Marcelo Bielsa's farm in Rosario, Argentina.
The discussion between Li George and Bielsa continued into the evening. Casper and Walsh left first after dinner, while Li George was left at home by Bielsa. It felt like talking by candlelight at night.
After dinner, the two returned to Bielsa's study.
After making coffee from South America on both sides, the conversation started again.
This time, George Li spoke more, and Bielsa listened.
"My top striker last season I don't think he has the ability to track back, but I need a forward who is capable of tracking back to play in the midfield, so this summer I want to buy a striker who has the ability to play ball and run. forward."
"My two wide players are not strong enough in finishing, and they are not enough when fighting some tough battles."
"I'm wondering if there are higher requirements for central defenders under my tactical requirements."
"High post pressure and frontcourt pressure. Once I fail to make an offside call, my central defender needs to have a certain ability to chase back. Then do I need a central defender who can turn around quickly and start quickly? Then I have to sacrifice something. If the height is too high, then my set piece defense will be a problem."
"Not only that, my central defender also needs to be able to play the ball. Such central defenders are not easy to find in the transfer market."
After saying this, George Li thirsty picked up the coffee and took a sip.
Bielsa looked at him with a smile.
"You are still young and have a long time to practice this."
"If it doesn't work, just train them yourself. You won't leave the team anyway. You have a lot of time to train the players you need."
"Maybe when I coach a club in the future, I will ask you to buy it. Remember to give me a cheaper price then."
When George Lee saw Bielsa joking with him, he also laughed.
"That won't work. My teacher told me that any business must be negotiated, one yard at a time."
"Ferguson is such a bad old man."
"To be honest, my coaching philosophy is different from his. You and I should be closer to Michels."
"Indeed, Rinus Michels' ideas have influenced many people, including Sacchi, Van Gaal, etc., as well as you and me sitting here now, but it is a pity..."
Rinus Michels died of a heart attack on March 3 this year at the age of 77.
"When I train in the new season, I will go to the Netherlands for training. I think I will go and give him a bouquet of flowers."
"Bring me a bunch. Although we have never fought, I respect him very much."
George Li picked up the coffee cup and gestured to Bielsa.
Then, the two continued to discuss tactical concepts.
^^^
The next morning, Casper and Walsh arrived at the farm, but they only saw George Lee at the door, not Bielsa.
"Marcelo just went to bed. We won't communicate today. Let's go to Rosario to have some fun."
"You actually chatted all night again?" Casper looked at George Li in surprise.
George Li nodded, but there was no sign on his face that he had not slept all night. Instead, he looked very excited.
"I have bad news to tell you here, and Stephen has good news to tell you. Which one do you want to hear first?" Casper asked him to make a choice.
And George Li skipped the choice because he knew what the good news was.
"Did Chelsea agree to the transfer of Scott Parker?"
Stephen Walsh jumped out of the cab of the pickup truck, then nodded to George Li and said.
"That's right, 7 million pounds, done."
Scott Parker was recommended to Lee George by Walsh. The 2004 Premier League PFA Young Player of the Year winner spent almost all of his season and a half at Chelsea on the bench.
In January 2004, Parker joined Chelsea led by Ranieri for a fee of 10 million pounds. Facts have proved that Parker's choice was wrong. The old-fashioned "tinker" Ranieri did not trust Parker, and the arrival of Mourinho did not change the fate of Parker's iron bench. Last season, Parker was pushed to the bench by Makelele. He only played 4 times in the league, and the brilliance of the former best rookie in the Premier League was gone.
Parker, who dreamed of participating in the 2006 World Cup, finally decided to leave Chelsea. Although Mourinho wanted him to stay as Makelele's substitute, Parker still wanted to leave.
It happened that Chelsea's scout Walsh switched to Leeds United, and Walsh recommended this English native midfielder to Lee George. It happened that the conditions he gave were also very suitable.
Lee George told Parker's agent that he would not directly give the team's main position, but what he could give was to let Parker, Davis and Graveson compete for the position, and De Jong was ranked behind. Fortunately, Leeds United also needs to fight on multiple fronts this season, and after George Lee experienced extensive injuries in the second half of last season, he decided to properly rotate the players, so the thickness of the team's lineup must be strengthened. The strength of the substitutes at each position cannot be much worse than the main force.
After thinking about it for a while, Parker agreed. After all, Chelsea has clearly identified a substitute, while Leeds United is competing for positions, and there is still a European war to play, which is more suitable than Newcastle United, which is also interested in him.
Lee George also decided to take a step further in the League Cup and FA Cup this season. Last season, in order to sprint towards the league with all his strength, these two domestic cups were almost given up by Lee. This season, Leeds United must compete in all competitions. Gained something.
So after hearing that Scott Parker's transfer was approved, Li George was also very happy. Because the team's former substitute midfielder Eric Buck proposed to leave, Li already felt it was a pity, but now that he can add a more powerful player, Li George is obviously very happy.
However, now Lee thought that there was still bad news waiting for him in Chris Kasper.
"Chris, it's time to give you the bad news."
"Kuyt's transfer was unilaterally stopped by the player's side. We have met our opponent."
"I got it."
In the middle of the season, George Lee found Bill Rose to promote the transfer, hoping to settle the matter in advance to avoid long nights and dreams.
But at that time, Feyenoord disagreed and insisted on discussing it after the season. Because Kuyt is simply killing it like crazy in the Dutch League. Although the defense of the Dutch League cannot be praised, whenever scouts inspect Kuyt, they will give a very high evaluation.
He is active in running, can pass and shoot, and can play all positions in the frontcourt. He also has a good personality and does not compete or rush. It can be said that such a player is what all coaches want. Although you don't know how high his upper limit is, you know that his lower limit will definitely not be low. You can buy the top scorer in the Eredivisie every year, but it is impossible for you to buy all Ruud van Nistelrooy.
"Can you guess this?"
"Liverpool."
"Oh my God, you are so awesome. Sure enough, nothing can escape your eyes in the Netherlands."
"No, I'm just guessing. Everyone knows that Liverpool is short of forwards. They just won the Champions League this year, and they must be more attractive to players than those like us who participate in the Europa League."
"so......"
"So, my guess is Liverpool."
"Then what to do next?"
"Let's add fire to them, Stephen." George Li called over Walsh.
Just as Walsh was about to get in and turn the pickup truck around, he was called back by Li.
"George, what do you say?"
"Let the news about Liverpool and our pursuit of Kuyt be released, and then reveal a little news about Manchester United's Van Nistelrooy leaving, and let's muddy the waters with Feyenoord."
When Casper saw George Li saying this, he didn't understand what bad idea he was using.
"In this case, it will be even more difficult for us to get Kuyt."
"First of all, it is very difficult for us to compete with Liverpool for Kuyt, and there is a high probability that we will not be able to compete with them. In this case, let's simply give it to them and we will find another striker. If it doesn't work, we will pull Alan Smith. Go to the front and play forward, now we have enough thickness in the midfield.”
"Then let the transfer department withdraw the offer for Kuyt." Kasper thought that he wouldn't buy it anyway, so he just let it go.
"No, keep bidding. Every time Liverpool bids me a similar price, I can bid a little higher. He won't come anyway. After all, the other party has stopped the transfer from the players."
"What about other aspects?"
“Remember Kevin Davis at Bolton Wanderers?”
"What! Are you really interested in that striker who can't score goals? Our team's offense is not strong enough. You want to bring in another one who can't score goals. Who will score goals, Van der Sar?" When Casper heard the name Davis, his first impression was that he couldn't score goals, and his second impression was that he committed a lot of fouls.
"Not necessarily. I listened to Coach Bielsa's story yesterday. Didn't he mention the need for a forward who can be used as a fulcrum? I think Davis is a good supplement, and it should not be expensive." Ersh clearly had a different opinion about Kasper's vision, and as a scout he knew about Davis.
"That way we have two Davises."
"That's it. Both parties will follow up the transaction at the same time. If possible, both of them can buy it." George Li finally made the decision.
"Will there be too many players in the frontcourt?" Kasper asked.
“You can clear out some that you don’t use.”
"Uh~" Kasper is already thinking about Leeds United's starting lineup next season.
"What about the backcourt?" Since the transfer was mentioned, Walsh continued to ask, thinking that since he came to Leeds United as the chief scout, he wanted to get into the state as soon as possible.
"Wes Brown. Let me tell you directly, George is obsessed with Wes Brown." Casper said it first. Anyway, George Lee has been mentioning Wes Brown for a year. .
"I want Ferdinand more, can you get him?" George Li made an unrealistic request to Walsh.
"Settling for Ferdinand?" Walsh knew the Rio Ferdinand that George Li was talking about, but he really couldn't buy it. Rio Ferdinand was bought by Manchester United for 30 million pounds. Now he can't. People laughed at whether Leeds United needed to pay this price to buy Ferdinand back, even if they bought him back for 30 million.
Of course, this kind of thing will happen in later generations. For example, Lukaku was sold to Everton by Chelsea for 35 million, and then went around in circles for several times, and was bought back by Chelsea for 115 million. For example, Pogba was let go by Manchester United for free, and then bought back for 105 million.
"Is it great?" George Li followed Walsh's words and asked.
"It's okay." Walsh didn't take it seriously.
"Chris, find some footage of Ferdinand and let me see it."
Then George Li got into the co-pilot first and prepared to set off for Rosario.
