Chapter 106: A Feast of Slaughter
"After Swansea completed their promotion mission, the Swan Sea did not slow down. Lynn's public statement is that Swansea want to win the title, but it is easy to smell something unusual beneath those words. That smell is called slaughter!
"Last round, Swansea knocked Cardiff City out of third place and down into the promotion play-off zone. Cardiff City and Chesterfield both won this round, so their positions did not change. Will Cardiff City, who were originally set for direct promotion, now be forced into the promotion play-offs instead?
"The cruelty of the promotion play-offs is unbearable. Four teams enter, but only one goes up. The other three all reach out and touch the door to the Second Division, only to be rejected in the end. For a team that has worked hard and performed well, that is the cruelest punishment imaginable!
"And in this round, Hartlepool United, who had originally trailed third-placed Chesterfield by three points, were beaten by Swansea at Liberty Stadium. In one blow, the gap to Chesterfield widened to six points, and they now trail Cardiff City by four. With only four league matches remaining, overturning two teams above them has basically become an impossible task. Hartlepool United once had hope of challenging for third, but Swansea have now hammered them firmly back into the promotion play-off zone!
"Lynn's Swan Sea are setting off a mad slaughter!
"Go ask the fans of the top ten teams in the Third Division which team they hate the most!
"In a survey of over three thousand supporters from different clubs, Swansea topped the list with 92.3% of the vote!
"Congratulations, Swansea. You have become the most hated team in the Third Division. However, another survey shows that Swansea have gained between eighteen thousand and twenty-two thousand new supporters this season!
"They are being chased by neutral fans, especially local Welsh fans and immigrant supporters from all over the world. These people have been conquered by Swansea's forceful style. They now willingly cheer passionately for them, go mad for them, and dance with the swans!
"There are still four rounds left in the league. Is Swansea's feast of slaughter over?
"No. It has only just begun!
"The four remaining opponents all need to face Swansea, either because of relegation pressure or promotion ambitions. For all of them, Swansea will be the opponent they fear most!
"The swans sweeping across the Third Division may become the strongest team in Third Division history!"
That night, on BBC Wales' sports program, gold-medal presenter Brian Horton vividly summarized Swansea's recent record.
The outside world may have thought Swansea would simply go through the motions and win the title easily, but nobody expected that even in these fierce consecutive matches, Swansea could still produce brilliant results while looking so composed!
Everyone could clearly recognize one thing: the Third Division absolutely could not hold Swansea anymore!
Yes, Swansea's current strength already stood above Third Division level!
They were not competing with other Third Division clubs. They were crushing and trampling teams at the same level!
On April 20th, Lynn led the team to northern Greater London, where they challenged Barnet!
The day before the match, when Lynn left the club, Welsh reporters surrounded him and asked for his thoughts ahead of the game. Lynn simply said, "There's nothing much to say. Swansea will go all out to secure the league title!"
None of the reporters believed his nonsense!
Secure the league title?
That was already in Swansea's pocket!
Barnet versus Swansea. The real talking point was obviously the grudge between Lynn and Barnet manager Ray Kennedy!
In the opening match of the season, Lynn had led Swansea to a last-minute winner at home against Barnet, handing former Swansea manager Ray Kennedy a defeat.
When the two sides met again in the second half of the season, their circumstances were already completely different.
Swansea sat at the top of the table. Not only had they secured promotion, they were also almost universally expected to win the league title.
And Barnet?
Barnet, who had finished sixth last season, were now ranked where?
Twenty-fourth!
Bottom of the league!
Although they were only four points away from twentieth place, Barnet's survival prospects were still far from optimistic.
When former Swansea manager Ray Kennedy took over at Barnet, he also brought three former Swansea rejects with him: Mike Howard, Roger Freestone, and Jonathan Curtis.
Originally, Barnet's strength may not have been enough to lock down a top-three direct promotion spot in the Third Division, but they had a strong chance of challenging for the promotion play-offs.
But after Ray Kennedy brought three of his old Swansea men into Barnet, he played favorites. That split the dressing room and caused constant conflict. The team's problem became very simple: they could not work together!
And that conflict broke out after Barnet visited Liberty Stadium and lost in the league opener!
It had never been properly resolved.
Barnet's board had been overwhelmed and had never managed to make the decision to sack Ray Kennedy. After all, they would have to pay compensation, and they could not find a suitable replacement. On top of that, because they had paid relatively high wages to sign three former Swansea players on free transfers, the club was reluctant to stop using them.
As a result, the chaos in the dressing room grew worse and worse. Barnet's form remained sluggish, and they continued struggling in the relegation zone.
For the final four league matches, Barnet could not afford to slip up in any game. They were four points behind twentieth place. There were twelve points available from four rounds. If they won them all, maybe they could still create a miracle escape.
But nobody expected that at such a crucial moment, Lynn would arrive with Swansea in such force!
London, Harrow, Underhill Stadium.
Inside the stadium, which could hold only 5,100 people, every seat was filled. Before the match even began, the fans had already started producing huge boos in protest against manager Ray Kennedy!
Because Swansea were the visiting team today, and because of the grudges between the two sides, the fans had put up a striking banner in the stands.
"Damn Swansea, giving us a bomb!"
Barnet's nickname was the Bees.
The Bees fans believed Ray Kennedy and the three Swansea rejects were a malicious gift Swansea had sent to Barnet before the season.
In truth, they were a bomb!
Lynn walked into Underhill Stadium with a smile. The boos inside the stadium buzzed and rumbled, as if there really were swarms of bees making noise in the stands.
After Lynn appeared, the boos became even louder.
Naturally, the Bees fans hated Lynn to the bone!
Damn it!
It was this Young Marshal of the Swans whose family had bought Swansea, triggering his takeover of the club and causing Ray Kennedy to lose his job.
Then, because Lynn cleaned out the squad, Swansea's rejects transferred to Barnet.
Ray Kennedy and the three Swansea cast-offs were the direct reason for Barnet's decline this season!
How could the Bees fans not hate the Young Marshal of the Swans?
It was all Lynn's fault!
When Ray Kennedy walked out of the players' tunnel with his coaching staff and substitutes and arrived on the touchline, he saw Lynn standing near the halfway line.
Lynn was smiling at him. Ray Kennedy's expression was extremely awkward, and wonderfully complicated. It looked as if humiliation, shame, and the desire to crawl into a hole were all appearing on his face at once.
Lynn took the initiative to walk forward and said to Ray Kennedy, "Ray, I missed you so much!"
The moment Ray Kennedy shook Lynn's hand, he turned and walked away. He did not want to look at Lynn's smug face right now.
Lynn called after him, "Do you remember what I told you the last time we parted?"
Ray Kennedy's footsteps paused for a moment. Then he continued walking. Many home fans nearby booed him, but he pretended not to hear and sat down in front of the bench.
Of course he remembered what Lynn had said the last time they parted.
"That was your best and last chance to beat Swansea. But you didn't take it. You will never have another chance."
In the opening match of the season, Swansea had been at their weakest overall!
But Barnet had lost that match.
Now?
On the Third Division stage, Swansea were strong and fully armed, their youth storm unstoppable!
Barnet were probably in deep trouble today.
Ray Kennedy felt somewhat disheartened.
When he left Swansea, he had spoken arrogantly. After losing the first match of the season, he had wholeheartedly wanted to meet Swansea again and complete his revenge.
And the result?
Now that they met again, it was the league leaders against the team at the bottom.
Swansea ranked first!
Barnet ranked twenty-fourth!
One in the sky, one in the dirt!
The difference between them was worlds apart!
That made Ray Kennedy completely unwilling to speak a single word to Lynn, or even see him. The thought of meeting again on the pitch had long since faded.
All that remained in his heart was humiliation.
The starting players of both teams met inside the players' tunnel. Swansea had still arrived today dressed stylishly, though because of the weather, they had taken off their suit jackets and changed into fitted waistcoats. When the Swansea squad entered London's Harrow district, they had already become a distinct and eye-catching sight.
Now, having changed into their kits, they stood neatly in the players' tunnel. Swansea's players stared forward, heads high and chests out, paying no attention to the Barnet players whose morale had already sunk to the bottom.
Barnet's players no longer seemed fully focused on the match.
Perhaps only the three former Swansea players, Howard, Freestone, and Curtis, looked over at Swansea's lineup with complicated feelings.
That young team had grown rapidly this season, improving at an astonishing pace, and would step onto the Second Division stage a few months later!
That filled them with unwillingness, anger, strong envy, and regret.
If they had stayed at Swansea…
If they had worked hard to win first-team places…
If, if…
Sorry.
There were no ifs in their world.
When both teams walked onto the pitch, Lynn stood calmly by the touchline as usual, ready to command the match.
"Welcome to Underhill Stadium in Harrow, London. This is round 43 of the Third Division. League leaders Swansea have come away to challenge bottom-placed Barnet. The media have already said more than enough about the story between these two teams, so let's return our attention to the most practical issue.
"If Barnet cannot beat Swansea in this match, their hopes of staying in the Third Division will basically be destroyed! Strictly speaking, they need to overtake four teams ahead of them to successfully climb out of danger!
"They trail the twentieth-placed team by four points. If they cannot win this match, then with only three rounds remaining, Barnet will need a miracle to complete their great escape!
"But today, the Swansea they face are so strong, so seemingly unbeatable!
"Barnet start today in a 4-4-2.
"Goalkeeper: Roger Freestone.
"Defenders: Smith, Howard, Bowmer, King.
"Midfielders: Gambel, Hendon, Curtis, Tarrant.
"Forwards: Beadle, Stevens.
"Swansea also start in a 4-4-2.
"Goalkeeper: Glendower.
"Defenders: Balitsch, Brunel, Friedrich, Tobias Rau.
"Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo, Poulsen, Pedretti, Grosso.
"Forwards: Ibrahimović, Villa.
"Let us see whether Barnet can defeat powerful Swansea at home today."
Because this round was a midweek fixture, Lynn had rotated the squad to a certain degree.
But he was not worried about the team's fighting power. Cristiano Ronaldo had also earned a starting place.
The atmosphere inside Underhill Stadium was terrible.
By the middle of the season, the fans' patience with the team's performances had already reached its limit. So now, with the team sitting bottom of the relegation zone, they were not united in cheering the players on. Instead, they greeted the match with boos.
Amid the enormous noise of jeers, the match began.
Swansea played steadily, mainly advancing their attacks down the two flanks, then crossing from wide areas to create chances for the forwards.
Barnet's fighting strength was so poor that Lynn was surprised. They were even weaker than they had been when the two teams met in the opening match of the season!
Perhaps the individual abilities of the players had not changed much, but the team lacked coordinated understanding. Passing mistakes appeared constantly, and their defense was often broken down one by one, unable to form effective collective cover.
In the 23rd minute, Grosso advanced the attack down the left and played a one-two with Villa before reaching the byline and crossing. Inside the penalty area, Ibrahimović made a diagonal run and, before Howard could clear, cleverly used his left foot to guide the ball toward goal.
Goalkeeper Freestone dived a beat too slow. The ball slipped directly under his arm and flew into the net behind him!
The boos inside Underhill Stadium grew even louder!
Ibrahimović had no interest in running to the touchline to celebrate. Since Underhill Stadium had only 5,100 seats, the visiting fans had been given very few tickets. Besides, Swansea securing the league title was only a matter of time, so not many away fans had come to the stadium to cheer them on.
Ibrahimović stood in front of Barnet's goal, turned toward his teammates, and smiled. It was as if this kind of goal was not enough to make him wildly excited.
There was not much challenge to it!
"Swansea strike first away from home! As expected! As expected!
"Ray Kennedy once said Swansea would be destroyed under Lynn. But what are we seeing now?
"What we see is that after taking charge of Barnet, he has destroyed Barnet instead!
"Barnet deserve to be relegated with such a lifeless performance. They deserve it!
"Swansea, on the other hand, are shining under Lynn!
"Look at Ibrahimović's goal. Not only was it beautiful, it looked especially easy. The energetic Swan Sea are dazzling on the pitch, radiating brilliant light!"
After watching only fifteen minutes of the match, Lynn returned to the bench and sat down. He could not see any threat from Barnet.
If the opponent had even shown the shape of a parked bus and counterattack strategy, Lynn would have taken them seriously. But Barnet's morale had already collapsed!
A team without soul or flesh and blood had no fighting strength at all!
Ray Kennedy, well done.
You successfully took a team that finished sixth last season into the relegation zone!