During the international break, York City certainly didn't stop either.

They beat Plymouth 2-1 in the second round of the group stage of the unimportant English Championship before heading to Oxford United in League One.

As an old rival of the same League Two team last season, York City at this time is no longer what it used to be.

Even away from home, they still played vigorously and won 3-1 in the end.

After returning to home, York City continued to gain momentum and beat Swindon 3-1.

After the international break, York City were held to a 0-0 draw by Boehly in the next away game, but soon won 1-0 against Peterborough United.

The most exciting game came at home to Bradford at York City.

Bradford are only fourth, but like York City, they are unbeaten.

Of course, this is mainly because they have too many draws, a total of 8! This also gives them a certain gap to York City's points.

And this match in the 16th round of League One became a goal battle.

Just four minutes into the game, from a corner, De Ligt's header was deflected wide and Baker's header was on the back of the net to open York City's opener.

Just seven minutes later, it was Baker's header again!

This time it was a pick pass from Lin Liangming's left side, and the big center forward headed the goal from close range to further expand the score.

Towards the end of the first half, Tomiyasu suddenly stepped forward and smashed into the right side of the penalty area, receiving a pass from Kulusevski to score another goal for York City.

After the restart-up in the second half, Bradford took the opportunity to launch a wave of onslaught and took advantage of the fact that the York City defence was a little absent-minded to score twice in a row.

After the score was tied at 3:2, York City's situation was precarious.

But at the critical moment, an assist from Rice in the 76th minute allowed Armand to score another goal for York City on the left side of the penalty area, extending the score again to 4-2.

In stoppage time, Baker made a wall in the penalty area, received the ball and did it back, and Lin Liangming inserted it to add the icing on the cake to York City.

Five to two!

In the end, York City beat Bradford 5-2 at home.

With this victory, York City also became the only remaining unbeaten team in League One.

After this round, York City is at the top of the table with 12 wins, 4 draws and 40 points, and in second place is Scnthorpe with 34 points.

This not-so-well-known team has been a dark horse this year and seems to be ambitious to break into the Championship, at least for now.

In third place is Bolton Wanderers with 31 points, Bradford with 29 points in fourth, then Sheffield United with 28 points and Bristol Rovers with 26 points in six.

These six teams form the first group that is currently impacting the Championship.

——

"Jason, have you noticed that Lionel seems to have a lot more gray hair lately!"

Pan Yi stood in front of the window of the chairman's office, looking at the training ground in the distance, and Chairman Jason McGill was standing beside him.

The chairman's office is on the second floor, and the training ground is right outside the window, so you can see the situation there at a glance.

At this time, Lionel Scaloni was watching the first-team training from the sidelines, and his assistant Kaski kept shouting, apparently instructing the players in training.

During this time, the team has achieved good results and has become the biggest promotion favourites in League One this season.

As the head coach, Scaloni obviously does not want to drop the chain at a critical moment, so he has been strictly grasping the team's training, and the entire training base is filled with a smoke of war.

"Well, I see he's been under a lot of pressure lately, working so late every day, and I've heard that he's been staying up late lately watching the opponent's game footage and stats!" McGill said.

Pan Yi nodded lightly.

Although he would have asked him to relax and not push himself too hard when he was talking to Scaloni about tactics, it was clear that it didn't work.

Scaloni is really desperate in order to repay Pan Yi's kindness, and at the same time, to be able to meet Pan Yi's requirements as soon as possible.

This is not yet 40 years old, and there is already a little gray hair on his sideburns.

But there is no way, isn't this the reason why Pan Yi chose Scaloni?

He is the kind of person who is very diligent, so diligent that he can't let go of everything that can affect the game, even the smallest details, and sometimes Pan Yi suspects that he is a little paranoid.

But it is precisely because of this paranoia, coupled with a harmonious attitude and high emotional intelligence, that Scaloni is deeply loved by the players, and this season York City has been getting better and better, and now he is a strong contender for the title.

Pan Yi thought for a while and said, "You find a time to talk to him and ask the coaching staff if they want to expand the number of people, it may be too many things to do yourself." I'll help him find someone if needed. ”

The number of first-team coaches in York City is a bit underwhelming at the moment.

In addition to a goalkeeper coach and a conditioning coach, that is, an assistant coach Kaski.

And this Kaski, he works hard and gets along with the players, but after all, he is only a coach left over from Old York, and his ability is average.

That said, it's okay for him to be in charge of some day-to-day training, but it's hard to help Scaloni with deeper tasks like tactical design.

As a result, Scaloni basically has to grasp everything with one hand, and there is really no one who can rely on him.

In this case, Pan Yi naturally wanted to find a few people to help him.

McGill nodded in agreement, and was about to walk out, when he ran into Horta running headlong into him.

Victor Horta is a Spaniard who is now the club's director of football.

He is only 37 years old this year, but he has already served as the director of teams such as Valladolid, Sevilla, Zenit, Elche and Middlesbrough, and is a highly rated football director in FM games.

In Pan Yi's previous life, this guy later joined fellow Yorkshire Leeds United and helped oversee the club's reforms, which also led to Leeds' return to the Premier League in 2020.

And now, Pan Yi has poached him from Middlesbrough first and put him in charge of the team's commercial management.

Although Chairman Jason McGill is a big fan of York City and has absolute enthusiasm and loyalty to York City, some things still need some people with strong business skills to do.

And the arrival of Horta can also share McGill's work well.

After Valentina stepped down as chief financial officer, Horta was also in charge of finance and operations.

It can be said that the current York City is McGill's main house, Horta's main out, and Scaloni's training and competition.

As for the boss Pan Yi......

I don't care, but at the same time, I don't care.

Even big and small matters will be reported to him, but he generally does not interfere. Only when he encounters something that only he can do, Pan Yi will personally go out.

That's how Pan Yi can live his boss life comfortably, and then take the time to give Arteta some pointers here and Lippi as a consultant there.

"Hey, what's the good thing today, so happy!" Looking at Horta's face full of spring breeze, McGill asked curiously.

Ortahaha laughed: "You can see this!" Because I went to help the club and made a lot of money back! ”

"Oh?" At this point, McGill stopped, and Pan Yi also came over curiously to listen.

Horta explained: "I went to meet our sponsor and went through the contract all over again. Obviously, the original contract is not very reasonable, because we were promoted before, but now we are the strongest team in League One, and the value is definitely different! ”

McGill and Pan Yi glanced at each other.

They hadn't thought much of it.

After all, as a League Two or League One team, it's good to be honest and find sponsors.

If it weren't for Pan Yi's face, how could this Musk and Abu's company come to the door?

Maybe you can only find a local stationery store to advertise in the end.

Then this Horta is not simple, can you actually raise the sponsorship fee again?

"I talked to them all and they thought I had a point, so they decided to add 50% to the original sponsorship fee for the second half of the season! Of course, I also give them feedback, such as giving them all the billboards in the stadium to display. ”

"Moreover, the sponsorship contract will also become a one-year model, with League One being the price of League One and the Championship being the price of the Championship. In other words, if we can successfully reach the Championship this season, the sponsorship fee can be increased significantly! ”

"I will rent out the rest of the billboards, and I will keep a few of them as public service announcements. When the expansion of our stadium is completed, our stadium can accommodate about 20,000 spectators, which is also a big publicity platform. ”

"Of course, as our results get better and better, more TV stations are willing to broadcast our games, which is also a lot of revenue, and the billboards will be even better......

Horta talked eloquently, and Pan Yi and McGill also nodded frequently.

The money-making part is fine, it's Horta's job, and he's doing a good job.

To be honest, this kind of thing, even if Pan Yi goes into battle in person, it may not be better than what he does - after all, many times Pan Yi only needs to brush his face, and if he can't brush his face, sometimes he doesn't know what to do.

And Horta mentioned public service advertisements or something, which Pan Yi has paid more attention to recently.

In the last year or two, Pan Yi has also set up a foundation in the name of York City FC to serve the community and fans, as well as some charitable activities.

For example, in their free time, some players in York City will visit the elderly and children in the local nursing homes and children's welfare homes, and also bring them some gifts and send blessings;

If there are some die-hard fans who have difficulties in life, the foundation will also give enough help, such as providing job opportunities and helping children go to school.

The establishment of such a foundation, in addition to Pan Yi really wants to do something practical for the local people, will actually greatly enhance the club's image in the local area.

This is very important for an English football club that is based in the community.

In Yorkshire, the biggest team is now Leeds United, who are still the best team in Yorkshire and the best team in history despite being in the Championship.

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday are undoubtedly above Yorktown.

Pan Yi established such a foundation to make all Yorkshire fans remember the York City team in another dimension besides improving the team's performance.

"This is a team that truly belongs to the people of Yorkshire!"

York City still has a long way to go to make Yorkshire people aware of this and get more people to support Yorktown Club.

So in addition to the foundation, York City will also make its own contribution to more public welfare causes, which of course includes the free public service advertisements that Horta just mentioned.

"In fact, our foundation and philanthropic activities have not only boosted the reputation of our club, but have even helped me develop my business operations."

Horta continued: "Due to the improvement of the club's image, many players have also become attractive to advertisers. ”

"For example, a razor company approached Baker, and Armand received an invitation to endorse a facial cleanser."

"Of course, Tomiyasu Kenhiro from Japan is more sought-after, and many Japanese companies have approached him, including Okamoto, saying that Tomiyasu's defense is solid, just like Okamoto......"

"Oh, Lin Liangming's performance has also been very good recently, and there are countless endorsements from the Dragon Kingdom. I'll talk about that for now, but of course I'll do it without affecting their training and games......"

The three of them were chatting, and just as Scaloni had finished team training, he happened to have something to do and came to Pan Yi and walked into the chairman's office.

Hearing them talking, Scaloni inquired.

McGill told Scaloni the good news again, and Horta took the opportunity to discuss with Scaloni about arranging for the players to shoot commercials for the manufacturer.

Scaloni said with a smile that he and the players would cooperate with the club's business activities as long as the time was right.

He has been a head coach for more than a year, and he knows that being a coach is not just about leading the team in training and games.

In addition to being a confidant in the locker room and fighting in press conferences, he often has to do things that he may not have been willing to do.

For example, such a business activity.

But there is a lot more to football than football.

Commercial activities can bring back money, raise the profile of the club, and sometimes boost the goodwill of the fans.

For example, why do many big teams go to the United States, Asia and other places to play games during summer training?

This is actually not very good from the point of view of pure football, after all, it is a long journey and a lot of cars.

But from a commercial point of view, such a game can earn appearance fees and please local fans, so why not?

Including asking coaches and players to record a video during the New Year's holidays, saying "Happy New Year" in various languages, etc., although you can't make money, you will definitely get a good impression.

Therefore, Scaloni is fully supportive of the commercial activities prepared by the club's top management, if there is no special time conflict or anything.

If you are really a little uncomfortable in your heart, look at Pan Yi, who is also the master and boss!

What an effort he has made to raise the profile of Yorktown!

It is also a foundation, actively participating in various community activities, and working hard to shoot videos and upload them to become Internet celebrities......

Pan Yi is so handsome and works so hard, are you embarrassed not to do it!

"By the way, since everyone is here today, I'll also talk about the planning of the facilities around the stadium."

As he spoke, Horta pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and placed it on his desk.

Spread out, this is a map of the vicinity of the West Siberian Stadium in York City.

"At the moment our team is getting better and better, and more and more fans are coming to the stadium. The current parking space is sufficient, but when the expansion of the stadium is completed, I am afraid that there will be problems. ”

"So, I'm going to walk on two legs to solve this problem. The first is to expand the parking lot outward, and consider building an underground parking lot, otherwise it will be difficult to meet the requirements of doubling the number of vehicles. ”

"Secondly, it is to make public transportation more convenient, so that more fans can watch the game without having to drive, which saves parking spaces. Of course, we can't do this ourselves. ”

"So I'm going to talk to the government and ask that in the new round of urban planning, we will take this into account and arrange more bus routes to pass through us, and at the same time arrange more stops here."

"Due to the improvement of our club's results and image, Yorkshire officials are very willing to give us some policy tilt. What's more, such a plan can indeed facilitate the travel of the people around the stadium, and at the same time can also drive the economic construction of this area. ”

"And once there are more and more convenient ways to come here, it will also attract more fans to watch the game, which is a win-win situation!"

Listening to Horta's analysis, Pan Yi also agreed.

Sometimes, fans don't come in to watch the game, it's really not because they don't like it, or they don't have the money to watch it.

The main thing is inconvenience!

Too far, too congested, inconvenient to park...... Wait a minute.

It's the same as where to go shopping, going to the movies, going to the show.

If everything is convenient, then you will be more willing to go out.

Don't look at York City's full stadium right now, but if the stadium expands to 20,000 people, it may not be.

What's more, Pan Yi's ultimate idea is to build a brand new stadium, which may be able to accommodate 50,000 or 60,000 people at that time!

That's even more dissatisfying.

After all, the population of the entire North Yorkshire is only a few hundred thousand!

Therefore, it is necessary to attract more West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire fans to watch.

There are more people in these two places, with more than a million people in South Yorkshire and more than two million in West Yorkshire.

Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to make the club bigger and stronger, and take root in the people, so that more Yorkshire people regard York City Club as their first home team;

On the other hand, it is necessary to do a good job of transportation, so that it is more convenient and faster for them to come here to watch the game!

"In addition, I can also talk to the government about the commercial facilities near the stadium, and strive to make the surrounding area a big shopping mall and a big supermarket."

"In this way, people can not only come here to watch football, but also to shop, go shopping, and have fun. When the time comes, the value around the stadium will also rise! ”

"And if we want to build a new stadium, we can also reserve a piece of land first, which is in the northeast corner of the current stadium. When the new course is completed, the old course can be converted into a new commercial center......"

Hearing what Horta said, Pan Yi and the others were also a little excited.

Sure enough, it's a business wizard, awesome!

And this is actually the biggest advantage of York City FC.

That is, although the place where the stadium is located is not in the city center, it is an open space, and the potential for development is very large.

If it's in a place like London, where every inch of land is at a premium, how can there be such a toss for you?

If you really build a new commercial center around York City Stadium – both old and new – and bring in shopping malls or other hospitality and retail businesses to run the surrounding land, it would be a real deal.

Once formed, just collecting rent is a very large income, not to mention the income brought to the club itself because of drainage.

"I really didn't expect that being a team owner can become a charter company......

However, even though Pan Yi thought about it in his heart, he still did not forget to remind Horta that commercial development is important, but everything must be remembered, and the bottom line of business is not to affect the team's results and preparations!

Therefore, when Horta's business plan conflicts with the team's training and games, it is important to reach out to Scaloni and McGill as soon as possible and discuss the countermeasures together.

Horta nodded yes, and Scaloni respected Pan Yi more.

After all, he is a manager-turned-owner, and he will never look at a football club only from a business point of view.

Athletics and results are the heart of a team!

"By the way, I just wanted Jason to ask you, do you need an assistant coach?" Pan Yi asked Scaloni.

Scaloni nodded unceremoniously: "I'm a little too busy. League One is intense, the schedule is intense, and in two days we have the English Championship and FA Cup again......

"No problem, leave it to me." Pan Yi did a stretching exercise, "It just so happens that I haven't gone out to surf for a while......"