Lawlore Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 12th April 2034: Introduction Hi. My name's Law Martin- you might already know that. Perhaps you joined me when I was at the helm of Little Rock, trying to take the Naturals up, chasing Tucson from a position of four points behind, with four games to go, that chase going down to the wire, to the very last game. Or maybe you walked with me as I spent an unexpected, undeserved three weeks of unemployment a few years back, starting at day zero. Three weeks which took me from the despair of being sacked from Los Angeles Conquistadors, one of the richest clubs in these United States, to the helm of Philadelphia Liberty, from California to Pennsylvania. Little would I know that I'd end up back out in the cold after just one year in Philly. I'll be honest, that all seems a long time ago- time marches relentlessly onwards, especially in this great game of ours. The year is 2034- four years removed from that turbulent time at Philadelphia, finishing a lowly tenth in the American Premier League. I wish I could say that since then I'd shown them all how wrong they were for firing me, as if now I were having my revenge, like some kind of evil supervillain. But that'd be a lie. After Philly, it fell apart. Let me catch you up. Dallas Desperadoes took me on, and let me go within three months. A shameful start to the season, a locker room that didn't want to know... by October, I was unemployed, and my name was mud. Labelled a failure at two of the biggest, richest clubs in the country- LA and Dallas- to go with the disappointing tenure at Philly. Nobody wanted to know me- the magic touch was gone. I was down, and I wasn't sure I was ever going to be able to get up. But as I say, that all seems like a long time ago. I'd like to say it was a choice to take a step back, to aim a little lower, but that'd be a lie. Nobody was calling- not in the Premier League, not in the National League. Openings would come and go, and as much as Dusk, my agent, would put my name around for them, nothing came of it. It was a sense of deja vu, a month out of work. Then, finally, the pieces fell into place. Toledo is a city in Ohio with about a quarter of a million people, built around the glass and car industries. In 2030, their team, the Torpedoes (yes, "Toledo Torpedoes"... I know), were languishing in the NSA Championship East- the fourth tier. They were one of these teams who had always bounced up and down between the third and fourth tiers without really troubling anyone. This was a problem. Two years earlier, in 2028, a Taiwanese tycoon, Chan Kuan-yu, bought the club, throwing money into it in an attempt to turn the city into the whole state's football hub- to put not just Toledo on the map, but Ohio itself. As the fourth-biggest city in the state, it seemed an ambitious but achievable goal- none of the Ohioan teams were pulling up trees. Columbus Bulls and Cleveland Jaguars were in the same division, while Cincinnati Riverbandits were only one league up, in the AFL. Even local rivals Detroit, over in Michigan, had been struggling in the ANL and were fighting off an almost inevitable freefall. So I can see the chairman's thinking- if someone was going to rise from the area, why not Toledo? But for the first two years, nothing happened- the team were firmly midtable in the fourth tier, the NSA Championship East. This is where I came in. With no return on his investment, a change was needed, and Kuan-yu threw money at me. Despite my struggles in recent years, I was a big name, a marquee manager- bringing me in was a sign of intent. I was happy for the work- grateful that someone- anyone- was willing to give me an opportunity. I didn't know whether it would work- it had been years since I'd managed at the lower levels, and the chairman had high expectations. It worked. It really, really worked. This season, the 2033-34 season, we kicked off for the first time in our history as a team in the top tier- the American Premier League- off the back of three consecutive promotions. The chairman backed me to bring in players, and while I wasn't willing to pay over the odds, the squad simply got better and better, year on year. If there's one thing I can do, it's spot a player, and on one look at the side, I knew the man the club needed. In 2025, I blew £4.5m on an untested youngster by the name of Matt Jackson, signing him for Premier League Miami Tocos. The problem back then was that he wasn't Premier League ready- he was just a kid, but there were the makings of greatness there. He went out on loan a few times... but then I left Miami to take the LA job, and his career went off the rails. Worse than that, even- he ended up playing in Canada. I mean, come on, CANADA. This was a kid who could, in time, have led his country, instead plying his trade in an uncompetitive league in Toronto. In 2030, that was unacceptable, and for just under £2m and a whole lot of promises, he was a Toledo man, the man around whom I built the club- the rock at the heart of our defence. I suppose without me being in charge, he'd never even consider plying his trade in the fourth tier, but he shared the vision, and we had repaid that faith by travelling far, far beyond that vision. Toledo are a Premier League club, and in this city I can do no wrong. I am a God- they love me here, and I love them. Which almost brings us bang up to date. Almost. The problem, as well I know, is that the Premier League is a very different beast- there is money everywhere. At LA, at Dallas, the bank account I had access to was virtually limitless. In a lower division, Toledo with a £10m kitty were the big boys, able to flash the cash and bring in the best players in the division. But this season, £10m as a budget was looking like a very small amount indeed, when even midtable teams would have four or five times that at their disposal. Some of the bigger clubs were spending twice that amount on one player. So... it's been a hard year. Our defence-first policy has often been described as "damage limitation", but we've done surprisingly well with it- our goal difference is a respectable -15, and we haven't taken any real tonkings. We've lost a lot, sure, but usually we perform with pride in our 1-0 defeats. The problem is that we often spend 88 minutes of every game on the back foot, and goals are very, very hard to come by. If we concede a goal, we're sunk- and we went through a period at the end of 2033 where we took 1 point from 27. At that point, we were rock bottom, and I thought long and hard about whether this was a fight I was willing to continue with. Offers for other positions had begun to be talked about, but I started this job with Toledo- the idea of abandoning them mid-season didn't ever seriously cross my mind, no matter how dark the days. The January window brought a few green shoots. Australian youngster Daniel Patafta has been a remarkable find from our expanded scouting team, flown over from the Australian Institute of Sport and immediately settling the debate of who would fill the left-back role in our five-man defence. Omar Castillo, a lively youngster brought in on loan from Mexican club Atlas, added a new spark to the strike force, finally taking some of the heavy lifting off of Darren Pugh's shoulders after so many others had tried and failed. Our league record for 2034 reads five wins, two draws and seven defeats. We sit 17th, one spot off of bottom, still deeply mired in the inevitable relegation battle, but we're not out of it yet. We're close. There are six games remaining- six games to change our fortunes, to prove that Toledo are not a one-season wonder. Six games to prove that I'm a capable Premier League manager once more. We have no resources, we're out of the cups and being outclassed by virtually every opponent, but in my heart, I can't shake that feeling- we can do this. We CAN do this. Can't we? =============================================== American Premier League Table (12th April 2034) =============================================== POS / TEAM Pl / Pts / GD 13 / Atlanta Vipers 28 / 30 / -12 14 / Charm City Cannons 28 / 30 / -18 15 / Jacksonville Generals 28 / 28 / -10 ----------------------------------------------- 16 / Kansas City Bluejays 28 / 27 / -31 17 / TOLEDO TORPEDOES 28 / 25 / -15 18 / New Orleans Lancers 28 / 24 / -22 =============================================== Another quick dip into my long-running FM12 save with Milo Bloom's American Projects Database, this time with a relegation battle the focus. I seem to do better at keeping stories going when I set myself a definite end-point, so hop on board and let's see just how this plays out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 No worries, I'll take a seat for this journey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawlore Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Saturday, 22nd April 2034 Toledo Torpedoes (17th) vs. Dallas Desperadoes (1st) Sitting in the office, staring at the fixture list, it's hard not to overanalyse the situation- hard not to overthink it. Of the six teams left to play, five of them defeated us in the reverse fixture, earlier in the season in that horrible rough patch around Christmas. One of them, New York Empire, put three past us without reply. We haven't suffered many comprehensive defeats- that was one of the worst. What's more, two of the teams are genuine title contenders, with Dallas sitting top of the table and Chicago third as I write this now. Conventional wisdom marks the magical "safe" points total as being 36- only two teams have ever been relegated with 36 points. But that would mean we'd need eleven points out of eighteen available- that won't happen. That's not a realistic target. And so, you start looking at the teams around you, seeing just who you can suck down into the void. The game against 15th-placed Jacksonville will be a six-pointer, obviously, but it is Charm City, the Baltimore side, which draws my attention- my hope. If we can catch their points tally, our goal difference is better. Five points to make up, plus whatever they get from their own remaining fixtures. But all of the "what-ifs", all of the calculations and permutations are meaningless if we don't do something ourselves. --- "Right, lads, settle down." The boys are in good spirits, at least, taking their time to turn down the stereo system in the locker room. But inside, part of me is glad they're taking their time giving me their attention, because, frankly, I have no idea what I'm going to say to them. Of the remaining six games, this is the one where we're on a hiding to nothing- this is the one where our mistakes will be punished, and- on a bad day- we could be torn apart. Dallas Desperadoes are top, but they're not just top- they're six points clear, with a +41 goal difference. The title is as good as theirs, but they're still in the period when they need to stay focused and get across the line to make it so mathematically. We're barely a bump in the road to the title- they'll be coming to Ohio expecting three points, and they'll probably go home with them without too much hassle. "Right." I know this, the lads know this. In an ideal world, I'd tell them we'd have nothing to lose and just to go for it. But this isn't an ideal world. Somehow, some way, we have to get something out of this game. "Now, boys, we know Dallas- you know everything about them. Every other story about football is about how wonderful Dallas are. You don't need me to tell you what they're capable of." A few murmured nods, particularly from our star keeper, Ghasem Hadadifar. At 32, he's been at the club a long time, but has truly flourished this season. I was wary at the start of the season, unsure if it was a step too far. I was wrong, so wrong- although he's often under immense pressure from the kinds of strike forces he's never faced before, he has made a huge difference. It's not out of line to say that he's won us points on his own from some brave performances- in his first season in the Premier League, history will show that he was one of the first to stand up and be counted. "But we can use that to our advantage. We know them inside out. You can bet they won't have spent half as long thinking about us. Sure, they think they know how we're going to set up, but you all know as well as I do that we've got tricks up our sleeve. You're doing things in training that, sooner or later, will start to take shape on the field- and they won't be prepared for that." It was true. If some of these boys had half the confidence and swagger on match day as they did on the training pitch, we wouldn't be where we were. But intimidation is a strange beast, and Dallas were intimidating. "When we played them before, we surprised them. We got off to a bad start, but we were on our way back, and if things had gone a little differently, we'd have got something out of that game." After going 2-0 down by half-time, we'd come out and pulled one back, setting up a real battle in the second half. In front of 80,000 rabid Texans- most still baying for my own blood- we were behind, but had them on the back foot- right up to the point when Lennard van Gool, our eager but raw young right back, picked up a second booking. With ten men, the battle was over. As talented as van Gool was, most agreed that the £5m we got for him packing him off to Denver in the January window represented a good deal. "This is a different story. This time, they're coming to our turf. There are no 80,000 Texans behind them- just 20,000 of our Torpedophiles crammed into Third Half Field. It's eleven men versus eleven. Nobody will fancy us- but when has anyone ever fancied us? The simple fact is this: if you want to be in this division next year, these are the teams we need to be standing up against." It's hard, standing in front of players, trying to rile them up, saying things that deep down even you know are useless- trying to hide the all-too-obvious futility of it all. I'd spent all season trying to fight the accusations of "damage limitation", but as I went on and on, explaining to each of those trusting faces just what I wanted them to do, I knew in my heart that damage limitation was exactly what this game would amount to. The gulf is vast- too vast, and frankly, I would be perfectly happy to escape with a 0-0. Somehow, I suspect that won't happen. ============================================================= Line-up vs. Dallas Desperadoes (22/04/34) ============================================================= GK | 1. Ghasem HADADIFAR | 9 DL |44. Daniel PATAFTA DCL | 4. Thijs WOUDEN DC | 6. Matt JACKSON (c) DCR | 5. Loic DUBOIS 22 37 21 DR |15. Robert SZELIGA | 8 DMC | 8. Chris SMITH ML |22. Manuel MARTINEZ 44 4 6 5 15 MC |37. Orlando VILCHES MR |21. David SULIMANI 1 | S | 9. Darren PUGH | |-------------------------- | DRLC|29. Matty HOLDEN DL |19. Darryl OROZCO MR |25. Taylor WAGNER S |23. Sandro SEDMAK AMLC|18. Michael POOLE AMLS|14. Marios VENETSANOPOULOS S |52. Omar CASTILLO ============================================================= Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavrenwick Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Wonderful presentation. and loving the title! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawlore Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Sometimes I come to the conclusion that my job would be a lot easier if we were getting spanked, week-in, week-out- if we were letting in five or six on a regular basis. It sounds strange to say it, but it's far easier to rationalise a landslide defeat and put it behind you than the kind of loss we just suffered. You can't hide behind "bad day at the office" as an excuse when, really, it wasn't. And that's the point. We weren't bad against Dallas- we played well, all things considered, and at times- in patches- we were probably matching them. But, as is so often the case, over the course of 90 minutes, they were just outright better than us- that yard quicker to the ball, that moment or two smarter in terms of timing tackles or headers. 2-0 was a fair scoreline- we didn't threaten them particularly much, but the two they did score, both through Jon Warren, were deserved goals. Even the goals themselves were the thinnest of margins- the first a quick reaction volley after a blocked shot that flatfooted the keeper, the second a well-timed burst of pace to meet a near-post cross ahead of Matt Jackson. One in each half- moments that were enough to give what was ultimately a comfortable result. In the last half hour, we took a chance and started throwing people forwards- perhaps Manuel Martinez should've done better after drilling wide- but as we did so, Dallas put Hadadifar under all kinds of pressure, hitting the woodwork twice and forcing a great fingertip stop. The result surprised nobody- Dallas three points closer to the title, we still mired in 17th. No, the much bigger problem of the day was how those around us started to slink away. Jacksonville beat New Orleans to lift them away from the rest of us, and even Kansas City got an unexpected point. That makes our task that little bit harder. I'm not sounding the death knell yet- that was one we were expecting to lose, and we're not down yet. But man, it would've been nice to come away with a point. =============================================== American Premier League Table (12th April 2034) =============================================== POS / TEAM Pl / Pts / GD 13 / Jacksonville Generals 29 / 31 / -9 14 / Atlanta Vipers 29 / 31 / -12 15 / Charm City Cannons 29 / 30 / -19 ----------------------------------------------- 16 / Kansas City Bluejays 29 / 28 / -31 17 / TOLEDO TORPEDOES 29 / 25 / -17 18 / New Orleans Lancers 29 / 24 / -23 =============================================== Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawlore Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Friday, 5th May 2034 Dwelling on the Dallas result will do nobody any good- we went in as underdogs, and came out with a performance described by all the words the media had worn out on us all season. Gutsy. Committed. Full of heart. All words that look like compliments on first glance. All words that, in media speak, were shorthand for "not quite good enough". We've spent the season being treated as underdogs, and so while it's often been no surprise when we've lost, the faint, patronising praise is getting thin. It gets tiring, being treated as if we're some lower-league side in a big cup game against an established team. We're out to prove that we're not here in the Premier League as tourists- this isn't some jolly holiday in the top division for us. And yet... and yet, we're just not doing that. And time is running out. --- "So, come on, Liam- Minneapolis. What don't I know yet?" Liam is Liam Dobson, my assistant. Some heads were turned when I appointed him, a lower-league player who had no previous backroom experience when I brought him in. But from the first meeting, I knew he was the guy- a no-nonsense straight-talker who knew the lower divisions like the back of his hand. He'd been around, and he believed that fitness was the key to everything. The players liked him, they responded to him, and he kept them in shape. "Well, boss, not really a lot to tell. They're a typical Shevchenko team- attack first, defend later. Most of it comes through the guys you know already, Lees and Komljenovic..." Ah, those names took me back a bit. Two young boys when I knew them down in Miami- Nathan Lees came through the youth system as a kid but was mature beyond his years. It was a no-brainer to give him a first-team runout at just 16, and since then he'd gone on to become one of Minneapolis' biggest signings when they splashed out £10m for him. As for Mario Komljenovic, we had a look at him ourselves at the start of the season when he was a free agent- again, he knew me well from the Miami days, a tricky left winger with two good feet and bite in the tackle. Both were good lads, but both were dangerous opponents, and the Lakers boss, Maxym Shevchenko, had been getting good performances out of them. "Shevchenko's already talking about next season, though." They were 10th- not likely to get sucked into the relegation scrap, but also unable to keep up their strong start to the year and just kind of playing out their remaining fixtures. Really, they were exactly the sort of side I wanted to make Toledo into- a dependable mid-table team. "There are points to be taken here, no doubt about it." While I admired his optimism, it's difficult to share it. He was forever trying to push us to attack, but I knew all too well just how much trouble that'd put us in if it led to us conceding. Scoring goals was certainly not proving to be an easy task- "defend first" was the policy which had seen us amass any points at all. "The way I see it, you put Daz (Pugh) and Omar (Castillo) out there with Sean (Bergeron) feeding them, we can nick this. They're no great shakes, and they've got nothing to pl..." A finger up, as he's interrupted by the ring of my mobile. The latest Lily Allen is my ringtone, since you ask. "Rainer, slow down, slow down. Why? Why do you need me down there? What?! Darren?" ****. "Keep him there, I'm on my way." Liam doesn't ask, just gets up and follows me to the training pitch- perhaps the tone in my voice clued him in that this news was bad- very bad. And as I walked across the pitch, I'm begging my eyes to be deceiving me, for there, sitting on the bench is Darren Pugh. Darren Pugh, the Welsh striker enjoying a career resurgence after being left out in the cold at Arsenal. Darren Pugh, the man who is our top scorer with 16 in all competitions- 13 ahead of the next highest player. Darren Pugh, the man who has just landed badly and twisted his ankle, ruling him out for tomorrow at the very least, if not longer. "Bollocks." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtimshady Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I totally love your stories. So glad to have another one to savor! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawlore Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Cheers guys, glad to have you on the journey with us, and glad you're enjoying it slightly more than Toledo are! Saturday, 6th May 2034 Minneapolis Lakers vs. Toledo Torpedoes I'd already been toying with the idea of two strikers, especially since there was nothing at stake for our opponents. Now it seemed I had no choice- Darren Pugh was the only player we had scoring goals on anything like a regular basis. The game was going to have to be about throwing caution to the wind, and attacking. Anything to get a goal, and just hoping Ghasem Hadadifar can keep an unmotivated Lakers side at bay without five men in front of him. Omar Castillo was a given for one of the two striker spots, he had to be. He came through the youth ranks at Mexican side Atlas, and had been there some ten years. But while he'd become a star for their B-team, it hadn't quite happened whenever he tried to step up to the first eleven. Everyone could see his potential but he kept finding himself shunted back to the B-team. Now, at 25, a change of scenery was suggested, to freshen him up- and so he came to us for the second half of the season. Quick and with a strong left foot, he gave us a threat up front- his direct running drew people to him, which created a bit more space for Darren Pugh- space enough for Pugh to start nabbing a few goals. But while it was obvious to see Omar's impact on the team, his strike rate remains disappointing. So, the question is, who's to fill the spot alongside him? Wide open, really. One option was Scotsman Graham Dow, who joined us for £500k at the start of the season. He'd just completed a great season in the Championship with Wolves, averaging a goal every other game, and, if I'm honest, he'd been my great hope for the year. I hadn't really factored Pugh in at all- Graham was the guy I thought was going to do the heavy lifting for team. Some had even compared him with Denis Law, so lethal was his finishing at Molineux. But I don't know whether it's the step up, the change of clubs, the tactics- whatever it is, he just hasn't cut it for us this year- in 13 starts, he's scored two goals. Sandro Sedmak stands behind Door Number 2. A Croatian international, his ability to find and exploit space in a defensive line is as good as I've seen in my career. After being instrumental to us last season, he received a big fat contract for the Premier League challenge... and with that big fat contract, has promptly become lazy, whiny and disinterested. He doesn't like our aggressive, combative approach, and I think that's soured him on the club a bit. But when he's on his game, he's a wizard to watch- I'm still hoping to see some magic from him by the end of the season. Ultimately, though, if anyone's going to start scoring goals and make the most of a partnership with Castillo, the best bet seems to be Werner Bos. An experienced head with a proven track record back home in Holland. He joined us in December at the same time as Omar, leaving FC Twente for £550k, and at that price, he was a bit of a coup. He took a couple of games to get settled in, but his movement, his eye for goal and his skill on the ball suggest he'll be the one most able to take advantage of any space Omar creates. At 32, his legs are just starting to go- that's plain to see- but if we do go down, there's no doubt in my mind he'd still tear a lot of those National League defences apart. He's got a footballing head. So, Castillo and Bos up front, with both Michael Poole and Sean Bergeron- two attack-minded wingers- returning either side of the midfield. Sean had been suspended, while Michael had a bit of a knock which put him on the bench for the Dallas game. Both should hopefully at least give us some creativity, and get the ball into the danger areas- hell, I don't really care who scores, as long as someone does. Look, the bottom line is that Minneapolis are a team that we can take three points from. I'm confident of that. And unlike Dallas, they're exactly the sort of team we need to be beating in this division. This is a golden opportunity to do some catching up- if we're gonna beat anyone in the remaining games we have, Minneapolis Lakers are the lowest-hanging fruit. And if we don't beat them... well, I don't want to think about it. I really don't. ============================================================= Line-up vs. Minneapolis Lakers (06/05/34) ============================================================= GK | 1. Ghasem HADADIFAR | 52 35 DL |44. Daniel PATAFTA DCL | 6. Matt JACKSON (c) DCR | 5. Loic DUBOIS DR |29. Matty HOLDEN 18 37 11 | DMC | 8. Chris SMITH 8 ML |18. Michael POOLE MC |37. Orlando VILCHES 44 6 5 29 MR |11. Sean BERGERON | 1 SCL |52. Omar CASTILLO SCR |35. Werner BOS | |-------------------------- | AMRS|17. Graham DOW DL |19. Darryl OROZCO DC | 4. Thijs WOUDEN MR |25. Taylor WAGNER MAML|22. Manuel MARTINEZ AMLS|14. Marios VENETSANOPOULOS S |23. Sandro SEDMAK ============================================================= Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benspit Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 This is great! Love this fictional US setup; very intriguing! Best of luck with the remaining games! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawlore Posted December 26, 2013 Author Share Posted December 26, 2013 USA TODAY Sunday, 7th May 2034 BORE DRAW IS SORE SCORE FOR LAW Minneapolis Lakers 0-0 Toledo Torpedoes On an afternoon when it could all have been so very different, Toledo coach Law Martin cut a despondent figure at the full-time whistle here in Minneapolis. Hands on hips, eyes to the sky, clearly taking a moment to contemplate what might have been from the preceding 90 minutes. If the Torpedoes are relegated from the APL this season, there is no doubt that this will be one of the results the Englishman will look back at with regret. Minneapolis were, to use Lakers manager Maxym Shevchenko's own words, "disappointing and underwhelming"- and yet, Toledo failed utterly to capitalise on an off-day at Ameriprise Field. Without Darren Pugh in the line-up, Toledo looked toothless- indeed, their best opportunity fell to captain Matt Jackson with more than an hour on the clock, but the centre-back's fierce effort was deflected wide. While the Ohio side kept the ball throughout long periods, Randy Gutierrez in the Minneapolis goal had a very quiet day, thanks in no small part to a calm and committed performance from Thomas Glazer ahead of him. Glazer had little trouble keeping Werner Bos, Omar Castillo and, later, Sandro Sedmak quiet, as Toledo failed miserably to find a convincing final ball. That said, Ghasem Hadadifar wasn't much busier at the other end, in the Toledo goal- with nothing to play for, Minneapolis weren't particularly dangerous, but were more content to spend the whole game soaking up pressure. Brazilian veteran Macula came closest to breaking the deadlock for the Lakers, but his piledriver from midfield was easily held by the Torpedoes keeper. Not exactly a match to be held up as a shining advertisement of this great game of ours, and one that Law Martin is already looking to "move on" from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhorse21 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 It's been a while since I've read one of your stories. I can't recall the other one I read of yours from a few years ago. However, I'm liking the tone of this one. I find myself liking your narrator. I hope you keep writing this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawlore Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 And... we're back. --- Wednesday, 10th May 2034 Toledo Torpedoes (17th) vs. Chicago Boxers (3rd) "Move on", I'd said, but really, that was something much, much easier said than done. The season has two weeks left- we have four games left. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but none of them are six pointers. We've played the teams around us- above us- already, and so we're now left facing sides who have nothing to play for- no hope of creeping into the North American Champions League, no risk of dropping down into the relegation zone. With one exception. Today's exception: Chicago Boxers. Of the four teams at the top of the table, Chicago are the only ones I haven't previously managed, but I know them well. As inconsistent as their recent years had been, anyone who underestimated them would be punished. The Illinois side had become known in recent years by an unofficial nickname- the Brazilian Boxers, simply due to the way in which their increasingly Brazilian team dazzled other sides. Cris. Thiago Paulista. Goncalves. Cezar Bergamin. Santos. Sidnei. The spine of the team represented not just the here and now of a dominant Brazilian national side, but also the future. Lads in their twenties making the rest of the division look positively ordinary. It was a joy to watch as a neutral- and this season, it had clicked. At times, they were completely unplayable. But, as I called the lads together for the pre-match chat, I knew there was a glimmer of light. As a neutral, you want to see the best players playing to their best, I know that. You've paid your money for your ticket, and you want to see these kinds of wonderful, inventive players strutting their stuff. But in this case, I'm not a neutral. And although we were still missing Darren Pugh, it was hard to hide the note of optimism in my voice. A rare note of optimism, I hasten to add. "Lads, if we were ever going to get something out of today, then, I promise you, this is the one time we will. Cris has done his hammy." Cris: Striker. 23 goals in 39 games. Injured. "Goncalves is suspended..." Goncalves: Playmaker. 14 assists this season. Out. "...and so is Bergamin." Cezar Bergamin: Towering, dominant centre-back. £15.5m signing last year. Just picked up his fifth yellow card. "Santos will also probably be saved for the LA game." Santos: Right-back with a 7.36 average for the season- but a booking against us would rule him out of the Boxers next game, against 4th-placed Los Angeles. "We've got four games left, guys, and we need at least five points to even think of surviving. I believe in you- we can get three of those today." And for once, it was true- as they whooped and geed themselves up, boots clattering and fire in their bellies, I truly did believe it. We couldn't ask for more to be in our favour for this one- it would still be a hell of a mission, but the fact is, the mission was far from impossible. ============================================================= Line-up vs. Chicago Boxers (10/05/34) ============================================================= GK | 1. Ghasem HADADIFAR | 52 DL |44. Daniel PATAFTA DCL | 6. Matt JACKSON (c) 22 11 DCR | 5. Loic DUBOIS DR |29. Matty HOLDEN 18 37 | DMC | 8. Chris SMITH 8 AML |22. Manuel MARTINEZ MC |37. Orlando VILCHES 44 6 5 29 MC |18. Michael POOLE AMR |11. Sean BERGERON 1 | S |52. Omar CASTILLO | |-------------------------- | AMRS|17. Graham DOW DL |19. Darryl OROZCO DC | 4. Thijs WOUDEN MR |25. Taylor WAGNER S |35. Werner BOS AMLS|14. Marios VENETSANOPOULOS S |23. Sandro SEDMAK ============================================================= Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Glad you're back with this save Lawlore. Fantastic read. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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