Chapter 147: A Transfer Frenzy! "This Player—Real Madrid Must Sign Him!"
Wenger quickly followed up with a call to Yang Cheng.
Arsenal agreed to pay £20 million to sign Laurent Koscielny from Bayswater Chinese.
The 23-year-old French center-back officially joined the Gunners!
Yang Cheng even met with Koscielny personally to chat.
Back in those English League Two days, they had fought side by side.
Now, one by one, those players were leaving.
Only Modrić and Lambert remained at the club.
Koscielny had long dreamed of joining Arsenal.
Both teams were in London—he didn't even need to move house.
He was genuinely grateful to Yang Cheng and Bayswater Chinese.
But Yang Cheng soon felt a twinge of regret.
The fee was a bit too low.
Just one day after Arsenal signed Koscielny for £20 million,
Manchester City paid the same amount to sign Lescott from Everton.
Lescott, an English international, was 27 and more experienced, and he came with the homegrown tag.
But Koscielny was younger, had more potential, and also qualified as homegrown.
All in all—each had strengths, but still…
Yang Cheng couldn't help thinking:
If I had held out just a bit longer, Arsenal probably would've paid more.
In his mind, leaving money on the table = a loss.
What kind of face does that old fox Wenger even have?
And that wasn't all.
City also signed goalkeeper Joe Hart from Everton for £15 million.
Clearly, the Blue Moon needed homegrown players.
Then they spent £20 million in a package deal to sign Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Bridge from Chelsea,
another £10 million for Craig Bellamy from West Ham,
and £10 million to sign Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong from Hamburg.
Total: £180 million!
The entire football world was stunned.
Who had ever seen spending like this?
Even Abramovich's Chelsea—once considered the gold standard for football investment—now looked tame.
No one could've predicted that Abu Dhabi's takeover of City would lead to such astronomical spending in a single summer,
and they still weren't done.
City were still battling Arsenal and Chelsea for Arshavin,
as well as Real Madrid's Robinho.
According to The Sun, City's final summer spending would break £200 million—
or €300 million.
…
While the world was buzzing about City's financial firestorm,
Bayswater Chinese and Arsenal dropped a bombshell of their own.
Andrey Arshavin transferred to Arsenal for £50 million.
It was the second-largest transfer of the summer, trailing only Kaká.
Everyone was stunned.
The Sun reported that before Euro 2008, Real Madrid, Barça, Chelsea, City, and Arsenal had all submitted bids for Arshavin.
But early offers were low—around £30 million.
Why?
The market was still relatively rational, and Arshavin was already 27 years old.
But Kaká's transfer blew everything up.
Prices skyrocketed across Europe.
Then Chelsea and Arsenal both made it clear: they wanted Arshavin—and a bidding war began.
After Arshavin's electric performance at the Euros, his price tag rose sharply.
Every major tournament year sees players' values spike.
Once the bidding passed £40 million, Real Madrid and Barcelona backed out.
In the end, it came down to three clubs:
City, Chelsea, and Arsenal—who pushed the price to £50 million.
Behind the scenes, Arsenal owner Usmanov personally met with Arshavin and convinced him to join the Gunners.
After missing out on Arshavin, City responded quickly.
They paid £30 million to sign Robinho from Real Madrid.
The Brazilian was excited to join the Premier League,
especially after Kaká confirmed his own move to City.
Sven-Göran Eriksson himself convinced Robinho to come.
Meanwhile, United signed Argentine right-back Pablo Zabaleta from Espanyol for £5 million.
By the time Chelsea completed the signing of Deco from Barça,
Robinho was already gone.
This led to The Independent—long a Chelsea critic and Arsenal ally—taking shots at the Blues:
"Chelsea were early to rise, but late to the market."
First, they lost out on Kaká to City.
Then, they lost Arshavin to their North London rivals.
Finally, they lost Robinho to City again.
The Independent argued that the Premier League landscape had changed—
this was no longer Chelsea's playground.
In terms of both money and pull,
City and Arsenal had surpassed them.
Arsenal's total summer spending: £132 million.
Not as wild as City, but still massive.
Even after subtracting Adebayor and Hleb's transfer fees,
their net spend exceeded £90 million.
Chelsea?
£7 million for Deco,
£15 million for Bosingwa.
That's it.
Fans and media alike were amazed:
In the world of mega-rich clubs, there's always a bigger fish.
They once thought Abramovich was the king of spending.
But now?
Next to Abu Dhabi and Usmanov, his shine had faded.
Chelsea failed to sign Ibrahimović.
Failed to get Torres.
Meanwhile, Bayswater Chinese sold Arshavin and Koscielny, earning £70 million.
But under the blazing lights of City and Arsenal's super-spending,
no one noticed.
While all eyes were elsewhere,
**Bayswater Chinese quietly signed Belgian center-back Vincent Kompany from Hamburg for £5 million.
Just 22 years old, Kompany could also play as a defensive midfielder.
He had fallen out with Hamburg after insisting on playing in the 2008 Olympics.
The club tried to threaten him with breach-of-contract charges to force him back.
Kompany reluctantly returned but the relationship had soured.
Two Premier League clubs made offers:
Blackburn, coached by Mark Hughes,
and Bayswater Chinese, led by Yang Cheng.
Kompany met with Mike Rigg—his agent by his side—and soon agreed to join the London club.
Shortly after, Bayswater Chinese signed another Belgian:
Eden Hazard, from Ligue 1 mid-table side Lille, for £2 million.
Hazard had signed his professional contract in 2007 and had made just 4 senior appearances (33 minutes total) last season.
But in Lille's youth team, Hazard had stood out, helping them finish fifth in their regional league and earning a spot among France Football's top 10 Ligue 1 youth prospects.
He had also jumped from Belgium's U17s straight into the U19s.
In a European transfer market where deals easily soared past £10 million, and sometimes even exceeded £100 million, the arrivals of two young players barely made a ripple.
Even the media and fans who followed Bayswater Chinese closely only registered that the club had signed two young prospects—and nothing more.
…
"Hey, Adam, you made it!"
At the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, Real Madrid general manager Predrag Mijatović had already been notified by the front desk and was waiting at the door.
When he saw Adam Crozier coming upstairs, he immediately greeted him warmly and ushered him into the room.
Just a few days ago, in this very room, Arshavin's transfer negotiations had collapsed.
Those Premier League clubs were simply too rich.
The final bidding war went beyond what Madrid could accept.
They had no choice but to pull out.
But now, Mijatović was back.
"Adam, you've got to help me this time," Mijatović pleaded with a bitter smile.
Adam Crozier worked hard to mask the disdain in his eyes, putting on a friendly expression.
He sighed dramatically: "It's not that I don't want to help you. I asked, I even dropped some hints… but Mr. Yang said the same thing."
"Džeko is not for sale."
Crozier had assumed Mijatović came for Džeko.
After the Robinho debacle, Real Madrid was in crisis.
Fans and media were roasting Calderón and Mijatović alive.
Why?
Because of their botched pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the disastrous plan to use Robinho as a makeweight in the deal.
Robinho, a proud and hot-headed player, immediately demanded a transfer.
Now they'd failed to get Ronaldo and lost Robinho in the process.
Even if Robinho hadn't fully lived up to expectations, he was still loved by many Madridistas.
If they'd landed Ronaldo or Arshavin, fine.
But instead, they lost a star without signing another.
A total disaster.
Before this meeting, Crozier had already discussed it with Yang Cheng.
If this was about Džeko—no deal.
They had already sold Arshavin, and Džeko was now central to next season's tactics.
There was no way Yang Cheng would sell.
"I know, I know. Adam—I'm not here for Džeko," Mijatović said with a helpless look.
He was starting to realize he just wasn't cut out for the general manager role at Real Madrid.
"Then who?"
"Coach Schuster wants a defensive midfielder.
We're asking about Lass Diarra. Is he for sale?"
"Lass Diarra?"
Crozier knew to act shocked—it was always the right play.
Mijatović, who had known Crozier for a while, chuckled awkwardly.
"Yeah, I know. I hate to ask. But I need a high-profile signing to calm the fans down. If not, I'm out of a job."
"But Lass Diarra isn't exactly a star…" Crozier offered.
Mijatović sighed, "You don't understand.
At Madrid, Makelele is still a ghost haunting our midfield.
Since he left, we went years without a major trophy. It's only recently that we've recovered."
"We brought in Mahamadou Diarra, but he's injury-prone and inconsistent.
Now Schuster wants a new destroyer, and Lass looks like Makelele."
"He's way better than Makelele," Crozier snapped defensively.
"Yes, yes, of course," Mijatović backpedaled quickly.
Crozier kept going.
"Three straight seasons, he's led the Premier League in tackles. Four to five per match.
Three interceptions.
90% pass accuracy.
Over 70% on long passes.
"Go compare that to Makelele. Even at his peak, he never hit those numbers."
The flurry of stats left Mijatović speechless—
but deeply impressed.
This man clearly knew every detail about his club's players.
True professionalism.
Lass Diarra was legit—that much was obvious.
No wonder so many clubs were circling.
"You're right, Adam. All the more reason I need your help."
Crozier let out a dramatic sigh and shook his head.
"You're putting me in a tough spot."
"It's not that I don't want to help—it's that I can't."
"Why not?"
"Just a few days ago, before City signed De Jong, they sent us a fax—£20 million for Lass Diarra."
"I brought it to Mr. Yang, and he ripped it up in front of me and threw it in my face."
Crozier looked genuinely aggrieved.
"You know he didn't want to sell Arshavin either.
Arsenal just kept pushing and pushing until he had no choice."
"He's been in a terrible mood ever since—keeps asking me,
'Who the hell am I going to play in the Premier League and Champions League now?'"
Crozier shrugged.
"I can't do anything about it."
"£50 million… and who can I buy with that?"
Mijatović nodded sympathetically.
He understood.
He'd sold Robinho for £30 million and still had no idea who to sign.
He couldn't fill that hole.
"Money's a damn scam," Mijatović muttered.
A sentiment they both shared.
"If I go ask about Diarra now, Yang will rip me in half.
You'll be reading about me getting fired in the papers tomorrow."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Oh please. When is a head coach ever in a good mood?"
Mijatović, being a former player and now a GM, had dealt with enough managers to know—
they were all ticking time bombs.
"Please, Adam, just one more favor.
We'll even increase the offer…"
Crozier was already shaking his head.
"This isn't about money, don't you get that?"
"Without Lass Diarra, we can't compete next season.
Our midfield would collapse."
"I can't help you."
He didn't stand up—
but he also made no move to continue the meeting.
"Fine," Mijatović said reluctantly. "We'll raise it to £25 million."
He paused, clearly pained.
"For a defensive midfielder, that's a fortune."
"I told you—this isn't about price. Why can't you understand that?"
Crozier finally stood up.
"When City sent that £20+ million fax, Yang didn't even read it.
He tore it up and tossed it at me."
"You think I'm going to bring your offer to him now?"
He was fired up—but he still didn't leave the room.
Mijatović was getting desperate.
Before flying to London, Calderón had personally ordered him:
Sign someone big—or the fans will riot.
"Okay, Adam—just call Yang. Tell him…
Tell him we're offering £30 million for Lass Diarra.
See what he says, please?"
"£30 million? Are you insane?"
Adam Crozier's reaction caught Mijatović completely off guard.
Still, it made Mijatović secretly admire him—this guy was loyal to the end.
Even now, he was trying to protect him. What a good man!
"Adam, we really can't walk away from this," Mijatović said, his expression serious and sincere.
In his heart, the decision was already made.
So what if it was £30 million?
Swapping Robinho for the Premier League's best ball-winner?
Totally worth it.
Sure, it stung a little—buying a defensive midfielder at the price of a world-class winger.
But desperate times...
Crozier let out a long sigh.
"Fine, I'll make a call and ask. But I'm telling you upfront—I'm not making any promises."
"Thanks, Adam. I mean it."
Crozier pulled out a phone Mijatović had never seen before—large screen, a little apple logo with a bite taken out of it on the back.
"New phone?"
"Gift from the boss," Crozier said. "Just came out in the U.S.—someone brought it back specially."
Mijatović chuckled.
"Looks like Bayswater Chinese still needs you."
Crozier didn't quite have the hang of it yet—this touchscreen business was clumsy compared to his old Nokia.
Hard to use!
He finally found Yang Cheng's number and dialed.
As soon as Yang Cheng picked up and got the code phrase, he exploded, swearing furiously over the line.
Mijatović just shook his head.
Yup. Hot temper. No doubt about it.
Eventually, Crozier managed to "convince" Yang Cheng.
When he returned to the room, he pointed a finger at Mijatović, half-joking, half-furious.
"You owe me a serious dinner at this hotel. I got reamed out over this!"
Mijatović laughed, "So? Did he agree?"
"At first, not a chance. But then I told him Lass Diarra wants to leave. He's already been swayed."
"Right, I saw in the media that Lass challenged Yang Cheng on his first day—said one day he'd leave for a bigger club."
"Exactly. So in the end, Yang said fine—£30 million, and he's yours."
Mijatović clapped his hands.
"Deal?"
"Deal."
Afraid Bayswater Chinese might back out, Mijatović immediately pulled out a pre-prepared contract, wrote in the transfer fee, and got Crozier to sign a preliminary agreement.
The rest would be handled by both clubs' negotiation teams and legal departments—just ironing out terms and payment structure.
With that settled, Mijatović not only treated Crozier to a massive feast at the Mandarin Oriental…
Later that night, the two of them sneaked out to a high-end club for some after-hours entertainment.
…
Next morning.
Crozier dragged himself into the Brent Training Center, bleary-eyed, and dramatically told everyone in Yang Cheng's office just how hard he'd worked the night before.
"I suffered, I tell you. You don't even want to know what I had to go through—"
"Shut it," Yang Cheng interrupted. "One more word and I'll send your photo from last night's club visit straight to The Sun."
"Wait—what?! They got a photo?!"
"Of course they did. They called me last night."
"And you…"
"I told them Real Madrid had pre-signed Lass Diarra, transfer fee undisclosed, so…"
Yang Cheng pointed to the front page of The Sun on his desk.
"Premier League Tackling King Headed to Real Madrid!"
"I let my guard down," Crozier sighed.
"These damn paparazzi… I was careful, I swear."
Yang Cheng just snorted.
But truthfully, it didn't bother him much.
Apart from womanizing, Crozier was fine. He never crossed lines—no workplace scandals, fully professional during business hours.
And he was definitely better than his old FA replacement, Mark Palios.
"It's fine, I smoothed it over. Just don't get sloppy again."
Crozier raised his hand.
"Got it. Lesson learned."
"Oh, by the way—now that you've sold Lass Diarra, who're you signing as his replacement?" he asked.
Yang Cheng shook his head.
"I'm not signing anyone."
"Seriously?"
"Matuidi had a strong season. Rakitić too.
I think they can cover Diarra's role."
With the squad as it stood, the first team would have 23 players.
Each position had two backups. Striker had three.
And with Hazard able to play anywhere in the attacking third—including as a No.10—Yang Cheng had plenty of flexibility.
Granted, the Belgian was only 17, the youngest in the squad.
Aaron Ramsey had shone in last season's FA Cup. Yang Cheng planned to give him a bigger role.
Given all that, there was no urgent need for new signings.
Di María could even play as a central midfielder—Yang Cheng had already used him there last season.
In fact, from the moment Arshavin was sold, Yang Cheng had been preparing for this.
He'd looked at several winger options—
including a young German at Rot Weiss Ahlen: Marco Reus.
So why Hazard?
Tactically, Reus was actually a better fit for Bayswater Chinese.
He had pace, technique, and a striker's instinct—very much like Di María, Bale, and Walcott.
Plus, the guy was good-looking.
Hazard, by contrast, was more of a dribbling playmaker—a Ribéry-type winger.
But Yang Cheng believed in diversity.
Four fast wingers was overkill.
In grinding matches, a technician like Hazard could be invaluable.
Historically, Ribéry and Lennon had been an effective combo—
as had Ronaldinho and Giuly in Barça's Dream Team 2.0.
One speed, one control. That was the formula.
Besides, Rot Weiss Ahlen was a satellite club of Dortmund.
Reus was already on Dortmund's radar.
Even if he wanted him, Yang Cheng might not be able to get him.
Vincent Kompany was a long-term signing for the defense.
He could play center-back and defensive midfield. He had everything a modern CB needed—
speed, technique, strength, awareness.
His only drawback was youth—
and in Yang Cheng's previous life, he was injury-prone.
Still, Yang looked forward to rotating Thiago Silva, Pepe, and Kompany.
For a top club competing on multiple fronts, rotating 3–4 CBs was far from excessive.
…
Before preseason began, once the staff was back on duty,
Yang Cheng assigned a new task to the sports science department.
He wanted to launch specialized training for Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and Ángel Di María.
Among the attacking players, Džeko, now 22, had already started building muscle and had a well-rounded game.
The focus now was adding strength without compromising his touch.
And more specifically—
improving his aerial duels.
Not headers—aerial contests.
Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, and Ángel Di María were a different case entirely.
All three were wingers—especially pace-based wingers—but each had very distinct attributes.
Yang Cheng needed to tailor his training approach individually.
Take shooting, for example.
Bale was following the Cristiano Ronaldo path: power, explosiveness, and thunderous strikes—scoring with speed and sheer force.
Walcott, on the other hand, relied on finesse—he used precision and timing to win.
Di María was different from both.
What he needed most was to improve his right foot.
Actually, Di María's right foot wasn't as bad as most people believed.
But in matches, he instinctively defaulted to his left—even going for an outside-foot flick rather than use his weaker right.
It was a deeply ingrained habit, almost like a conditioned reflex.
As a winger in a 4-3-3 system, cutting inside was inevitable.
And when it came to cutting inside, Yang Cheng believed that by 2024, every football fan thought of one name first:
Arjen Robben.
How did fans describe Robben?
"Defenders know he's going to cut inside, and they still can't stop him!"
It wasn't an exaggeration.
Robben's cut-ins from the right, followed by a curled shot to the far post, had become his signature move.
It was a classic scoring method for modern wingers.
But why was Robben the king of it?
Fans would typically say: it's his speed, technique, timing, feel for the ball, finishing accuracy, and so on.
But if you really slow down his cut-ins and shooting motions frame by frame, and compare them to Ronaldo, Bale, Messi, Salah, Neymar—
you'd discover something fascinating.
From Robben's last touch to the moment he strikes the ball, the time and distance are the shortest.
For example, Ronaldo—after cutting inside from the left—often needed three steps to shoot.
At minimum, two.
Even Messi, who was shorter and more compact, would need two steps from his final dribble touch to the actual shot.
But Robben?
One step.
Just one.
If this were a video game, Robben's shot after cutting inside would be considered a spell cast—and his cast time was significantly faster than anyone else's.
And shorter cast time = obvious advantage.
Why was Van Nistelrooy called the King of the Six-Yard Box?
Because his "spell cast" time—his shot prep—was short and efficient.
His shooting motion was compact, requiring less space. That made him deadly in crowded areas.
Robben was the same.
In direct attacks, when he cut inside and shed a defender, the quicker the shot, the better the chance.
Longer prep = more space needed.
Shorter prep = less space needed.
This wasn't just about basic technique or feel.
It wasn't even purely about shooting mechanics.
The real key was the second body adjustment—the second directional shift.
The first shift was easy to understand:
You go from vertical to diagonal or horizontal—cutting inside.
Robben would rotate his body to bring the ball onto his left, now facing the center or left side of the pitch.
But here's the problem: the goal is now to his right.
Try it yourself: imagine the ball in front of you and the goal to your right.
How are you going to shoot?
Unless you have exceptional balance and core strength, your body won't be able to pivot smoothly. You'll likely fall over or shank the shot.
Even players with decent balance might only barely manage to get the shot off—
and that means poor power, poor placement.
Now, remember: all of this is happening without defenders and at low speed.
In real matches, it's high-speed, high-intensity combat.
That second turn becomes a nightmare.
So where exactly was the problem?
Yang Cheng had studied this in his past life.
With the advancement of sports science and performance analysis, modern tools had revealed a lot.
The key finding?
The second turn—the one just before the shot—is where everything hinges.
The first shift is relatively easy—just a movement to reposition the dribble.
But the second shift must happen during the shooting motion.
You're rotating from facing left to now facing the goal diagonally—or even directly.
That's why whether it's Ronaldo, Bale, Salah, Messi, or Neymar—all of them face the same issue.
If they don't rotate their body correctly in that moment, they can't generate power or control the angle.
That's why the time between their last touch and the shot is really them adjusting their steps, their body angle, their posture—just to ensure the shot has power and accuracy.
A lot of fans might remember that during his time at Chelsea, Eden Hazard was often criticized for lacking power in his shots.
He had opportunities—but rarely took them.
Why?
Same reason.
After cutting inside, if you want to shoot, you have to rotate.
And under pressure, at full speed, that rotation demands serious core strength.
Simply put: the stronger your core, the more balanced your body is during that second turn—and the better your shot.
Later, as Hazard's core strength improved, so did his threat in front of goal.
For the past three seasons, Bale and Walcott had trained under Yang Cheng's guidance.
Their development had been steady—one step at a time.
Last season, both scored 8 goals each.
In the Premier League, that made them reliable scorers.
Now, Yang Cheng's goal was to solidify those gains—and go further.
And a big part of that would be mastering the cut-in and shoot technique.
Of course, Yang Cheng understood all this.
But others didn't.
If he just gave orders and had the players follow, they'd be doing it without understanding the "why."
So he passed the project to the sports science department.
He gave them a general direction and had them study the biomechanics behind the issue—
how to optimize Bale, Walcott, and Di María's finishing techniques.
Because only when they understood the principles and the core mechanics could they truly help the players improve.
…
When Yang Cheng visited the department to review the report compiled by Saad Forsyth and his team, he was genuinely impressed.
Building this department had been the right decision!
With interdepartmental collaboration, many barriers had been broken down.
The training plan included everything—from diet, psychology, to physical conditioning.
Even individual muscles were broken down:
which ones to train, how to train them, and to what extent.
Just in the section about cut-ins and shooting, the plan divided it into two categories:
curlers and power shots.
Curlers were all about technique, often aimed at the far post—curving shots.
Power shots were direct, fast, relying on sheer force.
Each had its use depending on goalkeeper positioning and defensive pressure.
And the "casting" time—again, to use the game metaphor—was different for each.
Each shot required different "spells," different "mana" costs.
All of which needed to be trained repeatedly, day after day.
One minute on the pitch takes ten years off it.
That saying wasn't a lie.
In addition to checking on previously assigned tasks, Yang Cheng also took the opportunity to get a feel for how things were progressing now that the club had fully moved into the Brent Training Center.
After relocating, all departments received a full upgrade in equipment.
Not just the medical wing—departments like data analytics also underwent comprehensive hardware and software improvements.
When it came to this sort of investment, Bayswater Chinese had always been generous.
For instance, Brent Training Center was now fully equipped with complete indoor local network coverage.
The first football facility in Europe to achieve that.
…
The day before preseason officially began, Yang Cheng called Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott in for individual meetings.
He laid out their responsibilities for the new season, made it clear the coaching staff would give them extra tasks and greater expectations.
They would have to shoulder more responsibility in matches, and the pressure would be higher.
Both players expressed their full commitment and excitement for the new season.
Arshavin's departure meant opportunity.
Likewise, with Lass Diarra gone, players like Rakitić, Matuidi, and even Aaron Ramsey would get more chances.
Yang Cheng spoke with each of them personally, offering encouragement.
Since the team wouldn't be traveling abroad this summer, Yang Cheng scheduled eight friendly matches, including a stretch of training and games on the European continent.
This was necessary.
Arshavin leaving, and Bale and Walcott stepping up, signified a tactical shift for Bayswater Chinese.
Where they once pressed high as a unit, Bale and Walcott now needed more space to operate.
And with no Lass Diarra in midfield, Yang Cheng was considering using the Modrić–Rakitić combo more often, to improve possession and creativity.
Both players had done well at the Euros—tested and proven.
So, the midfield would no longer press as high as before.
But how to balance the setup? Yang Cheng needed these friendlies to experiment.
Because United had won the league and FA Cup double, the Community Shield this year would be United vs. Bayswater Chinese.
The match was scheduled for August 10th.
Everything in the club's preseason plan revolved around that date.
Their first Premier League match would come just six days later, on August 16th.
Incidentally, the season opener was Arsenal vs. newly promoted West Bromwich Albion.
Bayswater Chinese's opener? Also against a promoted side: Hull City.
But their schedule looked tight.
Matchday 2: home vs. Arsenal.
Matchday 3: away at Manchester United.
Add the UEFA Super Cup into the mix, and August was packed.
Especially with back-to-back matches against tough opponents.
And this year's fixture list had quirks of its own.
Example: Matchday 13, Bayswater hosts Spurs.
Matchday 19: away at Spurs—on Boxing Day.
Only two games during the Christmas period this season—December 26th and 28th.
For Bayswater:
Away to Spurs, then home against Chelsea.
And having won the Champions League last season, the club would travel to Japan in mid-December to play in the FIFA Club World Cup.
That would clash with their Premier League Matchday 18 fixture vs. Wigan (scheduled for December 20th).
The Club World Cup final would be December 21st.
So now discussions were underway about whether to push the league match back a few days, or reschedule it for late January.
By January, the FA Cup and League Cup would also be in full swing.
It was going to be a relentless fixture list.
In short, Bayswater Chinese wouldn't be short on matches this season.
That's why Yang Cheng had decided to keep the first-team squad at 23 players—
enough to give every player meaningful minutes, help them grow, and maintain form.
…
As reigning Champions League holders, and with the official launch of the Brent Training Center, the club held a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Even though it was simple, over 100 media outlets showed up.
They had long been fascinated by Brent Training Center.
Lauded as Europe's most advanced football facility, the center had been praised by professionals across the continent—both for its beauty and its functionality.
Fans and journalists alike raved about it.
The first day of training was focused on medical assessments and fitness testing.
Even players who had played in the Euro final, like Modrić and Rakitić, returned to camp on time.
In a team meeting, Yang Cheng reiterated his promise:
All domestic cup competitions would go to the younger players.
And he hoped everyone would keep pushing to surpass last season's performance.
"Don't forget—we won the Champions League…
but we lost the League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup."
For the new season, he emphasized the value of trophies like the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
"I want us to perform even better than last year."
The players were fired up.
Yang Cheng could feel it—internal competition was fierce.
With Arshavin gone, Di María, Bale, and Walcott were all eager to seize the moment.
Off the pitch, they were close friends.
But on it, no one was backing down.
Even Bale and Walcott—former roommates at Southampton, and still roommates now—were locked in a personal rivalry.
Even after moving into the Brent center, where each player had his own suite,
they still chose to room together.
But once on the training ground?
All bets were off.
Each pushed hard, trying to outshine the other.
The same was happening in midfield and defense.
Every season brought new faces and exits.
It kept the squad competitive—like a stream that never stagnates.
If the same lineup kept playing year after year, complacency would set in.
The locker room would turn stale.
But this Bayswater Chinese squad was different.
Everyone was fighting for a starting spot.
Even the brutal preseason fitness sessions couldn't break their spirit.
Yang Cheng and the staff were thrilled with the atmosphere.
But as always, the true test of the team's strength would come with the new season.
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