The Greatest Manager of All time

Lynn had once thought of himself as a man who could stand tall enough to hold up the sky, but even a man would occasionally hope that someone could stand in front of him at a critical moment!

Joseph Levin might not have stepped forward out of a purely simple motive, but after Lynn was shoved by Alan Pardew, he had rushed out immediately and struck back. That action surprised Lynn, and at the same time, it also brought a trace of emotion to his heart.

Joseph Levin had pushed Alan Pardew down in an extremely fierce manner, leaving everyone around them frozen like wooden chickens!

Perhaps the clearest-headed person was actually Joseph Levin himself. He turned back to Lynn and said in a deep voice, "Don't move, or the FA might ban you. I'll handle it!"

Those two simple words — "I'll handle it!" — along with the firmness in Joseph Levin's eyes beneath his serious expression, made Lynn feel that at this moment, he finally understood the man named Joseph Levin.

Although Levin could be cynical and unserious at times, he truly regarded himself as a core member of the team. He had a strong sense of ownership. Whether or not anyone asked him to do something, as long as he believed he should do it, he would step forward without hesitation!

Lynn stood still and did not move.

On Reading's side, the coaches helped the furious, cursing Alan Pardew up from the ground. Some irrational coaches also rushed forward and angrily scolded Joseph Levin.

"Who the fuck are you? Do you know where this is? You dare lay hands on him?"

Joseph Levin replied coldly, "Don't waste your breath. If you've got the guts, do it."

The coaches from both teams surged forward. For a moment, although it did not turn into a brawl, the sight of two armies facing each other appeared before everyone's eyes.

Alan Pardew was unwilling to accept being shoved to the ground by Levin in such a humiliating way. He came up wanting to slap Levin across the face, but Joseph Levin directly grabbed his wrist, then spat in Alan Pardew's face!

That was an extremely humiliating act!

Some extreme fans in the stands could no longer tolerate it either, shouting that they would rush down and tear everyone from Swansea apart!

Stadium security arrived in front of the stands and formed a line to prevent any fans from rushing onto the pitch to cause trouble.

The refereeing team immediately came to the touchline. Everyone was dragging back the agitated Alan Pardew, while Swansea's coaching staff and substitutes gathered around Joseph Levin. It was as if everyone was waiting for someone to set off the bomb, and then a full-scale brawl would begin.

Chaos was on the verge of erupting.

The refereeing team did not hesitate. They showed Alan Pardew a red card and sent him off, then also showed Joseph Levin a red card and sent him off too!

Lynn was spared. The fourth official had seen everything clearly. Although Lynn and Alan Pardew had clashed verbally, Lynn had not acted with his hands. It had been Alan Pardew who shoved Lynn first, and the person who came to "avenge" Lynn was Joseph Levin!

After the refereeing team worked hard to coordinate things, the coaches and players from both teams returned to their respective areas. Lynn stood on the touchline and looked back toward the players' tunnel. Alan Pardew was still cursing endlessly as he was sent off, while Joseph Levin walked steadily into the tunnel with both hands in his pockets, facing the abuse from the nearby stands.

The fourth official accompanied the two of them to prevent another conflict from breaking out in the tunnel.

Lynn stared at Joseph Levin's back for a long time, until he could no longer see him.

The Reading fans in the stands were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Their manager had already been sent off. Swansea were leading by two goals on the pitch, and now there was still a penalty to take. If Reading lost this match, they would fall ten points behind Swansea!

A shocking points gap.

"Chaos has just broken out on the touchline. Reading manager Alan Pardew had a physical conflict with Swansea manager Lynn, but Lynn did not retaliate. Instead, a member of Swansea's management staff rushed out and struck back at Alan Pardew. The referee finally managed to calm the conflict and has sent off both Alan Pardew and that Swansea staff member named Joseph Levin!

"This is truly a fiery match. After the match, the FA surely won't let this go easily.

"In any case, let us shift our attention back to the match for now. Swansea still have a penalty to take.

"Standing in front of the penalty spot is Swansea captain Cromwell."

The Reading fans let out huge boos to interfere with Cromwell.

After the referee's whistle, Cromwell began his run-up. At the penalty spot, he pushed the ball toward the bottom right corner!

Perhaps the home fans' interference worked. Perhaps Cromwell's stamina was already close to exhaustion in the final stage of the match. His placed shot was not angled sharply enough, and goalkeeper Hahnemann dived sideways, stretching out one hand to block the ball!

Seeing his penalty saved, Cromwell immediately moved to follow up.

At the same time, three Swansea players rushed into the penalty area ahead of everyone else to get to the rebound.

Ibrahimović, Villa, and Tobias Rau!

The Reading players' attention seemed to have been distracted by the touchline conflict and Alan Pardew being sent off. They looked absent-minded. Even though goalkeeper Hahnemann had unexpectedly saved the penalty, none of the Reading players rushed into the box to clear the ball.

Instead, Villa was the first to reach the rebound, and he tucked it into the net!

After getting up, goalkeeper Hahnemann roared at his teammates. The twenty-nine-year-old American goalkeeper was clearly extremely dissatisfied with their performance.

He had worked so hard to save the penalty, yet his teammates had not even tried to clear it!

He had no idea what they were thinking!

"Cromwell's penalty has been saved by Hahnemann! Villa scores on the rebound!

"Swansea lead Reading 4–1 at the Madejski Stadium!

"What an unexpected scoreline. At this stage of this top-of-the-table clash, with Alan Pardew sent off and Reading down to ten men, we can almost declare that Swansea will win this match. Reading will have no chance!

"If they lose this match, Reading will fall ten points behind Swansea. That is not a small gap. Across the first twenty-three matches of the league season, Swansea have not only become league leaders, but they also lead second place by such a large margin. This dark horse has truly shocked every team in the Second Division!"

Lynn applauded on the touchline, then prepared to make his second substitution.

He replaced Tobias Rau with Evra, letting Evra play as a wide midfielder to polish his attacking ability.

Reading were down a man, and for the rest of the match, they were completely suppressed by Swansea in one-sided fashion.

Swansea scored two more goals in the final ten minutes. Substitute Charisteas met Evra's cross and headed the ball into the net inside the penalty area, while full-back Balitsch pushed forward and, with a lucky long shot from distance, pierced through Hahnemann's ten fingers.

When the final whistle sounded, the Reading fans in the Madejski Stadium stands left the ground in frustration.

They did not want to look at the numbers on the scoreboard.

The 1–6 scoreline made them feel heartbroken, but it also made them clearly understand the gap between Reading and Swansea!

They even wanted to curse Fleet Street now: Fuck, if a team like this was described by you lot as worthless, then what are all the teams who lost heavily to Swansea supposed to be?

"Congratulations to Swansea, who have slaughtered Reading 6–1 at the Madejski Stadium. With an outstanding performance, they have claimed the half-season championship of the Second Division. They have built a huge advantage across the first half of the league season. Not only do they lead second-placed Reading and Brighton by ten points, they also lead fourth place — the direct-promotion area — by as many as sixteen points over the Red and Whites, Brentford! As long as Swansea do not suffer a major drop in form during the second half of the season, they should be able to lock up a promotion place!

"Swansea's performance in the first half of the league season has already conquered many fans. Anyone who has watched their matches knows that Swansea's success is absolutely no accident!

"We look forward to Swansea continuing their hard work in the second half of the season, producing even better performances and giving fans more wonderful matches!"

After the match, Lynn returned to the dressing room first. He saw Joseph Levin sitting in front of a locker and said to him, "Although I don't think what you did earlier was wrong, I think you could have stayed silent and let me handle it. Even if I had endured it for a moment, it wouldn't have mattered."

Joseph Levin looked at Lynn with playful eyes for a while, then suddenly said, "No. You wouldn't have endured it."

Lynn asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because you're Lynn."

Joseph Levin stood and walked up to Lynn, continuing, "If you could endure it, Swansea would already have been seen as a weak team. You absolutely wouldn't endure it. So, compared to you being punished, it's more suitable for me to take the blame."

Lynn let out a soft sigh and said, "You're right. I wouldn't have been able to endure it. Levin, how do you want me to thank you?"

Levin chuckled. "When you go to Ukraine, you have to bring me along!"

Lynn laughed loudly. "Absolutely no problem! But recently, you should take a break first. It's Christmas, and you haven't gone home. Go home today and spend the holiday with your family. Didn't you say your father wasn't in good health? Go back and see him."

Levin thought about it. By some twist of fate, after causing this scene at the Madejski Stadium today, it was probably better for him to "lie low" for a while.

He nodded and agreed. At that moment, some players returned to the dressing room, so Levin went off to do his work. He had to organize the players' luggage and prepare to go home.

After the players returned, Lynn praised the whole team's performance. Then he said to Hughes, "I'll personally handle the post-match interview today."

When Hughes usually accepted interviews in Lynn's place, it was mostly routine, saying a few diplomatic words. To reporters, it was all empty, nutritionally useless talk.

He was more than happy to let Lynn go and said, "Perfect. You go. I'll arrange the players' post-match recovery."

Lynn nodded, then left the dressing room.

In the stadium's mixed interview zone, Lynn saw the reporters gather around.

Most of them were from Fleet Street.

After Rona Whelan of the Daily Express actively squeezed to the front row, Lynn let her ask the first question.

"After winning this match, Swansea are already considered to have locked up promotion. What is your view on that?"

Lynn cleared his throat and said lightly, "We are still some distance away from promotion. Although that distance is not far, we still cannot relax. In addition, today's match was a victory Swansea can be proud of. At the Madejski Stadium, eleven-man Swansea defeated twelve-man Reading! And by a huge scoreline. A dreamlike victory!"

The reporters looked at one another. Lynn truly would not stop until his words shocked people to death!

Eleven-man Swansea versus twelve-man Reading?

That was clearly mocking the referee for favoring Reading!

Brian Feen of The Independent reminded Lynn, "The referee awarded Swansea a penalty in the match and also sent off a Reading player and their manager Alan Pardew!"

It seemed he was reminding Lynn: the referee had given Swansea enormous benefits during the match!

But Lynn said disdainfully, "Those decisions were fair! Was there a problem with the penalty? Was there a problem with sending off Reading's player? Alan Pardew laid hands on me. Shouldn't he have been removed from the pitch? Those were fair decisions. Correct decisions a referee should make. But disallowing a perfectly good Swansea goal and giving Reading a groundless penalty — those were the real mistakes!"

Lynn's tone was forceful and resonant.

Rona Whelan kindly reminded him, "Mr. Lynn, aren't you worried these remarks will bring punishment from the FA?"

Lynn asked back in bafflement, "What? Does the FA not allow people to tell the truth? Let's watch those two key decisions a hundred times, ten thousand times. Bring ten thousand people over and see how many of them think the referee's decisions were fine."

Lynn knew Rona Whelan meant well, but right now, he needed to divert outside attention.

Joseph Levin had shielded him from wind and rain. He could not simply do nothing.

He had to fire at the referee, shifting outside attention toward the referee's decisions as well.

But he still could not avoid it. Daniel Taylor of The Guardian took the initiative and asked Lynn, "May I ask who the person who pushed Alan Pardew down was? What position does he hold at Swansea? Do you approve of his behavior?"

Lynn immediately changed the subject and began firing at Alan Pardew again.

"I don't think any of that is important! What matters is that at the Madejski Stadium, the whole world saw Alan Pardew's terrible character. He is a hypocrite who speaks with a mouth full of falsehood, and he also cannot control his temper. Everyone saw it. When Reading were awarded against with a penalty, he shoved me first. He acted with his hands! If I had not been prepared, perhaps I would have been the one falling to the ground!

"I believe the FA should severely punish Alan Pardew's behavior. His actions damaged the image of English football and also brought shame upon Reading Football Club!"

After saying that, Lynn left first. He knew the reporters would definitely continue digging into Joseph Levin, and Lynn did not want to say too much about Levin. That would only push Levin into the eye of the storm.

No matter what, even if Levin was punished, Alan Pardew definitely would not escape!

After all, it had happened at Reading's home ground, and Alan Pardew had been the one to make physical contact first!