On August 10, 1973, in St. Mary's Hospital in Gateshead District, Newcastle, Yang Xudong walked back and forth at the operating room door in annoyed manner, looking up at the fluorescent light on the door indicating that the operation was being performed.

About 90 years ago, Yang Xudong couldn't figure out the specific time. They were not a big family or a family tree. They just learned about this approximate time from their father and grandfather when they were young. Yang Xudong's great-grandfather had offended noble people in China and had to secretly hide in a British ocean-going ship to cross the ocean to this distant city. It happened that the coal mine resources near Newcastle were developed at that time, so his great-grandfather naturally became a

Famous coal miner. Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, so many years have passed. Yang Xudong is the fourth generation member of the Yang family after taking root in Newcastle. The entire family has been completely integrated into the city of Newcastle. China on the other side of the ocean has become blurred. Unlike many new generations of Chinese who have been away from the miner industry, Yang Xudong, who has not received a good education and has no specialties, is still engaged in this job that belongs to the bottom of society. Currently, there is only a population of 200,000.

There are nearly 560,000 people working in coal mines in Newcastle. A family of four generations engaged in coal mine excavation has made the Yang family famous in the Gateshead District where the miner class live. When you walk on the road, you will greet Yang Xudong enthusiastically. As a foreign population, it is very difficult to integrate into the local society in this way. Yang Xudong, who has no lofty pursuit, is very satisfied with his current life. He likes to deal with these simple miners and neighbors.

They get along well, and living a life in a simple manner was his greatest wish. The only regret is that he has been married to his wife Pan Xiaolan for 5 years and still has no child. Compared with Chinese living abroad, they pay more attention to tradition in China. There are three unfilial things: no descendants are the greatest. So when Yang Xudong learned that his wife was finally pregnant with the child a few months ago, he was very happy. However, today's surgery seems to be quite unsuccessful, and Yang Xudong's expectations for the child also turned into concern for his wife.

As time passed by little by little, Yang Xudong became more and more restless. He got up and walked, and sat again and kept muttering: "Damn it, why haven't it been better yet? It's been 2 hours since he went in!"

My mother, who was sitting at the door with Yang Xudong, spoke, "You walked and sat like this, swaying in front of me, making my eyes blurry. You sit for me."

"Mom, it's been so long, why haven't you given birth yet? You said, "How can I not be anxious? Can I sit steadily?" Yang Xudong's anxious feeling was beyond words.

"It's okay, the first child is like this. It's better if there are too many." Yang Xudong's mother comforted him. In fact, he was very worried at this time, and kept silently chanting in his heart: "Oh Mitofu, the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, bless them, mother and son with peace!"

"Don't worry, Xiaolan will be fine. You have to be the leader of the family and learn to keep calm!" Yang Xudong's father patted his son's shoulder and said.

"But I've been in for a long time, and I'm really afraid that Xiaolan will have something to do." Yang Xudong finished speaking, and the fluorescent light on the operating room door finally went out with a baby's cry.

"Born, born!" Yang Xudong burst into tears and smiled, shaking his father's shoulders excitedly, and then his expression became dark: I don't know how Xiaolan is!

The doctor came out of the operating room with a hint of sweat on his face. When Yang Xudong saw the doctor come out, he quickly walked over to ask the doctor about the situation of the mother and son. The doctor took off his mask and took off his gloves and said, "The mother and son are safe, but the child's weight is only 2.5 kilograms, which is a low-birth weight child. He needs to be treated in the hospital, and the mother also needs to rest in the hospital for a period of time."

Yang Xudong was not very clear about what the concept of a low-birth weight child was, but finally the mother and son were safe. Yang Xudong finally fell into his heart and asked quickly: "Thank you, doctor. Can we go in and see her now?"

"Yes, but it's too disturbing the patient and the fetus. They need a good rest now."

"Xudong, it's a boy!" Pan Xiaolan, who was lying on the operating table, reluctantly opened her eyes and showed a weak smile.

"Xiaolan, thank you for your hard work, thank you for your hard work! I am really afraid that something will happen to you!" Yang Xudong said excitedly, holding his wife's hand.

"I want to see the child, please bring it over and see it!" As a mother, I must be anxious to see his own child.

Yang Xudong raised his wife's head slightly with his hands, pointed to the child in the glass cover beside him and said, "Look, this is our child, he will definitely be a good child in the future!"

The little guy seemed to hear his parents' words, his hands kept shaking, and giggling from his mouth. Yang Xudong and Pan Xiaolan also laughed, and the two elders beside him were also comforted by Lao Huai.

After holding his wife's hand all the way, Yang Xudong found the doctor and asked worriedly: "Doctor, will the low birth weight have any impact on the child's future?"

"Low-born weight babies will generally be affected to a certain extent when they grow up."

Before the doctor finished speaking, Yang Xudong held his hand and begged: "Doctor, you must help this child. My son cannot have intellectual problems!"

The doctor patted Yang Xudong's hand and comforted him: "Mr. Yang, what I said is possible, and it is also possible that there is no difference between him and other children except for his slightly thin body."

"Doctor, you must use the best conditions. No matter how much money you need, I am willing to do it. I will only let my son build health! Doctor, I beg you!"

"Don't worry, we treat every patient equally. I just looked at the child and found that although he had a problem with his weight, he was very good in other aspects and was quite lively. I think there should be no problem."

"Yes, my child just smiled at me. I think he must be much smarter than me!" Thinking of his son smiling at him just now, Yang Xudong's excitement of becoming a father suddenly surged up. Thinking about his son's appearance is so lively and cute, Yang Xudong's concerns have been reduced a lot, and he secretly vowed to give his son the best nutrition and make him grow up and become a talent.

In this way, the protagonist of this book officially came to the world, without the rays of the sky, without the tsunami, and ordinary people even have a little innate defect. It seems that God is very unfair, but in a few years, people may find that God is actually very fair!

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Newcastle is a city used to perceive, a city that can make your pulse beat violently even in the dark! In the 1970s and 1980s, the industry gradually declined, and the coal mining industry gradually declined. In this important northeast town that was tragically damaged by the economic crisis, the only one that can make people happy and make them proud is their team: Newcastle United. This team is the pulse of this city. The Newcastle people's love for the team is omniscient and unparalleled in England.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, global economic depressions occurred one after another, causing great difficulties to England's economy. The heavy industrial city like Newcastle was the first to be brunt. The collapse of the coal mine made Yang Xudong helplessly become a member of the unemployed army. The coal miners were the work of four generations of members of the Yang family. They would never have expected that one day their descendants would passively leave the industry. Like others, Yang Xudong sought work everywhere for life, doing everything, including working in supermarkets and loading and unloading workers at the docks. The difficulties in life made Yang Xudong, a family of three, gradually lost their vitality. Although they had completely integrated into the country of England, in the face of this situation, like most Chinese families, Yang Xudong placed all his hopes on his son Yang Shuo, whose English name was Dennis Yang.

The defects at birth and the natural bloodline of Orientals make Little Dennis a full lap smaller than his friends of the same age. Fortunately, Little Dennis has no problems in other aspects, at least in terms of intelligence. Many times, this kid even shows intelligence better than children of the same age.

"Go to school well, and be a doctor, lawyer, and teacher in the future!" Parents always use this sentence to inspire Little Dennis' enthusiasm for learning for a day before going to school every day, but this kind of encouragement is too illusory for Little Dennis and does not have any effect at all.

"Drink milk, go to school!" Before leaving the house, parents always watch Little Dennis finish drinking a big glass of fresh milk. Although life is difficult, they will not be stingy with their son's nutritional parents. To be honest, Little Dennis doesn't like drinking this kind of mild milk at all, but their parents' stern eyes forced Little Dennis to bite the bullet and close his eyes and drink it in one sip.

The primary school where Dennis Little is the local St. George's Primary School, a public school located in the Gateshead District. It is across the Tyne River from Newcastle City. The Tyne River in this era cannot be called a river. The lack of funds to control pollution has made the entire river a slowly flowing stinky ditch. A large army holding signs can be seen next to the river every day. Occasionally, through the school window, Little Dennis Little can find his father in it.

Almost all the children who attended St. George's Elementary School were from miners' families in several neighborhoods. There were no children from rich families here. Perhaps the concept of wealth and poverty had not yet been formed in the minds of these children. Since they were all grown up in a few neighborhoods, almost all the children in the school knew each other since childhood, and it was easy to play together with each other and became good friends in a short time.

Although Little Dennis's complexion is different from others, no one minds this difference. Their age makes them unable to understand what a foreigner is. Little Dennis is a quiet and unpopular student in the class. Perhaps the oriental bloodline determines Little Dennis's personality. He listens carefully in class and his academic performance is always among the best in the class. In everyone's eyes, Little Dennis is a good child who loves learning.

But when the bell rang, Little Dennis was like a different person. Deep in his heart, sports are far more important than education. Education is just a character who completes his parents, and sports is his favorite. Only at this time, the day's life officially begins. No member of the four generations of the Yang family is interested in sports. In their eyes, hard work is obviously more meaningful and helpful to life than wasting physical energy. However, Dennis Yang, the fifth generation member, subverted this tradition. Like all Newcastle people, he fell in love with football. Every day, he fantasized about wearing the black and white uniform of the Newcastle team, running at the St. James Park Stadium, and receiving the cheers of the cute and simple Newcastle people in the stands.

In fact, Dennis used to love football more, but his thin figure made the children unwilling to let him join, so he had no choice but to turn to the arms of football. At first, Dennis, a thin little guy, was placed as a goalkeeper because no one was willing to take this position. Dennis didn't mind. He liked football, and it didn't matter as long as he could play football with his friends.

However, as the number of goals conceded increases, friends found that Dennis was not a goalkeeper. His poor physical condition was probably unreliable for defenders. Dennis played several games in the midfield, and his long-term goalkeeping made his skills unable to complete his basic dribbling well. In desperation, he could only change the striker with the largest number of people and the most competitive forward. Of course, Dennis must be a substitute forward. Dennis Yang began his first bench experience in his football career. Perhaps his future success may be due to the contributions he has now!

Although he was unable to play, Dennis' enthusiasm for football has not diminished at all. Every day after the children go back, Dennis will always leave alone to run on the court with the ball, shooting desperately at the goal without a goalkeeper. Only at this time can he kick a few balls, but he is very satisfied. Every time he can play alone happily.

He imagined that he was standing at St. James' Stadium, and that he was the best star in Newcastle United in this era, imitating the commentator's shouts that he usually heard from the radio: "Kevin Keegan is controlling the ball!" Dennis led the ball to break forward on the empty field; "Kevin Keegan is passing by!" Dennis imagined the defender in front, swaying lightly, and successfully breaking through; "Shot - Kevin Keegan shot! The ball entered!" Dennis shot. Although there was no goalkeeper, there was a goalkeeper in front of him. His shot shot into the lower right corner of the goal, at an angle that could not be defended.

Imitating the appearance of the star, Dennis raised his hands, picked up the ball from the net, ran to the corner area, and waved to the enthusiastic audience.

It was not until dark every day that Dennis would return home proudly. This was Dennis' daily life, an ordinary day for the son of a Newcastle miner.

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St James Park is located in the most prosperous downtown area in the city center. Walking through the bridge on the Tyne River and following the street signs, you can find this second largest stadium in England, which is the heart of Newcastle. The prosperity a hundred years ago and the depression now, Newcastle United's performance has been rising and falling with the rise and fall of the city. The glory of the 1940s and 1950s is the current decline. But the more difficult the period, the more the team's significance is magnified. The team is related to the honor and disgrace of the city, showing the city

With the attitude, the working class in the entire city has become Newcastle's most loyal supporters, and stars such as Keegan, Beardsley have become the heroes of the entire city. Every weekend, the army holding slogans and chanting slogans have disappeared, and the crowds running around for life have disappeared. Everyone gathered at St. James' Stadium to vent their excess energy in the stadium, expressing their dissatisfaction with the status quo, protesting the injustice of fate, and at the same time, using their unyielding spirit to tell the outside world that Newcastle will stand up again. Newcastle people are fearless!

Since falling in love with football, Dennis' biggest wish is to be able to enter St. James Stadium to watch a football game. Unfortunately, this wish has not been realized yet. The ticket price of 15 pounds is not an irrelevant amount for the XX family. Moreover, the father who is busy with life all day cannot understand what the meaning of spending 15 pounds to watch a football game is for a Chinese family. At the same time, the frequent violent time in the stadium in this era also made XX unable to take his baby's son to the stadium with a chaotic management stadium to watch the game with a shirtless man.

"Yang Shuo, study hard. As long as you study well, you will become an amazing person when you grow up. You don't have to be a miner like your father. Football is played by whites and black children. We Chinese should concentrate on studying." In my father's understanding, this is an encouragement, but in Little Dennis, he really doesn't agree at all. Why can't I play football? Why can't I like football? Is it just because I am Chinese? Chinese can't play football? I like football, and no one can stop me!

Although you can't enter St. James' Stadium to watch the football, you will definitely not lack the places to watch the football in Newcastle miners' settlement. Two streets away from Little Dennis's house, there is a bar that looks quite shabby. The sign on the door is a bit crooked and the neon lights are bright and dark. If you walk at the door of this Highlander Bar in the middle of the night, you will definitely worry about robbery or murder. But once you enter, you muster up the courage to push the door and go inside the bar, you will find that this worry is unnecessary. This is a place full of laughter and joy. The laborers in the nearby neighborhood regard this as a safe haven. People drink beer, watch football games, and talk with old friends. Everything is beautiful here, and the troubles of life can be temporarily abandoned.

When he was young, Jack, the owner of the bar, was once a member of Newcastle and won the FA Cup championship. He is a very famous person in this neighborhood. When he was young, people affectionately called him Jack. After retiring, the miner Jack returned here to open this bar, and people also changed it to Old Jack. The purpose of the bar is to provide a gathering place for miners in this area, making money is second. Every day, he looks up and sees no one nearby. Jack knows very well that when he encounters these people in difficulty, he always secretly stuffs the money back into the pockets of the guests when collecting money. Whenever Newcastle competitions, the bar is always crowded. Men will squeeze the small bar into pieces, hold a beer bottle with one hand and slap the tabletop with the other hand, singing: "Newcastle-Newcastle-Neckell-Must win!"

Little Dennis and his best friend, the youngest member of Uncle Kate's house next door, is also his classmate, Kate Newton, is also a frequent visitor to the Highlanders Bar. According to the law, the bar cannot accommodate children of the age of Little Dennis, but the Highlanders Bar receives these children for free and cannot be considered a business. Moreover, the nearby police are neighbors, and everyone understands these situations, so no one will interfere in this kind of thing.

Old Jack was also very caring for Dennis Little and Newton Little, and every time he let them in the bar, arrange the best place for them to watch the game. Of course, beer is not available.

"Uncle Jack, have you really won the FA Cup before? What did you feel at that time?" The FA Cup's status in English society is unparalleled. Dennis Jr. could never connect the FA Cup championship with the slightly bald, fat, with a big rosacea, and a kind smile on his face.

"Of course, my dad told me that Uncle Jack was a super idol in this area 30 years ago. At that time, my dad personally ran to the Wembley Stadium in London to watch the game between Newcastle United and Arsenal? My dad said that he saw Uncle Jack lifting the FA Cup in the front of him!" Newton introduced hurriedly, his face showing pride for his father to witness this incident in person. The children are so simple, and a small thing can make them feel proud. Unlike the thin little Dennis, Newton has a

The deputy has an extremely tough figure among primary school students. Dennis, who is 1.65 meters tall and 1.45 meters tall, is one head taller. Unlike Dennis, who is a bit introverted, Newton, who has a typical appearance in the countryside of England (PS: refer to Scholes), is an extremely cheerful child. I don’t know why the two people who can’t get along at all have become their best friends. Newton’s position on the court is a central defender, and is quite famous in the local elementary school football industry in Newcastle. He is not on the same level as Dennis, a substitute forward.

"Uncle Jack, you are so amazing. I would have been able to play football at Wembley Stadium!" Little Dennis looked at the unpretentious uncle in front of him with admiration.

Listening to the children's words, Old Jack's eyes narrowed into a slit. The years he was young were the most proud experience in his life. Hearing the heartfelt admiration of the children, Old Jack seemed to have returned to the Wembley Stadium in 1952. On that day, Newcastle defeated Arsenal. Jack, as a Newcastle player, took over the FA Cup from the Queen who came to present the awards himself. The son of a miner actually turned the gold cup from the Queen. 30 years later, Old Jack still couldn't be proud. Touching the head of Dennis in the membrane, Old Jack kindly encouraged: "Child, work hard, you will step onto Wembley Stadium in the future."

"Uncle Jack, I'm going to Wembley Stadium too!" Newton shouted anxiously from the side.

Jack smiled happily and said, "You can do it too. You are all Newcastle children. Work hard and you will become world stars in the future."

In the world that the two children know, there is no doubt that Old Jack can be called the greatest player. The recognition from him made them extremely excited. They wished they could grow up immediately and galloped on Wembley Stadium in black and white arrow shirts. As soon as the game on TV ended, the two of them rushed to school like a flying ball, picked up a football and started practicing. Uncle Jack said that as long as I work hard, I can go to Wembley Stadium, I will definitely work hard! The children's thoughts are so simple, and an unintentional encouragement from the elders will make them full of confidence in the future.

"I must pass you!" Facing the tall and powerful Newton, Little Dennis issued such a declaration!

"You dream, I swear in the name of Newcastle United's greatest defender, Kate Newton, that I will stop your breakthrough!"

When we grow old and look back on our journey, if you can have no regrets about everything yesterday, then you have already had a very successful life.

The two children enjoy the simplest football on the court, chasing their dreams when they were young and frivolous, and working hard for this far-reaching dream.

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There are two football teams in St. George Elementary School, one is aged 5-8, and the other is aged 8-11. The teams in this age group represent the school in the Newcastle Primary School League. They also have a resounding name: St. George Rangers.

Slim substitute forward Dennis Jr. and his friend tall defender Kate Newton are currently in the third grade of elementary school. They will be promoted to fourth graders in two months and will also join the St. George Rangers.

Can you definitely be selected for the Rangers? Do you also want the Rangers team, a player like Dennis Jr. who has been on the bench for a long time? The answer is yes! The total number of students in St. George Elementary School is only 150, with 7 grades and one class in each grade, with about 25 people in each class, which happens to be 150. Among them, there are 50 girls and only 100 boys, and there are only about 30 of them who want to play football. The other 70 like to play rugby, cricket, and various other sports events. Although the school is small, all kinds of sports teams are indeed very complete. So in fact, the football team has fallen into the dilemma of insufficient staff. As long as you want to play, you can score, which makes Dennis Jr. enter the second team in his football career without any effort.

Although there are still two months left to upgrade, Dennis Jr. and Newton, two third-grade students, have been pulled over by Rangers coach John Terry, impatiently. They train with the team first, and they will be more tacit in the game. However, in Dennis Jr.'s opinion, the coach may just hope to let Newton train with the team quickly. The strong Newton was even arranged as the main central defender on the first day of training, squeezing the two 10-year-old children on the bench, while Dennis Jr. continued to sit on the bench.

"Coach, I want to play football too, I can play well!" Dennis, who was sitting on the sidelines, always shouted in his heart, hoping that the coach could turn his head and smile and wave to him to show himself to play, "Even if it's a while, I just want to play football." But every time I'm always disappointed, I seem to be a redundant player in the team.

Finally, Dennis Jr. puffed up and pulled the coach and asked, "Mr. Coach John, can I play football? I want to play football!"

John is also a miner. It is said that he was an excellent player in the amateur team organized by the neighborhood. When he was old, he came to St. George's school to be a voluntary coach. Although he had no income, he really enjoyed it. John is very concerned about every child, of course, including Dennis Jr., but a few months ago, Dennis Jr.'s parents talked to John and told him that Dennis was sick when he was a child and was not in good health. I hope John would not let him go.

Dennis often plays football, so it is best not to let him play football. His parents are very worried about Dennis's body. They don't want any accidents in their son's body on the court. So John touched Dennis' head and smiled: "Child, you should wait a little longer. When you grow up a little and be stronger next year, I will let you play. At that time, Alan Shearer and his partner will enter middle school. You may be able to become the main force, work hard and exercise more."

Alan Hiller is the greatest scorer in St. George's school history. Like Dennis, Hiller also comes from an ordinary miner's family in the Gateshead District. However, there is a huge difference in football. Hiller scores more than 3 goals per game in the primary school league, bringing a weak school like St. George to the Newcastle area champion, and even enters the top 16 in national competitions. It is said that many professional clubs have invited him now.

At the beginning, Dennis Jr. always deliberately imitated Hiller's movements during training. He also hoped to make other opponents scared like Hiller. In Dennis Jr., Shearer was simply the greatest player in the world, but the imitation result always failed. Shearer played very tough football, and Dennis never could play like him.

Dennis believes that Hiller will definitely become a star in the future. "But what about himself? Will he always be a bench player?" Dennis was confused and felt helpless.

"Am I really not suitable to play football? Everyone says I am small, but I can't play football if I am young?" Little Dennis was unwilling to give up, and tears unconsciously left, holding the coach's hand and cried sadly. Unwilling to give up, I really don't want to play football.

"Dennis should not cry. Men should not cry. If you want to play football, don't cry if you want to be a man!" John couldn't bear to destroy the opportunity for a child who loves football so much to pursue his dreams. He knew that maybe he made up his mind to reject Dennis' request today. Maybe Dennis will say goodbye to football from now on. No matter whether he can become a star or not, the power to pursue his dreams is something that every child should have. John decided to encourage and help Dennis little.

"Child, I will arrange for you to play in the next few games. You must perform well and strive to become the next Hiller of the Rangers!" John pinched Dennis' nose and smiled kindly.

It was this simple sentence that allowed Dennis' football career to continue, so several years later, in Dennis Young's memoir, John the coach of the St. George Rangers was one of the people he needed to thank the most, and the St. George Rangers was the most important team to him.
Chapter completed!