CHAPTER 354: APPLE’S PROBLEM

Tottenham’s coach, Gary Francis, stood on the sidelines, brow furrowed and heart pounding. He watched helplessly as the match slipped further out of reach, the tension thick in the air — a looming sense of crisis closing in.

The once-roaring stands at White Hart Lane — the heart of the Spurs faithful — had fallen into a stunned silence. That kind of fierce, relentless, attacking style — that was supposed to be our football!

87th minute. Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 4 Manchester City.

The goals?

Zidane opened the scoring. Trezeguet followed with a clinical brace. And Henry, ever the showman, added a fourth.

This make Tottenham’s relegation worries only deepened with the crushing 0–4 home defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

Meanwhile, in the away section, Cityzens fans chanted in unison — their voices rising louder than ever.

This season, Manchester City’s fanbase had been growing at a remarkable rate. And it wasn’t just because of their results — it was the way they played. Their lightning-fast counterattacks, fluid movement, and tactical brilliance made them one of the most watchable teams in the league. The frequent live broadcasts of City’s games only amplified their reach.

Many of their stars had become fan favorites among neutrals, too.

Ronaldo. Larsson. Zanetti. Capdevila. Neil Lennon. The newcomer Makelele. And Zidane. These seven core players — the beating heart of City’s attack — had consistently dazzled on the pitch, rapidly boosting their profiles.

With just three minutes left in the match, City launched yet another counterattack.

Spurs had committed players forward, and while their midfield scrambled to form a line around Zidane, the full-backs were tightly marking Zanetti and Capdevila.

Pirlo received the ball, glanced up once, then looked down and delivered a delightful long pass. The ball glided gracefully through the air, sailing over the midfield and dropping near the edge of Spurs’ penalty area.

Cauldwell turned and sprinted, but Larsson had already dashed past him and used his strength to hold him off.

The referee raised his whistle, about to call a foul—but held it back when he saw Pires closing in on the ball.

Pires was thoroughly impressed by Pirlo. As he made his diagonal run to beat the offside trap, Pirlo’s inch-perfect pass arrived at just the right moment. If he’d been a second slower, he would’ve been offside. A second faster, and he’d be chasing the ball instead of receiving it.

At the edge of the box, Pires executed a flawless chest control. Cauldwell rushed in for a diagonal challenge, but Pires halted suddenly, shifted direction, and drove into the box.

Faced with the onrushing goalkeeper, Walker, Pires—who had already squandered two golden opportunities earlier in the match—remained composed.

This time, there was no hesitation.

With his left shoulder dipped and eyes locked on the far post, he took a quick, steadying touch with the inside of his boot. As Walker closed the distance, Pires opened up his body and curled the ball with the inside of his right foot.

The shot arced gracefully, bending away from the Walker’s outstretched gloves and nestling perfectly into the far corner of the net.

White Hart Lane fell into stunned silence.

The Cityzens’ fans were ecstatic, nearly leaping onto the pitch in celebration.

Five goals.

We beat you on your turf—twice.

After scoring, Pires ran straight toward Pirlo, pointing at him with a wide, beaming smile. Pirlo, on his debut, had delivered a perfect assist and his confidence soared.

O’Neill applauded from the sidelines. With the match all but decided, he made two late substitutions to run down the clock.

After the final whistle, he shook hands with Gary Francis. In their first meeting earlier in the season, they had exchanged polite words. Today, Francis’s expression was dark and unreadable. Without a word, they shook hands and parted ways.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

Richard slowly applauded from his seat — three steady claps in appreciation of City’s ruthless performance on the pitch. Then, without a word, he stood and glanced at his sleek watch, its surface reflecting the fading stadium lights.

"Is it time?" he asked quietly, almost to himself.

He didn’t want to leave — not now, not when the team was in such fine form. But duty called.

A moment later, his phone rang. He answered immediately.

"The car’s ready," came the voice on the other end.

Richard exhaled slowly. "Alright. Let’s go."

Tonight, City had dominated. But for Richard, the next battle was already beginning — Apple.

The next day~

Manhattan, New York.

On the 31st floor of the One New York Plaza building, Richard sat on a sleek leather sofa. Across from him, Stuart leaned forward in his seat, a quiet tension hanging in the air. Behind them, floor-to-ceiling windows framed a panoramic view of the East River, its waters glinting under the early afternoon sun.

A soft chime echoed through the room as Stuart’s friend, Andrew, who worked at Goldman Sachs, stepped in. He was calm, composed, and carrying a black folder in one hand. Without a word, he approached the glass coffee table and set the folder down.

"Here’s the company report on Apple that you requested," he said, his voice even.

Richard leaned forward, picking up the folder and flipping through its contents. A few pages in, his brow furrowed.

"Hmm? Legal disputes over patents?" he muttered, scanning the report. "Could their legal battles really have escalated into something that contributed to their collapse?"

Andrew nodded slightly. "Yes. The case dragged on for years. Most of Apple’s claims were thrown out, but the damage was already done. They were basically burning time, money, and morale."

Richard leaned back, thoughtful. "Hmm. How much would it cost to acquire Apple?"

Andrew glanced at Stuart, then back at Richard. "Based on my connections, the current situation at Apple is dire. They need a cash infusion of $150 million—immediately."

Richard nodded slowly, his mind already racing with possibilities.

Before, once the Tottenham clash with Manchester City had concluded—with City thrashing Tottenham 4–0 without mercy—Richard immediately boarded his private jet alongside Stuart, departing London under the cover of night. Their destination: America.

Their mission was clear: to begin exploratory talks on a potential acquisition of Apple Inc.

But now, looking at Apple’s current lineup, Richard frowned.

’Where the heck is Steve Jobs?’

At the same time, Cupertino, California.

At the One Infinite Loop building, Apple CEO Gil Amelio sat in the prime seat on the office sofa, placing a printout of the recently announced company situation on the table in front of him.

"I had a bad feeling," he muttered, "and it’s led to this result."

Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy, facing a period of financial uncertainty and intense competition from rivals like Microsoft. If this continues, it could mark the demise of the Cupertino company.

Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. In its early years, Apple was a pioneer in the personal computer market and responsible for many innovations that shaped the industry.

By the late 1980s, however, Apple was facing increased competition from IBM and Microsoft, both of which had released successful operating systems and computer products. In an effort to compete, Apple made a series of ill-fated business decisions.

In the early 1990s, the company launched a number of new products, including the Newton PDA and the Macintosh LC, which were poorly received by consumers and failed to sell. In addition, Apple’s focus on high-end products—and its refusal to license its software to other companies—severely limited its ability to compete in the growing personal computer market.

To his left, Apple’s current COO, Ian, sat on the other sofa with a stiff expression.

"It was below 6% yesterday," Ian said, "and by the end of the year, expectations are it could drop further, closer to 7% before we close the books. If we lose the lawsuit, it could fall to 8%."

Gil Amelio rubbed his temples in frustration.

According to the latest reports, Apple’s stock performance from 1995 to 1997 was marked by declining share prices and a clear lack of investor confidence. The data also showed AAPL consistently underperforming compared to the Nasdaq 100.

The 58% decline in share price depicted below was the last leg in Apple’s worst peak-to-trough decline ever, which saw about 80% of market value destruction between early 1992 and the end of 1997. The tech-rich Nasdaq index, meanwhile, was up strongly.

"What about the ongoing case?" Amelio asked quietly.

Apple had sued Microsoft, claiming that Windows violated its copyrights by copying the look and feel of the Mac OS. They believed that Microsoft had copied several elements of the Macintosh’s graphical user interface (GUI)—including windows, menus, scroll bars, and the desktop metaphor—when it developed Windows.

Apple had introduced these GUI innovations with the original Macintosh in 1984, and they were considered revolutionary. Microsoft, which had developed software for the Mac (like Excel and Word), later released Windows 1.0 in 1985—a version Apple believed looked suspiciously familiar.

The legal battle dragged on for years, with no clear end in sight.

However, most of Apple’s claims were rejected by the courts, though the dispute over intellectual property and user interface (UI) elements lingered—especially as Microsoft continued releasing new versions of Windows.

Now, with Microsoft aggressively pushing Internet Explorer as part of the Windows operating system—gaining dominance in the emerging web era—and with Windows PCs being significantly cheaper than Apple Macs, often with similar or better specifications, Apple’s stock continued to plummet. The crisis was becoming increasingly imminent.

"Then what about NeXT?"

"..."

Ian was speechless when he heard Amelio bring up NeXT. ’Why? Why can’t you just leave it alone?!’

Because right now, NeXT belonged to Steve Jobs.

Years earlier, Jobs had clashed with then-CEO John Sculley over the company’s direction. Sculley pushed for structure and stability; Jobs demanded bold, aggressive innovation.

Eventually, the Apple board sided with Sculley. Jobs was stripped of all operational power. Feeling isolated and frustrated, Jobs resigned from Apple and went on to found NeXT — a computer company focused on high-end workstations for education and business.

But under Sculley’s leadership, Apple slowly became Microsoft’s punching bag. The company was bleeding innovation and market share. Eventually, Sculley was forced to step down.

Now, Amelio was CEO — and the weight of Apple’s future rested squarely on his shoulders.

He sighed deeply, and almost without thinking, let his inner thoughts slip out.

"Do I really have to let go of the company?" he murmured, his voice barely audible — a mix of frustration, doubt, and reluctant acceptance.