Huang Hao gave Li Jianqin a glance, and continued to express his thoughts.
“Next season, we should be able to completely turn things around, as long as we stay in the EFL Championship. So I need 2 million, part of which will be used to buy players, after all, the EFL Championship is not for the faint of heart.”
“The other part is to give the players a raise. Our current batch of players were bought at a low price, so the salary given to them in their contracts at that time was not high. But now most of the players have performed excellently and increased their value. Now many EFL Championship and League One teams are seeking to buy our players, and even two Premier League teams have sent inquiries.”
“Awesome!”
Li Jianqin, who had just taken a big bite of lamb, spoke indistinctly before swallowing the meat.
“Huang Hao, I, Li Jianqin, give you a big thumbs up!”
“Although most players have feelings for Cambridge United, players still need to support their families by playing football. Currently, everyone has not expressed a demand for a raise, but if we ignore it, as time goes on, and with the push of intentional agents, I’m afraid Cambridge United will fall apart.”
“So, we need to re-sign contracts with them. Although it will cost more money, we will first increase their loyalty, and second, we can avoid losing both money and talent by increasing the termination clauses.”
Li Jianqin raised his hands, “This time I’m giving you two big thumbs up. You are even more ‘bingbing’ than Ouyang Bing.”
Ouyang Bing rolled her eyes, “Don’t come to my room tonight.”
“Uh!”
“Hahaha” Huang Hao and Lin Kexin laughed their stomachs sore.
On May 25th, Doncaster, witnessed by 52,000 fans, finally defeated Leeds United 2-1 at Wembley Stadium, securing the last spot for next season’s EFL Championship, and this season of League One finally came to an end.
With the confirmation of the last promotion spot, the various awards for this season’s League One were announced one by one.
Dzeko won the League One Player of the Season with an average rating of 7.19. Dzeko, Vardy, and Lewandowski took the first, third, and ninth spots on the top scorer list.
And Huang Hao, naturally, was elected as the League One Coach of the Season without any suspense.
Cambridge United also had 5 players selected for the League One Team of the Season. This season, Cambridge United made a significant mark on the League One stage. Of course, Huang Hao does not wish to return here one day.
Huang Hao had not yet selected suitable candidates for the team from a large pile of scout reports. However, one person came to his office first.
This person was Stevens, Cambridge United’s original starting goalkeeper.
Huang Hao was first stunned, then immediately guessed the reason for his arrival.
Stevens is a homegrown youth player from Cambridge United. At the tender age of 16, he made his debut in the England League Two. He was the starting goalkeeper for Cambridge United when Huang Hao was in charge and they were playing in the National League.
Now, in the young Cambridge United team, although Stevens is not old, only 23, Huang Hao has chosen Pantilimon, who is only 20. Due to the special nature of the goalkeeper position, Stevens could literally sit on the bench until retirement.
So, for the sake of his career, Stevens wanted to leave.
“Stevens, is there something you want to tell me?”
“Boss, Swindon has contacted me.”
Stevens did not explain much, which indirectly showed his attitude.
Huang Hao did not immediately reply, but instead rested one hand on his chin and the other on the desk, constantly tapping the surface with his index finger, clearly making a decision.
“Stevens, next season, the team will be in the EFL Championship. This is a brand new stage, are you sure?”
“After all, Swindon only finished 18th this season.”
After much thought, Huang Hao asked Stevens.
“Thank you, Boss, I know that a high-level League is what everyone aspires to.”
“But I also know my own level. I can’t compete with Pantilimon, and even the new young lad Oblak is much better than me. Plus, the goalkeeper position is one that no coach will easily rotate.”
With that, Stevens smiled sincerely.
“It seems you’ve thought it through seriously, so I won’t try to persuade you.”
“Boss, League One is already very good for me.” Seeing that Stevens was determined to leave, Huang Hao did not continue to stop him. But after all, he was a player they had fought alongside for three years, and one of the longest-serving players currently in the Cambridge United squad, Huang Hao was still a little reluctant, as he was certainly a qualified substitute.
But professional football is just that realistic: the capable rise, the mediocre fall. If Stevens were forced to stay with the team, he would only be accompanying the water cooler, which would not be the best choice for him. If Stevens were already 35, he might accept the role of water cooler manager, but he is only 22 now.
“OK, Stevens, to be honest, I’m reluctant to let you go.”
“But I respect your choice, after all, I really can’t promise a starting position.”
“Also, I will arrange a small farewell ceremony for you at the club. You are the first player since I coached Cambridge United who deserves this.”
Stevens felt respect and sincerity in Huang Hao’s words, and his emotions became a little excited.
“Thank you, boss, you made my last time at Cambridge United very wonderful!”
“I even thought my career would be spent at the National League level.”
Huang Hao smiled, thinking, Stevens, I even want to take you to the Premier League in the future! Soon, Swindon’s offer arrived at the club via fax.
115,000 pounds. Huang Hao instructed Adams not to bargain at all, hoping that the other club would give Stevens a relatively generous contract.
To Huang Hao’s disappointment, Swindon only offered Stevens a one-year contract, but Stevens still chose to accept it. Who knows where Stevens will go after a year, he could only offer his blessings.
A few days later, at Abbey Stadium, all of Cambridge United’s core management were present. Huang Hao personally handed the trophy with Stevens’ name on it to him and gave Stevens a big hug. Fans sang songs written for Stevens and presented carefully prepared gifts, allowing Stevens to feel the fans’ love one last time at Abbey Stadium.
When Stevens’ transfer came to an end, the midfield position on Huang Hao’s shortlist was once again heavily circled. A few days after Stevens’ transfer to Swindon, another player submitted a transfer request to Huang Hao.
This time, it was the team’s versatile attacking player, Warren Clark.
Clark is a very good substitute player. This season, he made 9 appearances for Cambridge United, scoring 1 goal and contributing 3 assists.
However, being somewhat slender, he lacks speed and strength, and his ability would probably not be enough to establish himself in the EFL Championship. So, Huang Hao waved his hand and gave the green light for Clark’s transfer. Clark finally joined Luton, who had just been promoted from League Two this season. Luton directly paid Cambridge United a transfer fee of 95,000 pounds.
Hawkins, who had an unstable performance in the latter half of the season, was also put on the transfer list by Huang Hao, as there were better Lovren and Vida waiting to play. League One team Southend United eventually came calling and took Hawkins for 200,000 pounds.
What made Huang Hao laugh and cry was that his transfer budget not only wasn’t spent but also increased by 410,000 pounds!
But in this way, the original 26-man squad, with 3 players sold and 5 players returning home after their loans expired, Cambridge United was left with only 18 players. Reinforcements were urgently needed!
Originally, he thought that with money, things would become very simple. Unfortunately, Huang Hao’s idea was too naive. Cambridge United’s current financial strength not only couldn’t compete with other EFL Championship clubs but was even far behind established League One powerhouses!
When they were in League One, Cambridge United’s total wage bill consistently ranked last. Although they eventually won the League One championship trophy, this fact was widely publicized by the media.
Although after being promoted to the EFL Championship, players generally received a 10-30% salary increase as per their contracts, the highest-paid players in the squad, Dzeko and Vardy, only earned 4,500 pounds per week. This kind of treatment for star players in other EFL Championship teams is simply unimaginable.
Some media even did special reports on this. How did such a poor small team manage to break through from the League One powerhouses and even dominate?
The final answer was that Huang Hao possessed a magical power that could unite the players.
When Huang Hao saw this conclusion, he almost spat water on the newspaper, and even thought of the famous domestic program “Approaching Science”! What a logical genius!
In fact, Huang Hao knew that the players who steadfastly remained at Cambridge United were mostly repaying Huang Hao’s kindness for recognizing their talent.
Most of them had failed to reach an agreement with their original teams on contract renewals for various reasons, or were even directly kicked out by their old clubs.
Only Huang Hao found them at this time, and the promises he made were fulfilled one by one, allowing them to rediscover their lost selves on the field.
For a player, to meet a Head Coach who trusts and understands them, after having experienced so much, they know how difficult it is.
However, Huang Hao would not exploit them endlessly. As the team’s financial situation improved, Adams would begin contract negotiations with the main players after the holidays, and their weekly wages would increase again at that time.
People always need to eat, otherwise, when faced with temptation, all retention efforts are futile.
But all of this was clearly incomprehensible to players outside of Cambridge United, especially those with the ability to establish themselves in the EFL Championship.
So Huang Hao ran into a lot of trouble at the beginning of this transfer window!
After Adams returned frustrated, Huang Hao still wouldn’t give up, trying to use his persuasive tongue to lure players back. As a result, the agent directly said: “We understand your club’s situation, and you cannot meet our salary demands. Sorry.”
The persistent Huang Hao even tried to haggle, but when he heard a weekly salary of 14,000 pounds, Huang Hao very decisively said goodbye.
What’s even more infuriating is that the cunning agents, seeing the newly promoted Cambridge United, directly asked for exorbitant fees! Players with a weekly salary of around 3,000 pounds would ask for 6,000 pounds!
Huang Hao suppressed his anger and fought several rounds with the agent, finally bringing it down to 4,500 pounds. He originally thought he could sign the player smoothly, but a few days later, the player suddenly joined another team!
What was even more frustrating was yet to come. When Huang Hao had someone inquire about the player’s weekly salary, it was only 3,000 pounds!
The reason was very simple: Cambridge United was just a new team in the EFL Championship, with too many uncertainties. And the other team was a veteran team that had been playing in the EFL Championship for many years!
This is too much bullying!
Huang Hao was so angry he became withdrawn, yet he was helpless. The team’s current situation was indeed like this; it couldn’t transform into a big club overnight. Thinking of this, Huang Hao felt relieved. “You just wait, give me a few more years.”
Today you ignore me; tomorrow I’ll make you unreachable!