Chapter 473: Preparations for the Christmas Match Week Drift in Little Brother Rodri's Heart

betway: The odds for Tang Ye being Manchester United's top assist provider in the 2018-19 season have dropped to 1.04; due to the excessively low odds, betting has been suspended, and no wagers will be accepted after 12:00 AM London time on December 28.

2018-19 Premier League Assist Leaderboard (as of Round 18)

1. Tang Ye (Manchester United), 20 assists.

2. Hazard (Chelsea), 7 assists.

3. Ai Ai Kesen (Tottenham), 6 assists.

3. Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth), 6 assists.

3. Alexander-Arnold (Liwupu), 6 assists.

Last season, Tang Ye's total league assists were roughly equal to the sum of the second and third-place players.

At that time, many Premier League fans joked that Tang Ye was even stronger than the second and third-place players combined.

This season, however, the situation has undergone a slight change.

7 + 6 + 6 < 20.

After achieving an assist hat-trick in Round 18, the Manchester United midfielder's total league assists now exceed the combined total of the players ranked second, third, and fourth.

Regarding this, the YouTube influencer Stock Investor shared his thoughts during a live stream.

"Facts prove the LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science) professor was right; betting on Tom as the Premier League's top assist provider is not a worthwhile venture. If all you seek is a stable 4% annual return, then I believe investing isn't for you; investing is not for the timid."

"So what is investing really about? Investing is about information asymmetry!"

The streamer suddenly became excited: "The Asian Cup is about to start, and you're still here betting on the Premier League?"

【The Asian Cup doesn't feel very stable; China doesn't seem strong.】

【Don't bet on the team; bet on TY being the top assist provider; I feel the Golden Boot is also a good bet.】

【Is... is this what information asymmetry is?】

【Understood, I'm switching my allegiance to China right now; from now on, I am no longer Italian.】

【If TY leaves, what will happen to Manchester United?】

The Asian Cup hasn't started yet, but the gamblers in Europe and America are already ready.

Unsurprisingly, during the Asian Cup, the Chinese national team will suddenly gain a massive wave of supporters.

These supporters share one characteristic: although they come from all over the world, they are all die-hard fans of the Chinese team, shouting the name of the great GGBond!

"Front, front, move up!"

"Pass it to me!"

Making a run together with his teammates, Tang Ye directly found Rodri, who was dribbling forward.

Little Rodri!

Tang Ye moved in, seizing the opportunity to suddenly slide tackle.

Boom!

He successfully completed a tackle on Rodri!

"Oh, Tom!"

Rodri sat on the ground, spreading his hands helplessly: "Your tackling is getting more and more formidable."

"Haha."

Tang Ye pulled Rodri up from the ground, and the next second, he heard the system's voice.

【Defense: 74 → 75】

Tang Ye's defensive skills were truly not outstanding; these attributes were all grinding out through defensive positioning and tackling ability.

But it didn't matter; a defense rating of 75 was still quite sufficient for the current Tang Ye.

Tang Ye (Age 40)

【Ball Control: 88; Passing: 91】

【Shooting: 80; Heading: 60; Set Pieces: 80】

【Speed: 78; Stamina: 76; Physical Strength: 85】

【Defense: 75; Vision: 97】

Overall Rating: 86

Tang Ye really wanted to push his Ball Control stat up to 90; he just didn't know when he would receive a new mission.

Three legendary templates should be enough, right?

"Tom, when are you leaving? Are you playing in the Bournemouth match?"

Mata and Valencia walked over.

The fact that Tang Ye was still at the training base meant he would definitely participate in the Round 19 league match.

But whether he would play in the Round 20 match at the end of the month was uncertain.

"I'll leave after playing against Huddersfield; I won't play in the Bournemouth match."

Tang Ye juggled the ball with his foot: "Because I have to participate in a training match, I really have no choice; I must leave."

Tang Ye's tone was slightly apologetic.

In his plan, he was supposed to play all the matches in December, but unfortunately, the plan had changed.

The Asian Cup was very important; it was impossible for Tang Ye not to participate in a single warm-up match.

"Eh, it's fine, it's fine; you must do your best in the Asian Cup."

Ashley Young put his arm around Tang Ye's neck: "Even without you, we will definitely beat Bournemouth, but you guys might not; can you win, Tom? South Korea is quite strong."

"Hey, Youngy!"

Tang Ye pretended to be very angry and directly pushed Ashley Young away.

"We can win too, you know."

"Haha, sorry, sorry, Tom, hope you guys get good results."

After Ashley Young finished speaking, Rodri walked over carrying two bottles of mineral water.

He handed a bottle to Tang Ye, but just as Tang Ye reached for it, he suddenly pulled back, turned, and handed it to Ashley Young instead.

Tang Ye directly snatched the water Rodri had saved for him from Rodri's hand.

"Haha, so what's your goal?"

Rodri asked.

Tang Ye, who had just been joking with his teammates, suddenly fell silent.

What goal...

Hmm, that was a very good question.

And also a very, very difficult question to answer.

"I don't know the situation in Asia for you guys; who's stronger, you or Japan?"

Rodri asked casually.

Tang Ye looked into Rodri's eyes: "Hmm... Rod, I'd really like to know the answer to that too, but the problem is I don't know either."

"Japan does seem to have real strength."

Ashley Young nodded slightly.

Rodri laughed loudly: "Haha, what a pity national teams can't be loaned out, otherwise I'd go to China and help you play in the Asian Cup."

Rodri had only played in the World Cup for his senior national team, so he was quite interested in tournaments like the Asian Cup and the European Championship.

"Screw off, Rod."

Tang Ye turned and walked away.

"Hey! Tom, don't be like that; even if I'm not strong, I could still play as a support for you."

"Hey, Tom, don't look down on me; are you looking down on me?"

Tang Ye acted as if he didn't want Rodri playing for the Chinese team, which directly made Rodri anxious.

"I'm not weak, Tom!"

Today was Christmas, but the Manchester United players returned to the training base in the afternoon.

This was because they would face their 19th Premier League match tomorrow.

During Christmas week, Manchester United would host Huddersfield at home!

"Actually, training tomorrow morning would be fine too."

Rubbing his hands, Tang Ye entered the training ground.

It had been snowing in Manchester these past few days; if the team hadn't just taken first place in the league, Tang Ye's passion might have been swallowed by the snow.

So cold!

"No, tomorrow morning is not possible!"

Ten Hag, for some reason, heard Tang Ye's words from far away: "The match is at 3 PM; how can you train in the morning?"

"This is a critical period! We cannot lose a single match now."

Tang Ye really wanted to tell Mr. Erik that he had already said this sentence more than a dozen times this season.

But Tang Ye didn't do that.

Because what Ten Hag said was indeed the truth.

When they were in second place, Manchester United had to charge for first, so they couldn't lose a single match.

Now that they were in first place, to avoid being overtaken by the team in second, they still couldn't lose a single match.

This is the downside of playing in a top-tier league; the pressure is simply too great.

Noticing snowbanks pushed out by staff around the training ground, Tang Ye had a sudden inspiration and placed the ball on top of a snowbank.

"Watch closely, Rod!"

Run-up!

Swing the right leg!

Boom!

A powerful kick sent the ball toward his teammate, and chunks of snow exploded outward.

"Merry Christmas!"

Rodri quickly controlled the ball, then juggled it to Rashford.

Rashford then passed the ball to De Jong.

Another powerful kick!

Crack!

"Merry Christmas!"

"Damn, Frenkie, your kick was way off target."

Tang Ye helplessly raised both hands.

If he wanted to receive De Jong's pass, he would need to be as tall as LeBron to have a chance.

"It's too slippery in the snow; I didn't clear all the snow here."

De Jong made excuses for his misplaced pass.

"It's fine."

Hearing De Jong's words, Tang Ye lowered his head and forcefully scraped the ground with his cleats.

Not slippery at all.

Try that patch of frozen grass outside.

Whoosh!

"Holy shit!"

Tang Ye shouted in his native tongue, and the next second he smashed directly backward onto the grass.

Thud!

"Hey!"

Valencia and De Jong ran over quickly, while Ten Hag, clad in a down jacket, was also rushing over.

"Shit, you okay, Tom?"

The players didn't immediately help Tang Ye up, choosing instead to wait for the team doctor, but Tang Ye rubbed his back and then stood up on his own.

"Damn, it hurts, it hurts so much."

Falling backward is extremely dangerous; fortunately, Tang Ye reacted quickly enough that his head didn't smash into the ground.

"Fuck!"

Ten Hag spotted the icy patch on the grass and found Fan Fan Dejiahe.

"Where's the pitch manager? Why is there still an icy spot on the grass? Is this a professional team?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe's mouth twitched: "I'm not in charge of that either."

"It's Christmas today; it's pretty normal for them to want to clock off early, right?"

"Fuck, phew..."

Ten Hag waved his hand, his face turning slightly red with anger.

Today's training lacked intensity, and dinner time was approaching soon.

Having dinner at the training base at 7 o'clock first, then eating some more with family after returning home—this was the habit of Manchester United players.

A warm canteen, plenty of food.

Martial and Lin Lin Jiade had even built a fire in the room.

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad!"

"Take a sad song and make it better!"

"..."

"Hey Jude, don't be afraid!"

A song by The Beatles; this thing was absolutely no difficulty for Manchester United players.

The players were cheering for themselves, wishing Manchester United good results in the remaining two matches of December.

And of course, for the remaining half of the season next year!

Besides that, Rodri took this opportunity to show off the Chinese he had painstakingly practiced for three years.

"In January, Manchester United doesn't just have the league and the FA Cup; there's also Tom's Asian Cup. We are together in this."

Tang Ye, who was cracking melon seeds to eat, suddenly lifted his head: "Hmm, Rodri, what do you want to do?"

Cough, cough!

"Turn down the speakers!"

Rodri stood up, took the microphone from Bailly's hand.

The room grew quiet; all the Manchester United players wanted to know what kind of blessing Rodri would send to Tom.

Taking a deep breath: "Chinese is indeed a bit difficult, so what I've learned might not be very good."

"It's fine, it's fine, go for it!!!"

Mata shouted loudly, while Rashford clapped quickly.

And Little Brother Number One, Rodri, was ready!

"Phew..."

"Five-star~ red flag~~ you are my pride~~"

"Five-star red flag~~ I am proud of you, I cheer for you, I bless you~"

Tang Ye: 6.

"Your name is more important than my life~~~"

"Rodri!"

Although they didn't understand, the Manchester United players knew this was awesome, and that was enough.

"Tom, now you at least have to win a championship."

Ashley Young nudged Tang Ye's waist with his elbow: "I feel like if you don't win a championship, you'd be letting Rodri down."

Tang Ye held his head in both hands.

"Rodri, you're too strong, damn it."

Tang Ye now had a feeling.

It was that a red flag was fluttering in Rodri's heart.

That was the place where Rodri truly belonged; a little brother should stay with his big brother.

It was just a pity that constrained by certain things, his dream had not been realized.

What dream was that?

That was...

The Chinese Dream!

(End of Chapter)