I build a giant in the Premier League

Chapter 10: Legend Maker

Yang Cheng was indeed not worried.

Because he knew that the hearing for the so-called special genius was more of a formality.

It’s not that the Ministry of the Interior doesn’t take this seriously.

The main reason is that it does not have a specific measurement standard.

For example, what is a genius?
Youth training itself is an industry with high input, high output and high risk. There are many cases of Zhongyong being hurt. So how do we define genius?
To put it bluntly, it depends on whether the person you find to endorse it is important enough.

For top teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, if they say they are geniuses, who dares to say they are not?

On the other hand, this clause is completely useless for teams in lower-level leagues.

Yang Cheng remembers a piece of data. From 2009 to 2015, in the six years, only 6 players in leagues below the Premier League successfully applied for work permits through the special talent clause.

Are the Home Office and the English Football Association setting up special checkpoints?
No, it’s because there are so few applicants.

For the teams in the Championship, League One and League Two at the time, their scouting networks were very small, not to mention the global ones, even the European Union and some did not even cover the UK.

In this case, how could they poach non-EU players?

Let’s go back to the specific case of Modric.

Yang Cheng attended the event as a representative of the Chinese community at Bayswater and answered questions related to the introduction of Modric.

He said bluntly, "We are very optimistic about Luka, I think he will become the best midfielder in the world."

Yang Cheng noticed that when he said this, everyone present, including Vbanovic and Boban, turned their eyes to the skinny Modric.

Obviously, no one saw the possibility of what Yang Cheng said in Modric.

Just as Vbanovich has never been able to understand why Yang Cheng would spend so much manpower and resources on Modric.

Only Modric.

There was a deep and inextricable gratitude in the eyes of this Croatian teenager.

With Yang Cheng taking the lead, Vbanovic and Boban were easy to talk to and they successively called Modric a genius.

As for the future, does it matter?

The materials that Yang Cheng carefully prepared for many days also came in handy at this hearing.

It fully explains the tactical play of the Chinese in Bayswater and the importance and scarcity of players like Modric to the team.

In short, Yang Cheng wanted to tell the officials of the Ministry of the Interior.

This player is very, very, very important to the Chinese in Bayswater!
The hearing will not produce any results immediately.

So, after the hearing, I went back and waited for news.

Yang Cheng hosted the dinner and invited Vbanovic, Boban, Geoff Thompson, Palios, Eriksson and others to have dinner together.

After much difficulty in inviting members of the UEFA Executive Committee and famous players like Boban to London, it is natural to make the best use of their talents and take the opportunity to build relationships with the bigwigs of the English Football Association.

Even so, neither Thompson nor Palios can stay in this position for long.

Isn't there Brian Kidd?

……

If Yang Cheng was very confident about the hearing and therefore took it lightly, then he seemed to attach particular importance to the meeting with Brian Kidd on the second day of the hearing.

This is also a habit that Yang Cheng developed after many years of teaching in his previous life.

Don't use people with suspicion, don't use people who are suspicious.

Therefore, the interview is particularly important.

From his attire to his image to the arrangement of the conversation content, Yang Cheng was meticulous and careful.

As early as when he was an assistant coach at Manchester United, Brian Kidd was known as a good guy.

Yang Cheng's careful preparation, coupled with his understanding of Brian Kidd in his previous life, really won Brian Kidd's favor the first time they met.

The starting point is the meal with Eriksson last night.

Yang Cheng extended the topic from the dinner party to the England national team, and then expanded it to English football.

Then, Yang Cheng turned the topic to Brian Kidd's experience of visiting various European countries and major football teams to observe and learn.

This is something that many fans overlook.

English football has faced a ban since the Heysel disaster in the late 80s.

It was from that time that British football began to lag behind continental Europe in all aspects.

This is true whether it is club management or technical and tactical level.

Ferguson, Brian Kidd and Manchester United were among the first to go out and learn and absorb the strengths and advantages of training and management in Europe.

This also became the key weapon for Manchester United's rise in the Premier League era in the 90s.

During that time, Ferguson and Brian Kidd were almost the most respected partnership on the European continent and the legendary creators of the Manchester United dynasty.

In this film, Ferguson plays the strict father, while Brian Kidd is more like the kind mother.

Yang Cheng knew something about the conflict between Brian Kidd and Ferguson in his previous life.

The relationship between the two had always been very bad, and it was not until Ferguson was seriously ill and hospitalized after his retirement that it eased.

The reason is simple. Ferguson felt that Brian Kidd betrayed him and said a lot of harsh words in public and in his autobiography.

Brian Kidd believes Ferguson was partly to blame for his failure as manager at Blackburn Rovers.

At the same time, he believed that Ferguson did not give him enough respect and affirmation.

All in all, this is a confusing matter and Yang Cheng has no intention of getting involved.

He discussed more about football with Brian Kidd, from the trip to the European continent to learn from others, to the problems England is facing today, and how the Chinese in Bayswater should position themselves.

... "I think European football is facing another major change right now."

"In Spain, more and more teams are starting to use the 4231--- double defensive midfielder tactics, not only Deportivo La Coruna like Irueta, but also Valencia like Benítez, which is also a team worth paying attention to."

Brian Kidd was very surprised by Yang Cheng's eloquent talk.

He could see that Yang Cheng was very young and was the son of the team owner.

But I didn't expect that I was so familiar with and knowledgeable about European football.

This also made him put aside some of his guard and start discussing professional matters.

"Speaking of 4231, this style of play has been in Spain for many years. Valencia's performance in the past few years was indeed very good. Under Cooper's leadership, they reached the Champions League final twice, but fell short both times."

"After winning the La Liga title the year before last, they only finished fifth last season. This summer they sold players like Kily Gonzalez and center forward Kalou. I feel their overall strength has declined slightly compared to before."

What Brian Kidd said was true.

But Yang Cheng has a different view.

"The double defensive midfielders of Baraja and Albelda remain stable, Vicente is on the left, and the defense line has basically not been adjusted. As long as Aimar, the No. 10 position, is not injured and there is a player who can step up to the center position, Benítez's team will surprise people."

Brian Kidd pondered for a moment and asked, "Are you saying that Mista and Ricardo Oliveira are more suitable for Benítez's tactics than Carew?"

Yang Cheng guessed something when he saw Kidd's expression.

One of the conflicts between him and Ferguson at the beginning was about the recruitment of forwards. Ferguson wanted to bring in the Black Wind Duo, while Kidd believed that a traditional English center forward should be brought in.

This is actually the mainstream of the Premier League now.

Manchester United has Van Nistelrooy, but relies heavily on passing from the midfield, with the Dutchman only responsible for scoring goals.

Arsenal's Henry is more comprehensive, but he often plays to the wing, so Wenger adopted the 442 double striker tactics.

In terms of technical and tactical aspects, the Premier League is indeed far behind continental Europe.

“That’s what I call a major transformation.”

Yang Cheng did not continue to dwell on the center issue, so as not to open Brian Kidd's scars.

"The most impressive team in European football last season was probably Porto from the Portuguese Super League."

"The team coached by Mourinho has introduced many new concepts in the training system, especially in the training of players, which has attracted great attention in European football."

Brian Kidd nodded repeatedly, he naturally knew it.

"From Cooper to Irueta to Benítez to Mourinho, we can easily find that they are further refining the scope of players' activities and responsibilities on the court, adding defensive midfielders between the traditional three lines of midfield and defense."

Having said this, Brian Kidd immediately understood what Yang Cheng meant.

"The No.10 position will be further restricted."

"That's right, so the tactical trend in the next few years is to break up the No. 10 position."

For some reason, Brian Kidd thought of yesterday's hearing.

He heard that the Croatian genius signed by the Chinese in Bayswater was a skinny and frail-looking boy.

Moreover, he plays as a midfielder.

"Porto's No. 10 player Deco has already attracted the attention of many European giants." Yang Cheng suggested.

Deco does not fit the traditional image of a No. 10 attacking midfielder.

Especially not like a Brazilian number 10.

When No. 10 no longer looks like No. 10, the tactical responsibilities that originally belonged to No. 10 will naturally have to be redistributed.

This will naturally lead to changes in tactics.

Yang Cheng continued to extend this topic and mentioned his vision for the Chinese in Bayswater.

England seems to be full of talented players, with no shortage of superstars in every tournament, but why has it failed to achieve results in every tournament?

Because England lacked possession.

Behind ball control is technology and youth training.

Brian Kidd naturally understood what Yang Cheng meant.

When he wanted to bring in a center forward, it was not because he wanted to continue England's traditional long pass and lob style of play, but because he trusted Scholes, his most proud disciple.

Kidd believes that with Scholes around, the front line should not be thin players like Cole and York who cannot suppress the defenders, but should be traditional center forwards.

But at that time, Ferguson did not have enough trust in Scholes or even the 92-class youth players.

Brian Kidd has played football all his life. He helped Manchester United win the Champions League when he was a player. He also went abroad for exchanges and studies countless times during his coaching career. He is naturally aware of the problems of English football.

In fact, all the Class 92 players he trained are players with solid skills and excellent passing skills.

Yang Cheng's vision for the Bayswater Chinese is to retain England's traditional powerful and offensive style of play while also having delicate ball control techniques to fully unleash the players' creativity.

This is very much in line with Brian Kidd's philosophy.

More importantly, Brian Kidd has clearly felt that this trend is intensifying in the Premier League.

From Wenger to the current Ranieri, more and more teams are inviting foreign coaches.

It is undoubtedly remarkable that Bayswater Chinese can see all this in advance in the third-tier league.

This impressed him.

I even started to feel moved.

So Brian Kidd quickly asked the question that concerned him most.

“Yang, tell me, who will be the head coach of Bayswater Chinese?”

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(End of this chapter)