The Greatest Manager of All time

The day after the second round of the Football League Trophy, Swansea's morning training session was scheduled to begin at ten. Lynn arranged the club's business affairs for that same morning. He would be meeting with Mo Yuan, members of the club's administrative team, Benedict Leitner, head of the British Investment Group's Wales branch, Swansea mayor Charles Potter, and South Wales property magnate Reno Green.

Lynn had agreed with Mo Yuan that they would go for a jog together on the beach early in the morning, then head to the appointment together.

At six in the morning, Lynn, dressed in sportswear, drove his Bentley out of the house. Just after passing the intersection of Oystermouth Road and West Way and heading south toward the sea, he noticed a car driving alongside his Bentley.

He turned his head to look and immediately laughed.

A brand-new Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph.

It was the very car he had given Mo Yuan.

Lynn slowed down, and the Rolls-Royce also slowed. The windows of both cars rolled down at the same time.

Lynn turned toward the Rolls-Royce and pretended to be surprised. "Oh, isn't this President Mo?"

Mo Yuan, also dressed in sportswear, put on an exaggerated expression and said, "Boss Lin! What a coincidence. Where are you going so early in the morning?"

"Early to bed and early to rise keeps the body healthy. I'm going to the beach for a run. What about you?"

"I've been thinking about losing weight lately, so I'm also going to the beach for a run. What a coincidence!"

"Are the foreign girls too much for you to handle?"

"Sounds like you have deep personal experience."

"Same to you."

"You flatter me."

"Hahahaha."

The two drove their cars to the seaside. Just as they arrived at the beach and prepared to start running, the scene in front of them made both of them stop at the same time and exchange looks.

It was deep autumn. The cold wind was bleak, and there were not many people who would run by the sea in the morning. In summer, there would be people here early to exercise or watch the sunrise.

But the two of them saw a familiar figure already jogging along the beach.

Joseph Levin!

Although he was wearing a hooded tracksuit, after exchanging opinions, Lynn and Mo Yuan were certain it was Joseph Levin.

Joseph Levin was jogging alone, his breathing steady, when he suddenly heard voices discussing something behind him.

"That kid Joseph Levin really isn't decent. I don't like him."

"What did he do?"

"Last time we took him to France, he only cared about enjoying himself. Arms around girls left and right. I clearly had my eye on that girl, and he snatched her away!"

"Yeah, was it the one with the dark brown long hair? The one with the amazing long legs?"

The more Joseph Levin listened, the more wrong it sounded. Not only were the voices familiar, they were getting closer and closer, as if deliberately speaking for him to hear.

Before he could turn around, two people ran past him from the left and right. Joseph Levin recognized the backs of the two men running past him immediately. It was Lynn and Mo Yuan.

While feeling surprised, he also laughed.

Lynn and Mo Yuan did not turn back, as if they had not seen him at all. Joseph Levin sped up, squeezed between them, and shouted, "Picking up girls depends on your own ability, all right?"

"Eh? Mo Yuan, doesn't this kid look a lot like that bastard Joseph Levin?"

"I think he does look a bit like him. How about...?"

Lynn and Mo Yuan began playing along with each other dramatically.

As he ran, Lynn smiled and said, "How about we treat him as Joseph Levin and beat him up? No one's watching anyway. It'd be nice to vent."

"Exactly what I was thinking!"

Joseph Levin accelerated and ran more than ten yards ahead. Then he turned around and ran backward, looking at Lynn and Mo Yuan's smiling faces while making an expression that was practically asking to be punched.

"If you've got the ability, come hit me!"

Lynn and Mo Yuan glanced at each other, then immediately sped up to chase Joseph Levin.

"You brat, if you've got guts, stop running and let me beat you up!"

"Piss off! Stopping so you can hit me isn't ability, it's brain damage!"

"Run slower! We just woke up and haven't eaten anything. Intense exercise isn't suitable!"

"That's because your bodies are too weak!"

The three men ran along the sea for two or three miles, then walked back together.

All three were drenched in sweat. Lynn asked Levin curiously, "Why are you running by the beach so early in the morning?"

Levin casually said, "I grew up in East London. My father required me to keep exercising from a young age, so every morning I would run along the Thames. It became a habit. If I don't run in the morning, I feel like something is wrong, and I'm uncomfortable the whole day."

Mo Yuan said in surprise, "Eh? That's not right. That time we went to France together, you slept like a dead pig in the hotel in Monaco and didn't wake up until noon the next day. Then we went to the casino that night, and I didn't see any signs of discomfort from you."

Joseph Levin glared at Mo Yuan with resentful eyes and said, "I occasionally give myself a holiday."

"Hahaha, that's a good habit. Joseph, have breakfast with us later."

Lynn said it casually, and Levin agreed without hesitation.

Levin had originally planned to walk back to the city center and go home first, but he did not expect Lynn and Mo Yuan to bring him to the seaside resort villa. Mo Yuan introduced the place as his property and gave him a VIP card.

The three of them showered there. Lynn and Mo Yuan both had clothes kept there, so they changed directly into suits and leather shoes, ready to go to work.

Levin changed into one of Lynn's business-casual outfits.

On the way back to the city, Levin directly sat inside Mo Yuan's Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, saying that he wanted to experience the feeling of nobility.

In the past, Rolls-Royce had been extremely particular about the identity and status of its buyers.

Levin thought it would be as simple as the three of them casually having breakfast together.

Reality proved he was far too naive.

When the Rolls-Royce and Bentley stopped one after another outside the Hilton Hotel, Levin realized this breakfast was not ordinary at all!

Inside the club, Lynn's two advisers and Tony Benn were sitting in the first-floor lobby of the hotel.

Seeing Lynn and the other two walk in, Krista White, Paul Harrison, and Tony Benn all stood up to greet them. After the six of them exchanged greetings, they entered the elevator.

Mo Yuan pressed the button for the restaurant floor, and the elevator slowly ascended.

Joseph Levin looked back and forth at the other five people, feeling something was off.

Even Krista White was wearing a white women's business suit, looking extremely formal. The other four men were all properly dressed in suits and leather shoes.

Although the business-casual outfit he had borrowed from Lynn at the resort villa was not that different, it still somehow made him feel out of place.

"Boss, should I change into another outfit before eating this breakfast?"

Levin forced himself to ask Lynn.

Lynn turned and glanced at him, then chuckled. "It's fine. Today, we're the big shots. Even if you didn't wear anything, you'd still get to eat breakfast."

Levin felt he might be overthinking it, so he stopped worrying.

But when the group of six entered the restaurant, Levin saw that many people were already waiting inside!

Almost all the men and women were dressed extremely formally, as if some grand and serious meeting was about to be held.

Yet the tables were filled with food.

Swansea mayor Charles Potter was nearly forty, in the prime of his life. He had dealt with Lin Jiajie quite a bit, since Lin Jiajie's investment in Swansea had made certain contributions to the city. Besides, the Lin family did not steal or rob. Their business was legal, and they had a good relationship with the Taylor family. Swansea did not have deeply tangled political forces. It was a simple city, which also made the relationship between politics and business very direct, mutually beneficial.

The Lin family provided employment for Swansea and invested in revitalizing many small and medium-sized businesses. That made the mayor's political achievements look better and could also help him pull in votes.

Charles Potter naturally had to thank the Lin family, and he was also willing to maintain a good relationship with them.

However, starting from the second half of this year, Charles Potter's attitude toward the Lin family had clearly changed. It had not turned in a bad direction, but in a better one. He had become even more enthusiastic.

Because in June this year, British Prime Minister Tony Blair had successfully been re-elected, and one of the sponsors of his campaign funding had been the Lin family.

When Charles Potter saw Lynn walking over, he was the first to step forward and hug him.

"Lynn, it's been a long time. Ever since you became the club owner, you've rarely come out with your father. At several receptions, I asked your father, 'Why didn't Lynn come?' He always said you were very busy. We haven't seen each other for so long, I've missed you!"

Lynn laughed too and said, "I've missed you as well. By the way, how is Isabel? I haven't seen her in a long time either."

Hearing Lynn's words, Mo Yuan, standing behind him, almost burst out laughing.

The smile on Charles Potter's face froze. The muscles on his face twitched twice, as if he was holding back the urge to beat Lynn up.

Joseph Levin noticed something and leaned closer to Mo Yuan, asking quietly, "Who's Isabel?"

Mo Yuan moved his lips slightly and whispered in a voice only Levin could hear, "The mayor's eldest daughter. She used to be the campus beauty of Swansea University."

Levin immediately became interested and quickly asked, "Looks like Lynn and this Isabel have a story?"

Mo Yuan almost laughed again. Holding it in, he whispered, "The mayor once saw Lynn taking a shower in his house."

"Uh? That's it?"

"Isabel was also in the bathroom."

"Holy shit..."

"At the time, the mayor shouted that he was going to kill Lynn. Lynn ran naked out of his house."

Levin made a "pfft" sound.

From his mouth.

Charles Potter barely managed to smile at Lynn. "She's doing well. She's studying literature at Cambridge."

"That's really good."

Lynn smiled and separated from Charles Potter, then walked toward Benedict Leitner. He said warmly, "Uncle Leitner, how have you been?"

After hugging Lynn, Leitner smiled and said, "Thanks to you, everything is well. Lynn, what exactly has your father been planning over the past six months? He's becoming more and more mysterious now."

Lynn shrugged. "I only run my club. I don't care about anything else. You know, my father has always wanted me to work at the company. I don't want to be tied down. As for his matters, there's even less chance I'd take the initiative to understand them."

"All right. Looks like I'll have to invite that old friend out and talk to him face to face."

Finally, Lynn walked toward Reno Green. After shaking hands with him, he smiled and said, "More than a year ago, I said we would work together again. At the time, you didn't seem to believe me. What about now?"

Green laughed loudly. "Who said that? If I hadn't believed you, we wouldn't have completed the deal so smoothly back then. Lynn, you really are something. In less than two years, you're already about to build a new stadium! People say football clubs are bad assets, but in your hands, it looks like a gold mine."

Lynn smiled. "Hey, my club is still £40 million in debt. I'm just lucky and know some channels. Look, a friend's investment company is willing to inject capital into the club and support my career. That's why I have the capital to come and discuss this big business with all of you."

"No matter what, you're anything but ordinary!"

Apart from those three parties, each side had also brought people with them. The mayor had brought a secretary, Leitner had brought his team, and Green had brought the CEO of his company as well as staff members.

Lynn gestured invitingly to everyone and said, "I need to be back at the club before ten in the morning, so let's not waste time. Breakfast first."

Lynn, Potter, Green, and Leitner each brought one person and sat at the same table.

The person Lynn brought was naturally Mo Yuan.

This meeting mainly concerned Swansea Football Club's plan to build a new stadium.

Lynn had not directly injected capital into the club in his own name. Instead, he used a new overseas company to invest in the club. Although this kind of concealment would not withstand serious investigation, he would rather create some mystery than openly tell the whole world: I suddenly have £200 million to throw into Swansea Football Club.

To build a new stadium, the first thing needed was money!

The club would produce £200 million in capital and use it as proof of asset strength for the British Investment Group, while also sending a signal: there was money behind them!

This would allow them to borrow a considerable sum from the British Investment Group.

Lynn still preferred to borrow whenever he could. As for his own money, he would invest it into the financial market for long-term holding as much as possible. The money earned from investment would absolutely be far more than the principal and interest he had to repay to the bank.

He wanted to borrow £300 million from the British Investment Group, while the budget for building the new stadium was £400 million.

Once the money problem was solved, the next two sides of the matter could proceed in parallel.

On one side, they had to negotiate with Swansea City Council over the site selection for the new stadium, as well as the planning of the surrounding commercial district. This was inseparable from the layout and development of the entire city of Swansea, so the city government needed to be involved. After all, building a new stadium with £400 million was no small matter. It would definitely become a landmark building in Swansea and affect the lives of more than two hundred thousand people across the city.

Life, industry, commerce, transport, the cityscape—every aspect had to be considered.

But in terms of basic position, the city government would certainly support Swansea Football Club building a new stadium. The benefits it would bring would be countless!

The other side was the specific construction of the new stadium itself.

That was the part Reno Green would be responsible for. He had to provide a design that satisfied Lynn, while also meeting Lynn's requirements for the new stadium and surrounding facilities. Project quality was naturally the most basic issue, and there was no need to even place it on the table for discussion. It would definitely be written into the contract.\\

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