Seven Hundred and One Bargain Hunting

When Gao Shen and his group drove into the urban area of ​​Southampton from the expressway, turned west from the Red Bridge Interchange in the east, and drove southeast for less than two kilometers after crossing the Test River, they came to Staplewood in Southampton. training center.

Just driving slowly at the main gate, Gao Shen and others looked out of the car window from a distance, and they were taken aback by this training base.

how to say?

The conditions are really good, which shows that the Liebherr family has invested a lot in the past year.

Not to mention anything else, just look at the standard-sized indoor football field directly opposite the entrance.

How rare is it?

Currently in the Premier League, Manchester City does not, Manchester United does not, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool... none of them.

In my deep impression, it seems that no team in the Premier League has built such a membrane structure indoor training ground.

The reason is, it's really expensive.

But in Southampton, it has already been built, and although it is only the size of a standard football field, it is also expensive.

In addition, Staplewood has a large comprehensive training field, seven standard football fields, two small football fields for young players, and three training buildings.

From Gao Shen's point of view, this is not a training base, it's all money.

Who would have thought that there would be such a training base in League One.

It cannot be said to be better than Arsenal, Chelsea and other training grounds, but in English football, this is definitely one of the best.

At least better than Manchester City.

Of course, this refers to the current Manchester City, not the new training base that is about to start construction.

"This is not cheap!"

Sitting in the back row of the car, Su Qing said to Gao Shen with a wry smile.

For a low-level club like Southampton, the most expensive things are often not others, but hardware and players.

Among them, the value of players is floating, and some are on loan, but hardware assets such as training bases and stadiums are the bulk of the valuation.

"It is reported that

After the Liebherr family acquired Southampton, they have invested at least 20 million pounds in this training base so far. "Lucas understands the profound mood.

They all feel that Southampton is the most suitable, but now it seems that their valuation of this club is still low.

And it's much lower.

Not to mention anything else, as far as this training base is concerned, in the Premier League, it is estimated that only wealthy teams can match it.

No, Liverpool's Melwood and Manchester United's Carrington are not as good.

Of course, this is pure hardware, and the software must be dominated by the Premier League team.

"Let's go and see St. Mary's Stadium." Gao Shen said lightly.

...

St. Mary's Stadium is in the center of Southampton, near the west bank of the confluence of the River Itching and the River Tester.

The urban area of ​​Southampton is small, but it takes a long way to go from the training base to the stadium.

Different from the training base, St. Mary's Stadium is surrounded by freight railway tracks to the west, and residential areas to the west. It is surrounded by building materials markets on three sides, and the east side is a huge sand washing field close to the Yichen River.

The car of Gao Shen and others drove from south to north and found that the land around the stadium was very cramped.

The first thing to consider is the parking lot. Although there are three in the north, south and east, it is initially estimated that two to three hundred cars can be parked enough, and the roads are also very congested.

It is not difficult to see from this that Southampton's home fans are basically residents of the surrounding area.

No matter from the perspective of the stadium or the surrounding expansion space, the Saints have basically no potential in this area.

There is no subway in Southampton, and fans can only rely on buses to travel.

In this regard, the limitation is quite large.

However, St. Mary's Stadium is quite new.

"The Saints' earliest home stadium was called the Little Valley Stadium, which has a history of more than 100 years. In 2001, they moved into St. Mary's Stadium. The stadium cost 30 million pounds at that time. It was obtained by selling the naming rights of the stadium, and it was not until 2006 that the name of St. Mary's Stadium was officially adopted."

During the turn of the century, many Premier League teams set off a wave of construction and expansion of new stadiums.

For example, Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium was expanded several times during that time, and teams such as Sunderland and Middlesbrough also built new stadiums at that time, and later Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

So much so that a well-known piece of news at the time was that Everton was in debt of 30 million pounds and was on the verge of bankruptcy, but desperately wanted to raise money to build a new stadium, thinking that Goodson Park was too small, and they wanted Build a 55,000-capacity stadium because they think the new stadium will greatly increase their matchday income and get out of bankruptcy.

But everyone knows what happened later. Everton failed to get rid of it. When Rooney sold to Manchester United, the Red Devils still took the money to the bank to redeem him.

Leeds United also called out at that time to build a new stadium instead of expanding the Elland Road Stadium. The then chairman Ridsdale campaigned for a long time for this, but then the White Rose went bankrupt, which was recognized by Ken Bates Buy it for ten million pounds.

I don’t know whether it was during the Ridsdale period or the Bates period, anyway, in the hands of these two people, Leeds United sold all the stadium, training ground, and surrounding land, and then paid 3 million pounds per year. rent back.

Some people may be wondering, why do you want to do this?

The answer is simple, they are not willing to invest money.

The annual rent can be included in the club's operating costs, borne by the club's finances, and spent on the club's money.

What?

No money?

Then you owe it.

Don't be surprised, it's common for England teams to owe money.

At the beginning, some news spread that after the foreign capital acquired the English team, it suddenly discovered that the club still had a large hidden debt that had not been disclosed to him, so the two parties went to court and caused a lot of trouble.

This case happened not once, but several times.

In the early years, the management methods of these club investors in the UK were really rough, with a lot of wild ways, such as Ken Bates, Newcastle's Shepard, etc., and even the owners of teams such as Manchester United and Manchester City. This is the way.

Many British fans are opposed to foreign capital, but in fact they have never thought about it. It is precisely the influx of foreign capital that makes the operation of the Premier League more standardized, which in turn drives the overall internationalization of the Premier League.

If you really want to continue to let Ken Bates, Sheppard and others run it, does the Premier League still have a future?

...

After Gao Shen and his group walked around Southampton, they basically knew everything in their hearts.

Heading north to London, staying in a hotel booked in advance, Lucas went out to meet people in the City of London.

In London, there are many bankers who specialize in football club transactions. Their business is to help foreign capital acquire English clubs. Previously, Abramovich, Mansour, Vichai, Thaksin and others acquired Premier League teams. is to go this way.

Gao Shen took the opportunity to take Su Qing out to visit Knightsbridge.

Both have a hunch that Southampton's asking price will be high.

Not to mention anything else, just aim at that training base, it will definitely not be cheap.

Three hours later, Lucas returned to the hotel and brought back the latest news.

Southampton investors currently have no intention of selling.

"According to them, last year when the old Liebherr just passed away, his daughter, who is now at the helm of Southampton, was interested in selling, she had no interest in running the club, but the current trader Nicolas Cotter Si persuaded her, so he continued to invest more, determined to break into the Premier League."

Gao Shen understands.

He is optimistic about the potential of the Premier League, and others are also optimistic, which is normal.

The only difference is that he knows better than anyone else that the potential is simply amazing.

If he remembers correctly, after Southampton entered the Premier League, they made crazy money by buying high and selling low. Later, when Chinese investors bought it, they bought 80% of the shares for more than 200 million pounds.

One can imagine how much the Liebherr family has earned over the years.

These investors are not stupid, and it is not so easy to find fault with them.

Of course, if Gao Shen wants it now, it’s fine, but he must spend money.

"Where's Leeds United?" Gao Shen asked.

"I have also inquired that the chairman of Leeds United, Ken Bates, has been looking for a buyer, but all investors are discouraged from Leeds United. Earlier, due to continuous insolvency, the 2006-07 season was in the English Championship. He was fined 10 points and had no choice but to be relegated, and he was fined another 15 points in League One the following year."

I know this matter deeply, but Leeds United is also tough enough. In the season when they fell into the League One, they were deducted 15 points, but they still grabbed fifth in the league and entered the promotion play-offs. If they didn't have those 15 points , They can even win the league championship.

But it is a pity that Leeds United lost to Doncaster in the crucial promotion play-offs.

Not being able to return to the British Championship, people's hearts are lax, and the club can't pay salaries, and all competitive players are gone.

This is also a big problem for Leeds United now.

"They can't pay the players' salaries anymore!" Lucas smiled wryly.

It is indeed unexpected that the young guards, who were once famous in European football, have fallen into this situation now.

"and then?"

"Ken Bates' current requirements are actually not high, he just wants to recover the cost, as long as someone is willing to take over, he will be happy to let go, so he has been entrusting banks to sell in the City of London these years, but investors are more worried. "

"When I was in the League One, no one cared about it. When I was promoted to the Championship in 2009, the situation improved a little bit, but you also know that in the past two years, affected by the economic crisis, foreign capital has had a hard time. No one wants to invest in football. gone."

Gao Shen fell silent, and carefully stroked his thoughts in his mind.

There is no doubt that now is a good time to buy the bottom.

Gao Shen even thought that the Liebherr family's reluctance to sell the club at this point in time might be because of this.

At this time, it is difficult for the team to sell at a good price.

Gao Shen was thinking that Leeds United would be a good choice when Southampton did not intend to sell.

Most importantly, based on the information he has so far, the price of Leeds United should be cheaper than he expected, but the environment they are in will also be worse.

For example, the stadium is very old, the training ground is also very remote, and the youth training is not ideal, all of which require investment.

Of course, these are all fixable.

That is to make a profit by selling people, and then invest in it after earning money.

It's like Wenger used the money from selling Anelka in exchange for Henry and a Kearney training base.