Chapter 11: The Man Who Interested Yang Cheng
Just as the Modric hearing was wrapping up, a surprise twist hit the transfer market: Huddlestone was about to make a move. Derby County—hardly the poster child for ambition—were so underwhelmed by their own performance that when the Beswater Chinese offered a cool £1 million for their Under-17 midfielder, Derby County practically high-fived themselves. After all, young players are like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get! (Just this summer, Ross Gardner went from Newcastle to Nottingham Forest for absolutely nothing, while Nigel "Leo" Koke was snapped up by West Ham for a measly £750,000—though West Ham, in true dramatic fashion, even tried to pass on him.)
Derby County, recognizing that if Beswater Chinese were a Premier League team, they'd never dream of paying a million pounds for Huddlestone, finally caved. After a few days of haggling, Derby County informed the youngster's parents and agent that they were signing off on the offer. Lin Zhongqiu, representing the Beswater Chinese, then slogged through lengthy negotiations and sealed the deal: a down payment of £300,000, with the remaining £700,000 to be paid in three instalments over two years.
Huddlestone, who'd had a chat with Yang Cheng before, was more than a little tempted. After all, Yang Cheng promised him a starting spot—an offer Derby County was all too happy to let him go for. Once Huddlestone's transfer was complete, news broke that the Modric hearing had finally been resolved. With Ferbanovic and Boban's glowing testimonies, both the Home Office and the FA accepted the Beswater Chinese's evidence. Luka Modric became the first player to successfully pass the special talent clause—an event that even got a modest nod from the British media (though, honestly, third-tier transfer fees rarely set headlines these days).
After signing Huddlestone and finally securing a labor certificate for Modric, Yang Cheng's recruitment drive for Beswater Chinese wrapped up. The new season's squad featured:
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart Defenders: Koscielny, Kevin Forry, Steve Jenkins, Luke Chambers, Tony Capaldi, Roger Johansen, Alex Baptiste Midfielders: Luka Modric, Huddlestone, Andy Holdsworth, Lee Williamson, Martin Rolland Forwards: Franck Ribery, Jonathan Steed, Martin DeVaney, Lambert
In total, Yang Cheng brought in 17 new players (plus six holdovers) to form a 23-man squad—a typical budget-friendly approach for lower league clubs, where financial constraints force managers to concentrate all resources on building a competitive starting XI.
With 24 teams in League Two battling it out over 46 grueling rounds—and 2004 looming with the European Championship in Portugal—the schedule was jam-packed. Besides the league, there were the League Cup, FA Cup, and even the British Championship. In short, Beswater Chinese would be playing more games than most Premier League teams! And with the FA planning to restructure the leagues—renaming League One as the Championship and League Two as League One—it was clear that change was in the air. This transformation, initiated by none other than business wizard Adam Crozier, meant the Championship would be reborn as the sixth most prestigious league in Europe. Yang Cheng, always a traverser between worlds, recognized the significance of these changes.
But amid all the transfer negotiations and league restructuring, Yang Cheng still had one enormous challenge: where would his players live? Housing in London was as expensive as a fancy dinner for two, and his squad wasn't exactly rolling in cash. So, he threw himself into the task of arranging accommodation for his 17 new recruits—often personally negotiating, scheduling house viewings, and managing the wild nightlife that comes with being a young footballer in London. It was a logistical nightmare, but every minute spent on housing was another step closer to creating a cohesive team.
Once the players and coaches were finally settled, Yang Cheng turned his attention to preparations for the training camp. As he'd said to Saad Fawcett and Oliver Bartlett earlier, "If I just wanted to focus on pure physical training, I wouldn't have to search high and low for you guys!" The analogy was simple: if players were the ingredients for a meal, then the coach was the chef, and different chefs could whip up wildly different dishes even from the same ingredients.
Yang Cheng chose his coaching staff for their cutting-edge training programs. Thad Fawcett, with his U.S.-style sports science expertise, was brought in to craft targeted warm-up routines that would improve speed, strength, and endurance. Oliver Bartlett joined forces with Fawcett to develop a whole new training regimen. And, with the arrival of assistant coach Brian Kidd, the trio cooked up a special training plan specifically for the Beswater Chinese. Even though Yang Cheng wasn't in the nitty-gritty details of every drill, his vision for a high-speed, high-fitness playing style was crystal clear. His tactics promised to make the team nearly invincible in the new League Two season!
As the season approached, Yang Cheng was busier than ever—juggling transfers, housing, and training logistics. But he remained confident: if he could blend all these young talents into a well-oiled machine, the Beswater Chinese would be unstoppable. And if English football had taught him anything, it was that even the underdogs could cause an upset if given the right ingredients.
With a determined smile, Yang Cheng summed it up: "We've got the players, we've got the coaches, and we're about to blend this team into a masterpiece. Come on, Beswater Chinese—let's show League Two what we're made of!"
And so, the legend-making journey continued, with Yang Cheng pulling all the strings, one hilarious, high-stakes maneuver at a time.