Chapter 3: A Group of Old Boys

Leeds United's training camp for the new season has finally begun......

When Shaq stepped on the training ground of Thorpe's Arch training base again, he was no longer the hairy boy he was at the beginning, but the world's number one star with the halo of "King of Football" on his head!

Eight European Golden Balls in nine years, eight consecutive World Football Federation Golden Ball Awards, and a bunch of Golden Boot awards, plus eight Champions League trophies, five Premier League titles, five La Liga titles, and a lot of large and small championship trophies, Shaq's aura is dazzling.

Leeds United fans refused to even let go of a training session, with as many as four or five thousand people cheering Shaq's name outside the barbed wire fence at the training ground, and their adoration of Shaq had reached the point of no return.

"Shaq!"

"Shaq!"

Haven't walked into the training ground yet, Jonny arrived first? Hausen, Nelson? Oliveira, prunes? Vrsariko, Ronegan, Pivkovsky, Chris? Farley, Ben? Parker, Ashley? Hood and the others shouted Shaq's name, and then walked over one by one.

"Brother, thank you!"

Johnny? Hausen gave Shaq a hug as soon as he came up, he and Shaq have been friends for more than ten years, and they still understand Shaq's character, this brother who has no ambition outside of football, is definitely because he wants to save the team to adopt his own opinion, otherwise Shaq is unlikely to buy the "Young Guard", compared to Shack's investment of 400 million pounds, their old courtiers' initiative to cut their salaries is really not worth mentioning.

"Jonny, if you don't want my investment to go down the drain, let's take everyone to do a good job!"

"Hahaha, of course!"

Johnny? After Howson laughed happily, others came up one by one to thank Shaq for the stars who had grown up at Leeds United. It can be said that they have witnessed the rise, rise and fall of Leeds United, and after so many years, even the players who are not from Thorpe Arch are full of affection for the team, and they naturally do not want to leave without leaving, and now they can stay here to train and prepare for the new season, which is all due to Shaq.

A group of old brothers looked at Shaq, who had begun to wrinkle in the corners of his eyes. I was full of emotion for a while, who would have thought that Shaq, who could only rely on his body to eat his opponent raw, would have today!?

Even if the world's number one star is concerned, he has the ability to invest in the acquisition of Leeds United and become the owner of the team, which is really ...... Alas!

Speechless!

Du Xiaoguang and Chen Jinlong are two boys because of the relationship with Sha Ke and Ben? Parker is familiar, naturally with Jonny? Hausen and others got together, and the new team members of Belakta, Ksloff, and Diaz also actively moved closer to Shaq, and more than just fans worship Shaq in this world. Even if there are a lot of players, even Ashley, who is now 26 years old? Hood, who is still a former and a poster, openly admits that he admires Shaq, and has always taken Shaq as his goal to catch up and learn, of course, this target is Shaq, who used to play in the back.

As for Phil? Jones, Frank? Murray, Tobias, Miguel, Wither and other players that Shaq knows and doesn't know also have great respect for Shaq, of course, not only for Shaq's achievements, but also for subordinates to their bosses and subordinates for their superiors.

Simon? Grayson and his coaching staff arrived. The players are already very well with each other, and everyone is vaguely centered on Shaq. This made "Brutal Simon" quite satisfied.

Simon? Grayson walked to that stop and began to talk eloquently: "I think you are all familiar with me, many of you have worked with me before, and those who have not worked with me will probably have heard of me, so you must be clear...... From today, from this moment. You're going to give me a hard time trying to win the championship! ”

"Huh!"

Simon? Grayson raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the gate of the Thorpe Arch training base, and said sternly: "Whoever can't hold on, hurry up and walk out of that door for me!" My team doesn't want the kind of player who doesn't have a championship heart! Now I'm going to give you a chance...... Those who don't want to suffer, who don't want to pay, who feel that they can't afford to win the championship for Leeds, can leave there. I would never put a barrier in the way of transfer fees! ”

Naturally, no fool is a bird, and how fierce "Brutal Simon" is, the whole of European football is well aware that the champion coach has won countless titles, and his harsh demands are the guarantee of his achievements.

What's more, there are many people in this Leeds United team who have experienced the team in Simon? Grayson rose and swept across Europe, and then rose and fell in Alain? Shearer's leadership was successful again, and then at the end of last season the team completely sank due to financial problems, and even qualified for the Europa League because of financial problems, until Shaq paid 400 million to give Leeds United a chance to survive again.

It is precisely because of this experience that some of the old players in the team cherish the opportunity at hand, professional players are also people, no one likes to wander around and constantly transfer, playing in a club for a long time will have deep feelings, even if the team has a poor record, they will not leave until they have to, and they will not transfer easily until they have to, and now that "Brutal Simon" and Shaq are back together, the future of the "Young Guard" is already very worth looking forward to, perhaps...... They still have a chance to taste the championship trophy again, right?

"Good!"

Simon? Grayson nodded and smiled with satisfaction: "Since you still want to succeed, then do what I ask, I promise, when you meet my requirements, success will not be too far away from us!" Alright, let's start training! ”

Simon? Grayson waved his hand and gestured to the first team's strength and conditioning coach, Adrian? Ramby is starting to lead the team in training......

At the beginning of the new season, of course, the training program is inseparable from physical training, even if there are outstanding physical players like Shaq in the team, as well as Chen Jinlong, Du Xiaoguang, Wither, and Hakan? For young people with outstanding physical fitness, such as Belakta and "Little Ben", physical reserves are still a key to a team's success throughout the season.

Looking at Shaq, Jonny? Hausen, Nelson? Oliveira, prunes? Vrsarico, Ben? Parker, Roonegan, Pivkowski, "Little Ben", Ashley? Hood and others have wrinkles in the corners of their eyes or have a stable and mature face, Simon? Grayson also felt a lot of emotion in his heart, he led this group of young men to conquer England and conquer Europe, and now he is ...... Everybody's getting old!

And then look at the 16-year-old Alex, who has just been transferred from the youth team? Lens, Jace? Brookman, Danny? Viklin. There are also young people such as Chen Jinlong, Du Xiaoguang, Belakta, Wither, Miguel, Kslov, Simon? Grayson's heart couldn't be calm, both nostalgic for the old days and full of anticipation for the future.

Suddenly, Simon? Grayson had an urge to make the Young Guard his last stop in his coaching career!

Champion...... I don't know how much I took anymore!

Personal honors, Simon? Grayson doesn't know how much he has gained either!

Money...... That's not a problem. Simon? Grayson is worth enough for his children!

The only thing missing is that sense of belonging, Simon? Grayson found that he didn't feel as comfortable at home as he did when he was at Manchester United, at Barcelona, or even when he was in charge of the Three Lions, and even though it had been almost a decade since he left the Elland Road stadium and the Thorpe Arch training base, when he returned, he still felt like he was at home.

Maybe...... It's really a good challenge to train one star after another in the future and lead the "Young Guard" back to the top of Europe, right!?

Simon at this moment? Grayson. Suddenly I felt that I finally understood the mood of the "old man" Ferguson!

Back to Leeds this time, Simon? Grayson was forced by Shack to sign a five-year contract with an annual salary of £2.4 million. Grayson's own idea is that he doesn't want money at all, and he also wants to only contribute to Leeds United like Shaq, but Shaq refuses to let him suffer a big loss, so that Simon? Grayson has to get at least £10 million a year, otherwise he is a bit unworthy of his title as the "world's No. 1 manager".

Eventually, the master and apprentice reached an agreement, Simon? Grayson Ken took the money. But he was only willing to accept an annual salary of 2.4 million pounds, otherwise he would not have signed a contract!

Think of Simon? Grayson enjoyed an annual salary of 30 million euros as the world's No. 1 manager while at Barcelona. Looking at the current 2.4 million pounds, any Leeds United supporter, even those who look at "Brutal Simon" unpleasantly, has to admit that Simon? Grayson's return to the Young Guard is definitely not coming back for personal gain, he just wants to do something for the team he once loved.

There is a manager who is not willing to enjoy a high salary. With a group of stars who have taken the initiative to reduce their salaries to reduce the financial pressure on the club, and with a united heart, it seems that the "Young Guards" in the new season have initially met the conditions for success, and the next ...... It's up to this team to perform!

Under the "urging" of nearly 10,000 fans every day, the players of Leeds United completed the pre-season training tasks with quality and quantity. These players are no strangers to "solar system tactics" and quickly entered their roles.

In the pre-season warm-up matches, the "Young Guards" performed quite well, in addition to the 1:1 draw between the lead singer and Paris Saint-Germain, the away games against CSKA Moscow, Anderlecht, Dortmund, Rozeheim, Scandhorpe, Colorado Rapids and other teams all won the game.

Six consecutive wins have boosted the team's morale and fighting spirit, after all, Dortmund, CSKA Moscow, and Anderlecht still have some strength in these six teams, and it is very difficult to beat these teams away from home, but the "Young Guards" have done it.

And Leeds United didn't rely on Schak to do all this, in fact Schak only played two games and scored three goals, German midfielder Frank? Murray scored four goals, Pivkowski, Jonny? Hausen also scored 3 goals, and Nelson? Oliveira's six goals, as well as Bruckman, Lens, Ashley? Contribution of Hood et al.

Overall, Leeds United have been doing quite well in the warm-ups, with six wins and one draw being too good for a team that has just gone through turmoil in the summer and spent a further £27 million on the transfer market. (To be continued......)