The Life Of A Would've been Footballer (FM 07 [7.0.2])

[Steve Moore]

Gimnàstic Vs Levante at the Nou Estadil del Nàstic, Tarragona

Quite simply, the biggest game in Levante’s history. A win against Gimnàstic & we would be in Europe. It gonna be quite a night in Valencia, because, with Real Madrid playing Osasuna, there is probably going to only be 1 half of Valencia happy tonight.

I’d been so up for this all week too!
‘We can win this game of football. You know you can win this game of football. They only have 1 decent player, Fernando Morientes. That’s if they can get him away from his Zimmer frame! DO IT & BE HEROES!’

The bell went & out they went, 18 men with our hopes of Europe in their hands:

19. Iván Cuéllar
20. Lee Peltier
13. Mario Tokic
05. Álvaro
14. Ian Harte
08. Lassana Diarra
15. Damiano Tommasi
07. Félix Dja Ettien
18. Chiguy Lucau
06. Emil Hallfreðsson
09. Billy Sharp
SUBS
01. Josu
02. Ulises de la Cruz
04. Ryan Garry
16. Anthony Grant
23. Alexander Baumjohann
10. Oskitz
12. Tino

Kick-off

2nd Minute

ME: ‘FOUL!!! Well done ref.’ ‘Good ball Harty…YES!!!!!!!! COME ON!!!!’
(Harte played a free kick from 40 yards out in the center of the park through the inside right channel where Lucau tucked home from 12 yards out)

18th Minute

ME: ‘Oh go in…AHHHHHHHHHHH.’
(Sharp was gifted the ball by a defender inside the box & he hit the ball straight at the keeper)

29th Minute

ME: ‘Watch him…Watch him in the middle…He’s turned him! OH ********! He let Morientes spin him too easily!
MICK: ‘Do I not like that ****.
(Ball played out to the left hand side, Morientes gets in front of Tokic who was ball watching, 1-1)

31st Minute

ME: ‘PHEW!!!!!!!!!’
*Sprints to edge of the technical area*
ME: ‘Switch back on, FOR HEAVENS SAKE SWITCH BACK ON!’
(Grahn allowed a free shot from 20-yards out, flies well over)

35th Minute

ME: ‘Run at him, Run at him’
MICK: ‘No, cross it...’
ME: ‘OHHHHHHH!’
(Hallfreðsson crosses but Ettien heads miles wide under pressure)

40th Minute

ME: ‘Your away boy…CUT INSIDE…AH…Sharpy’s unmarked…OOOHHHHH!!!’
(Ettien has free rein of the ride side of the pitch, doesn’t cut inside. Drives into box then cuts it back for Sharp who stabs it towards goal where it is turned behind by the keeper)

HALF-TIME

‘You can win this boys, you know can win this if you step it up & just as importantly THEY know you can win this if you step it up. So go out there…& STEP IT UP!!!’

70th Minute

ME: ‘We’re not creating anything; we’re not creating anything! Get warmed up lads…’
MICK: ‘Yep, we ain’t creating **** all & we’re asking for it.’

76th Minute

ME: ‘AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH…Phew!!! I said STEP IT UP, not TONE IT DOWN, JEZ!!!!’
MICK: ‘Yep, asking for it!’
(Corner whipped in & Kiko heads it over for the hosts)
ME: ‘Right Alex, get yourself on, left wing. Also, tell the lads to commit more people up more often.’
(Alexander Baumjohann straight swap with Emil Hallfreðsson. Instructions to push further forward as a team)

78th Minute

ME: ‘Mick, I’m just speechless about that one. I honestly don’t know what to say.’
MICK: ‘Speak for yourself.’
*Stands up & moves into technical area*
MICK: ‘Call that a ******* header. What the hell is that! YOUR WEARING ****** BLACK YOU TWIRP!’
(Goal Kick to Baumjohann, attempts to cushion a header to Tokic. Awful header straight to the opposition striker, 1-on-1 with Cuéllar, & blasts it over)

89th Minute

ME: ‘What a ball…what a ball! Put it away son, PUT IT AWAY SON! OH ****’
(Peltier plays a 40-yard 1st time ball over the top that puts Sharp 1-on-1 with the keeper. Has got to score, blazes miles over)
ME: ‘Right, Bravo, what’s the scores…’
BRAVO: ‘You said you didn’t want to know.’
ME: ‘WELL I DO NOW!’
BRAVO: ‘Well, Mallorca are sunk, they’re losing 3-0 & Madrid are 1 up against Osasuna.’
ME: ‘Granty, get on for Tommasi, straight swap. Tell the lads to play on the counter. A point is good enough.’
(Anthony Grant on for Damiano Tommasi, moving back on the counter attack)

91st Minute

ME: ‘Heavens, these are gonna be a loooonnnggg 4 minutes…Play it Alex…SCORE SHARPY…NNNOOOO’
(4 minutes signaled on 4th official’s board, Baumjohann gets away, flicks it inside to Sharp who blazes it over…again!)

FULL-TIME

ME: ‘Is it over Bravo?’
BRAVO: ‘Yep, it over!’
ME: ‘YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS’
*Scenes of pandemonium everywhere*

*Head over to the away fans*
EVERYONE: ‘UEFA CUP HERE WE COME, UEFA CUP HERE WE COME.’
‘QUE SERA SERA
WE’RE THE BOYS OF LEVANTE
OH BRING ON THE EUROPE NOW
QUE SERA SERA’

 

[treva]

Wow what a season! A great end also with you just scraping through. Fully deserved winning some great games. You are one hell of a manager to make the UEFA cup with Levante. Great work mate, you deserve SOTM...

 

[Steve Moore]

Thanks treva
----------

Back in the dressing room, I broke down in tears. It was the end of a long road, just under 7 years since I tried to kill myself. Here I was, my name being chanted by the Levante fans that refused to leave the ground. Despite the 150 miles they needed to travel home!

The players didn?t have a clue how important I felt it was to me, as I went round the room thanking everybody from the kit man to Bravo & Mick, to be honest, I?m not even sure they knew how important it was to me.

Anyway, next Saturday afternoon, it was party time at the Ciudad Deportiva de Be?ol, to a full house, a great way to end the month & the season.

MICK: ?Do it?
BRAVO: ?Go on?do it mate, call yourself a Welshman, Sing!?
MICK: ?I even gave the P.A. man the music after I dared you on Wednesday night.?
ME: ?Oh sod it! I?ll do it?
*Mick grabs microphone*
MICK: (In Spanish) ?Now I?ve got a little surprise for you! Our esteemed manager is gonna have a little sing-song!?

(Use:thisas a backing track)
ME: ?I was born to love you
With every single beat of my heart
Yes, I was born to take care of you
Every single day...

I was born to love you
With every single beat of my heart
Yes, I was born to take care of you
Every single day of my life

You are the one for me
I am the man for you
You were made for me
You're my ecstasy
If I was given every opportunity
I'd kill for your love

So take a chance with me
Let me romance with you
I'm caught in a dream
And my dream's come true
It's so hard to believe
This is happening to me
An amazing feeling
Comin' through

I was born to love you
With every single beat of my heart
Yes, I was born to take care of you
Every single day of my life

I wanna love you
I love every little thing about you
I wanna love you, love you, love you
Born - to love you
Born - to love you
Yes I was born to love you
Born - to love you
Born - to love you
Every single day - of my life

An amazing feeling
Coming through

I was born to love you
With every single beat of my heart
Yes, I was born to take care of you
Every single day of my life

Yes I was born to love you
Every single day of my life

Go, I love you babe
Yes I was born to love you
I wanna love you, love you, love you
I wanna love you
I get so lonely, lonely, lonely
Yeah, I want to love you
Yeah, give it to me?

MICK: ? Just because you look like Freddie & dance like Freddie, it still doesn?t make you sing like Freddie does it!?
ME: ?Err? True.?

 

[Left_Hander]

Nice. Though we hope you aren't gay like Freddie. (I think he was gay) Great work for you to get into the UEFA Cup! Good luck!

 

[mattfb]

Oh yes! What a thrilling game, I really enjoyed reading that.

UEFA Cup here you come!!

 

[w3lshrugby]

Fantastic story, the best ever if I may say so. The way you go into such detail is immense - far better than any others seen on this site, ever.

 

[Briggsey]

Fantastic! The Uefa Cup is a brilliant achievement, especially with Leavnte. Some shrewd buying and great management has all aculminated down to a historic season!

 

[Steve Moore]

Thanks for the comments everyone
-----------------------------------

I had a week off, so went out a couple of times with Bravo & Mick. I also met up for dinner with Abbey at El Plat; I call that place ‘the King of Paellas’. I was expecting a nice meal and a nice chat with an old mate, well, someone that saved my life that was becoming a good mate. What I wasn’t expecting was the third degree about the recovery of my life!

I had to talk about how I had supposedly got over Laura, how I was coping, my failed relationships over the last year & a half. Then, she has to cheek to some it up like this:

‘Your problem, is that you don’t want to risk getting into a relationship & when you do end up in the situation that has the potential to develop into such, you get worried & bail out.’

‘Oh come off it! When I had that situation with Toni, it took me ages to have the courage to break it off.’

I really couldn’t believe I was getting my recovery ripped apart like this. But, she had an answer to me almost before the words had left my mouth.

‘That was because it was your first female encounter since Laura, you were scared stiff, but also intrigued & when you realised she wasn’t like Laura, you plucked up the courage to get out.’

‘So what you’re saying Abbey is…’

‘What I’m saying is that you’ve got to open out, throw yourself back out there & mainly, realise that there isn’t going to be another Laura, so you have to find someone with different qualities to admire.’

‘Jez, that’s frank! Any suggestions?’ I mentioned as a joke. What I didn’t expect was for her to lean in & try to kiss me.

‘What are you playing at?’

‘Suggesting someone.’ The thing is that she said it in such a beautifully seductive & beautiful way that I almost melted into her hazel eyes. I pulled away.

‘Just listen, I didn’t come here tonight expecting the third degree, even less so a relationship proposal. Give me some time to think about it.’

I was out of a very difficult situation. With her being a particularly busy person, at least I had a lot of time to think about things.

 

[Steve Moore]

June ‘08

It was nice to get back to work after all that & the first thing I did was tell Mathieu Berson he was being transfer listed, as he was not a 1st team regular & £12k a week was draining the finances.

He told it with annoyance in his face, but an acceptance in his tone. It was still a lot better than thinking about the Abbey situation

I then asked more chief scout to look at a couple of Bosman right-backs, he came back saying that 20-year old Jordan Collins, on loan to Rangers from Aston Villa, was the man for him. So I sent Mick out to check him over. He came back saying the same thing.

In the mean time, I invited Ulises de la Cruz, Antoine Sibierski & Álvaro, the Spanish reserve team keeper not the Brazilian center-half, to come & see me when they were free.

- Antoine came to see me 1st & I explained to him that he had done well for me over the time he had been here but, with his age, I couldn’t offer him a new contract.
- Then Álvaro came in, I was about to make him a very happy man, I said that I was exceedingly with his performances for the ‘B’ team & I wanted him in the 1st team squad.
- Finally, Ulises came in & I thanked him immensely for his help whilst here & hoped he enjoyed his retirement. Before delivering my parting shot; ‘You’ll be retired a long time mate!’

Then Jordan Collins signed a new contract with Aston Villa. He would not be joining Levante, Darn It!!!!!!!!

I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I rang Abbey and arranged to meet her next month; goodness knows what I was going to say though. I still haven’t got a clue.

On the 22nd, I then had my interview with the Chairman over next season’s transfer budgets:

DIEGO: ‘I am absolutely thankful of how well you’ve done & I’m willing to up your transfer budget & take your wage budget way above what it is now, despite the deficit you’ve run up now.’
ME: ‘Well, looking at your offer, it’s brilliant. However, I wasn’t expecting you to raise the wage budget so far above what it is now. Could you push that down to £210k per week, upping the transfer budget to £4m?’
DIEGO: ‘I can see that as amicable to the club, deal done.’

With that, I sent the scouts on a European tour for a right back.

 

[mattfb]

Great update mate, quality like all the others! This story owns.

 

[Steve Moore]

July ?08 Part 1

21-year Old Italian, Celestino Marini was the man they came back with. On a free-transfer too, talking about free-transfers, John O?Shea was now a free agent too. So I faxed them both a contract offer.

Marini decided upon Recreativo instead, so I sat there waiting on John O? Shea.
On the 9th, I presented the awards, where Felix Dja Ettien scooped about every award possible. Supporters, Staff & Players? Player of the year all went to him.

My parents sent me an article out the local paper back home as well. It was a really well done piece about how a little bit of the Hatters magic was creating a storm in Spain. Well, that?s what they called it anyway.

Then I got offered the Nigerian job out of nowhere & to be quite honest Africa was not a place I saw myself, so the answer was no. Having said that, it would be one way of getting out of the Abbey situation!

Which reminded me, tonight I had to meet up with her & decide the future of where our relationship was going to go. As if I was ever going to forget, the sheer thought of it brought me out in a cold sweat.

I left work early & then sat at home doing not a lot for over 2 hours, nervously trying to work out what I wanted, what I was going to say. I didn?t really know what I was going to do & could feel myself constantly shaking.

I put Hayley Westenra on my media player to try and calm me down, yet even her beautiful voice couldn?t stop my heart & mind rushing about at 100 miles an hour. Then it got to ?Abide with Me? & I broke down, I started sobbing. The worst thing was that I hadn?t got a clue why. I really was in no state for this was I?

I was sitting in ?La Riua? trying desperately to avoid the issue for as long as possible. However, as I was sitting there, with us both avoiding the discussion we were there to have, I felt myself falling for her beauty.

She really was a beautiful creature, lovely brunette hair, perfectly suited to her face. Hazel eyes that were so beautiful I could look into them forever, excentuated by her stylish glasses. A wonderful hourglass figure that had taken my breath away when she?d walked in & yet, enough of that figure that she was a human being, not a stick insect.

?Stop it Steve, your falling into a hole here!?

?err?that was random Steve.? Damn, I hadn?t just said that out loud had I?

?Sorry, I was a world away, that?s what football management does to you.? Good recovery Steve, I thought, if only I could play a recovery shot that good at golf! I might stand a chance of beating Mick & Bravo one day.

?I wouldn?t know, although you always seemed like you were in a different universe back when we were in Luton.?

?Well, let?s be fair, when you knew me back in Luton, I pretty much was on a different planet.? Right, let?s get down to brass tax here; ?Listen, let?s not skirt round the reason we?re here any longer. The truth is, I?m still very unsure what I want to do & to be honest, I?m still very emotionally unstable in relationship terms. I mean, I cried listening to Hayley Westenra earlier, without having a clue why. The only thing that makes sense to me at the moment is the football. I?m clearly in no state to be in a relationship am I??

?No Steve, this is exactly why you should be actively seeking a relationship to try & help yourself. So you can stop being an emotional wreck, otherwise you will be one for the rest of your life. I understand your instability, I appreciate the difficulties you face in this situation, so who better to help you than me??

Whoa, what on earth could I say to that?

?err?considering the fact you?ve basically just asked me out Abbey, it?s probably the most unromantic thing you could?ve said.?

?Who says it couldn?t be romantic though?? She replied seductively. Her eyes sucking me in with their unbelievable beauty, I was melting into them & the next thing I knew our lips were intertwined in perfect harmony?

 

[treva]

Quality last few updates. The storyline really is becoming a masterpiece. Beautifully written. I have to agree with Rhys (W3lshrugby), it's probably the best story ever produced on PC and yet it involves no pictures! What do you do for a living? Because I think you should seriously think about something to do with writing. I mean this could even be published into a book it's that good. Keep up the amazing work

 

[Steve Moore]

July ’08 Part 2

O’ Shea signed for Everton the next day, it was back to square one. I didn’t care at the time though; I was still in shock over the events of the previous night. Nothing major happened but we talked & arranged what I suppose you could call our first proper date.

I’m still not sure what I want from this or whether I’m doing the right thing. The one thing I think I know is that it’s probably better to find out this way than any other…I think.

Anyway, back to the thing that does make sense, the football & I’d put in a bid for Wigan’s Steven Whittaker, when I got a report saying that John O’ Brien has slipped a disc & would be out for 2 or 3 months.

I also need a striker to back Sharp up, but there isn’t a lot on offer. So I asked Mick to check out a few players though, while I tried to seal the Whittaker deal.

Wigan rejected my initial deal so I enquired over what they would accept & also accepted an offer of just under £1m for Mathieu Berson from Deportivo on the same day.

Big Mick had also taken Bravo with him & got back to me saying he had three options:
- 25 Year Old, Michael Chopra
- 23 Year Old, Dexter Blackstock
- 27 Year Old, Nathan Tyson

I went for Blackstock, called his agent & sent him an offer. Although I sounded out Chopra’s agent as well.

*Phone Rings*
ME: ‘Hello?’
CLARKE: ‘It’s Steve Clarke, Wigan’s manager.’
ME: ‘Oh, Hi Steve, didn’t expect you to ring, I expected you to fax the evaluation over.’
CLARKE: ‘Thought I’d ring you. Down to business, I’d accept £4.9m for Whittaker.’
ME: ‘Jez, that’s a bit steep.’
CLARKE: ‘He’s a good player.’
ME: ‘Yep, I wouldn’t want him otherwise! Still I can’t afford that. Let me see what I can work out & I’ll fax you a revised offer for you to peruse at your own leisure.’

I looked at it & sent him an offer of £4m & 50% sell on clause. Then I got a shock, Chopra wanted to come, under all the conditions I sent his agent. He was so desperate that he’d even rung me himself. Ah! I’d still rather prefer Dexter! Luckily I was able to put him off for a week.

I was right to do so too, 2 days later, Blackstock signed for us. Then I realised QPR were due £1.2m in compensation. I now can’t afford Whittaker. So that was the end of that one. Back to the drawing board, because I still need a Right-back. I started faxing enquiries around like confetti, as well as putting a cheeky £1m bid for someone all three of us know well from our Luton days, Emmerson Boyce.

Then, a couple of days later, Berson agreed a contract with Deportivo & left for £1m & I gave Michael Chopra the bad news that we didn’t want him anymore. He wasn’t best pleased I’ll tell you that!

*Phone Rings*
ME: ‘Hello’
CLARKE: ‘It’s Clarkey again, so if Whittaker’s too much you want my other right back do you? £1.4m please.’
ME: ‘I would love to see ‘Marlene’ again, particularly if I was bossing him about! £1.4m is a steal for that. Agreed.’

Then I went to Italy, for our tour over there, & watching our friendly against Ternana, when Bobby Convey went down under an awful tackle. He’d broken his leg & is probably out until 2009.

 

[Wildwil]

Amazing story mate. What a first season. Keep up the work

 

[Steve Moore]

Amazing story mate. What a first season. Keep up the work

Well, actually it was my third...started with Santander then went to Levante (see 1st few posts) & that was my 2nd season with them, although it was the 1st full season within the story as I only started the story on New Year of that 1st Levante season (see 1st few posts). Just wanted to start the story from a different point from the usual.

Not to worry, glad your enjoying it & even if I can't keep the standard of our football up, I'll do my best to keep the writing standard up.

Thanks