Football Dynasty-Chapter 551: The Root Cause had to be Addressed

The ICU room remained silent, broken only by the soft, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.

When Jonathan Woodgate finally stirred, his eyelids fluttered open with visible effort. The harsh white lights above blurred, then slowly sharpened. Sitting beside the bed was Richard, unmoving, his elbows resting on his knees as if he had been there for hours.

Elsewhere in the hospital, Fevre and Schlumberger were still deep in consultation, voices low and tense. Marina had stepped out earlier, searching for something warm for Richard to eat—anything to keep him standing.

Jonathan’s gaze drifted, unfocused at first, then settled on Richard’s face.

For a brief second, recognition flickered in his eyes.

Then he spoke.

"Big Boss... did we win?"

The words hit Richard like a blade driven straight into his chest. Seeing him like this dragged Richard back to a memory he had tried to bury. The day he had slammed his own head against the goalpost. The sickening crack. The ringing silence. The doctor’s voice afterward, calm and merciless, telling him his career was over. Early retirement, they’d called it.

"We did," he said quietly, nodding. "The others already came by. And more are on their way."

He gestured toward the side table, crowded with bouquets of flowers—some awkwardly arranged, others hastily bought.

"They said they’d wait for you," Richard continued. "Said the team isn’t complete without you."

Jonathan’s fingers twitched slightly against the sheets. Then a faint smile appeared on his pale face as he asked,"Of course, I won’t fall behind. Is my injury serious?"

Richard shook his head. "Not serious—at least, not life-threatening. You’ll need surgery, and the recovery will take time. A long time." He paused before continuing, his voice steady but firm. "You need to stay strong and face this with courage, Jonathan. You’re one of the toughest players on the team. Don’t give your teammates a reason to laugh at you. The team will wait for you. And I will too."

"Oh."

Jonathan understood immediately what those words really meant.

If it truly weren’t serious, there would be no need for such careful reassurance.

The realization left him feeling quietly dejected.

Richard knew that a few encouraging words couldn’t instantly lift Jonathan’s spirits. For players, there was always a period of depression after a major injury—something entirely normal. But maintaining a positive mindset during recovery was crucial if he ever wanted to return to the field.

The club had already informed Woodgate’s family, who were in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough. Arrangements were being made, and it was expected that Richard would send someone to bring them here as quickly as possible.

The next morning, Richard left the hospital with Marina, who dropped him off at his sea-container hotel. After resting for the entire morning, he returned to the club in the afternoon.

The moment he arrived, Richard sought out Miss Heysen, his expression grave.

"Tell me about it."

Miss Heysen exhaled slowly. "After last night’s match, all of Manchester descended into chaos. The disorder continued late into the night. The police arrested a large number of fans—most of them our supporters."

She paused before continuing. "In addition, the club owner and two other coaches may be facing fines."

Richard’s jaw tightened. "And the FA?"

"The FA hasn’t made any official statement yet, but based on past cases, the most likely outcome is a formal investigation into the stadium violence," she replied. "We’re likely to face penalties, which could include partial or even full stand closures for our remaining home games."

Richard returned to his chair and sat down behind his desk. He didn’t speak.

Silence filled the room.

About ten minutes later, he finally spoke. "Review the match footage and identify the fans who instigated the trouble. Compile a list. If any extreme supporter groups are involved, investigate them as well. Also, check with the police regarding the disturbances outside the stadium. It’s quite possible that not all of them were Manchester City supporters."

Miss Heysen nodded and asked, "What about the FA? And the referee?"

"The club will prepare a written statement addressing the referee’s performance yesterday," Richard replied. "If there are no additional sanctions, we won’t appeal. If further suspensions are imposed, we’ll discuss our options then."

After finishing his instructions, Richard dismissed Miss Heysen and sent her back to work. He needed some time alone.

Following the Manchester derby, Manchester City were scheduled to face Newcastle United in the Premier League. Richard forced himself to focus on his work, pushing aside his anxiety.

Newcastle United faced Liverpool at Anfield, producing a thrilling encounter that ended in a dramatic 4–3 defeat. The home side took the early lead, but the Reds secured a last-minute victory over the Magpies. Ruud Gullit’s disheartened expression behind the advertising boards became another iconic moment—memorable, though for all the wrong reasons.

Newcastle’s season was almost a carbon copy of the one before.

Mediocre.

Shortly after the season began, Kenny Dalglish paid the price for Newcastle’s substandard league performances with his job. The responsibility of turning the club’s fortunes around was handed to Ruud Gullit who was trophy winning manager with Chelsea a few years previously, but he was unable to deliver any meaningful improvement.

Gullit made some high-profile mistakes in the transfer market (notably, Spanish defender Marcelino and forward Silvio Maric bore the brunt of supporters frustrations). Less forgivably, he also fell out with several senior players, including the club captain Rob Lee, who had been the heartbeat of the team for the previous half decade, and was initially not given a squad number.

City tore them apart with a ruthless 4–0 victory.

After this round of matches, the Premier League standings underwent a shocking shift.

Manchester United lose against Middlesbrough, while Chelsea also dropped points with another draw!

The title race was suddenly wide open.

The Premier League was heating up.

League Table:

Manchester United — 60 points

Chelsea — 59 points

Aston Villa — 57 points

Manchester City — 56 points

Arsenal — 55 points

Liverpool — 51 points

The title race was reaching a fever pitch. With eight matches remaining, all six teams still had a realistic chance of winning the championship. However, Manchester City’s recent negative publicity following the Manchester derby cast a shadow of uncertainty over the final stretch of the season.

The upcoming schedule favored Manchester City. They had already played Derby County and Middlesbrough, easing the difficulty of their remaining fixtures.

This season could be described as one of the most comfortable in Derby County’s recent history. In their last ten matches, the Rams won nine, climbing from 15th to 8th in the table. Their only defeat came away to Arsenal, decided by a late goal from Nwankwo Kanu in a narrow 1–0 loss.

Derby’s strong form brought individual recognition. Five of their players had represented their countries at the 1998 World Cup, and in January, Christian Dailly was sold to Blackburn Rovers for £5.35 million—comfortably the highest transfer fee Derby had ever received.

Even so, Manchester City edged past them with a narrow 1–0 victory.

Middlesbrough, fresh off a surprise 3–2 win at Old Trafford, were also brought back down to earth, as Manchester City defeated them 2–0.

With the Premier League fixtures completed for the week, attention now turned to the FA Cup quarter-finals, scheduled for midweek. However, before that, Manchester United were set to host Juventus in a crucial midweek European fixture.

Richard and the others watched the match together.

In this first leg of the semi-final, Juventus struck first when their captain, Antonio Conte, met a precise pass from Edgar Davids to score a vital away goal. Manchester United responded late, equalising in injury time through Ryan Giggs, who finished calmly after a cross from David Beckham. Just minutes earlier, a goal from Teddy Sheringham had been controversially disallowed.

The draw left United with a difficult task ahead. To reach the final, they would need to score at least one goal in Italy.

Richard suddenly stood up without warning. He turned around and came face to face with Mourinho.

"You know what to do, right?"

The staff members nearby noticed the exchange and quietly traded glances. Every one of them understood exactly what their boss meant.

Destroy Manchester United. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Not with violence.

But with football.

Revenge!

Mourinho nodded.

After watching the Manchester United–Juventus match, Richard and his staff stayed late, preparing for a meeting to anticipate the questions from the media the next day.

The following day, at the FA Cup pre-match press conference, reporters focused heavily on the chaos during the Manchester derby.

A reporter from The Times posed a question that briefly silenced the room:

"Mr. Manager, your current owner previously stated in an interview that any disturbances at Manchester City’s home ground would not be tolerated. Now, as the manager of Manchester City, how do you plan to exercise your authority?"

All eyes turned to Mourinho as the reporters waited, eager to see how he would handle the situation.

Mourinho slowly picked up a document and began to read:

"Manchester City has conducted a thorough investigation into the fan disturbances that occurred during the last home match. Based on verified facts, the following decisions have been made: 238 fans who caused disturbances in the stands are banned from entering Maine Road for the next three years. For those who purchased season tickets, the club will refund the remaining matches."

"Who are they?" a reporter asked.

"Due to privacy regulations, I cannot disclose the names of individual fans or fan groups," Mourinho replied.

"Are they affiliated with any hooligan organizations?"

"What I can tell you is that we will impose bans where necessary. Additionally, three fan organizations have been identified as extreme groups that seriously disrupted stadium order. Their members are now permanently banned from entering the stadium.

I also want to emphasize one thing. The reason we were able to quickly identify these groups is thanks to the cooperation of one of our own fan organizations—the Blazing Squad. They provided crucial information that allowed us to take action swiftly. Their support has been invaluable in keeping our stadium safe and ensuring that genuine supporters can enjoy matches without fear."

"Manchester City’s long-term goal is to ensure the safety and comfort of our fans when attending matches. We welcome fans who support us to cheer for us, but cannot accept any fans instigating trouble that compromises the safety of others. Thank you, this concludes the press conference."

After finishing, Mourinho folded the document and turned to leave. Reporters called out his name, shouting questions, but he didn’t look back. When it became clear he wouldn’t respond, the room fell into a stunned silence.

"Is he serious?" one muttered.

"City is really going head-to-head with the fans."

"Isn’t that cutting off a major revenue stream?"

Richard had thought it through carefully. Fans entering the stadium meant money for Manchester City, yes—but he couldn’t afford softness. At first, he suspected the Blazing Squad, an old problem resurfacing. But after calling Carl Morran and learning it wasn’t them—and seeing that Carl was ready to mobilize his people responsibly—Richard decided to trust him.

He believed the problem ran deeper. The extreme fan groups—whose members rarely attended every match—were using fandom as a cover for violence. Most supporters, influenced by these groups, could be swept up into chaos. In a tense standoff, even rational people could be driven by the crowd. A single instigator could ignite trouble like wildfire, and if it wasn’t contained immediately, the consequences could spiral out of control.

In the past, the troublemakers had been the Blazing Squad—rowdy, notorious, always at the center of incidents. But after Richard introduced them to legitimate opportunities with funding, many had turned over a new leaf, moving into small businesses and micro-enterprises.

Now, the old problem seemed gone. Or so Richard had hoped.

Lately, though, he had begun to suspect the emergence of a new organization, operating in the shadows, more organized, harder to track, and far more dangerous. He knew it wouldn’t be enough to react after chaos erupted. If this new group were allowed to grow unchecked, the club, the fans, and even the stadium itself could be at risk. He needed to identify them before they struck.

To fix the problem, the root cause had to be addressed. Words alone carried no weight.

So the club banned more than one hundred and two individuals associated with extreme organizations, adding them to Manchester City’s blacklist.

The decision didn’t go unnoticed. Over a hundred angry fans, led by members of the banned groups, gathered outside Maine Road, waving banners and shouting for answers.

Richard remained calm. That evening, however, he, Adam Lewis, and the Greater Manchester Police Commissioner met in secret. Using Adam Lewis’s connections as a lawyer, Richard secured a direct line to the department responsible for fan disturbances.

"What did you want to meet me for? If this is about pleading for the extreme fans, I can’t help you," the commissioner said, sighing helplessly.

Richard didn’t flinch, eyes focused on the documents in front of him. "You’re mistaken. I’m not here to plead for them. Under my seat is a box containing names and details of certain individuals. I want the Greater Manchester Police to maintain order. Turn these people into model citizens. If they refuse, act according to the law. Prisons are full, and the Hall family can fund a new one if necessary—purely for public safety."

The commissioner was caught off guard. After a moment, he straightened and adopted an official tone. "Of course. We’ll do our duty."

"Good. Don’t disappoint us. Let’s see a stable, peaceful Manchester tomorrow."

Richard stood, trench coat over his shoulders, hands in his pockets, and quietly left with Adam Lewis.

After seeing they leave, the commissioner bent down to retrieve the documents. When he opened it, his eyes widened.

Inside lay one hundred thousand pounds, pressed atop the documents.

BANG!

He snapped the lid shut, glanced around to make sure no one had seen, and quietly tucked it under his arm. After a brief hesitation, he slipped out through a side exit.

It wasn’t illegal. Richard Maddox wasn’t bribing him—they were simply ensuring he did his job properly.