My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 230 The Origin of All Things ([-])

Chen Yao was stunned. He didn't know why James Walsh looked so embarrassed.

"However, sir, I assure you, my players are all workers in my factory, without exception." James Walsh suddenly raised his voice and turned his body towards his "players".

The players from both sides went to the locker room to change clothes. Chen Yao accompanied James Walsh, thinking about something.

"Mr. Walsh. It's great to see you in London again."

Several squire-looking spectators came over and said hello to James Walsh.

"Hello, gentlemen." The textile factory owner greeted them with an ugly face. "Are you here to see Team Darwin's joke?"

"Oh, James." One of the squires made a helpless gesture, "Don't say it as if you were bullied. The players of the Old Etonians are all amateur players who voluntarily play football for free, and what about you? Do you want to We remind you, where did Jamie Love and Fergie Suter come from?”

"They are workers in my factory." James Walsh shouted, waving his cane, "They may not be good at weaving, but they can play football. Did I do anything wrong by letting them play football? Gentlemen?"

"Relax, relax, James." The squire took a few steps back. "We don't want to quarrel with you. Old Etonians will never lose anyway."

"We'll see." James Walsh's face was ashen.

"Don't forget, Mr. Walsh, football is our sport."

The squire pointed to himself and his companions, "We, you, and them -"

He pointed to the Darwen players who had just changed their jerseys and came on the field.

"—is different."

Several squires walked away talking and laughing. James Walsh snorted heavily and turned his back.

Chen Yao suddenly understood why James Walsh avoided the matter of "hiring players to play football".

Because it’s only 1879.

The concept of professional football was still an idea that only existed in the minds of some people in the UK at this time.

Thirty years ago, the "Cambridge Rules" laid the foundation for football. Thirteen years ago, the British Football Association drafted the competition regulations. However, football in 1879 has already vaguely deviated from the original intention when it was founded.

Football clubs in the south of England were made up of wealthy gentry, aristocrats and social elites who believed that the moral core of football was amateurism.

Under the dogma of amateurism, the purpose of sports is not material and monetary, nor can it be profit-oriented under the rules of unfair competition.

Originally, football would be an entertainment for the elite to "enclose their own territory". However, this is football after all, and it is an existence that can reach the top of the world.

The spread of the Industrial Revolution gave birth to a large number of workers and ordinary people who lived around the factories. After hard and tiring work, the workers used football as entertainment, and a large number of spectators were also attracted by football.

Factory owners organized clubs and sensed the business opportunities in the air. They planned to use this fascinating sport to gain profits, and also tried to recruit excellent football players from other factories to play for themselves.

This is the prototype of the transfer.

However, transfers that were commonplace in the [-]st century were considered by the conservative elite in the [-]th century to be an act that desecrated the sport of football itself.

What’s worse is that the main force that supports amateurism and prevents the professionalization of football is the elite who have the right to speak and control the Football Association.

No wonder James Walsh is so secretive about his "move".

This behavior was not only a violation of the football rules of the time, but also contradicted the mainstream amateurism recognized by the upper class.

As a small factory owner, James Walsh may still have some status in front of the workers, but he does not want to challenge the elites and powerful people, nor does he want to be ridiculed by the upper class for this behavior.

Chen Yao figured out the connection, and then looked at James Walsh - at least, this little boss was eager to win.

……

The game started.

Football matches in the [-]th century were an eye-opener for Chen Yao.

Twenty players huddled around, fighting for the ball.

Football at this time was not as orderly as the modern football of later generations. According to the earliest football rules, as long as a player is playing and a teammate is closer to the opponent's goal line than him, that teammate will be off the field.

Therefore, the only options for passing the ball are cross passes and back passes. The main means of launching an offense is a large group of people running forward in a swarm, and one of them helps the team advance by dribbling. The defensive strategy is also very clear, which is to think of ways to grab the ball. In an era when dribbling is the main offensive method, the ball holder is very single, just look for him and grab it.

As a result, the game became what Chen Yao saw: a mess.

Soon, Chen Yao discovered that this was not a fair game.

The strength and size of the players on both sides are completely asymmetric.

The players of the Old Etonians are all tall, pampered elites. The nutrition they consume in one meal may be equivalent to the nutrition consumed by the workers of the Darwen team in a year.

In contrast, the players of the Darwen team were significantly shorter than their opponents, and they were thin and small, and their strength was far inferior to the old Etonians who did not do heavy physical labor.

The onlookers cheered loudly for the old Etonian's performance, while James Walsh's face became increasingly ugly.

"Who is that?"

Chen Yao pointed at the Old Etonian forward who was driving forward with the ball and said, "He is very strong and has good skills."

"That's the captain of the old Etonians, Arthur Kinnard." James Walsh gritted his teeth. "Think he's very good? Oh my God, it's him. After the last game, he flatly rejected the offer of overtime. , he is just a sanctimonious scoundrel."

"Oh……"

Chen Yao looked towards the court and saw Arthur Kinnard knocking a Darwen player away like a bull, but his action was not considered a foul.

"Is the scale of physical confrontation so big these days?" Chen Yao frowned and muttered.

"We need to introduce neutral referees into our football games." James Walsh shouted, "We are playing against these young men and gentlemen, who will give the old Etonians a foul?"

Arthur Kinnard rushed to the Darwin goal, raised his leg and fired.

One to zero.

"Playing like this, we have no chance at all..." James Walsh sighed in frustration.

"No...Mr. Walsh, you have two interesting players on your team."

Chen Yao squinted his eyes and observed the two people in the Darwen team. They didn't communicate much with their teammates around them, and their cooperation was very unfamiliar. However, from the game just now, Chen Yao could tell that these two players and The other team members are different.

Sure enough, after conceding the ball, the two players called the rest of the Darwin team together and deployed some tactics.

Back on the field, the Darwin team began to gradually spread out their formation, widen the width, and fill the field with players.

The Darwen player holding the ball nimbly dodged the collision of the Old Etonian player, raised his leg and passed the ball forward.

"Who is he?" Chen Yao asked James Walsh.

"Foggy Suter." James Walsh pretended to cough twice. "He's a player I hired."

A Darwin player shot out like an arrow. There was no other player in front of him. It was a one-shot ball.

And the Old Etonians were still swarming around Fergie Souter.

"Excellent ball movement, great nose - this striker is?"

"Jimmy Love, ahem, so is he..."

Jimmy Love sprinted towards the Old Etonian goal and was about to be within range.

"boom!"

With a dull impact, Jimmy Love flew out, and the ball was regained control by the old Etonian.

A strong man with a big beard ran back to the goal as if nothing had happened. He was the Old Etonian goalkeeper.

"This attack range is quite like a sweeper, but in the [-]st century, this is definitely a penalty kick." Chen Yao complained, "But it's not necessarily that, the pig heads of the Football Association can't do anything else. The black whistle is a good one.”

"Are you scolding the FA? Well done!" James Walsh scolded: "Francis Medellin, this bastard, does he think he can foul casually just because he is the chairman of the FA?"

"Is this guy still the chairman of the Football Association?" Chen Yao wiped his sweat. It seems that the shame of the Football Association is inherent. "Mr. Walsh, with all due respect, if we continue playing like this, the Darwen team will not win. It’s the ball.”

(End of this chapter)