"Gareth, welcome. ”

After the match with Liverpool, Chen Ping took time out to meet with Southgate. Southgate's transfer to West Ham has been completed, and it will be announced that Southgate will join him when the winter transfer season begins on 1 January.

Originally, Chen Ping could have met with Southgate at the club, because the transfer had been completed, and Southgate would come to the team's training the next day. But now it is the middle of the Christmas schedule, and Chen Ping does not have much time. And Chen Ping also has something to say to Southgate, as well as to express the importance he attaches to Southgate. So stop by and meet Southgate outside before training.

This kind of one-to-one meeting can best reflect Chen Ping's importance to Southgate, as well as a kind of respect. Because Chen Ping really needs a veteran like Southgate to help the young people of the team.

"Hello, Coach Chen. ”

The age of the two people is more awkward.

Chen Ping is only thirty years old, while Southgate is already thirty-four years old, Southgate is older than Chen Ping in terms of age, and 4 years older. Even in terms of seniority in English football, Southgate is far superior to Chen Ping. When Southgate became an England international, Chen Ping had just taken coaching lessons in England. However, Southgate will not underestimate Chen Ping, after all, Chen Ping is now the hottest coach in English football, the most high-profile coach, and even the most praised coach.

Chen Ping's current limelight is that veteran Premier League coaches like Ferguson and Wenger, and character coaches like Mourinho who came to the Premier League with the power of the Champions League cannot be compared. Especially with West Ham's results getting better and better, Chen Ping has even received the attention of European football.

If two months ago, many people in Italian football asked who Chen Ping was? The one who made a big fuss was the hillbilly who came out of the horns? The spokesman of Juventus also directly said that he did not know who Chen Ping was. But if you say that now, you are lonely.

After all, Chen Ping is the coach who took the promoted horse and won the Premier League halfway championship.

Chen Ping is now directly going to the miracle of winning the championship with the promoted horse. If it can really be completed, Chen Ping will be the one who created this miracle at that time. At that time, Chen Ping's name will not be said to be in English football, even in the entire European football world. Because there are several people in European football who have completed such a legend.

At present, even UEFA has begun to pay attention to Chen Ping.

After all, Chen Ping is so young, and it is a bit too young to be young in the coaching industry, and his results are still so good.

"Gareth, I want to tell you all when I negotiated. I named the transfer directly, and I wasn't looking for more depth on the bench, but for an experienced centre-back. I want you to come over and help our defense. ”

"Yes. ”

If there wasn't anything before, Southgate is proud of it now.

Because of his transfer to West Ham, Chen Ping, the hottest coach in English football and even European football, was personally named. It's not that Chen Ping personally named Southgate to flatter, the current Chen Ping doesn't have that kind of weight.

But the fact that a manager who wants to win the title is interested in him and names himself gives Southgate the feeling that he is not old enough to make a difference.

That's what Southgate was most happy about.

After all, Southgate is thirty-four years old, and at this age it is already a matter of thinking about retirement. But Chen Ping wanted to come over and be the main force himself, which of course made Southgate very proud.

'Gareth, I'm sure you know the situation at the back of West Ham and I'm not going to hide it from you. I'm most optimistic about the young Pepe, who has all the qualities that a top centre-back should have. He has good physical strength, good defensive skills, and is very brave as a defender. If there's one downside, it's that he's still young. Although he is very strong, he is seriously inexperienced. So I need an experienced person, next to him. Not only to solve the gaps exposed by his inexperience, but also to teach him how to be a qualified central defender on and off the field. ”

Southgate nodded slightly after listening to Chen Ping's words.

Understand what Chen Ping meant.

In other words, his partner at West Ham is the young Pepe. All in one league and Southgate knows how many West Ham centre-backs have. In addition to Pepe's young age, West Ham also have some strong veterans.

Christian Daly and Repka are both international-level players. It's just that the country they are in is not very strong, so their international strength is not very strong. Of course, this is only relative to a team like West Ham aiming to win the title. If they are replaced by some middle and lower teams, the strength of the two of them is still enough.

As for Pepe, a young player, he has received high praise in the Premier League this season. I think that this young player has performed well, and it should be said that the innate quality is very good.

"Coach Chen, I understand what you mean. ”

Gareth Southgate has historically been the head coach of the England national team.

His goal is to become a coach.

At Middlesbrough he was the captain of the team and was even involved in some of the tactical aspects of the team, learning from McLaren. Chen Ping is so young, and he has set so many records in less than four years since his debut, Southgate very much wants to learn from Chen Ping.

It was all about Southgate's move to West Ham.

Now Chen Ping has given himself the task of cultivating Pepe, and he is very important to Pepe. But instead of feeling angry, Southgate felt that it was a good opportunity.

'Gareth, our West Ham backline is young. Zim Bonda has only come from Ligue 1 this season, Martin Antony has only switched to full-back this season, and Pepe is young, so you have a heavier task. You have to command the entire defensive line. ”

"I know. ”

"Gareth, allow me to welcome you to the team again. ”

The Christmas schedule is not a rest at all.

Usually, the day after the game, Chen Ping will let the players rest. But the Christmas schedule is one game after another, one game in two or three days, so it's impossible to rest. On the second day of the competition, even if you don't have high-intensity training, you need to do some recovery training. Keeping the players in a certain level of tension doesn't allow them to relax completely.

Although the transfer has not been announced, Southgate has already arrived at West Ham for training on 30 December. On 1 January 2005, West Ham and Middlesbrough announced that Southgate, the captain of Middlesbrough, had moved to West Ham.

The transfer fee was not announced. 135 Chinese

In fact, the transfer fee is not high, and the agreement reached between the two parties is that it will be a transfer fee of 3 million pounds. If West Ham win the Premier League this season, they will pay Middlesbrough an additional £500,000.

That's £3.5 million, actually. Because West Ham have a big advantage, many people have begun to admit that West Ham are the most likely team to win the Premier League.

In fact, neither side of the negotiation was very satisfied.

West Ham believe Southgate is 34 years old and doesn't know how many years he will play. Maybe you will only play for a season and a half, and you will not be able to be the main player at the beginning of next season, that is, the firefighter. Such a veteran costs £3.5 million, which is a bit overpriced. What Middlesbrough is not satisfied with is that Southgate is Middlesbrough's main centre-back and the captain of the team. Leaving the team in the winter transfer has too much impact on the team. Where can someone be found to fill Southgate's place in a short period of time?

Neither were satisfied, but in the end, it was Southgate's own intentions that led to the transfer.

Again, that's the same sentence.

Southgate is getting older, but he has long since abandoned some unrealistic fantasies and just wants to play well at the end of his career. But who would have thought that such an opportunity would suddenly be available. A team with a chance to win the Premier League is interested in itself.

Champion, this is the temptation of a champion.

Southgate is also a Premier League player, but it is a huge pity that he has not won a title in his career. Now West Ham is giving him a chance, a chance to win the title. Southgate, of course, is looking to make amends for his career regrets.

Southgate's idea is very important.

Middlesbrough also don't want to fall out with a veteran like Southgate, so they can only let Southgate go. Southgate's transfer news has made the English media very optimistic, praising West Ham's transfer strategy. Southgate is old, but his quality is still there, and his performance at Middlesbrough this season is okay. Southgate's physical strength is definitely declining because of age. But Southgate has a lot of experience and a decent defence. Perfect for West Ham who are now young.

Gareth Southgate arrived at West Ham and trained for two days.

Gareth Southgate was in the starting line-up for the night on 1 January 2005.

In the 22nd round of the Premier League, West Ham challenged Bolton Wanderers away. West Ham made a lot of changes in this game. It's not that Chen Ping wants to change, it's that the West Ham players need to rest. Especially in the game with Liverpool, Chen Ping did use the fast pace to drag down those Liverpool players. But it is also a huge drain on West Ham's players.

In particular, Carrick and Mascherano played the full game in both games. As the heart of the midfield, both players have a lot of movement.

The physical exertion is very high.

Of course, it's not that they can't play this game, but Chen Ping won't take the method of killing chickens and eggs. Carrick and Mascherano no have good physical strength, but they are also normal players, not robots. If this is used unrestricted, it will affect their future matches.

The Premier League is still a long way to go, after all.

Carrick and Mascherano were both key players in midfield, so Chen Ping had them both sit on the bench to rest. Including Lambert and Martin Anthony, Chen Ping let them all sit on the sidelines to rest, and Chen Ping can still afford to lose a game. The result was a combination of Franck Ribery, Lomas, Leo Koke and Ashley Young in midfield, and a combination of Defoe and Arshavin up front.

Sure enough, Lomas's strength has dropped a lot compared to his peak.

The 31-year-old was a former Northern Ireland international, a veteran of West Ham and a Premier League midfielder at his peak. However, the strength has declined too quickly in recent years. The midfield of his combination with Leo Koke is several notches lower than that of Carrick and Mascherano.

Bolton's core Okocha was not able to limit well in the game.

Of course, West Ham's attacking strength is still very strong. Franck Franck Ribery, Arshavin and Defoe are all players who are good runners and pass the ball well. The frontcourt combination of three small men performed very well.

But the defense is a lot of problems.

Lomas is frequently out of position as a midfielder, and Leo Koke is not the kind of midfielder with excellent positional ability, but more of a midfielder with strong running ability. The result is that Bolton is repeatedly creating threats. Southgate's first appearance, alongside Pepe, was put to the test. The two have just cooperated, and they don't cooperate tacitly.

The result was two goals scored by Bolton.

Fortunately, West Ham's attacking line was strong and also scored two goals. In the 21st round of the Premier League, West Ham, who completed a fifteen-game winning streak, were forced to draw 2-2 by Bolton Wanderers.

West Ham's opponents, Arsenal and Chelsea, have both had good results.

Heading into the Christmas fixtures, Arsenal and Chelsea are on three wins in a row. In this round, Chelsea take on Liverpool away. Like West Ham, Liverpool were exhausted in their last game and could only make some rotations in this game. The result was a 3-0 draw by a strong Chelsea side.

Arsenal's opponent in this round is weaker, away to Charlton Athletic. Arsenal beat Charlton Athletic 3-1. With the end of the 21st round of the Premier League, Chelsea and Arsenal have closed the gap on West Ham.

West Ham are eleven points ahead of second-placed Chelsea and twelve ahead of third-placed Arsenal.

The 22nd round of the Premier League is the final match of the Christmas schedule. On 4 January 2005, West Ham host Newcastle. After a one-game break, Lambert, Michael Carrick, Mascherano and Martin Antony all came on.

Lambert really is the Tiger Descending Mountain.

At the break in the last game, he scored a brace with an overhead kick in this game, and the visiting Newcastle were beaten with a discarded armor. West Ham ended the Christmas schedule with a four-to-one draw against Newcastle in their final game of the Christmas fixture, with three wins and one draw.

Chelsea continued their strong run with a 2-0 home win over Middlesbrough. Arsenal, on the other hand, showed a hint of fatigue and were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Manchester City. The current result is that West Ham have a record of 19 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, accumulating 58 points and ranking first in the Premier League.

Chelsea have 47 points, eleven points behind West Ham. Arsenal have 44 points, 14 points behind West Ham. Although West Ham is not as good as Chelsea's four consecutive wins, it has also completed three wins and one draw, which can be regarded as a very smooth Christmas schedule.

At the end of the Christmas fixtures, many of the football commentators who had been criticising and satirizing West Ham were silenced. With the Christmas fixtures at the end of the season, West Ham are still at the top of the table and have a big lead. Many have come to think that West Ham are becoming more and more likely to win the title.

A lot of the West Ham side are excited.

Many people are taking a stand, all are experiencing, all are witnessing the birth of a legend.