Chapter One: The Farewell Letter

His agent swore for a full minute and hung up, promising to speak when Lin had slept. Lin did not wait. He turned his dining table into an office. Accounts, local reports, supporters' forums, and court notices covered his screen. Fourteen clubs became five by two in the morning. At dawn, one remained. Greyport Athletic. Ninth-tier North Coast Premier League. Seventeenth last season. Home ground: Old Dock Stadium, capacity 3,100, average attendance 407. Eleven weeks of unpaid wages, £110,000 in tax arrears, overdue electricity, and structural defects in the main stand. Owner Harold Pike offered every share for one pound, provided the buyer assumed the debts and proved £200,000 in operating capacity by Friday.