Chapter 71 Bullying

"In every press conference, they will give a small gift to the participating reporters, the value of which is more than two or three hundred pounds. If it is only once, it is fine, but they give it every time, which is quite difficult. ."

Not to mention in the UK, even in the whole world, this is the only one.

When Rebekah Wade heard what his subordinates said, he immediately understood.

It's not uncommon for football clubs to give gifts to journalists, but it's usually a holiday, and they all have to be big-name journalists.

But like Southampton, it is very rare to send gifts regardless of big names or small pawns, and to treat them equally.

More importantly, they deliver every time, which is not easy.

"It's no wonder that in the past two months, there have been reports of Southampton in the newspapers almost every day, and all of them are positive reports. It turns out that it is not only because the club has the resources to hype, but there is such a relationship behind it. "

Saying that, Rebekah Wade looked at the reporter in front of him. His name was Charles Pike, a very young reporter.

"Editor-in-chief, I have actually received a lot of gifts from them, but I can guarantee that I have never done anything against professional ethics." Charles Pike is responsible for tracking the League One in The Sun, focusing on Southampton.

"Okay, I got it!" Rebekah Wade just put some pressure on him, and in the end, he could share a little of it with any benefits in the future, so that these people were all rich, and the editor-in-chief himself had everything. No.

"go on."

"In addition, I also received news that they entertained the referee team, and they were all arranged in the top five-star hotels, and they specially arranged luxury car transfers. This is also a considerable effort." Charles Parker was also very impressed.

When Rebekah Wade heard it, he was equally impressed. After all, let alone League One, even in the Premier League, Southampton was probably the only case to entertain the referee team with such a high standard.

"The FA should know, right?" Rebekah Wade asked casually, but it was crucial.

"Well, they reported it, saying that there are not many hotels in Southampton, and they don't want the referee team to live in a bad environment and affect the rest of the referee team, so..."

After Rebekah Wade heard this, he patted the table with both hands, and the whole person seemed very excited.

"Very good, hurry up and prepare, the front page headline tomorrow morning will be Southampton, and, for the next three days, I will use three important pages in a row to introduce the uniqueness of this team, you Get ready asap!"

Charles Parker agreed without hesitation, "No problem, editor-in-chief, all my materials are ready."

"Well, then hurry up, time is running out now!"

Tomorrow morning's front page headlines, we must hurry to prepare now, otherwise it will be too late.

Charles Pike was sent away, and Rebekah Wade sat down again, looking at the photo on the monitor, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, he knew very well that this matter had already been quarreled on the Internet, and I believe it will be a big day tomorrow. Early on, websites all over the world would scramble to cover it, and even newspapers and TV stations might catch up.

The Sun must be firmly at the top.

This is the biggest secret that they have been able to ensure their sales are far ahead over the years!

Oh, right,

He also thought of a nirvana move.

…………

…………

In fact, as Rebekah Wade, with a keen sense of news, guessed.

In the early morning of the next day, almost all the front pages of the British media were about the incident in Southampton.

Even the third round of the Premier League and the news of the European Super Cup are all under the pressure.

This is almost impossible for a League One team.

But Southampton firmly occupied the headlines of major British newspapers in one day, and even occupied the important pages of many newspapers in Europe and around the world.

On the Internet, it has been turned upside down.

Everyone was shocked by Southampton's big money, 10 million pounds in prize money for a game, which almost never happened in the history of football.

Countless fans and spectators are amazed that Southampton are burning money in a reckless way.

Thinking that the boss of Southampton is the real super rich man, Abramovich and Abu Dhabi consortium are not enough to see.

There are even more and more netizens paying attention, or becoming fans of Southampton.

Because they all believe that Southampton will soon rise under the burning money of the big local tyrants.

And in the process of Southampton's rise, they were able to get a sense of participation that the fans of the big clubs did not have.

For a time, the fans of Southampton skyrocketed.

Even on WeChat, the fans of Southampton's official WeChat account even surpassed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, ranking first, with a total number of more than two million.

And this incident has further attracted more users around the world to use WeChat.

But it soon sparked a string of controversies.

He had a feud with Southampton because of the transfers of Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison. Manchester United coach Ferguson was the first to stand up and questioned Southampton's approach in an interview with The Sun. This is a way of destroying the environment and structure of English football.

"According to the legal provisions of the English Professional League, all incentive bonuses must be clearly recorded in the player's contract at the beginning of the season, but Southampton has violated this principle. I call on the FA to investigate this."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also said that such money-burning behavior is not doing any good for the English league.

The Premier League has also expressed its strong concern about this matter, but Premier League chief executive Scudemore believes that whether Southampton has violated regulations requires further investigation and evidence collection by the FA.

Southampton officials apologized as soon as they received the news.

The team's chief press officer, Sun Yue, immediately held a press conference the next day, saying he was responsible for the matter, but he defended the team and the management, believing that it was mainly due to his lack of experience in running the team, and expressed his willingness to cooperate with the British team. FA investigations and even penalties.

But at the press conference, Sun Yue also hit back at the practices of Ferguson and Wenger.

"We have admitted our mistakes, we are inexperienced, after all, we have only been here for less than two months, and we are not very clear about the relevant laws and regulations, but I would like to ask Manchester United and Arsenal, you dare to say that you have not Any breaches? You dare to say that everything you do is operating in strict accordance with the rules of the Premier League and the FA? Do you need me to give an example?"

"Even if what we did did destroy the competition in English football, it would only be temporary, but what about you?"

"As a wealthy family, isn't your every move, your deeds, the damage caused greater and more serious than ours?"

Sun Yue's questioning gave Manchester United and Arsenal a powerful counterattack.

Everyone knows that laws and regulations are only on the surface, and what everyone does in private is to turn a blind eye.

But Arsenal and Manchester United are now putting pressure on the FA at the same time, which is undoubtedly suppressing Southampton.

Moreover, after Southampton made a public apology, it was also equivalent to indirectly admitting the huge bonus, which once again detonated the media around the world. Everyone just thought it was misinformation and hype, but now, this is indeed true. It is true.

That said, Southampton did spend £10m to reward the team.

Otherwise, why apologize and express a willingness to accept punishment?

The FA also showed high efficiency this time. In the afternoon after Southampton apologized, they held a temporary high-level meeting and made a judgment. Considering that Southampton is a newcomer and a first-time offender, the decision will be given as appropriate. Southampton was given a verbal warning and no fine.

Just kidding, I just announced the other day that I received a donation of 2 million pounds from others, and I will punish them in a blink of an eye. Are you embarrassed?

Southampton immediately announced that it would accept the penalty from the FA and promised not to commit any more crimes, but at the press conference, Sun Yue once again implicitly stated Southampton's attitude that the team was being suppressed by a giant team.

The outside media also likes this kind of role positioning, that is, Manchester United and Arsenal, which are at the top of the English professional league pyramid. The two giants joined forces to suppress the small team Southampton, which is developing rapidly. This has undoubtedly become the focus of media and newspaper hype. .

As a result, Southampton has been made into a tragic role suppressed by giant teams, while Manchester United and Arsenal have become bullying hegemons.

And there is no doubt that the weak attract more sympathy points, and Southampton has almost one-sided support in public opinion.

"How much money people like to reward, that's their business, what does it have to do with you Manchester United?"

"I want to ask Manchester United and Arsenal, can you guarantee that you have not evaded taxes?"

"The FA should take a good look at the financial situation of these two teams!"

"Southampton is good, dare to admit mistakes, have the courage to take responsibility, don't be afraid of the suppression of giant teams, we support you!"

"Yes, supporting Southampton has long been disliked by the two hegemons, Manchester United and Arsenal."

"Southampton come on, fight for an early promotion to the Premier League and kill them!"

Southampton's top star Zlatan Ibrahimovic also expressed his dissatisfaction with Manchester United and Arsenal's approach in an interview with The Times and explained how the whole thing happened.

"Our boss rewarded the team with a lot of money, mainly hoping that the team can work hard and wash away the slump at the beginning of the season, but in fact, we didn't win the game because of the huge bonus, each of us worked very hard to win every game. A confrontation."

"After this incident, all of us in the locker room have seen the truth of the matter clearly and have become more united. This incident did not dampen our enthusiasm and enterprising spirit. On the contrary, it changed us. more fighting spirit.”

"Ferguson and Wenger said we were playing hard for the money, but we'll prove we're not."

"We hope to draw these two teams in the FA Cup, because we will use the facts to prove that even if there is no prize money, we will still give our all, and a Southampton that goes all out to play, has the ability to beat The strength of any opponent."

"Even if they are Manchester United, they are Arsenal!"

Ibrahimovic's remarks were immediately unanimously supported and affirmed by Southampton fans and players.

As the saying goes, cutting people's wealth is like killing one's parents.

It's hard to meet a local tyrant boss with a big reward, but when he turns around, he is screwed up by Manchester United and Arsenal. Who is not angry?

Neymar also expressed his opinion on WeChat, saying that the team is currently united and hopes to challenge strong enemies in the FA Cup.

Captain Adam Lallana even challenged Manchester United and Arsenal to be careful.

"You better not draw us in the FA Cup!"

No one thought that it was originally a violation by Southampton, but under the public relations and operation of the Ministry of Information, the whole world just felt that this was a move by a giant team to suppress lower-level league teams.

Southampton, on the other hand, was portrayed by the media as an image of a brave man who was not afraid of power and won the hearts of the fans.

Entering September, the turmoil was temporarily suspended, but Southampton quickly attracted the attention of the media.

Through the lead of Kesh Harris, Southampton signed a sponsorship contract with Citibank, with a total value of seven million pounds, which is also the highest shirt sponsorship that League One and Championship can get, even half None of the above Premier League teams are as good as Southampton.

In a press conference, Citibank's chief executive also said that there is a one-year extension clause in the contract, and if Southampton's upgrade is successful next year, Citibank's sponsorship will be further increased.

After signing a heavy sponsorship contract, Southampton's first game in September ushered in the first round of the English League Championship in the lower leagues, against Swinton, also from the League One.

The Saints sit at the home court, continuing the spirit of breaking Charlton in the last game, and slaughtering Swinton 5-0 at home.

Three days later, at St Mary's Stadium again, Southampton beat the visiting northern team Rochdale 6:1 at home.

After three consecutive games to beat their opponents, Southampton's limelight has been unparalleled for a while, and has received continuous attention and unanimous appreciation from the British domestic media.

At the same time that Southampton's performance has improved greatly and beat his opponents one after another, Yang Huan appeared on the campus of the University of Southampton.

This time, he challenged all the students of the University of Southampton!