NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Rebirth
Here's the revised passage without the Chinese elements:
Two hours ago, David Parvis was an ordinary young man. He had just been watching the 27th round of Manchester United's home game against Arsenal in the 15-16 Premier League season when everything changed.
But after two hours, he hadn't had time to see the end of the game. Suddenly, David found himself in the year 2001, occupying the body of the young chairman of Notts County, a club in the English Division 2 (the fourth tier of English football at the time).
It was astonishing, to say the least.
More shocking still, the timeline had shifted to the tail end of the 00-01 season. As memories from the original owner of this body flooded his mind, David learned that his new identity came with both opportunities and challenges. His late father had left him a fortune of over ten million pounds and ownership of Notts County, the oldest professional football club in England.
However, this inheritance had its pitfalls. Two or three years ago, Notts County had been taken over with ambitious dreams of reaching the top, but mismanagement left the club financially unstable. Despite the previous chairman's continued investments, the club was burdened with high debts and failed to achieve promotion. In the recently concluded season, the team only managed to finish eighth in the standings, missing out on the playoffs.
David, however, saw this situation differently. In his previous life, he had a passion for football and a fan's dream of running a club, but never expected to actually get the chance. Now, armed with the knowledge of football's future development and the careers of countless players, he realized he had the tools to transform Notts County into a global powerhouse.
"Who will become a world-class star? Who are the hidden gems waiting to be discovered? I know all of it. Isn't that enough to lead Notts County to glory?" David thought, his heart racing.
Fortunately, his starting point wasn't entirely hopeless. Thanks to his father's foresight, the club owned Meadow Lane Stadium outright, having reclaimed it from debtors in the past. However, the club's financial health was still dire. Years of overpaying veterans had left the team saddled with high wages, while performance on the pitch stagnated. Worse, the club still had more than £200,000 in debt, with no clear way to resolve it.
The squad itself was another headache. The roster consisted mostly of aging players who were more interested in collecting paychecks than achieving success. Without intervention, it seemed only a matter of time before the club fell into bankruptcy, taken over by creditors and sold to the highest bidder. If that happened, Notts County would be lost, and David would lose everything.
But David wasn't going to let that happen.
With his unique knowledge of the future and a determination to rewrite the club's history, David vowed to turn Notts County into one of the world's greatest clubs.
The real journey was just beginning.