Winter in Britain is always dark early. At around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the sky is already dark. Street lights light up one by one, and earlier than they work are the neon lights of the bars on the street. They are hung on transparent glass windows, reflecting brilliant brilliance, giving people a illusory feeling, and it really looks like a scene in the eyes of alcoholics.

Burns' Forest Bar is at the corner of the street, at the intersection of two streets, which are places where bars and various Pubs gather. Burns' bar is the best business and famous, not only because of its good location, but also because it is open in places where Forest fans live.

The Forest Bar only knows what kind of fan territory it is. The main colors inside and outside the bar are red and dark red. There is also a huge forest team logo on the exterior wall, which can be seen from a distance. Before and after the game, the Forest fans like to come here to have a few drinks, chat with others, and even have fierce arguments. During the game, people who don’t have tickets will watch paid-TV forest team games here. Whenever this is the most prosperous time for the bar business.

Donne has been waiting for Walker in the bar, and he even ate supper in the bar. When the business is not too busy, he sits in the corner and chats with Burns in a low voice. Burns congratulates Donne on his performance in the second half of the FA Cup and regrets the two draws. In between, fans coming here to drink will come in, Burns will greet them, and someone will recognize Donne and then come up to say hello politely. When no one is drunk, these British guys are still very good.

Walker came after dinner. He was not single like Tang En, and he could deal with him anywhere. He was a man with a wife and children.

"The home-loving man is here." Donn saw Walker appear at the door and pointed at him and said to Burns.

Burns smiled and went up to meet him, pulled Walker over to sit with him, and then went to the bar to get the beer himself.

"Is there anything wrong? Tony." Walker took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair.

"Bored, find someone to chat." Tang En lit a cigarette for himself. He didn't hand Walker cigarettes. The boy didn't smoke, and he developed a habit of being a professional player.

"I don't think Mr. Tony Donn looks like someone who wants to chat because he's bored." Walker smiled and took the wine handed over by Burns, "Thanks Kenny."

"Uh, that's right... I'll go find a woman."

The three men laughed knowingly.

"Seriously, I do have something to ask you, and I want Kenny to give me some advice." He spoke after Walker took a sip of wine. "I want to ask you a few questions before telling you what I think, Des."

"Please say it."

"As a fan and a spectator, what kind of game do you like to see? Don't think, just tell the answer..."

"Uh..." Walker was stunned for a moment, then replied: "I think there should be many stars, both sides are evenly matched, and you go back and forth, and you have a wonderful game, right?"

"That's to fight against the attack?" Tang En asked.

Walker nodded: "That's right... it's true. The attacking side, both sides are fighting offensive football. Many beautiful goals..."

Tang En laughed: "You are so cruel."

"ah?"

"Des, you'll be embarrassed by the defenders and goalkeepers." Burns also laughed from the side.

Walker understood. Although it looks good to the attack, it is a painful thing for the defensive players who play football on the court. "Well, it was Tony who asked me to stand from the perspective of the fans and spectators..."

"Okay. Now you are from your own perspective as a player, what kind of game do you like? Don't think about it, say it intuitively."

"Of course, it's the kind of game that we won easily and had no suspense." This time, when Donn asked the question, Walker gave the answer.

"That means you just need to win, don't worry about the process." Tang En asked.

"Uh, it's not that it's not about the process, you have to win easily... But it's not bad for you to say that, as long as you win the game, it's a good game. When I played football, sometimes I wish I couldn't sweat for ninety minutes, and sometimes I would rather pay everything myself and win in the end."

Hearing Walker say this, Donn snapped his fingers. "Okay, now is the last question. Des, if you are the head coach of a team, which of the two games do you like?"

This question stopped Walker, and he opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer. Done looked at Walker's rich and changeable expression with interest, as if he was having a psychological struggle. After a while, Walker honestly shook his head: "I don't know, I have just been a coach for half a season."

Burns knocked on the table next to him: "Tony, stop keeping it aside. Tell me what you think?"

Tang En told the two: "The last three games have greatly touched me. We have the advantage of one loss and two draws in three games. If the technical statistics can determine the final result, we should win three consecutive games, rather than three unwinds."

Walker knew what Done was going to say, and he coughed. "Tony, we should have won the first game, but the reason for losing is not this, but the referee, who made us eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup."

"Okay, except for the first game. Two league games... Kenny, you see that we are completely at the upper hand. No matter what point we are, we should be the final winners. What's the result?" Donn leaned back on the back of the chair, spread his hands, shrugged, and spit out a cloud of smoke. "Car..." He originally planned to say that the famous "ball control theory" after Capello coached Real Madrid, which was repeatedly criticized by the Spanish media, but immediately remembered that it was four years ago. At this time, Capello was still in Rome, playing the most beautiful and attacking offensive football in Italy. At this time, they told them that Capello advocated the useless theory of ball control, and that teams like Real Madrid played extremely conservative and ugly football. They definitely didn't believe it.

But... wait! A plan emerged in Tang En's mind. He didn't know if anyone had clearly put forward this "ball-handling theory" before Capello, but this kind of understanding should have been done in football, but he didn't seem to have heard any expert summarizing and promoting him. Since I am now leading the world for four and a half years, why can't I summarize it and then officially launch it? Four years later, maybe Capello would say: "I highly recommend Coach Tony Don't Coach's 'ball-handling theory'." This is my Don't, Lord Capello, don't ruin it.

When Tang En thought of this, he became excited. It felt so good to play with history in his palms.

"It's like this..." Tang En began his work to promote this theory. First of all, he had to make everyone recognize this theory emotionally. "I know that fans like to watch games, like to attack, and like to score more goals, but what do you think the winning rate of such a game is certain?"

"Arsenal is playing very well, and they are now ranked first, Manchester United is five points away from them." Walker retorted.

Done rolled his eyes. When he asked this question, he knew Walker would answer himself like this. Nowadays, this Arsenal is indeed an alien in the whole of England. There are more and more teams playing in the Premier League, but no one can do it to the extreme like Arsenal. "Professor" Wenger is a great coach. Done never denies this, although he is not an Arsenal fan. But he also clearly remembers who was the last Premier League champion in this season 202-03. It was Manchester United, the Manchester United who was five points behind Arsenal. Of course, Done cannot use this fact to refute Walker. He can only change his perspective: "Five points are nothing. I think Manchester United still has a lot of hope to win the championship after the end of the season."

Walker chuckled, and Burns whistled beside him. Donne knew they didn't believe it. Arsenal was in a good state now, and Manchester United was in a downturn. He was not going to convince these two people, anyway, he was not talking about this. But... he didn't mind making some benefits with this thing.

"Okay, I know you don't believe it. Let's make a bet. I bet Manchester United will become the Premier League champion at the end of the season, and the bet is...you can choose whatever you want." Don Eun was very confident.

"OK, I'll bet too," Walker said first, and Burns took his words, "Walker and I bet Arsenal won the championship. If we lose, I'll bet on business for a day, and Tony, you don't have to pay a penny for drinking in the future."

This bet is good. Don Eun laughed, "I will drink you poor, Kenny."

"I don't mind. But if you lose, Tony, you have to fulfill my request."

"No problem. What are the requirements?"

"Well..." Burns thought for a while, "I haven't thought about it now. I will tell you when I have an idea."

"Okay, one word is certain."

The bet was settled like this. Don Eun continued to promote his "original" theory to them. "In today's football, besides Arsenal, can you tell which team has reached the peak of artistic football by playing beautiful offensive football?" Don Eun dared to whine because he knew that Barcelona was still in chaos at this time. Ronaldo did not go to Barcelona, ​​Messi had not become famous yet, Deco was still playing football under Mourinho in Porto. Later, the offensive football frenzy that swept across Spain and Europe was far from coming.

"Not to mention five years, how many teams can you give out in ten years? I don't want those teams that are famous but have not won any honors. To reach the top means winning the championship."

Walker and Burns thought about it and found that there were indeed few. Arsenal, whom they praised, had not won the championship this season.

"That's right. Modern football is more utilitarian. This is the fact. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Because I am a coach, I look at the problem from the perspective of the head coach. I don't want my team to be praised and played so beautifully in the future. I have grasped the initiative in the game and played offensive football, which excited the fans and the media, and then... we can't win anything. Repeat again, I am a coach. What are the criteria for evaluating a coach's good or bad? It's very simple - result, results, victory, championship.

The coach who leads the team to win is definitely not an excellent coach. No matter how outstanding his tactical style is, no matter how gorgeous his team plays, he will not succeed." Donne thought of Rijkald. The 2006-07 season was the beginning of the collapse of Rijkald's artistic football, which also shows that it is impossible to achieve long-term success by relying on artistic gorgeous football. "How can we win? I think it is impossible to rely on those beautiful footballs, at least it is impossible to use on the Forest team."

"Ah, Tony, you're a conservative coach?" Walker pointed at Donn.

"No, I have no choice but to do anything. I only have victory. I only pursue victory. As long as I can win, I don't care whether I can attack and defend or counterattack." Tang En felt that this was the best place for him than those who were clamoring for offensive football over defensive football, or chatting about the kingly way. He had already jumped out of the realm of pursuing football's superficial style...

"Professional football... I say that professional football is not something that children in school can play fitness or entertainment on the street. What is the most important thing about professional football? What is the ultimate goal? In my opinion, it is victory, and the ultimate pursuit of victory is the championship." Done set his consistent pursuit of coaching career in a small bar in Nottingham and established a style that belongs to him. "I am a coach, and I don't want to lose my job or be forgotten. There is only one way to go, which is to lead the team to win one after another and win one after another!" He raised his volume.

"Tony, are you drunk?" Walker's smile disappeared, and he asked carefully.

"No, I'm awake." Tang En shook his head and then took half a glass of wine. "Do you think what I said is wrong?"

“Uh, no…”

"That's great, I've told the essence of professional football. Des, hasn't anyone told you before? Why do you think we are engaged in professional football? To strengthen our body? To entertain the public?" Tang En sneered, "I tell you... Why are the twenty-four A-level teams fighting back and forth every weekend? Why are the twenty super teams fighting to the death for ten months in a year? For victory! For the championship! If it weren't for victory, why do we have to train the team? Why spend a lot of money to buy those players? Football in this era and football more than a hundred years ago have long been two completely different sports..."

When Donn said this, Walker and Burns were silent. Not to mention that they were different from more than a hundred years ago, they were also very different from thirty years ago. Twenty-four years ago, Nottingham Forest set off a red whirlwind on the European continent. A team without a strong economic foundation and no noble reputation won the highest honor in European football - the European Champions League for two consecutive years. Later, this experience was called the "Nottingham Miracle". Why was it called the "miracle" because it is becoming increasingly difficult to reproduce in modern football. In today's European football, which team without a strong economic foundation and without consortium support can win the European Champions League? No, none. This is the difference now and before.

Walker sighed: "Maybe you're right, Tony. The establishment of the Super League has changed everything..." He thought of the Forest team he played for.

Nottingham Forest can still be considered a strong team even in the late 1980s. They reached the FA Cup final for two consecutive years, once lost to Tottenham Hotspur and once to Manchester United. However, after the establishment of the Super League, the Forest, which lacked economic support and without pounds, fell sharply. Even if they could lead the team from a second-tier team to a European champion for three years, Brian Crowe, the magical coach who could lead the team from a second-tier team to a European champion for three years, could not compete with the pound tide. He and his team eventually became victims of the new era.

"It was TV broadcasting that changed everything," said Tang En. "The emergence of TV broadcasting fees changed everything." Since learning about his situation, Tang En made up for his understanding of English football from the Internet, and his confidence can be considered a hard-core "English fan" who is familiar with the history of English football.

The development of English football can be roughly divided into several stages: the establishment of the sport of football; the establishment of the football club and the football league; the establishment of the football league... and the next sign is the intervention of television.

In 1955, when the newly established Independent Television (ITV) proposed to the FA and Football League to buy some of the league they selected for £1,000 per game, a brand new era kicked off. You should know that the average ticket revenue for a League One was only £3,000.

TV officially entered the world of football and then gradually gained dominance in this world.

Next is the establishment of the English Premier League in 1992, which marked the beginning of another era. Because the original intention of this league was that the big clubs were dissatisfied with the law of equal distribution of TV broadcast fees, they needed more money and they deserved to get more money.

The Super League saved a company. Sky TV (SKY), which was in debt of 47 million pounds a year, successfully bought the broadcast rights of the Premier League in the first five years and made a profit of 67 million TV empire in the first year. It was precisely because of relying on football to make money that Brother Murdoch suddenly wanted to buy Manchester United clubs. He did have that strength, and it was brought to him by the Premier League represented by Manchester United.

The big clubs with reputation are making more and more money, but the small clubs are gradually losing space for survival. Wealth is always in the hands of a few people. Nottingham Forest was relegated after struggling for a season in the Premier League. After this, it has been ups and downs several times, but it is difficult to return to the prosperous era of the past.

More than half a century ago, television needed football, but now football needed television. This is the biggest difference between the two eras and the sorrow of countless small clubs.

Of course, Tang En is not a strong man who is full of "mouth" and "mouth" in Hong Kong comics. He doesn't want to go against the will of heaven. No matter whether this era is good or not, whether it is sad or not, since it cannot be overturned, then obey. Tang En feels that in this increasingly utilitarian world, pursuing victory and championship is a kind of idea of ​​the development of the times and reflecting harmonious progress. There is nothing wrong with it. People's memory is a wonderful thing. In competitive sports, what people can remember in the end is the winner. After a few years, the loser has nothing except for one or two irrelevant comfort.

Don Eun was not such a fan. He also liked beautiful artistic football, like Brazil, Ronaldo, Zidane, and Kaka. What made him have such a huge change in his mind? In the final analysis, it was related to the current situation after Don Eun traveled through time. Don Eun was always worried that he would be fired by the chairman one day, then lose his job, lose his source of life, and starve to death on the streets... He felt very insecure, and this feeling was very strong, and he would always be with him and linger. Don Eun realized that if he wanted to completely drive away this sense of security, he had to lead the team to achieve satisfactory results. What is a satisfactory result? Naturally, it was victory. Don Eun's subconscious thought was very simple: as long as he won, he would have a job, a job, and he would have no worries about food and clothing. Survival was the only truth in this world, and the others were illusions, illusions...
Chapter completed!