While they were all in Manchester, Ethan took the Beckhams to look at houses.
The villa was located at the foot of a hill on the outskirts of Manchester. It had originally been a farm dating back to the Tudor era. Later, it had been renovated by the previous owner and converted into a castle-like villa, but the old atmosphere and architectural style of the farm still retained the characteristics of the Tudor period, which made the entire villa even more charming.
The villa was surrounded by beautiful scenery, quiet and elegant, a rare and wonderful place.
This three-story castle-like villa was built against the hillside. The ground floor at the foot of the hill was smaller, while the second floor, built along the slope, was larger than the first. It also had an exquisitely beautiful outdoor leisure garden, clearly maintained with great care by the former owner.
Because it was built against the hill, the villa was warm in winter and cool in summer, making it very suitable for living. Moreover, being at the foot of the hill and surrounded by green trees, the air was very fresh, and the grounds were very large. It was said to cover nearly two acres, with gardens all around it and a courtyard in front, also filled with various flowers and plants. Only a winding path led directly to the villa.
The villa's garage could accommodate five cars, and the courtyard outside the villa was perfectly capable of hosting a banquet. In addition, a small children's playground had been specially built there, no wonder Eva had fallen in love with it at first sight.
The villa's interior was also very luxurious, with everything following the decorative style of the Tudor era. The furnishings also looked very antique, but they did not make the place feel old-fashioned at all. Furthermore, the third floor of the villa had a private cinema and library, while downstairs there was a gym, indoor swimming pool, and sauna. The garden outside also featured a hot spring bath patio.
The second floor had a total of seven rooms, each designed in a completely different style, but all according to the most popular styles of the Tudor era. At the same time, there was an independent garden outside the second floor, which, from a distance, looked as if it overlapped with the garden on the first floor. It was very beautiful.
After walking around the villa, David Beckham praised it endlessly, believing that buying this villa for £4.5 million was truly a bargain.
"Don't flatter me, David. This villa is already Eva's. The previous owner spent £2 million on renovations after buying it, but he never actually lived in it. He recently needed money urgently and also had some business dealings with our company, which is why he sold it at such a low price."
Eva looked around the villa very carefully, her manner clearly showing that she already considered herself the mistress of the place.
"Victoria, I'll transfer the money to your company's account then. Help me with the transfer of this villa, and also contact a renovation company." Ethan pointed to Eva.
Upon hearing this, Eva immediately ran over, smiling and nodding. "Yes, I plan to build a small tennis court outside, as well as a small basketball court and a golf course. The courtyard and garden are too big. Adding more sports facilities would be better, but don't ruin the overall style of the villa."
"No problem. I'll have the design company plan it out and send it to you for review. We'll decide once you're satisfied!" As Eva's close friend, Victoria naturally took on the subsequent work without hesitation.
"How about it, David? Do you like this place?" Ethan smiled and walked to the main entrance, standing next to Beckham.
The latter nodded. "It's quite quiet here, and the environment is good. I heard Victoria say that there's also a villa next door for sale, but it's not as good as yours. According to the appraisal company, yours is a first-class villa, while that one is second-class, but the price difference isn't that big."
"You plan to be my neighbour?" Ethan was a little surprised.
Beckham smiled and nodded. "Of course. Don't you think it'll be a bit lonely for your family to live here alone? Isn't it better to have more friends nearby?"
Ethan smiled and patted Beckham on the shoulder. This heartthrob, who seemed out of reach to outsiders, was actually a very easy-going person in private.
"I have a feeling, Ethan!"
"What?"
Beckham chuckled. "This place might become lively because of our arrival!"
Ethan was stunned, then thought about it and immediately burst into laughter.
In fact, many years later, this place did become very lively. Several Red Rebels players and Ethan's friends successively bought land or castle-like villas nearby, causing land prices here to skyrocket. Eventually, it became a prime area in Manchester.
...
On Boxing Day, New Manchester United set off early in the morning for Rochdale, to challenge Rochdale at Spotland Stadium.
Although the team had been given a day off, the players were all very disciplined and did not relax at all. This meant that the next morning, when Mourinho received the test reports from the lab, he was satisfied with the players' physical condition.
The team bus departed on time from the Newton Heath training base, heading for Rochdale.
This was also one of Mourinho's rules. Any player who was late and missed the bus had to drive to the away match himself, and if he was a starting player, his starting place would be revoked.
This rule had existed since Bruce's time, and players, whether new or old, were familiar with it. Therefore, there was not much objection. It was just that Mourinho enforced it more strictly and decisively, and the punishment was a little heavier.
As an old professional club in Greater Manchester, Rochdale still had some influence in the Rochdale area, basically guaranteeing that about five thousand supporters would come to watch each match. Although this was still some way off New Manchester United's average attendance, it was already quite good in League Two.
New Manchester United's attendance this year remained around eight thousand, making them the team with the highest attendance in League Two. Coupled with their average ticket price of £10, which was relatively low in League Two, if other matchday revenue was also included, New Manchester United could earn over £100,000 per home match on average.
With twenty-three home matches in a season, this meant that ticket sales and other matchday revenue alone amounted to £2.3 million. Adding in sponsorship and other income, and unlike the National League, after entering the League Two professional league, the FA distributed a prize fund each season. Each club received a basic prize of about £50,000, and then an additional floating prize based on the team's ranking.
If promoted to League One, this basic prize money would double to around £100,000. A team that won the championship, including other income, would receive a considerable sum.
In addition, New Manchester United had also reached agreements with several local television stations. For example, if Granada Television wanted to broadcast New Manchester United's matches, they would have to pay a fee to New Manchester United. However, League Two broadcasting fees were generally very cheap, and basically, not every match was broadcast. Only a few more interesting ones were shown occasionally.
From this, it was easy to imagine which teams in the National League would not desperately want to squeeze into the professional league, and which teams in the professional league would easily give up such a lucrative opportunity.
Many experts familiar with the English professional leagues said that for the lower tiers of English football, relegation battles were sometimes more interesting than promotion battles, because teams fighting relegation would desperately fight with everything they had. For them, staying up meant huge profits.
Rochdale no longer faced relegation issues this season, but like in previous years, they had no great desire for promotion either. Their league ranking always fluctuated steadily between ninth and seventeenth. Sometimes they would win a match and almost see a chance at the promotion play-offs, but then a defeat would drop them back out of the top ten.
However, this team did have one characteristic. Any player who performed well this season would basically not stay with the team the next season, but would be sold for a high price. Then they would bring in promising players at a low price and continue competing the next season.
It was this strategy that kept the team permanently in mid-table in League Two, unable to win promotion, but also without the danger of relegation. However, compared with other clubs, Rochdale had one advantage. Their operations were very healthy, which was relatively rare in the lower tiers of English football.
One had to know that even teams like Sheffield United relied on FA funding to survive, so it was easy to imagine how difficult it was for Rochdale to operate so well.
Despite this team's lack of ambition, New Manchester United did not dare underestimate them, as they were seasoned veterans of League Two.
Facts proved that Rochdale's home ground was not easy to play at. They created considerable difficulties for New Manchester United. In the end, it was Juninho who stepped up, producing one assist and one goal from two set-piece opportunities in the attacking third, helping New Manchester United secure three points away from home.
Although they won a difficult match, the New Manchester United players were not happy at all, because they quickly received news that Brighton, Cardiff, and Blackpool had all defeated their opponents.
Only halfway through the season, yet in the fight for the title and the top three places in the table, the four teams were already locked in a fierce struggle, unwilling to give an inch. Everyone was holding their breath, determined to win promotion. Whoever lost at this point might collapse completely, and all their efforts would come to nothing.
"It seems this situation will continue for a long time!" Ethan sighed inwardly after returning to the Newton Heath training base and hearing the results from their rivals.
"Brighton's investment this season is even greater than ours. Cardiff and Blackpool were both relegated from League One last season. They all want to be promoted, and none of them are willing to relax. Now it's about who is more resilient. The one who holds out until the end will be promoted."
After speaking, Walsh comforted Ethan. "Don't worry. As long as we don't make mistakes ourselves, our opponents will make mistakes sooner or later! At least we still have two home matches!"
In the first half of this season, New Manchester United had played Brighton at home, and Cardiff and Blackpool away. So, in the second half, New Manchester United would have home advantage against Cardiff and Blackpool. Coupled with New Manchester United currently holding second place in the table, this gave them an advantage in the direct promotion race.
Ethan knew in his heart that while it was easy to say, the upcoming matches would definitely not be easy!
(To be continued.)