Sean Davies joined Millwall without much of a splash.

Two seasons ago, Sean Davies was a well-known player and a number of clubs were keen to bring him in, including Everton, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers and many more.

Sean Davies is so popular because he has proven himself in the Premier League, adapting to Fulham's style of play and often other teams as well, with every club preferring players who are mature and have no adaptation problems who can quickly settle into the team and play a role.

Now, two seasons later, it's a different story.

Sean Davies' constant injuries have led to very few league appearances, only 15 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur last season, and so far this season, he has only started twice in the Carabao Cup and made one substitute appearance in the league, so the ball statistics are hard to believe, even if he is only 26 years old and still in his playing years, no team dares to guarantee how much Davies can still play.

When Millwall's official website announced the transfer of Sean Davies, there were many media reports on the news, but that's all, in the winter transfer that Arsenal and Manchester United have bought in large quantities, a million-pound player, it is difficult to cause much turmoil, especially the media analysis believes that "Zhang Yang chose to let Davies join, just to supplement the depth of the bench", and not many people paid attention to it.

It's a bit sad, but it's a reality in professional football.

Zhang Yang attaches great importance to the addition of Sean Davis, and on the first day of training, he took the initiative to introduce him to everyone. Sean Davis was then given a tactical document.

'You need to understand the stuff and then be clear about what to do when it comes to the game.

"That's what you're going to do for the week ahead."

"A week?"

Sean Davis was embarrassed to ask too much, and when he returned to the training ground, he just followed the team to maintain his condition under the arrangement of the assistant coach, and during the tactical training time, it became his personal 'literature lesson'.

Sean Davis was still a little confused, he asked the other teammates, and immediately a group of people enthusiastically explained, "You need to be familiar with the above content!" ”

"That's what our tactics are about!"

"That's a must, we're all here like this, you didn't participate in the summer preparations, otherwise you will be even more distressed!"

"Remind you, if you want to play, you must memorize it, and it is best to memorize every letter clearly......" The last sentence is from Joey Healy, which is actually a bit excessive, and the tactical content never needs to memorize every word, as long as you understand what is said above, you will be able to participate in tactical training, and when you are familiar with the matching routine, you will be able to play.

Although it is easy to say, the 'familiarity and cooperation' is not so simple, and the most conservative estimate is that Sean Davis will play for the team in about a month.

During this time, Sean Davis has to 'study hard', the good news is that he doesn't have to understand it himself, Zhang Yang specially let Aldous, who is responsible for explaining the content to Davis, and has an assistant coach to guide him, and the time to get familiar with the tactics will definitely be greatly shortened.

Soon the 22nd round of the Premier League came.

Millwall travel to Birmingham City to take on Aston Villa.

In the first half of the game, the result of the two teams was 2-0, this time it was Aston Villa's home stadium, and Millvolvo could not play at full strength, and the game was certainly not easy.

The British media has paid a lot of attention to Millwall, Millwall has suffered a wave of injuries, which has been disclosed by the media, and how much form Millwall can play has also been paid attention to by many people.

After beating Chelsea, Millwall have been defined as a 'title contender'.

Although there are still many people who are not optimistic about Millwall, but anyone must admit that Millwall's results are enough to qualify for the championship, but if it is because of the injury tide, which affects the entire team, the decline in performance is inevitable, the competition in the league is very fierce, and often the performance is not good for a period of time, it will be eliminated from the ranks of 'competing for the championship', one game can be three points short, three or four games are more than a dozen points, can Millwall maintain its form?

A lot of people are waiting and watching.

Zhang Yang attaches great importance to the game, and he also knows the team's current results, but he has just entered the ranks of 'winning the championship', and the difference with Chelsea has narrowed to three, and mistakes are definitely not allowed.

"Every league game counts! I know the situation of the team, but we have to fight for the win! "What Zhang Yang said to the players is that we have to try our best to beat the opponent.

Millwall's fighting spirit is good.

Ten days ago, just after the victory over Chelsea, it also made the team full of confidence, although there are many main players who are unable to play, at Villa Park, the whole Millwall team still played in good shape, and Aston Villa went head-to-head.

It's not easy.

Millwall was only a 'semi-main lineup' on the field, several sick players were unable to play, and Konchesky, who had just caught a cold, was put on the bench for fear of any accidents.

But Millwall is still performing very well, at least he thinks it is good, but the difficulty of the game is also certain, many people say that 'there is no weak team in Serie A', in terms of Millwall's squad strength, there is really no weak team in the Premier League, if the performance is not good, Sunderland, the last place, can fight with them, with the 'semi-main lineup' can play with Aston Villa, which is already a very good performance.

In the end, Millwall beat Aston Villa 2-3 away.

When the game ended, Zhang Yang let out a long breath.

This game is too difficult.

The game was tough from the first minute to the end, Aston Villa still had a period of time to lead the score, but fortunately in the end the team scored two points to achieve a comeback away from home, after surviving this game, some players who have a cold can also recover, and the next league will be better.

With the joy of victory, the whole Millwall team took the bus all the way back to London. After Zhang Yang returned to the club, he was about to leave directly, but he didn't expect to be called by Ebenezer and found the chairman's office.

"Something?"

Zhang Yang thought it was strange.

During Christmas, Gligory was sick and not in good health, and basically did not come to the club, and he did not even attend the FA drinking party, so he suddenly came to the club in the evening.

Zhang Yang went to the chairman's office, pushed open the door and saw Grigory and Ebenezer, no surprise, it was still the two of them.

"What's the matter?" Zhang Yang asked directly, he really wanted to go home and rest.

Ebenezer beckoned Zhang Yang to sit down.

The atmosphere in the office was a little weird, and Gregory and Ebenezer had heavy faces, as if something had really happened.

Zhang Yang didn't understand a little, but he didn't say anything, it was equivalent to Gligory speaking, and finally the old man still spoke, "There is one thing, I think you should know, because you are the head coach of the team." ”

"Huh?"

Grigory's serious look made Zhang Yang frown unconsciously, "What's going on?" ”

Grigory hesitated, but finally spoke, "You should have heard the latest news, right?" That's a fact. There is a company from Saudi Arabia that is in the process of acquiring a stake in the club. ”

Zhang Yang frowned.

Millwall is not listed, the shares are all split from the membership period, and there are only five major shareholders who hold more than 5% of the shares, of which Grigori, Kurd-Matt and Glick hold about the same shares, a total of about 65% of the shares, and the rest are scattered shares in the hands of fans.

Last week, Mr. Glick sold his stake to the Saudis.

It wasn't a big deal, but Glick only had a 19 percent stake, which was not as much as Grigory's, and had little impact on the club.

Now it looks like that's not the case!

Grigory continued, "I asked Glick why he wanted to sell his stake in the club and the result was that he offered a price that he couldn't refuse. ”

"How much?"

"Nineteen million pounds!"

“……”

Zhang Yang knew why Glick didn't refuse.

Nineteen percent of the shares, selling 19 million pounds, absolutely can't refuse, Millwall was promoted to the Premier League, including nearly half a season, the value of each team has increased, and the market value is no more than 60 million pounds at most.

That's just the market capitalization.

Millwall Club still has a lot of debt pressure, the amount of bank arrears is definitely not small, in addition, Neil Stadium does not belong to Millwall, it is a competitive bid, the city government approved the club to use the stadium, they only have the right to use, not the right to sell.

Wait a minute.

In short, it is absolutely inconceivable that a 19 percent stake can be sold for a high price of 19 million pounds.

"The Saudis are really rich!"

Zhang Yang sighed.

Grigory smiled bitterly, "Indeed, I can't refuse, I got the news that Kurdish Matt was also contacted, and he is hesitating." If the Kurds decide to sell their shares, they will hold more than 44 percent of the shares. ”

Zhang Yang knew what that meant.

Millwall FC is not listed, a large part of the shares, in the hands of scattered fans, if the other party can own 44% of the shares, to complete the acquisition of 51%, is too simple.

In addition, with 44 percent of the shares, they are already the largest shareholders of the club, and they are qualified to meddle in the affairs of the club, and even decide on the selection of the chairman and other personnel appointments.

Gregory had more to say than just other shares being acquired, "I was also contacted. Again, a price is given that is hard to refuse. ”

"How much?"

"Fifteen million pounds." Gregory spoke up without hesitation.

“……？”

Zhang Yang's mind didn't turn for a while.

Nineteen percent of Grig's shares can be sold for nineteen million pounds, and Grigory's shares are more than 20 percent, how can it become fifteen million?

Gregory and Ebenezer both took it for granted, and felt that fifteen million pounds was not a lot.

Zhang Yang suddenly came back to his senses.

The other party already has a large amount of shares in their hands, has the absolute initiative, and at the same time contacts Gregory and Kurdish Matt, it is best to buy the shares held by the two, and if they can't buy them, they can also buy them from scattered fans, and recently expand the share holdings.

The other party doesn't seem to be in a hurry.

In terms of time, it is only January, and the other side will make a big move, at least until April or May, whether Gligory sells his shares or not, it will be difficult to keep his position as chairman next season.

In addition, the fact that Grigory's shares can be sold for a high price of 15 million pounds is really tempting.

Zhang Yang took a deep breath, "So, what about your decision?" ”

Gregory hesitated, but finally sighed, "I'm moved. ”

"I've thought about it for a long time, and in fact, even if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't have been in the chair for long. I'm old. I used to wonder what Millwall was going to do when I left my position. We're just a small club, we don't have a lot of money, we can't buy a lot of stars to supplement the squad like other teams, and now we have foreign money to join, maybe it's a good thing. Like Chelsea, maybe in 10 or 20 years, Millwall is really likely to be a giant? ”

"That's my dream ......"

Gregory used a 'dream' explanation to explain why he agreed to the acquisition, but Zhang Yang understood that the biggest reason was the temptation of money.

That's fifteen million pounds!

A year ago, Millwall's total market capitalisation was no more than 10 million pounds, and it would be good if Grigory's shares could sell for 2 or 3 million pounds.

Millwall promoted the Premier League, and played excellent results in the front, many players in the team showed considerable strength, and the value assessment also rose rapidly, and the overall value of the club also increased greatly.

He couldn't have been unmoved by the money before it was placed in Gligory, as he himself said, "I'm old." ”

Gregory is old!

An old man no longer has much energy to devote to the work of the club, and at this age he should enjoy life, with such a large amount of money, he can live a relaxed and leisurely life, and no longer have to worry about the club.

That's all that matters.

Zhang Yang respects Grigory's choice, because from another angle, let him stand in Grigory's position, he will probably make the same choice, right?

In addition, Gligory's choice is actually not important.

When foreign investors set their sights on Millwall and complete their first acquisition from Glick, everything seemed to be foregone.

This is also the sadness of the small club.

This is the case in the world of commercial football, where clubs with huge influence in the world, such as Manchester United, have little resistance in the face of foreign capital, and are bought out in a few months, and the owner is directly replaced by an American, let alone Millwall.