The Greatest Manager of All time

Cromwell's party did not spiral into anything too wild. Before one in the morning, Lynn chased all the players home and told them to sleep.

Swansea had already won the title, and the remaining two league matches were now being treated as formalities.

But Lynn did not look down on any match. He knew these little swans were still on the road of growth, and every match that seemed unimportant was still a warm nest that could hatch them into something stronger.

In the penultimate round of the league, Swansea would host Leyton Orient at home.

Although plenty of media outlets believed there was a high chance the two teams would serve up an extremely dull draw, Walter Raleigh of the South Wales Argus boldly predicted in his column that the match would be completely one-sided.

"The Swan Sea will complete their revenge at home!"

Raleigh wrote in his article:

"Swansea suffered a 0–3 defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient in the second round of the league. For Lynn and for Swansea, who have just been crowned champions, that is not something they can tolerate. Swansea have not lost many matches this season, and every defeat remains fresh in the memory. They need to show the style of champions at home, and they need to step into a new era with revenge over Leyton Orient.

"Leyton Orient have already secured sixth place in the league. With only two rounds remaining, the best they can finish is fifth. In other words, Leyton Orient's main focus will now be on the promotion play-offs, not on fighting Swansea to the death at the Liberty Stadium. They need to conserve their strength and prepare for the brutal battles waiting for them in the promotion play-offs.

"Because of that, Leyton Orient's desire to fight will not be strong. They only want to go through the motions, but Swansea will not let them off. This weekend at the Liberty Stadium, when the swans take flight, another bloody storm will be stirred up!"

Lynn remained silent before the match and did not say a single word to the outside world. Right now, all he needed to do was lead the team through the final two home matches, and then the holiday would begin.

Although victory seemed irrelevant, if Swansea failed to win, then this season would effectively mean they had lost to Leyton Orient.

Lynn had no conflict with Leyton Orient manager Andy Hessenthaler. The last time the two sides met, Hessenthaler had not said a single word to the media either. He had simply and quietly led his side to a 3–0 home win over Swansea.

Now Lynn was just as calm, so low-key that it felt unusual.

April 30th.

The Liberty Stadium was packed to full capacity.

Swansea fans brought their homemade banners and model championship trophies into the stands, while Swan Sea flags waved everywhere across the terraces.

With league home tickets free for the season, Swansea's attendance had been full from beginning to end. The club's marketing department could roughly calculate the season's revenue now. Although matchday ticket income had fallen sharply compared to previous years, commercial income had risen by a large margin, including the club merchandise stores around the stadium, restaurants, and other commercial chain products.

Those figures proved that Lynn's major business decision after taking control of the club had been correct.

First, he brought the fans into the stadium to watch the matches and helped them form the habit.

Once they were used to it in the future, this way of life would become something they could no longer live without.

When Lynn appeared on the touchline, thunderous applause and whistles broke out from the stands.

The fans' support for Lynn had reached a new height.

Because Lynn had led the team to the title and promotion.

Because Lynn had built a brand-new Swan Sea that filled everyone with expectation.

Because Lynn had made home matches free for them.

Because Lynn had helped them win huge payouts from their betting slips.

Because...

Not every person liked or supported Lynn for the same reason.

But when so many reasons existed at the same time, it was not hard to understand why Lynn's approval and support among the fans had become so high, or why their admiration for him had become so passionate.

Lynn's heart carried a faint pride and satisfaction. He believed he could secretly applaud himself in the dark. After one season, he had turned himself from a leader the fans had protested against and wanted to overthrow into a beloved figurehead. He felt that his year had been very successful.

There was no need to be modest about that.

He tried to keep his expression the same as usual as he walked to the technical area and sat down.

Emlyn Hughes handed him a sheet of paper from the side.

Lynn looked down and immediately showed a helpless expression.

What he held was Leyton Orient's starting lineup.

This would not be fake, and there were basically not going to be any changes.

Lynn muttered, "He really is practical."

Andy Hessenthaler's starting lineup contained almost no names Lynn recognized.

While studying the opponent, Lynn had naturally focused on Leyton Orient's main starters and key substitutes.

The scouting report's content also revolved around targeted analysis of their main lineup.

But in this match, Andy Hessenthaler had clearly sent out Leyton Orient's second team and did not want to drain his main squad.

Hughes smiled at Lynn and said, "Looks like we should win easily today."

Lynn nodded. That was definitely not underestimating the opponent, but genuine confidence.

If Swansea's full-strength side could not beat Leyton Orient's second team at home, that would be a complete joke.

However, Lynn did not show even the slightest joy.

Hughes asked suspiciously, "You look disappointed?"

Lynn nodded and said, "Since the result of this match won't affect our season objective anymore, because we've already won the title, of course I'd rather the starting players receive the best possible test. The stronger the opponent, the more benefit we get. With this Leyton Orient lineup, I'm afraid the training value won't be very high."

Hughes understood Lynn's thinking. He felt Lynn had a point. After all, Swansea were still climbing the ladder of the English league system.

The higher they climbed, the greater the challenges would be.

During the process of climbing upward, of course they had to improve their own strength as much as possible.

"Unfortunately, Leyton Orient have no reason to fight us to the death."

"That's why I said Andy Hessenthaler is truly practical. But I can understand it. If I were him, I might do the same. Honor matters, but it can't outweigh the practical benefits of promotion."

Andy Hessenthaler was a manager who leaned toward silence. He sat on the away team bench, expression stern and unsmiling, carrying a faint air of authority.

The starting players of both teams entered the pitch. When Hessenthaler saw that Swansea had sent out their elite lineup, his expression remained calm and unchanged.

Once the match began, Leyton Orient set up a defensive wall from the very first second.

They only wanted to go through the motions in this match and the next, then bring their best form into the promotion play-offs.

The fans in the stands did not care about that. They had entered the stadium in high spirits to watch the match, simply to support Swansea. Some of the fans were even there specifically to shout their support for Lynn from the stands.

After all, they had just collected massive winnings from the bookmakers and were feeling wonderful.

Swansea sent out their strongest side and began bombarding Leyton Orient's second team from the first minute.

They showed no mercy at all. In fact, with only two matches left in the season, the fierce home atmosphere only gave them even stronger motivation. They wanted to treat every match seriously.

Every minute played was one minute closer to the end!

In the 11th minute, Swansea's relentless attack was rewarded. Grosso's long-range shot from outside the box looked as if it was heading wide, but at the far post, the alert Villa seized the chance and cushioned the ball into the net.

Villa might originally have been offside, but Leyton Orient's defensive wall was not organized properly. One of their players had somehow stayed almost level with the goalkeeper, which meant Villa was not offside.

Cheers rang out from the Liberty Stadium stands.

After that, the Liberty Stadium turned into a grand carnival. Sitting on the bench, Lynn heard a song from the South Stand that he had never heard before.

He could not hear it clearly, so he turned his head and asked Hughes, "What are the fans over there singing?"

Hughes asked in surprise, "You don't know this song?"

Lynn shook his head.

Although he had lived in Swansea for quite a while, that did not mean he had completely integrated into and accepted Western culture. For example, there were many popular or classic songs he simply did not care about if he did not like them. When he went singing, he often sang Chinese songs too.

Hughes explained to Lynn, "It's a famous hit by the British rock band Slade. The song is called 'Cum On Feel the Noize.' There's a classic lyric in it: 'Come on, feel the noize! Girls, rock your boys!'"

Pfft!

Hughes did not introduce the lyric in a normal speaking tone. Instead, he sang it. It was not exactly unbearable, but Hughes's singing voice and his expression made Lynn unable to hold back his laughter.

The live broadcast camera caught Lynn's rare smile on the bench, followed by the sight of him covering his mouth and shaking his head at Hughes. The match commentator was greatly surprised and became curious about what Lynn and Hughes were discussing.

Hughes looked embarrassed. "Boss, I know I'm not a good singer, but that song really is good. I suggest you go back and listen to it."

Lynn nodded. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Mm. The two lines you sang just now roughly let me match the melody to the song the fans are singing over there. But the lyrics don't seem quite right."

"Of course. The fans in the South Stand changed the lyrics. They're singing it like this—uh, I'll just tell you the lyrics directly. Come on, Swansea boys, make some fucking noise!"

Lynn nodded slightly. When he listened carefully to the song from the South Stand again, it really did match what Hughes had said.

Lynn tried humming along with the rhythm. After a little while, he smiled at Hughes and said, "The melody of this song is pretty good. Especially when a lot of people are singing it together, that shouted-out feeling is great."

Hughes joked, "Why don't you just go to the South Stand and sing with them? Come on, Swansea boys, make some fucking noise!"

Hughes started singing again, and Lynn laughed so hard he almost doubled over.

Just as he was laughing, the score on the pitch became 2–0.

James Cook sent in a cross that was half-pass, half-shot, but somehow it turned into a ridiculously tricky lob from the flank that sailed into the top-left corner of the goal.

James Cook himself looked surprised. Only after seeing his teammates' reactions did he realize he had scored.

Andy Hessenthaler still looked expressionless. He really did not seem to care much about winning or losing this match, or even how many goals they lost by.

Fifteen minutes later, Ibrahimović suddenly struck from a very tight control area outside the box, smashing a stunning outside-of-the-foot shot into Leyton Orient's goal again.

3–0!

Lynn truly wished he could replace all eleven players at halftime, so more players could get some match experience.

Instead of letting the starters bully weak opponents on the pitch!

The goals kept coming one after another.

By the 70th minute of the second half, the score had already become 6–0.

Villa scored his third goal of the match and completed his hat-trick.

The entire Swan Sea crowd chanted Villa's name, finding his performance this season almost unbelievable.

At this moment, Andy Hessenthaler's expression finally changed.

He stood up and walked to the touchline, looking at the pitch with a grave expression.

He had overlooked one thing.

Leyton Orient could lose this match.

But being slaughtered by Swansea would be a serious blow to the morale of the whole team.

Because the media would report it heavily, and a crushing defeat would cast a shadow over Leyton Orient in the short term.

He hoped he could give his players some motivation and help Leyton Orient avoid conceding again in the final twenty minutes.

But the gap in strength between Leyton Orient's substitute lineup and Swansea was simply too huge. Their morale had already collapsed in the first half, and after falling 0–6 behind, all they wanted was for the match to end quickly. They did not want to remain on the pitch as targets for Swansea's ruthless shooting practice.

The goals were not finished.

When the ninety minutes came to an end, the scoreboard showed a shocking scoreline.

8–0!

Swansea had created a massacre in the Third Division.

After the referee blew the full-time whistle, Andy Hessenthaler walked over to Lynn. After shaking hands with him, he said calmly, "I thought Swansea would look down on the match after winning the title, or at least not go all out."

Lynn shrugged. "We've only won the Third Division title, not the Premier League. We're not qualified to relax yet."

Hessenthaler sighed silently, then turned and walked toward the tunnel. He needed to soothe his players' emotions and help the team recover.

But a morale collapse after an 8–0 defeat had badly damaged Leyton Orient's spirit, and it cast a shadow over their promotion play-off prospects.

Lynn had only just walked into the tunnel when Hughes caught up to him and said, "The other matches are all over. Our opponent in the final round, Blackpool, is currently seventh. Hull City are one point behind them. I can say with certainty that Blackpool won't send out a substitute lineup. They'll go all out!"

Lynn smiled faintly and said, "I like opponents who go all out. Especially opponents who still have a season objective to chase."