My light shines on Arsenal

Chapter 232 The Origin of All Things ([-])

The 1879 FA Cup championship was undoubtedly won by a club from the south of England.

Old Etonians defeated Clapham Wanderers [-]-[-] in the final, with Arthur Kinnard as captain lifting the FA Cup trophy.

London. Kinnard House.

"Be happy, Arthur." Francis Medellin forked a piece of beef and put it into his mouth. "Enjoy the wonderful celebration banquet. This is what we deserve. We are the champions, and you are our captain."

Arthur Kinnard curled his lips, stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed it, not as happy as Francis Medellin.

The players of the Old Etonians gathered together. On the court, more than ten players were athletes wearing Old Etonians jerseys. On the banquet table, they were elites and gentlemen in suits and ties, members of London's upper class society.

"Come on, Arthur. Are you still upset about playing against those workers?" one player yelled.

"Yes, that's it. That's what Arthur is like." Francis Medellin joked, "A guy with high moral character and a spirit of fair play, this is our Arthur."

"Respect Arthur, respect the old Etonians." Another player raised his glass, "In any case, Arthur's moral standards are impeccable, and the victory of the old Etonians is undeniable. No one is at fault. This is our honor. .”

The Old Etonians raised their glasses one after another, and Arthur Kinnard also raised his glass with a wry smile.

"Gentlemen," he said, "we all know that Darwin almost defeated us. Our victory is tainted."

"Arthur! Stop using our moral standards to evaluate football." Francis Medellin was dissatisfied. "The result is that we won, and we won in a way that is fully allowed by the rules."

"Part of it is, we are the rules themselves, Francis."

"That's also a rule. Moreover, even if we took a small advantage, didn't Darwin take advantage of the loopholes in the rules? Fergie Suter, Jamie Love? They are not Darwin's workers at all." Francis Medellin placed the wine glass heavily on the table, "They are mercenaries who come to play for Darwen because of the smell of copper. They are players seduced by the old guy James Walsh for personal gain. I haven't settled the accounts with them yet." !”

"Oh, Francis, the game is over, how can we settle the score?" a team member said.

"I'm not going to settle accounts with him as an old Etonian." Francis Medellin snorted coldly, "I'm going to settle matters with him as the chairman of the British Football Association."

"It seems that it is best for Darwin not to run into us next season." Arthur Kinnard sighed and said softly.

……

Chen Yao gradually adapted to life in the nineteenth century, and the flow of time seemed to him faster than real time.

This may be a property of the system - as a situation similar to a copy, it is impossible for him to really stay here for several years, so on days when nothing happens, time will speed up unknowingly.

The textile factory workers in Darwin continued their lives, engaging in heavy manual labor on weekdays. When they took a break, the workers swarmed onto the pitch to play football, waiting for the arrival of the 1880 FA Cup.

The difference from before is that Darwen players no longer play like headless players before. They have a coach.

Just like at the Colney base training ground [-] years later, Chen Yao also stood on the edge of Darwen's lawn. Arteta, Rosicky and Sagna became his assistants and players, leading Practicing the game with Darwin's players.

"Mr. Coach, I find it incredible that I can call you that." James Walsh said half-jokingly. "Maybe one day, every team in England will be equipped with a special teacher to teach them how to play football."

"The history of football will never forget your name, Mr. Walsh." Chen Yao smiled.

"My team is countless times stronger than it was a year ago." James Walsh praised. "The football they are playing now is something I have never seen before. Well, it must be something those Southern guys have never seen."

Darwin's players were training on the lawn in an orderly manner. Due to the rules at this time, it was still a conventional formation arrangement to pile up people on the forward line. But what was different from before was that Chen Yao severely corrected the wrong concept of the Darwin players: they should play around the ball holder.

He divided the lawn into several evenly distributed areas and required each player to control the area he was responsible for, and not to leave the area at will, nor to impatiently approach the ball holder when he saw where he was.

At the same time, he also required evenly distributed players to conduct a large number of passing exercises, short passes, mid-range passes, long passes, and a large number of lateral and back-and-forth passes between the forward line and the forward line to train the players. Their skills and understanding.

Chen Yao will also ask several players to serve as stealers and run around in their passing lanes to cause interference when other players are practicing passing. This may also have the effect of some circle grabbing training.

The skills of Arteta, Rosicky and Sagna were recognized by all players, and they brought the modern technology intact back to 1880.

Three Arsenal players were far more skilled than the Darwin players could have imagined and, of course, are now workers in James Walsh's factory - and team-mates with the Darwin players.

In addition, the most outstanding performers are Fergie Suter and Jamie Love. These two "mercenaries" who "transferred" to Darwin are from Scotland. Compared with England, which is obsessed with practical dribbling, , Scotland’s teams embraced the passing concept earlier.

They thrived in the new pass flow system.

"Look at them!" James Walsh looked at the players distributing, moving and passing the ball in an orderly manner on the lawn, and he was in a good mood. "They are so well-trained, and this style of football is so pleasing to the eye! Those noble gentlemen They played barbaric football, but we, our group of workers, played elegant football!"

"Wait, Mr. Walsh, wait for the new season. The victory for the northern clubs is coming."

……

1881 years.

1880-1881 On the eve of the FA Cup semi-finals.

Arthur Kinnard walked out of the mansion. He held up the top hat on his head. A group of newspaper reporters surrounded him at the door of his home.

"Mr. Kinnard, what do you think of the next game for the Old Etonians?" a reporter yelled, "You are the championship team last season. Clapham Rovers is bitter about the failure of last season. They will continue to challenge you!"

"There is also the Oxford University team. The Oxford University team is also a strong contender for the FA Cup this season. They may meet the Old Etonians again in the final!"

"Mr. Kinnard..."

Arthur Kinnard signaled the reporters to calm down. He looked at the group of newspaper writers surrounding him and couldn't help thinking that if football continues to develop, should he find an auditorium to gather reporters before the start of each game? What about organizing and asking unified questions?

"Gentlemen, as you can see, the Old Etonians have reached the door of the final again." Arthur Kinnard smiled, "The FA Cup is the most important football tournament in the UK, and we will fight for this honor with all our strength. Clapham Rovers and Oxford are both top teams, but Old Etonians are not afraid of either of them. We are old rivals."

"Mr. Kinnard, what do you think of the remaining team: Darwen?" a reporter asked, "Darwen has played against the Old Etonians before, and they drew with the Old Etonians. .This season, the Darwin team has not lost yet, they are an amazing team!”

Team Darwin?

Arthur Kinnard opened his mouth. He still remembered the way he and the old Etonians were embarrassed by the Darwin team a year ago.

Yes, they won, but Arthur Kinnard knew that if Darwen players had their stature, the Old Etonians would surely lose.

That was the shadow in Arthur Kinnard's heart. His belief in amateurism was shaken. He realized that football could develop beyond their imagination among the lower-class workers who would not look at it.

At least, in this sport, social elites such as Old Etonians are no more noble than workers in Darwin textile mills.

"I'm looking forward to the showdown with Darwin." Arthur Kinnard said hastily, holding his hat and jumping onto the carriage.

(End of this chapter)