Chapter 25
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Let's Pack the Squad to the Brim
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After wrapping up the first meeting, I headed to a pub near the hotel in Birmingham.
The Birmingham locals eyed the Asian guy decked out in a Burberry suit with curiosity.
I took a seat and rang the bell on the table first thing.
Ding-a-ling- ding-a-ling-
“!?!?”
The burly pub owner in his mid-50s came rushing over in surprise, and I pointed at the beer.
“One round for all the guests here.”
I pulled out a wad of high-denomination pound notes from my wallet, and in an instant, the pub buzzed with excitement.
People started gathering one by one, drawn by the interest, and I took a sip of my beer before slowly opening up.
Some faces soured and they stormed off, while others who got hooked stayed.
“Jesus—why’s a Lancashire lad come all the way here?”
“Negotiating a player signing.”
“Signing a Villa player? That old bastard Doug Ellis finally gonna sell everyone off?”
In Birmingham, fans were split half and half between Aston Villa and Birmingham FC.
And among them, since I was from Blackburn, buying drinks while talking about transfer talks with Aston Villa, half of them jumped on the bandwagon to bash their own club chairman.
“Hey, you—give me five minutes. My mate’s a Birmingham Post reporter. He’s coming right over.”
“Hahaha, sure thing.”
“Damn punk, who’re you trying to buy instead of that Blackburn Walker geezer?”
They cursed me out for poaching their team’s players, but everyone was already tipsy, so it turned into a rowdy, laughing drinking party.
“What’s that kid’s name again? The young left-footer who plays midfield, wing, and fullback.”
“!”
“Nah, just heard there’s a guy like that and checking him out.”
“Guess Barry’s on the block.”
“That mad old Doug!”
That night, I drank like a fish at the Birmingham pub, snapped some commemorative photos, and didn’t make it back to the hotel until midnight.
And the next day.
I enjoyed room service—coffee, toast, and the local paper.
[Gareth Barry to Blackburn?]
[Jack Walker’s successor: ‘Signing a left-footed English player with solid defending.’ Everyone in Birmingham knows who that means.]
[Doug Ellis sold Dwight York to fund Man Utd’s Treble—what’s he planning to do with Blackburn by selling Barry?]
The British press had a killer instinct for headlines.
They had a fantastical talent for needling people right through the papers, and at this rate, I figured the phone would ring the second they opened up.
Rrrrr- rrrrr-
Right on cue.
“Hello? Mr. Lee of Blackburn Rovers speaking.”
[Staying in Birmingham and stirring up all kinds of trouble, eh? Don’t you know spreading it around like this just drives the price up?]
Doug Ellis was bellowing, so I held the receiver away a bit and stated my offer.
“Three million pounds.”
[Wh-what?]
“Five million including the Brighton bonus. Let’s call it done.”
[You think I’d accept that? You’ve already blabbed, so I can sell to other clubs now.]
No thought of re-signing him, huh.
“Fine. Take your time. I said I’d be here for three days.”
I hung up with Doug Ellis, started prepping to check out, and made another call.
To Kenny Dalglish.
“King Kenny, how about an interview for the press?”
[About Barry?]
“Just praise how we’d use Barry, what talents he has, and show some interest. That’s it.”
[Southgate and now Barry—both, huh. Got it.]
“Oh, and I’m heading to London for Sutton’s transfer and to snag that prospect from Charlton too.”
[Sounds good. Squad’s shaping up nicely.]
Said I’d stay three days? I’m bolting to London at midnight tonight.
“The owner himself coming in person—Mr. Lee. This’ll be a good deal.”
Ken Bates, the silver-haired veteran chairman of Chelsea.
This was the guy who bought Chelsea FC for a pound before I snapped up Blackburn for ten.
He wanted Chris Sutton, and after negotiations, I handed him over for ten million pounds.
“I let Chris know to do well over there.”
“Heh heh heh, just like Ian Wright’s revival, Sutton’ll rise again at Chelsea.”
Back then, Chelsea wasn’t quite Roman Abramovich levels yet, but they were big spenders filling the coffers generously.
Besides Sutton, they’d signed Didier Deschamps, George Weah, and such. Ken Bates was full of intent to challenge for the league title this season.
They paid top dollar, so he was just a great customer.
“Heard you’re negotiating with Aston Villa.”
“Interested?”
“Hahaha, we’ve got plenty of left-footers already.”
Ken Bates sent me off on good terms, saying our targets wouldn’t overlap.
After finishing up with Chelsea in London, I headed straight to another club for talks.
Next stop: Charlton in the London Greenwich area.
Charlton, relegated this season, was overhauling their squad on a massive scale.
Dalglish had already laid the groundwork via contacts, and the price was right.
“Scott Parker. Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Dae-hyun, running Blackburn.”
“Pl-please take care of me.”
A promising talent just shedding his boyish look—about 175 cm tall, freckled but handsome—stood before me.
“This season, you’ll get at least ten games minimum. You’ve already got first-team experience at Charlton, so just bloom at Blackburn.”
“I’ll make sure to live up to expectations.”
I wasn’t making Marcolin’s loan from Lazio permanent; sent him back to Italy since I needed a Gattuso partner.
Proposed a free transfer for Paul Ince from Liverpool, and next up was Parker.
With Parker headed to Blackburn, my next destination was Southampton.
Everywhere I went, I checked the papers: Doug Ellis stories about ‘selling Gareth Barry,’ mentions of him going to Blackburn, but I stayed mum.
He’d crack first for sure.
Until then, I’d save time by signing other players.
“Whew-”
Thinking about it, selling one player and then painstakingly picking up these role players one by one was a hassle.
I wanted to go full Roman or Mansour one day—prep a hundred million pounds and splash it wildly—but this season we’re paying off acquisition debt, and the country’s rushing IMF repayments.
Well, when that time comes, I’ll show ’em what a real big shining is.
“James Beattie’s a local boy from the Blackburn academy originally. So let’s bring him back home.”
“...”
Dave Jones, Southampton’s manager, wore a complicated expression post-relegation as he prepped for the Championship.
“Then you’ll give us Kevin Davies back, the one we sold to you?”
“Yes.”
“!”
To Jones, whose eyes nearly bugged out, I made one proposal.
“But considering Davies’ situation, let’s make it a loan. You’ll get first dibs to re-sign him permanently upon promotion.”
“Kevin Davies returning to Southampton starting in the Championship this season...”
“And I want one more. Seen the papers lately?”
“Busy with that Gareth Barry signing, eh.”
“I never named Barry. Just said I need a ‘left-footed English player with solid defending.’ Turns out you’ve got one here too.”
“...!”
“I’ll take Wayne Bridge. Bundle ’em both.”
Dave Jones’s eyebrow twitched.
The club was already forced to cut player wages by 40% due to relegation—releases were inevitable.
Plus, if not for that 4-3 loss last season, they wouldn’t even be in this mess.
“...I’ll need to think it over.”
“Take all the time you need. Barry or Bridge, we need a left-footed defender either way.”
I decided to wait patiently for Southampton’s answer.
And it came quick.
Aston Villa’s training ground at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Gareth Southgate, Villa’s 29-year-old captain with a neat look, let out a long sigh as he read the paper.
[Blackburn signs Paul Ince.]
[Blackburn Rovers snag Scott Parker from Charlton.]
[Blackburn’s Jason Wilcox off to Leeds United for 6.5 million pounds.]
[Blackburn’s ‘prodigal son’ returns. James Beattie + Wayne Bridge for 12 million pounds. Kevin Davies back to Southampton on loan.]
[Blackburn’s Mr. Lee: ‘We got the left-footed, solid-defending English prospect. His name’s Wayne Bridge.’ Prepping big signing ceremony.]
[Doug Ellis: Won’t sell Gareth Barry for less than 7 million max.]
The transfer market news was dominated by Blackburn.
And every article about Aston Villa was bad news.
Some were steadily building a title-winning squad using the press, while others had sold Unsworth, Dwight York, Bosnich, and more for top dollar.
He was a footballer who played to win trophies.
His international teammates were lifting FA Cups, Champions Leagues, league titles one by one.
But for Southgate, since joining this team, a League Cup was all he had—and the chairman had no ambition for squad-building, just cashing in at peaks. He’d bottled it up until he exploded.
“No hope here. I’d rather go to a team chasing titles.”
That day, a bombshell dropped across Birmingham and England.
Gareth Southgate, Aston Villa’s captain for three years, officially submitted a transfer request to the club.
[Gareth Southgate submits transfer request.]
[Aston Villa’s exodus at last? Price of missing out on Champions League was steep.]
[Villa boss John Gregory: ‘I’ll talk Southgate around.’ But can he win back a departing player’s heart?]
“Little Gareth rumors made Big Gareth’s heart wander too.”
This was exactly what I wanted.
The press spread word of Aston Villa falling apart internally, with their captain requesting a transfer. Major clubs had already locked in their defensive depth.
“Man Utd saturated on defense, grooming Wes Brown; Arsenal dropping over 20 million on signings including Henry; Chelsea bragging about Desailly and Babayaro; Tottenham declaring Chris Perry from Wimbledon, Sol Campbell, and youth-promoted Ledley King.”
Top-shelf goods hitting the market right when everyone’s depth charts were stuffed full.
I played it cool through the window, then as preseason friendlies loomed, I picked up the phone.
From Jack Walker’s former office—now the chairman’s suite at Ewood Park.
“Hello, Doug Ellis?”
[Y-you bastard! Shook up our team and now calling all brazen?]
“Who shook what? Just shopping around the market.”
[Grrrh!]
He was raging like a bull, but if I kept at it, Villa’d go on strike. Now they were the ones sweating.
“Gareth’s already checked out—better sell quick and find a replacement.”
[You approached Southgate? If so, I’ll report you to the FA.]
“No way. I’m just calling based on the papers.”
[The teams after Southgate are...]
“Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Leeds, Tottenham—which one? None of those five’ll sign him.”
Doug Ellis was speechless, so I made it official.
“Big Gareth 6.5 million pounds, Little Gareth 4.5 million. Plus 500k each on appearance clauses.”
[Hey... you think you can get both for that?]
“Then honor your Brighton deal and wait till Gareth Barry’s England call-up. Euro 2000’s next year, right?”
He ranted and hung up, then called back two hours later.
We haggled till night, and it was done.
Both Big Gareth and Little Gareth joined Blackburn Rovers.
Next morning.
I gathered the staff and Dalglish.
“Prep a group signing ceremony. Fan party too.”
“Barry and Southgate... you got them all?”
“Both for 12 million pounds.”
Dalglish laughed heartily and clapped.
99/00 season signings.
Peter Schmeichel-Paul Ince-Scott Parker-Wayne Bridge-James Beattie-Gareth Barry-Gareth Southgate. Seven in total donned the Blackburn kit.
Of course, that’s not the end.
Before the window shuts, I’ll snag one surefire goalscorer.
Someone guaranteed for at least 15 league goals minimum.