As a manager, the first thing you need to do is make your team understand what the team's goals are.
With a clear goal, everyone will have a direction to work toward and won't be working in isolation.
Gao Shen made it very clear to everyone: Leeds United's next objective is to return to the Premier League within two years.
"I know this won't be easy," Gao Shen said bluntly.
"I'm sure you've all seen that we're currently broke. Our youth team is seriously lacking, and our training base is outdated and terrible. Don't think I'm looking down on it—honestly, even I can't stand it."
His words made everyone laugh.
In European football, training facilities are held to very high standards.
There's even a popular saying that some treat like gospel:
"The most important purpose of training is to boost players' confidence. Only through high-intensity, high-quality training can you achieve this and genuinely improve the team's real match performance."
Now tell me, how could a manager who says things like this not care about training facilities?
"The Thorp Arch training base is just temporary. In the future, we'll build a new, state-of-the-art training center and youth academy in central Leeds. That'll be our core!"
Afterward, Gao Shen didn't hide anything and said plainly, "For now, we don't have money!"
"But once we're in the Premier League, we will!" he said confidently.
If someone else had said that, everyone would've scoffed.
"Another clueless boss making empty promises."
But if it was Gao Shen saying it, things were different.
Especially now, with nearly all the media, fans, and even teams around the world treating Gao Shen like a football god.
Has there ever been a time when he didn't deliver on his word?
"I know all of you performed well at your previous clubs. You might be wondering what Leeds United can offer you. Is it a chance to break through in your career? Improve your skills? Or maybe gain recognition?"
Gao Shen shook his head. "Sorry, I can't guarantee any of that."
"But what I can guarantee is that I'll fight alongside you. Together, we'll build a work environment and team culture at Leeds United that's unlike any other club. One that attracts more like-minded colleagues and players."
"We won't be the club paying the highest wages. We won't be the most famous or even necessarily the most successful. But we'll definitely be the most unique and special team and club."
"I promise you, everything you do here—every effort, every achievement—will become the most valuable and irreplaceable part of your future career!"
"That's my mission, to revive Leeds United!"
…
Gao Shen's words were deeply inspiring.
As the most successful manager in the world, no one understands better than him the kind of dysfunction and chaos that can happen within a club—how it happens, and why.
He's seen and heard it all.
That's why he wants to turn Leeds United into the ideal team, the club he's always dreamed of.
The first step is to make the club professional and precise.
That might sound simple.
In fact, many would probably scoff: "What's the big deal?"
But if you look deeper into European professional football, you'll stop thinking like that.
Back in 2021, when Gao Shen traveled through time, many people were asking, how did Real Madrid strike gold?
Or Sevilla, Monaco, Leicester City...
How do these clubs always find the right players?
When it comes to big data, scouting systems, and professional staff, top clubs don't lack any of that. They're not short on money either.
Take Barcelona, for example. They're drowning in debt but still burning through cash. How does that make sense?
Many criticize Manchester United's signings, but they probably don't know that United already has its own scouting network. Their database has videos and reports on thousands of players from around the world.
In 2019, Manchester United wanted a right-back. They searched their scouting system and found over 800 candidates. Despite all that data, they ended up signing Wan-Bissaka for £50 million.
It was ridiculous. Almost amateur.
This is one of the reasons why United is mocked as a "price-raising club."
It's not that they lack resources. They just don't know how to use them effectively.
That's unprofessional. Not precise enough.
And this is exactly the foundation Gao Shen wants to build for Leeds United.
He plans to run Leeds like a modern company—with professionalism and precision—so that this 90-year-old, decaying team can be completely reborn in his hands.
…
After the meeting, everyone got busy with their own tasks.
Gao Shen and Su Qing drove out of Leeds, heading west along the M62 motorway, back to Manchester.
After passing Bradford, they arrived at a small village called Elland.
They exited the motorway there, headed north, passed through Elland, and soon arrived in Halifax.
It was a small town, a bit bigger than Elland, but still quite modest.
Like every town in England, Halifax had its own football club—named after the town.
The club had just won the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football, and was promoted to the sixth-tier National League North.
Don't think just because it's called the "Northern League" and there's no Premier League involved that it's unimpressive.
In fact, reaching the sixth tier means you're officially in the English Football Association's national league structure. The seventh tier is still considered regional football.
Following the town's main road and the navigation system, they easily found Shay Stadium, the home ground of Halifax Town.
If Elland Road was considered modest, then this stadium looked downright shabby. It had only three stands and a narrow parking lot in front.
Clearly, not many fans drive here on matchdays.
So when Su Qing parked in an empty spot, she couldn't help but ask Gao Shen,
"Are you sure this is the place?" Her pretty face was full of doubt.
Gao Shen looked around from the passenger seat and nodded. "Looks right to me."
Su Qing pursed her lips. "Fine, I'll go in and take a look."
"This is your first time negotiating a transfer. I believe in you. Go for it!" Gao Shen encouraged her with a smile.
Su Qing rolled her eyes, got out of the car, and walked off.
Gao Shen sat in the car, bored, playing on his phone and wondering if he should post a tweet later.
On second thought, maybe not. Better to let Leeds United's official account post it first, then he could retweet it, drop a like, and build some buzz.
Yeah, that's better!
He immediately texted Fernando Lucas, who stayed back in Leeds, and the two started chatting.
Before long, he saw Su Qing returning, followed by a middle-aged Englishman who tried to walk her to the parking lot. She declined politely but still waved at him from the door, looking almost like a salesperson giving thanks to a client—very humble.
"That quick?" Gao Shen asked as she got in.
"There weren't many people inside. The club's owner also acts as the CEO, technical director, team leader, and receptionist. I just spoke to him directly," Su Qing said as she fastened her seatbelt.
"And?"
"I asked if they had a player named Jamie Vardy. He said yes and asked who I was. I told him I was the chairman's secretary from Leeds United."
Gao Shen chuckled, "Then what?"
By now, the car had pulled out of Shay Stadium.
"Then I just told him Vardy was playing well and that Leeds wanted to buy him. He was stunned, then started praising the kid—how talented he was, how many goals he scored, and so on."
Gao Shen nodded. "Classic salesperson behavior. Next, he'll probably try to sell you someone else too."
Su Qing laughed. "Right? But I wasn't interested. I just offered £80,000."
Gao Shen was stunned. He clearly remembered saying £150,000.
"He agreed?"
"Not right away. He haggled a bit. We settled at £100,000. So I pulled out the standard contract I'd prepared and signed an agreement. Done and dusted."
It had all taken less than ten minutes.
Gao Shen smiled wryly. Wasn't this a bit too casual for someone who would one day be an England international and Premier League Golden Boot winner?
Still, £100,000 was a massive deal for Halifax, who had just been promoted to the sixth tier.
But to be fair, Vardy had been excellent—26 goals in 33 games at the seventh-tier level.
By contrast, another local talent, Harry Maguire from Sheffield United's youth academy, hadn't been as lucky.
The 18-year-old made five appearances for Sheffield United in last season's Championship, four as a sub. One came after the team was basically doomed to relegation and morale was low.
Maguire's market value was £45,000, but Leeds United offered £100,000 to sign him.
Sheffield United, now relegated to League One, accepted.
From Keylor Navas to Harry Maguire, Gao Shen had to admit—it's really satisfying to pick up bargains from relegated second-tier teams.
Even players from newly promoted teams in the second tier can be scooped up for relatively low prices.
It's all about picking up bargains.
(To be continued.)