An die SV » low and he made no mistake in beating Roy stick side

With Wolves the latest club to receive investment from China, Johnny Phillips examines the trend and what it means for the game... The Chinese revolution? Explaining the explosion of moves to China Ordering a Chinese takeover has never seemed so easy.Earlier this year, the Chinese Super League grabbed global headlines as it broke its transfer record four times in a single month, luring Ramires away from Chelsea and persuading Alex Teixeira to sign for Jiangsu Suning instead of Liverpool. But in recent months, the focus has changed, with many Chinese companies and entrepreneurs linked with European clubs - especially those in England.These are changing times and China is looking to play a huge role in shaping the future of football. Sports business journalist Mark Dreyer, a former colleague on Soccer Saturday, has spent the past eight years in Beijing and has documented much of this for China Sports Insider. Alex Teixeira (right) signed for Jiangsu Suning after opting against moving to Liverpool The government has been actively looking for new areas to drive the economy and the sports sector is one that has been actively targeted, Dreyer says.Chinese president - and football fan - Xi Jinping has announced a long-term vision to overhaul the football industry from top to bottom, with the aim of making China a true global soccer power by 2050.Chinese companies are being encouraged to become more global in their outlook and diversify their businesses to become more competitive both domestically and overseas.Many Chinese companies have been piling into football investment, both at home and abroad, not only because they want to be a part of Chinas next growth story, but because they also want to maintain good government relations. Former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho (right) lifted the Chinese Super League title with Guangzhou Evergrande Right now, the West Midlands appears to be a focal point for much of this interest, with Aston Villa recently bought, Wolves confirming a takeover on Thursday and West Brom the subject of on-going speculation.So little is known overseas about the vast majority of potential Chinese owners that rumours can spread like wildfire, Dreyer adds. Chinas market is so big that investors could emerge from any sector, possibly venturing into sports for the first time.In fact, Chinese companies are making deals in the energy, real estate, transport and consumer sectors that often run to billions of dollars, so these football purchases equate to mere pocket change in comparison.As a rule, I would say nine out of 10 stories dont really have much basis in reality - but fans keep hoping that their club is the lucky tenth one.So who are the potential investors with real clout? Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, has a 20 per cent stake in Atletico Madrid and has been linked with West Brom Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Wanda Group [recently linked with West Brom], and Chinas richest man, is definitely leading the way here. Not only was he among the first to make an overseas investment with a 20 per cent stake in Atletico Madrid, but he has also made some massive deals.Elsewhere, Jack Ma - chairman of Alibaba, Chinas second richest man and seen as an Asian equivalent to Steve Jobs - owns 40 per cent of Guangzhou Evergrande, Chinas leading domestic club and winner of the Asian Champions League twice in the past three years.Then theres Zhang Jindong, whose Suning e-commerce group owns a team in the Chinese Super League that broke the Chinese transfer fee record twice earlier this year and also purchased Inter Milan last month.The long-term plan is evident, as Dreyer explains. Towards the end of last year, China Media Capital (CMC) led a group that invested $400m into the City Football Group, Manchester Citys parent company, in exchange for 13 per cent of the company. Sergio Aguero poses for a photo with Chinas president Xi Jinping and former prime minister David Cameron The franchise model, with clubs in the US, UK, Japan and Australia, plus Manchester Citys impressive academy set-up are both elements that Chinese football is known to favour.Instead of attempting to buy the whole thing, the idea is that this investment can be used as a way to see how the club is run and some of that expertise can be brought back to China.Of course, it didnt hurt that Chinese legend Sun Jihai played for Manchester City or that President Xi had posed for a selfie with Sergio Aguero on a visit to the training ground just weeks before the deal was announced.What of Aston Villa, where Dr Tony Xia has taken over? New Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia My advice would be to take the big statements of intent with a pinch of salt, says Dreyer.There are dozens of top European clubs all actively trying to crack the Chinese market and Chinese fans wont flock to Villa simply because of their owner - but Villa fans have had such a torrid time in recent years that even modest improvement on the pitch would be a big step forward.Should Wolves fans be getting carried away? Robin Li, founder of search engine Baidu, was first reported to be purchasing the club and now Fosun International, a Shanghai investment company, have completed a Molineux buyout.Founder Guo Guangchang is another in the upper reaches of Chinas rich list. Fosuns previous investments in Club Med, Thomas Cook, Cirque du Soleil and other health and happiness deals, as they put it, should stand them in good stead.Put it this way - my guess is that Wolves will be higher up the league table than Villa ten years from now! How are the Chinese Super League signings doing? Have Jackson Martinez, Gervinho and Alex Teixeira been a success? Dreyer is convinced there will be many more takeover stories over the coming months, not least due to the changing political environment.Undoubtedly the weaker pound, following the Brexit vote, has made English clubs that much more attractive in recent weeks. Wanda specifically mentioned this as a factor when it announced a deal to buy the Odeon and UCI cinema chain last week.The Premier League may have missed a trick when it failed to renegotiate the television rights deal with Chinas national broadcaster CCTV 10 years ago. Since then, Europes other leagues have garnered interest from football fans in China. But now it appears that English football is attracting attention once more.Every week there are new targets - and new buyers. With the Villa and Wolves local rivalry now gaining an oriental sub-plot, and West Brom looking to follow suit, a Chinese takeover could be coming to a club near you soon. Also See: Wolves set for ￡45m takeover Edwards on Wolves takeover Fake Jerseys For Sale . -- Michael Phelps is 0 for 1 in his comeback to the pool. Wholesale Jerseys . 1 player in the world. So Duval gutted it out Thursday at the Byron Nelson Championship despite the pain from a muscle issue in his right elbow, a day after his stepson had to drive him because he couldnt even use that arm. https://www.fakejerseysfromchina.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Jerseys From China . On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. Fake Jerseys China .The rookie goalie made 36 saves to help the Calgary Flames blank their Pacific Division rivals 1-0 on Saturday following a 48-hour ordeal that included lost baggage, a cancelled flight and a new pair of contact lenses.ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Utica Comets needed someone to step up Saturday night. Enter team captain Colin Stuart. Stuart scored twice to lead the Utica Comets to a 3-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Stuart now has 15 goals on the year and is tied for third on the team despite scoring just twice in the previous 15 games. "We challenged our leaders to bring a better game tonight, and (Stuart) was one of the guys who stepped up," said Comets head coach Travis Green. "Hes been good for us all year. You expect your captain to make plays and step up at the right time. You need all your best players this time of the year and it was good to see him do that." The Comets had their four-game winning streak snapped Friday by the Heat, but moved to within eight points of a Western Conference playoff berth with the bounce-back victory. "I didnt like the way we skated last night and the way we competed in certain areas of the ice," said Green. "The guys responded well tonight. These are desperate times for our team and we played like it tonight." Stuart, who signed with the Comets NHL-affiliate Vancouver Canucks during the summer, played in Abbotsford during the Heats inaugural season in 2009-10. Hes now registered six points in six games against the Heat this year. "Its still neat coming here," said Stuart. "And not just the arena, but the city itself. Its interesting to see how things have changed around town. And obviously I was here in the inaugural season so it was pretty special too." Brandon DeFazio also scored for the Comets for his third goal in four games. Alex Friesen had two assists for Utica (27-27-7), while Joacim Eriksson made 38 saves in the win. "(Eriksson) was good the whole game," said Green. "I like him last night and really liked him for the last three months. Hes been real solid for us. He had a tough start to the year but hes starting to develop." Eriksson gave the Abbotsford offence fits Saturday, making several key stops. "We keyed on getting the puck to the net but obviously we didnt take away the guys eyes as well as we should have," said Heat defenceman Chad Billins. "Theyre big bodies back there and they box out very well. Weve got to get some more bodies to the front of the net. And also hhes a good goalie, so youve got to give him credit too.ddddddddddddquot; Ben Street scored the only goal for the Heat and Olivier Roy stopped 31 shots for Abbotsford (34-21-7), which has just one win in its last nine games. The Heat actually had the best opportunities to open the scoring, getting four power plays in the first period, but had nothing to show for it, including just one shot through 10 minutes. "We had four straight power plays, and we didnt generate anything off of that," said Heat head coach Troy Ward. "We didnt gain some momentum, we didnt put ourselves in a position physically or mentally to get some emotion or get some charge out of those power plays. I thought that was one of the biggest differences in the game." Stuart mirrored that idea. "We got into a little bit of penalty trouble in the first period," said Stuart. "We just kept battling back. Wed kill off a penalty and gain back a little bit more momentum and build on it. They kept coming at us and we weathered the storm when we needed to and controlled the game when we needed to as well." The Comets finally opened the scoring at 8:47 of the second period. Yann Sauves long shot was kicked out by Roy right to DeFazio down low and he made no mistake in beating Roy stick side for his 12th of the year. The Heat had some opportunities to get on the board. Corey Locke forced a turnover behind the net and centred for Max Reinhart, but Eriksson stopped him and made it look easy as well. While Locke has 14 assists with the Heat this season, he still has not scored in 18 games. "Its frustrating," said Locke. "Ive been getting looks but cant find a way to get the puck behind that goal-line. It cost a goal today. I stayed out to try and score, extending a shift, and they go back and score that second goal. Thats unacceptable." Stuart made it 2-0 at 15:25. Friesen made a perfect pass off the boards, around a Heat defender, to Stuart and he beat Roy blocker side. The Comets captain got his second of the game at 3:05 of the third. He skated to the left faceoff dot and wired a shot short side on the Heat netminder, putting the visitors up 3-0. The Heat had a two-man advantage with eight minutes to go in the third and finally beat Eriksson. Street one-timed Lockes pass from the slot, blowing it by the Swedish netminders glove for his 23rd of the year. ' ' '