Chapter 440: Top Three Again

After leaving the Churchill Center, Ye Qiu drove all the way north and passed the Olympic Village. The demolition of the houses here has been completed and the land has been basically cleared. As soon as the design and planning of the new stadium and other buildings are completed, construction is expected to start in the middle of next year. .

So Ye Qiu also decided to call Chen Zhong in China later to inform him that it was done, and to ask him to start handling the preparations for the five-star hotel as soon as possible, mainly on design and planning. After all, there is still time until the Olympics. In the past five years, there is still plenty of time, so there is no need to rush.

"When the team takes over the new stadium and the five-star hotel is put into operation, Tottenham Hotspur may have become the strongest team in the Premier League." Through the car window, Beckham saw the cleared land outside. , said with regret.

But will he still be able to see it then?

"I know what you are thinking, David!" Ye Qiu said while driving, "But sometimes, things often don't go as you want. You are 32 years old now, and you were 33 during the 2008 European Cup. The World Cup in South Africa is 35 years old, the London Olympics is 37 years old, time is not forgiving, sometimes don’t be so persistent.”

Ye Qiu has a pretty good personal relationship with Beckham, and he knows a little bit about Beckham's temperament. Even though he seems to be easy to get along with on the outside, deep down this guy also has some quirks of his own, especially in the locker room. , some even say that he seems to have a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

For example, at any time and under any circumstances, if you open his cabinet, you will find that everything in it is neat and tidy, but as long as there is the slightest bit of irregularity in it, he will carefully tidy it up before giving up, and he seems to still A bit mysophobic.

Of course, everyone has their own living habits. The most important thing for the team is to respect everyone. Just from his living habits, it is not difficult to see that Beckham is actually a person who has high demands on himself. People often have a hard time.

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm old?" Beckham looked at Ye Qiu with a smile.

He himself knows his problem very well. Tottenham Hotspur are improving too fast, and he is getting older year by year.

Ye Qiu smiled and shook his head, "You must believe that I never think you are a problem for the team. On the contrary, if you are willing to continue playing football, I am happy for you to stay in the team. This is also my fault." A promise to you.”

In Ye Qiu's plan, he hopes that Tottenham Hotspur is the kind of team that can give players a sufficient sense of dependence, because if you want players to work for you to the death, then you have to stabilize the players' minds and make them depend on you. You develop a sense of belonging, which is most directly reflected in your attitude towards players.

Ye Qiu has always focused on giving the best to the players, such as the Theobald training base, and his series of investment, financial management and other plans around the players, all hoping to help the players.

Of course, giving players a sense of belonging does not mean not selling them. These are two different things.

You have to sell when you should, otherwise how can the team ensure its combat effectiveness? It just needs to be more gentle in the way of selling people. For example, Tottenham Hotspur did a good job when they sold Ruud van Nistelrooy. At least it was a deal for Real Madrid, A transfer deal that the fans, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Tottenham Hotspur are all happy with, isn't it?

"I will definitely work hard to maintain my condition and make myself meet the requirements of the first team!" Beckham promised with a smile.

Ye Qiu has no doubts about his professional attitude at all, but the physical functions of professional players will decline after a certain age. This is a rule. No one can violate it. No matter how hard Beckham works, how long can he maintain it? status?

The two talked along the way, and Ye Qiu's Porsche Cayenne soon stopped at a Chinese restaurant in central London.

After getting off the bus, the waiter was obviously very familiar with Ye Qiu and Beckham, and greeted them directly to the box on the second floor, where a shiny bald head was already sitting.

Astonishingly, it was the legendary Peter Kenyon who was ignored by Abramovich.

The two weeks of national team games have passed quickly, and it is already late November. The Premier League has also ushered in an intense winter schedule, because from the end of November to the beginning of January, the Premier League will usher in the most intensive schedule.

Tottenham Hotspur's first game after the national team match was West Ham United. Tottenham Hotspur played on the field, and this time Ye Qiu arranged for a semi-main lineup to play because he wanted to concentrate all his forces. Going to the fourth round of the Champions League group stage, this is an important battle related to whether Tottenham Hotspur can qualify from the group, or whether it will qualify first or second in the group.

As a result, Tottenham Hotspur, playing away from home, conceded a goal after the opening kickoff. However, in the second half, Mike Dawson, who served as the starting central defender in this game, took advantage of Beckham's free kick to equalize for Tottenham Hotspur. The result was a 1:1 away draw with the Hammers.

But after playing West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur sat at home and ushered in Valencia. Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Ribery scored three goals. Tottenham Hotspur 3:0 A complete victory over Valencia at home, averting the humiliation of losing in the first round.

Although the game was 3:0, there were many players in the Valencia team that impressed Ye Qiu very much, and they also received high praise from Tottenham Hotspur's chief scout Peter DeVisser.

Whether it is David Villa who is in charge of the front line, or David Silva who moved from the left to the middle and is the core of the team's organization, or Juan Mata who transferred from Real Madrid to the Bats this season and is the main force on the left wing, plus Joaquin on the right, Valencia's strength is still very worthy of recognition.

Of course, the biggest problem of this team is not the offense. Their offensive ability is actually very good, but the overall strength of the midfield, especially the midfield, has declined greatly with the aging of the traditional double defensive midfielders Baraja and Albelda.

In this game, Tottenham Hotspur actively suppressed Valencia on both wings and completely blew it away.

In December, Tottenham Hotspur ushered in the 15th round of the Premier League. The team defeated Birmingham 3:1 at home.

In the first fifteen rounds, Tottenham Hotspur had eight wins, three draws and two losses in thirteen games, accumulating 27 points, and still ranked sixth in the Premier League. Manchester City ranked fourth and fifth with 30 points each. Arsenal was still far ahead, jumping to the top of the league with 37 points, and they only lost one game this season.

That was the derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

Ye Qiu was not very satisfied with the current ranking, because even if Tottenham Hotspur maintained a perfect record in the two supplementary games, it would only be 33 points, the same points as Manchester United, but four points behind Arsenal, and Liverpool, which currently has 30 points, also played one less game.

Liverpool's performance this season is absolutely amazing, because the Red Army, which has played one less game, has won eight and drawn six out of 14 games so far this season, and has not lost a game. This is absolutely an amazing record. Even if they have more draws, if this team still exerts itself after the winter break as before, then their current points will be very beneficial for their sprint in the second half.

After the match against Birmingham, the coaching staff of Tottenham Hotspur clearly pointed out one thing to Ye Qiu at the regular meeting at the beginning of each month, that is, multi-line operations still have a great impact on Tottenham Hotspur.

This season, Ye Qiu arranged all the substitutes to play in the League Cup. The team's main lineup mainly played in the Champions League and the Premier League. Sometimes, in order to take care of the Champions League, Ye Qiu even arranged a semi-substitute lineup in the league, which would definitely affect the team's performance.

But Ye Qiu also has his own considerations and difficulties for this.

"To be honest, our group stage draw is one of the best draws among all the groups. After all, except for Valencia, we are the most capable of qualifying from the group. Although other groups also have good draws, they are basically dominated by one team."

There are many groups where the giants dominate, and the strength of the other three teams is relatively close. For example, AC Milan and Barcelona, ​​their draws can ensure that they qualify from the group, or even ensure that they qualify as the first in the group.

"After drawing such a good lot, we have no reason to give up the Champions League, right?" Ye Qiu also felt helpless.

If the draw is not good, forget it, even if it is drawn to the death group, Tottenham Hotspur has no hope of appearing, then forget it, accept the fate, but now it has drawn a good lot, who doesn't want to enter the knockout stage?

For any team, the income from the group stage is indeed lucrative, but if it can go one step further and enter the knockout stage, it will bring millions of nearly 10 million in income, who can resist it?

Those who participated in the meeting were Tottenham Hotspur's core coaching team and Peter De Visser's scout team. Everyone knew everything and knew that for a team like Tottenham Hotspur, being able to qualify from the Champions League group is simply more fortunate than winning the League Cup.

After all, a strong team also needs to accumulate bit by bit, especially for a team like Tottenham Hotspur with so many young players. If you want the team to form a strong confidence, you need to accumulate, need more training and tests, and playing more Champions League games will definitely help a lot.

"We have already qualified from the group, but I don't want us to be left too far behind by our opponents in the league, so in December we will go all out to attack the league, because we can't afford it!"

The Champions League will be rekindled in February, which is just after the devil's schedule of the winter break. At that time, no matter what opponent Tottenham Hotspur encounters, it will definitely not be as easy as the group stage, so if Tottenham Hotspur does not want to be forced to make a choice between the two, then they must take advantage of December to try to get more points and save enough advantages.

After listening to this, Roland Shepard nodded and analyzed: "We will play against Manchester City in the next round of the Premier League. This team has performed very well this season. They have invested a lot and their performance has improved a lot. They are also a big rival for us to enter the top four again."

After Eriksson withdrew from the England national team, he took over Manchester City after Thaksin Shinawatra acquired it. Manchester City has also become the most surprising team since the start of the Premier League this season, because they even occupied the top four of the league for a long time. Until recently, after Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur successively exerted their strength, they slowly fell, but they still have great hope to impact the Champions League qualification zone, so they are a big rival of Tottenham Hotspur.

"Playing the sixth round of the Champions League at home, I will go all out and strive for the first place in the group, but I can't afford to lose against Manchester City!"

In Ye Qiu's December points-grabbing plan, the game against Manchester City is crucial. As for the Champions League, the team has already qualified from the group stage. The difference is the first and second place in the group. But for Tottenham Hotspur, the difference between the first and second place in the group is huge. Once the second place in the group, they will face super strong teams such as AC Milan, Barcelona, ​​and Real Madrid, but if they are the first place in the group, they may not meet strong teams.

Therefore, for Ye Qiu, striving for the first place in the group will bring huge rewards to Tottenham Hotspur, and it must be won.

"By the way, Peter!" Ye Qiu looked at Peter De Visser of the scout team, "I hope your scout team can draw up a list of players as soon as possible and submit a report. I hope the team will introduce a midfielder by this summer at the latest."

Ye Qiu is very clear that Beckham is getting older year by year, and Modric does not seem to have the ability that Ye Qiu wants at present, so it is necessary to introduce another suitable midfielder.

At present, the team does have a lot of players in the midfield. After Yaya Toure was fixed by Ye Qiu as the defensive midfielder, plus Mascherano and Lucas, Tottenham Hotspur has a total of three defensive midfielders, but the team only has Beckham, Fabregas and Modric in the organization and attacking midfielder positions.

Six midfielders seem to be a lot, but in fact Ye Qiu can't choose much. Even the ball-holding midfielder he wants is a scarce player in the team at present, so Ye Qiu wants to introduce another ball-holding midfielder, but he does not rule out selling one or two players at that time to balance the team.

Of course, if Modric can show satisfactory progress in the second half of the season to Ye Qiu, he will consider giving up the introduction and directly choose Modric, but as the head coach of the team, he must plan ahead to avoid being in a hurry.

"Okay, I will draw up a list for you within a week, and then conduct a follow-up investigation."

If a responsible team is recruiting players, they often have to conduct a long-term follow-up investigation to introduce a player, and ensure that the player can integrate into the overall tactical system and framework of the team before finally deciding to introduce him.

Moreover, Ye Qiu had already had an idea in his mind. If the other party participated in the European Cup, he would consider getting it done before the European Cup, or even before the end of the season, so as to avoid a surge in value during the European Cup. Therefore, many things should be started now.

"Okay, everyone!" After speaking of his requirements and making a series of work arrangements, Ye Qiu stood up and looked at everyone present, "In the next month or so, we must go all out to catch up with the first group of the league, and our goal this season is to break through the results of last season!"

In the sixth round of the Champions League group stage, Tottenham Hotspur still tied Slavia Prague 2:1 at home, even though they played with a semi-substitute lineup. This also allowed Tottenham Hotspur to suppress Valencia and successfully qualify as the first in the group.

After all the eight groups were played, the eight teams that ranked first in the group were Inter Milan, Porto, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, ​​Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan, while the eight teams that ranked second in the group were Liverpool, Schalke 04, Roma, Olympiacos, Lyon, Fenerbahce, Celtic and Valencia.

Excluding Liverpool and Valencia, two teams from the same country and group, Tottenham Hotspur is not without a chance to compete with the remaining teams, so for Tottenham Hotspur, fighting for the first place in the group is still very fruitful.

Back in the Premier League, the team welcomed Eriksson's Manchester City at home.

Tottenham Hotspur, with all its main players, did not hold back this time and defeated Manchester City 2:1 at home.

Although the game was won, the process was very difficult. Beckham was injured in a collision with the opponent's defender Dunn. The team had the upper hand in the first half, but in the end, Alves broke the deadlock with a shot in the penalty area at the last moment.

Eriksson's defense was quite good, and Manchester City suddenly counterattacked in the second half, and took advantage of the opening attack to equalize the score. Tottenham Hotspur did not surpass again until the 82nd minute when Van Persie scored.

For Tottenham Hotspur, this was a tragic victory, because after the game against Manchester City, Beckham will be injured for two months, and the team will immediately usher in the second round of the Premier League. They drew 2:2 with Everton away. Moyes' team took advantage of Tottenham Hotspur's continuous two-line battle and fatigue, and launched an attack with the home advantage.

Tottenham Hotspur was indeed in a bad state. They lost the ball soon after the start, but the team quickly equalized the score. However, they lost the ball again near the end of the first half. In the second half, Tottenham Hotspur almost played around Everton's goal. In the end, with Messi's key goal, they tied Everton 2:2 away.

This is obviously not good news for Tottenham Hotspur, because although they have lost two games so far, they have tied four games, especially this game, they failed to beat Everton, and the gap with the opponent was not shortened much.

Three days later, Tottenham Hotspur won Portsmouth 1:0 away with Ribery's key goal.

In this game, Modric started the game and partnered with Fabregas. His performance was average. If it weren't for the cooperation of the front trident to help the team score goals, the final result might be a 0:0 draw.

In this round, Manchester United beat Liverpool 1:0 away, and Arsenal beat Chelsea 1:0 at home. The performances of several Premier League teams were average, and they were obviously affected by the intensive schedule in recent times.

After this round of games, Tottenham Hotspur won 10 games, drew 4 games and lost 2 games in 17 rounds, and accumulated 34 points with one round less. Finally, it entered the top four of the league again, and suppressed Liverpool and Chelsea, who lost this round, in one breath, ranking third in the league, but the points gap between the team and the current top two Arsenal and Manchester United is still six points and five points.

But Ye Qiu believes that, as Ferguson said, the battle for the league championship has just begun.

At least, he believes that Arsenal's fine tradition will definitely help the team.

But Manchester United doesn't know!