Nothing in the world is absolute.
When it cos to foreign investnt in Premier League teams, so owners go out of their way to accommodate fans, afraid of upsetting them, while others take a completely different approach.
Take Cardiff City's Malaysian Chinese owner Vincent Tan, who happens to be the uncle of superstar Andy Lau's wife.
When he took over Cardiff City in 2012, his first decision was to change the team's traditional kit color from blue to red. The reason was simple: red is more popular in Asia.
Needless to say, this sparked huge opposition and angered the local fans.
Even Cardiff City's forr captain Perry ca forward to accuse the new owner of selling out the team's soul.
But money has its power.
First ca a £100 million investnt plan to pay off forr owner Sam Harman's £30 million debt, improve the training facilities, expand the stadium, and strengthen the squad.
After a series of moves, Cardiff City won promotion to the Premier League.
Suddenly, the wealthy boss from Malaysia turned from a villain into a hero.
This Asian owner was also willing to spend. In the first sumr transfer window after promotion, he invested more than £30 million, bringing in well-known players like del and Caulker.
On top of that, he secured the loan of Fabio from Manchester United, a big move.
But after 17 rounds, Cardiff sat 15th in the Premier League, just 4 points above Crystal Palace in 18th. The situation was precarious, and head coach Malky Mackay's position was in danger.
At this ti, Cardiff City faced Leeds United, who had been struggling recently.
…
It had to be said, Leeds United's recent form was poor. Since the November international break, they had not been playing well.
They lost 0-2 away to Arsenal, 1-3 away to Chelsea, drew 1-1 at ho with Manchester City, lost 2-3 at ho to Aston Villa, drew 1-1 away at Newcastle, and lost 2-3 at ho to Tottenham.
In their last six league matches, Leeds had lost four and drawn two, tumbling down to ninth place in the standings.
If not for their strong start, they would have fallen even further.
Cardiff City saw Leeds United's struggles and were eager to take advantage at ho to grab three points.
This is what people call striking while the iron is hot.
What's more, it was Boxing Day, when away teams often underperform.
That was human nature.
But to the shock of Cardiff City coach Malky Mackay and the 28,000 ho fans, Leeds United showed incredible form right from the start.
Their midfield and attack kept hamring away at Cardiff.
In the 14th minute, Coutinho dribbled through the middle and played a through ball. Salah broke into the box from the right and fired a low shot into the net for Leeds United's opening goal.
Just 7 minutes later, Felipe Anderson broke down the left, surged into the area, and squared the ball across goal. Kane, with his back to goal, held it up and laid it off sideways. Salah arrived and buried it for his second. 2-0!
In the 27th minute, Felipe Anderson once again attacked from the left, passing to Kane on the edge of the box. Kane controlled the ball, turned past a defender, and scored. 3-0!
In less than half an hour, Leeds had torn Cardiff apart with wave after wave of counterattacks, stunning the ho players and fans.
Even more importantly, the midfield trio of Fabinho, Kanté, and Coutinho completely controlled the ga, creating chances and constantly threatening Cardiff's goal.
…
"What did you talk about with Pochettino?"
In the away section at Cardiff City Stadium, Borrell curiously asked Gao Shen, who had traveled with the team.
Gao Shen and Su Qing had flown from Madrid to London with their son.
After spending a few days in London, they traveled to Cardiff to join the team.
During his stay in London, Gao Shen had watched recent Leeds United match videos and reviewed detailed analytical reports from the data center.
On the eve of the match, he had a long conversation with Pochettino at the hotel.
But no one knew what they had discussed.
Except the two of them.
"Nothing. Since Brozovic was injured, I just suggested Fabinho play as the defensive midfielder. Rabiot and Bruno Fernandes aren't really suited for that role."
Lucas and Borrell exchanged a knowing look and laughed.
Of course Gao Shen had said more than that. But out of respect for Pochettino, he wasn't revealing details.
After all, nearly every Leeds United player had been handpicked by Gao Shen. No one knew better than him their best positions, developnt paths, and potential.
The issues troubling Pochettino were mainly in midfield and attack.
In midfield, as Gao Shen had ntioned, Brozovic's injury left a hole. Pochettino tried Rabiot, Bruno Fernandes, and even Kimmich, but all had problems.
Gao Shen recomnded using Fabinho.
And sure enough, Fabinho started as the defensive midfielder in this match.
But the real key was in attack.
Earlier in the season, Leeds had been flying, climbing as high as fourth. But after that surge, their weaknesses were exposed.
Other Premier League teams, once dismissive of Leeds even after their big spending, suddenly realized this squad was still strong. Many began approaching matches against Leeds with greater caution, setting up defensively.
This forced Leeds' flaws into the open.
For example, Felipe Anderson, Coutinho, and Salah, all technical players, struggled to complent each other effectively with Kane up front.
Sotis Coutinho and Felipe Anderson even overlapped, hurting fluidity.
In Cardiff, Gao Shen's main advice to Pochettino was about the division of labor and cooperation between the four attackers.
Take Salah. Gao Shen pointed out that Salah was calm, lightning quick, with much-improved finishing. But he was not tall.
Why was he called the Egyptian ssi?
Because with his low center of gravity, quick stride frequency, and close ball control, he could break through opponents with sudden changes of pace and direction. Combined with the athleticism of African players, he was also strong at holding up the ball and linking play.
But Salah's weakness was that he struggled in tight, crowded spaces.
So how to use him?
Very simple. Maximize his strengths, hide his weaknesses.
In quick transitions, never force him into static positional attacks.
On the other side, Felipe Anderson excelled at carrying the ball and dribbling past defenders. With flair and creativity typical of Brazilians, many compared him to Neymar.
On the left was "Neymar," on the right "ssi," and in the middle, "little Iniesta."
Wasn't this basically a poor man's version of Barcelona?
So Gao Shen's suggestion was to focus attacks down the left, using Felipe Anderson to create overloads, then look for chances to switch inside or to the right.
Salah would then have more space to exploit, using his pace and calm finishing in the right channel.
For this ga, Pochettino adjusted the roles of his front four, unleashing their attacking potential.
…
In the first half, Leeds played brilliantly. Their midfield and attack were sharp and fast, typical of Pochettino's style, and Cardiff had no answers. Discover more novels at NoveI[F]ire
In the second half, Cardiff made changes in midfield, but it made no difference. The tide could not be turned.
Leeds continued launching counterattacks, and Kane added two more goals. One ca from a Coutinho long shot that the goalkeeper spilled, allowing Kane to pounce and finish the rebound.
The England striker completed a hat trick as Leeds crushed Cardiff 5-0 away.
This win did not change Leeds' league position, since Newcastle thrashed Stoke City 5-1 at ho and remained 6 points clear.
The White Rose still sat ninth, but the victory hugely boosted morale.
Pochettino also gained a lot from this match, especially from Gao Shen's guidance on attack, player positioning, and the way the players responded with enthusiasm and fire after tactical adjustnts.
But the unlucky one was Cardiff manager Malky Mackay.
The 40-year-old Scot, who had led Cardiff to promotion, was sacked by the club that sa night after the crushing defeat.
The decision caused an uproar the next day. Many Cardiff fans protested, saying the club had shown no respect to a manager who had delivered promotion, especially since the team was not yet in the relegation zone.
After forcing a kit color change, Vincent Tan was once again at the center of a storm of criticism.
Even Gao Shen hadn't expected that Leeds' victory would end with Mackay losing his job.
It reminded him of his days coaching Napoli.
(To be continued.)
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