In addition to seeking sponsors, the Commercial Department was also developing club merchandise, including member publications containing the fixture schedule and first-team squad list, as well as souvenirs bearing the club crest. These items would be given to members who paid their annual fees.
To make the merchandise more appealing, the Commercial Department had begun gathering opinions about the club crest online the previous year. In addition to collecting creative ideas from members to make the design more distinctive, they selected several popular options and allowed the supporters to vote. The design with the highest level of support was ultimately chosen as the club's official crest.
New Manchester United's crest was no longer as crude as it had been in previous seasons. It was stylish and also reflected the character of the club.
As one supporter wrote online, the crest was filled with a rebellious spirit, while its blood-red colour inspired excitement and passion, stirring a deep love for the club.
Because their love had reached its limit, they had chosen to rebel.
That was the main reason the crest won by an overwhelming margin and earned such widespread approval from the Red Rebels supporters.
In addition to the merchandise already mentioned, New Manchester United also began developing other products, such as the club's official magazine, Red Rebels, which for the time being could only be purchased by official members.
Beside the entrance to the City Ground, the Red Rebels supporters' shop was also being planned and fitted out. It would sell a range of New Manchester United merchandise, including shirts, scarves, and other everyday items closely associated with the club.
Compared with the high prices at Manchester United's official shop at Old Trafford, all of New Manchester United's products would be sold at relatively affordable prices, generally around twice their production cost, with the difference becoming club profit.
This also helped distinguish New Manchester United from Manchester United, whose merchandise was often sold for five times its production cost or more, and sometimes even over ten times as much.
As for member publications and souvenirs, they would be provided free of charge to members. The price of the club magazine had not yet been decided, but it would not be much higher than that of similar football magazines already on the market.
Besides serving the supporters, New Manchester United also placed considerable emphasis on developing commercial opportunities for the players.
The Commercial Department's plans also included the squad. For example, the club would actively seek sponsorship agreements and advertising opportunities for players, with the resulting income divided between the club and the player according to mutually agreed terms.
As long as it did not interfere with the team's preparations, the club would allow players to take part in advertising and sponsorship activities that did not conflict with the club's existing sponsors.
In addition, Ethan asked Mark and Gardner to begin searching for an excellent image consultant.
This consultant would not only help build and maintain the club's public image, but would also advise the players on their own presentation.
Ethan had learned this approach from Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho was widely regarded as one of football's less conventionally handsome stars, yet at his peak his commercial value could rival Beckham's. That was largely thanks to the highly capable team working behind him.
For example, Ronaldinho believed that he played football for joy and that his smile was his greatest commercial asset.
As a result, in almost every advertisement, he smiled without restraint. Through careful promotion and commercial planning, even his distinctive buck teeth became one of his most recognisable and appealing features.
That was the work of Ronaldinho's personal image consultant. Many other Brazilian stars had also hired dedicated image consultants to work for them.
Now, New Manchester United needed a corporate image consultant, and the club's players also needed professional guidance.
This would cover not only the players' personal lives, but also their clothing, conduct, and speech when attending public events. All of these were important aspects of their image.
In addition to an image consultant, Ethan also asked John David to find an excellent investment and financial adviser in the United States.
He hoped the club could provide investment and financial planning services for its players.
After all, very few players understood financial management at that time.
The club would help the players manage their finances without taking a single penny of profit from them.
Participation would be entirely voluntary.
Once a player joined the scheme and earned a return, he would pay the financial adviser the customary fee, while 5 percent of the remaining profit would be donated to charity in the player's name.
Ethan believed that these measures could help the players develop a more complete understanding of financial management and long-term planning.
At the same time, they could also become another way for the club to retain star players in the future.
Of course, Ethan was not naive enough to believe that these measures alone could secure a star player's loyalty.
The real key to retaining players would still be the club's results and influence.
Everything else was merely supplementary.
Even so, Ethan felt they needed to begin planning now.
After all, the players currently at New Manchester United were future stars, and some of them would even become global superstars.
...
After the meeting with the Commercial Department, Mark, Gardner, and Walsh still had work to do, so they left first.
Ethan then accompanied Mourinho to the training ground.
In the distance, on the first-team pitch, Faria, Moniz, and Meulensteen were supervising the players' training.
The training philosophy of Moniz and Meulensteen had many similarities with New Manchester United's tactical approach.
For example, they placed great emphasis on combinations involving groups of three players.
They divided the pitch into several small areas, and within each area, two or three players would form a small unit.
They trained the players to coordinate within these small groups and solve any problems that arose.
Within New Manchester United's tactical system, Mourinho required the players to control possession and dominate space.
In practice, this control also took place within specific small areas, since it was impossible for eleven players to control the entire pitch at once.
In this respect, the methods used by Moniz and Meulensteen aligned perfectly with Mourinho's philosophy.
In addition, their training system was highly distinctive.
They divided the entire programme into six areas: ball control, passing and receiving, one-on-one attacking and defending, speed, shooting, and teamwork.
Ball control was one of football's fundamental skills.
This did not refer to Barcelona-style possession football, but simply to controlling the ball skilfully with one's feet.
Because the technique itself was basic, players had to repeat the exercises continuously in order to improve their proficiency.
Of course, players with excellent technique, such as Hleb, Ribéry, and Juninho Pernambucano, did not need to devote as much attention to these drills.
However, players with rougher technique, such as Drogba and Olić, needed additional work in this area.
Passing and receiving were also easy enough to understand.
However, the standards Moniz and Meulensteen demanded in training went far beyond simply moving the ball between players.
In addition to requiring greater speed, they also demanded better first-touch control.
This did not mean one-touch passing, but rather controlling the ball cleanly with the first touch.
Improving a player's first touch allowed passing combinations to flow more smoothly, reduced the likelihood of mistakes, and gave players more composure when making decisions on the pitch.
As for passing, the two instructions Moniz repeated most often were to raise one's head and observe.
Raising the head gave the player a wider field of vision, while observation allowed for better communication and coordination with teammates.
Once a player could apply both habits naturally, his passing would improve accordingly.
One-on-one attacking and defending were essentially what the terms suggested, but Moniz's training requirements covered a much wider range.
First, when attacking one-on-one, players had to learn how to assess the situation.
Whether they chose to dribble, pass, or shoot, they had to remain composed even when tightly marked.
They also had to learn how to create space.
Moniz gave Drogba as an example.
If Drogba received the ball with his back to goal, held off the opposing centre-back, pinned him behind him, and controlled the ball at his feet, then he would have space in front of him and on both sides.
He needed to understand how to use those areas effectively, either to create a shooting opportunity for himself or to open space for his teammates.
Conversely, when defending, Moniz required players to place the opponent under sufficient pressure by closing down and taking control of his space, thereby disrupting the attack.
As for speed, this did not simply refer to running pace.
Moniz placed greater emphasis on changes of tempo.
He believed that a player with a pace rating of only 15 could easily get past one rated above 20 if he mastered changes of speed.
This included movement speed, reaction speed, and decision-making speed, all of which formed part of daily training.
Moniz also emphasised the speed of transitions between attack and defence.
He believed no team could maintain a high tempo for the full 90 minutes.
A team needed to know when to play quickly and when to slow the game down.
This would help preserve the players' energy, while alternating between fast and slow phases could also make it easier to break down opponents.
Learning how to control, adapt to, and dictate these attacking and defensive transitions was another important part of Moniz's training.
In every session, Moniz arranged a large number of drills and training games.
Each exercise covered several aspects of play rather than forcing the players to focus exclusively on one isolated skill.
Of course, some players might feel they were weak in a certain area and ask Moniz for individual training, but that would take place outside the regular sessions.
Moniz and Meulensteen also frequently asked players to train in unfamiliar positions.
For example, Malouda and Hleb might be used in central midfield, while Juninho Pernambucano might be asked to play as a centre-forward.
They explained that this was intended to help the players better understand their teammates' intentions on the pitch, improve their chemistry, and develop the ability to view situations from different perspectives.
Mourinho had always followed the principle of limiting training sessions to 90 minutes, believing that this was the ideal duration.
However, everything within those 90 minutes was tightly organised.
The intensity was very high, but the sessions were also varied and enjoyable enough to prevent the players from becoming bored, allowing them to improve without even realising it.
Standing outside the first-team training ground, Ethan watched the session being led by Cassell, Faria, Moniz, and Meulensteen, while Darren Lyons, Karl Marginson, and Gareth Turner assisted and learned from the sidelines.
A smile gradually spread across his face.
"They're all very capable!" Mourinho could not help but praise them when he saw Ethan's expression.
"The important thing is that you give them authority," Ethan replied. "You're the head coach and the team's decision-maker. Your willingness to use them and trust them is what truly matters."
Ethan had no intention of competing with Mourinho for credit.
In any case, when the team succeeded, he did not need to claim anything. Everyone already knew what part he had played.
"Then I should thank you for bringing me two powerful assistants," Mourinho said with a smile. "But where is the right-back I asked for?"
(To be continued.)