In Ethan's memories from his previous life, Manchester United's decision to withdraw from the FA Cup caused a huge uproar in England.
It was not just Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton who stepped forward, hoping Manchester United would reconsider, but even British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke publicly, hoping Manchester United would respect this historic tournament.
FIFA President Blatter also came out to clarify, saying that hosting the 2006 World Cup was absolutely not being used as a bargaining chip to force the FA to require Manchester United to participate in the inaugural Club World Cup.
He also hoped Manchester United could find a win-win solution, preferably one that allowed them to participate in both the FA Cup and the Club World Cup.
This saga played out in the UK and Europe for several months, with both sides constantly looking for a solution.
However, in the end, Manchester United still refused to participate in that year's FA Cup, citing an overly congested schedule.
This decision by Manchester United prompted the FA to announce in 2000 that they would increase the prize money for winning the FA Cup to 1 million pounds, aiming to make the big clubs place more importance on the tournament.
But now, completely different from Ethan's memory, Manchester United had already decided to participate in this tournament.
After British Prime Minister Blair and Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton intervened to coordinate, Manchester United held another meeting on the matter and sent representatives to sit down with the FA.
Eventually, both sides found a peaceful solution.
Manchester United would participate in this year's FA Cup, but unlike Premier League teams that entered directly in the third round, Manchester United, as the defending champions, would be given an exemption and allowed to start directly from the fourth round.
At the same time, the FA would appropriately adjust Manchester United's league and cup schedules according to their Club World Cup itinerary.
In addition, the FA would also negotiate with Manchester United and other Premier League clubs regarding the work permit application process, and discuss the possibility of introducing a Special Talent Clause in football with the Home Office as soon as possible.
Regarding the first decision, the other teams in the Premier League and even the English professional leagues did not react too strongly.
After all, nobody could ignore the brilliance of Manchester United's treble last season, and this kind of action by the FA had happened in La Liga before.
Just last year, the Spanish Football Federation had allowed Real Madrid to enter the domestic cup one round later than other La Liga teams, including Barcelona, in order to let Real Madrid participate.
As for adjusting schedules, that was an even more common occurrence.
However, the second decision caused a huge uproar throughout English football.
Not long ago, the British Sports Minister had publicly stated in the media that the UK should limit the number of foreign players.
He cited a series of Treasury data showing that the transfer fees paid by English leagues to bring in foreign players basically flowed into Swiss banks, which made him worry about the future of the English leagues.
However, this Sports Minister's remarks were quickly opposed by the EU, because the foreign players he referred to were players from outside the UK, which clearly conflicted with the EU's integrated labour laws.
Surprisingly, not long after this matter had passed, the FA began to consider adding a Special Talent Clause to work permit applications.
This inevitably made people suspect that the English professional teams were acting in opposition to the British Sports Minister.
The FA, led by Crozier, implemented an efficient style of operation.
Just like how he decisively moved the office to Soho Square and boldly decided to rebuild Wembley Stadium, this time he quickly reached an agreement with the Home Office, then invited football legends and executives from several big clubs to a meeting.
Just like that, a few days later, the Special Talent Clause, which should have appeared a few years later, was born.
This clause was the same as in Ethan's memory. It required a hearing, could only be used once a year per club, and also required football legends to testify.
When Ethan received the fax from the FA, the club was busy preparing for the upcoming first round of the league.
Rushden & Diamonds had strengthened significantly this season and were hailed as the biggest favourites for promotion.
As a promoted team, although New Manchester United had improved significantly and were playing at home, they were still not favoured by the outside world.
When the club received the fax from the FA, Ethan immediately called Bruce, Cassel, and the others for a meeting.
"This is the announcement the FA just faxed over. Take a look first!" Ethan photocopied the fax and handed it to Bruce and the others.
Although New Manchester United played in the National League and did not need work permits for foreign players, if they wanted to participate in the FA Cup, they had to have work permits because it was an official competition recognized by the FA, not an amateur league like the National League.
"I think, although our focus this year is on the National League, we have no reason to give up such a spot. What do you think?" Ethan asked after everyone had finished reading.
Everyone attached sufficient importance to this.
Currently, there were quite a few players in the club's first team who needed to apply for work permits: Žigić, Juninho, Olić, Hleb, Krzynówek, and Essien.
Among them, Krzynówek and Juninho met the conditions to apply for work permits. The former was a Poland international and basically met the requirements for a work permit.
Juninho was a bit special. He had been selected for the Brazil national team once this March.
Although that was only a national team assembled to scout reserve players, and it was not a full international match, it at least proved that Juninho had some ability.
Precisely because of this, there should be no problem with the work permit applications for these two players, and the duration of the initial work permit would match the length of their signed contracts.
Olić had already become a German son-in-law, and the club was currently preparing to apply for a second nationality for him.
Once he obtained German nationality, he would no longer count as a foreign player. This matter was also extremely beneficial to Olić himself, so he agreed 100%.
Of the remaining three, Žigić, Hleb, and Essien did not currently qualify for work permits.
However, they were all young and could fully use this Special Talent Clause to apply for work permits.
The once-a-year Special Talent Clause was indeed not enough for New Manchester United, but it was better than nothing.
The only trouble was, who would be the first player to benefit from it?
If referring to future achievements, Ethan naturally favoured Essien.
But this player would have to go to the Ghana youth team training camp in two months to prepare for the U17 World Cup held in New Zealand in November, and he could not even break into the club's starting lineup yet.
As for who to choose between Žigić and Hleb, it depended on Bruce's choice.
"Hleb. Let's go with him!" Bruce thought for a moment.
Cassel, listening from the side, nodded continuously. "Not bad. We have plenty of players available up front."
"Both Žigić and Olić will be starters in the league, so it won't be that important for them to be able to play in the FA Cup."
"Instead, for Hleb, Darren Lyons' stamina definitely won't be enough to support him playing on multiple fronts, so Hleb becomes our best choice."
"Since that's the case, then it's Hleb. In addition, I will also send in the work permit applications for Krzynówek and Juninho together."
"Obviously, Andy Gray, you'll have to make another trip to London."
"As for the witness to attend the hearing, I'd like to visit Sir Bobby Charlton. He should be willing to do our club this favour!"
Mentioning that old man who always had a kind smile for him, Ethan could not help but smile.
After finalizing this, New Manchester United immediately began to handle it.
Ethan first called Hleb and asked him to collect the tapes of the matches he had played in the Belarusian league, as well as evaluations of him from his team's head coach and the media when he was playing in Belarus.
Among them, there was actually a newspaper report saying that a scout from Bundesliga side Stuttgart had gone to watch him, which could also serve as indirect evidence for Hleb's application for the Special Talent Clause.
While collecting evidence, Ethan paid a visit to Sir Bobby Charlton and mentioned that he was preparing to apply for the Special Talent Clause for Hleb.
The latter immediately expressed his willingness to help.
After all the materials were ready, New Manchester United immediately sent them, along with the materials for Krzynówek and Juninho, to the FA.
The FA also immediately gave a reply and set the hearing for August 11, which was the day after the second round of the English National League.
On the morning of August 7, the sky was cloudless. For the British Isles, this was definitely a rare stretch of good weather.
Waking up in the morning, walking out to the balcony, and feeling the warmth of the sun shining on him made his whole body feel warm and very comfortable.
At 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, New Manchester United would host Rushden & Diamonds at Gigg Lane in Bury.
This was New Manchester United's first match in the National League.
Rushden & Diamonds were a strong team. That did not need explaining.
But New Manchester United's investment this year was not small, their strength had improved a lot, and they were not pushovers either.
However, who would get the three points in the end would depend on the players' performance on the pitch and the head coach's tactical planning off it.
"Hey, are you confident about this afternoon's match?" Scarlett's voice came down from upstairs.
Ethan looked up and saw a stunningly beautiful woman bathed in golden sunlight, wearing pure white pyjamas. He smiled. "If I say I'm confident, will you think I'm arrogant?"
"Aren't you arrogant to begin with?" Scarlett curled her lips.
Ethan laughed out loud. "Then let me tell you, we are very confident about this match!"
Seeing Scarlett's look of disbelief, Ethan suddenly got an idea and asked again, "How about we make another bet?"
Whenever Scarlett thought of that previous bet, she remembered that she had only managed to get away with it by acting shamelessly.
Now, how could she dare to bet with him again? Her pretty face flushed. "Who has the time to bet with you? Boring!"
Then she walked back into her room.
Ethan withdrew his gaze, but the smile on his face quickly faded.
In fact, like all the fans outside, he was very concerned about this match because although New Manchester United had introduced many future stars, the National League was not an amateur competition. There was not a single team that could be dealt with easily!
Big names like the Galácticos of Real Madrid, did they not also get beaten 4-0 by Alcorcón in Spain's third tier?
The football pitch was sometimes just that strange. It could never be predicted with conventional logic!
And this was also part of football's charm!
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)