Chapter 13: He's a Bit Like Ferguson!

From mid-July to the end of July—just over half a month—Yang Cheng scheduled five warm-up games. His opponents? A motley crew: two amateur teams, one League C team, and two League One teams. The Beswater Chinese ended up with an "impressive" record of one win, two draws, and two losses. And those two League One matchups? They turned into heavy defeats—one ended 2-5, the other 1-4. The results nearly burst the bubble of high hopes built during camp.

The players had been raving about their advanced style of play, honed over two intense weeks of training. Yet when game day arrived, they were still a hot mess—even against amateurs, let alone against tough League One sides. But Yang Cheng and his coaching staff weren't surprised. They'd predicted that these tests—especially facing West Ham United (recently relegated but still sporting legends like Carrick) and Reading (a scrappy team that barely missed promotion last season)—would expose all the flaws in their system.

After every match, Yang Cheng held post-game reviews to dissect every error and adjust the tactics. Slowly but surely, the main lineup began to take shape. Joe Hart, just 16 but already growing like a weed, earned his spot as goalkeeper. On the flanks, Toni Capaldi and Steve Jenkins took charge, while Koscielny and Roger Johansen emerged as the best central defensive partnership—despite Johansen's rough technique and frequent passing errors, his physicality proved to be a real game-changer.

In midfield, Huddlestone lagged a bit behind Luka Modric and Martin Rolland—Modric, for all his technical brilliance, still looked a tad too thin for the brutal English league. Yang Cheng, however, never lost faith in him. Tactical tweaks were made: Rolland was given more attacking duty while Modric was pulled slightly deeper to avoid getting tangled in constant physical battles.

Up front, Jonathan Steed edged out Lambert in the competition. Yang Cheng even experimented with shifting the wingers—he'd hoped to replicate Ribery's old magic on the left, but the young French winger hadn't fully matured yet. So, he moved Ribery to the right, hoping his speed would tear through the defense. Unfortunately, the pairing with the sluggish Steve Jenkins on that side proved disastrous. In one game against West Ham, the right flank was overrun by England international Sinclair, who helped bag four of the five goals against them. Martin DeVaney, shifted to the left, also struggled to link up effectively with Toni Capaldi, leaving everyone scratching their heads.

After these warm-up headaches, Yang Cheng and Brian Kidd huddled for a review. Brian suggested moving Ribery back to the left, placing DeVaney on the right—a move that seemed to make sense, at least on paper.

Fast forward to the afternoon of August 9th, the first round of League Two in the 03/04 season. The Beswater Chinese hosted the newly promoted Grimsby Town. The stadium was a work in progress—only 5,000 seats at best, and as Yang Cheng strolled into the nearly empty east stand, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of embarrassment. Meanwhile, the west stand boasted a modest 2,500 fans, thanks in part to Brian Kidd's popularity.

Yang Cheng was excited for this game—a chance to win against a promoted side and kick off the season with a bang. He lined up his strongest XI:

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart Defenders: Tony Capaldi, Koscielny, Roger Johansen, and Steve Jenkins Midfielders: Huddlestone (dropping a bit back), Martin Rolland, and Luka Modric Forwards: Franck Ribery, Jonathan Steed, and Martin DeVaney

Although his tactics resembled a 4-3-3 formation, Yang Cheng's approach was anything but conventional. DeVaney was deployed a bit like a right wing-back, pushing the entire left side forward, while Koscielny and Johansen—both known for their aggressive defending—sometimes ended up venturing too far forward. And Huddlestone? He wasn't exactly a one-dimensional defensive midfielder.

In the 27th minute, Grimsby Town capitalized on these issues. A long ball into the back of the Chinese defense found Dutch striker Laurence ten Halfe, who managed to head the ball to Michael Pudding. Pudding, seizing the moment, scored to put Grimsby ahead.

"Syllable!" Yang Cheng clapped his hands in a mix of disappointment and determination. Before that goal, he had trusted Koscielny for his speed, marking, and tackling. But Brian Kidd's disappointed comment echoed in his mind: "He's so aggressive—especially with Roger Johansen—it's like they're too chummy, and it disrupts their balance." Yang Cheng couldn't help but recall his days coaching Real Madrid, where Ramos and Pepe's reckless closeness had sometimes backfired.

He had hoped to pair Koscielny with a calmer partner like Luke Chambers or even Alex Baptiste, but in the end, Johansen was the best option he had. "Give them more time," he told Brian Kidd with a confident smile. "The growth of a central defender always comes with a little pain and suffering."

Just five minutes after Grimsby's opener, the Chinese team responded on the left. Ribery broke through with the ball, passed to Tony Capaldi, who crossed for Jonathan Steed to head home and equalize! Then, in the 51st minute, Martin Rowland assisted Koscielny in scoring from a corner, putting the score at 2-1 in favor of the Chinese.

Unfortunately, in the 84th minute, a miscommunication near the halfway line allowed Grimsby to score again, courtesy of striker Ryan Anderson, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

After the match, Yang Cheng applauded his players as they left the field. Though a draw wasn't the ideal result for a team aiming for promotion, Yang Cheng remained unfazed. "It's only the start," he declared. "The league is long, and with each game, as we fix our mistakes and gel as a team, the Beswater Chinese will become unstoppable!"

And with that, the season's first test concluded—a promising, if chaotic, glimpse of a team that, despite its many growing pains, was destined to shake League Two.