"Carl, after I left the field, you were the team captain. What did I tell you at that time?" Steve Bruce asked sternly, one hand gripping the bus handrail, the other pointing at Carl Makinson, who was seated not far away.
It was clear the head coach was in a bad mood, and all the players, including Ethan and Walsh at the front, paid attention.
"I..." Makinson felt a little guilty. He had never been good at speaking.
"The task I gave you was that, in addition to your duties as a defensive midfielder, you must also supervise your teammates. You cannot relax at all and must maintain absolute concentration for the full 90 minutes. Think back. Did you do that in the last 20 minutes?" Bruce seemed very angry as he pointed at each player.
No one dared to say anything.
"Patrice, you played very well today. You were very active. The opposition's defense was in disarray because of you. Congratulations, you are famous now, famous in the North West Division Two!" Bruce walked over to Evra, his voice getting louder.
"Where did that lightning pace go in the second half, the one that kept you constantly active in their half during the first? I gave you a 90-minute mission, not 45. Tell me, if you had kept playing in the second half like you did in the first, would the opponents have dared to press up? Tell me, Patrice!"
Evra was so startled he stood up. He hesitated for a moment, then replied, "They would not, sir!"
Bruce patted Evra on the shoulder and motioned for him to sit. "You are very talented. You are only 17. The club and I value your future very much. You should not be satisfied with achievements in the amateur league. Do you remember Gary Neville? He is your role model. How can you be satisfied or relax until you reach his level?"
Evra looked thoughtful, and Bruce moved on.
He came to Jonathan Maten and smiled. "We should thank you today, Jonathan. You became the first player in our club's history to score a hat-trick, and in our first official match. You will go down in history, but I have to tell you that you will be on the bench in the next game."
At first, Maten thought he was about to be rewarded and was very happy, but after hearing the last part, he stood up in disbelief. "Why, sir?"
Bruce stared at him and spoke slowly. "Because your second-half performance was rubbish. As a player who once competed in the National League, are you proud of scoring a hat-trick against a low-level amateur team like this?"
"Not just Jonathan. Patrice, Carl, and Smith, you will all be on the bench in the next game."
When Bruce said this, not only the players were surprised, even Ethan and Walsh were shocked.
Eleven starters, four dropped at once?
Walsh wanted to speak, but Ethan stopped him with a look.
Yes, since he trusted Bruce, Ethan felt he should fully support him no matter what.
"I will say it again. My team only wants players who can give everything for 90 minutes. I will not use players who play well for one half and then play rubbish for the other half, no matter how good they are. If you feel wronged or think I am being unfair, fine, you can choose to leave."
"My ideal team is a team of eleven players. It is not a team that cannot play without any one player, nor a team that cannot win without any one player. I will not compromise. This is the bottom line. Anyone who wants to play must show me your fighting spirit and determination and convince me, because I am the only one who decides whether you play."
After that, Bruce sat back in his seat. The whole bus was silent. No one spoke.
"Ethan, do you think Steve was too harsh just now? Most of them have never played professional football. Are you not afraid of causing conflict by forcing them like this?"
Back in the office at the Newton Heath training ground, Walsh closed the door, pulled Ethan aside, and asked with a bitter face.
Although the team belonged to Ethan, Walsh had contributed a lot and was worried about the club's future.
"Andy, I believe Steve knows his limits. He has had a rich and illustrious career and is a role model for professionals, so we should trust him. Besides, I do not think there is anything wrong with his strict demands. We are not a purely amateur side like Leek, just playing for fun. Our ambition is to reach the Premier League and even become a top club."
Walsh thought about it and immediately understood what Ethan meant.
Just as Ethan had pursued Steve Bruce wholeheartedly, he wanted to inject a tough and iron-blooded spirit into the team from the start, building an invincible Iron-Blood Legion.
Forging an iron-blooded army takes time to accumulate and settle, just as it took Ferguson and Wenger more than ten years to build Manchester United and Arsenal. So Ethan had to start from the lower leagues and slowly instill New Manchester United with an indomitable spirit and blade-like toughness.
Bruce also proved with facts that his team could still win without the main players.
Although four key players missed the second round of the league, New Manchester United, playing at home, still defeated the visiting Sirsidens 2-0 with goals from Rhodri Giggs and David Bale. They won two in two and took top spot with an eight-goal advantage.
A total of 3,741 fans came to the Butcher's Arms Stadium for this game, once again filling the ground and breaking the attendance record previously set by New Manchester United. Moreover, seeing the large number of spectators outside the stadium who could not get tickets but still cheered and applauded, it was easy to imagine how popular New Manchester United had become.
After the game, the Manchester City Government officially held a consultation meeting regarding New Manchester United's plan to buy out the District Athletic Stadium and the surrounding land. As the club's representative, Andy Walsh attended on behalf of Ethan.
"In principle, the city government agrees to our buyout proposal, but there are still disagreements regarding the price. After all, many real estate developers are interested in using the land for development."
After returning from the council, Ethan immediately brought Walsh into the office for discussions, with Bruce present.
"Those developers offer lump-sum payments, which we obviously cannot do. But in our favor, the council does not want the stadium and surrounding land converted into commercial land."
"We should push for the best price. As for payment terms, we can consider a larger down payment, for example, paying half upfront and clearing the rest within two years," Ethan thought for a moment and said.
Bruce shook his head. "That will not work. I have seen the District Athletic Stadium. It is terrible. Even if we buy it, it will take time and cost a lot to fix. Otherwise, it will not be usable."
"Yes, Ethan, I have calculated it. Renovating the stadium will cost at least 100,000 pounds. If we want to build the north stand as you proposed before, it will cost at least 500,000 pounds," Walsh said, looking at Ethan with a pained expression that seemed to say, you only know how expensive it is when you run the household.
There is no stand on the north side of the District Athletic Stadium, which limits capacity to 6,000. Ethan planned to build a stand on the north side to complete the bowl and raise capacity to at least 10,000. That way, the stadium could meet New Manchester United's needs for the next few years.
"Money is not the problem. The key is that we must acquire the land. As you can see, our stadium cannot meet demand. I believe that as our results improve, more and more fans will come."
As he spoke, Ethan suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, Andy, find a chance to make this clear in the bar. Say that even if we buy a new stadium, our ticket price will remain at 5 pounds. I will never pass the financial burden of buying a stadium on to the fans. We are New Manchester United, not Manchester United."
As soon as the news came out about buying the District Athletic Stadium land, some fans began to worry that New Manchester United would raise ticket prices after purchasing a new ground, so Ethan felt it necessary to clarify.
"If the team is not promoted to the National League, there is really no need to talk about raising ticket prices," Bruce also supported Ethan's decision.
A ticket price of 5 pounds is mid-range in amateur football, but relatively low in Manchester. Once you reach the National League, the average ticket price is at least 10 to 15 pounds. After that, the average ticket price typically goes up by about 1 to 5 pounds for each higher professional level.
This is a pricing guideline used across England. Once you reach the Premier League, it costs at least 20 pounds to watch a game. After all, that is the top level in England.
Ethan still remembered that after the Glazers' acquisition, Manchester United's average ticket price kept rising and eventually reached a staggering 40 pounds, and you had to be a club member to pay that price. Old Trafford accommodates 76,000 fans, so matchday ticket revenue could reach at least 3 million pounds per match, calculated at the lowest ticket price. Otherwise, it would be even higher.
It was precisely because of Manchester United's ticket revenue and attendance that both Murdoch and later the Glazer family could use projected ticket income as collateral at the bank to raise substantial funds and then acquire the club.
Whenever he thought of this, Ethan swore to himself that no matter what happened in the future, he would never let New Manchester United go public, because listing a football club is the greatest disaster of all.
(To be continued.)