The five supporter representatives had not expected Lynn to actually possess a coaching licence.
Perhaps that did not prove everything, but at the very least, Lynn had left them speechless.
They had assud from the start that Lynn was exactly what Fleet Street had described him as: a ntally ill fantasist.
But after a brief conversation and so direct contact, none of the five believed there was anything wrong with Lynn's mind.
If there really was a problem, then they would have to examine themselves first.
After all, if they had been refuted so thoroughly by a madman that they had nothing to say in return, did that an they were even worse than a madman?
Lynn's attitude was forceful, but he was absolutely not unreasonable.
Seeing that the five no longer had anything to say, Lynn reached out to Mo Yuan.
Mo Yuan handed him a docunt.
Lynn placed the docunt on the table and pushed it in front of Richard Cork.
"Although what you are doing is harming the club, as the owner of the club, I can understand your feelings. Your starting point is your love for the club, and that moves .
"So, to repay your love, I have here a promise from the club."
"Even if I'm a lunatic, you'll like a lunatic like ."
After Cork read the docunt, his expression turned blank.
He pushed it over to Kevin Reeves.
After the twenty-year factory worker read through it, his face filled with excitent.
"Free ho league tickets? For two years?"
Lynn smiled and nodded.
The remaining three supporter representatives passed the docunt around.
After reading it, they began discussing it among themselves.
In truth, Lynn had made this decision yesterday morning after reading through Swansea City's detailed data.
First of all, Swansea City's ticket prices were very low.
That had to do with the level of the league they were in. Over the course of a season, the club's total ticket inco from all ho league matches was around eight hundred thousand pounds.
After excluding cup ho tickets and the fifteen percent share from away cup tickets, the actual inco from ho league matches was only around five hundred thousand pounds.
The gap between the Third Division and the Second Division was not especially large either.
After all, even if the club raised ticket prices, they would not dare increase them sharply all at once.
So Lynn introduced a policy for Swansea City supporters: free league tickets for the next two seasons.
Naturally, this had a strategic purpose too.
It was one of his marketing thods.
Since he was running a club, he could not be short-sighted.
First, he needed to occupy the market and attract custors.
Swansea City's average attendance at the Liberty Stadium was around twelve thousand, which ant there were still nearly nine thousand empty seats that needed to be filled.
Second, Swansea played in the English league system, which was naturally more attractive than the Welsh league system.
Before the club reached a higher division, work to attract more supporters and expand the supporter market needed to begin at the sa ti.
Tickets might be free, but that did not an the supporter rchandise shops, restaurants, entertainnt facilities, and other businesses around the stadium that belonged to Swansea City would also be free.
More supporters would drive growth in other forms of spending.
On top of that, this policy could be promoted to other nearby counties and cities.
In the football geography of England and Wales, the southwest of England bordering Wales did not really have many famous teams.
Bournemouth, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Swindon, and so on were not old established giants with great pulling power.
So the supporter market in southern Wales was more easily absorbed by Cardiff City to the south.
As for the eastern side of Wales, near the border with England, the West Midlands did indeed have quite a few famous teams, such as Aston Villa, who had won the European Cup, as well as Birmingham City, Wolves, and others.
But they were all located in the central or eastern parts of the West Midlands.
In reality, they were still quite far from Wales.
As for the supporter market in northeast Wales, a large portion of it had been absorbed by English clubs because it was too close to Greater Manchester and Liverpool.
Manchester United, Liverpool, and even Blackburn Rovers of Lancashire, who had won the Premier League, could easily capture supporters in northeast Wales.
But Swansea's geographical position was actually closer to the central region of Wales.
Compared with Cardiff City, which was located in the far south, Swansea could more easily attract supporters from the vast central and western regions.
Besides, Swansea itself was the second-largest city in Wales, with pleasant scenery that made it suitable for weekend relaxation.
Lynn's strategic positioning was to make Swansea City the team with the broadest supporter base in Wales.
Only by having more supporters and occupying a larger market could the club's influence and competitiveness continue to rise.
That was the hard truth of football club developnt.
Otherwise, relying solely on his own pocket to invest would turn a football club into a bottomless pit, a money-burning ga even billionaires could not afford to play forever.
After the five supporter representatives discussed it for a while, they decided to agree to a "reconciliation" with Lynn for the ti being.
For now, they would persuade the supporters to support the club, watch from the sidelines, and stop protesting against the internal revolution currently taking place inside the club.
When the new season truly began, they would see what state Swansea were in when they competed in the Third Division.
Only then would they see what the new era Lynn spoke of really looked like.
Would it be a bright path forward, or a dull, lightless regression?
Ti would give the answer.
After shaking hands with the five supporter representatives one after another, Lynn saw them out.
Once the negotiation ended, Lynn sat in his seat and took a sip of water.
His calm gaze suddenly changed.
Sharp.
Forceful.
And the next negotiation soon began.
Led by first-team regular centre-back Mike Howard, twenty-five, thirty-year-old goalkeeper Roger Freestone; attacking midfielder Jonathan Curtis; defensive midfielder Christy O'Leary; right midfielder Lee Jenkins; and right-back Stuart Jones, sixteen Swansea City players entered the conference room in an imposing group.
Lynn remained seated at the head of the table, not even moving from his chair.
His chin was slightly raised, and his sharp eyes carried a trace of contempt.
He looked rather overbearing.
Whether as the owner or as the not-yet-publicly-announced manager, he needed to have presence.
Older players such as Mike Howard were not afraid of Lynn's posture.
They pulled out chairs and sat down, while the other players also found seats for themselves.
After everyone sat down, Lynn asked coldly, "What exactly do you want?"
The sowhat hot-tempered Howard imdiately said, "You can get—"
Before Howard could finish, the oldest player, goalkeeper Roger Freestone, cut in.
"Boss, many of us have played for Swansea for years. We don't want to leave the club. We want to continue playing for the team. It's that simple."
Those who had eaten a few more years' worth of als were still more rational.
They understood where the core of this conversation lay.
All sixteen players stared at Lynn as though waiting for a verdict.
Outside the club, with supporters backing them, it looked as if they had strength in numbers and could make trouble.
But once they entered this conference room, even though only Mo Yuan was beside Lynn, the aura Lynn displayed made quite a few of them fall silent.
Lynn spoke in an unquestionable tone, "I don't need you to play for Swansea.
"But considering that you have served the club for many years, or that you were trained by Swansea's academy from a young age and have a special emotional bond with the club, I did not drive you away."
"You can change roles and beco coaches or scouts. That way, you can still remain at the club, contribute your strength, and obtain stable work and inco.
And I believe you would be the best-paid coaches and scouts at Third Division level."
"What are you dissatisfied with?"
In truth, most players had not received much education.
Their understanding of things tended to be one-sided and more emotional. Quite a few of them interpreted Lynn's policy as a disguised clearout.
If so many players were cleared out all at once, it would naturally draw intense outside attention.
But if players beca coaches or scouts first, and the club later dismissed them, that kind of thing would be far too ordinary.
No one would care.
Even if a big club dismissed an ordinary coach, hardly anyone would pay attention.
O'Leary said to Lynn in a deep voice, "Boss, I must remind you that what you are doing now will get Swansea relegated next season!"
Lynn raised one hand and said firmly, "That is not sothing you need to worry about."
"Right now, I only want to ask you this: who wants to leave, and who wants to stay and accept the club's terms?"
"Those who want to leave can go for free. Originally, I had considered giving compensation, but considering your actions, don't dream about getting any."
"If you change your minds and want to stay, then honestly prepare yourselves for your new jobs."
"I don't want to hear anything else."
"If I recruit publicly, I can find countless replacents."
Lynn's words were unacceptable to most of the hot-blooded players in the conference room.
Howard and Stuart Jones stood up imdiately.
Howard slapped the table hard and leaned forward, seemingly about to punch Lynn.
"You bastard!"
As he raised his fist, Lynn actually leaned his own face toward him and said coldly,
"Hit ."
"Hit .... if you're a man, then hit ."
"Let's see what kind of consequences you'll face after you do it."
"Unemploynt. Becoming a defendant. Compensation. Maybe even prison."
"One punch can turn your entire life upside down."
"Be a hot-blooded but stupid man. Do you think that makes you impressive?"
The conference room fell completely silent.
Lynn's words made Howard's eyes burn with rage, but his fist, less than twenty centitres from Lynn's left cheek, never ca down.
Lynn sat back down and said calmly, "It seems no one is willing to stay.
"No one wants to find a new job after becoming unemployed? Fine."
"Leave, then. I won't see you out."
"Starting tomorrow, you are no longer part of Swansea City Football Club."
"Don't use your status as club players to act recklessly outside."
As soon as Lynn finished speaking, Howard slapped the table again, making a loud bang.
Lynn closed his eyes and turned his face slightly.
He was utterly disgusted by Howard's habit of slapping the table at every turn.
"You'll regret this!"
After saying that, Howard led the others out of the conference room.
...
London City Airport.
Barnet chairman Anthony Kleanthous boarded a small flight to Cardiff, then planned to transfer to a train toward Swansea.
Leyton Orient chairman Francesco Becchetti took a train directly to Swansea.
Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston set off from Blackpool and headed south along the coast straight toward Swansea.
The chairn or CEOs of Hartlepool United, Hull City, Scunthorpe United, Cardiff City, and many other clubs also set out for Swansea.
They were like sharks that had scented blood in the water, all intending to descend upon Swansea and fight over the pie that had fallen from the sky.
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