The Greatest Manager of All time

On the return journey, Lynn addressed the entire squad on the team bus.

"It's unfortunate that we lost today, and that we lost so thoroughly. But this also allowed us to recognize the gap between ourselves and a Premier League side. That's all right. We still have plenty of room to improve.

I believe that when the day comes for us to step into the Premier League, we'll be able to stand our ground against Premier League teams.

I believe in all of you, and I hope you won't dwell on the defeat from one match. Pick yourselves up quickly. The most realistic goals in front of us are the second half of the league season and the Football League Trophy."

Everyone on the bus remained silent. The atmosphere did not become lively.

After all, they had lost. It was understandable that the players were in low spirits.

Even captain Cromwell was quietly leaning against the window and listening to music. James Cook was distractedly flipping through his textbook. Villa was playing on his handheld console. Grosso was reading a magazine, and so on. No one really wanted to talk, so Lynn did not say anything more either.

A professional team had to learn how to adjust after defeat, summarize the match, reflect on it, and then change where needed. That was enough.

They could not rely every time on vague, empty, or flashy motivation to lift the squad's spirits. What mattered most was what they actually did afterward.

Among the three domestic cup competitions Swansea had entered, the more important League Cup and FA Cup were already over for them.

Once the competitions ended, Lynn would receive system points as a summary reward for the cup campaigns, but it definitely would not be much.

They had only reached the round of sixteen in the League Cup, while in the FA Cup, they had fallen in the third round. Added together, it would probably not exceed ten points.

The good thing for Swansea was that, ultimately, they were a Third Division team, while Chelsea were a Premier League team. Losing to Chelsea would not bring Swansea any media pressure. Most outlets would only mention it briefly in their match reports.

However, on January 7, Swansea still made the headlines in the Welsh media.

To be more precise, Lynn became the focus of outside attention.

In Stoke and in Hounslow, on the outskirts of Greater London, Port Vale, Stoke City, and Brentford each held press conferences.

Port Vale chairman Norman Smurthwaite gave a brief statement to the reporters.

"Today, I would like to issue a statement here. In May of last year, I made some inappropriate remarks about Swansea manager Lynn. Those remarks caused a negative impact and showed a lack of respect toward Mr. Lynn. For that, I deeply apologize."

"Mr. Lynn is an outstanding manager. Before this, I failed to fully recognize that and misunderstood him, which I deeply regret."

"I would like to express my personal apology and respect to Lynn. As Swansea's manager, he deserves respect from his peers. No matter where he comes from, the achievements he has worked hard to earn are also a benchmark for young people of this era."

"Perhaps people will say he is very wealthy, but being rich and successfully managing and coaching a football club are almost unrelated. Through his own actions, he has shown us that he deserves fairer treatment."

"I hope Port Vale and Swansea can establish a long-lasting friendship. If possible, I would like to apologize to Lynn face-to-face. He deserves that from me, because he is a good man."

The reporters below were stunned.

Port Vale had suddenly called a press conference and solemnly apologized to Lynn?

Many reporters did know who Lynn was. They had been quietly paying attention to him, but Lynn was currently a taboo subject on Fleet Street.

Swansea were only in the Third Division, and they were a Welsh club at that.

No one cared about a Third Division Welsh team, so it did not matter if they ignored Lynn and Swansea entirely.

But today, Port Vale had suddenly pulled this stunt. It truly shocked everyone.

Perhaps only Rona Whelan from the Daily Express was not surprised.

She had already prepared her article for the newspaper. She could guess Lynn's attitude, and after the press conference ended, she called Lynn to verify it. In private, Lynn revealed what he would do next.

At Stoke City, chairman Peter Coates also gave a hypocritical apology speech. He even asked for forgiveness and apologized to the public for his past remarks, which had been suspected of racism.

No matter how one looked at it, the two Stoke clubs appeared to be acting as if they wanted to turn over a new leaf.

Reporters who did not know the inside story could not understand why.

But reporters who had heard some rumors keenly smelled the scent of news.

When Brentford chairman Cliff Boya also inexplicably held a press conference to express respect toward Lynn, both Fleet Street and Welsh reporters sprang into action.

Everyone began speculating about the purpose behind these three clubs holding press conferences to show goodwill toward Lynn.

Following that line of thought, they concluded that these three clubs must want something from Swansea.

What could they want?

Players, of course!

Who were the hottest team and players in the Third Division?

Swansea and Swansea's players.

On top of that, Swansea's players were all very young.

Port Vale, Brentford, and Stoke City were going to poach players from the Swan Sea!

And since they had held press conferences, they must have reached some kind of agreement with Swansea.

Before the player deals, they first had to show Lynn enough respect and apology.

Looking at it now, after completing these press conferences, the three clubs would take players away from Swansea!

But who would they take?

The outside world was extremely curious.

After hearing the news, Welsh media outlets all used their own channels to try to get information from inside Swansea.

Everyone wanted to know who would be sold during the winter transfer window.

At noon, while Lynn was having lunch, Carter called him.

"Have you seen the news?"

"What news?"

"Port Vale, Stoke City, and Brentford all held press conferences. The three chairmen personally apologized to you."

"Oh, I heard about it, but I haven't paid attention. There's no video footage anyway, and I don't really care."

"Lynn, is Swansea going to sell players to them?"

"Of course not."

"Then there's no reason for them to do this! There must be some secret!"

"If there's something I don't want to tell you, I'll stay silent. But I've told you already. We have no private agreement, and there is no deal about to be completed. There won't be one in the future either. So are you going to keep digging and interrogating me, or are you going to believe me?"

"Darling, I'm sorry. I'm just anxious. You know I'm a loyal supporter of the Swan Sea now. I don't want our players going anywhere else."

"Mm. What you're worried about won't happen. I'm eating, so I'll stop here. See you tonight."

"Are you coming over tonight?"

"Don't you want me to?"

"All right. I'll wait for you at home."

"That's boring. Let's go to the seaside for barbecue. The weather's nice today."

"Okay. I'll wait for your call."

After hanging up, Lynn looked at Mo Yuan across the dining table and chuckled.

"They moved pretty fast. They're really obedient too."

Mo Yuan smiled silently and continued eating without saying a word.

Before the Welsh media could dig up any verifiable information, the players inside Swansea began to feel uneasy after hearing the rumors.

This was especially true for those who had been contacted by Gavin Ward.

Cromwell, however, showed no reaction at all. He had full confidence in Lynn. He knew his Boss was not that pathetic.

Sell the captain? He was worth a lot, you know. Without at least ten million pounds, there was no way Lynn would nod.

James Cook, however, was a little worried.

During a break in training, he came to Lynn's side and asked anxiously, "Boss, a lot of reporters outside are saying the club will sell players to other clubs. Is it true?"

Lynn rubbed James Cook's head and smiled at him.

"Don't listen to outsiders talking nonsense. So far, no one has told me they want to leave. If no one wants to go, the club won't sell anyone. What's wrong? Are you unhappy at the club and want a transfer?"

"No, no, no! I don't want to leave! Boss, please don't sell me."

James Cook hurriedly waved his hands, looking as if he had genuinely been frightened.

Lynn did not know whether to laugh or cry. James Cook was so obedient that sometimes he did not even dare take a joke.

Lynn put away his smile and said seriously to James Cook, "Don't worry. Focus on playing football. All of you are the first group of players I personally brought in or recalled after taking over the club. My ideal dream is for you all to accompany me to the top of the world."

James Cook immediately smiled and said happily, "Yes. We'll work hard with Boss and stand at the top of the world!"

"Heh. You can't do that just by saying it."

"Understood. I'll train even harder!"

James Cook seemed to have been injected with adrenaline as he ran back excitedly to his teammates.

When they asked him what he and Lynn had talked about, he simply shook his head and refused to answer.

Charisteas also came over and confessed to Lynn that Gavin Ward had contacted him.

He declared his loyalty on the spot. Lynn told him not to take it to heart and to just focus on playing football.

After afternoon training ended, Lynn drove away from the club's training base.

A large number of reporters were waiting outside, just to catch him when he came out.

They asked Lynn what he thought about the three club chairmen holding press conferences.

Sitting in his car, Lynn said to the reporters, "Since there were misunderstandings between us in the past, and my reputation was damaged, I think it is a very good sign that some people are now willing to step forward and admit their mistakes."

"I'm very grateful to these three chairmen. They have fully displayed the bearing of British gentlemen. I'm happy for them, and I hope we can become friends."

Other than that, Lynn said nothing more and drove away.

That evening, Gavin Ward came to Swansea again.

Lynn once again refused to see him, using the excuse that he had matters to handle. However, Mo Yuan received Gavin Ward at his private holiday estate.

Gavin Ward did not know that Lynn and Carter were actually inside the estate.

In front of the viewing platform, Ward smiled at Mo Yuan and said, "The three chairmen held formal press conferences and have already resolved the past misunderstandings with Mr. Lynn. I believe we can now discuss business. I'm sure you understand why I'm here."

Mo Yuan drank his wine and smiled.

"Yes. We can discuss business now. Tomorrow morning, have those three clubs send official bids."

Gavin Ward smiled broadly and clinked glasses with Mo Yuan.

After leaving, he immediately told his three employers the good news.

The next day, Fleet Street was the first to react.

Ian Clark, the Sun reporter who was completely opposed to Lynn, wrote in his column:

"Smurthwaite, Coates, and Boya, three obscure English football club chairmen, have done something disgraceful. They actually held public press conferences to express apology and respect toward Lynn? Please. Everyone knows what they're doing. They're currying favor with Lynn because they want Swansea's players. To achieve that goal, they've thrown away even their dignity! It is utterly shameful!"

Mark Cady of the Daily Star also called it "a disgraceful farce by club chairmen" in his own column.

At the same time, Stoke City, Port Vale, and Brentford officially sent transfer bids to Swansea.

The three club chairmen knew that holding those press conferences would bring some negative comments.

But as long as they got the players and earned the benefits they believed were within reach, why should they care about anything else?

However, the moment their bids were sent, Swansea replied.

Rejected!

...

At eleven in the morning, after training ended, Lynn and Mo Yuan walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Just after leaving the club's training base, they ran into the reporters.

Walter Raleigh urgently asked Lynn, "I've heard that Stoke City, Port Vale, and Brentford have each made transfer bids for Charisteas, Cromwell, and Cook, and Swansea's response was rejection. What exactly does that mean? Is it a question of the transfer fee?"

Until that moment, everyone still believed Swansea doing business with those three clubs was already settled.

After all, there had to be a private agreement behind this!

Otherwise, why would the chairmen of those three clubs hold press conferences to publicly show goodwill toward Lynn?

As a return gesture, as a matter of courtesy, Lynn should also give them something back to match basic social principles, right?

But after Raleigh asked the question, Lynn immediately became furious. With a cold face, he accused them angrily.

"Boya, Coates, Smurthwaite. Those three liars!"

"They kept saying they wanted to become friends with me, but their actions today have exposed that their apologies were not sincere at all!"

"They are liars. Shameless bastards!"

"To get Swansea's players, they would stoop to any method. They apologized to me against their conscience and even flattered me! I have never seen such shameless people!"

"I will not sell players to them. If my players went to their clubs, they would be ruined as well, because those clubs have such filthy, despicable chairmen!"

"They are simply a disgrace to English football!"

"I only now learned that they even commissioned an intermediary agency to privately contact my players. Will the FA ignore such behavior? If necessary, I can have my players testify!"

"Port Vale, Stoke City, Brentford — they do not deserve Swansea's friendship!"

After saying this, Lynn left behind a group of dumbfounded reporters and strode away with Mo Yuan.

The reporters were all stunned, including the few Fleet Street reporters who had come to follow the story.

They felt as if the script was not quite the one they had imagined.

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