Chapter 905 Stop Joking

"Given that Premier League teams have not performed well enough in European competitions in recent years, many people have said that one of the important reasons is that Premier League teams need to play too many games, which leads to excessive consumption of players."

David Bernstein stood on the podium and spoke eloquently.

Many people below couldn't help but show joy on their faces after hearing this. Is this a sign of reducing the pressure on Premier League teams in games?

The best thing would be to respond to public opinion and remove one cup competition, or introduce a winter break.

Yang Huan glanced at the crowd and couldn't help but laugh in his heart. These guys are really amazing.

Is the FA that stupid?

You know, the FA has basically nothing to do with the Premier League. Even if they want to share the money, they have to look to the Premier League.

The FA's greatest power now is to supervise the Premier League and have a veto on major decisions.

This is also why David Bernstein dared to publicly propose the reform of labor certification.

Basically, it can be said that as long as the Premier League does not criticize, as long as the FA proposes this matter and the Home Office approves it, no one else will have anything to do with it.

When everyone was looking happy, David Bernstein's words poured a bucket of cold water on them all.

And it’s freezing cold!

"In view of this, we are considering continuing the reform policy of the mid-1990s and further adjusting the Premier League, further reducing the current 20 Premier League teams to 18 to reduce the competitive pressure on the teams."

With just one sentence, the whole audience was stunned!

Everyone stared with eyes wide open, looking at the white-haired British old man on the podium in disbelief, as if asking, Hey, old man, did you forget to take your medicine? Are you okay?

After a few seconds of silence, everyone in the audience protested madly.

"How is this possible? Cutting down the number of Premier League teams?"

"Are you kidding me? Why would the FA reduce the number of Premier League teams?"

"Yes, this is our internal matter of the Premier League, don't interfere!"

"Are you guys crazy? Why are you reducing the number of places for no reason?"

The entire conference room suddenly exploded, and everyone's reaction was even stronger than before. Some people even slammed the table, glared, and wished they could rush up and kick David Bernstein off the stage.

However, the old man stood there calmly, nodded leisurely and said: "We are still considering it. We have two starting points. One is that the results in the European war are indeed not ideal, and the fans have a big reaction. The other is that the national team's performance is indeed deeply affected, so we..."

Everyone below immediately stopped working.

"So bullshit, if your national team's performance is not ideal, that's your family's business, it has nothing to do with us!"

"That's right, the results in the European competition are not ideal, the fans are complaining, and we don't want that either!"

"Do you think that if we reduce the number of participating teams, the results in the European competition will be better?"

"You are so naive, aren't you? La Liga also has 20 teams, how come they are not affected?"

"If you really feel the team is under too much pressure, then why not cancel one of the cup competitions first!"

"Yeah, let's withdraw from the cup competition!"

"We'll strike at the cup game!"

"Okay, I support it. Strike!"

Everyone was talking about it, and the mood was boiling. Hamad, who was standing by, was completely confused.

What is going on?

What on earth are these guys in such a hurry to do?

Isn’t it just cutting two places?

Anyway, we Tottenham Hotspur are not affected...

Thinking of this, Hamad suddenly remembered what Master Huan had said just now. How did he know that what happened today had nothing to do with us? Could it be that...

Looking at Young Master Huan again, the latter grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and laughed continuously.

I knew Young Master Huan was well connected, but I didn't expect him to be so connected.

No wonder that old guy David Bernstein always hangs out with Young Master Huan whenever he has time. These two must be gay.

But Hamad had to lower his head and lean over, complaining in his heart, "Master Huan, are you really going to reduce the number of Premier League teams participating?"

Yang Huan glanced at him unhappily, as if to say, you are really naive boy.

Reducing the number of participating teams by two from the original twenty to eighteen, and increasing the number of rounds per season from the original thirty-eight to thirty-four. This sounds simple, but do you know how big the impact is?

Not to mention the two places that were eliminated, this will inevitably have a serious impact on the relegation of the Premier League teams and the promotion of the Championship teams. How many teams will suffer?

In addition, with the removal of two teams, the number of Premier League games per season will be reduced from 380 to 306, a reduction of nearly 20%. Are the broadcasters willing to this?

If you do, then fine, how much will be lost in broadcasting fees?

By that time, how much will the benefits that each team can get be affected?

In other words, if there are fewer matches, what changes will there be among the sponsors?

These are all matters that affect the entire system. How can the English Football Association just casually say that it will reduce the number of places? Do you really think that the Premier League is run by them?

David Bernstein is not a fool. He clearly knows that the Premier League teams will never allow him to reduce the number of participating teams because the impact on the Premier League is so huge that almost all teams will oppose it.

Of course, relatively speaking, the impact on top teams such as Southampton and Manchester United will be smaller.

But overall, the impact is difficult to estimate.

The reason why the number of teams was reduced from 22 to 20 20 years ago was, firstly, because the Premier League was just established and its value was not yet obvious, and secondly, having 22 teams playing in the league was indeed too stressful.

But now it’s different. Twenty participating teams have become a rule. Should we reduce it further?

Stop kidding!

So, he was asking for a sky-high price and then paying the price down.

Using a condition that no Premier League team could possibly accept in exchange for their reforms on work permits.

This is what is called an exchange of interests!

If anyone says again that the English Football Association is a bunch of cowards, Yang Huan promises to beat him to death!

Who said these guys are pustules?

Damn it, each and every one of them is as shrewd as a devil, scheming you to death every minute.

In fact, everyone present was smart. They were angry and surprised at first, but they soon came to their senses and realized David Bernstein's intention.

Sure enough, old ginger is still spicy!

If Yang Huan guessed correctly, there would be no result today. Under the pretext of everyone going home to think about it, they were actually trying to take advantage of the situation to get out of the situation.

It won’t be long before the FA’s plan for work permit reform is passed smoothly.

As for the proposal to reduce the number of participating teams in the Premier League, it was never mentioned again.

…………

…………

The meeting ended just as Young Master Huan had expected. At the end, the meeting was concluded with a simple message: "Everyone go back and think about this carefully."

Yang Huan stood up, yawned, said hello, and was about to leave.

Hamad was full of doubts and hurried to follow.

But as soon as he walked out of the gate, he saw Mubarak of Manchester City, Ed Woodward of Manchester United, Ian Ayre of Liverpool and Ivan Gazidis of Arsenal all chasing after him.

"Master Huan, do you have time? Let's go have afternoon tea, okay?"

"Yes, Master Huan, let's go together!"

Several people surrounded him, and it seemed that Yang Huan had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, but..."

Yang Huan glanced at everyone in the conference room, and the others immediately understood what he meant.

"Let's go to the underwater hotel in Southampton!" Mubarak suggested.

An hour later, in one of the luxurious private rooms of the Undersea Hotel's afternoon tea restaurant, several people who had just returned from a meeting in London sat in a circle, while the hotel's waiters were busy serving the afternoon tea and pastries ordered by Yang Huan.

After the waiters had finished their work and left, Yang Huan did not forget to remind them not to be disturbed without his permission.

After watching the waiter close the door and leave, Yang Huan glanced at everyone again and smiled, "Come on, everyone, try our afternoon tea, which you can't get anywhere else."

But among those present, except the heartless Hamad, who else would have the mood to do so?

"Master Huan, have you known about this incident a long time ago?" Ed Woodward asked.

Everyone obviously had the same doubts, because from beginning to end, Young Master Huan did not say a word.

This is completely different from his usual self.

Logically speaking, how could he not show any attitude towards such a big thing?

The only reasonable explanation is that he already knew it.

Yang Huan didn't think of hiding it, and nodded, "I know a little, but not very clearly."

Everyone immediately understood that this was the reasonable thing to do.

"Master Huan, what do you think?" Mubarak asked with concern.

Yang Huan glanced at the crowd, "I can see that whether it is the English Football Association, the British government, or even the British fans, they are very dissatisfied with the team's performance in the European competitions in recent years and the downturn of the England national team."

This dissatisfaction has a long history and is not sudden.

Even when Premier League teams were sweeping Europe in the past, they were still dissatisfied with the national team's performance.

But, at that time, there was still some comfort, unlike now.

“So this time, they are not going to reduce the number of Premier League teams, but to reform the work permit and boost local youth training!”

After Yang Huan said this, everyone present immediately understood.

They had guessed it a long time ago, but they just hadn't confirmed it.

Judging from the fact that Young Master Huan was able to know the news so early on, what he said is basically true.

If the local youth training is really to be reformed, the impact on the teams present will not be that big, and this is also the easiest for them to accept.

As for other mid- and lower-level teams, everyone knows what to choose between reducing the number of Premier League places and reforming work permits.

"Well, we at Manchester United have no objection to this matter!"

"So do we at Arsenal!"

“Liverpool agrees too!”

“We have no objection either.”

"We, Tottenham Hotspur, follow Master Huan!"

After everyone expressed their opinions, the matter was settled.

Yang Huan immediately laughed, "Then after we go back, you can let the head coaches rant as much as you want!"

After hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

The criticism is a signal to the English Football Association. The louder the criticism, the more the club will regress in this regard.

After a burst of laughter, everyone fell silent again.

"Master Huan, may I ask you something?" Ed Woodward asked with concern.

"You ask." Yang Huan chuckled.

“I heard that Bielsa is leaving Saints?”

This question immediately made everyone present look serious.

Especially Arsenal's Gazidis and Liverpool's Ian Ayre, they are the most concerned.

You know, the Saints are the pillars of the Premier League teams in the European war. If the Saints fall, the Premier League will be over.

Once the Premier League's points in European competitions are surpassed by the Bundesliga and Serie A, there will only be three Champions League places left.

So what should we do then?

The teams most affected are Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

So, how can they not care?