Chapter 4

In the following days, Wan Sheng prepared to start looking for a job.

His initial goal was not high; he only wanted to find a job as a youth coach at a professional club. Coaching a junior team would also be acceptable, or he could work as an assistant to a well-known coach.

He constantly browsed job advertisements from various clubs.

There were the Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham clubs in London, and the Bolton and Manchester City clubs in the Manchester area. These well-known clubs were all looking to hire experienced coaches to develop their youth teams and cultivate their own young stars.

In addition to these clubs, there were also some lesser-known or completely unknown small clubs that had job advertisements, but Wan Sheng only glanced at them. In his view, with his brother's impressive resume—proficient in seven languages, holding various coaching certificates, and having coaching experience at Manchester United—he should aim higher. Entering a large club was better than a small one, and a good start was crucial for success.

He submitted his resume to the recruitment emails of various large clubs.

Then came the waiting.

The efficiency of these large clubs was quite good, and he soon received replies. Fulham and Bolton regretfully declined him, but Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City invited him for interviews.

This was a good start.

After receiving the interview notifications, Wan Sheng first went to Manchester City.

Manchester City and Manchester United were arch-rivals, both located in Manchester. In terms of distance, Wan Sheng's residence was just two blocks closer to Manchester City.

At the Etihad Stadium, Wan Sheng met with Manchester City's youth director, Malwood.

Malwood carefully reviewed Wan Sheng's resume again, then looked up with surprise, his voice tinged with astonishment, "You have coaching experience with Manchester United's youth team?"

Wan Sheng nodded.

Although he had only coached for a week, and it was just the Manchester United U-12 team, it still counted as coaching experience at Manchester United, which was quite impressive for a newcomer in the coaching world.

It was normal for Malwood not to know.

This indicated that he had not thoroughly reviewed his resume before, and also that a 'temporary' coach at Manchester United's youth team was not likely to attract much attention from their arch-rivals, Manchester City.

Malwood became interested, "Could you tell me why you left Manchester United? I'll be straightforward. A position as a youth coach at Manchester United should be very attractive to a young person like you who wants to become a professional coach, but you only worked there for a week."

Wan Sheng thought for a moment and then said sincerely, "I exposed the privacy of Manchester United's youth director, McGinnis." He shrugged, "You might have heard the news a few days ago, about McGinnis using his position to promote a female employee..."

"Was that you?" Malwood asked with a smile.

"Yes. I didn't mean to, but because of that, he fired me."

"So, you were seeking revenge?"

Wan Sheng hesitated for a moment but ultimately nodded honestly. He couldn't think of any other reason to explain it, and it didn't have much to do with the interview.

Malwood smiled and, upon hearing Wan Sheng's answer, walked over and patted his shoulder affectionately, "Well done, young man! As Manchester United's arch-rivals, everyone at Manchester City loves to hear bad news about Manchester United. If everyone knew it was you, you would be very popular."

Wan Sheng was taken aback but then happily confirmed, "So, I passed?"

Malwood thought for a moment but ultimately shook his head.

"You did well, young man! I have a good impression of you, but Manchester City is no less than Manchester United. We won't accept someone who has been fired by Manchester United." Malwood regretfully asked, "Can you understand?"

"Does that mean you are worse than Manchester United?"

Malwood walked back to his desk and sat down, "If you can understand, that's good. So, I'm sorry, I hope you can find a good job elsewhere."

Wan Sheng was somewhat reluctant but could only say, "Alright then."

With that, he turned and left.

...

After leaving the Etihad Stadium, Wan Sheng's mood was still quite good. It was clear that Malwood had a good impression of him, and the reason for rejecting him was based on the club's considerations. This indicated that he could find a coaching job, just not at Manchester City.

This gave Wan Sheng a lot of confidence.

His next destination was London.

London, the capital of the UK, was also a city of football, with over a dozen professional clubs of various sizes. Tottenham Hotspur was one of the more famous ones, located in North London and a fierce rival to Arsenal, also in North London.

Wan Sheng's destination was Tottenham Hotspur's training ground.

Unlike other famous English teams, Tottenham Hotspur's training ground had no name and was not well-known. Wan Sheng searched for a long time and asked many people before finally finding it. By the time he entered the training ground, it was already past four in the afternoon.

But he didn't expect to hear this.

"An East Asian? And so young?"

Tottenham Hotspur's youth team head coach, Alex Inglethorpe, didn't even bother to take the resume Wan Sheng handed him. He simply said, "We need experienced coaches. You should try other clubs."

Wan Sheng felt a surge of anger but managed to suppress it.

He handed over the resume again, confidently saying, "I have coaching experience with Manchester United's youth team. I hope you will carefully review my resume before making a decision."

Inglethorpe just waved his hand and pushed the resume away.

"I don't think I need to. I don't believe a young East Asian can help me in football. So, sorry."

He made a 'please' gesture.

Upon hearing this, Wan Sheng knew he had no chance of working at Tottenham Hotspur. The words of the youth team head coach were almost identical to what McGinnis had said to him. They looked down on Asian football and thought he was too young.

There was no point in trying to reason with someone with such extreme views.

He didn't expect this outcome.

Originally, when he left Manchester City the day before, Wan Sheng was very confident. But now, hearing Inglethorpe's words, he understood why his brother had been unable to find a coaching job for two months.

It wasn't a matter of ability, but because he was Asian and too young, these clubs wouldn't even give him a chance.

With this failed experience, Wan Sheng was mentally prepared for what was to come.

...

Cheltenham Town FC.

"I'm sorry, you are too young."

"At your age, you should be playing football, not coaching. I don't think you meet our requirements for a youth team coach."

...

Crystal Palace FC.

"You coached at Manchester United? Proficient in seven languages? Only twenty-five years old? Ha ha... I've never seen such a ridiculous resume."

"I can prove it."

"No, young man, I don't want to know if it's true or not. You can leave."

...

Nottingham Forest FC.

"You say you coached Manchester United's youth team?"

"You don't believe me?"

"No, I'm not accusing you of lying. I'm saying that the youth team and the junior team are different. Our youth team has many promising players, and with your experience, you are not qualified to be the head coach."

...

...

Wan Sheng visited three clubs in a week, but was always rejected for various reasons.

He had just left Nottingham Forest.

Thinking about the interview, Wan Sheng felt a bit helpless. The other party was right; they needed a head coach for the youth team, not a twenty-five-year-old young man. For him, the position of head coach of the youth team was too high.

He wasn't qualified yet.

"It seems I aimed too high," Wan Sheng said with a bitter smile.

Over the past two weeks, he had a mindset of "rather fail than miss out." Whenever he saw a football club looking for a coach, he would submit his resume without even checking the position. In the end, he didn't miss out, but the result was repeated failures.

At first, Wan Sheng would feel angry and frustrated, but now he was somewhat numb.

When failure becomes a habit, it doesn't matter anymore.

If this place doesn't want me, there will be another place that does!

Wan Sheng shrugged and bought a newspaper on the street to pass the time. It was today's Midlands News, a local newspaper in the Midlands region. A newspaper cost only fifty pence, but he felt a bit guilty, as he now had to be frugal to the point of counting every pound.

He thought about finding a part-time job.

Wan Sheng opened the newspaper, flipped through a few pages, and finally found the classifieds section. In the job listings, he quickly spotted a football-related advertisement.

"Derby County FC is seeking a U-16 Youth B Team coach. Salary to be discussed."

Derby County?

Wan Sheng was not unfamiliar with this name. He had once followed this team, which was a strong team in the Championship. After being relegated from the Premier League at the beginning of the century, they had been in the second-tier league for over a decade without change.

Later, because Derby County remained unchanged for so long, Wan Sheng stopped paying attention.

Who would have thought he would see this name again?

Was this fate?

Wan Sheng shook his head. Whether it was fate or not, he didn't know. The places he had gone to before were all clubs he knew or even followed, but the results were all failures.

But with the mindset of "rather fail than miss out," Wan Sheng decided to go and check it out. After all, Derby County was not far from Nottingham.

Twenty kilometers, a thirty-minute drive.