champ 01/02 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 What a shame you decided to end it can you email me all the posts so I can print it off and read it off the computer stapled together? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottleeSV Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 Hi. Sorry to say I do not have any of this on Word or anywhere else. When the forum eventually gets rid of it, it will then become a memory to me. A nice memory, but a memory all the same. Fortunately, I am blessed with a very good memory. I will always remember most of it. ------ Cyril and Lee are brought in to help design the new Luton Town museum, to be built on the mostly unused first floor of the building. An outer staircase is also to be built so visitors don’t have to go through reception and the inner stairwell to get there. Darren remarks that Martin’s achievements over the past four years will probably get him some good space in the museum. He also reflects that, should Luton win a third promotion under Martin's command (the team are currently top of the league with a third of the season to go), he’ll probably go down as their greatest manager of all time. Secretly though, Martin knows that if he is to win a third promotion, he’ll have to make sure he gets the job done this time around because he’s already decided it will be his final season. This is because he and Nicky have decided to go travelling for a couple of years once the last match has been played. This was Nicky’s suggestion, having come on the back as it did of a discussion about holidays. And as much as James desperately wanted to do it, he initially told her they couldn’t because he was completely broke; he basically explained to her that Chantelle completely took him to the cleaners during their divorce settlement, and that he no longer has any assets or savings to his name. Nicky though told him she’s been left over £300,000 by her Grandad (the sum total of the sale of his house plus boats), and that she’s perfectly happy to fund the entire trip. James tells her he can’t let her do that, but Nicky then wins the day by saying that if they’re together long term James will almost certainly be the bigger bread winner and that she’s grateful for the chance to get a head-start on him. Seeing the logic in this - kind of - James agrees to the trip. Both are ecstatic. Both hand their notice in with plenty of the season to go, but Erica is content enough with the decision. She also says she’ll get onto the task of finding a replacement right away. In March, Luton Lightning’s main investors pull out, and the club go bust. The crowds just didn't flock over from the Luton Town ashes as was hoped. Martin simply did too well. (the following paragraph is tentative; I hadn’t decided if I was going to include it) Bear finally tracks Brute down and storms Dilic’s mansion with his merry band of ninjas. James and Nicky just happen to be around there for dinner at the time and suddenly the whole place is very much like Jack Ryan’s house at the end of Patriot Games. Bear has a big fight with Brute, walls get demolished, chandeliers fall down all over the place, and both James and Nicky escape out back. Eventually anyway. Yeah, well, it was a ‘tentative’ subplot, like I said. I was undecided. To be honest, the fifth season plans still had a lot of vacant space left to be filled. If Bear had fought Brute, I envisaged Bear winning but then being considerably out of breath going into his second fight against James and err Nicky (think the final fight of Lethal Weapon 4, and then put Nicky in old man Murtaugh’s shoes, maybe throwing the occasional apple from the side of the room or something). So yeah, Bear and Brute are more than likely, complete goners at the end of Season Five. Another man who suffers a major downfall is Nick McCabe. Although he doesn’t die, he does suffer a horrific double leg fracture a few games before the end of the season. James has nothing to do with it this time; it’s just pure bad luck. And if having his likely summer move to a big club ruined isn’t bad enough (McCabe had been drawing plaudits all season), Chantelle rubs the salt in by immediately cancelling their engagement and kicking him out. At the end of the season, Luton do win promotion to The Championship. They do it at a canter in the end. The team loses only two league games all season, both before Christmas and both at Kenilworth Road. One of them was a ridiculous loss to Norwich where Luton led 1-0 with two minutes left only to lose 1-2. Anyway, the title gets won in the end and James is raised aloft by fans invading the pitch. --------- One more update to go, which covers a tiny bit of time after the season is complete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC1984 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Nice to see Luton doing well in the end, and I always had my suspicions that James and Nicky would get together. Bad luck for the McCabe bloke though, NOT! Will be sad to see this end once the final update comes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown Hacker Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Ooh final update! Very well done on this by the way, I've followed it from the start and although it's a shame that it couldn't run to a natural conclusion maybe you did the right thing in ending it on top Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottleeSV Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 Hi. Here it is then, the concluding part. The final post ever. I feel very emotional right now. Thanks very much to everyone who read. See you all hopefully for a future sequal! I very much enjoyed this for three years and I'll miss the little bubble I got into every time I came to write a post. See some of you around the forums, hopefully. Bye bye! ----- On the first weekend night after the final game of the season, a big private party is held in The Hatters Arms. This is to say goodbye to James and Nicky, who are setting out abroad the following day. Everyone who’s anything of a friend or colleague is invited, including all the reserves and youth team players (who James hardly knows). On the wall, a huge banner says Good luck James and Nicky. James, Nicky, Brenda, Darren, Billy, and Brian, are all squeezed around the same circular table. “I can’t believe that from Monday onwards, me and Darren will be the only original people left” Brenda reflects. “Aw, don’t worry, Brenda” Darren tells her. “We’ll be fine. And hey! Maybe one day I’ll declare my underlying love for you, just like with these two”. “Oh behave!” Just then, Erica walks in the door. It’s the first time anyone has ever seen her in The Hatters Arms. The moment she enters, the music immediately drones to a complete standstill, just like it does whenever Biff enters a cafe/bar in Back to the Future. “Where is Brian Fox?!” Erica asks the pub, looking annoyed. Brian bows his head in despair. He figures this just has to be about the joke he emailed everyone about the naked Muslim. “Here” he says timidly. Erica walks over to him. The whole pub watches her do it. Lots of anxious faces. “What I’ve got to say to you right now is completely unofficial. But mark my words; on Monday it will be become ONE HUNDRED PERCENT official!” “I understand” Brian replies miserably. “We’ve decided you’re going to replace James as manager”. “Eh?!” “Well, it's the board’s opinion there’s no way James is smart enough to have orchestrated all those promotions entirely by himself. We figure there must have been another brain behind it all somewhere. And we’re presuming that someone is you. Therefore, it’s been decided you’re the man we’re going to go with”. Brian looks left and right, hardly able to believe it. “Err okay then. I accept”. “Excellent. Meet me in my office first thing on Monday, and we’ll go from there”. “Okay”. A brief silence ensues “Well, I guess that’s all there is to say then" Erica continues. "Apart from congratulations. So, well, congratulations”. The whole pub cheers. During the chaos, Erica cocks her head in James and Nicky’s direction. “Good luck you two”. “Thanks”. “Thanks, Erica”. Erica then turns around and walks out. Brian meanwhile is completely over the moon. And stunned. “Me, manager of a Championship club?! Hehe. Football, eh? Bloody hell”. He then notices James is sniggering. “What?” James sniggers some more. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” James nods his head. “You b_stard!” Brian grins. He then clambers half over Nicky’s waist to give James some pretend strangulation action. Nicky shrieks in brief surprise and almost spills her drink. “I just can’t believe Erica participated in that” Brenda says. “Well she does have a sense of humour!" James points out. “She just doesn't feel the need to show it as often as Brian feels the need to show his". "Oi!" ------- The following day, it’s time for take-off. For their role in helping save both he and Cassie from the clutches of Bear, Dilic has booked a private jet to take James and Nicky on the first leg of their trip. Their plan is start in New York and then work from there. To their surprise, lots of people turn up on Sunday morning to see them leave. Brenda, Billy, Darren, Katrina, Cyril, Lee, Albie, Prairie, Cassie, plus many more. There are also a hardcore support of about two hundred Luton fans, the word having spread online the previous night as to when and where their saviour would be leaving Luton (possibly to never come back). Also there, in a rare display of decency, is Chantelle. With his daughter. Chantelle gives Nicky a frosty glance at first, but then switches her concentration towards handing Chelsea over to James for one last hug. James cuddles her and tells her he loves her very much, and that by the time she’s a little girl, he’ll be back in the country and ready to be a better dad. Then he says goodbye and hands her back. Chantelle then leaves. As James and Nicky then walk along their line of friends, giving everyone hugs, the Luton fans sing There’s only one James Martin as loud as they can. Just as James and Nicky finally head up the stairs of the plane, one of the Luton fans asks in Darren’s ear who ‘the fit bird’ is. Darren tells him. The Luton fan in question then quickly spreads the word and a jokey chorus of There’s only one Nicky Willacy breaks out. Nicky laughs and puts her hand over her mouth. Then she waves at everyone one last time and hops out of sight. James then waves one last time and the crowd on the runway all roar in appreciation. Then he hops out of sight too. Once Nicky has got over the shock of the takeoff (she’s never flown before in her life), she snuggles up to James and takes her seatbelt off. There are only three other people on the plane; two pilots and a hostess. “Don’t get used to this” James tells her. “After this leg it will be commercial all the way”. “Unless we hire a car to get between cities? Or hitch?” “Yeah. Maybe. Let’s see what happens. No firm plans. I do want to see Central Park before we leave New York though. And the Yankee stadium”. “I want to see the great wall”. James expresses confusion. “What? In New York?” “Yeah”. “What great wall?!” “There’s a wall. Someone told me about it. It’s old and medieval and it goes all the way around the outside of the city" “That’s York, England! Not New York, USA". “Oh”. Cue a brief pause as James shakes his head. “Do you think they called New York New York because there was already a York in England?” Nicky then asks. “I don’t know. That’s actually not a bad question. Let me think about that one a while”. “Okay”. Nicky then begins to drift off to sleep on James’ shoulder. Neither got much sleep the night before. James thinks he'll soon fall asleep himself. Resisting the urge to look out the window, James wonders if they’re out of Luton yet. Then, five minutes later, and convinced they must have at least left Luton by this point (and with it, Bedfordshire), he wonders if they’ve left England yet. ‘All over’ he muses. ‘Completely over. It feels weird’. But in a good way. As he then uses the last of his energy to kiss Nicky’s hair before dropping off to sleep himself, he reflects he’s a very very contented man. ----- The End 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salkster2102 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Congratulations Scott this has been a fantastic effort. Without doubt one of the best stories on the forum and will be in major contention for an award this year. Hope to see you writing again in the future Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC1984 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Agree, very sad to see the end of this story. I hope there will be a sequel at some point, and I hope that at some point I can put my mind to a story and keep at it like you have. Good luck with your next game of Football Manager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lainedil Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Can't believe it's over, mate. Excellent work, this! Cheers and a hundred beers to you, Sir! \m/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown Hacker Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 *clapping* well done sir... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panpardus Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Well done Scott, fantastic story. Was one, if not my favourite story on the forum. Thanks for taking the time to finish it off, much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballmanagerlegend2k8 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Great work mate, definitely my favourite story on here. Sad to see it end! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoff7 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 great story mate gutted its finished ty for writing it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STFCDP1990 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 This was the first story I ever read on here, and it has consistently been one of the best. Thank you for taking the time to write this amazing story, and I hope that you make a comeback soon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patone Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Well done, and what a masterpiece. Thanks for finishing it off, it was a great story all the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceirdiff Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 By far the best story on here, Offy's is the only that ever came close. Shame it had to finish, but looking forward to part II with Brian managing Luton Town Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown Hacker Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 looking forward to part II with Brian managing Luton Town Yes! A million times this... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottleeSV Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Number two will be a lot more about James than Brian. Thanks for all the comments. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Scott a true epic story of this forum, looking forward to the new story when it appears Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoff7 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Number two will be a lot more about James than Brian. awesome cant wait until that lol Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Icepick Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 What a weird thought that this story has finished. It used to be the last thing I did on the internet before going to sleep, lol. What a magnificent story it has been, Scott. Thank you so much for giving me many hours of reading pleasure. I'm giving you a typing ovation. Much respect to you, Sir. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLS Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Great story, shame to see it end. Just thinking, did you say before that once it was over, you'd tell us how it was done in terms of game mechanics etc?... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottleeSV Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Great story, shame to see it end. Just thinking, did you say before that once it was over, you'd tell us how it was done in terms of game mechanics etc?... Ok lol, I can't remember exactly what I said there, but any specific questions, by all means shoot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy61 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Scott Fantastic effort over the three years, loved the whole story. You've got great recognition for what you did(rightly so) and some of the ideas and threads you come up with have been awesome. I've said it to you personally as a Luton fan you have got so much about the club and ground and the place and even (some) people so accurately replicated i'm amazed your not at least from the area. Aside from the story i see Halifax have got a new striker this season who i know will get you up this season. Sedders has done it with Kettering and Fleetwood and is also a top bloke, if we dont get out this year and you boys come up, will gladly show you the haunts you wrote about. Best wishes Shaggy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salkster2102 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Ok lol, I can't remember exactly what I said there, but any specific questions, by all means shoot. What did you do with the part where James himself played? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottleeSV Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Thanks, Shaggy. I'm already having a lot of fun planning a new third person tale. It's given my enthusiasm for football fiction a new lease of life. Just waiting for FM13 now so I can play some results and see how that works out. Then maybe some time after that I can start. Salky, the game results had been played a long time before I came to that subplot, so when it came down to it I simply pretended Martin had played instead of one of the other players (artistic license etc). I seem to remember Buckley being one of the ones to 'lose an appearance'. Can't remember the others. I found that subplot one of the dullest to write, to be honest. It just didn't do much for me. Aaron Ides and Edgar Snowden were the only fictional players, by the way. Ides was actually somebody Ives. Can't remember his first name, but I think he originated from Wolves. Snowden meanwhile was actually Enoch Showumni. I changed his name from the very beginning because I knew I needed a gay striker and I didn't feel comfortable turning a real life person gay. I doubt Showumni would have appreciated that. Incidentally, I was expecting some smart a$$ to go 'Snowden sounds ace! I can't find him on my game though!'. People were kind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirAlex13 Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Many years on, and with the author seemingly long gone, I want to stop at this long-dead thread and say this is one of the best things I've ever read in my life. I hope more people find it. The only part I didn't like was the death of a certain character, who I wish the protagonist would've ended up with. Again, I hope my comment helps people discover this masterpiece all over again, and maybe for the first time. Thank you to the writer, wherever you may be. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Whilst I appreciate the fact that this was a damn good story, please dont bump a thread that has been dead since late 2012. This is one of the reasons I set up the FMS Archives which is stickied towards the top of this forum page. I have now locked this thread Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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