Football Giants

Is it full?

When the Times’ chief football correspondent, Simon Barnes, walked out of the tunnel and appeared in the stands at Stamford Bridge, he was a little moved.

Full court, this is really not an easy task for Chelsea, who has not done well in the past few years.

Especially considering that tonight this game is just a FA Cup semi-final.

Simon Barnes walked into the media area and met many old acquaintances as soon as he came in.

The first person to greet him was Stephen Howard, the chief reporter of the Sun.

"Hi, Simon!"

"Hello, Stephen!"

Simon Barnes smiled and walked over to shake hands with him, then looked around and pointed to the position next to Stephen Howard, "No one here, right?"

"No, sit down!" Stephen Howard laughed.

As soon as Simon Barnes sat down, several people walked over to greet him.

In the circle of British football reporters, the most famous nowadays, it must be Charlene Laherit.

Charlene Laheri’s columns and self-media programs are already known in the UK. Her fame is not limited to football and sports circles. Now she has also begun to write some columns on current affairs.

If Charlene Laheri is the queen of supremacy, then in the circle of football reporters, Stephen Howard and Simon Barnes are regarded as the queen's second-tier team.

Their reputation is not as loud as Charlene Laherit, but thanks to the huge influence of the newspapers they are in, their reputation is also good, and any article can be reproduced and translated by the media around the world.

And thanks to the big platform, they have a better chance to get some inside information that others cannot.

"How is it? Has there been any movement from Chelsea recently?" Stephen Howard asked casually.

Simon Barnes shook his head, "Chelsea is in chaos today, and it's hard to get specific information."

Stephen Howard apparently also encountered this problem.

In the past, when Terry and Lampard and other old officials were still there, Chelsea’s relationship with the media was very ∽style_txt; yes, for example, Martin Samuel, who transferred from The Times to the Daily Mail, was known as Terry And Lampard's best friend is also Chelsea's mouthpiece.

What's interesting is that it was after Martin Samuel left that Simon Barnes established the throne of chief football reporter in the Times, but the relationship between the two is pretty good, after all, they are mixed in circles.

"As far as I know, since Hiddink led the team, although the league results have steadily improved, it is no longer possible to compete for the qualifications of European competitions. There are too many bad debts left by Mourinho."

Simon Barnes said softly as he sorted his things.

"So Chelsea's goal this season has been adjusted, from competing for the Champions League to winning the FA Cup."

Participating in the FA Cup can ensure participation in the UEFA Europa League, and now the Champions of the UEFA Cup can directly participate in the UEFA Champions League. With such fierce competition in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, playing the UEFA Cup is undoubtedly a good one. Way.

Stephen Howard suddenly realized, "It's no wonder Hiddink was on the bench in the league before, but he did his best in the FA Cup against Everton."

"Yeah, doesn't the FA Cup now have a nickname?" Simon Barnes chuckled.

"A rich man's fig leaf!" Stephen Howard followed with a smile.

This is really ironic, isn't it?

Once upon a time, the FA Cup was a champion trophy with the Premier League champion, no, even more respected than the English top league champion, but now the FA Cup has completely fallen into a fig leaf for giants.

In other words, only like Chelsea, when they do not expect to get involved in the league championship, will they want to compete for the FA Cup and avoid the embarrassing situation of the team without a championship.

This season's Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are all thinking like this.

On the other hand, Southampton, whether it is in the FA Cup or the League Cup, is all sent to the bench to play.

But even with a full bench and young player lineup, the Saints still won the League Cup and the FA Cup reached the semi-finals.

One can imagine how strong the Saints' overall strength is.

"Any news about the Saints in this game?"

This time, it was Simon Barnes who asked the question.

Stephen Howard nodded, "According to the news I got, it's still full bench and youth team."

Simon Barnes was a little moved when he heard this, "Will this be a little embarrassing?"

To say that Chelsea's overall strength is not good, this is not a big deal, but in the end it is the traditional power of the Premier League, and this is the Stamford Bridge stadium, and it can be regarded as knowing the Saints.

But even so, the Saints still come on the bench?

Stephen Howard shook his head and sighed, "The Saints are now focusing on the Champions League semi-finals. Inter Milan is a difficult opponent. It is said that the team has paid huge prizes and must win the Champions League three consecutive championships. "

When he said this, Simon Barnes understood.

In the final analysis, it is still money!

Taking the Champions League championship and dividing it into the prize pool of the Premier League team, plus the game bonus, Southampton will benefit at least 100 million pounds. If you include the game day income, the sponsor's commission, etc., the income will be even more generous.

This is only the immediate direct income, and the potential income is an amazing number.

But what about the FA Cup?

Even if you really win an FA Cup championship, how much money can you get?

That's a gap of nearly a hundred times!

So, in this case, a smart person knows how to choose!

But at this moment, Stephen Howard's conversation turned, "However, I received news that the Saints also offered a astronomical bonus to the FA Cup, which is said to be as high as 10 million pounds."

"What?" Simon Barnes jumped up, "Ten million pounds?"

Both sides of his stern eyes seemed to be saying, "I read little, so don't lie to me."

Even if you win the FA Cup three or five times, the total bonus may not add up to 10 million pounds.

Would Southampton be willing to offer such a huge bonus for such a cup championship that has not benefited?

The Saints are also different from teams such as Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. The Saints have already won the league title in advance, and they have another League Cup champion in hand.

But the following teams desperately wanted to win a cup championship to avoid the embarrassment of not being crowned.

So, if the next few teams offered a £10 million FA Cup winning bonus, Simon Barnes would not be so surprised, but for the Saints...

"I can only say that Yang Huan has too much money to spend!" Simon Barnes sighed and joked with envy, "It's better to go back and talk to Master Huan and give us some. We sing praises for him in the newspaper every day."

Stephen Howard burst into laughter suddenly, "Or, I will tell you later?"

"Okay!" Simon Barnes was not welcome.

After a while of jokes, Simon Barnes let out another mixed sigh.

"To be honest, the saint's scheme is not small!"

Stephen Howard nodded, "The strong team and the weak team are not just based on the lineup, the strength, but also the temperament of this team. The same Manchester United can win the championship in the hands of Ferguson, in the hands of Moyes. But one of the most important reasons is that Ferguson has a victorious temperament."

"That is a temperament that has experienced thousands of victories in the baptism of blood and fire, one shot at a time."

Simon Barnes also agreed, "Yes, without Ferguson, Manchester United will no longer be Manchester United."

At least from the time since Ferguson retired, Manchester United has long since lost the domineering style of the Red Devils dynasty. Where is there a little bit of the kingly style of a Premier League ruler?

This kind of domineering, this kind of style is not something that any team can say if they want to have it. Even if you bring in the strongest superstars and build up the outstanding lineup, it will be useless.

He has to rely on precipitation and accumulation, relying on the team to survive one after another arduous games, and relying on one after another to pile up championship trophies.

As many people say, victory is also a habit!

"Maybe we are lucky!"

Stephen Howard cleared up his mood and smiled slightly, "We are witnessing the birth of a new dynasty with our own eyes."

Simon Barnes agrees with this.

Almost everyone believes that Southampton has reached a brand new peak this season, but everyone is also looking forward to how long the Saints under Guardiola can continue this peak.

Prosperity must decline, this is a certainty.

However, Guardiola's coaching philosophy is in the same line as Bielsa, and it is in the past, and even in the next few years, the world football has the most thorough understanding of pass and control tactics and is best at establishing a stable tactical system.

Such a coach, entering a team like the Saints, the result is simply unimaginable.

"Ancelotti should be desperate now, right?" Simon Barnes laughed.

"Who said no?"

Stephen Howard nodded and smiled, "I heard that this old Italian man has always been lazy, but recently he has become a workaholic and his personality has hardened. It is said that he has lost a lot of weight. "

"For him, this season is likely to be the most successful season in his life!"

is not that right?

The Premier League champions arrived early, and the League Cup was received in February. The UEFA Champions League reached the semi-finals, and the FA Cup also entered the semi-finals. Southampton's overall strength is fully equipped to compete in these two events. The strength of the champion.

If you really get these four championship trophies, then this season's Southampton will complete an unprecedented Grand Slam, seven crowns!

My goodness!

Simon Barnes can't imagine what kind of reaction all the fans in the world will give at that time, it is simply to send Southampton and Ancelotti directly to the altar.

Whether it is for professional players or professional coaches, such an opportunity is difficult to encounter once in a lifetime. Once encountered, who will easily let it go?

If you don't work hard even at this time, when will you work hard?

When I really think about it, things are incredible.

If Yang Huan had just entered Southampton six years ago, who would have thought that the saints could have today?

Even when the Saints had just been promoted to the British overtime~www.readwn.com~, even if they are optimistic about this team, it is hard to imagine that the Saints can rule the Premier League, right?

But now, without knowing it, Southampton has won four consecutive Premier League titles, and rule of the Premier League has become a reality.

But the ambition of this team has clearly exceeded everyone's expectations. They not only want to rule the Premier League, but also rule European football and become the super giants of the world football.

As Stephen Howard said, witnessing the birth of such a team is also a gratifying thing.

When Simon Barnes admired, the players of the two teams finally walked out of the player channel at Stamford Bridge under the leadership of the head coach.

For an instant, the audience cheered!

Is it for the saints? Or to Chelsea?

Who knows?

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