Chapter 362 The future belongs to fake fans!

"Welcome to the off-site!"

"I'm Charlene Lahiri!"

Charlene Lahiri wore a brown sweater with the cuffs pushed down to the elbows, revealing a bracelet on her left hand. Her long blonde hair was draped over her shoulders, making her look casual and intellectual.

"This is our first show, so the guests we invited are also very important."

"Let us welcome the Southampton boss and my good friend, Yang Huan!"

Yang Huan really couldn't show too much enthusiasm in front of the empty camera, he could only sit there, smiling and nodding.

"Hello everyone!"

Seeing him like this, Charlene Lahiri asked with a smile, "Are you trying to be cool?"

"No, I'm nervous!" Yang Huan nodded.

"I've known you for so long, but I rarely see you nervous. Is the camera so scary?"

Yang Huan curled his lips, "People who have never stood in front of the camera don't understand how terrifying the camera is!"

After saying this, he couldn't help laughing.

Charlene Lahiri was also smiling.

Compared to Yang Huan, she seemed much more calm when dealing with the camera.

However, after this opening remark, the atmosphere gradually turned into a casual chat between the two of them.

Not to mention, Charlene Lahiri had obviously put in a lot of effort and preparation in this regard. Every word she said motivated Yang Huan, allowing him to relax and even forget the existence of the camera.

It feels like doing a face-to-face interview, or even just chatting with friends, rather than speaking in front of a camera.

“Although the name of our show is Off the Field, when you come, we can’t help but talk about Southampton.”

"Yeah!" Yang Huan nodded.

"Anyone familiar with football knows that Southampton is the fastest rising and most powerful team in European football in the past two seasons, especially this season, its performance is very eye-catching, and many people believe that the Saints have such outstanding results because they have strong capital backing."

After listening to her, Yang Huan shook his head.

"I know you won't admit it, so just say it if you have something to say!" Charlene Lahiri encouraged with a smile.

Yang Huan laughed, "In fact, money alone can't get you anything done, especially in the professional football circle, you have to understand the operating rules of this industry."

Charlene Lahiri hummed, looked at Yang Huan with a smile, and listened.

"Since football became professional, this industry has become less pure."

"Yeah!" Charlene Lahiri nodded again.

"If you want to be professional, you have to support players, coaches, and staff, and that requires money!"

Charlene Lahiri nodded again. "Yes, many fans tend to overlook this point easily. They are too emotional."

"Yes!" Yang Huan also nodded.

"In the early days, where did the money for professional teams come from? Tickets and stadium revenue. Later, with the rise of television broadcasts, professional football began to be promoted rapidly. With more and more fans, advertising and sponsorship, professional football also began to be subtly influenced."

"Yeah!" Charlene Lahiri nodded again.

She knew that she should be a good listener now.

"Everything in the world has its pros and cons. You can't just want the good side and not the bad side!"

"When professional football develops to a certain level and has a big enough influence, capital will take a fancy to you. So over the years, more and more capital has entered professional football, started to acquire teams, and started to change the way professional football is played."

"So we have seen that over the years, Nottingham Forest, Ajax, and many other old giants have fallen because they couldn't keep up with this new way of playing, so they could only be eliminated, because that's the general trend!"

Charlene Lahiri nodded continuously, "Survival of the fittest. Only by keeping up with the times can the fittest survive!"

"Yes, many people criticize current professional football, believing that it is corrupted by money and is a regression. In fact, I think that is completely unnecessary. The reason is very simple. If you calculate the scale of employees of professional teams in the past and then calculate the employees of teams now, you will know how big the difference is between now and the past."

"Some top stars have a team behind the scenes that is as big as all the employees of a professional team in the past. The clubs, management, head coaches, players, agents, and even every aspect of the industry, and even the whole society, have benefited greatly from it!"

"Before, stadium managers were voluntary workers, but now, every team has at least one or two stadium managers, and the salary is quite good, at least there is no problem in supporting a family, so they are more professional and are constantly improving."

“This is the change brought about by capital!”

Charlene Lahri frowned when she heard this. "Then why are there still so many fans dissatisfied?"

Yang Huan smiled slightly, "First of all, everyone has a different understanding of football. There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. In the eyes of older people, the football they were used to since childhood was like this. Suddenly one day, it became like that. They found it unacceptable and began to criticize!"

"But for some young people, this is the kind of football they have been exposed to since childhood, and they take it for granted!"

"Take one example, transfers."

"Adam Lallana is the captain of Southampton. Many Saints fans are dissatisfied with his transfer. Some media hyped that we have problems, but in fact, Adam Lallana often returns to Southampton and often contacts us. We have a very good relationship. This is a personal relationship. But from the perspective of the club operator, the price offered by Chelsea is attractive and the player's salary is generous. We will not be affected by losing Adam Lallana, so we accept it."

"But some fans think that this is selling off the core players, selling off the team's soul, and so on, and even mock the management for not understanding football. These remarks themselves are problematic."

Charlene Lahri nodded continuously. "So how do you view the changes in professional football in the past, present and future?"

Soon, she added, "Put yourself in the perspective and position of your club owner!"

"Well, it's hard for me to explain this. I may not be able to explain it clearly."

Charlene Lahiri smiled brightly. "Just say whatever comes to your mind."

"I think professional football is definitely getting better and better and more prosperous. This is beyond doubt, because more and more capital is pouring into this field. This is proof that if they are not optimistic, they will not come in."

"From the perspective of a football club owner, I would say that football itself is no longer the most attractive element for fans."

"Why?"

"To give you the simplest example, the earliest fans liked a team or a player by watching a game live. They liked it because there were football games. Later, television and the media came in. The vast majority of fans liked a team or a player through television and the media. But you have to admit that they are more interested in news outside of the game."

When Charlene Lahiri heard this, she suddenly smiled with enlightenment.

"That's right. They might discuss the stars' gossips, hairstyles, or which star is more handsome."

This is also the inside story that almost all media are competing to dig out.

"Yes, especially with the advent of the Internet age, information is spreading faster and faster. Fans living in the Internet age don't need a game, but a form of entertainment, so they may not like watching football games at all, or they may only go to watch football games for their favorite stars."

"Because football matches themselves cannot be considered qualified entertainment products, because they can lose. Winning can certainly bring enjoyment and pleasure to fans, but losing will only make fans feel unhappy and even painful."

"So, when fans want to get entertainment from football, their focus will definitely shift from football games. This requires the emergence of football entertainment products that can meet their needs, so football stars and star teams come into being!"

Charlene Lahri frowned upon hearing this. "You mean to say that these fans don't watch the game to see who wins or loses, but just to see the stars and teams they like?"

"Yes!" Yang Huan nodded affirmatively.

"Many fans don't even watch the games, they just read the news and see the results, but can you say they are not fans? Can you say they don't like football?"

Charlene Lahiri couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

There are a lot of fans who don’t watch football games, maybe even more than the fans who follow the games.

"In the final analysis, this is a trend of progress. In the past, if you didn't go to the stadium or watch the live broadcast on TV, you couldn't name the stars or the teams. But now, even if you don't watch the game, you can still name them all."

Charlene Lahri nodded. "You are probably talking about the younger generation of fans, which are what many older fans call fake fans."

Yang Huan smiled slightly, "Fans always get old. The earliest fans who went to watch the game in person to support the team must have looked down on those who watched the live broadcast on TV, because you don't support the team. But they always overlook one thing. Fans who watch the live broadcast on TV have to pay the team a broadcast fee, which can also be considered support."

"Nowadays, those who watch live broadcasts on TV look down on those fans who don't watch live broadcasts and only watch the news. Isn't it the same as before? These so-called fake fans don't contribute to the team?"

"Also, fans will get older, and football doesn't belong to just one type of people. It belongs to both old and new fans, but in the final analysis, the future belongs to these new fans."

"From the perspective of a team operator, you must be forward-looking and adapt to and satisfy new fans as much as possible while maintaining the old fans, because in the near future, they will be the core force of your team's supporters, just like they will become the backbone of this era!"

"If any professional team abandons these old fans, their future will be like Nottingham Forest, Ajax and other declining giants!"

Charlene Lahiri had never thought that she could induce Yang Huan to reveal such explosive information.

He believes that all Southampton fans will be very interested.

Because there are so many things revealed here, some of which are even subversive.

"I seem to understand what you said, plus the controversial prosperity of the Premier League in recent years, but I don't understand it. What do you think of the Premier League? Southampton will also enter the Premier League next season!"

Charlene Lahiri asked with a smile.

"The Premier League has a unique advantage, which is the loose space for capital operation. Therefore, capital likes the Premier League the most. In addition, the Premier League is also the best in using the media and has the highest attention. This is very successful."

"But the problems of the Premier League are also obvious. First of all, there is a limit on the number of foreign players. To form a star league with star players and star teams, your pattern must be big enough to attract the best star players in the world, rather than restrict them."

"Since ancient times, no one can tell what the relationship is between the number of foreign players and the level of local players, but if you don't have a big enough vision, you can't achieve a star league at all."

"So do you think there is a so-called star league in Europe?"

Yang Huan shook his head, "No, but the Premier League has the most potential!"

"What about the star team?"

"Barcelona and Real Madrid, the only two teams in the world."

"Why?" Charlene Lahiri asked.