"What big thing could possibly happen?" Ethan said with a chuckle.
The league season had already ended, and the players had departed. Aside from a few youth players like Curtis, Messi, and Ishmael who remained with the team, most of the others had already left.
At a time like this, what big thing could happen?
Walsh ran in out of breath and flopped onto the sofa. He grabbed the tea on the table and gulped it down in one go, showing absolutely no regard for the spirit of the tea ceremony, acting like a water pump.
"Hey, Andy, that's my cup!" Cassel protested from the side.
Walsh did not even look at him. He pulled a newspaper out from his person and slammed it heavily onto the table. "See for yourselves!"
Having said that, this fellow, who looked like he had just run out of a desert, simply poured himself more tea and drank it down greedily.
Bruce, being the closest, picked up the newspaper to take a closer look.
"In view of the 98-99 season, where multiple National League teams were found to have financial irregularities... The FA has decided to conduct a thorough investigation into the financial status of all teams from Division One down to the National League. Furthermore, the following penalties will be imposed on several teams found guilty of financial fraud."
Bruce read aloud as he scanned the text. By the time he reached the end, everyone present was shocked.
"Point deductions, relegations... it seems the FA takes team finances very seriously!" Cassel remarked.
"The newly appointed CEO of the FA is Crozier, formerly the head of an advertising agency. According to the grapevine, the reason the FA chose him to succeed Kelly was the hope that he could bring fresh blood to the stagnant FA."
Bruce had played professional football for many years and was quite familiar with the happenings in the professional leagues. His inside information regarding the FA was certainly more reliable than Ethan and the others'.
"This guy is also a pro. As soon as he took office, he rolled out several policies, one of which is the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium. The Mayor of Manchester must absolutely detest him!"
As soon as Bruce spoke, everyone could not help but smile.
Originally, Manchester's City of Manchester Stadium wanted to apply for renovation to become the national stadium, but it was snatched away by Wembley. This left the City of Manchester Stadium in its current awkward predicament.
"I also heard that Crozier plans to move the FA's offices to Soho Square. That's a famous bustling area in London where advertising moguls and media giants gather. He's clearly intending to push the FA toward commercialization," Cassel sneered sarcastically.
To some pure football people, excessive commercial involvement would taint the sport, especially for an institution like the FA. Consequently, Crozier's proposal had begun to meet some resistance.
"It can't be helped. Professional football nowadays is a money pit. It's not just the clubs; the FA burns money too. If they want to rebuild Wembley and regain the power to compete with the Premier League, they have to go with the flow and change with the times. This is a byproduct of the professionalization of football!"
Ethan understood this better than most. As a transmigrator, he naturally knew that with professionalization, commercialization had become an unstoppable trend. The only difference was how to maintain the balance.
Striking a balance between football and commerce was undoubtedly a formidable task!
"In that case, it seems Crozier is dead set on this thorough financial investigation!" Walsh said with an expression of schadenfreude.
New Manchester United were currently only a semi-professional team in the North West region. No matter how powerful the FA was, could they really investigate finances all the way down here?
Furthermore, New Manchester United had spent quite a bit of money over the past season. For instance, they bought the Newton Heath training base and negotiated with the city government to purchase the City of Manchester Stadium. They were also one of the most professionalized teams in the North West Counties League.
Calculating such expenses, they had spent over a million pounds in the past year, and that did not even include the Lab that Professor Fryer was setting up.
If that were added, they might even surpass some Premier League teams.
Ethan had not originally calculated these accounts in detail. It was not until a couple of days ago, when Walsh went over the numbers with him, that he was shocked to discover he had unknowingly spent so much money.
Fortunately, he had been earning recently!
Since last year, Ethan knew that internet tech stocks were about to reach their peak. So, before that happened, he had John Davey select as many high-potential companies as possible to invest in and then helped them go public. This allowed Ethan to make a massive profit.
Excluding the 200 million US dollars in Apple and his investments in Google and eBay, Ethan also possessed hundreds of millions in assets elsewhere.
John Davey called Ethan every day to report on the day's situation. Sometimes even John felt shocked because he found Ethan's vision to be incredibly accurate. Although he often made mistakes and lost quite a bit of money, compared to the profits, the losses were like a single hair on nine oxen.
However, because of his role in managing Ethan's investments, John Davey was now a hot commodity on Wall Street. Some even viewed him as a new generation of investment and financial genius, as they all believed it was John Davey who had made Ethan successful.
But what was the reality?
It was Ethan who had made John Davey!
Regardless, Ethan did not like being famous, while John Davey's profession made him crave success. Both parties got what they needed, so the secret remained hidden.
"It's foreseeable that many teams will be unlucky because of this!" Ethan said with a smile.
Financial issues were everywhere in the English leagues. Almost every year, a few unlucky clubs would be swept into this whirlpool, resulting in point deductions or forced relegation.
Ethan's most vivid memory was from playing FM2010. Looking at the English National League, he saw a team called Chester had been docked 25 points by the FA. They started the season with minus 25 points before even playing half a match.
Ethan had been interested enough to look into that team and found the reason was Chester FC's financial disputes. At the same time, a team called Northwich had also been penalized, losing 10 points due to a debt of 500,000 pounds.
In fact, when it came to debt, very few teams had none, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. After all, football could never truly become a tool for making money.
At least, before Ethan transmigrated, no one had found a way to use football to get rich!
"So, the National League will have a few 'promotion by invitation' spots this year. Do you think we have a chance?" Walsh asked with an excited smile.
Bruce and Cassel looked at each other and both shook their heads with a laugh.
"Promotion by invitation will definitely prioritize higher-level teams. Plus, you have to remember we've only been established for a year. However, if we only consider hardware facilities, I feel that except for our home stadium not being finalized yet, we meet the requirements in other aspects. And we have a youth team!"
Many teams entering the National League were still only semi-professional and might not even have a complete youth training system. In this regard, New Manchester United could be said to be further ahead than many teams.
"What, Andy, you want to get promoted?" Cassel asked.
Walsh nodded as if it were obvious. "Of course I hope the team can compete at a higher level. Besides, don't the media say all the time that with our current strength, we could survive in the National League?"
"That's true, but it's not a certainty!" Bruce had clearly looked into this as well. "In fact, almost all teams promoted by invitation end up being relegated in their first year in the National League."
"That's not bad either. We're supposed to play in the North West Counties League Division One this year. If we get invited to the National League and then get relegated, we'd end up in the Northern Premier League. That would still be a leapfrog promotion!" Walsh joked.
Bruce and the others burst into laughter upon hearing this. If that were really the case, it would not be bad at all.
In reality, except for a few teams that were either overly ambitious or truly had enough financial backing, most teams were unwilling to consider promotion by invitation. Being battered for a year and then relegated was not necessarily beneficial for a team's development.
In Ethan's past life, after New Manchester United's first season, it happened to coincide with an expansion of the National League, resulting in six invitation spots. New Manchester United was considered by the FA, but the team ultimately refused because they preferred to climb up step by step.
And indeed, New Manchester United's record was excellent. They achieved four consecutive promotions in their first four years, only slowing down in the fifth. This could be considered a record for English amateur leagues.
Of course, the current New Manchester United were also doing well.
At the very least, Ethan could guarantee that with the team's current strength, his financial resources, and his years of advanced football knowledge, even if the team were invited to the National League, he could at least ensure they avoided relegation!
While they were all together, they began to research the team's plans for the next season. Bruce gave his suggestions for recruitment: a midfielder and a centre-back were absolute necessities.
Additionally, if a suitable candidate was found, they would consider bringing in a right midfielder. Darren Lyons was getting on in years, and his backup, Adam Hamill, lacked sufficient strength. He struggled to get game time even in the North West Counties League Division Two, let alone Division One.
The left flank could be said to be New Manchester United's strongest area. Perhaps inspired by the match against Glossop, Bruce used the combination of Evra and Richie Wellens in the following matches. The result was quite good. The pairing of two incredibly fast players actually turned New Manchester United's left side into a "Demon Wing," which was an unexpected gain.
But before Ethan and the others could finalize the recruitment shortlist, the team was already facing poaching attempts from others.
(To be continued.)