation, if you still want the players to continue to concentrate on playing, there is only one choice.”

Abramovich certainly knows what the choice is.

He had always been reluctant to make this decision.

Otherwise, Boas would have been sacked long ago.

“In fact, I think there is no need for us to increase our recruitment efforts during this winter break. Since Gary Cahill has already been signed, forget it. Other transfers can be put on hold for the time being and the funds can be saved for the summer.”

Pete DeVisser spoke his mind.

“Recruiting players during the winter break is expensive, risky and passive. Instead of doing that, it is better to just leave it at that for this season and use the remaining six months to plan the future in detail, clarify the team building plan, and then recruit players this summer.”

After hearing this, Abramovich thought it made sense.

It is always easy to get cheated when signing players during the winter break.

And, the most important thing now is Boas.

Thinking of this, Abramovich looked at Granovskaia and then at Pete DeVisser.

After some deliberation, the Russian finally sat down on the sofa and waved weakly at Granovskaia.

“Go tell Gourlay to talk to Boas!”

Granovskaia understood what her boss meant, nodded in agreement, and turned to leave.

……

On the 2012th day of 4, the Premier League suddenly welcomed two major news.

Chelsea, which has had sluggish performance this season, announced a change of coach.

Head coach Villas-Boas was sacked and assistant coach Di Matteo served as the team’s interim head coach.

This is something that everyone is mentally prepared for.

Ever since losing to Bayswater Chinese by a large margin at home, Villas-Boas has been called to sack, and this has been delayed for more than a month.

It is commendable that the Portuguese have been able to hold on until now.

But for Chelsea, the turmoil caused is obvious.

Before the season, they spent 1500 million euros in liquidated damages to lure Villas-Boas from Porto. However, less than half a year later, they paid another large amount of liquidated damages to fire Villas-Boas.

Is this really a problem with Boas’ coaching skills?
The most annoying thing about the British media, or the most annoying thing about them, is that they will argue with you left and right.

Before Chelsea fired Villas-Boas, the media were almost unanimously calling on Chelsea to fire Villas-Boas.

But what is outrageous is that after Chelsea announced the sacking of Villas-Boas, a large number of media reports and columns quickly emerged, beginning to analyze Chelsea’s problems and wondering whether Villas-Boas should be fired?
If it is said that Boas has no coaching skills, then how did he lead Porto to the treble?

Then a lot of media came out to say that it was a pity for Boas.

The contract was clearly for many years, but in the end they only gave him half a year. What is this?
Too impatient!
They did not say that Chelsea’s decision was wrong, but kept saying that even if Villas-Boas was fired, the Blues would have no chance of revival if Chelsea’s fundamental problems were not resolved.

Anyway, public opinion has changed drastically.

Yang Cheng estimated that Abramovich would be so angry that he would vomit blood after seeing this.

In half a year, both termination payments were wasted!

Another team that failed was Queens Park Rangers.

The West London “arch-rivals” sacked Neil Warnock and hired Mark Hughes for a large sum of money, hoping that the famous English coach could lead Queens Park Rangers to avoid relegation.

To this end, Queens Park Rangers has already struck hard in the winter transfer market.

It seems that the Americans have invested a lot of money.

Yang Cheng did remember that in the 11/12 season of his previous life, Queens Park Rangers did manage to avoid relegation after changing their coach and increasing their recruitment efforts, but were relegated the next season.

As for this life, he didn’t know.

“They have recently been actively planning for Queens Park Rangers to go to North America for training and have been marketing their team name.”

Before going to Nice, France, David Pencel and Richard Maestri of ICC went to London to meet with Yang Cheng to discuss this summer’s World Football Challenge.

“According to what we have learned, they are indeed actively preparing for the World Football Challenge and plan to invite many strong European teams, including Atletico Madrid, Dortmund and Napoli.”

“They obviously want to create a tournament that is one level lower than ours.”

Yang Cheng nodded repeatedly.

This is the International Champions Cup, so they will organize an International Europa League.

“What are the reactions of these teams?” Yang Cheng asked with concern.

“It has not been confirmed yet, but I think everyone is worried about the American organizers because they were not very successful in the previous two events. On the contrary, they are full of expectations for our International Champions Cup.”

“We have had several clubs ask us if we are planning to expand.”

Expand the army!

This has always been in Yang Cheng’s plan.

When the 12 top teams were first determined, Yang Cheng said that they would expand the team when the time was right.

But other teams join by invitation, without being given shares or participating in dividends.

To put it simply, the initiative of who to invite and who not to invite lies in the hands of ICC and Yang Cheng.

“What do you think?”

David Pensel and Richard Masters looked at each other and laughed.

“We certainly hope to expand our army, but it is definitely too late this year.”

After a pause, David Pensel expressed his thoughts.

When the event was first launched, they were actually soliciting investment in commercial sponsorship, television broadcasting, etc. at very low prices, with the main focus being on promoting the market.

Because the cup competition had not yet been organized at that time, authoritative media such as Fox and China TV were needed to participate in the promotion.

Only when the fees are low and they are given enough profit margin will they have this motivation and willingness.

But things are different now.

With the success of last year’s International Champions Cup, which attracted 16 people, the event has become very popular.

It can be said that we have basically gained a firm foothold.

What we need to do next is to promote development step by step and continue to delve deeper into this track.

Correspondingly, we were given a preferential price for 3 years and now we have to renegotiate the contract.

All major sponsors and broadcasters also have to start negotiations again.

For example, in the United States, Fox has tasted the sweetness, and TV stations such as ESPN and NBC are very interested in broadcasting this event, so they can bid.

Yang Cheng is very confident in the two’s business operation capabilities, as well as the assistance from Adam Crozier, Omar Berrada and others.

“The Chinese region is still adopting the low-price market strategy, so we are talking to Huaxia TV.”

This is not only to attract as many domestic fans as possible, but more importantly, it is also beneficial for the promotion of the event.

Whatever is less earned from broadcasting fees, the impact of this kind of event can be used to double back the money earned from investment and sponsorship.

This is also what Yang Cheng has always advocated.

“Understood.” David Pensel understood.

What David Pensel meant was that after the International Champions Cup this summer, the card of expanding the team would be played.

Since there are two major competition divisions in the East and West in the United States, it is entirely possible to arrange two major competition divisions in Asia.

At that time, after the four major competition areas have determined the first place in each group, the finals of the major competition areas will be held.

We can even consider having the champions of the North American and Asian regions play another final.

“At present, many conditions are not yet mature, and the most important thing is time.”

Richard Masters calculated the timetable for Yang Cheng.

For the current 12 teams, the Asian region will play 3 games each, and the North American region will play 4 games if they win the first place in the group.

If we add another final, we will have to play 5 games. The schedule will be very tight.

Because this means that the group stage must be advanced.

The Ligue 8 and Bundesliga kick off in early August.

Although the Premier League is usually held in the middle of the month, the Community Shield is basically held in the early part of the month.

La Liga and Serie A start relatively late, but their teams also gather relatively late.

In a way, playing 4 games is already very tight.

If the group stage starts earlier, all teams will start playing right after training, and the quality of the games cannot be guaranteed.

Just imagine, the team has just finished training and physical reserve training, and they are directly pulled out to play the game?

How bad is the situation?
Fans buy tickets to enter the stadium, don’t they curse to death?

Another point is the time and location of the game.

The Asian and North American regions will play their respective finals because they are close and easy to arrange.

But on the other hand, if we have to play another final, where should it be arranged?
Obviously, neither Asia nor North America is suitable.

Arranged in Europe?
“I think the Prudential Arena is good, with more than 9 people, and the Premier League ticket prices are expensive!” Richard Masters said with a smile, his eyes lit up.

Yang Cheng actually thought it was good.

But this matter is difficult to coordinate.

As they said before, playing one more game requires more coordination in the schedule.

“We can use this as a contingency plan for the time being. We can do this for the first few sessions. Once it’s mature and a brand is established, naturally other interested cities or places will come to talk to us.” Yang Cheng said with a smile.

Ultimately, this is the same as the hosting rights of the Champions League final.

How many cities would like to host the Champions League final right now?
UEFA has very high standards and has clear standards for cities’ transportation facilities and other aspects. Cities that are too poor will not be considered at all.

In addition, there are requirements for the size of the stadium, and it cannot be too small.

Finally, the city will also offer a lot of preferential policies.

For the International Champions Cup, let’s keep it this way for now, take it step by step and advance slowly!

As long as we get this event off the ground and create the IP, there will be plenty of ways to go about it in the future.

“There is something I want to report to you.” David Pensel’s expression also became a little serious.

“You said.”

“People from FIFA and UEFA invited us to meet.”

“When?”

“I haven’t replied yet.”

Yang Cheng also became serious.

This was actually within his expectations.

Given the nature of FIFA and UEFA, when they see the International Champions Cup becoming popular, they will definitely want to get involved and get a piece of the pie.

Not to mention them, the American Soccer Association is also very “concerned” about this event.

But ICC has also made sufficient preparations.

When it comes to this matter, we have to thank the pioneer Charlie Stillitano.

Didn’t he set up a company at the beginning of the century to prepare for European top teams to play commercial games in the United States?

One of the important reasons for its bankruptcy was that it was caused by the US Soccer Association, which also owed a large sum of money.

After this guy went bankrupt, he got angry and sued them directly.

The end result was that Charlie Stillitano lost the case.

But since then, the U.S. Soccer Association has basically not interfered in commercial warm-up matches.

Therefore, now that the International Champions Cup is becoming more and more popular, they can only stand aside and watch with envy, not daring to take part.

To put it bluntly, this is beneficial to all major cities in the United States that host competitions.

If they really get angry, they will sue the U.S. Soccer Association again in a minute!
Their own asses are not clean at all.

FIFA and UEFA are also jealous, but they probably dare not take any action easily and can only make indirect moves.

And it was July and August, so they had no way of putting up obstacles.

For them, monetary benefits are of course important, but what is more important is the issue of voice.

Just imagine, nowadays, all the important authoritative competitions are in their hands.

Although leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga each have their own professional leagues, they are essentially affiliated with the Football Association and are under the leadership of FIFA and UEFA.

But what about the International Champions Cup?
This event did not belong to FIFA or UEFA from the beginning.

It also gathers 12 of the top and most influential wealthy families.

What is this intended to do?
It is impossible for FIFA and UEFA to forget the lessons learned from G14!
Especially Platini.

We finally got rid of the G14, and now here comes the G12?

What’s even more outrageous is that G14 was just a loose alliance back then, but what about G12 now?
Just organize the competition yourself!

Although it is just a warm-up match and not a formal match, what if?
If it continues like this, it will make more and more money and have a bigger and bigger influence. Who can guarantee that one day in the future it won’t become an official competition?
What will happen to FIFA and UEFA then?
“Get in touch with them first and see what they say. Use the tactic of procrastination in everything.” Yang Cheng smiled faintly.

At present, the International Champions Cup has only been established for two years and is not yet suitable for a head-on conflict with FIFA and UEFA.

Therefore, the most important thing now is to survive and develop.

First stabilize FIFA and UEFA, then develop slowly for a few years, and then challenge them when you have enough confidence and influence.

Yang Cheng thought of a possibility. Perhaps there would be a chance for the International Champions Cup to officially come to the fore, and even compete with FIFA and UEFA.

But there are still many details and many links to be connected.

As for the 12 giants, even as many people joked, Platini’s godson Barcelona cannot stand in agreement with UEFA on many interests.

As long as the International Champions Cup can stand on its own feet and threaten UEFA, it will be a great thing for the top teams.

By then, will UEFA’s attitude still be as tough as in the past?
Does FIFA still dare to take whatever it wants from clubs on issues such as national team training?
After all, the bosses of these two institutions are living too comfortable lives.

We need to create some threat to them.

Once this event becomes popular and major clubs become confident, the good days of FIFA and UEFA will be over!
“By the way, I also heard that Steven Rose is planning to sell Queens Park Rangers.”

“When did it happen?” Yang Cheng was a little surprised.

“Just in the past two days, they said that they had listed the property with Cash Harris in the City of London for 1 million pounds.”

After hearing this, Yang Cheng burst out laughing and was immediately amused.

“It’s always fun to see these Americans playing football.”

Who said no?
Given Queens Park Rangers’ current situation, they still want to sell for 1 million pounds?
If they can really stay in the league this season, perhaps some investors will consider it.

But that will have to wait half a year.

Under the current circumstances, Premier League teams are not easy to sell.

Just like Newcastle, how many years has it been listed in the City of London?
Many people ask, but few are interested.

Because Magpie can’t even achieve the most basic financial transparency.

No one knows how much debt the club is in now.

That is a traditional Premier League giant.

Queens Park Rangers is even more difficult.

As long as they cannot be sold, Americans will have to hold on to them.

Unless their 1 million pounds become worthless, they will have no choice but to continue pouring money into it.

European football is fair to investors, whether they are American investors or Chinese investors.

……

March 1st afternoon, Wembley Stadium, London.

In the third knockout round of the FA Cup, Bayswater Chinese played against League One team Oldham at home.

Speaking of which, this was considered an old rival of Yang Cheng when he first coached Bayswater Chinese.

But now, the two teams have changed.

As a guest at Wembley Stadium, Oldham showed unprecedented courage.

Yang Cheng made a large rotation on his side, which led to an unstable start and allowed the opponent to score the first goal.

But just two minutes later, Hazard successfully equalized the score for Bayswater Chinese.

Before the end of the first half, Aaron Ramsey’s goal helped the team reverse the score.

After the second half, De Bruyne scored another goal in the 68th minute.

3 is better than 1!

At the last moment of the game, Harry Kane received a pass from Kyle Walker on the right in the 89th minute to further expand the score for Bayswater Chinese.

In the 5th minute of stoppage time, Kyle Walker made a cross from the right, and Sterling, who came on as a substitute, scored a wonderful volley from the center.

5 is better than 1!

Bayswater Chinese finally beat Oldham 5-1 at home!

But what really made Yang Cheng happy were the goals scored by two young players, Harry Kane and Sterling.

And Kyle Walker’s explosion in the second half.

This young right winger is very fast, very strong and has great footwork, but he used to be very reckless when playing football.

It’s the kind of thing that’s straightforward, hard-hitting, and not very smart.

But he did play pretty well in this game.

Not only did Yang Cheng praise him in the locker room after the game, he also specifically mentioned his name at the press conference, hoping that he would continue to work hard and strive for better performance.

In the third round of the FA Cup, a strong dialogue took place.

Manchester City lost 2-3 to Manchester United at home.

God knows how these two teams were drawn together?

And they met in the third round of the FA Cup.

Manchester City also made significant rotations in this game.

Ancelotti was obviously also distracted by the first leg of the League Cup semi-final three days later.

They were playing at home against Bayswater Chinese.

Unexpectedly, Manchester City’s rotation lineup did not play well this time and was defeated by Ferguson’s Manchester United at home.

Ancelotti was also very dissatisfied with the result.

……

On the afternoon of January 1th, the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals.

Bayswater Chinese challenge Manchester City away.

Yang Cheng still rotated the game lineup, but Manchester City sent out all their main players this time.

In the 13th minute of the first half, Kaka’s goal opened the scoring for Manchester City.

After that, both sides fought with great pleasure.

Ancelotti’s team adopted the 4321 Christmas tree formation, which prevented the Chinese from finding an effective way to attack.

In the end, Yang Cheng’s team lost 0-1 away from home.

……

Three days later, the 21st round of the Premier League.

Bayswater Chinese visited White Hart Lane to challenge Tottenham Hotspur away.

It’s an uphill battle.

In this game, Redknapp adopted a very strange tactic.

442!

In front are the double strikers consisting of Adebayor and Saha.

The midfield is a combination of Kranjcar, Sandro, Livermore and Aaron Lennon.

The back line is Hector, Kaboul, Ledley King and Kyle Norton.

Yang Cheng sent all his main forces.

Manchester City is chasing very closely now, so Yang Cheng can’t be careless at all in the away game at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham Hotspur is ranked 6th in the Premier League this season, and its strength should not be underestimated.

Redknapp’s tactics were interesting, with four players piled up in midfield.

Modric was absent due to injury and Aaron Ramsey took his place.

This gives Tottenham a very good opportunity.

They used their numerical advantage in the midfield to suppress the Bayswater Chinese midfield.

And every time they grab the ball, they advocate passing it to the front court quickly.

Adebayor and Saha both have excellent ability to receive the ball with their backs. After they get the ball in the frontcourt, they will organize and plan the second wave of attack.

The interesting part was that Tottenham Hotspur contained the Bayswater Chinese midfield and prevented them from passing the ball forward.

But they couldn’t launch any attack of their own.

Before, Yang Cheng envied Manchester United for having an old monster central defender like Ferdinand.

As a result, Pepe and Thiago Silva also performed very well in this game.

Pepe, in particular, won almost all confrontations with Adebayor.

As early as the 38th minute, the Chinese team in Bayswater had actually scored a goal.

Gareth Bale used his speed on the left to get behind Kyle Norton, received the ball and passed it to the edge of the small penalty area.

Lewandowski’s shot was blocked by Ledley King.

But the Pole suddenly had an idea and shot the ball into the goal guarded by Friedel with a heel kick.

However, the referee blew the whistle for offside when Gareth Bale received the ball.

But in the 45th minute of the first half, Walcott dribbled on the right and created a corner kick opportunity.

Toni Kroos took the corner kick and Lewandowski headed the ball into Tottenham’s goal.

1 is better than 0!

In the first half, although Bayswater Chinese had the ball possession and the advantage in the game, they did not have many truly threatening attacks.

Tottenham had even less, so the game was a bit dull.

The start of the second half basically continued the trend of the first half.

Yang Cheng was not in a hurry and was observing the situation silently.

In the 58th minute, Bayswater Chinese won a free kick on the right side of the frontcourt, about 22 meters away from the goal.

Gareth Bale calmly took the penalty kick, a butterfly ball that hit the top of the crossbar.

Soon, the Chinese in Bayswater launched another attack. Lewandowski fell in the penalty area under the defense of Ledley King, and the referee refused to award a penalty.

This caused dissatisfaction among the Chinese players at Bayswater.

A goal had already been disallowed, why aren’t you giving a penalty now?

One minute later, Walcott and Piszczek made a very beautiful offensive combination on the right.

The little tiger received the ball on the right side of the penalty area and passed it back to Piszczek on the flank.

The Polish defender received the ball unguarded and sent a diagonal cross.

When everyone thought that this pass was meant for Lewandowski, Tottenham’s defensive attention was all focused on Lewandowski near the front point.

But what no one expected was that the ball was actually sent to the left side of the small penalty area.

Gareth Bale quickly cut into the small penalty area, jumped high, headed the ball, and headed it into the far corner.

The ball hit the net.

2 is better than 0!

The Welsh players rushed out of the stadium excitedly, cheering and shouting to vent their inner excitement.

Tottenham Hotspur is really strong!

In fact, it may not be impossible for them to compete with the top five teams.

Afterwards, Marcelo had a long shot, but it failed to pose a threat.

In the 69th minute, Marcelo created another excellent opportunity on the left.

The Brazilian full-back received the ball on the left side outside the penalty area and made a straight pass.

Gareth Bale suddenly ran horizontally along the penalty area line from the left sideline. After receiving the ball, he dribbled past Kyle Norton, cut inside again and shook off Livermore. He suddenly kicked a curve ball with his right foot, which went straight into the upper right corner of the goal.

This is a definite blind spot!

Although Friedel tried his best to make the save, he was still out of reach.

3 is better than 0!

Redknapp simply couldn’t accept being shut out at home.

Tottenham brought on Defoe to strengthen the attack in the frontcourt.

In the frontcourt, they even adopted a full-court pressing tactic.

In the 88th minute, Defoe seized an opportunity and made a very threatening long shot.

But Courtois was very focused and made a wonderful sideways save, blocking the long shot that was heading straight into the blind corner out of the goal with one hand.

The Belgian goalkeeper won the admiration of the Chinese players in Bayswater with a wonderful save.

People including Thiago Silva and Pepe ran over to give him encouragement and affirmation.

Subsequently, Tottenham’s corner kick was also saved by Courtois.

In the end, Bayswater Chinese beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 away.

Judging from the whole game, Bayswater Chinese’s defense was excellent.

Courtois made five saves, especially the last one before the end of the game, which was simply magical.

Yang Cheng commented on Courtois at the press conference after the game, “His performance reassured all of us.”

“Although he is still young, he is already a very good top goalkeeper!”

This is undoubtedly the highest praise for Courtois!
What made Yang Cheng even happier was that Pepe made 20 clearances and 3 successful steals in this game.

Thiago Silva contributed an astonishing 17 clearances and three of his four steals were successful.

In addition, 46 of 45 passes were successful, and 15 of 14 passes in the frontcourt were successful.

Yes, except for one pass error in the frontcourt, all other passes were accurately delivered to the feet of teammates.

Such data is really amazing!

Sky Sports commented on Bayswater Chinese’s two central defenders after the game, believing that the combination of the two Brazilian central defenders Thiago Silva and Pepe left an extremely deep impression on everyone.

“They have the best defensive statistics ever in the top five European leagues!”

“The defense was very solid throughout the game and has been in very good form so far this season.”

“The cooperation of the two central defenders, plus the increasingly outstanding Kompany, together created the iron defense line of the Bayswater Chinese!”

You know, so far this season, Bayswater Chinese has only conceded 6 goals.

Only 21 goals conceded in 6 Premier League rounds, such a record really makes people give a thumbs up to the defense line of Bayswater Chinese, and even feel admiration.

What is even more rare is that the 6 goals came in 6 games.

That is to say, so far this season, no team has been able to score 2 goals against Bayswater Chinese in a single game.

What else is there to say about such performance?

Nothing but praise!
Sky Sports believes that the improvement in Bayswater Chinese’s defense this season has a lot to do with Yang Cheng’s attention.

“Yang Cheng was not satisfied with the fact that we conceded too many goals last season.”

“It is obvious that the Bayswater Chinese have played more balanced this season. Coupled with the maturity of the players, the overall defensive level has been significantly improved.”

Sky Sports believes that as long as the Bayswater Chinese continue their current stable performance, there will be basically no suspense about winning the Premier League title this season.

(End of this chapter)