The Greatest Manager of All time

The three right-hand men old Joey had prepared for his son, Joe, each had their own traits. Warren was the bruiser, Alan was the strategist, and Mickey, who was always quiet and rarely spoke, felt more like a shadow.

The betting-side business was Warren's responsibility. Alan had only taken over the matter in detail after yesterday's incident, and after analyzing it overnight, he still could not fully grasp Swansea's true background.

Especially when he considered the role Fleet Taylor was playing in the middle of all this, it only made Alan view Lynn as even more unfathomable.

Not every underworld family ran around throwing its weight about without fear. In fact, most of them now preferred to keep a low profile. They knew very well that this world was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and peaceful profit was always best. Avoiding open conflict was one of the main reasons London's underworld, despite being so tangled and complicated, had managed to let native gangs and immigrant gangs coexist without tearing each other apart.

Seeing Lynn's attitude remain so forceful, Alan glanced at Fleet Taylor.

The old man wore an utterly harmless smile, making it impossible to tell what the Taylor family's stance truly was.

Of course, Lynn saying he would put up thirty million pounds as a war fund was already enough for Alan to make an immediate judgment in his heart.

This matter had to be settled peacefully if possible.

He said to Lynn, "You at least need to give us a reasonable explanation. We can't lose 1.5 million pounds, have a group of our men taken down, and walk away without even a proper statement."

Lynn stood up directly, looking as though he could not be bothered with them anymore. He turned to Fleet Taylor and said, "You wanted a negotiation. I gave you one. That's enough. Remember what I said. It's best if we stay out of each other's way. Don't play dirty with me, or I'll show you what it looks like when the sky gets torn open."

After saying that, he walked straight toward the exit.

When he brushed past Alan, he said lightly, "Send my regards to old Joey."

He and Mo Yuan left 411 Nightclub right under everyone's eyes.

Warren kicked over a nearby table and gritted his teeth. "He's too damn arrogant! Fleet, what the hell is his background?"

"Shut up, Warren! Your men were stupid enough to think they could buy him off, and look what happened!"

Alan snapped at him, then walked over to Fleet Taylor, took the chair Lynn had just been sitting in, and sat down.

With a solemn expression, he looked at Fleet Taylor and said, "Uncle Taylor, my father once said that although the Taylor family and the Pyle family have never worked together, we can still be considered friends. If you ever need anything in London, the Pyle family will help without asking for anything in return. Right now, I only want to know one thing. Is this Lynn putting on an act, or does he really have something behind him?"

Although Fleet Taylor supported his family's transformation, deep down, he still cared about the traditions and "friendships" of the old underworld. So he spoke to Alan in a sincere, almost weighty tone, though what he said did not sound like a direct answer to Alan's question.

"In the past, what did we live on? Robbery, extortion, loan sharking, underground boxing, smuggling, and selling certain prohibited goods. It's no exaggeration to say that we went through too much blood and pain. We weren't afraid of it, but when family left us, it still hurt like hell.

"Now the Taylor family has already broken away from the past. In Mansel, fifty percent of the entertainment venues are wholly owned by the Taylor family. As for the others, we hold shares in them. We have our own companies. We lend money legally. We can sit down and eat with councilors openly, instead of sneaking around like we belong in the shadows.

"Who do we deal with the most now? Banks. Because every day, large amounts of cash need to be deposited, and checks need to be signed. This kind of life is comfortable. We don't want our own people fighting and killing anymore. We settle old friends properly and make sure they can live stable lives. And if necessary, we'll spend money to hire outsiders as cannon fodder.

"Alan, you're a smart man, so I'll only tell you one thing. One and a half million pounds is a large sum in your eyes. In Lynn's eyes, it isn't money at all. But he will not be blackmailed or threatened. I hope the Taylor family can maintain a long-term friendship with Lynn, because he will bring us benefits far beyond imagination."

After Alan listened, he took a deep breath.

He had heard of the Taylor family long ago and knew about their transformation process. He just did not know that the person behind the scenes who had helped the Taylor family complete all of this was Lynn.

Transformation was not something that happened just because someone said the word.

How to clean dirty money, where to invest it after it was cleaned, and how to ensure stable returns afterward—those were the real core issues.

In the eyes of their old peers, the Taylor family had completed an extraordinary transformation. It was something many people could only dream of.

Because too many people in the same line of work earned money through illegal business, only for that money to remain hidden in dark corners.

Alan also understood Fleet Taylor's hint.

If you're smart enough, you should understand that today's incident isn't necessarily a bad thing. It may even be a good thing, because you've found someone who could possibly benefit you for life.

The key is how you treat that person.

Do you treat him as an enemy, or as a friend?

...

After Lynn left 411 Nightclub, he called Carter, while Mo Yuan called Selina out as well. The four of them boarded a small yacht and headed out to sea.

As they sunbathed out on the water, Mo Yuan and Lynn discussed what had just happened.

Wearing beach shorts as he sat on the deck, Mo Yuan turned to look at Lynn, who was lying flat with sunglasses on.

"Do you think they'll be scared off by you?"

"I wasn't trying to scare them."

"Where am I supposed to find mercenaries?"

"We're not at that point yet. If it really gets to that point, it won't be as simple as hiring mercenaries. I don't want to provoke them, but when you're facing people like that, the weaker and more eager for peace you act, the more they think you should kneel down and apologize. So we had to be forceful and make them wary. We should be grateful."

"Grateful for what?"

"That we're not in Italy."

...

Swansea Football Club was rather quiet today. Only a small number of staff were at work.

At two in the afternoon, a young man in casual sportswear arrived at the club entrance. After registering with security, he walked into the office building.

Tony Benn was busy arranging venues for the "Little Swans Selection Tournament." Aside from the club training base, they would also need to borrow some pitches around Swansea.

The young man knocked on the door, then walked into Tony Benn's office.

Tony Benn looked up and studied the young man in front of him. He felt the young man had a decent appearance and a good temperament, so he smiled and said, "You're here for an interview, right? I'm Swansea's director of football, Tony Benn."

The young man quickly stepped forward and shook hands with Tony Benn, then introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Joseph Levin. This is my résumé. Please take a look."

Joseph Levin handed the résumé to Tony Benn, then sat down in the chair opposite the desk.

Tony Benn looked over his experience and job application form, his expression turning slightly surprised.

"You're only twenty-two this year, but you've already worked odd jobs in theaters, made props for performance companies, and managed a warehouse?"

Levin nodded. "Yes. I started working when I was sixteen."

"You want to apply for a senior administrative position at our club? Do you know what this job requires?"

"I do. I've read the job description. To put it simply, it's high-level odd-job work. Booking hotels for the team, arranging transportation, managing the team's luggage when traveling, and so on."

Tony Benn said, "This job will be hard. It also requires careful attention to detail. Do you think you can handle it? Especially since there will be frequent travel. I see that your home address is in London. Even if the club provides accommodation, your social circle and family are all in London, aren't they?"

Joseph Levin replied casually, "There's only my elderly father at home. He has medical staff accompanying him every day. He hopes I can gain more work experience outside and doesn't need me to stay by his side. I only need to go back and visit him occasionally. I believe I can do this job, and I'll do it well."

Tony Benn nodded. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Many people aren't willing to do this job because the pay isn't especially high, and you'll often be running around with the team. To outsiders, you'll just look like someone carrying bags. If you're willing to do it, I'll give you this opportunity."

"Good. Thank you very much! I'll treasure this chance. May I ask when I can start?"

"Although the club is on holiday, you still need to familiarize yourself with the team. Also, the club will organize a talent-selection event in June, and you'll need to help with that. So I can give you at most two weeks to settle your personal matters, then you can come to the club and complete your onboarding."

Levin smiled happily. "Then I can report to Swansea within a week."

Tony Benn stood up again and extended his hand to Levin.

"Welcome to Swansea. I hope we'll work well together."

After shaking hands with Tony Benn, Levin said goodbye.

When he walked out of the club office building, he looked around, full of curiosity about everything at Swansea Football Club.

Then after leaving, he took out his phone and made a call.

"Dad, I found a job in Swansea. Uh, an interesting job. I'll stay here for now. You don't need to worry about me, and don't come looking for me. I know what I'm doing. Mm, all right. I'll come home when I have time."

...

When night fell, Lynn and Mo Yuan each returned to Swansea with their female companions, and the four of them had dinner together at a seaside restaurant.

Lynn suddenly asked Carter, "Do you have any colleagues, preferably women, who might come to work in Swansea? The club is preparing to set up a television channel, and I need a program host."

Carter immediately said, "Then I'll go!"

Lynn smiled and shook his head.

Mo Yuan instantly teased, "If you came to Swansea to work, how would Lynn still have the mind to focus on his job?"

Carter had only said it casually. Whether it was salary or future prospects, working for BBC Wales and working for Swansea were not the same thing at all. She would definitely choose to stay with the former.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'll ask around when I get back. As long as Swansea can offer a good enough package, I'm sure someone will be willing."

After dinner, the four of them went to the beach. They lit a bonfire there, and under the night sky, listening to the sound of the tide felt especially poetic.

Mo Yuan sat beside Lynn. The sea breeze made him feel a little cold, so he put his shirt back on and said, "The club's new stadium plan should start now, shouldn't it?"

Lynn nodded. "Yes, it should. But I don't have the money right now."

"We could take out a loan."

"We could, but we won't be able to borrow much. After all, Swansea will only be a League Two club next season. Our profitability is limited. I also don't want to transfer my liquid funds into a bank, have them frozen, and then gradually unlocked later. If I don't do that, the bank won't rashly lend me a huge amount of money to build a stadium."

Mo Yuan picked up a twig and casually drew in the sand in front of him.

He smiled and said, "I'll give you an idea. Think about it."

Lynn lay on the soft sand, not caring that sand was sticking to his hair. Looking up at the clear night sky, he said lightly, "Go on."

"Heh. Raise funds from the fans. We can't be like Premier League teams and use future broadcast income as collateral. So the only thing we can partly use as collateral is matchday ticket revenue. But we've already announced that league home tickets next season will still be free, so tickets won't be persuasive in front of the bank.

"But in the end, we will sell tickets one day! Instead of using ticket revenue as collateral, why not sell it to the fans in advance? After one more season, Swansea will start selling season tickets. If one season ticket costs between two hundred and five hundred pounds, then ten thousand season tickets would be two million to five million pounds. If we calculate five years, that's more than ten million pounds."

Lynn propped himself up and seriously considered Mo Yuan's suggestion.

In the end, he shook his head and said, "In the short term, it looks good. But ticket prices change every year. What if Swansea gets promoted to League One? The Premier League? The season tickets we sell now would make us lose heavily later.

"And the fans might think the opposite too. What if Swansea gets relegated again? Then they'll feel they wasted their money.

"Besides, the time span is too long. Banks are willing to do this because they want Swansea to prove the ability to earn money and repay loans.

"I'll think of another way. Push the new stadium plan back to the end of the year."

Mo Yuan thought about it and also felt Lynn had a point.

It was difficult for the club and the fans to keep the same perspective. If the plan was released and the response was lukewarm, it would instead become a joke.

Lynn also knew that Swansea's need for a new stadium was becoming urgent. From construction to completion, and considering a scale roughly double the Liberty Stadium, it would take at least three years. The earlier the new stadium was completed, the more it would help Swansea's future revenue.

As for funding, Lynn was not especially worried right now.

Although the money lying in his bank account was not enough to build a new stadium, that huge sum had its own use.

Use money to make money.

Lin Jiajie had gone back to China to lay out investments in emerging industries, and it would take at least five years to see returns. Once it was time to harvest, the Lin family's business might even climb to the position of China's richest.

As for Lynn's own plan, he was very patient. He felt there was endless money to be made in this world. He would never truly worry about money.

For example, the target he had his eyes on right now was September of this year.

A world-shaking event would take place then.

9/11.

At that time, the shock to the financial markets caused by the terrorist attacks on America would be Lynn's chance to rake in money like mad.