The Greatest Manager of All time

In the morning, Oliver Cromwell had just asked Lynn about signing with John Lewis.

That afternoon, James Cook came to him as well.

However, James Cook did not need help reviewing the contract.

The manager and his student walked along the edge of the training ground, taking a stroll under the winter sun. It felt especially pleasant.

James Cook told Lynn what had happened and wanted to hear his opinion.

"James, do you know why John Lewis wants to use your and Oliver's image rights?"

"Huh? They approached Oliver too?"

James Cook clearly had not known that Cromwell was also one of John Lewis's target endorsers for their Welsh market strategy.

After hearing Lynn say that, he was surprised, but somewhere deep inside, he also felt a little happy.

Perhaps it was because having a good friend doing the same thing with him made him feel less worried and less hesitant.

It even made him glad.

Lynn nodded and said, "Yes. As far as I know, they only approached the two of you. Because you're Welsh boys. You both have good images, you're young, and your image on the pitch is likable. More importantly, a lot of children like you now. You've already begun to gain commercial value."

"That's a good thing. For you, your football career is rising steadily, but honestly, football is also a high-risk profession. One injury, one scandal, a bottleneck in your development, losing match form—any number of factors could bring your football career to a sudden halt."

"No one can say how long this career of youth will last. So if you can earn more money now, and it doesn't conflict with your football, then earn it. Use it as savings and security for your future life. I support you doing this, so don't feel burdened by it. Go ahead and do it boldly."

"And you do have the potential to become a football star. For certain reasons, when people see you, they can see Beckham's shadow in the way you play. Of course, you won't be Beckham. Just like if Beckham hadn't had the strength to climb back after hitting rock bottom during the 1998 World Cup, he would never have become the national idol he is today."

After listening to Lynn, James Cook felt much more at ease.

All his worries disappeared.

That evening, after returning home, he told Lance Cook his decision. He agreed to sign with John Lewis.

Although Lance Cook was happy that his younger brother had ultimately not refused commercial income from outside football, James Cook going to Lynn for advice made him deeply uncomfortable.

Somewhere inside him, there was even a faint unease.

...

On the second day after entering 2001, Lynn traveled with the team to Macclesfield.

The brutal fixture congestion was still continuing.

For the third match, Lynn went into the away supporters' stand and sat together with several fan representatives.

Richard Cork carefully examined the wound on Lynn's head, then said, "It doesn't look like it'll leave a very obvious scar. Once your hair grows a bit longer, it'll cover it. It won't affect that fairly pretty face of yours."

Lynn laughed and cursed, "Richard, you bastard. Are you saying I look like a woman?"

For a man to be called pretty in England always carried a slightly ambiguous meaning.

Kevin Reeves laughed and said, "Lynn, we failed to win the first match after your touchline ban. Today we're away from home. Is Swansea in trouble again?"

The surrounding fans all turned their eyes toward Lynn's face.

Half a year ago, he had torn Swansea down and rebuilt it.

He had personally assembled an entirely new team, blended them together, built the tactics, and performed magical substitutions during matches.

If anyone said Lynn had no massive influence on Swansea as manager, no one would believe them.

In everyone's heart, the best manager for the current Swansea was Lynn.

Especially judging from the players' interviews, the main players in the squad clearly supported Lynn deeply.

Even the apparent conflict between Ibrahimović and Lynn during the Welsh derby had been exaggerated by the media with all sorts of rumors.

But before Ibrahimović went on holiday, one sentence from him had made all those rumors vanish.

"What the hell is wrong with you people? There's no problem between me and Boss. I made a mistake. I'll remember that mistake and correct it. End of story. Any rumor about me falling out with Boss is just reporters talking out of their arses!"

Facing the passionate supporters, Lynn smiled and said, "No matter what, no team can keep winning forever. Swansea is the same. Our team is still very young. Because of that, when the schedule is this demanding, our performance may dip for one or two matches. I hope everyone can understand and tolerate that."

"They need your support. The stronger the motivation you give them, the faster they'll grow. Today, let's cheer these lads on together!"

"You don't need to tell us that! Of course we support the Swan Sea. Otherwise, why would we be here?"

"Exactly! But having Lynn join us today is brilliant. Haha, cheering in the stands together with the manager is a special experience."

"Let's hope the little Swans fight hard too!"

Now, Swansea fans affectionately called the Swansea players the Little Swans.

Once the match began, Lynn joined the Swansea fans in cheering for the team from the stands.

The passionate Swan Sea supporters created an especially huge noise today, loud enough to make people wonder whose home ground this actually was.

Macclesfield took this match very seriously because they had already lost to Swansea twice in the first half of the season, once in the league and once in the cup. So even at home, they worked hard to defend well.

The match remained deadlocked for a long time.

There was plenty of intensity, but not much quality.

Still, the Swansea fans' support never dropped.

Then, in the 82nd minute, an unexpected player helped Swansea deliver the killing blow.

Mark Nielsen!

For three consecutive matches, Mark Nielsen had scored.

With Ibrahimović suspended, Charisteas rested, Villa tightly marked, and Cromwell also receiving special attention from the opposition, Mark Nielsen received Villa's layoff outside the penalty area and fired a long-range shot straight through the gates of Macclesfield!

Mark Nielsen ran off in wild excitement to celebrate, while the fans hugged one another and roared in joy. Everyone was ecstatic with the team's performance.

Emlyn Hughes was temporarily directing the team from the touchline. After seeing the team score, he did not become overly excited. Instead, he felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders.

Usually, he only sat on the coaching bench and watched Lynn command from the touchline as if everything were under control.

He had thought he could also remain as steady as a mountain.

But failing to win the previous match had already placed enormous pressure on him.

Today, after finally taking the lead, he understood that a manager standing in this position was not only walking on thin ice inside, but also constantly riding an emotional roller coaster.

This really was not a job normal people could handle.

No wonder so many managers had heart problems!

Fortunately, Lynn was only suspended. If Emlyn Hughes had to stand in this position long term, he would not be willing.

He still wanted to live a few more years.

After taking the lead, Hughes made substitutions and ordered the entire team to drop back.

Macclesfield also pushed hard for an equalizer, but in the end, they failed to change the score.

Swansea beat Macclesfield 1–0 away from home, completing a season triple over them!

When the match ended, Lynn sang and celebrated Swansea's victory together with the fans.

As everyone prepared to leave, Jason Smith, still wanting more, said to Lynn, "Bit of a shame. Brighton won yesterday. If we hadn't been docked six points, we'd be one point ahead of them now. Damn the FA!"

Lynn was fairly relaxed about it. He smiled at everyone and said, "It's all right. We'll earn promotion by the end of the season. And I'm very confident we'll be league champions. Even if you don't believe me, you should believe the lads on the pitch!"

"Hahaha, of course we have confidence in you!"

"You've already proven you're an excellent manager!"

"Lynn, half a year from now, we're going to the Second Division!"

...

After Lynn returned to Swansea, he welcomed a friend.

As night fell, Lynn sat in an elegant café at the center of St David's Square in Swansea.

He slowly stirred his coffee without the slightest intention of drinking it, because he was afraid he would not be able to sleep later.

As a head coach, he already had too many things to think about every day. Sometimes he really did suffer from insomnia.

When he could not sleep, he would go to Erin or Carter, exhausting himself or distracting his mind in gentle company.

Once his head stopped thinking about too many things, he could naturally fall asleep peacefully.

Not long after, at nine o'clock in the evening, his friend arrived.

Watching Rona Whelan sit down opposite him, her tall, graceful figure wrapped in an off-white coat, Lynn teased, "I thought that after our last conversation, although we became friends, you had already forgotten me. Or perhaps you were afraid of spending time with a friend like me."

Rona Whelan truly did not want to have too much contact with Lynn.

The relationship between them had originally been one of mutual benefit.

When it was not necessary, she would even allow a little personal emotion to creep in and privately "curse" Lynn now and then.

It all came from the strength and pressure Lynn had displayed during their last conversation at the Old Shu Chinese restaurant, which had made Rona Whelan deeply uncomfortable.

She often thought, 'If I never see that bastard again, the world will be a better place.'

But right now, she was only a junior reporter with little influence and not enough resources. The interview assignments she could receive were all at the very bottom of English football.

And among the lowest-level football news, the hottest stories came from Swansea!

Because of that, Rona Whelan had no choice but to take the initiative and deal with Lynn again. In her eyes, Lynn had extremely high value. If she used that value properly, it could help her rise quickly.

After sitting down, she said with a hint of sarcasm, "Please. The world doesn't revolve around you. I have other work to do. Swansea is only one of the twenty-four clubs in the Third Division."

Lynn was not offended.

As long as it did not genuinely affect serious business, he was actually very tolerant toward women. He had seen, spent time with, adapted to, and even slept with many women. If he were to take every little thing seriously and put on some cold, untouchable attitude, life would be far too boring.

He continued stirring his coffee and smiled.

"Correction. Swansea is the strongest team in the Third Division, the most talked-about team, the team that scares English football the most, and also the most passionate and energetic team. So the other twenty-three teams combined still can't match the influence and attention Swansea brings. Am I right? Otherwise, why would you take the initiative to come see me?"

Rona Whelan sighed.

"Fine. You're right. That is indeed the case. I came to see you for two things. First, I need an exclusive interview. The subject is you. And I want the interview to have real edge. I don't want diplomatic nonsense that fools the readers. I want substance."

Lynn raised a hand to stop her.

"On what grounds? I have no obligation to accept your exclusive interview. Besides, my advisory team has set a rule for me: no more than three exclusive interviews per year. That way, my interviews will have greater value."

"You have an advisory team?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Fine. That's a bloody awful situation. Those people will only make you better at using the media. They're all well-dressed, dark-hearted schemers."

"Reporters are just a pack of wolves and tigers pretending to be respectable."

Rona Whelan rolled her eyes.

Lynn immediately said, "Sometimes your expressions are quite interesting."

Rona Whelan's face filled with wariness as she warned him, "Behave yourself. I'm not Cass Carter. I'm not going to sleep with you, so flirting with me is useless."

Lynn laughed.

"I don't have a special hobby of sleeping with female reporters. Besides, you're not my type. You're too thin. My God, it's hard to imagine whether a man hugging you would be scared off by all those sharp bones."

"Stop talking about anything related to me! Back to the point. Since I'm asking you for an exclusive interview, I'm obviously not just taking from you. My return is that I'll give you a piece of information."

Lynn narrowed his eyes slightly, but he did not show much reaction.

Rona Whelan had thought Lynn would be very curious.

His response disappointed her, so she had no choice but to reveal it herself.

"At least three Second Division clubs are planning to make offers for Swansea players when the winter transfer window opens. These aren't exploratory bids. They're determined to take Swansea players away!"

Lynn raised his chin slightly.

At last, she had caught his interest.

He shrugged and said, "That's normal. There are people with good eyes everywhere. I'm not surprised at all. But since you came to tip me off, you should at least tell me which clubs they are, right? That way I can prepare myself mentally. If possible, I can also prepare to resist."

Rona Whelan nodded.

"Of course. The three clubs I know of are Port Vale, Stoke City, and Brentford."

Lynn tilted his head back and thought for a moment before saying, "They're unlikely to succeed in buying my players, Rona. Your information has no value to me. Whether they want David Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimović, or Angelos Charisteas, sorry, but all they have to do is look at their transfer fees from half a year ago, and then look at their current wage packages."

"With the strength of those three clubs, in terms of transfer fee, Charisteas might be the only one they can possibly afford. But in terms of wages, they can't afford any of them. They can't expect me to sell players I bought for a certain amount at the same price or even at a loss—unless they still think I'm insane."

The hottest players in the team were naturally the ones scoring the most goals.

The three players with the most goals in Swansea were Villa, Ibrahimović, and Charisteas.

If other clubs wanted to sign Swansea players, those three would definitely be their first choices.

Rona Whelan smiled with a playful, meaningful expression.

"Young Coach of the Swans, can you stop being so full of yourself? Everyone knows you spent big money bringing in Villa and Ibrahimović. Their next transfers, unless their contracts are close to expiring or the club clears them out because of poor performance, will certainly be worth at least three million pounds or more. Only Premier League clubs and a small number of First Division clubs could afford that kind of price."

"Villa and the others came with costs attached. But Swansea still has quite a few players who cost almost nothing and have performed well enough to attract outside attention. Especially young players. If someone poaches them and throws Swansea some money, outsiders will see it as pure profit for Swansea."

Hearing that, Lynn immediately blurted out, "Cromwell and Cook?"

Rona Whelan lifted the coffee on the table and took a sip.

Then she gave Lynn a bright smile.