While anxiously waiting for Alonso's reply, Arthur received a call from Monchi. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

After listening to Monchi's report on his trip to China, Arthur was in a very happy mood, and even the irritability caused by Alonso's hesitation was gone.

"Monchi, well done! Although Chinese football is very unstable at present, and there may not be great development in the future, China's football market is thriving, and your step is definitely comparable to Armstrong's moon landing! Arthur complimented on the phone.

"Boss, your compliment like this will make me proud." Monchi replied with a smile.

"Well, Monchi, there's a change now, and I need you to come back as soon as possible." A thought suddenly flashed through Arthur's mind, and then he ordered: "I'm not asking you to go back to Blackburn, but to let you go directly to Spain, I need you to help me persuade a young player." ”

"No problem." Without hesitation, Monchi agreed.

After Monchi hung up the phone, Arthur sat in his boss's chair, and during the call, he suddenly remembered that Monchi was a recently retired Spanish player. The communication between Monchi and Alonso, who are also fellow Spaniards, will definitely be better than their own empty words.

What he can show is Blackburn's greatest sincerity, while Monchi can talk to Alonso about technical and tactical aspects and human feelings, and I believe that after the two-pronged approach, Alonso will definitely be more inclined to loan Blackburn.

"However, Tony's problem is really a headache." Arthur shook his head, continuing to think about his first five-year plan.

This season is the peak period of the "Red Devils" Manchester United, which will create the great cause of three consecutive Premier League titles and create another dynasty period. Arsenal and Liverpool can only cause a little trouble for Manchester United.

However, Blackburn Rovers are still in League One this season, so Arthur doesn't care too much about the Premier League situation this season, and for Blackburn's results this season, Arthur really thinks that as long as he can be promoted, he really doesn't care too much about the rankings.

What is the value of a League One trophy?

The best of the bunch of losers?

Next season, Blackburn will certainly be able to compete in the Premier League again, but this time the Premier League will be the king of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, and the defending champions Manchester United have even been overtaken by old rivals Liverpool in the standings.

"Remember Leeds United or Newcastle coming in fourth place in the Premier League next season? Anyway, it doesn't seem that the points are high. Arthur pondered.

In the second season of Arthur's first five-year plan, Blackburn, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, were set to finish fourth, that is, to qualify for the Champions League.

"If you do that, we don't have much hope of winning the title for at least two seasons, but it's okay to add a bit of a block to the traditional top three of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal." Arthur touched his chin and shook his head in thought.

"However, in the 02-03 season, Manchester United and Arsenal competed for most of the season, although Ferguson was still superior, but in the middle of that season, Ferguson and Beckham's 'flying boot goal' was in a big uproar, can I take advantage of this opportunity?"

A wicked smile appeared at the corner of Arthur's mouth, and he thought: "Although I was a Manchester United fan in my previous life, but Sir Alex Ferguson, then I'm sorry, I won't let go of this good opportunity, and then it will be me and my Blake who will be the leading role, haha." ”

……

After Monchi arrived in Spain to speak to Alonso, who finally agreed to spend the season on loan at Blackburn, who finally signed a loan deal with Real Sociedad for Alonso, including a €5 million buy-out deal strongly requested by Arthur.

However, the 2000/01 season of English League One has already kicked off after Alonso has just arrived at Blackburn Rovers and completed a medical examination, and before he even has time to complete a press conference with the new players of the new team.

On 7 August, Blackburn Rovers took on Queens Park Rangers at Ewood Park, while new signing Alonso could only sit on the sidelines.

Queens Park Rangers are a long-established powerhouse in English football, a founding member of the Premier League in 1992 and even ranked the best London ball in their first Premier League season, but were relegated to League One in 1996 due to their 19th place in the Premier League, and then to League Two.

As the first game of the new season, and it is a home game, Souness is definitely the main force except for the new players who have not yet completed the run-in with the team.

The Ewood Park stadium was a big one ever, and the stadium reverberated with the cheers of Blackburn fans!

After the pre-game cultural activities of the new season, the starters of both sides of the game took the hands of the little caddies and walked into the stadium, and the Blackburn team song also sounded at the same time.

"Isn't it very good, do you want to change it? I remember a lot of songs in my previous life that were widely sung and fit well with Blackburn, but I don't know who to sing? Will it cost a lot? Arthur pondered as he sat in the special box of the team chairman.

Just as Arthur began to think about changing the team anthem again, the players of the two teams lined up in the stadium with their heads held high, looking majestic and ready for a big battle.

"The 2000-2001 season of the English First Division is about to begin and we are at Ewood Park, the home of Blackburn Rovers, who are one of the favourites to win this season's League One title......

"Next, let's take a look at the starting line-ups for both sides."

Blackburn Rovers start: 4-5-1.

Goalkeeper: 1 - Friedel.

Defenders: 3 - Finnan, 4 - Henning Berg, 5 - Peacock, 2 - Jeff Kenna.

Midfielders: 19-Gillespie, 26-Carsley, 22-Simon? Grayson, 8-David Dunn, 11-Damian? Duff.

Forward: 9 - Ben Boggs. ”

After seeing the team's starting lineup, Arthur also shook his head slightly, lamenting that he took over the team and started the transfer time before the new season was too short.

Although the strength of the new Blackburn players is good, except for the full-back Finnan, who was in League One with Blackburn last season and has played several times, and Friedel as a goalkeeper, the players of the new team are not familiar with the team's tactics and are far from meeting the tactical requirements of being able to play, so the current strength of this Blackburn team has not changed much compared with last season.

With the referee's whistle, Blackburn's first game of the new season kicked off, and Arthur also removed his big hand from his secretary Abby's waist and sat up straight to watch the game intently.

In the first five minutes of the game, both teams were cautiously probing and did not find a single attack near the opposition penalty area.

But with the coaches of both teams yelling from the sidelines and the fans shouting wildly from the stands, the game quickly went into a very nice head-to-head battle.

Clearly, the inconsistency of most teams in the first game of the season was evident in today's Queens Park Rangers and Blake themselves.

Facing Blackburn Rovers at home, the Queens Park Rangers players are still quite self-aware, and they chose to play defensive counter-attacking without caring about the so-called face.

The strategy paid off, and after holding on to Blackburn's first 20 minutes of first-half bombardment, they relied on a quick counter-attack to open the scoring line.

"The performance is very consistent, and we don't lose against the weak teams." This is Arthur's assessment of Blackburn at the moment, and it is very accurate.

Even after falling behind 0:1 at home, Blackburn's generals did not have any discouragement and frustration, and they still grasped the initiative of the game with superior strength.

For Blackburn, who are currently in attack, a goal conceded is not fatal.

Sure enough, in the 22nd minute of the game, Blackburn Rovers seized the opportunity to equalize the score, and the biggest contribution to this goal was Blackburn Rovers winger Duff, who was the most interesting in the game.

The Irishman's defense against the Queens Park Rangers centre-backs was a word "fast", and the continuous desire and acceleration made the opponent completely at a loss.

After another perfect combination of speed and flexibility, Duff used the outside instep to flick the ball towards the middle, with a beautiful arc and fast speed, four or five metres away from the goalkeeper.

Since the ball is passed with the outside instep, it spins backwards. David Dunn took advantage of his impact to kick the ground hard, throwing his body out almost at the same time as the opposing central defender, and using the cushion to "reach" the ball.

David Dunn took advantage and slotted the ball into the net with ease before the goalkeeper could punch it out. Although he was not a good scorer, he scored Blackburn's first goal of the season.

The game went on, and the attack went on without stopping.

After the equaliser, Blackburn Rovers regained the initiative and just four minutes after their last goal, they had another good chance.

Duff, who was backfoot on the right, took advantage of a beautiful anti-offside position to get a one-on-one chance.

However, it is a pity that the Irish star, who is good at long-range shots and heavy bombardments from the corner of the penalty area, did not take advantage of the opportunity, and his push was obviously not as accurate as the regular striker, and the ball grazed the post and rolled off the line.

Arthur folded his hands and quickly parted, sighing along with the nearly 30,000 Blackburn fans in the stands.

In the 32nd minute of the first half, Manchester United waiver Gillespie found Ben Boggs between the two centre-backs in midfield and then fired a through ball that had already spotted his team-mate's movement as he stopped the ball.

Ben Boggs, who was poor in shooting, was not greedy and knocked his heel before the two defenders were about to 'close the goal' and returned the ball to Gillespie, who was following him.

The Northern Irishman shot imaginatively, as if he were taking a set-piece on the spot, and after a wonderful curling kick, the score became 2-1 and Blackburn Rovers finally took the lead at home.