On August 17, 2002, in the third round of League Two, Oxford United faced Luton Town away. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

They are all brothers from the English League C.

Although Luton Town were promoted, they did not make much move this summer and did not bring in many players. Last season in the League C, Chen Ping was not afraid of Luton, and he easily defeated Luton on both occasions. Came to the English League Two, how could Chen Ping be afraid of him.

It's easy.

Although it was an away game, Oxford United were very positive, winning comfortably 3-1 over Luton Town. Lambert's gun was hot and he scored two goals again. It should be said that the current style of play of Oxford United is very advantageous for a team like Lambert.

If Chen Ping plays a delicate game and plays the attack at his feet, then Lambert's goal will drop by more than half. But now Oxford United is playing on two wings, which is very useful for Lambert as a centre-forward.

On 20 August 2002, the first round of the League Cup began.

Chen Ping's choice is still very simple.

Abandon.

There are 46 games to play in a season in League Two, plus the League Cup, the FA Cup, there are too many games. Although Oxford United brought in some players this summer, the depth of the squad is still too thin.

Three-front combat?

Chen Ping was not sure.

Therefore, it can only be abandoned in the League Cup. Chen Ping's first goal is still one, that is, to lead Oxford United to continue to upgrade. If Chen Ping can lead Oxford United to another promotion, it will definitely shock the English football world.

Therefore, Chen Ping will not waste the opportunity to be promoted for a cup like the League Cup.

All the substitutions.

But what Chen Ping didn't expect was that Chen Ping thought like this, and Oxford United's opponents also thought like this. The first round of the Oxford League Cup is against the same League Two side Bristol City.

Bristol City FC is not as strong as Wigan Athletic and not as good as Crewe, but they are also aiming for promotion. So they were also ready to give up the Carabao Cup and sent in all the substitutes.

Both sides are playing on the bench.

Although it is a waiver of the game, it is just that he does not want to waste the main players in the League Cup. If the substitutes can win, Chen Ping will not willingly accept defeat. After all, it's a good thing to get your substitutes to get some workouts. Both sides were substitutes, and Chen Ping did not expect Oxford United to finally eliminate Bristol City FC 1-0 and enter the second round of the English League Cup.

On 24 August 2002, the fourth round of League Two began. Oxford United host Northampton. Northampton are the top team in League Two, and although they drew with a strong Crewe side in the first round, it was entirely on good luck.

But the next second round and the third round were all big losses.

In the fourth round, they met Oxford United.

Chen Ping was not polite.

They made a big splash at home and swept Northampton 5-1.

On August 27, 2002, in the fifth round of the League Two, Oxford United met another old friend away, Plymouth who were promoted from League 3 with Oxford United. Surprisingly, Plymouth turned out to be one win, two draws and one loss in four games, ranking seventh in League Two.

But old friends meet, and the two sides are very familiar.

Plymouth are aware of Oxford's attacking prowess and are therefore very conservative in the game. Oxford United's attacking routine is still relatively simple, once the attack on both flanks is blocked, then the attacking power is greatly reduced. So the game didn't go very well.

Fortunately, he took advantage of a set-piece opportunity and scored the only goal.

One to zero.

On 30 August 2002, the sixth round of League Two began. Oxford United back-to-back away to Cardiff, a powerhouse in League Two. The game was too intensive, whether it was Oxford United or Cardiff, there was some lack of energy in this game.

The fight is relatively bland.

Zero to zero.

A draw, the first time Oxford United have met since the start of the season.

At the end of six rounds, Oxford United won five and drew one, accumulating 16 points and ranking first in League Two. Scored the most goals and conceded the fewest in League Two. It has become the biggest dark horse in League Two.

It can't even be said to be a dark horse anymore.

In just six rounds, Oxford United have already played five of the current top 10 teams in League Two. In fact, it is not only Oxford United a dark horse, no one thought that the three teams promoted in League C this season are currently in the top ten in League Two.

Teams.

Many newspapers have already described Oxford United as a strong team.

"Chen, have you ever thought about leaving Oxford United?"

After the sixth round of League Two, there is an eight-day break in between. In the seventh round of the League Two, Oxford United will host another strong team in League Two, Queens Park Rangers.

However, the morale of the current Oxford United players is high.

Not afraid of opponents.

There were also too many games in August, so Chen Ping gave the players two days off. Daniel Donaldson was drinking with Chen Ping and suddenly asked Chen Ping this question.

"Yes. ”

Chen Ping nodded.

There is not the slightest hiding of it.

Oxford United has always been a small stage, a small pool. Even though Oxford United is now out of financial crisis, Oxford United is still a small club. Oxford United's owner, Firoz Carson, has little money and a combined net worth.

In League Two and League C, even if you don't have much money, you can live well with a good coach. Look at the Crewe team, it's also a poor jingle, but they have a manager who has been in charge for 20 years. It will be able to make the Crewe team live well in League One and League Two.

When the strength is there, go to League One. Sell a few Academy players and then be relegated to League Two. Developing a few young players in League Two and then being promoted to League One.

That's how Team Crewe lived.

But when it comes to League One, no money is a big problem. Those teams who want to be promoted to the Premier League, which one does not cost money. With Firoz Carson's little capital ability, Oxford United's reach in League One is already the limit.

Chen Ping is not Lei Feng.

Although he has a lot of feelings for Oxford United, Chen Ping will never waste himself in Oxford United for Oxford United. Chen Ping needs a big stage, so he doesn't hide it at all.

"I think so. ”

Daniel Donaldson sighed.

"Chen, our family has been Oxford fans for generations. You're the most talented coach I've ever met, and it's a blessing for Oxford to have met you. If you could, I would really like you to keep coaching Oxford United, so that Oxford United might have a real chance of being a top flight team again. Oxford United haven't played in the top flight for many years. ”

Chen Ping nodded.

Almost all the locals in Oxford are Oxford United fans. Oxford United has been around for 110 years, and several generations of people in the city have been Oxford United fans.

"But I know you're not going to stay at Oxford. As long as you lead the team to promotion to League One this season, maybe even the Premier League teams will look at you. ”

Be.

Don't underestimate this upgrade. Continuous upgrades will greatly increase the reputation of the coach.

Let's talk about David Moyes, who just took over as Everton manager at the beginning of this year. Why he was able to become famous, why he was able to be favored by Everton. It was because when he was coaching Preston North End that he led LinkedIn B relegation team Preston to become a League Two powerhouse and led Preston to promotion to League One. And the performance in League One is not too bad.

That's why Moyes's fame has increased, and several clubs in the Premier League have extended olive branches to Moyes.

And Chen Ping's current results are no worse than Moyes. As long as Chen Ping can lead Oxford United to promotion this season, then the results will be better and more dazzling than the original Moyes, and will definitely attract the attention of many teams.

Maybe there's a Premier League team in there.

"Chen, do you need me to help you tout? ”

"How?"

"I've been in this industry for many years, and I've known a lot of journalists in this area. Although your grades are good right now, I tell you the truth that you don't want to be upset. You're not British after all, and people will still be suspicious of you. If you want to get a real invitation, you probably won't be able to do it until you lead your team to promotion. It's going to be a tight time and it's going to be difficult for you to pick a team and then prepare for it. Even at that time there was not a good invitation, just some ordinary invitations. ”

"Yes. ”

Chen Ping understood what Donaldson meant.

Chen Ping is an outsider and always is an outsider. The rejection of foreign coaches in English football is very strong, don't look at the recent period of foreign coaches to England a lot, but there are very few really successful.

Many of those people are some well-known coaches in European football.

Compared to them, Chen Ping is a real outsider, a coach from China. Compared with Moyes, even if Chen Ping's results are better than Moyes, he is much behind in this regard.

David Moyes is a Scottish native and has a lot of influence as a Scottish coach in English football. Even if many clubs are really interested in Chen Ping, they will be cautious just because of Chen Ping's status as a Chinese coach.

This exclusion, although not public, is present.

"Chen, I can help you contact some reporters to build momentum for you. Get a lot of potential clubs to start paying attention to you so they can reach out to you before the end of the season. You'll also have plenty of time to pick a club that's right for you. ”

"Daniel, aren't you an Oxford United fan?

Chen Ping asked with a smile.

"Hey—"

Donaldson sighed and said: "Oxford United is a small club, and it is already the top of the day to be able to go to League One. And I also want to live, and I also hope to be a top journalist in this industry. ”

"You're so optimistic about me?"

"Yes. I believe in you, and I believe that you will be the best coach. I'm also counting on working with you to become the best journalist in football. I'm going to make money too, you say yes or no. ”

Chen Ping had a lot of things on his mind.

The football circle is one such circle. The coach has to deal with the senior management of the club, the player agent in the middle, and the team at the bottom. Of course, this process includes dealing with journalists.

Any successful coach has agents they are familiar with, journalists they are familiar with, and players from their direct lineage. And the cooperation of these people is not just a simple cooperation, it is often accompanied by huge economic benefits.

Chen Ping should do the same.

If you want to be successful, you must have a good relationship with some agents and predators, you must have a group of reporters who speak for you, and you must also have your own direct players.

Daniel Donaldson?

Will he be his ally? But at this stage, Chen Ping really needs someone to help him tout and let everyone in English football know his name. Although it can't be compared with those coaches in the Premier League, at least let the clubs in English football see Chen Ping's achievements. Let them have a little impression of themselves, and when they think about coaching in the future, they can also think of Chen Ping's name.

Therefore, Chen Ping said slowly: "Then I will thank you in advance." ”