There is no holiday on New Year's Day because there are games to be played after the holiday.
On January 2, Southampton played against Brighton away from home.
It seems that every English club has a long history. This small club, founded in 1901, is also a founding member of the Southern League of England.
After entering the new century, the Seagulls (Brighton's nickname) completed two consecutive jumps from the fourth tier.
Less than 10 years have passed since the team's financial crisis in 1996, and Brighton is only one step away from the Premier League.
But after two consecutive jumps, Brighton has been ups and downs in the English Championship and League One.
This season, Brighton is on the verge of falling back to League One.
The current league ranking is 22nd, well in the relegation zone.
Facing such a weak team, no fan thought that Southampton could not beat them.
But Brighton just did it.
They analyzed the situation of Southampton's players and formulated a response plan based on the characteristics of the main players to face the Saints.
Wang Xiaodong was frequently harassed in the midfield. Someone interfered when he was playing the ball, and someone "accompanied" him when he was attacking.
Wang Xiaodong was already annoyed by having a "follower" beside him, and the trash talk from these guys from the southeast coast made Wang Xiaodong even more furious.
Finally, at the beginning of the second half, due to a physical conflict, the Brighton player fell to the ground and the actor was possessed.
Wang Xiaodong was so angry when he saw this that he rushed forward and kicked the opponent with the drag of three teammates.
Although his toes only lightly touched the opponent's shirt, Wang Xiaodong's stretching of his legs still earned him the first red card in the league.
According to the rules, Wang Xiaodong must leave the game immediately and be suspended for one game.
"Fake Squid!"
"Bastards!"
"Waiting for you to come to Southampton!"
"You guys are good-looking!"
The three people pushed and pushed, and finally brought Wang Xiaodong off the court.
Although the Brighton players' move was a bit "despicable", their goal was achieved.
Without Walcott, without Wang Xiaodong, and one less person on the court, the Saints were demoralized and just wanted to end the game as soon as possible.
However, this time God was not on the side of the saints.
Southampton, which had fully retreated from defense, broke through the defense in the 80th minute. The opponent took advantage of a set piece in the frontcourt to hoist the ball into the penalty area and scored with a header.
In this way, Southampton did not receive a good start to the new year, but Wang Xiaodong received one.
"It's okay, Dong. Actually, you've earned it!" On the bus, Dyer turned around and enlightened Wang Xiaodong, who was lying flat on the back seat.
"I made a fortune!"
"Dong, don't forget, you will be suspended if you get another yellow card." Dyer reminded.
The accumulation of yellow cards in the English league is calculated in cup competitions such as the League Cup.
Wang Xiaodong, who has played in all League Cups on behalf of Southampton, has accumulated 4 yellow cards so far, and he will be suspended if he accumulates one more.
Now that Wang Xiaodong has directly engaged Zhang Hong, isn't that a profit?
"Tch, you're the only one who can speak!"
Wang Xiaodong curled his lips, stood up carelessly, and came to the front of the car.
"Boss, I want to take a leave."
"Ask for leave?" Keegan was a little confused.
There is no winter break in the English League, but according to the schedule arranged by the English Championship, Southampton's next league game will be played in 10 days. In other words, this is a disguised "annual leave" for the players.
"Dong, don't forget, we still have the FA Cup to play!"
The league is on vacation, but new competitions have arrived.
The League Cup has reached the semi-finals and the FA Cup has reached the third round.
Southampton, who did not have to play in the first two rounds, will face Milton Keynes Keynes five days later.
"Isn't that just a small team from League One? We can't even play?" Wang Xiaodong complained.
"Dong, since you're suspended for the next league game anyway, let's wait until the FA Cup is over before taking a break. Then I'll give you a few more days off."
"Okay, okay!" Wang Xiaodong rolled his eyes and muttered again, "If I come back later, you'll get it later. It's not my loss anyway, you can take care of it yourself!"
"What did you say?" Sensing that there was something in Wang Xiaodong's words, Keegan asked doubtfully.
"It's nothing, then I'll leave after playing in the FA Cup, that's all!"
"Yeah, okay."
...
Five days later, when the final whistle blew at St. Mary's Stadium, Keegan jumped up to his feet with excitement.
He was extremely glad that he had left Wang Xiaodong behind, otherwise he would not have known how the boat capsized in the gutter today.
In this round of the FA Cup, 64 teams met in pairs, but Southampton and Milton Keynes scored the most goals in this game.
In the first half, David Pluton's long-range shot gave the Saints a 1-0 lead. At the beginning of the second half, the situation suddenly changed.
First, the opponent's forward equalized the score with a header, followed by two goals from Dyer and Quasi, helping the Saints go two points ahead.
But in the next 20 minutes, the game was completely controlled by the visiting team.
In the 79th minute, Belmadi fouled in the penalty area and gave the opponent a penalty kick, which was hit from the left.
Just 5 minutes later, Gareth Eades' long-distance run penetrated two Saints' defenses. Facing goalkeeper Nimi, Edes pushed into the far corner to equalize the score.
Just when the game was about to drag into overtime, Wang Xiaodong fired four consecutive shots from the front of the penalty area, and each shot hit the door frame.
Milton Keynes goalkeeper Matt Baker blocked the ball with a high pass, diving left and blocking right.
But unfortunately, Wang Xiaodong's shot was too powerful.
During the last save, he obviously didn't have the right hand shape. Although both palms touched the ball, the ball bounced back into the penalty area and Belmadi scored successfully.
In the end, thanks to Belmadi's final goal, Southampton advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup without any danger.
After the game, Wang Xiaodong only said hello to Keegan, put on his casual clothes, slipped into the parking lot, and drove away in his Bima Wen.
...
Getting up early the next day, Wang Xiaodong drove back to his home in Bath.
"Xiaodong, are you back?"
When Tian Jing saw her son coming back, she immediately put down her sewing and stood up to greet him.
"Mom, my dad is back?" Wang Xiaodong asked, pointing to the leather shoes at the door.
"Well, he came back the day before yesterday, and his face was not very good." Tian Jing took her son's luggage and checked to see if his son had lost weight.
"What's going on?" Wang Xiaodong looked curious.
"I don't know either." Tian Jing recalled, "The day he came back, he received a phone call. I don't know exactly who called. I just heard that he almost smashed the phone when he hung up the phone, and there was something in his mouth. He even yelled, 'There's no way'! Maybe the business has not been settled. As you know, these British guys think your father is a foreigner, and they have caused many problems inside and outside!"
"ok, I get it."
The couple had just sat down, but their buttocks were still warm, when another roar came from upstairs: "Just give up on this idea, there is no way out!"
Boom!
With a loud bang, it seemed like the phone was going to be changed again at home.
Hearing this, Wang Xiaodong suddenly asked: "Mom, last time my dad threw the phone, did he also speak Chinese?"
