"Van Wolfsvenker of Sporting Lisbon dribbles..."

"Varane prettyly cut the ball off and hand it over to Xavi Martinez."

"Harvey Martinez passed again, and it was to Stroman."

"The Dutch stopped the ball, turned around, passed the ball behind his left foot, and overshot the ball."

"Beautiful, Drogba, the ball is in"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"The game ended in the 87th minute, Southampton won another game, three to one"

"Drogba, Southampton's third goal contributor, is also the best player in this game."

"The Saints' two goals before were from his assists. Once, they gave Stroman a chance to make a long shot, and once again, they helped James or Rodriguez score."

"Two passes and one shot, Drogba's performance is amazing"

In the entire office, there was so quiet that the roar of the commentator from the TV was left.

There are also the overwhelming cheers from the fans in the stands of St. Mary's Stadium.

The two are intertwined and gathered into an impressive sound.

This is the devil's home in Southampton

Looking at the scene of Drogba and Southampton players cheering and cheering on the TV screen, Manchester City Chairman Al Mubarak sat upright on the sofa with a slight face

But the originally soft and comfortable sofa made him feel uncomfortable at this time.

“Southampton is too strong”

The middle-aged British man in his fifties sitting on Mubarak's left sighed and shook his head and smiled bitterly.

He is Manchester City's football director, Brian Mawood, a former Arsenal wide star.

"Who said no? The midfielder composed of Stroman, Tony Cross and Vidal completely suppressed Sporting Lisbon so that it could not move. As soon as the midfield was suppressed, Sporting Lisbon was finished."

The talking was sitting on Mubarak's right hand, the club's acting CEO John Mike Bees.

After former CEO Gary Cook stepped down in shame due to the email incident last year, John Mike Bees temporarily took office. Yu De is quite good, but there is still a certain gap between being able to correct the situation.

Mubarak looked at the TV screen with a frustration.

Although there is no relationship between the two sides and Manchester City, they have forced Manchester City to be in the middle.

Not long ago, Manchester City lost to Sporting Lisbon and was eliminated from the UEFA Cup in shame.

Although head coach Mancini explained after the game that leaving the European arena will help help the team focus more on the Premier League.

But to everyone's opinion, this explanation seems pale and powerless.

Because, Manchester City is still behind Manchester United in the Premier League standings.

Besides, with Manchester City's current bench thickness, fighting on both sides is completely feasible.

Giving up the European arena for the sake of the league can only fool ordinary fans.

I didn't see anyone fighting on the fourth line of Southampton, and I have won two championship trophys so far.

Could it be that the Saints' four-line battle is easier than Manchester City's two-line battle?

Thinking of this, Mubarak couldn't help but feel a little confused in his heart.

"Why can Southampton beat Sporting Lisbon so easily, but we can't do it?"

This question from the club chairman made both the left and right stunned.

How to answer?

Mubarak seemed to have not seen the two assistants on both sides thinking and embarrassing, and continued to say as if he was talking to himself.

"We also have a group of top and even top stars in Europe and the Premier League, including Gareth, Barry, Yaya, Toure, David, Silva, David, Pizarro, James, Milner, De Jong, Hargreaves, and other famous first-class and even top stars."

"Why can these three unknown stars in Southampton suppress Sporting Lisbon so embarrassed, but our midfielder, which is full of stars, be completely unable to do it?"

Mubarak was not angry, but was just asking about his doubts and confusion.

Brian Mawood and John Mikebeth looked at each other and saw what the other person had in their eyes.

The chairman and the boss behind the scenes are dissatisfied with the current situation of the team

From the acquisition of the team in 2009 to the present, Manchester City has invested nearly one billion pounds in the transfer market and a net investment of nearly five hundred million pounds, which is many times more than Southampton, but his performance in the European arena is so much worse than Southampton.

More importantly, Southampton is a team in the English Championship

Anyone who has this will definitely be dissatisfied with it.

In the end, it was John Mike Bees who spoke.

"In fact, Southampton's midfield configuration is also very strong. Stroman is the main midfielder of the Dutch national team and has also become the deputy captain. He is the fastest-rise midfielder in the Netherlands in recent years, and his momentum has even surpassed De Jong."

"Not to mention Vidal, the main player of the Chilean national team, South Africa's World Cup, has shined in a big way now, and has attracted the attention of many giant teams. Tony Kroos is a well-known genius midfielder, spending the Saints 60 million pounds..."

When Mubarak heard this, he stretched out his hand and waved, "They didn't spend a penny."

After being interrupted, John Mike Bees smiled awkwardly.

There have been rumors in the circle that Tony Kroos was actually Abramovich's pocket.

Even the salaries of Tony Kroos, Drogba, Matic, Sturridge and others were all given by Abramovich.

It is said that it was because Abramovich and Yang Huan made a bet and lost badly.

Of course, such things can only be whispered in small circles, and no one will tell them to the public.

It’s like Southampton distributed millions of pounds of bonuses that day after winning the League Cup. Most people in the circle know about it, and they are also amazed at Southampton’s big deal, and even some media know about it.

But no one will make it public.

Even Ferguson and Wenger remained silent this time

And this time, Southampton did it more cleverly than before, and there was no way to catch the handle.

Everyone in the circle knows what they can say and what they can’t say.

This is also the industry's unspoken rule.

"The entire lineup configuration of Southampton is very reasonable. Stroman, Tony Cross and Vidal are three different styles. Bielsa integrates them together and the effect is exerted."

Brian Mawood is a professional star, and he is more professional in looking at problems and is very hard-working.

"Compared with Tony Cross, who has introduced a lot of money but is just a pretty good performance, Stroman is the thickest thigh in the Southampton midfield this season, passing, organizing, defending, and attacking... He is proficient in almost everything."

"This player can be said to be one of the Saints' most progressive players in the past two seasons. From being selected for the Dutch national team, to being a substitute, to the main player, to now an important member of the Dutch national team midfielder, and even serving as the deputy captain of the national team, this player's rapid progress can be seen."

"Vidal is both offensive and defensive, and a typical penalty-to-no-battle-type player plays a role similar to Yaya or Toure. Tony Kroos is the midfield commander, with a great general style, but it still needs to be further crafted and grown up. Unfortunately, the value is as high as 60 million pounds, and it still loses a little. Only Stroman is the most eye-catching and the performance is the most impressive."

Mubarak looked at Brian or Mawood, "Didn't Mancini say before that the team lacks a solid central defender and a midfielder with excellent organization and passing skills?"

"Well," Mawood nodded immediately, "When the central defender, AC Milan's Thiago Silva, Juventus' Chiellini, Southampton's Xavi Martinez, these three players are our goals."

"In the midfield, there are only three players, Southampton's Stroman, Tottenham's Modric, and Benfica's Witsel."

As a midfielder, Gareth Barry is very good among English local players.

But compared with players such as Modric, Stroman and Witsel, they are still inferior.

"Harvey Martinez, Stroman?"

Mubarak was muttering the names of these two players as if he was muttering to himself.

Harvey Martinez switched to Southampton last summer.

But as soon as the Spanish international came to England, he immediately retreated from the original midfield to the central defender.

The result was this change of position, but the commander general on the Southampton defense line was replaced.

The defense is steady and sophisticated, accurate and decisive in the ball, has the ability to organize the ball with the ball, and has the overall view of reading the game.

In addition, with the assistance of three players, Varane, Gary Cahill and Nastasic, Southampton's defense cannot be said to be top-notch, but it is very consistent with the team's entire tactical system.

"Is Southampton willing to sell?" Mubarak asked suddenly.

Brian Mawood was stunned, then shook his head, "I don't know, but I should have a chance. I heard that the Saints were planning to discuss contract renewal with Stroman."

The so-called contract renewal is either the player's contract is about to expire, or the player performs well and requires a salary increase.

Stroman has just joined the team for two seasons and his contract has not expired so soon.

Therefore, it can only be the latter.

"Now there are many teams staring at Stromaine, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Roma, and other teams are very interested in him. There is also news that Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich all want to introduce Xavi Martinez."

When Mubarak heard this, he was envious and jealous, and at the same time he shook his head and smiled with a little distress.

"It seems that this saint is full of treasures."

John Mikebes took the opportunity to interrupt and said with a smile: "Who said it wasn't? Neymar, Isco, Varane, Carvajal and other young players are already attracting attention. The team performed well in the Europa League this season. Now, the semi-finals beat Sporting Lisbon three-to-one at home and entered the finals with one foot. This group of players in the team are probably targeted by others."

Some people snatch it, and the competition is fierce, and the player's value naturally soars.

John Mikebeth's words reminded Mubarak.
To be continued...