The city government responded quickly to New Manchester United's proposal to acquire Newton Heath.
A total of 165 acres of land, New Manchester United offered 3 million pounds, paid over three years, with 1 million pounds per year.
It wasn't that Levi didn't have the money to pay it all at once, but he heeded Walsh's suggestion and remained cautious. After all, money can't be taken for granted. As a Chinese who had traveled through time, Levi knew this clearly.
After paying a million pounds and signing a contract with the city government, this large piece of land opposite Brookdale Park belonged to Levi.
However, the city government still refused to easily relax regarding the district sports stadium. They explained to Levi that they still needed to negotiate further because this matter was very important.
But the fact was that anyone with discerning eyes could see that, under the premise that the city government intended to retain the use of the athletic stadium in the district, some real estate developers had begun to withdraw from the competition. Now, it was Manchester City who was most likely to get this land. But in fact, Manchester City had no money, not even enough to buy an acre of land.
Last year, Manchester City was relegated from English League 1 to English League B. This year, it increased investment and introduced several powerful players. After the league started, it had been ranked at the top of English League B and even once topped the list. The hope of upgrading was very high, so after the winter break, they stepped up their efforts, almost doing everything they could to leave League B.
Now, Manchester City ranks 4th in English League B. They have basically guaranteed the qualification for the playoffs, but they are obviously not satisfied with the risky playoffs and are more willing to upgrade directly.
If Manchester City does not have enough financial resources to participate in the competition, then there will be only three options for the district athletic stadium. The first is to sell it to real estate developers, but now it seems that this hope is not great. The second option, according to Levi's previous knowledge, was to throw the project there and wait, planning to transform it into the venue of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and lease it to Manchester City at a low price for a period of 250 years.
According to the current situation, the second possibility is the last choice.
As for the third possibility, it is to sell it to New Manchester United. The only worry is the performance of New Manchester United.
In this regard, Levi was really helpless. Despite the consensus of the outside world, based on the current strength of New Manchester United, there is no problem of relegation even in the national league, and in the Northwest Division B league, they are simply a standout.
But who can do it?
Britain is a country full of stereotypes!
On the day Levi signed the contract with the city government to purchase the Newton Heath training base, New Manchester United defeated the visiting Abich team 5-1 at the Butchers Knives Stadium.
After 35 rounds of the league, New Manchester United, with 25 wins, 6 draws, 4 losses, and 81 points, ranked first in the Northwest Division B League, leading the second place by as much as 19 points.
That is to say, once New Manchester United defeats their opponents away in the next league match, they will win the Northwest Division B championship this season six rounds in advance and may also create multiple tenth league records at the same time.
The 36th round of New Manchester United's opponent is the old Northwest League powerhouse Glothorpe. This semi-professional team from a small town of fewer than 30,000 people in eastern Manchester has a reputation in the Northwest League. Due to financial problems, they were relegated from Grade A last year.
This year they also entered the FA Cup, but because of the two-line combat, their performance in the league is not outstanding. They are currently ranked fifth in the league and are only one point behind the sixth in the league, fighting to qualify for the playoffs.
Each year, the Northwest Division B upgrades are occupied by one of the champions, and then the second to fifth playoffs determine another place, so Glothorpe still has hope of upgrading.
Predictably, this game will be very difficult.
As this is a game related to the ownership of the championship, coupled with the short distance between Manchester and Glothorpe, this game has attracted nearly 2,000 Manchester fans to watch the game away.
Such a large number of away team fans obviously makes Glothorpe a bit worried about the capacity of the stadium. Fortunately, the fans of New Manchester United are just crazy about the stadium. They are less involved in the news of the riots outside the stadium, so organizing the order is not strenuous.
Glothorpe's stadium, which can only accommodate 2,500 people, suddenly flooded with 2,000 New Manchester United fans, coupled with its local fans, making the entire stadium crowded. Standing in the stadium and looking upwards, there were throbbing silhouettes everywhere.
New Manchester United's main lineup had not changed much since Rodrigue Giggs injured his leg in training two days ago, so David Bell replaced him at the start and played with Jonathan McGonagall, partnering as the striker.
David Bell is one of the more balanced all-around players. His speed and skill are not as good as Giggs's. His physical fitness and field goal-scoring ability are not as good as Jonathan's. So this season, he didn't get many appearances, but he got a chance when two players were injured or suspended.
The four men in the midfield are still Carl Markinson and Stephen Smith in the middle, with Frank Karak and Darren Lyons on the left and right sides, respectively. Markinson, Smith, and Lyons are New Manchester United's top choices this season, unless it is an injury or suspension, they usually start.
As for Karak, he is linked to left-back Evra. Generally, if Evra comes out, the full-back must be Karak.
The back line is composed of Garrett Turner, Danny Collins, Evra, and Kevin Evan, while Steve Bruce is firmly seated on the coach's seat. I believe that if this game is won, Bruce will consider giving Danny Collins more opportunities in the next few games.
After Kassel finished reading the starting lineup, some people were happy and some were worried!
"How important this game is today, I believe you don't need me to say more, you all know it!" Bruce said in a serious voice. "I have no more requirements from you. The only requirement is to win this game. Can you do it?"
"Yes!" The players answered in unison.
With Bruce's big wave, the players started playing.
Because most of the amateur teams in the Northwest Division B league have no player channels like Highbury Stadium, the players left the rest area and came directly to the stadium.
"It seems that our players are very excited today!" Derek, sitting beside Levi in the stands, smiled.
This is the first time he has come to watch the New Manchester United game in person. Of course, he, like the fat Jim, has found a very fair excuse for himself to work!
"Glothorpe is not a soft team. They also want to upgrade. If they win this game, they can continue to maintain their league ranking. But once they lose, they may fall out of the league at any time, so they are sure to give their all!" Levi also felt the tension of such a game.
In terms of strength, Glothorpe is definitely not as good as New Manchester United, but now New Manchester United has a big lead in the league. If they don't win this round, they can still win the next round. The championship is still within reach, but Glothorpe is different. Once they lose this round and their opponent wins, they will completely lose the initiative and will only be able to look at others.
Therefore, Glothorpe has more reasons to give their all than New Manchester United!
In this amateur game, strength is often not everything on this sloppy grass. In fact, on the football field, the weaker side can always defeat and win. This is the upset!
As a fan, Levi undoubtedly likes to see upsets, but as a club owner, Levi does not want upsets to appear in his team.
This double standard is sometimes contradictory!
With the whistle of the referee on duty, David Bell passed the ball to Jonathan, and the game officially started!
As expected by Levi, Glothorpe started a nearly life-threatening fight against New Manchester United from the beginning without any regard for physical stamina. From the beginning of the game, their actions were very aggressive, and New Manchester United players often found themselves on the receiving end of tackles and fouls.
Because such scenes are often seen in amateur matches, the referee's penalties for such fouls are not as strict as in professional matches. It can even be said that even in professional leagues such as English C, English B, and English A, such scenes are still common.
This is the case for the lower leagues of any national league in the world!
Since the arrival of Kassel, New Manchester United has added more off-ball running training and passing and cooperation drills in their usual training. The addition of these aspects has slightly improved the overall technical and tactical level of New Manchester United, albeit slightly.
The poor field conditions and uneven player skills make it difficult for New Manchester United to maintain a smooth offensive cooperation. Only occasional flashes of brilliance can appear, but even so, it can already make New Manchester United famous in the Northwest Division B as a technical team.
But the more technical the team, the more afraid they are of tangled teams. So when New Manchester United meets Glothorpe, who are playing without any regard for physical stamina and starting a crazy, dogged fight in every corner of the field, the tactics seem to be completely neutralized.