With a swish, Gao Shen pulled open the floor-to-ceiling curtains in his bedroom. Bright sunlight flooded the room, making him squint. It felt a little uncomfortable, yet at the same time, refreshing.
As someone from the south, he had never quite gotten used to the British weather.
In contrast, he still preferred climates like those in Spain or Italy.
In the UK, every time he looked up, the sky was gloomy. It was a suffocating kind of dreariness, a feeling of being weighed down.
A sunny day like today was a rare occurrence.
Even rarer was the fact that Gao Shen had no urgent tasks to deal with.
There was no training scheduled for the day. All the national team players had left for international duty, while those without call-ups were given a day off. Naturally, the coaching staff followed suit.
Of course, the break lasted only one day, training would resume tomorrow.
For once, Gao Shen found himself with free time and didn't know how to spend it.
In the past, his mornings followed a strict routine—wake up, freshen up, then head straight to Carrington.
Carlo, Lucas, or another member of the coaching staff would drive over to pick him up. They'd have breakfast together before diving into a busy day that often stretched late into the night. By the time he got home, he'd go straight to bed, utterly exhausted.
Thinking about it now, it was almost embarrassing.
He had lived in Alderley Edge for so long but had never really taken the time to appreciate his surroundings until today.
He had heard that Ferguson lived in Wilmslow, just north of Alderley Edge. Should he pay him a visit?
But Gao Shen quickly dismissed the idea. They would be seeing each other soon enough.
The annual FA Coaches Conference was approaching, and as a Premier League manager, Gao Shen was invited as a special guest.
This conference, held once a year by the English FA, lasted for three days. Unlike UEFA's elite coaching summit, this event was open to all professional coaches registered with the FA. Each day, renowned coaches were invited to give special lectures.
In simple terms, it was a gathering for professional coaches to exchange ideas.
Of course, with so many attendees, the quality of discussions varied greatly. It couldn't compare to UEFA's elite summit.
For the past two or three years, besides the Premier League itself, the most talked-about topic in English football had been youth development.
Everyone knew that securing a spot in the Premier League was incredibly expensive. The bottom line? There were too many players, but not enough top-quality talent.
As early as the start of the century, Howard Wilkins, the FA's technical director, had suggested following the examples of Italy's Coverciano and France's Clairefontaine to establish a national training center in England.
However, the plan was shelved due to the massive overspending on Wembley Stadium.
But England's performances in recent tournaments had been disappointing. Despite having a wealth of star players, results remained underwhelming. Now, the FA was looking to restart the national training center project.
Apparently, Wilkins—the same Wilkins who once coached in China with Shanghai—had already acquired a large plot of land in Burton for this purpose. But it remained unused.
If Gao Shen had to guess, that land would eventually become St. George's Park, the future heart of English football.
The FA had reached out to him, hoping he could give a special lecture on youth player development. But Gao Shen had politely declined. He simply didn't have the time to prepare for such an event.
In fact, according to Brian Kidd, it was rare for a Premier League manager to give a special lecture at the FA's annual conference.
"Unless he's currently unemployed!"
Clearly, Gao Shen wasn't the only one who had turned down the offer.
Still, he would need to attend to show respect to the FA.
That was where he would likely run into Ferguson.
It wasn't just the English FA, UEFA had also sent him an invitation to attend the elite coaching summit and awards ceremony. This year, a Napoli player was set to win an award. But once again, Gao Shen politely declined.
He was now the manager of Manchester City, a team that wasn't even competing in the Champions League. Why would he show up?
Thinking about it, Gao Shen wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or frustrated.
Manchester City was out of the Champions League and only had two domestic cup competitions—the League Cup and the FA Cup. But in the grand scheme of things, these tournaments didn't hold much significance.
The FA Cup carried more prestige, but it wasn't particularly appealing to him.
Essentially, Manchester City was operating on a single front this season, focusing entirely on the Premier League.
That would undoubtedly be a huge advantage.
But missing out on Champions League football still left Gao Shen feeling a little disappointed. After all, he wanted to compete against more teams from different countries and tactical styles.
Fortunately, the Premier League itself was packed with elite managers.
…
By the time Gao Shen had finished washing up and gone downstairs, the housekeeping staff had already arrived.
They had brought him a lavish breakfast from a nearby hotel and asked if he would be having lunch at home.
As he ate, he scrolled through the latest news on his phone.
The headlines were dominated by Manchester City's 3-1 victory over Portsmouth last night. The team had secured their fourth consecutive league win and continued to lead the Premier League table.
The praise was overwhelming, almost excessive, as if it were being handed out for free.
Even Gao Shen himself felt a little embarrassed reading some of the articles.
Was he really that good?
At the moment, four teams in the Premier League had maintained perfect records with four straight wins—Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham. Unsurprisingly, those four teams occupied the top four spots in the standings.
That Chelsea, under Ancelotti, had won four straight games was no surprise. But Liverpool and Tottenham's performances were more unexpected—especially Liverpool, as Redknapp's team had been performing exceptionally well.
Gao Shen remembered that in his previous life, Benítez had a terrible start to this season. But now, Liverpool had won four consecutive games, surpassing Tottenham Hotspur to claim third place in the Premier League.
It had to be said, Biglia's arrival had been a timely reinforcement for Liverpool.
Given the current circumstances, Gao Shen wasn't sure how things would unfold for Benítez and his team.
However, one thing was certain: the void left by Xabi Alonso's move to Real Madrid in his previous life had now been filled by Biglia. Liverpool's overall strength was significantly better than before.
Below the top four were Arsenal and Manchester United.
In the fourth round of the Premier League, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw, with Manchester United failing to secure a win at home.
The Gunners were stronger than in Gao Shen's previous life. Key players like Adebayor and Kolo Touré had stayed, and Wenger still had a squad full of talented players at his disposal.
By contrast, the team in the most concerning situation was Manchester United.
With Cristiano Ronaldo gone and Tevez also pushing for a move, the Red Devils had suffered the most noticeable decline especially in attack.
To make matters worse, Ferguson had once again missed out on signing Benzema this summer.
For a team like Manchester United, failing to defeat Arsenal at home was disappointing.
Although only four rounds had been played, the league standings were already beginning to take shape.
Unless something unexpected happened, these six teams would likely dominate the table.
Gao Shen found the current situation somewhat puzzling.
At this stage, Manchester United seemed to be in the most precarious position. With Ronaldo gone and Tevez on the verge of leaving, the Red Devils were significantly weakened. Their only truly strong signing was Valencia, while Owen had arrived on a free transfer, offering limited impact.
Under these circumstances, Manchester United's overall strength had declined considerably.
As a result, they sat in sixth place in the standings—the lowest among the traditional top teams.
Had Ferguson really not considered reinforcing his squad?
If that were the case, Manchester United might struggle to even secure a top-four finish, let alone challenge for the title.
At the very least, Arsenal had kept Fabregas and signed Vermaelen for over 10 million euros, strengthening their squad.
And what about Manchester United?
The landscape of the Premier League had shifted!
…
After breakfast, Gao Shen took advantage of his free time to make a transatlantic call, first to his parents in China, then to Su Qing in the capital.
Although they spoke or chatted online almost daily, long phone calls like this were rare. These days, Gao Shen barely even had time for gaming.
There was no way around it. Everything at Manchester City was still in its early stages, and on top of being head coach, Gao Shen also served as the club's technical director. In addition to overseeing the first team, he was deeply involved in the youth setup.
For example, Rodolfo Borrell wasn't just the first team's technical director—he also acted as an advisor for the youth academy.
Manchester City was in the midst of a major overhaul, aggressively pushing for a Spanish-style youth development model, something Gao Shen strongly advocated.
With so much to handle, his schedule was packed.
Su Qing was equally busy, but she still found time for a long conversation with him.
She told him that she had everything prepared and would fly to the UK as soon as the National Day holiday arrived.
Naturally, their call was filled with affectionate words. After all, it had been a long time since they had last seen each other.
Thinking about their upcoming reunion, Gao Shen felt a warm sense of anticipation.
But then he realized there was still a full month to wait, and suddenly, that warmth turned into a feeling of emptiness.
According to the schedule, while Su Qing was in the UK, Manchester City would have an away match in Birmingham.
Just thinking about it was frustrating.
Unexpectedly, Su Qing comforted him instead.
She told him she could accompany him to the away match and watch him coach live.
"You know, I always see you on TV, in newspapers, and in magazines, but I rarely get to see you in person. Aside from the Champions League final, this will be the first time. I want to see you lead your team to victory," Su Qing said with a smile full of anticipation.
Gao Shen immediately agreed. "When the time comes, I'll make sure to give you a win!"
Su Qing nodded excitedly, her expectations growing.
Reluctantly, they ended the call.
Gao Shen gradually adjusted his emotions, but before he could fully settle down, his phone rang again.
Caller ID: Fernando Lucas.
"Hello, Fernando," Gao Shen answered.
"Just got some news," Lucas reported anxiously as soon as the call connected.
"I heard Manchester United has started making moves in the transfer market. Ferguson has realized the team's current weaknesses and the danger they're in. He's trying to bring in one or two strong reinforcements before the transfer window closes. United is moving fast."
Gao Shen sighed internally, just as expected.
Only four rounds into the season, but the problems were already apparent, and the competitive landscape was beginning to take shape.
It would have been surprising if Ferguson hadn't started looking for reinforcements.
(To be continued.)
***
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