Chairman Lu, the head of the Football Association, is well known in Taiwan's soccer circles for his oft-repeated plans for the 2038 World Cup. However, the self-proclaimed "Englishman" feels that this plan is too conservative, and aspires to bring Taiwan's rise to the top of the soccer world 20 years ahead of schedule. For more than 20 years, since the beginning of this century, foreigners have been coming to the door of the Taiwan Football Association (TFA) to discuss cooperation. The rhetoric of these foreigners has been the same, with much the same points of appeal. However, it is extremely rare to see the kind of off-the-cuff nonsense like that of Peter Trembling during his visit to Taiwan.
Ian McParland (left), Sven Goran Eriksson (center), Peter Trembling (right)
In the summer and fall of that year, a few people took over Nottinghamshire, the perfect interpretation of the meaning of the "letter of the mouth", together to plan a classic scam in the history of English soccer.
Despite their long history, Nottinghamshire have been far less successful than city rivals Nottingham Forest. The team languished in the lower leagues for a long time and was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2009. The Fans Foundation, a group of local fans, took over with 60% of the shares. In the summer after the season ended, the faltering ship was suddenly greeted with superb news when a Munto holding company with close ties to the Kadar royal family came to the door, expressing an interest in acquiring the old team and promising to bring in a large amount of money to help the team rebuild its fortunes and aim for successive promotions to the third tier of the Premier League within the next five years.
Today there are a number of teams linked to the money of the "oil kings", whose extravagance is not loved by all, but in 2009, the money of rich men and foreign royals is in demand. England's Chelsea has been a huge success, and Manchester City has been heavily funded by the royal family of the United Kingdom, a family that has invested so much in the city that it has gone on to win several Premier League titles... Nottinghamshire, hungry for Middle Eastern money, naturally could not resist such a temptation. A large fan-funded foundation eventually agreed to sell the team to Munto Holdings for £1.
When Munto Holdings acquired the rights to run the business, they announced that they would be inviting a number of "stars" and "bright names" to join the team. Soon after, the media was shocked and the fans excited by the news that former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was to take charge of the team. The fourth-tier team was going to be coached by a world-renowned manager, and brought his entire England-era team with him. They followed this up by finalizing the (now defunct) former England captain Sol Campbell to join the club and offering him a salary of £40,000 per week! Mind you, no one in England's fourth tier in 2009 was earning that much per annum. That summer, Notts County Football Club (NCFC) had no less attention in the transfer window than a Premier League side.
Sven-Goran Eriksson is a firm believer in the bona fides of Munto Holdings, while Sol Campbell is skeptical. Despite having scored in the Champions League final three years ago, he was dropped by southern side Portsmouth FC at the age of 34. In a bid to get a big payday, he agreed to join... The club promised to poach more famous names, while the team brought in Danish sensation Kasper Schemeichel.Schemeichel Jr. has a famous father and made his Premier League debut before the age of 20. However, Manchester City opted for Joe Hart and Kasper Schemeichel did not stay. Alexson invited the young but uninspired keeper to join him and the young man had no hesitation in agreeing.
Despite still playing in the fourth tier, with the money and the experience of a strong squad, promotion was not hard to come by and the Premier League seemed to be within reach. Most Notts County Football Club fans thought so that summer.
The whole summer scam started with Russell King, a born conman with a mastery of deception but a lack of foresight. He enriched himself by assuming a false name and only made one quick buck before moving on. He obtained a stake in an investment bank (London First) through deception, claiming to have Bahraini royal money holdings to develop mines in North Korea. After obtaining the stake, he issued false cash collateral certificates, which he used to open "various investment holding companies" with complex and incomprehensible structures, including the operation of the Munto holding company.
