Chapter 31 – Borrowing a Chicken to Lay Eggs

Chapter 31 – Borrowing a Chicken to Lay Eggs

March 21st, midday. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

EFL Trophy Final: Bayswater Chinese FC vs. Blackpool.

Standing at the edge of the dugout, Yang Cheng looked across at the opposite stands before turning back to glance at the sparse crowd behind him. He couldn't help but sigh.

"Our fanbase still doesn't have much pulling power."

Brian Kidd immediately understood what he meant.

From where they stood, it was easy to see—Blackpool had brought far more fans.

"Word is they've brought over 15,000 fans. We've barely cracked 10,000."

The Millennium Stadium had a full roof, even fully retractable. Even at noon, the sun wasn't a problem for fans.

With a total capacity of over 70,000, today's crowd of 25,000 looked sparse.

Especially on Bayswater's side.

To attract more fans, Bayswater had pulled out all the stops for promotion.

London match tickets are normally more expensive, but this time, they matched Blackpool's pricing.

And still, turnout was disappointing in comparison.

Just recently, the League Cup Final between Bolton and Middlesbrough had sold out the same stadium.

"Honestly, we've come a long way already," Kidd said with a reassuring smile.

"At least we've passed the 10,000 mark."

Yang Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

At the start of the season, Bayswater's home games only drew around 2,000 fans.

But as the team rose in the league and played more entertaining football, more and more people were drawn in.

Now, every home game was sold out.

For this final, they'd been promoting for a full month—only then did they manage to get 10,000 fans to attend.

That alone was a huge step forward.

"By the way, have you figured out what we're doing for a home ground next season?" Kidd asked with concern.

Bayswater was almost guaranteed promotion to the Championship now, and a title win looked likely.

But promotion meant a whole new set of problems.

Chief among them: the stadium.

London was full of football clubs.

If you counted Greater London, there were dozens.

But finding a stadium that fit Bayswater's needs wasn't easy.

The club had built a solid base of a few thousand loyal fans. These matchday revenues were the club's foundation.

If they moved too far out to the suburbs, how many of those fans would come along?

Yang Cheng figured it'd be best to stay near Hyde Park, where most of their current fans lived.

That limited his options.

Chelsea, Fulham, QPR, and—barely—Arsenal's Highbury.

Of them, Yang Cheng thought QPR's Loftus Road was the best option.

Not just because it was close.

It had a capacity of 19,200, not too big.

A stadium too large with too few fans is death to atmosphere.

And Yang Cheng had one more secret reason.

Borrow a chicken to lay eggs.

English fans were loyal—but not all of them were hardcore.

Many just liked going to the stadium on weekends to watch football.

If Bayswater rented Loftus Road, it might draw in some of QPR's more casual fans.

And after a season under Yang Cheng, Bayswater's style of play was widely praised.

Not just for League Two—even by Premier League standards, their football was entertaining.

After 37 rounds, QPR sat third, six points behind Plymouth.

Which meant they were likely headed for the promotion playoffs.

If they failed to win promotion, Bayswater would gain a major advantage.

That was Yang Cheng's calculation.

"It's a good idea," Kidd said, "but I'm worried QPR won't agree to rent it to us."

"They're not stupid. They know the risks."

Of course Yang Cheng had thought of that.

"Still, it's worth starting the conversation."

Forget Chelsea or Arsenal—they were off the table.

If QPR wouldn't budge, then he'd try Fulham.

If that didn't work, they'd have to look farther west.

Brentford, for instance.

There were also a few usable stadiums around Wembley.

But those were last resorts.

In Yang Cheng's view, QPR's financial situation wasn't good.

They were one of the founding clubs of the Premier League in 1992, and in the 1980s had even outperformed Chelsea and Arsenal.

But they'd been relegated in '96, and in 2001, dropped out of the second tier.

Their current owner was Italian businessman Gianni Paladini.

He'd bought the club on the cheap, aiming to take them to the Premier League and then cash out.

Recently, media reports said QPR were applying for a ten-year, £7 million loan from the bank to help offset debts exceeding £10 million.

So Yang Cheng believed: diehard QPR fans might hate the idea, but their Italian owner would be very interested in rental income from Bayswater.

…

Steve McMahon, former England international.

In the 1980s, he had played for some of the country's top clubs—Everton, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Manchester City—and had witnessed firsthand one of English football's most glorious eras.

After retiring, he took up coaching, managing Swindon Town and Blackpool.

For this EFL Trophy final, facing Bayswater Chinese FC, McMahon stuck with England's classic approach—a 4-4-2 formation.

Up front, he deployed a typical "big and small" strike duo: towering target man John Murphy, and pacey forward Mike Sheron.

The most common tactic on English pitches.

And unlike their usual league sluggishness, Blackpool came out firing, determined to dictate the pace.

Just 1 minute and 30 seconds into the match, they broke through midfield with aggressive pressing and launched a swift counterattack.

New Zealand-born Martin Bullock, only 1.65m tall but lightning-quick, received a pass on the right flank and whipped in a cross toward John Murphy in the box.

Danger loomed in front of Bayswater's goal.

But at the crucial moment, Joe Hart shouted to his defenders, then decisively charged off his line.

He leapt high at the edge of the six-yard box, extended both hands, and plucked the ball cleanly out of the air before Murphy could reach it.

A textbook claim that drew warm applause throughout the stadium.

Meanwhile, on the away bench, McMahon shook his head in frustration.

If that ball had gone in, the match would've started very differently.

…

Despite that early scare, Yang Cheng showed no sign of panic.

And neither did his players.

After a full season of honing and adaptation, they knew how to handle this type of scenario.

They had grown accustomed to English football's brutal, physical style.

Confident in their technical superiority, Bayswater began to calmly control possession, patiently wearing down their opponent.

This was a winner-takes-all final.

Desperate teams rely on surprise. Strong teams rely on stability.

The first 15 minutes were a physical and tactical tug-of-war.

But after that, Bayswater gradually took control.

Blackpool, having failed to capitalize on their early aggression, shifted to defense.

Both managers made clear adjustments to counter each other.

Knowing that Ribéry was Bayswater's most dangerous attacker, McMahon assigned Danny Coid to right-back.

Coid, 1.81m tall, was solid in both attack and defense.

His biggest strengths? Speed and agility. And he was two-footed.

McMahon's plan was simple—use Coid to lock down Ribéry, whether he cut inside or hit the byline.

Coid's weaknesses were his lack of physical strength and aerial control.

Luckily for Blackpool, Ribéry lacked those traits even more.

With Ribéry shackled and extra bodies parked in midfield, Blackpool effectively suffocated Bayswater's offense.

And the match unfolded just as McMahon had predicted.

From the 15th minute onward, Bayswater had the ball, but couldn't break through.

The usual fluid links between Ribéry, Rowlands, and Modrić were stifled.

Lambert, their central striker, found himself locked in physical duels with two towering center-backs, Mike Flynn and Steve Elliott.

Despite appearances, Blackpool's defense never looked seriously threatened.

Yang Cheng made no changes in the first half, letting the stalemate play out.

0–0 at halftime.

…

"Second half, we're switching it up."

In the locker room, Yang Cheng called Dave Kitson over.

He was coming on to replace Martin Devaney.

The latter had failed to capitalize against Blackpool's average left-back Tommy Jaszczun—a disappointing showing.

"Rickie."

Yang Cheng stood among his players, calm and confident, and called Lambert by name first.

Lambert looked up immediately.

"In the second half, you take care of Coid."

"We'll start feeding more balls to the left. Lambert goes for the first ball. Ribéry, Rowlands, and even Capaldi—you focus on the second ball."

"Kitson—your job is to tie up Flynn and Elliott, and most importantly… score."

Kitson nodded eagerly, clearly itching to get on.

"Our goal this half is simple—score from their right flank, break them open."

…

The second half kicked off, and Bayswater, with the substitution made, immediately launched their attack.

McMahon sensed the danger and paced the technical area, shouting instructions.

But it was already too late.

In the 47th minute, Blackpool's resistance finally cracked.

Modrić and Ribéry linked up on the left. The Frenchman drove inside, full of menace.

At the edge of the box, Lambert held off Coid, received Ribéry's pass, and knocked it back for a one-two.

Ribéry broke into the penalty area, froze Flynn with a feint, then powered toward the byline and cut it across the face of goal.

Dave Kitson arrived on cue, smashing the ball home.

"Goal!!!"

"Only two minutes into the second half, Bayswater Chinese FC have struck first against Blackpool!"

"Yang Cheng's halftime adjustments have once again proven magical!"

"And the substitute Kitson delivers immediately!"

"What an efficient striker!"

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