Chapter 366: The Foundation of the Dynasty

"Hello, Martin, welcome to Chigwell Training Base!"

On this day, Ye Qiu received Martin Samuel, a well-known reporter from the Times in downtown London, at the training base of Chigwell in the west of Enfield. He was an old friend of Ye Qiu when he was coaching Chelsea, so this time he left the first interview of the new season to Martin Samuel.

This is an unwritten tacit understanding in the Premier League. Before the new season, the head coach will accept media interviews to make a round of expectations for the new season, and also cheer for the team. Especially some small and medium-sized teams, they hope to use this method to call on more fans to come to the scene to watch the game, which is almost the same as Lao Chen shouting for monthly tickets.

"This is my first time in Chigwell!" Martin Samuel was a little unbelievable. It's not that it's so bad or outrageous. The venue, indoor stadium, training building, everything is there, but it just gives people a feeling that it is not in line with the Premier League team, or even the Championship team.

"You know, I read your column in the Times before, saying that I spent nearly 100 million to build a training base, which was a mess, so I wanted to invite you to come here!" Ye Qiu smiled and said why he arranged the interview here.

Martin Samuel smiled after hearing this, and looked around. He really found that the Chigwell training base was very simple.

Compared with Chelsea's Harrington training base back then, the only advantage of Chigwell was the indoor training ground covered with plastic film, but any other aspect was a complete defeat. This is definitely not a training base that a Premier League team should have, because all the rest environments, including the players, are too simple.

"Although I now agree with you to build a new training base, I still retain my opinion. It's a waste to spend so much money!" Martin Samuel also smiled and continued to insist on his opinion.

Ye Qiu chuckled, "You know what? I have been thinking about a question, what is the core asset of a football club? Yes, I don't deny that it is the club's own brand, but it is the players who maintain this brand, and it is the players who fight for it in one game after another on the football field."

"All football clubs, including the giants, have a long history and glorious tradition, which are all earned by the blood and sweat of the players, so I wonder why all football clubs can't treat their players better?"

Ye Qiu smiled, "I have seen the headquarters of many large companies in the United States, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and, of course, our headquarters of Leaf Technology." When he said this, Ye Qiu chuckled. Everyone knows that Leaf Technology is now a well-known large company in the United States and the world, and is currently preparing to create an industrial park in Silicon Valley.

"If you think of a football club as a company, it is actually a company, and the players are the backbone elites who create value for the company. All companies will not mistreat their backbone elites, and will try every means to give these elites the best working environment, the best treatment, and the best living environment, so that they can work with peace of mind!"

When he said this, Martin Samuel understood what Ye Qiu wanted to say.

"So, I will build the Theobald training base. I will provide the best to my players in the training base. Our dormitories will be in full compliance with the standards of a five-star hotel. Our restaurant will hire the best chefs and the most professional nutrition experts to take care of the players' diet. We will also provide the best services to the players, not only in the training base, but also outside the training base, including the players' lives. As long as they need it, we will give them the greatest help!"

"I think I understand a little bit!" Martin Samuel nodded after listening. This is indeed a place that many clubs, or even almost all clubs, have never paid attention to. "Although I still think you spend too much money on the training base, I take back my previous opinion!"

The last sentence made Ye Qiu laugh. In fact, he admired Martin Samuel because as an independent writer, he had his own professional and independent stance. Although he always had a good attitude towards Ye Qiu, he actually scolded Ye Qiu a lot.

Of course, Martin Samuel's scolding was not abuse, not random and groundless scolding, but directly pointed out why I scolded you.

"I watched all six warm-up matches of Tottenham Hotspur this summer, and I found that this team is getting better and better, especially the offensive football shown by this team, which is very different from when you were at Chelsea. It's a bit like going back to the Ajax period." Martin Samuel expressed his opinion.

Ye Qiu nodded, "I once told my assistant, Mauro Tassotti, that I don't think I have made much progress in the two years I coached Chelsea. I'm talking about the progress as a head coach on the tactical level. Mauro told me that part of it is because of the pressure of results, and part of it is because the overall strength of the players is too strong."

Martin Samuel understood what Ye Qiu meant. The pressure of results would make people give up some more risky practices, and the strength of the players would force the head coach to compromise on the tactical level, because the overall combat effectiveness of the team is the most important.

"I personally feel that I have not improved, I have made a lot of progress, but I have not had the opportunity to express many things. During my year of rest, I have been sorting out and thinking about my future football path. , I slowly figured it out from front to back, and then I decided that I wanted to build an ideal team in my mind.”

"The passion of the Premier League, the defense of Italy, the delicacy of Spain and the overall quality of Germany?" Martin Samuel asked with a smile.

Ye Qiu smiled and nodded. This was indeed the ideal team in his mind as he had said in the past. And after Mauro Tassotti joined him, he really found that he had hope to achieve such a goal. .

"In fact, I believe that there will always be many fans, not even fans, but just your fans, who will find it strange why you have reached such a height, but you still want to buy a team and coach it yourself. Where is the team? "Martin Samuel asked a question that has been common to the whole world for a long time.

"Is it very high?" Ye Qiu smiled and shook his head, "I just made some money!"

"Really, I'm not trying to be modest or anything. I think that's just me. I've been to my motherland and my hometown. I've also been to many, many different places. I've met a lot of likes. The people of Zeus Mobile, they know me and recognize me, but that’s it, they just go on with their lives.”

"Sometimes I have been thinking, are celebrities really that superior? They are just human beings. They also have to live, make mistakes, and have pursuits. And I have always felt that many celebrities always feel good about themselves. , I feel that I can control or influence others and change many things, but in fact, you really don’t have that much influence because you are just famous.”

"You mean you've never considered yourself a celebrity?" Martin Samuel asked.

"No, I regard myself as a celebrity, so every time I do something or say a word, I will carefully consider the consequences!" Ye Qiu shook his head, "But I never regard myself as a person who can control at will. , influence, interfere with other people’s special affairs, you know there are many people scolding me, but I will never call on people who support me to scold him, because it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

"But you can't help denying that there are many people who really admire and support you!" Martin Samuel said.

"So, I always feel that I should take responsibility for this, but I also believe that it is just a process in their life. When they mature in the future, have a family, a job, and a goal to strive for, then What do I mean to them? I’m just a talking point!”

Martin Samuel laughed after hearing this, "It's rare to hear celebrities talk about themselves like this, but this idea is very sensible."

"I think I'm lazy!" Ye Qiu replied with a smile, "Because those who like to influence and interfere with others have a sense of themselves as saviors. It's too hard, because they have to fight Batman anytime, anywhere. Fighting side by side, I don’t have to, I don’t need to take responsibility for this!”

This sentence was purely a joke, so Martin Samuel laughed and let it go.

"You haven't said why you want to come back to coach!" Martin Samuel reminded.

"Personal pursuit!" Ye Qiu nodded, "I remember Ferguson once said that when I just left, I felt like I had put down a big stone, and my whole body felt relaxed. But it was like this for one month, two months, and three After the month, you will feel uncomfortable, as if something important is missing from your life.”

As soon as Ye Qiu finished speaking, Martin Samuel burst out laughing, "I heard Ferguson say the same thing, so he refused to retire!"

"Yes, you just can't let it go. You still have pursuits and ideas in your heart, so you can't let it go!"

"So this time you come back to coach, have you set a goal for yourself?" Martin Samuel asked, "Or is it just a purely personal pursuit, just do whatever you want?"

"Of course not. There is definitely a goal. Without goals, it would be boring. I hope to build Tottenham Hotspur into the top team in the Premier League and Europe. I hope to build it into a giant club." Qiu didn't hide her thoughts at all.

After hearing this, Martin Samuel frowned, "But before, there were indeed many people who thought that you could build another giant club by giving them money and time. That was just a big lie, because facts have proven that even if Chelsea arrives, Now, he is not considered a wealthy man. At least, no one in the mainstream of Europe recognizes him!"

Ye Qiu thought for a while, shook his head and said: "This should take some time. You know, the memory of football is very short. During this period of Chelsea's glory, the topic discussed by fans in Europe and around the world must be Chelsea, so you To say they are not a wealthy team is just because they have not yet been recognized by the original wealthy teams, but the fans have already recognized them.”

"The media must be indispensable for this. The word wealthy is overused!" Martin Samuel felt.

"Yes, but you can't deny that in the past three years, the memories of many fans belong to Chelsea. In the minds of these fans, Chelsea is a wealthy club and belongs to them. Others cannot admit it or not. Change."

"Of course, I have to say that Chelsea is not doing very well in many aspects. They could have done better and conquered more fans. They could have been on the court, among the teams, among the younger generation of fans, and among the fans. Philanthropy and even society as a whole have made more contributions and efforts, but they have done very poorly in these aspects, which is also an important reason why they cannot be recognized by the mainstream.”

Martin Samuel laughed after hearing this, "It seems that you really have a long-term and complete plan for the team. So, can you reveal that in your plan, Tottenham Hotspur How many years will it take to win the Premier League title?”

Ye Qiu thought for a while, "Three years!"

"Isn't it too long? You know, you won the Double Championship in your first year coaching Chelsea!" Martin Samuel expressed his dissatisfaction on behalf of Ye Qiu's fans, feeling that three years was too long.

"Chelsea moved too fast and took too big a step, which led to many, many problems. And no one can erase Mr. Ranieri's previous coaching and contribution to Chelsea. Without Ranieri, there would be no Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur has been relatively turbulent in the past few years, but last season was a little better.”

Martin Samuel accepted this explanation, "I found that you gave three years, but in fact you have always exceeded expectations. For example, when you coached Chelsea, no one expected to win a double in the first year."

"This kind of thing can't be calculated, and I don't have a clear idea in my own mind. It's just a matter of battle. I can't say now that I want to win the championship, but at the end of the season, I can't win the championship. The fans keep scolding me. Me, say I’m bragging, bragging about Haikou or something like that?”

Martin Samuel laughed loudly, "There is another question. Recently, some fans in Tottenham have been opposed to your application with the city government to jointly build the London Olympic Stadium. They feel that you want to build the London Olympic Stadium." It should also be built in Tottenham, what do you think about that?”

Ye Qiu thought about it and realized that this problem was indeed a difficult one. Of course, it was not a big problem. It was just that some Tottenham Hotspur fans had applied to the District Council, hoping that the District Council could stop Tottenham Hotspur's idea. .

"I think we have to look at it this way, just like this Chigwell training base. It is very small and crude. But the important thing is that the surrounding land does not belong to us, and it is impossible to buy it. Even if we buy it, it must be very expensive. , so the question is, what should we do if we plan to build a new training base?

"Building is the only way to have development and a future. If you don't build, you have been guarding this dilapidated training base, watching your competitors surpass you one after another, and you realize that you are constantly being pulled away. ,what would you do?"

"Arsenal is cutting back on costs and building a new stadium and a new training base because they know very well that this is the future of the team. If they build it, we don't. We can't see it now. In two or three years, we won't be able to see it. In a few years, you will find that they are constantly opening up their lead, and we can’t catch up no matter what!”

"In the same way, Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane stadium is surrounded by dense residential areas and behind it is a sports venue. If you want to build a new stadium here, it will be very involved and the cost will be very high. Yes, we must take this situation into consideration.”

When he said this, Ye Qiu did not say anything more, but adopted a comforting strategy.

"I can understand some of the thoughts of Tottenham fans. They have feelings for the club and hope that the team can stay in Tottenham. But I can promise that even if it does move to London in the future, we will definitely The Tottenham area will not be forgotten, and I also believe that all fans who support and love Tottenham Hotspur do not want the club to miss such a development opportunity.”

In fact, Tottenham Hotspur fans are quite divided regarding Tottenham Hotspur's plan to cooperate with the London Municipal Government. Apart from many fans who have left the Tottenham area, almost all fans agree with it. , even the local fans in the Tottenham area are equally divided between support and opposition.

Supporters believe that the team will get better development opportunities and a broader development platform when it goes south, which will be of great benefit to the team. The management's decision is definitely a wise one and should be supported.

Opponents believe that the management only considers the development of the club and ignores the feelings of the fans. For these fans living in the Tottenham area, once Tottenham goes south, they will inevitably feel disappointed. , and it would be inconvenient to watch football in the future, so they opposed it and hoped that the community would stop it.

Ye Qiu and Eliza did not dare to underestimate these opponents at all, because in many cases, opponents could exert huge influence, so the club took measures to appease them.

Not only that, in order to appease the Tottenham District Government, Ye Qiu also decided to donate a portion of the money every year in the name of Tottenham Hotspur to support community security and environmental management issues. He also decided to talk to the fans. The organization has cooperated to support and help some fan families in need, and has also established public welfare undertakings such as the Tottenham Hotspur Student Aid Fund.

Ye Qiu did this partly to appease the fans and at the same time manage Tottenham Hotspur's core fan organization. It was also to strengthen the club's image and enhance the club's soft power.

According to Eliza and the marketing department, although a lot of money is spent on these projects, in fact, the club can get more and greater returns from other aspects in the future, such as sponsors.

Apart from anything else, as long as Tottenham Hotspur can obtain the ownership of the London Olympic Stadium and the surrounding land after the Olympics, this piece of income is enough to make Tottenham Hotspur a fortune!

Therefore, many things can achieve a win-win situation in many cases, it just depends on whether your operation methods and methods are appropriate.

As Ye Qiu kept saying during his time at Chelsea, the kingly way is the foundation of a sustainable dynasty, and the hegemonic way can only dominate for a while, so Tottenham Hotspur must follow the kingly way, even if it is only the kingly way in appearance and in words.