The Greatest Manager of All time

York City felt as if they were playing a match at the Liberty Stadium that made absolutely no sense.

This group of kids from Swansea did not play by common logic.

The wide players in the front line did not drive to the byline. They just played with technique, cut inside, exchanged short passes, and shot!

Was this still English football?

York City had no choice but to use the most instinctive method to stop Swansea's attacks: shrink the defensive line and give up defending the outer flanks!

Since the Swans were not using byline-and-cross tactics anyway, they might as well pack the middle and intercept like mad.

Toward the end of the first half, York City's defense began to show some effect.

During halftime, Lynn made a few tactical adjustments. In the second half, what surprised him was that Kalunbel displayed attacking ability that genuinely caught his eye.

When the wide players' inward cuts met resistance, Kalunbel's distribution and organization through the middle in the final third were refreshing to watch.

In the 66th minute, Kalunbel pushed up through the center to receive Cristiano Ronaldo's pass. Without slowing down, he carried the ball diagonally past one defender before sending it into the penalty area. Badenberg shook off his marker inside the box and met the pass, but his shot struck the goalkeeper's leg and rebounded out. By pure chance, Cristiano Ronaldo was waiting just outside the penalty area. He met the ball without a second thought and fired it into the net!

The Liberty Stadium erupted with cheers that seemed to shake in every direction.

The fans watched happily as Cristiano Ronaldo, who had stunned the whole stadium with his skill, scored his goal. Their admiration for Lynn had already reached the point of total worship.

Every player he brought in was worth the money. Even though the club had been punished by UEFA with a transfer ban because of Cristiano Ronaldo's move, now that they saw the way Cristiano Ronaldo performed on the pitch, they felt it had all been worth it!

After all, Cristiano Ronaldo was only sixteen!

York City were two goals behind, and to equalize, they had to commit even more players to attack.

Poulsen's performance in the defensive midfield position was also very steady. On top of that, Kalunbel himself had strong physical qualities, and Evra paid more attention to defending. Although Swansea's lineup was young, they did not give York City many chances.

In the 87th minute, York City's back line suffered a heavy blow after pushing far forward.

After winning the ball in midfield, Kalunbel immediately sent a lofted through pass over the top.

Robert Badenberg beat the offside trap and controlled the ball just after it bounced for the second time near the edge of the penalty area. Before the goalkeeper could rush out, he struck a direct shot into the bottom right corner!

Swansea beat their old Third Division rivals York City 3–0 at home!

York City were full of resentment. Losing to a group of kids made them lose face, and losing so thoroughly made it even worse.

But they could only swallow this painful defeat. In the post-match interview, one York City player said that Swansea were shocking.

"Back in the Third Division, Swansea were already very young. This year, they sent out an even younger lineup, yet it felt like their strength was almost the same as last season's first team. I really don't know how they did it. It's unbelievable!"

Part of it came from the players' talent, while the other part came from the Swansea coaching staff's training ability, which had improved rapidly after a year of "blood-pumping" development.

When Lynn held the match review meeting the next day, he emphasized to the coaching staff the importance of developing young players.

Horatio Nelson, Robert Badenberg, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kalunbel, and Arthur Wellesley were the new forces the team would focus on nurturing.

Swansea's new season had started low and then risen sharply. Lynn had sharpened his blade and begun killing without mercy!

From the second round of the Second Division to the sixth, Swansea won five straight league matches!

An 8–0 slaughter of Wycombe Wanderers.

A 5–2 away win over Bournemouth.

A 3–1 home victory against Bristol City.

A 2–0 away win over Swindon.

And a 4–0 home thrashing of old enemy Port Vale!

As defending champions in the Football League Trophy, Swansea also beat Lincoln City 3–1 away in the first round.

On September 5, during Swansea's home victory over Port Vale, Lynn clashed verbally with his old rival Robert Page, and the media made a huge story out of it afterward.

Last season, Port Vale had lost to Swansea in the Football League Trophy final. After the match, Lynn had complimented Page, and the two of them had appeared so "harmonious and mutually respectful."

But once they met in the Second Division, after Robert Page lost to Lynn again, he finally tore off the mask on the touchline and stopped pretending to be friendly.

After the match, Lynn showed no mercy and said Robert Page was a racist who had been pretending and acting from beginning to end!

Robert Page had now lost to Lynn twice in a row, so nothing he said would look good. Defeat on the pitch had left him unable to raise his head, and his hatred for Lynn finally surfaced.

After six rounds of the Second Division, Swansea's record shook the whole league!

Swansea had once again shown the qualities of a dark horse. But what shocked the entire Second Division even more was that the team sitting at the top of the table was actually Brighton!

Micky Adams had led the Seagulls through every obstacle. Against everyone's expectations, they had won six straight matches to start the new season and become the league leaders!

Second place belonged to Reading, who had five wins and one draw. Before the season, Fleet Street had held high expectations for Alan Pardew's Reading, and those expectations had not been disappointed.

Third were Dean Smith's red-and-white Brentford, which was also within Fleet Street's predictions.

But some teams had missed expectations.

Queens Park Rangers, relegated from the First Division, seemed unable to adapt to the Second Division. In the first six rounds, they had only managed three wins, one draw, and two defeats, placing them in mid-table.

Steve Cotterill's Stoke City had three wins and three draws, which was also decent enough.

Lynn's Swansea sat fourth with five wins and one defeat, clinging tightly to the top three and becoming part of the title-chasing group.

On the morning of September 6, Lynn walked into the club's office building holding a cup of coffee.

Tony Benn saw Lynn wearing an overcoat and asked curiously, "It isn't that cold today, is it?"

Lynn sipped his coffee, held a newspaper, and casually said, "I think I look more handsome in an overcoat."

Tony Benn looked stunned. Then he said, "The FA issued a warning over yesterday's match. Also, the media captured some images at the scene. The moment when your spit landed on Page's face during your confrontation was photographed too."

Lynn lifted the newspaper in his hand and said, "I just saw that photo. At least my teeth looked very white in it. Don't bother with the FA. It's only a warning, not a fine."

Tony Benn smiled helplessly. "Boss, can we have fewer touchline conflicts in the future?"

Lynn also put on a helpless expression and said, "You know me. I'm a peace-loving man. But some people insist on thinking I'm weak and easy to bully, so what else can I do? For a long time now, I've been the victim forced into these situations."

Tony Benn's smile became even more helpless.

Lynn originally planned to head to his office, but he suddenly changed his mind and went to the dressing room at the training base. After walking in, he tore down the newspapers he had personally taped to the wall a month ago.

Those newspapers, filled with attacks and criticism toward Swansea and its players, were thrown into the trash.

In their place, he taped up today's sports headline from the Daily Express.

The headline photo had been edited. Two black horses were galloping forward. The rider on one horse had Micky Adams's head, while the rider on the other had Lynn's.

Below it was a bold black headline:

The Swans and the Seagulls — Which Dark Horse Can Run to the End?

Rona Whelan's career at the Daily Express was flourishing. She had gone against her Fleet Street colleagues. While the other media outlets were suppressing Swansea, she had chosen the opposite approach, and that had helped the Daily Express steadily increase its sales.

After all, as Swansea gained more and more supporters and became increasingly well-known, other media outlets reported the bad and ignored the good. But the Daily Express was willing to show the beautiful side of Swansea to the public, which interested many readers.

Lynn was very satisfied with today's Daily Express report.

So he pasted the article in the dressing room. On one hand, he no longer wanted to keep using outside criticism to provoke the players. On the other hand, this was also a suitable reminder:

They were now considered a dark horse!

What did "dark horse" mean?

It meant their absolute strength was still not truly respected!

At the same time, the media were not extremely optimistic about Swansea's future either. They were suspicious and watching from the sidelines, waiting to see whether Swansea could last until the end of the season. Too many teams started out invincible, only to fall behind midway through and end the season with nothing.

After finishing that, Lynn returned to his office.

He finished his coffee, threw the disposable cup into the trash, and first opened the card system, using the 19 points he had saved up.

He gave Evra three new cards.

One-Touch Pass, Surprise Interception, and Long Throw.

He gave Robert Badenberg an Outside Foot card to enrich his shooting methods.

Kalunbel and Poulsen each received a Super-Sub card.

Over the past month, Kalunbel had begun to be defined by Lynn as Cromwell's substitute. Poulsen was being used more flexibly, capable of playing both defensive midfielder and central midfielder.

Badenberg had one goal in three substitute appearances, and his performance was also fairly good.

As for Villa and Charisteas, they were firing at full power. Although Charisteas' scoring efficiency was not as terrifying as Villa's, he had gradually made people forget about Ibrahimović sitting on the bench.

At the Liberty Stadium, there were almost no fans holding banners calling for Ibrahimović anymore.

This had been bothering Ibrahimović a lot lately, and it made him feel deeply suppressed.

When would Swansea reach a moment of crisis and think of using him?

He did not know!

Judging from the current situation, aside from the unexpected defeat to Brighton in the opening match, Lynn's Swansea had been smooth sailing in every other game. The Swans' terrifying attacking power had made those opponents who looked down on them regret it bitterly.

For the time being, Lynn did not think about Ibrahimović. He was waiting to see when Ibrahimović would lower his head to him. Otherwise, his freezing of Ibrahimović would continue.

As for Ibrahimović seeking a transfer, there would not be many buyers either. If he did not play for a long time, his form would be questionable. As for how strong he really was, if he had not been tested in the Second Division, who would know?

After finishing the club's matters, Lynn took out his phone and made several calls.

There was less than a week until the September 11 attacks.

Perhaps apart from bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization, which knew that the American mainland was about to suffer a terrorist attack, Lynn was the only person in the world who could foresee it.

During the half-year preparation period, aside from his own cash, Lynn had raised a total of £100 million in liquid funds from Lin Investments and loans through other channels!

He spread those funds across securities companies in financial markets throughout Europe.

He could not possibly open one account and carry out this financial-market raid through it.

That would be the same as buying himself a Desert Eagle, pointing it at his own head, and pulling the trigger himself.

The September 11 attacks would be a devastating blow to national security on American soil, but their impact on global financial markets would be extremely wide-ranging.

For a long time, America had been the "world's safe haven for capital" and "heaven for investors."

The blow 9/11 would deal to investor confidence, along with the prospect of war possibly arriving, made changes in the financial markets easy to predict.

After a terrorist incident, the financial markets would also suffer a heavy blow. That was unavoidable.

After all, it was impossible for the mainland to suffer a terrorist attack while the financial markets still flourished as if nothing had happened.

On the other hand, in the futures market, military strategic resources would definitely surge. Crude oil, rubber, and the military-industrial supply chain would all rise against the trend.

Because military buildup required money. Orders from the U.S. Department of Defense, along with European allied nations, would allow arms dealers to make huge profits. Even the most basic strategic materials linked to them would soar.

If, right before such a situation occurred, Lynn used a massive amount of capital from a single account to make the correct investments, what kind of consequences would follow?

Although it was not absolute, there was a high probability that his money would never come back, because it would be investigated!

When the whole world was losing money, his profits would be far too unusual!

It would be as if he were announcing to the whole world:

I knew 9/11 would happen. I knew the stock market would fall. I knew strategic resources would rise. Go ahead and fight your war!

How did he know?

Was he connected to the terrorist attack?

After 9/11, the entire United States would become extremely tense and enter a state of high alert. Unless Lynn wanted to kill himself, he would never profit in such a high-profile way.

That was why he spread the £100 million across financial-market brokers throughout Europe, allowing those brokers to earn commissions and ensuring the amount invested through each channel would not look too conspicuous. Even if those accounts profited, they would only be seen as individual accounts that had happened to make the right investment by chance.

Lynn entered countdown mode. He expected to begin shorting the European and American financial markets three days before the September 11 attacks, while also going long on strategic resources in the futures market.

He would follow the plan step by step. Although he had dispersed the funds, because leverage in the financial markets gave him access to a large amount of operable capital, he still needed to build an investment portfolio rather than simply dumping everything into a single target.

He did not hand this matter to anyone else. He handled the entire process himself. Operating multiple accounts at the same time was exhausting and mentally draining, but Lynn patiently completed the work.

He knew that in the autumn of 2001, he would become the richest owner in English football!

July's heat had faded, August had not yet ended, and September had come with winter clothes.

The weather was turning cold. It was time to wear more layers.

And without earning some money, how was he supposed to buy new clothes?

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