In the UK, football has never just been a sport, but has a very deep community culture.
Every year around Christmas, teams ranging from the Premier League to the lowest level amateur teams hold many community activities, with the purpose of thanking and giving back to the fans who have supported the team all year round.
Some people may ask, how many football clubs are there in the UK?
The answer is, I don't know.
There must be some people who don’t believe it. Isn’t this nonsense?
It’s almost 2021, don’t you know yet?
really do not know.
According to current FA statistics, there are more than 40,000 clubs registered with the FA.
For England, which has a population of only over 50 million, there is almost one FA-registered club for every 1,000 people.
They can be found in the streets of major towns and remote wilderness areas in England. Some people even say that wherever there are people living, there will be a football club registered with the FA nearby.
The reason why I say I don’t know is because the actual number is not more than these 40,000.
Because there are still many, many who have not registered.
These clubs have penetrated into every community and every corner of England, and they have spread football culture throughout England.
Every Christmas, these clubs become active one after another and they want to give back to their fans in various ways.
Many people will think, why can’t the Premier League have a winter break?
The answer is here.
In England, the schedule after Christmas is a way for clubs to give back to their fans.
Not only can we not stop, but we must increase the number of games and even arrange more exciting games.
This is just like the Spring Festival in China, where blockbuster movies like to get together.
Because movie fans bring their families with them to the cinema.
For the same reason, during Christmas, fans also bring their families into the football stadium.
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Since the completion of the new stadium, especially the completion of the Westfield Shopping Center and Commercial Street, Leeds United has cooperated with its partner, Leeds City Council, to organize many colorful activities every Christmas.
Some are deep into the community, and some are around Amazon Stadium.
Therefore, regardless of whether there is a game or not, the area around the stadium is almost full of tourists.
The whole club also took action. The players were divided into different teams and went deep into the surrounding communities, nursing homes, children's hospitals, special hospitals, etc. to participate in various activities and give out various gifts carefully prepared by the club.
This is a very important move for Leeds United.
Especially in recent years, with the rise of Leeds United's reputation, the team's fans are now not only in Leeds, but have even spread to the entire Yorkshire. Many Cheshire fans even go to Leeds United to watch the game.
The various activities organized by Leeds United also attract many tourists from home and abroad in the UK.
Leeds United's Amazon Stadium itself is known as the most dreamy football stadium in the world. Coupled with the delicious and fun surroundings, it naturally attracts countless fans.
This has created a lively and bustling scene around the Leeds Amazon Stadium for days, with jubilation all night long.
On Christmas Eve, Leeds United held a huge celebration banquet at the AXA Center.
Different from previous years, the scene this year will be even bigger.
In addition to inviting the club's players, youth team players, club coaches, and employees, there are also their families, as well as the club's partners, as well as the team's legends and fan representatives.
This is an unprecedented scene for Leeds United!
The club also specially invited famous British and European chefs to come and sit down, as well as famous British singers and bands, and specially prepared a Christmas dinner for everyone.
In fact, for every home game, Leeds United invites singers, bands, and other performers. These are already routine programs. The purpose is naturally to activate the atmosphere and make fans stay around the stadium more.
In the past, Christmas dinners were not as big a scene as they are now.
This year is very special.
What's even more special is that in the past, the club's CEO Fernando Lucas took the stage to deliver a speech, and even Chairman Su Qing rarely appeared, but this time it was Gao Shen who delivered the speech in person.
This is extraordinary!
Everyone knows Gao Shen's influence in Leeds United, European football, and even world football.
When Fernando Lucas introduced Gao Shen, the scene immediately burst into extremely warm applause, cheers and screams.
First of all, Gao Shen, on behalf of the club, would like to thank all the players, coaches, staff, and partners for their strong support.
He said that Leeds United could not be where it is today without the joint efforts of everyone.
"This is by no means the credit of me alone, nor is it just the credit of my colleagues in our management team, but belongs to everyone here. I am here to represent Leeds United and thank you all!"
Gao Shen said that Leeds United currently ranks first in the Premier League, which is a very gratifying change. It also means that Leeds United’s adjustments in the past period have achieved results.
He specifically explained that the club has completed a round of update iterations.
Currently, the oldest player on the team is veteran Jose Fonte. He is 37 years old, but he is still active in the first team. Of course, his actual playing time is not very large.
There is also captain Vardy, whose playing time has also been reduced this season. This is because Harland and Alvarez performed very well, and Rashford can also play the center position, so Vardy’s playing time
was greatly squeezed.
The old captain is already 33 years old. After winning the Premier League Golden Boot last season, it feels like he has fulfilled a wish. He has relaxed and his condition has also dropped.
This is actually quite normal.
Among the main lineup, the oldest one is goalkeeper Alisson, who is currently 28 years old.
What next?
23-year-old Ruben Dias, Rashford and Ramsdale.
In other words, apart from Jose Fonte, Vardy and goalkeeper Alisson, the oldest member of Leeds United’s current regular lineup is 23 years old.
This is very outrageous.
But it is such a team that is currently ranked as the leader of the Premier League.
Gao Shen promised that the most important task for the team next is to stabilize and maintain the stability of the overall lineup, while also continuing to improve the team's competitiveness.
"I want to say that our goal is not just to win one championship, or to win two championships. We hope to maintain our competitiveness for the championship in the long term!"
High-level goals are not empty talk, but are based on confidence.
"From the 2015/16 season, when we finished fourth in the Premier League, to now, it is already the sixth season. We are the only two teams in the Premier League that have never fallen out of the top four in the Premier League. From the 2016/17 season
Since the beginning, we have never fallen out of the top three, so I can proudly say that we are a top team in the Premier League!"
Gao Shen's words received a wave of applause from the audience.
Leeds United is mainly composed of youth training players, so almost everyone present comes from Leeds United's youth training camp. They have a natural identity and emotional attachment to Leeds United, so they will be proud of Leeds United's achievements.
.
Likewise, they will also fight their last breath for Leeds United on the pitch.
Gao Shen also promised that the team will steadily increase the salaries of players, coaches and employees, which will take some time.
"Salary control is never an easy thing. I think you all know that many clubs have suffered big losses or even fallen apart because of salary, so we have always been very, very cautious."
"But here, I promise everyone that Leeds United will further increase the team's salary package in the next two years."
Currently, Leeds United's maximum salary is controlled at 200,000 pounds, but only three players in the team can receive this salary.
This does not include Haaland.
As Gao Shen said, salary promotion is a process that requires appropriate control and guidance.
It is ridiculous behavior to rashly give a maximum salary with a wave of your hand.
In fact, the harmonious atmosphere in the Leeds United locker room now is related to the team's salary control.
This is a university question.
In the next two years, Leeds United is expected to increase its maximum salary to a weekly salary of 250,000 pounds, and then basically stabilize it at this level. This will make Leeds United's salary expenditures probably rank among the top four or even third in the Premier League.
It is definitely incomparable to teams such as Manchester City and Manchester United.
Of course, if the players really can't wait and can't wait to get higher salaries, then Leeds United has no choice but to sell them.
Finally, Gao Shen solemnly announced that he was very satisfied with the current situation of Leeds United.
"I believe that with the strength we have shown so far, we are fully qualified and capable to compete with the Premier League, Europe, and the best teams in the world. I have full confidence in you."
"Here, I sincerely thank you all for your hard work and dedication during the past period, and I hope you can continue your efforts and help us Leeds United move forward!"
"From now on, we have only one goal, and that is the championship!"
"Champion of all!"
Gao Shen's confident shout ignited the enthusiasm of everyone present. They all cheered and responded to the call from Gao Shen. At the same time, they were full of expectations and confidence in the future of the team.
Win the Premier League first, then the Champions League. Only Leeds will be the king of football!
This is the first time that Gao Shen and Leeds United have shown their ambitions so obviously.
Because they all have a clear view of the situation, and with Leeds United's current strength and the team's overall competitiveness, the time is ripe.
If Leeds United doesn't dare to take another step after reaching this point, then sooner or later these talented young players under their command will switch to other teams.
This is definitely a huge loss for Leeds United.
More importantly, Gao Shen is about to lose his advantage as a time traveler. Before that, he must leave a competitive core team for Leeds United to compete in European football in the next few years, or even in the next ten years.
