Chapter 960 Who can stop Manchester City?
Manchester City did not feel discouraged after failing to beat Liverpool away from home.
During the recovery training the next morning, the atmosphere within the team was still very good and the players generally maintained high morale.
Especially young players such as Sterling who got the chance to play in this game were not affected by the draw at all.
The score of 2-2 is not bad for Manchester City.
More importantly, with more games, the team's rotation is also greater. Many players who cannot play on weekdays can play now. For example, Joe Hart was basically suppressed by Courtois except at the beginning of the season. But from Christmas to now, he has also played several games, and his performance has been mixed.
Joe Hart has good ability, but he is unlucky and loses the ball every time he plays.
So much so that some people say that after Courtois' rise, Joe Hart and Manchester City began to have conflicts.
There was another league game on the weekend, so the team couldn't take a day off. But that night, after training, Su Dong still organized a dinner for all the first-team members and went to a famous restaurant in downtown Manchester to eat together.
Manchester City is indeed making great strides now, but especially at times like this, the more cautious they have to be.
There is something Ferguson said that is absolutely correct. In the past, those teams that tried to win all the championships may end up with nothing. Therefore, in the history of English football, only Manchester United has reached the pinnacle with a treble.
Although Manchester City also won the treble last season, the quality of the Europa League is far less impressive than Manchester United's Champions League.
As for Arsenal, there is a very interesting phenomenon about this team, that is, they often perform very well in the first half of the season, but begin to collapse from the winter break.
Therefore, Arsenal has had several examples of fighting on multiple fronts during the winter break, but in February and March they failed on various fronts one after another and ended up with nothing.
On the one hand, it is because their overall strength is insufficient and their bench is not deep enough, and on the other hand, it is actually a chain reaction.
To put it simply, after losing one of the championships, the morale was greatly reduced and they were more eager to win other championships. As a result, they performed poorly and finally the championships slipped away from their hands, ending up with nothing.
Su Dong believes that Manchester City has the strength to compete for more championships, but the prerequisite is that the team needs to proceed steadily and slowly, and not rush things, especially when facing such tenacious sniping from Liverpool, they must be extremely cautious.
In the absence of management and coaching staff, the players were very relaxed and had a meal together. Everyone spoke freely and discussed their views on the team. At this time, Su Dong was more of a listener.
Just as Beckenbauer told him at the beginning, as a captain, he should not always think of himself as a manager, isolated from the team, but should integrate into the team, understand the demands of each teammate, and provide help within his ability.
This is what Su Dong has been doing for more than a year.
Manchester City players have gradually adapted to Su Dong's approach, organizing team building activities from time to time and giving gifts. In many cases, Su Dong would even take the initiative to go to the management and coaching staff to solve some problems and strive for some benefits.
It can be said that Su Dong’s performance as captain is very satisfying to the players in the locker room.
…
"Boss, when will our bonus system for this year be announced?"
Amidst the flirting among his teammates, Marcelo, known as the most mischievous person in the locker room, asked a question loudly that concerned everyone present, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Su Dong put down the water cup in his hand, saw the burning gazes of his teammates around him, then cast an approving look at Marcelo, and then stood up leisurely.
As the saying goes, one hero needs three helpers.
If Su Dong wants to manage the entire locker room well, he needs his own troops like Marcelo, Pepe and David Silva.
Marcelo is flexible, lively and likable. He is very popular in the locker room. Many times when teammates encounter problems that are difficult to discuss face to face, they will ask Su Dong to solve them through Marcelo.
As a result, Marcelo gradually became the number one figure in the locker room.
When Su Dong stood up, he immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the audience.
"In fact, the plan was already out a few days ago." Su Dong said loudly.
Everyone was very surprised. How come they didn't know this?
"Overall, it's a big improvement over last season, and everyone's bonus will increase a lot, but I don't think it's reasonable, so I went to Soriano and Begiristain and asked them to draft a new one."
"Why?" Zabaleta asked in surprise.
Although he is the deputy captain, when it comes to managing information about core decision-making, they do not have Su Dong's ability.
Everyone was also very puzzled. It was a significant improvement. Isn’t this a good thing?
"Don't worry, I think that we won the first half of the season with all wins, which is unprecedented. For this reason, I think the club must recognize the role and contribution of each and every one of you present. Without any of you, it would not be possible."
Everyone looked at their teammates around them and nodded.
"So far this season, we have made progress on four fronts and each of us has made a contribution. I think the team should face up to this and also see that we have the opportunity to hit the quadruple championship, which is unprecedented in the history of English football."
Everyone immediately understood that Su Dong was dissatisfied with the management's plan and was fighting for benefits for everyone.
After realizing this, everyone's heart suddenly warmed up.
To put it bluntly, professional players are there to earn money to support their families.
"This season, we are participating in the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. If we win the Champions League in our first participation, it will be the first time in Manchester City's history, the third time in English football history and the sixth time in European football history."
"If we can win the quadruple, what does that mean?"
At this point, Su Dong could clearly see the burning flames in the eyes of every teammate.
There is a big difference between professional players and people in other industries, and that is that professional competition is also a competition.
Everyone has pursuits.
"Everyone can rest assured that the Finance Department has been working non-stop to prepare a new and more detailed plan. I have taken a look at the draft and I can guarantee that it will definitely exceed everyone's expectations. In this regard, the club has never been stingy."
At the end, Su Dong couldn't help laughing.
Everyone cheered immediately.
They were indeed convinced by Su Dong.
Not to mention anything else, just the gifts that Su Dong gives them every season and the meals he treats them to is a huge expense.
With Su Dong's current income, he has no conflicts with his teammates in the locker room over the distribution of team bonuses, and he has a say in front of the management, so he can always get more benefits for the team.
Of course, another very important reason is that Manchester City really doesn't lack this money.
For the Abu Dhabi consortium behind the scenes, if the team can win four championships this season, even if they are asked to pay more bonuses, they will be happy to do so. Compared with the added value that winning the championship brings to Manchester City's brand, especially laying the foundation for a wealthy club, what is this bonus? Both Su Dong and Guardiola hope to inspire the morale of the players through various means, so that the team can continue to maintain high morale and ambitiously strive for more championships.
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This weekend, in the 21st round of the Premier League, Manchester City will challenge Wigan Athletic away.
As Manchester City just drew 2-2 with Liverpool away from home in the League Cup semi-final, many media and fans are worried whether Manchester City will suffer another setback in this game?
As a result, Manchester City proved with facts from the beginning of the game that there would be no problems.
Just five minutes into the game, Marcelo made a cross from the left, Su Dong jumped high in front of the goal and headed the ball into the goal, scoring the first goal for Manchester City, one to zero.
Just three minutes later, Su Dong and Di Maria cooperated on the left to create a corner kick. Kompany ran into the open space and headed the ball into the goal with no one guarding him, scoring another goal for Manchester City, 2-0.
In the 22nd minute, Manchester City still created a free kick opportunity with cooperation on the left. David Silva made a cross with his left foot, and Su Dong headed the ball in the penalty area and once again blasted the ball into Wigan Athletic's goal, making it three to zero.
After taking a three-goal lead, Manchester City took the initiative to slow down their attack and played with more energy.
Although Wigan Athletic launched a counterattack at one point, they ultimately failed to break through Manchester City's goal.
In the end, thanks to Su Dong's two goals and Kompany's goal, they defeated Wigan Athletic 3-0 away.
This victory has put an end to the outside world's doubts about Manchester City, and it has also made everyone clearly realize that there is basically no suspense in this season's Premier League.
Twenty-one consecutive wins, this is the longest winning streak in the top five European leagues.
Who can stop Manchester City?
If Guardiola's team has not been able to win the championship with this winning streak, who else is qualified?
As many British media said after the game, Manchester City’s goal now should not just be to win the Premier League title, but to strive to break the Premier League record set by Chelsea that year.
That was the 2004-2005 season, Mourinho's first season as Chelsea coach, when the team scored 95 points in the Premier League and won the Premier League title. In that season, Chelsea only lost one game.
Manchester City now has 21 consecutive wins, so there is still hope that they can break Chelsea's record.
Judging from the current situation in the Premier League, it is difficult for other teams to shake Manchester City's leading position.
Manchester United defeated Bolton 3-0 in this round, but the overall performance was very up and down. Now the biggest suspense is whether Manchester United can regain its former form after Scholes returns.
Chelsea defeated Sunderland 1-0 in this round. Interestingly, it was Lampard who saved Villas-Boas, which made the Portuguese very frustrated.
Liverpool drew 0-0 with Stoke City, and Arsenal lost 2-3 to Swansea away.
(End of this chapter)
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