**Unusual Bamboo Poles**
Dreaming usually doesn't start clearly. Everyone in the dream suddenly crosses over into another world.
Levi now feels as if he is dreaming, and this dream, which starts in 1998, has no clear end.
The only thing he can do is to pursue what he wants to do before waking up!
New Manchester United agreeing to the FA's promotion to the National League didn't cause much uproar. In contrast, the FA's debt issues, plans to rebuild Wembley Stadium, and the move of their headquarters to Soho Square took up the largest sections of the newspapers.
At the same time, the FA's financial review of lower-tier clubs also created a stir. In contrast, the promotion slots became less interesting since the National League is still an amateur league.
In England, only four professional leagues exist: League Two, League One, the Championship, and the Premier League, which doesn't even belong to the FA. The Premier League established its independent entity, separate from the FA's jurisdiction.
Levi clearly remembers that in the coming years, as the Premier League rises, the FA will become more of a steward for the Premier League clubs. Managers like Ferguson, Wenger, and Mourinho will often criticize the FA's inefficiency and outdated structure.
Probably because Blazer had just taken office, he genuinely wanted to achieve some results, so the assessment of the promotion spots proceeded quickly.
Nine of the 20 candidate clubs announced their abstentions. Among the remaining 11 clubs, 7 were semi-professional clubs, including New Manchester United, and the other 4 were professional clubs, mainly from the sixth-tier Northern or Southern Leagues, with one from the seventh-tier Isthmian Premier League.
New Manchester United comes from the ninth-tier Northwest Division A, the lowest level among all the clubs. Surprisingly, a week after New Manchester United submitted their promotion application, the FA officially announced that after a series of rigorous assessments, three teams had been qualified to participate in the National League.
They were New Manchester United from Manchester, Green Forest from Nailsworth (the team that New Manchester United had eliminated in the FA Cup), and Sutton United from Sutton.
Before the expansion of the National League, there were only 22 teams in total, so the three promoted teams, including New Manchester United, will compete with the other four newly promoted teams and two teams relegated from the Premier League in the new season.
After the FA announced this decision, the selection of New Manchester United caused some controversy, but it was only minor and soon subsided under the FA's influence.
To say that the wealthy Premier League clubs are powerful is an understatement. However, the FA is particularly strong in dealing with amateur league teams. Under their authority, almost everyone was deterred.
After confirming that they would participate in the National League in the new season, New Manchester United's preparations had to be adjusted, including the team's recruitment strategy.
"A goalkeeper, at least one central defender, a central midfielder, a right midfielder, and two forwards," Bruce listed the team's recruitment needs at a meeting.
Because the team was moving up a level, many players would have to leave due to insufficient skill. Ben West and Adam Hame had already decided to leave the team.
The rest of the players would wait to see the intensity of New Manchester United's signings before making their decisions.
Levi took detailed notes of Bruce's requests, afraid of forgetting any details.
After today's meeting, Bruce would go on vacation and return to the club in July.
To help New Manchester United move up to the National League, Bruce had postponed his holiday, studied game footage overnight, and tried to gather as much information as possible about their future opponents.
"No problem. I think after you return from vacation, at least half of the players you requested will be here," Levi said confidently.
"Oh, Kassel, you should start forming the scouting network. We're not familiar with future opponents, so we should use this summer to gather as much information as possible about them. When Steve returns from vacation, he can start immediately."
Kassel nodded, agreeing with Levi. Although he hadn't supported New Manchester United's promotion before, now that Levi had agreed and the club's promotion was confirmed, he needed to help the team as much as possible.
After these arrangements, Levi looked at Professor Fryer and Derek. They exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.
"We can't set up the laboratory before the start of the new season, so we'll only be able to do simple data collection. But we will arrange for the team doctors, and real experimental research will wait until the New Year."
Levi smiled, not worried. "That's fine, Professor. If you need anything while I'm away, you can contact Andy, and he will cooperate with you."
Professor Fryer naturally had no objections. Levi had been very supportive of their research. This was evident in how he consulted them on every detail of the training base. His commitment to the laboratory was clear.
Additionally, through Professor Fryer and Derek's connections, New Manchester United had established a partnership with Manchester Royal Hospital. This cooperation included the laboratory and the players' injury treatments and physical examinations.
"It seems like you already have the right person. Can you tell us?" Bruce said, sensing Levi's recent mysteriousness.
Everyone looked at Levi, expecting an answer.
Levi knew that if he didn't reveal his secret today, he wouldn't be able to leave the room alive.
"Have you heard of Peter Crouch?" Levi asked with a smile.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Who had heard that name?
"Which team?" Cassell asked.
"Tottenham Hotspur!"
The crowd frowned, and Walsh even turned up the newspaper to look for old news to see if this man was in Spurs' main lineup, but he found nothing.
"Hey, does Tottenham have this guy?" Walsh thought Levi was playing a prank.
"Yes, he's very tall, about 2 meters, but he's not physically outstanding. On the contrary, he's a technical player. However, he hasn't found a chance at Tottenham. In January, he was loaned to Dulwich Hamlet in the Isthmian Premier League, where he only got six chances to play and scored one goal, but the result was still tragic."
"I heard that Tottenham wants to keep him on loan, and I want to talk to them in London."
"Is he willing to come?" Bruce asked the crucial question.
A player growing up in a Premier League team, willing to play in the National League?
"He will, I promise, and the price won't be high, at least within our range," Levi said with a smile.
In Levi's memory, Crouch was loaned to the Swedish Second Division by Tottenham in the 1999-00 season. He didn't get many chances there either, scoring 3 goals in 8 appearances. That wasn't too bad, but after returning to Tottenham, he was sold to Queens Park Rangers for £60,000. There, he made a name for himself, and his career improved, eventually leading him to Liverpool and the national team.
Such a player was ideal to acquire now.
However, when Levi proposed acquiring Crouch to the senior management at White Hart Lane, their first reaction was to refuse.
Oh my God, these bastards, vampire capitalists, who clearly didn't have any use for him, just refused to sell.
But Levi wasn't so easily deterred. He raised the transfer fee to Tottenham to £40,000. Simultaneously, he contacted Crouch.
"Although we're new to the National League, everyone can see our club's strength. Last year we almost defeated Arsenal at Highbury Stadium, and we won the Northwest Division B double championship, even though it's just an amateur league. But don't forget, our club has only been established for a year."
"This year is crucial for our development. We were promoted to the National League by the FA, so we decided to ramp up our recruitment efforts. Our goal isn't just to stay in the National League; we aim to win and get promoted!"
"Pete, our head coach Steve Bruce admires you a lot. Trust me, if you join us, you'll be a key player, and Steve will do everything to unlock your potential and show everyone that you're not just an ordinary tall guy but a skilled player, like a Brazilian!"
With this, after much effort, Levi finally convinced Crouch. The latter realized he couldn't get ahead at Tottenham and staying there would just mean more loans. Instead, moving to a lower-level team for game training and improvement was a better option.
With this in mind, Crouch approached the team's head coach and stated that he was willing to stay, but only if he was guaranteed playing time. Otherwise, he hoped the club would consider New Manchester United's offer, as they promised him a starting position.
It was this pressure from Crouch that finally made Spurs relent. They held two rounds of negotiations with Levi in one day and finally set Crouch's transfer fee at £50,000, just £10,000 less than later. Levi celebrated with a big meal at the hotel that night.
After concluding Crouch's transfer negotiations, Levi didn't leave London immediately but took a bus north to Hitchin.