Early the next morning, the South Coast Sports News ran two photos on the front page.
One is Wang Xiaodong holding a caddy, and the other is Wang Xiaodong holding a little tiger.
Both of them were hugged by Wang Xiaodong with one arm around their waists. The difference was that the caddy's face was beaming with excitement, while the little tiger's face was frightened and embarrassed.
Think about it, in front of tens of thousands of fans, a young man of 16 or 17 years old was picked up by a peer with one hand, how embarrassing this is!
"The two stars of the Saints scored one goal each, and Southampton defeated Cardiff City."
Seeing such a headline, some old saints sighed.
They know that this may be the last time the team uses "double star" to describe the young talents on the team.
Walcott will have a medical examination after New Year's Day and then put on Arsenal uniform.
That little tiger running on the court is no longer playing for the Saints.
Many fans are worried about this.
The team's half-season performance in the league is pretty good. So far, the team has 9 wins, 10 draws and 8 losses, with 37 points, ranking fourth in the standings.
If this momentum continues, the team has great hope of reaching the top spot.
But now that Tiger Tiger has transferred and left, whether the team can maintain such an overwhelming offensive momentum in the second half has become a question mark hanging over the Saints' heads.
In a public interview, Keegan said that although Walcott chose to leave, the team will also introduce new blood to supplement its strength this winter. The club has even extended invitations to forwards from some Premier League teams.
The teams of these forwards are ranked at the bottom of the Premier League, and they also have certain strength.
In line with the mentality of "better to be the head of a bull than the tail of a phoenix", the team may really recruit a few powerful forwards this winter.
Fans are dubious about Keegan's words. Looking at the entire Premier League, there are very few forwards who meet the requirements.
Among the fans, the one with the loudest voice is Alan Shearer, who currently plays for Newcastle Magpies.
Alan Shearer was born in Newcastle, but his professional football career began in Southampton.
As a meritorious figure in today's English football, Alan Shearer is a legend of his generation.
After the Chinese New Year, Alan Shearer, who was born in 1970, will be 36 years old.
In the past year, he was not only elected to the English Football Hall of Fame, but he also won the UEFA Cup top scorer last season.
The old man gets stronger, and he is talking about a forward like Shearer.
But will Shearer really "lower his value" and return to the South Coast?
According to analysis by The Times, unless Southampton succeeds in reaching the Premier League next season, there is no reason for Shearer to retire on the south coast.
With Shearer's fame and strength, retiring in Newcastle is more than enough.
Magpies officials also stated that if Shearer himself is willing, he can be given a "lifetime contract".
If Shearer can't do it, who else can step in and lead the Saints to new life?
It can be said that Southampton's current situation is very embarrassing and is in a position of neither improving nor falling.
The team hopes to get Premier League players to supplement their strength, and once those players have Premier League-level abilities, who doesn't want to jump directly to the Premier League like a little tiger?
Various experts have analyzed and analyzed several veteran forwards who are about to retire in the Premier League, but they have not found one suitable for Southampton.
...
After Walcott completely opened up to his Southampton teammates, it was time to say goodbye.
On the eve of New Year's Day, Wang Xiaodong and several teammates with whom he had good relationships held a private practice banquet for Little Tiger.
As soon as I got home after the meal, my agent Mino Raiola came to my door.
"Dong, your peripheral products are selling like crazy. International sales are even more than 10 times that of Southampton!"
As soon as he entered the room, Raiola's first words were to complain.
There is no way, who made his business commission too low!
"How big is Southampton?" Wang Xiaodong complained, "Where do you think the jerseys produced near the port went? Aren't they all sold on ships around the world?"
Of course Wang Xiaodong knows what Raiola means. Although Southampton is just a British Championship team, its popularity in China is no worse than Manchester United and Arsenal.
In the era of global informationization, Wang Xiaodong's performance in Southampton followed the signal across the ocean and came to the East.
When the fans knew that there was a young talent who had repeatedly scored goals in the British Championship, they were immediately excited.
The hottest new star in China today is none other than Dong Fangzhuo, who joined Manchester United.
But as soon as this kid went to the Premier League, he was sent to play in Belgium, and Manchester United introduced Park Ji-sung. This ending suddenly made all Chinese fans realize - after all, you don't value our players, but our market!
But even so, Dong Fangzhuo's Manchester United jerseys are also selling hotly in China, and Manchester United has achieved great success.
And what was Dong Fangzhuo's performance after going to Belgium? What was the effect?
However, it is rarely reported in China.
One is because Dong Fangzhuo rarely scores goals, and the other is that there is no domestic broadcast of the Belgian league, and it is difficult for the media to obtain first-hand information.
Therefore, occasionally when Dong Fangzhuo performed something outstanding, he would casually mention it in a corner of the newspaper two or three days later.
But Wang Xiaodong is different.
The League Cup victory over Arsenal before Christmas was not broadcast in China.
However, in the new issue of World Football, Wang Xiaodong was highlighted by Duanquan.
In Duan Quan's words, Wang Xiaodong has become a real "Li Iron".
This young warrior with a body and long-range shooting is simply a combination of Li Tie and Ma Mingyu.
Although few people in China can watch Southampton's games, the data from the British Championship is still easy to obtain.
Moreover, Wang Xiaodong makes headlines every now and then with his beautiful photos, which is convenient for the media to reprint.
Coupled with 11 goals in half a season, this makes fans who hear good news every now and then happy again and again.
"Good guy, this English Championship is just not as good as the Premier League. It's so easy to score a goal!"
Wang Xiaodong's 11 goals even caused domestic fans to have "some" misunderstanding about the British Championship.
"Dong, not only your country, but also many people in other parts of England buy your products." Raiola explained, "You have too much news, and the media also like to report things that have nothing to do with the stadium. .”
"Look, this is the beer you drank in the last game. Their boss sent someone here to find you to endorse."
Raiola said, taking out a contract and a newspaper and placing them in front of Wang Xiaodong.
Who would have thought that with just one casual move, the sales volume of this small brewer named "Harland" tripled or quadrupled in two days.
New Year's Day is coming soon, and every family is going on a shopping spree.
The scene where Wang Xiaodong helps Walcott block the beer bottle has become the most exciting advertising video of Halland Beer.
"If you're a man, drink Harlan beer!"
What a domineering slogan, it completely fits the image of Wang Xiaodong in the photo.
"Dong, the price offered by the other party is not low. And they can give you a lifetime membership medal, and you can drink their beer for free for the rest of your life."
"COOL!" Wang Xiaodong's eyes lit up, and he even saw a business opportunity.
"Mino, an idea just occurred to me."
"What?" Raiola had an ominous premonition.
"In the next game, I will arrange for a fan to throw debris in the stands, and then find a suitable opportunity to throw it to me, and then we will pick up the endorsement..."
"wrong!"
When Wang Xiaodong said this, he thought of a better idea.
"We can't throw something out first, which is giving them free publicity in advance."
"We can treat this matter as a typical case, and then we sell 'advertising space.' If there are any products that you want to promote in the future, you can discuss it with us in advance. Then we will arrange people to find a suitable opportunity to promote it. Throw it to me, what do you think?"
Seeing Wang Xiaodong reveal such a long list of plans in a short period of time, Raiola's eyes went straight.
After a long while, the Italian touched his round nose, shook his head and sighed: "Dong, even if you don't play football, you will definitely be a business genius in the future!"
"Haha, let me tell you! We have to take the initiative in our own hands first!"
"Dong, but have you ever thought about what if their requirements become more and more demanding?" Raiola said with a worried look, "You can catch the beer bottle, and you can take a sip to show that it is harmless. But What about other products?”
"What if a Taiwanese businessman asks us to endorse pineapples? Can you accept it?"
"What if a condom manufacturer asked you to demonstrate how to use this thing on the spot? Do you want to take off your pants in front of so many people?"
"Dong, give up this unrealistic idea. If the FA investigates, this matter may have a very bad impact on you."
"ok, I get it."
Wang Xiaodong curled his lips. He originally wanted to refute this weird endorsement and he didn't have to accept it. But when he thought about the FA's attitude towards him, Wang Xiaodong gave up the idea of "double advertising space".
After Raiola and Wang Xiaodong finished reporting the accounts and discussing the endorsements, he said again: "By the way, Dong, there is one more thing I want to tell you this time. There is someone who wants to meet you."
"Who is it? Missing! Didn't we agree to help Southampton get promoted this season and put the transfer aside?"
Wang Xiaodong himself said in front of the media that he would help Southampton advance.
If you leave this winter, wouldn't that be a slap in the face?
"It's not about a transfer." Raiola shook his head. "It's the England national team coach Eriksson who is looking for you. He wants to..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Wang Xiaodong interrupted Raiola directly, "You can't even transfer, let alone change your nationality!"
