The Godfather of Football

For people living in London, the most impressive memory of Christmas every year is the cold.

Many times, Christmas is not only about white-bearded Santa Claus, turkey and pumpkin pie, but also accompanied by snow.

But this year's Christmas is obviously very different from previous years. The reason is very simple. Almost all shops and sellers have launched slogans and slogans for early Christmas for the first time this year.

When you walk to Oxford Street, you can see those discount promotion slogans almost everywhere. When you open major British newspapers, you can see full pages of advertisements and promotions. When you chat with friends, almost all the topics you can hear are related to bankruptcy and closure.

The Guardian previously made an exclusive interview, saying that the European debt crisis will enter a severe winter from now on, the retail industry and shopping malls will be hit hard, and almost the entire European economy will enter a long-term depression.

"We will have a hopeless Christmas!"

Woolworths, a supermarket chain with a history of more than 80 years, declared bankruptcy in December, which almost triggered a series of chain reactions. Countless department stores and shopping malls announced clearance sales because they had to get enough money back before Christmas to survive this cold winter.

In the past, the Christmas shopping carnival started after Christmas, that is, on Boxing Day on the 26th, but this year, it started to carry out overwhelming publicity and promotion after entering mid-December. Not only some small shops and small stores, but even all brand-name stores and luxury stores are cutting prices.

Because they have to get funds back before Christmas to pay employee salaries and bonuses, pay the store rent and a series of expenses for the next quarter, all of which have contributed to their almost desperate crazy price cuts. According to professional Andy Grete, this is unprecedented.

According to the survey statistics of the British media, the retail industry has reduced its prices by at least 40% compared to the usual prices. And this is not the kind of false propaganda that marks the price up and then reduces it, but a real price reduction, because even with a big price reduction, it is still difficult to arouse customers' desire to buy. The reason is very simple, their finances are also in trouble.

The Great Depression is a common consensus in Europe.

But there are also exceptions and exceptions. In the UK, football is an exception.

A very interesting statistic is that in the history of British football, during all the Great Depressions, the football market will be very hot and enthusiastic, and it is almost always inversely proportional to the economy.

Next to the White Hart Lane Stadium on Haig Road, the Tottenham Hotspur fan store is crowded with people, and there is a long queue outside. Quite a number of fans are waiting to enter the store to shop.

But it is obviously not Tottenham Hotspur's big discounts and promotions, because there is almost no promotional publicity outside the fan shop. The only more conspicuous thing is a notice in the glass window next to the gate saying 25% off for the whole game and 15% off for new products, but compared with those big discounts of half price or even 20% to 30% off, it is too inconspicuous.

But it attracts so many fans to come here.

Woodhouse lives in the suburbs of southern London, 30 kilometers away from White Hart Lane, but he drove from the south to North London specifically to choose Christmas gifts for his grandchildren and buy Christmas souvenirs of the team.

This has been his habit for the past 50 years, and he is 67 years old!

This Londoner with white hair like snow on the ground, wearing presbyopic glasses, and looking gentle, stood in the crowd, slowly moving with the flow of people, but he was muttering, "Not only did the promotion come early this year, but there were more people coming to buy!" But when he spoke, he was smiling.

He got up at 8 o'clock this morning and drove here, but when he arrived, the queue was already very long.

"Of course there are more. Didn't you see what was said on the forum? Half of Londoners are on Oxford Street, and half of Tottenham fans are on Haig Road!" A middle-aged man in his forties in front of him turned around and said with a smile.

After hearing this, Wood House smiled, "There is a big sale on Oxford Street, what is there on Haig Road?"

"You don't know?" The middle-aged man was a little surprised. Why did he rush to line up without knowing?

"Know what?" Wood House asked with a puzzled look.

"Oh, Maga!" The middle-aged man shook his head and sighed, "The team won the Club World Championship in Yokohama, Japan yesterday. Did you see it?"

"Of course, all Tottenham fans will not miss that game. Messi performed very well!" Wood House immediately had a common topic and his tone became excited.

Although I haven't read the morning newspapers yet, it is expected that all newspapers today will throw aside the 18th round of the Premier League and focus on Tottenham Hotspur's outstanding performance in winning the Club World Cup. This is the world champion!

"Yes, so the club launched a special commemorative edition series of world champion jerseys, which were officially launched today. I heard that the first batch is limited supply, and it is only available in London at present. It will be launched in other cities and countries in the future, so..."

"Really? I didn't know!" Wood House was also surprised.

Following the middle-aged man's fingers, he discovered that the window on the other side of the fan shop indeed displayed a set of special commemorative jerseys for the world championship, including men's, women's, children's, jackets, T-shirts and admission jerseys. There are also other fan memorabilia, including a replica of the Club World Championship trophy.

One of the important reasons why the first batch of limited editions is valuable is that they all have the autographs of the stars. You can buy the signed editions of your favorite stars, and the design of this special edition is not just for Bailu. They are only worn on alley courts, but they are also quite good for daily wear. For example, some down jackets are quite warm, and the styles are also very fashionable and very pleasing.

Woodhouse looked at the window display with his reading glasses for a long time. He has collected every Tottenham Hotspur jersey over the years. He also chooses Tottenham Hotspur clothes and souvenirs every New Year and holiday. Given as a gift to his children and grandchildren, now he has to weigh it against his credit card.

Finally, I gritted my teeth. In the words of middle-aged people, the first batch of limited edition signed editions is very collectible and worth buying!

Many Tottenham Hotspur fans who came to Haig Road came with the same attitude. On this day, the team's sales were very hot, which lasted until the afternoon and then eased up. It is expected to be Breaking the single-day sales record in the fan store's history.

This situation made Ye Qiu, who was standing in the administrative office of White Hart Lane, very satisfied.

"Well done, Peter!" Ye Qiu turned around and praised Peter Kenyon and Ron Gurley.

It is not very difficult for Tottenham Hotspur to win the Club World Cup. Ye Qiu has expressed his confidence before, and the team also started negotiations with Adidas after their opponents in the Club World Cup were announced, and both parties agreed to win the World Cup. The clubs cooperated, and FIFA also stated that Tottenham Hotspur could be allowed to use the World Club for publicity and promotion, so this grand occasion was born.

Although the discount rate and scale are far less than those of the major shopping malls and stores on Oxford Street, the sales are not inferior to them at all, because in the UK, the football economy has never been depressed due to economic depression, and even many Times are the other way around. The more depressed the economy becomes, the more prosperous the football economy becomes.

"As we said before, it is only open to members. If it is open for sale, the scene will be even more popular than it is now!" Peter Kenyon said with a smile.

"Will there be scalpers?" Ye Qiu asked.

Ron Gurley glanced at Peter Kenyon and laughed, "It's inevitable, it will be, but as we said before, this is the benefit of members. Do they buy to collect or buy?" It doesn’t matter to us if we sell it, we can’t control it that much.”

Ye Qiu also thinks it makes sense, because you have too much control over everything, which may not be a good thing sometimes.

"At noon today, FIFA received a bonus of four million euros into the club's account, plus an appearance fee of one million euros, for a total of five million. In addition, the team is currently negotiating cooperation with several large companies in Japan. It is expected that this A World Club Final will bring us 10 million euros in revenue!”

Ye Qiu chuckled after hearing this, but shook his head, "Your marketing department has taken advantage of it, but the players' physical fitness is a big problem!" Running back and forth like this, it is certain that the players' bodies will be tired, especially Considering that Christmas is coming soon.

"By the way, how are you preparing for the charity auction?" Ye Qiu asked with concern.

This is a charity event jointly organized by Tottenham Hotspur and a children's hospital in Tottenham. The team will auction some meaningful items and all proceeds will be donated to the hospital. Children's Hospital, and Tottenham Hotspur will also take the lead in donating a donation to build a medical building at the Children's Hospital.

"Almost, we will auction it at the carnival then!" Peter Kenyon said.

The Carnival is a Christmas Day event co-hosted by Tottenham Hotspur and its sponsors.

Last year, Tottenham Hotspur organized a carnival at the Theobald training base, but only team staff, players and coaching staff and their families attended. The entire carnival could be held. The liveliness, some masquerades, or funny shows have aroused the affirmation of many fans from the outside world.

As early as last Christmas, a large number of fans appealed on the club's official website, hoping that the team could open to the outside world. In the past year, fans have also written letters, hoping that the team can open the Christmas carnival. Yes, they are allowed to participate.

In November, the team collected opinions on the Internet and solicited fans' opinions. As a result, quite a few fans wanted to attend the team's Christmas carnival. In addition, many fan organizations already have their own Activities, and now they have also stated that if the team organizes a Christmas carnival, they will all come to attend.

Taking into account the opinions of all parties and the support of some of the team's sponsors and licensors, the team decided to turn this year's Christmas into a Christmas carnival. For the first time, fans, media reporters and some football celebrities were invited to participate, and All are free, but the venue will not be Theobald, but White Hart Lane.

On that day, all fans can enter for free, and the team will arrange a lot of programs for fans that night, many of which are programs and activities for fans to participate in. The whole Christmas carnival will last from one night to the next morning, and the players and coaching staff will have no choice but to stay until midnight because they have to play games the next day.

Charity auction is one of the programs of the whole Christmas carnival.

This time the team won the Club World Championship from Japan and returned triumphantly, which undoubtedly once again promoted the Christmas carnival for free. I believe that more and more fans will come to the scene to participate in this grand event.

While Tottenham Hotspur was fighting in Japan, the 18th round of the Premier League was also played.

Liverpool, which performed very strongly at the beginning of the season, has also fallen into a trough recently, similar to Tottenham Hotspur. The difference is that Tottenham Hotspur still scored steadily when it performed poorly, while Liverpool suffered consecutive draws, and two consecutive draws in the 17th and 18th rounds, which directly led to Liverpool losing points continuously.

Chelsea and Manchester United also performed poorly, which led to Tottenham Hotspur still standing at the top of the table after the 18th round of the Premier League. With two games less, they had an unbeaten record of 13 wins, three draws and zero losses, and scored 42 points, leading the standings.

Liverpool ranked second with 39 points, and Chelsea ranked third. They and Manchester United both had 38 points, but Chelsea's goal difference surpassed Manchester United and ranked higher, but Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa ranked fifth, and Arsenal ranked sixth.

From the current situation, Tottenham Hotspur, who has two games less, is undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship, but many people are worried about Tottenham Hotspur, which is fighting on multiple fronts. After all, the team has transferred many players this summer, and the lineup is a bit thin. In addition, there have been rumors from the outside world recently that many players in the team are clamoring for transfers, which has become a major hidden danger for Tottenham Hotspur.

Looking at the first half of the league, the most obvious change in Tottenham Hotspur is defense.

The team's defense this season is still worthy of recognition, especially in the past two months, Tottenham Hotspur has achieved zero goals in the Champions League, the League and the League Cup, and Cech has four clean sheets in the Premier League. This report card is indeed not easy.

The joining of Ziglinski has strengthened Tottenham Hotspur's defense, but the most surprising thing is Thiago Silva's steady performance. At least Tottenham Hotspur's central defender is no longer as conspicuous as in the past.

Many times, not being conspicuous and not being remembered by fans means that your defense is in place.

Perhaps due to the pressure from Ziglinski, Kompany's performance this season has also been much more stable, less impetuous in the past, and more mature. Whether it is partnering with Ziglinski or Thiago Silva, his performance is very high.

The midfield is still the strongest link of Tottenham Hotspur. With the joining of David Silva, the team's midfield strength has been improved, and the ability to create opportunities is stronger than before. The only flaw is that Ribery's performance has not been satisfactory after his return from injury.

The coaching staff also gave understanding to this point. At least Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo's performance this season after surgery is not comparable to last season. Ribery, who was more seriously injured and rested longer, is not in good condition. That is also understandable. The key is to find an effective way to help him recover as soon as possible.

"Recently, Manchester City has temporarily shelved the transfer of Carroll and Ashley Young and is working hard on Kaka. It is reported that AC Milan has agreed to their sky-high purchase price of 120 million euros. The next step is to negotiate Kaka's personal treatment with Manchester City!" Peter Kenyon is really a little envious of Manchester City, who spends money without considering any consequences.

If it costs 120 million to introduce Kaka, then the annual salary plus other payments is expected to exceed 250 million. It is really hard to say whether such a big investment is proportional to the output. At best, it can only be said that Manchester City has chosen the simplest way to become famous.

By taking over two superstars, Kaka and Robinho, they also hope to use these two superstars to become a giant, but the key to the problem is that they do not have the results worthy of this title.

Or it should be said that without the support of results, no matter how many stars there are, they are not considered a giant!

"Then put it aside for the time being. They are not in a hurry, and we are not in a hurry. Are we afraid that it will rot in our hands?" Ye Qiu laughed and didn't care about it at all. He even thought that if he couldn't make a move during the winter break, he would consider renting Carroll out.

Although this player can only play a role player in Tottenham Hotspur, it is not a big problem to play in other Premier League teams. He is young and capable enough, so he is really not afraid that no team will be interested.

"There is news that Manchester City is ready to spend 400 million to buy stars. We must be prepared in advance because a new round of salary increases is coming!" Peter Kenyon is also a very visionary club operator.

No one knows how high the annual salary Manchester City pays Kaka. The more reliable one is 250,000 pounds per week after tax. If the new tax rate is adjusted, it will be 500,000 pounds before tax. This is indeed quite outrageous. In addition to the tax rate adjustment, it can be foreseen that the salary of Premier League players will increase further.

"Kaka's image is so good and so healthy. He may not be willing to accept Manchester City, because that represents his compromise with capital!" Ye Qiu said his guess. Kaka did not accept Manchester City in his previous life. He is really unsure in this life.

In his previous life, he only saw the news from the media and only felt that, ah, more than 200 million, there is no concept at all, and he always felt that it was just nine zeros? But in this life, he is very clear that this is an inestimable amount of money for any team and any player. It is difficult for anyone and any team to refuse such a transfer, including Tottenham Hotspur.

Interestingly, Abramovich has also shown signs of making a move recently. If even he makes a move, the entire football market will become more and more interesting, but Tottenham Hotspur will not change its business strategy and original intention.

In Ye Qiu's opinion, although the wealthy families built up by money are fast and achieved in one fell swoop, they are still not as stable and solid as the wealthy families that have climbed up step by step by relying on achievements and strength.

Maybe the latter road is difficult to take, but Ye Qiu chose this road in the first place, and now he will not change it easily.

Because what he wants is not the peak overnight, but a century-old foundation!