The day after their return to England, Notts County immediately resumed training. However, David's hopes for a couple of days off before the warm-up match against Manchester City evaporated when an unexpected piece of news disrupted his plans.
The Pozzo family was back.
David had previously rejected their attempt to acquire Notts County outright. The Pozzo family had assumed they could wait for the club to slip into financial despair, hoping to swoop in for a bargain purchase.
But instead of collapsing as the Pozzo family anticipated, Notts County had become one of the most talked-about teams in English football over the summer.
"Their money flow is incomprehensible!" Pozzo allegedly muttered in frustration. "God knows where Notts County is getting so much cash for transfers. Even our coffers couldn't sustain spending like that."
In their eyes, David's bold investments in the transfer market were reckless. To them, Notts County wasn't worth such an expenditure.
Having declared that Notts County was no longer in their sights, the Pozzo family turned to another club in Nottinghamshire—Mansfield Town, a much smaller club in the same league as Notts County.
While Notts County carried a long history and had aspirations of glory, Mansfield had long been an afterthought in English football's lower leagues, barely avoiding relegation the previous season. It lacked glamour, ambition, or even notoriety—but as Pozzo saw it, it was a salvageable project.
By the time David caught wind of the Pozzo family's move, the deal had already been sealed. The previous owner of Mansfield walked away with a £600,000 check, while control of the club shifted to the Italians.
Most Mansfield fans reacted indifferently to the change in leadership. For a club accustomed to the monotony of lower-league obscurity, any change seemed potentially positive. After all, the Pozzo family were veteran football club owners and the proud proprietors of Serie A's Udinese. If Pozzo brought even half the success he'd had in Italy to Mansfield, this could be a turning point for them.
Pozzo's first move was to stabilize Mansfield's finances, paying off debts and investing in improving training facilities.
The second move, however, sent shockwaves through English football.
Pozzo announced a comprehensive partnership between Mansfield and Udinese, forging a connection that extended from youth training to player exchanges. As part of the deal, 14 Udinese players—pulled from their reserve team and youth system—were sent to Mansfield on loan.
This blatant maneuver exploited a loophole in the FA's regulations. While English clubs were limited to five domestic loan players, no such restriction applied to loans from clubs within the EU. The floodgates opened.
Suddenly, Mansfield had gone from a struggling League Two outfit to a team boosted by Serie A-caliber reserves. It was as if they'd skipped years of development overnight.
While Mansfield celebrated this unexpected windfall, the rest of the English League Two erupted in outrage.
"This shouldn't even be legal!" one club chairman expressed angrily.
Other clubs filed formal protests with the FA. Their argument was simple: if Pozzo's actions were allowed to stand, there was no point in competing. Mansfield had essentially secured an unfair upgrade in talent, bypassing natural development through spending power and strategic shrewdness.
Serie A's global reputation added fuel to the fire. Even Udinese's youth and reserve players were stronger than most full first teams in the lower divisions of English football. With so much pre-existing chemistry, the need for team cohesion was minimized—turning Mansfield, almost overnight, into a near-certainty for promotion contention.
David, watching from the sidelines, wasn't surprised. In his previous life, Pozzo had played a similarly disruptive hand when he eventually took over Watford in the Championship. That saga led directly to rule changes aimed at curtailing such exploits.
But at this moment, the FA was overwhelmed. This was a challenge they hadn't seen before, and their sluggish response allowed Pozzo's plan to unfold unabated.
For David, the scene carried an air of poetic justice. He hadn't forgotten Pozzo's condescending attitude during their earlier attempt to acquire Notts County. The insulting offer, the dismissive attitude—it was all fresh in his mind.
Watching the chaos Pozzo's takeover sparked, David smiled coldly.
"You thought you'd drag us down," he thought quietly, "but now you've picked Mansfield. Let's see how this one plays out."
From David's perspective, the ramifications for Notts County were minimal. Mansfield had become a rival in League Two, particularly given their shared Nottinghamshire roots. But in David's mind, Notts County was still the superior club, and promotion was an inevitability.
The perfect outcome? Mansfield failing to secure promotion even with the added benefit of Pozzo's maneuvering.
The rules for League Two promotion were simple:
- Top Two Teams: Automatic promotion to League One.
- Third to Sixth Place: Face off in the playoffs for the final promotion spot.
Notts County held firm ambitions of taking one of the automatic spots—and frankly, David doubted any team, including Mansfield, could realistically challenge them.
Across the league, several strong sides were also vying for promotion:
- Reading had narrowly missed promotion in the previous playoffs and reshaped their squad for a stronger push.
- Stoke City also reached the playoffs last season and, despite selling a few key players, remained competitive.
- Brighton, a newly-relegated team, dominated the English League structure previously and showed promise of becoming a dark horse.
Throw in clubs like Wigan and Bournemouth, and promotion was anything but guaranteed for the Pozzo-run Mansfield.
David spent his evening mentally preparing for the season. Crushing Mansfield on the pitch—and enjoying the spoils of victory over their shared city—was now part of his vision.
Meanwhile, David faced another challenge: recruiting a CEO for Notts County.
Head-hunters had recommended several candidates, many of whom had excelled in other industries. But none seemed to fully grasp the specific demands of football club management.
"Should I start poaching from other clubs?" David wondered wearily.
The issue was a double-edged sword. While Notts County's ambitions were bold, their status as a lower-league club made it difficult to attract elite-level executives.
For now, the search would have to wait.
Notts County faced Manchester City in their next match and, once again, lost.
David took the result in stride. The previous draw against Juventus had been an exceptional performance, and he knew the players still needed time to fully embrace Low's systems.
The new season loomed on the horizon, filled with unknowns and opportunities. As David turned his focus to the big picture, one chant rang clearly in his mind:
Onward, Notts County.