Manchester City didn’t even have the chance to celebrate their final playoff victory before shocking news left fans, staff, and even Richard himself shocked.
Former Manchester City chairman Peter Swales dies of a heart attack at 63!
Richard immediately and unilaterally canceled all planned parades, celebrations, and victory events related to City’s promotion. There would be no open-top buses, no fireworks, no party atmosphere. Instead, he declared an official period of mourning across the club.
"This isn’t the time to celebrate," Richard said firmly as he immediately called an emergency meeting with Robertson and his staff. "The celebration can wait—for now, we show respect. Make sure the players understand."
Thankfully, this year’s European Championship meant that many players—such as Henrik Larsson, Jackie McNamara, Robbie Savage, Theodoros Zagorakis, Steve Finnan, and others—had already departed to join their national teams for pre-tournament preparations.
Of course, not everyone was called up. A few players, like Rio Ferdinand and Jens Lehmann, were left behind—clearly devastated by the omission.
’In November 1973, he promised Manchester City fans the moon on a stick. Less than five months later, that plan was shelved—the moon stayed where it was, and the stick had to be wrapped and put away.’
’On May 1996, the very day Manchester City finally set foot back in the Premier League, their former chairman passed away.’
Richard arrived at Wythenshawe Hospital just after dawn, wearing a plain black coat.
No entourage. No fanfare. Just quiet respect. The media hadn’t caught wind of it yet—and he preferred it that way.
At the front desk, he quietly asked to see Peter Swales’ family. He was led to a private room where they were huddled in grief—Swales’ wife, three daughters, and a few longtime friends like Umbro’s John Humphreys, glass tycoon Joe Smith, Ian Niven, Chris Muir, and the Cussons heir, Simon Cussons.
"Congratulations on getting your ticket back to the Premier League," Cussons said as he exchanged hugs with Richard.
"Thank you—and congratulations to you as well on the grand opening of your new factory in Thailand."
Both men were undeniably the wealthiest figures in the room—and everyone knew it. Their presence carried weight, not just because of their fortunes, but because of what they represented, so people naturally gave them space first.
Later, the group was led to a small, cold room.
Richard stood in silence. He looked at the man who, for all his flaws and failings, had carried the weight of City for two turbulent decades. Swales had been mocked, blamed, even vilified—but he had loved the club in his own way.
Richard whispered to himself, ’You didn’t always get it right… but you tried. And today, City came home. I hope you saw it.’
Done with their quiet farewell, they turned their attention toward Swales’ family.
Each offered heartfelt condolences, taking time to sit with them, listen, and provide support.
"How are you all doing? With Peter no longer around, do you need any help?" Richard asked gently.
As far as he knew, Swales’ eldest daughter had just graduated from university. If they needed help, Richard was ready to offer it.
"Thank you... thank you very much," Swales’ wife said softly, trying to express her gratitude—but Richard gently held her hand first.
As he walked out of the hospital, the weight of the morning stayed with him. But life, as always, moved forward.
Richard called Barclays’ Taylor Smith, asking him to consider Swales’ daughter for a position—anything that might offer stability in the days to come. Since she was a recent accounting graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University, a career in banking was the natural path forward.
Richard had arrived alone, but not long after, Miss Heysen arrived on her own as well. They quietly agreed to return to Maine Road together. As Richard waited for her outside the hospital, the sun had begun to rise—and with it, the press.
Their attention quickly turned to Richard Maddox. This time, Richard didn’t shy away from them.
"Say what you want about Peter Swales—good or bad—he was still our chairman for a good twenty years. And although he walked a fine line between good and bad decisions, he could have been our savior. In the end, he became more of a target for our inability to produce success," Richard said, facing the press.
Swales eventually gave in to the pressure and stepped down. But the whole situation remains a stain on City’s history. Stories of death threats against Swales and his family were widely circulated—and if true, they were certainly a step too far. Whatever the truth, the ex-chairman stepped aside, and in 1992, a new one stepped in.
After spotting Miss Heysen and John Humphreys walking together, Richard turned back to the reporters.
"I understand you want to ask more, but let’s keep it simple for today, shall we? There’s a grieving family inside, and this is still a hospital. We have to respect people," he said, before stepping away and joining Miss Heysen and Humphreys in the waiting car.
And with that, he left behind a bittersweet morning—and went back to Maine Road.
Inside the car, Richard shifted instantly into work mode.
"What about the rooftop? Is it possible to finish before the Premier League starts?"
"The Arup Group said building a roof based on your original design is nearly impossible, even with extra manpower. So, I decided to go with the simplest rooftop design to make construction easier. Still, we’ll need additional workers, and it will probably cost more."
Richard nodded, unfazed. "Good job. As long as the roof is finished before the season begins, everything else can be discussed. What about the pre-season? Do we have any another offers?"
For this season, City will not be going on a pre-season tour abroad or otherwise, because there are already offers from Everton, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham United.
"Arsenal submitted an offer for a match on July 28," she added, handing Richard the folder containing the details.
"Arsenal?"
Curious, Richard opened the folder and skimmed through the proposal—only to pause, confused.
’Why is it still Bruce Rioch? Shouldn’t it be Arsène Wenger by now?’
He frowned, clearly puzzled by the outdated information, but after a moment of thought, he nodded.
"Alright. Go ahead and confirm it. Let’s make it official."
The more matches City plays against Premier League teams, the better it will be for preparing them for the upcoming season.
After that, their discussion turned to sponsorships and everything related to it—broadcast rights, branding opportunities, and commercial visibility.
In the English First Division, Manchester City didn’t have much recognition, and the sponsorship fees were pitifully low. However, with Sky Sports’ huge success in broadcasting the Premier League, the brand value of the league quickly became apparent.
Now that City has been promoted to the Premier League, the sponsorship fees may not skyrocket immediately, but every bit counts—after all, money is money, and you can never have too much of it.
Broadcasting fees are usually dominated by the top teams, as it’s typically their matches—like those of Manchester United, Newcastle, Arsenal, and Liverpool—that are broadcast most frequently. The rest often have to scramble for attention and settle for a smaller share of the spotlight.
In the coming months, the club will begin a new round of sponsorship recruitment for stadium advertising. Richard plans to assign this task to Miss Heysen, as it naturally falls under the responsibilities of the club’s CEO.
"Brother—our current main sponsor—also got in touch. They’re looking to extend their sponsorship deal for another two years."
Unlike in previous seasons, when City had to scramble to find sponsors, now every one of them was practically extending a hand first—racing to secure a deal even before City had officially clinched promotion. Such is the allure of the Premier League.
"What are they offering?"
"If we secure promotion to the Premier League, they’re prepared to pay £3 million per year."
"How much are they paying us this season?"
"£2.5 million."
He shook his head slowly. "That’s not enough of a jump. If we make it to the Premier League, our visibility will explode. Do you know how many times our jersey sales this season have outstripped last year’s? And what about next year? Just Henrik, Ronaldo, Cafu, and Roberto alone have already pushed sales to thirteen times the previous figures—and that’s not even counting Henry, who’s suddenly caught fire in these last two matches."
"Many of our players come from different countries and have immense potential. They’re likely to become key members of their national teams and shine on the biggest stage. Ask them to double it—£5 million a year. If they want to stay on the front of the shirt while we’re on the big stage, the deal has to reflect that."
Miss Heysen jotted down a note, then gave a small, approving nod. "Understood. I’ll take it back to them. With our trajectory, I doubt they’ll walk away."
Richard nodded in satisfaction. "Anything else I need to know?"
Miss Heysen thought for a moment before replying briefly, "Probably. Since we’ll be competing in the Premier League starting tomorrow, you might be interested in some recent developments."
Richard immediately leaned in, curious.
First, FIFA now mandates licensing for all football agents involved in transfers. The Premier League also announced a change to matchday squads—teams can now name five substitutes instead of three, although only three can actually be used during a match.
Second, Ruud Gullit has accepted Chelsea’s offer to become their new player-manager, replacing Glenn Hoddle. Gullit is set to become the youngest manager in the Premier League and one of the first foreign managers in the English game.
And third, Manchester United made history by becoming the first English team to complete the domestic ’double’ two years in a row. A late goal from Eric Cantona gave them a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup final.
"And fourth... please take a look at this," said Miss Heysen, already holding a newspaper in her hand. When Richard saw the headline, he almost cursed.
With the season drawing to a close, all eyes were on the Premier League. The question on everyone’s lips was whether Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United or Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United would claim the title.
In the end, it was Manchester United who lifted the trophy.
But the celebrations were tempered by media scrutiny. After Eric Cantona’s ban, United stumbled at crucial moments—losing at Anfield was one thing, but failing to win against Leeds, Spurs, or even a mediocre Chelsea side—without scoring—brought even more attention to the struggles of United’s attacking lineup. Searᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Despite leading the Premier League in goals, much of United’s tally came from matches against smaller clubs that relied heavily on parking the bus, where they scored 11 goals across just two games.
As for why Richard cursed, it was because when Ferguson was repeatedly questioned about how to fix the attack—especially its weaknesses in crucial matches—he mentioned a familiar name to the media: Henrik Larsson.
First Solskjær, and now they want Larsson?
Richard felt a headache coming on.
It seemed they needed to brace themselves for whatever was about to happen in the next few days.