Some things are quite interesting when you think about them.
When Gao Shen was considering potential acquisition targets, one of the clubs initially evaluated was Leicester City, a team that was expected to perform miracles in the future. Coincidentally, in the FA Cup draw, Manchester City was drawn against Leicester City.
The current head coach of Leicester City was also a well-known figure—former England national team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.
In this match, Gao Shen fielded a lineup full of substitutes and young players, while Leicester City went all out with their main squad.
The two sides were level at 1-1 within the first 20 minutes. Manchester City struck first, but Leicester equalized soon after.
However, starting from the 38th minute, Manchester City scored two goals within three minutes, extending their lead to 3-1.
Late in the second half, both sides added another goal each.
In the end, Manchester City beat Leicester City 4-2 away from home.
…
After the match, Gao Shen had a private chat with Eriksson.
Eriksson had taken over the team in mid-October. His predecessor was the famous Portuguese player Paulo Sousa.
Unfortunately, under Sousa, the team had managed only one win, two draws, and six losses in their first nine league games.
Since Eriksson took over, the team's form had improved dramatically, rising to 14th in the table. In the last 17 rounds, they'd won nine, drawn three, and lost five—a very solid record.
This clearly showed just how important a good manager is, especially in the lower leagues.
Leicester City's Thai owner, Vichai, was willing to pay Eriksson a high salary, indicating his serious investment in the club. The team was clearly ambitious.
Gao Shen had also learned that among all the Championship teams, Leicester City had the highest valuation at 55 million euros, far ahead of clubs like Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers.
But looked at from another angle, for a team with such high valuation to perform like this, it was disheartening. The owner was willing to invest, but results were lacking.
In contrast, Leeds United's total squad value was only about 25 million euros.
"We've invested a lot in the squad, but the players we brought in were overpriced. You know, the boss doesn't really understand football," Eriksson said helplessly.
This was a common issue for many foreign owners of English football clubs.
"Anyway, since you took over midseason, once you're more familiar with the team, you can really show your ability in the summer window. Maybe you can get promoted next season," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Eriksson shook his head and smiled bitterly.
In fact, this Leicester squad had no shortage of big names, even some well-known European players, like Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo, former Chelsea defender Bruma, ex-Tottenham player Kyle Naughton, former Fulham striker Kamara, and ex-Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies.
It could be said that many of them were Premier League-level players, and the team was strong on paper.
They had signed over 40 players in one summer, and integrating them was a huge challenge.
More importantly, the players all had different styles, making cohesion very difficult.
"By the way, how's Leeds United?" Gao Shen asked casually.
"They're a solid team. I've played against them. What can I say... they're definitely competitive in the Championship, but they're poor, really poor. Most of their players are on loan," Eriksson replied.
"Oh?" Gao Shen responded. He understood the situation.
"Yeah. We have a few loanees too, but not as many as Leeds. Ken Bates reached out to me before. But to be honest, unless that club changes ownership, it's hard to see them going far. Their style of play is good, though, never too defensive."
At this point, Eriksson looked at Gao Shen curiously. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing much. Didn't they just draw with Arsenal at the Emirates? Just asking out of curiosity," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Eriksson nodded in understanding.
Indeed, Leeds had drawn 1-1 away to Arsenal not long ago.
Some might argue Arsenal didn't go all out, but Leeds performed well to earn the result.
But as Eriksson had pointed out, most of their players were loanees.
This was common in lower leagues. Who really had the money to invest heavily?
It was all about loan deals.
This arrangement benefited Premier League teams, who could loan out young players for experience. If the players did well, everyone gained.
Usually, the parent club paid the wages, meaning these loanees were essentially free to use.
Ken Bates had been involved in English football for years and knew this game inside out.
Gao Shen silently criticized it in his mind.
Damn. The stadium is rented, the training ground is rented, and now even the players are rented.
What's actually yours?
Meanwhile, there was a small upset in another match—Southampton beat Premier League side Blackpool 2-0 at home.
The Saints were indeed strong. Players who would later become Premier League standouts, like Lambert, Schneiderlin, and Ward-Prowse, were all in the squad. Along with young talents like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Southampton had plenty of quality.
The manager at the start of the season was Alan Pardew, but he was sacked after just a few games. Now, Ray Wilkins was in charge.
From Gao Shen's discussions with Su Qing and Lucas, it seemed they were leaning toward Southampton.
But others weren't blind either.
Looking at how the Liebherr family operated after taking over the Saints, it was clear they were shrewd businesspeople.
There was a high chance the Saints would get promoted to the Championship this season. Their academy was strong, with several youth internationals, and even the former head coach was someone like Alan Pardew. Though he'd been replaced by Wilkins midseason, the ambition was clear.
The only worry was the price—probably very high.
…
After the FA Cup, it was time for the League Cup semifinals in midweek.
It was interesting to note that this season, most of the top teams had abandoned the League Cup.
Among the four semifinalists, there was even a Championship team like Ipswich. Arsenal was the only true heavyweight.
So, the Gunners were the clear favorites to win this season's League Cup.
The upside of being knocked out early was that after the FA Cup, teams could enjoy a full week's rest.
For clubs playing continuously since Boxing Day, this was a rare and much-needed break.
But unlike other Premier League sides, Manchester City used the winter break for a recharging phase.
According to Buenaventura and Pintus's plans, City had to utilize this period to regain fitness and maintain competitiveness in the Champions League, which would resume in February.
Everyone knew the Premier League didn't have a winter break. The congested schedule drained players physically, which was a disadvantage ahead of the Champions League. The best solution was squad rotation during this period to recharge physically.
A week later, in the 23rd round of the Premier League, Manchester City hosted second-bottom Wolves.
This was the same team that had just upset Chelsea and were now eyeing another shock win against the league leaders.
And indeed, Wolves capitalized on City's sluggishness and opened the scoring 12 minutes in.
But before the end of the first half, David Luiz equalized for Manchester City from a corner.
After the break, City launched wave after wave of attacks, scoring three more, including a brace from Luis Suárez.
In the end, Manchester City came from behind to beat Wolves 4-1 at home.
Meanwhile, in the third round of the FA Cup midweek, Leeds United lost 1-3 at home to Arsenal.
This once again showed the obvious gap in strength between the two teams.
…
A week later, the 24th round of the Premier League kicked off.
Liverpool beat Wolves 3-0 away. Arsenal beat Wigan 3-0 at home. Manchester United demolished Birmingham 5-0. Chelsea thrashed Bolton 4-0 away.
Manchester City drew 1-1 away with Aston Villa.
It was the second draw of the season for the Blue Moon.
Still, everyone continued to praise City's performance this season and didn't lower their expectations because of one draw. Especially for Gao Shen, Manchester City's dominance was too obvious to ignore.
It could be said that so far this season, Manchester City hadn't given their Premier League rivals any chance.
With 22 wins and 2 draws after 24 rounds, their record was nothing short of eye-catching.
Many had already begun to believe that Manchester City had become the new kings of the Premier League, ushering in a new era.
…
Another week later, in the FA Cup fourth round, Manchester City drew Notts County.
This was a League One side, historically known as the oldest football club in the world. Based in Nottingham, they were fierce rivals of Nottingham Forest.
However, the team's current form in League One was poor.
Gao Shen once again sent out a full squad of substitutes and young players, and they defeated Notts County 5-0 away to progress to the fifth round.
Through these FA Cup matches, Gao Shen could see that the young players had clearly improved since the beginning of the season.
For example, De Bruyne's performance was impressive.
Also, Sturridge, a local player, stood out in the FA Cup. He even netted a hat-trick against Notts County and was outstanding.
After the match, Gao Shen made time to head south to London Heathrow Airport to pick up Su Qing.
…
In midweek, during the 25th round of the Premier League, Manchester City drew 2-2 away at Birmingham.
This result was largely due to Gao Shen rotating heavily to manage player fitness. The team started slowly, and the back line made several errors.
The center-back pairing of David Luiz and Jerome Boateng conceded twice in quick succession, but Manchester City responded with two goals in the second half. David Luiz scored again.
This time, it was from a free kick.
Yes, this guy had been working on set pieces.
…
On the weekend, the 26th round of the Premier League arrived.
After back-to-back league draws, Manchester City finally woke up, crushing West Bromwich Albion 5-0 at home.
The Baggies were battling relegation but were thrashed at the Etihad Stadium.
Even so, Gao Shen wasn't satisfied with the team's performance. He believed that if they had been in better form, they could've scored at least eight.
Unfortunately, City was still in the process of readjusting their rhythm.
That led many British media outlets to accuse Gao Shen of being too "Versailles."
But as The Times put it, in today's Premier League, no team could stop this dominant Manchester City.
After the match against West Brom, Gao Shen and his group quietly headed south to Southampton.
(To be continued.)
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