The Godfather of Football

"Roman, I heard that you have met Juan Figel recently?"

On Abramovich's luxury yacht parked at Canary Wharf, Pini Zahavi saw that Abramovich was in a good mood early this morning, so he asked this question a little boldly.

Perhaps for many ordinary reporters and fans, this news is very mysterious and also arouses imagination, but for a well-known European agent, Pini Zahavi has his own set of connections and information channels, and he is also very clear that Juan Figel is a very important football consultant for Abramovich, and the two must be talking about the new head coach.

Abramovich raised his head, looked at Pini Zahavi, and smiled slightly, "Relax, Pini, we just had a meal and discussed some things, that's all."

He said it very clearly, but Pini Zahavi was not relaxed at all. He worked hard in the past two years and finally helped Grant to the position of Chelsea head coach. He really hopes that his Israeli compatriots can continue to sit down, sit firmly, and even sit for decades like Ferguson.

But he also knew that after Grant became the fire-fighting head coach, although Chelsea's performance has steadily improved, both the players and the fans have a very bad attitude towards him, and Abramovich was particularly dissatisfied with his 0:2 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

In the current Premier League standings, Chelsea is still four points behind Tottenham Hotspur.

Originally, Tottenham Hotspur's loss to Manchester United should have been an opportunity for Chelsea to quickly narrow the points gap, but Chelsea tied. Now Chelsea is facing Liverpool, while Tottenham Hotspur is facing Derby County, the relegation favorite who is almost certain to win. By then, the points may be widened again.

Why lose to anyone else, but lose to that damn Ye Qiu!

"By the way, Pini, what do you think about our new CEO candidate?" Abramovich asked his friend calmly, "I told you to contact David Dunn before, how is the contact going?"

When Abramovich was preparing to acquire Chelsea, his favorite CEO was David Dunn, but David Dunn was the vice chairman of Arsenal at the time and it was impossible for him to switch to Chelsea. But now it is different. David Dunn has left Arsenal and it is not a problem for him to take over Chelsea.

"I have contacted him through my relationship, but he said he was not interested." Pini Zahavi shook his head.

Abramovich's face froze, "Typical London arrogance!" After saying that, he also revealed a sneer.

No matter from which angle you look at it, Arsenal now has no right to be arrogant. Even if they are now ranked second in the league, everyone can see that Arsenal is a bit like a strong exterior but weak interior. As the schedule gradually comes to an end, their problems will become more and more obvious. In fact, they have performed poorly in the second half of almost every season.

To paraphrase what that damn Ye Qiu said, this is a fine tradition of Arsenal!

"Then let it go for now!" Abramovich thought about it and didn't take it too seriously.

But Pini Zahavi shook his head and said, "I'm afraid there is no way to let it go for now. This time Peter Kenyon chose not to renew his contract, and another executive who came to Chelsea at the same time as him, Chief Operating Officer Ron Gourlay, also resigned at the same time. The administrative department has no one to lead, and this is not a long-term solution."

Abramovich doesn't like to get involved in these bits and pieces. Although he still keeps a little patience to listen, his face is not very good, but Pini Zahavi knows him very well and continues.

"And according to the current situation of the team, if we want to continue to maintain the team's combat effectiveness in the next season, then we must clean up a group of players in the team in exchange for part of the transfer fee for signings."

This hit Abramovich's soft spot, because he had previously told Pini Zahavi and Peter Kenyon that he would no longer make additional investments in the team in these years, but would make Chelsea self-sufficient.

Now Chelsea is losing money every season, and a large part of this is because the team's salary burden is too heavy. Although Chelsea is playing happily in the league and the Champions League, and performing well, and making a lot of money every year, in fact, it spends more.

At present, Chelsea's annual salary expenditure is 172 million pounds, a very important part of which comes from Shevchenko and Ballack. At the same time, several players in the team have received a substantial increase in salary due to the joining of two superstars, such as Lampard, Rooney, Terry and other local stars.

Chelsea's salary expenditure far exceeds that of Manchester United, which ranks second. They are only close to 100 million pounds. It is not difficult to see from this that Chelsea has been completely kidnapped by their superstar policy.

Abramovich regrets it now, really regrets it, and regrets it so much that his intestines are green, because this is a situation he never thought of when he wanted to introduce Shevchenko before. He just simply thought that he could afford his salary after introducing Shevchenko, but never thought that this would cause a chain reaction within the team.

This is just a part of the expenditure. Taxes, bonuses, etc. are also a very large expenditure. Even in the next two years, this situation will be difficult to improve, because Chelsea is currently in a very embarrassing situation.

There is a Chinese saying that is right: it is easy to move from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to move from luxury to frugality.

Chelsea's problem now is that the salary has completely exceeded the team's pressure, and they are forced to cut the transfer budget to supplement the salary. Unless the salary is cut, the team will always be under this pressure. But the question is, can the salary be cut?

Ballack is already old. He will definitely stay at Chelsea, complete this contract, and then maybe retire or go to another team, so there is no hope for him. What about Shevchenko?

There is a market for the Ukrainian, and AC Milan wants to recall him, but the question is, what about his astonishing salary?

Unless Chelsea is willing to supplement Shevchenko's salary and then loan him to AC Milan, otherwise, at the age of 31, the Ukrainian will be given away for nothing, let alone the transfer fee, because the huge salary is It’s enough to scare away countless teams.

The salaries of the two superstars cannot be cut, nor can the salaries of core players such as Lampard, Rooney, and Terry. They are the core players that the team relies on most. Not only cannot they be cut, but they must be maintained or even given an increase. Salary, especially for someone like Rooney.

Therefore, in the foreseeable future, Chelsea will have to live with this salary burden. If you want to invest heavily in the transfer market, don't even think about it.

It was precisely because he saw this that Abramovich decided not to continue to invest more, because it was a bottomless pit. No matter how much money he had, once he fell into this bottomless pit, it would be almost impossible for him to get out.

So now he regrets very much, regretting that he didn't listen to Ye Qiu's original advice.

At least look at Tottenham Hotspur now. The team's salary expenditure currently ranks sixth in the Premier League, at around 70 million pounds, which is less than half of Chelsea's, but the overall salary of this team However, its combat effectiveness ranks among the top three in the Premier League, and this is the result after Ye Qiu's team increased the salaries of many players this season.

The salary was increased, but Ruud van Nistelrooy, a big salary maker, was sold, so Tottenham Hotspur's overall salary expenditure did not increase much. Although the addition of Beckham brought salary pressure to the team, At the same time, it also brought huge profits.

Thinking of this, Abramovich suddenly felt full of envy and regret.

But regret is a terminal disease, a terminal disease that has no cure!

It was at this time that the morning news from Sky Sports Channel came from the yacht's TV.

"Our reporter reported that at 15 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur held a press conference at White Hart Lane. Chairman and team coach Ye Qiu announced that the team would hire the former Chelsea chief executive Executive Peter Kenyon and former Chelsea COO Ron Gurley serve as the team’s new CEO and COO!”

"As early as the beginning of the year, both Peter Kenyon and Ron Gurley made the decision not to renew their contracts with Chelsea. Sources revealed that this was because Peter Kenyon was gradually losing power in Chelsea. Being sidelined by chairman Roman Abramovich made the Manchester people very dissatisfied and made the decision not to renew the contract."

"For Peter Kenyon to join Tottenham Hotspur, Ye Qiu gave very high affirmations, saying that he is very optimistic about Peter Kenyon's future at Tottenham Hotspur. He believes that this former former The master of football management who created Manchester United's business empire can bring huge changes to Tottenham Hotspur."

"At the press conference, Peter Kenyon refused to answer why he left Chelsea, but he said that he and Chelsea broke up amicably, but he also said that relatively speaking, he preferred the environment at Tottenham Hotspur , and Ye Qiu’s trust in him, he believes that he can do better and better than ever at Tottenham Hotspur.”

"But some experts in the Premier League said that Peter Kenyon left Chelsea for Tottenham Hotspur, on the one hand because Ye Qiu was able to give him the trust and environment that he could not get at Chelsea, and more importantly, Tottenham The future prospects of Tenham Hotspur are even brighter, because this north London team has just signed an agreement with the London City Government and the London Olympic Organizing Committee, and according to this agreement, they will play in September 2012. After the Paralympic Games, we will acquire the London Olympic Stadium, which is about to be constructed, and plan to transform it into a five-star modern top-level stadium with a capacity of up to 80,000 people.”

"Compared to being restricted at Chelsea, Ye Qiu adopted a modern corporate institutional management of Tottenham Hotspur, which is obviously more in line with Peter Kenyon's wishes, coupled with the excitement of the new stadium, and Tottenham's Tottenham Hotspur's rising performance made Peter Kenyon finally make the decision to join Tottenham Hotspur instead of staying at Chelsea, where it was already difficult to make a breakthrough."

The news was broadcasting Sky TV's exclusive report and analysis on this transfer, and Pini Zahavi in ​​front of the TV was surprised, because even he had not received any relevant information, and then looked towards Next to him, Abramovich found that the Russian was obviously surprised and angry, suppressing the anger in his heart.

Pini Zahavi knows Abramovich too well. This Russian rich man seems to be easy to get along with, but in fact, anyone who really knows him knows that he is very strong, domineering and possessive. He will give you You can ask for things, but you can’t even think about the things he doesn’t give you.

Now, Peter Kenyon has jumped from Chelsea to Tottenham Hotspur. Even though Peter Kenyon was no longer favored during his time at Chelsea, and even though his resignation was tacitly approved by Abramovich, he still felt unhappy and angry because he felt that Ye Qiu had taken away his things.

"Pini!" Abramovich suppressed his anger.

Pini Zahavi heard him being called and immediately responded. Whoever angered him at this time was a fool.

"Starting tomorrow, you will go to the team as CEO. You are right. It is not a good thing for the team to be without a CEO for a day. At the same time, I have decided that the team will continue to invest more this summer. We want to have a good fight with our opponents, so we have to improve the team's strength and combat effectiveness in a short period of time!"

After hearing this, Pini Zahavi secretly rejoiced in his heart and nodded immediately, "Don't worry, I know what to do!"

"I'm tired, you go to Stamford Bridge!" Abramovich said with a gloomy face.

Pini Zahavi nodded and stood up to say goodbye, but when he walked downstairs of the yacht, he vaguely heard the sound of smashing things from upstairs. He guessed that it must be Abramovich venting his anger.

However, this has little to do with him, because he has already got what he wanted!

Tottenham Hotspur announced that Peter Kenyon and Ron Gourlay will serve as the two top executives of the team. This matter immediately caused a huge response and attention around the world. Some people said that this was Tottenham Hotspur's poaching of Chelsea, and Chelsea should fight back and directly sue Tottenham Hotspur and Ye Qiu in court.

But soon, Tottenham Hotspur immediately clarified that the team's actions were in line with legal procedures and there was no violation of any regulations, while Chelsea never responded to this matter.

On February 9, the 26th round of the league was held. Chelsea tied with Liverpool at home 0:0. In this round, Manchester United lost 1:2 to their rivals Manchester City at home and lost the Manchester derby.

This also allowed Arsenal to reverse Manchester United and once again top the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur challenged Derby County away. After a week of rest and adjustment, Tottenham Hotspur launched a crazy offensive storm, completely turning the defense of this unfortunate vice-captain into a sieve.

After the opening, Derby County defended very tightly, especially in the first 20 minutes, they would stick to their 30-meter area, while Tottenham Hotspur actively organized and launched waves of attacks.

Ye Qiu's midfield combination this time is still Modric, Fabregas and Mascherano. The three midfielders provide an endless supply of ammunition for the front players through orderly arrangement. With the active forward insertion of Vargas and Alves on the two wings, Tottenham Hotspur's offense is very active.

It was not until the 25th minute that Messi broke through Derby County's goal and got off to a good start.

But in the first half an hour, or even the entire first half, no one would realize that this would be a big victory, because Derby County played very hard and invested a lot of manpower in defense. Even in the 40th minute, when Van Persie scored another goal for Tottenham Hotspur, everyone felt that this game would only score about three goals at most.

But in the second half, starting from the 60th minute, Tottenham Hotspur suddenly launched a round of offensive storm. Ribery performed a hat trick, and Arshavin, who came on as a substitute, also scored another goal for the team. In the stoppage time, Messi's goal helped Tottenham Hotspur finally lock the score at 7:0!

This is simply a feast of goals, especially in the second half. With the decline of the physical fitness of Derby County players, they could not stop Tottenham Hotspur's attack at all. They were broken into their own goals again and again by Tottenham Hotspur. Their defensive rhythm and pace seemed clumsy and slow, and they could not keep up with Tottenham Hotspur's light offensive.

7:0, Tottenham Hotspur once again launched an almost crazy attack, completely pushing Derby County into the abyss of relegation, and also let all opponents see Tottenham Hotspur's unstoppable offensive ability again.

In this way, Tottenham Hotspur successfully widened the gap with Chelsea to six points with this hearty victory. With 58 points, Tottenham Hotspur is currently 5 points behind the leader Arsenal and 2 points behind the second-placed Manchester United, and has successfully caught up.

After playing against Derby County, the Premier League was temporarily suspended because of the FA Cup and League Cup finals.

Tottenham Hotspur's opponent in the FA Cup round of 16 knockout match is Bristol Rovers of the English League One. Ye Qiu plans to use these two weeks to adjust the physical fitness of the team's main lineup, so he also sent out substitutes and youth team lineups in the FA Cup. They defeated Bristol Rovers 2:0 away. Kompany was the starting central defender and performed well.

In the middle of the week, the League Cup final was ushered in, and the opponents were Arsenal and Chelsea.

Grant's team had a very difficult game with Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Both teams were familiar with each other, so there were not many surprises in the game. The two sides eventually ended up in a 1:1 draw after 90 minutes of play and entered the overtime stage.

After entering the extra time, the physical strength of both teams was obviously almost exhausted, but in the end Arsenal got a free kick opportunity, and the main central defender Gallas headed the ball to kill his old club. The former Chelsea player celebrated excitedly on the sidelines after scoring the goal, winning the first championship trophy of the new season for Arsenal.

Chelsea left the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff with disappointment, but they had no time to lick their wounds, because they had to return to London quickly. In the upcoming 27th round of the Premier League, they had to visit White Hart Lane and challenge their arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur away!