When I met the FA chairman, Lord Lake, it was almost midnight. Cars are driving down the streets, and there are still laughing and reveling fans around.

"Bramble, I've always wanted to meet you, but I've never had a chance. "Lord Lake has gray hair, is not tall, and is in good spirit. Maybe the good performance of the England team put him in a good mood.

The FA's president has never been under much pressure. Unlike Brazil, as long as you don't win the World Cup, and if you don't win the championship, you have to play beautifully, otherwise the whole country will seem like the end of the world.

Jing Jian smiled: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, the main thing is that I'm still in college. ”

"Huh. Lord Lake pulled out a bottle of champagne from the car's refrigerator, "Have a drink?"

"Of course. ”

Drinking champagne and chatting for a while, Lord Lake finally said, "Bramble, what advice do you have for the English league?"

Jing Jian understood that Lord Lake was asking about the top leagues, and the two of them would not worry about those low-level leagues: "Slowly falling behind the mainland, it is time to change." ”

"Oh, can you elaborate?" said Lord Lake, in a kind manner.

"It's still my old point of view, to form a fully commercial top league, to hand over the experience of commercial companies, to increase the income of clubs and players, to loosen restrictions on foreign players, and to promote it to the world. ”

This period was a period when the whole of English football was in a state of flux. The endless football hooliganism, the successive stadium tragedies, the five-year ban on clubs from European competitions, the chaotic format and low standards brought about by 22 teams, dilapidated stadiums, and high renovation costs have led to the financial embarrassment of the vast majority of clubs, and even many English players have played in leagues on the European continent.

Sir Lake nodded slightly. Such a situation is not in itself what the arrogant British want to see. In fact, they also want to reform, and what they are arguing about is nothing more than the specific plan for reform.

"What do you mean, the FA will run the company?" asked Lord Lake unhurriedly.

Naturally, it came to the most critical place, and it was also one of the reasons why Lord Lake was looking for Jing Jian today.

The FA is nominally led by a royal family and is headed by a member of the royal family, but just like the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy, the royal family is actually an honorary role, and the real power is the elected chairman of the English football community.

The FA manages all the affairs of the English Football Association, and although it is a non-profit non-governmental organization, it has the right to say anything. In particular, the affluence of football can be imagined, and a huge amount of money is handled in hands every year, not to mention the social status that comes with it.

It can be said that the FA at that time had the power and status to have money and status, but now it suddenly came up with a reform plan - the biggest cash cow, the top league, actually wants to fly solo? And set up a separate commercial company, completely out of the control of the FA? How can this be endured by the FA?

However, this plan has won the support of almost all major clubs and put more and more pressure on the FA, this time, Lord Lake could not sit still, and took this opportunity to find Jing Jian, who first proposed this plan, and ...... Is there anything to talk about?

Jing Jian, of course, heard the trap in Lord Lake's words, and he smiled slightly: "I personally have no intention of depriving the FA of its management functions, but the management rights must be operated independently by a separate company." ”

On the issue of principle, Jing Jian will never give in, he has invested so much in Portsmouth, just waiting for the establishment of the Premier League, the club will increase in value significantly, how can he change his mind because of some petty profits? Of course, it is nothing to give you the rights of the FA disciplinary committee or referee committee.

"Hehe, Bramble, English football is a whole and the lower leagues are just as important. Many lower-tier clubs would not have survived if it weren't for a tilt in funding. And it's a tradition that you might have a hard time understanding. "Lord Lake is still very personable, polite, and calm.

Does Lord Lake's words make sense? Of course it does. Originally, a large part of the role of national football associations was to take out part of the income obtained by professional leagues and invest it in the youth training system and low-level leagues, which basically had no output.

The youth training system and the lower leagues can continue to cultivate and emerge good seedlings. As a counterexample, at that time, the Chinese Jianlibao team, outstanding young players came to a training camp, but the entire youth training system was completely destroyed. That's just for a momentary coolness, and if you get addicted, you'll die. Not to mention, even in the Jianlibao team, there were not a few stars who carried the top in the national team later.

Well, let's not mention Chinese football, it's a bubble of gas. In the face of Lord Lake's persuasion, Jing Jian shook his head and smiled: "I'm sorry, maybe it's a different position, if part of the profits of a commercial company is used to support the youth training program, I won't object, but it must be operated independently." ”

Jing Jian's attitude is quite resolute, it's okay to give you some when we earn points, but it's definitely not okay to mix them together and make a messy account.

The problem of English football is quite serious, their league is divided into nine levels, some say ten or eleven levels, which shows how chaotic it is, and the top four divisions are professional leagues, with a total of nearly 100 teams, and the cost has been skewed, which has led to too much blood in the top league.

In fact, if you make an analogy, Germany and France should have a larger population than England (this is England, not England)? Are their leagues at all levels so exaggerated? Just two or three professional leagues, and a few semi-professional or amateur leagues, the youth system is still all over the country, and even more stars have emerged than England. You know, everything has a degree, and if it is too much to rob the rich and help the poor, it will lead to the top leagues being pulled down.

Among them, the most unbearable are broadcast fees and sponsorship fees. Now the FA is selling in bundles, but who will watch those low-level leagues? Who will broadcast them? Although the low-level leagues have less money, they can't stand up to the huge number? It means that the top leagues are inexplicably subsidizing them.

Seeing that the conversation was at an impasse, Lake was ready to vaguely go: "Okay then! Let's think about it when we go back, and find an opportunity to communicate later." ”

Jing Jian's attitude is aggressive: "Unrestricted discussion will only waste time and will only sink English football step by step." I think there should be a deadline. If I can't reach an agreement, I'll contact other clubs to withdraw from the English league next season and form my own Super League!"

Lord Lake was stunned for a moment......