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The premise for this story is unashamedly based upon the novel “The Time Traveller’s Wife” by Audrey Niffennegger. I love reading any books that deal with time-travel and the effects that such activities have upon the characters and events portrayed therein. I highly recommend this novel if you haven’t read it before. (Hopefully that will appease Audrey if she should ever stumble across this thread ).
I also have a long-running CM01/02 game in which I was the Arsenal manager from July 2001 until June 2031. At the end of each season I saved the game under a new name and continued playing – the end result is that I have thirty game-saves and I can reach into any season over that period and look at the details of any of my Arsenal team’s matches.
What I am now hoping to do is to fuse these two different events together so that I can present a story that will go some way into entertaining the readers on this forum. The initial events will probably appear haphazard, but I hope to marry some continuity into the story as it progresses.
Paul was looking forward to the first game of the season at Highbury, although he had some minor worries about how his beloved Arsenal would perform in the upcoming season. The worries were due to the fact that great Arsene Wenger had been lured away to Barcelona in the off-season and a relatively unknown manager in the shape of 35-year-old Nathan Pike had been appointed in his place. Paul knew that Arsenal had the players to take the Premier League title, but it all depended on whether the new man could get the most out of them.
Sandra smiled as she saw Paul walk from the bedroom, having changed his clothes to go to the football. Being the wife of a tragic Gunners fan had its ups and downs, but she always liked the start of a new season when Paul emerged for the first time in his new replica Arsenal jersey and ventured forth with his hopes held high and the team undefeated.
Paul saw Sandra smiling at him and put on an exaggerated catwalk-style gait as he paraded his new attire. “Don’t those tops come in anything other than red-and-white?” she asked her husband. “No – and you ask that question every year”, he replied. Sandra jokingly poked out her tongue at Paul. “Off to Highbury with you”, she said as she reached out and smacked him lightly on the behind. He bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. “See you in a few hours”, he said as he straightened up and headed out the front door.
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At 4.55pm Paul was a happy man. Arsenal had played well and their opponents Leicester had been despatched 4-0 in a display that indicated that new manager Nathan Pike knew what he was doing. Dennis Bergkamp had been imperious, leading the Leicester defence on a merry dance and opening the scoring with a delicate chip after 17 minutes. Thierry Henry had raced cleared twice a few minutes either side of half-time to score almost identical goals with low placed shots past the visiting keeper to make it 3-0. The 4-0 scoreline was achieved when substitute Francis Jeffers nodded home a header from Bergkamp’s pinpoint cross 8 minutes from the end. Paul left Highbury in high spirits and brimming with confidence for the season ahead.
Paul had left the tube station and was walking towards his home when a strange moment occurred. One second he was sauntering down Vicarage Street towards his the turning into Rose Lane – his home street – when the next thing he knew he was stumbling as he crashed into his front gate. Paul shook his head to try and rid the strange feeling of dizziness that had descended upon him. He had been day-dreaming of Arsenal’s win, but surely he hadn’t walked the last 300 yards on automatic pilot. Looking back at where he had came from he saw a large lorry parked across the footpath and partly into a neighbour’s driveway. He had no recollection of stepping onto the road and walking around it. It was an eerie moment and Paul felt a flush of goose-bumps ripple across his back, arms and legs.
Shaking his head again, he tried to shove the feeling to the back of his mind. Concentrating carefully, he opened the front gate and walked up the path. He took out his key and opened the front door to his house. Another weird feeling enveloped him and he was suddenly of the mind that this wasn’t his home. However this thought was quickly eradicated when the familiar voice of Sandra called from the front room “Hi honey, how did they go today?”
August 2001 (at least I believe that to be the case):
Paul enjoyed having time to himself, even when engaged in the most mundane of tasks such as driving himself up to Birmingham to for the midweek match against Aston Villa. He played his favourite CDs on his car’s sound system whilst singing out aloud and passed the time that way. Almost before he knew he was into the outskirts of Birmingham and winding his way towards Villa Park. He left the car in his preferred parking spot and that left him with a 20-minute walk to the stadium. He could already see the top of the stadium over the houses when he was still a couple of streets away and that was when he had another of those dizzy spells. This time he found himself tripping in the gutter in an unfamiliar street and he sat there momentarily whilst trying to regather his thoughts.
“You alright, mate?” said a voice behind him and Paul turned to see a fellow Arsenal fan walking up the street. “Yeah, I just tripped on the gutter”, he replied uneasily. The man held out a hand and Paul took it gratefully and hauled himself to his feet. “Maybe those Brummie gits will fix the roads one day”, said his new companion with a laugh. Paul smiled awkwardly at the good samaritan and adjusted his clothing. Judging by his last comment the man must have noticed his Arsenal shirt earlier and he now pointed at Paul’s top. “I love those retro jerseys – what season’s is that?” Paul looked down at his top and then looked back at his companion. “It’s this season’s”, he answered straightforwardly. The man laughed, more uneasily this time. “Yeah, right, whatever”, he said and turned away from Paul in dismissal before wandering off up the road. Paul looked down at his shirt quizzically, but then he decided it was best to continue on his way. He followed his fellow supporter up the street, although he kept his distance to the rear.
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Inside Villa Park a shock awaited Paul. Both teams wore strips that were different from their official kits and when the ground announcer read out the teams he didn’t recognise one name. Paul sat in a kind of daze as he watched the match. Arsenal’s start was slow and they were one down after 13 minutes when Jamieson (so the digital screen said) nodded Aston Villa in front. It was then 2-0 to the home side after 34 minutes when McAllister (again, according to the digital screen) blasted home a rocket from twenty-five yards out.
At the half-time break Paul just sat in his seat and tried to figure out what was happening. He realised that he hadn’t taken any notice of the people around him, so he suddenly looked around to ask something of someone. There were two Arsenal fans sitting behind him, but before he could ask them a question one of them looked at him and said “I reckon it’s time that Nathan Pike went. He’s had enough time this season to turn the team around and it obviously isn’t working – what do you reckon?” Paul hesitated before answering “It’s only his second game in charge”. The man and his companion both laughed at him. “Just new to the game, are you?” replied the first man. “No, 14th spot on the table after nine rounds is no place for Arsenal, even if the boss has been here for eleven seasons”. Paul turned around again to face the pitch even more confused than before.
In the second half Arsenal staged a revival. A speedy young winger called Gardiner dribbled past three defenders before firing a low shot into the Villa net after 62 minutes to make it 2-1. With 78 minutes on the clock a corner was headed home by the defender Bravo and Arsenal was level at 2-2. Paul suddenly found himself on his feet and cheering the equaliser. As the time ticked away Arsenal grabbed the winner in the 88th minute when Gardiner notched his second by sliding in at the far post to force home a low cross for a 3-2 scoreline.
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As the crowd filed out of Villa Park there was nothing else for Paul to do but follow them. Once he was on the street it made sense (if that was possible in the current situation) for Paul to head towards his car. He travelled the streets that were familiar to him and found his car where he had left it. As he walked toward the driver’s side door he noticed a programme from tonight’s match discarded on the ground. He looked down at it and his eyes suddenly read the date. That couldn’t be true, he thought, and he bent down to pick it up. At that moment the dizziness hit him again and he slumped forward onto the road. He lay there for a moment before easing himself up onto his right elbow. The programme was no longer there, but the date that he had read was quite clear in his mind.
August 2001 (and all is back to normal – hopefully):
Sandra was already in bed when Paul returned from his trip to Birmingham, so the house was in darkness. Stepping into the kitchen Paul turned on the light, made himself a cup of strong black coffee and sat down to ponder what had happened earlier in the evening. It wasn’t possible that he had gone forward in time to October 2012 to watch the Aston Villa v Arsenal match from that time – was it? There had to be a logical answer. Maybe another match had been scheduled at Villa Park in place of the Premier League fixture and he’d attended that game instead. Looking up Paul saw the small television on top of the fridge and realised that there was one way to check. The late night news would on now and they would have the results of this evening’s matches. He went over to the set and turned it on before returning to his seat at the kitchen table.
The main news was still on and Paul was relieved to see that the stories were related to events that he knew were happening in August 2001. After a commercial break, the programme returned with the sports round-up. First up was Aston Villa v Arsenal and Paul felt himself leaning forward in anticipation. The highlights were there in living colour in front of his eyes. Aston Villa took the lead after 7 minutes as Juan Pablo Angel turned home a low cross from Lee Hendrie, but Arsenal equalised 2 minutes later as Robert Pires carved through the Villa defence and rounded the keeper to make it 1-1. Dennis Bergkamp had a goal ruled out for offside after 33 minutes, but the Dutchman scored a legitimate effort in the 57th minute as he ran onto Ray Parlour’s pass and stroked the ball under the advancing keeper to put the Gunners 2-1 in front. With 82 minutes on the clock Mark Delaney handballed a Pires cross to give Arsenal a penalty and Thierry Henry fired home from the spot for a 3-1 win to the visitors.
Paul got up and turned off the television set. That certainly wasn’t the game that he had attended, but it looked like Villa Park because he was sure he recognised the stadium’s features – but that wasn’t possible as he’d certainly been at Villa Park tonight himself. Paul was obviously suffering from some form of delusion he concluded, but he couldn’t figure it out. There was nothing to do now, but to go to bed and try and figure it out in the morning. Paul slipped out of his clothes in the kitchen, turned off the light and made his way into the bedroom. He slid under the covers as quietly as he could, but Sandra stirred and noticed that he was there. “How’d they go?” she asked sleepily. “We won”, he answered honestly enough. “I’m glad”, she mumbled before snuggling up to Paul. Just don’t ask me the score, thought Paul as he lay next to his sleeping wife.
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Paul carried on as though nothing had happened – what else could he do until he figured out what had transpired on Wednesday evening? He went to work on Thursday and Friday as usual and tried to keep up the appearance of normality in his life. People did notice a lack of concentration on his part, but they put it down to his preoccupation with a big project that he was working on. At home Sandra noticed it as well, but she didn’t pry. She knew Paul well enough to know that if something was bothering him, then he would tell her about it in his own time when he was good and ready. Then Saturday came around and it was time for football again. Paul never missed an Arsenal match as long as it was being played in England, so him going down to Southampton was never in question. Sandra did notice a lack of enthusiasm on Paul’s part which was particularly strange as Arsenal had started positively this season with two wins from two matches and his moods very often matched the form of the team.
Paul drove down to the south coast in a tentative mood as he was half-expecting another of the dizzy spells and the delusion of another trip into the future. Southampton had moved to its new St Mary’s Stadium just this season, so he had to find his way to an unfamiliar location, but he found it simply enough. Walking from where he had parked the car he quickly found himself part of a throng of people heading to the match. Nothing untoward happened on the way and Paul soon found himself inside St Mary’s Stadium where he gave admiring glances to the Saints new home. Looking down at his watch Paul saw that the time was 2.55pm and just at that moment both teams emerged from the tunnel. The ground announcer read out the teams and Paul was grateful to hear that it was the players that he knew.
Southampton were determined to give a good showing in only their second official match in their new home stadium and they pushed Arsenal every inch of the way. David Seaman was busy in the Gunners goal, but he wasn’t going to be beaten as he denied Matt Oakley and Marian Pahars in the first half. A Thierry Henry header that found the side-netting was as close as Arsenal came to scoring in the opening period. In the second half the game was closer as both teams struggled for midfield dominance whilst the respective defences were on top of their opposing attackers. The game looked destined for a scoreless draw until the 82nd minute when Claus Lundekvam accidentally stood on the ball and fell, giving possession to Robert Pires who sprinted away and drilled a low shot into the Southampton net under keeper Paul Jones. Arsenal had won 1-0 and there was no denying that they were fortunate in doing so.
Paul left Southampton and drove back to London, feeling more at ease as he did. Everything had been normal today and that made him a lot happier. Sure, he couldn’t explain what had happened the previous Wednesday, but he would come to some understanding eventually he was sure. In the meantime Arsenal had three wins from three matches; they were the leaders of the Premier League and it was still August 2001.
The Time-Travelling Arsenal Fan’s Wife 
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