Mike..

A quick flick through the papers, as he arrived at the ground, told Ed that Steve Bruce had taken over at Old Trafford – it was an interesting appointment, and he wasn’t too surprised – Bruce obviously knew the club but Ed wasn’t convinced that the big man was the right one for the big stage – only time would tell of course.

Following the Rouen result things had shown all the signs that Ed had hoped for in training, the performance of the midfield had been stellar and he’d worried that it might have been one of those ‘one off’ occasions – where a change just confused the opposition. On the practise pitch though, Cami continued to show an enthusiasm for his new role as lynchpin. With the visit of Sète – the table toppers – coming up fast he’d decided that their next match was the decider, get something and they’d be up, get beaten and the chances were that the promotion push would be over.

There was just one problem with that… with Tchami, Ba, Bédani and Gardan all suspended, and Bonnel injured, he was back into the realms of forced line-ups. It didn’t seem to matter though, Cami was relishing his freedom in the middle of the park, and he’d got wind of the fact that the press were tipping him for all sorts of National Division awards – clearly he wanted them. Either side of half time the playmaker blasted the ball into the net from the edge of the area, and he kept laying on delightful passes from all angles, eventually setting up Sartolou for Pau’s third. For a team at the top of the table Sète found themselves humbled and they simply couldn’t produce a result.

If Ed had expected it to be all over though, he was wrong. Rarely in his playing days had he seen a table so tight, so late in the season – five teams were separated by just two points and in a weeks time the schedule would include 3rd vs. 4th, and 5th vs. 6th. He had to accept that the league was going right down to the wire.

Mike..

“Ah, come on in Monsieur Allen” Jacques Le Coadou ushered Ed into his office, he looked a worried man “thank you for taking the time out to see me, obviously things are very busy for you at the moment”

Ed didn’t want to contradict the chairman, but as far as he was concerned things were far from busy, his work for the season was all but done. The team were well trained, they knew what lay ahead, and if things went their way then promotion was looming large. If not, then no-one would be too concerned in the long run.

Of course, after the season they’d put together, there would be a feeling of disappointment but the summer would see them back in training for the new season, and they’d have a great story to look back on. Nobody that Ed had spoken to had ever expressed a view that promotion was a genuine expectation.

“What can I do for you sir?” he asked

“Please Edgar, when we’re alone it’s Jacques, as for what you can do for me – probably very little. I just needed you to know that I’m worried Edgar, things are moving too fast. What if we get promoted? We can’t cope”

Well, this was certainly a turn-up, a chairman worried that his club was doing too well, a chairman who, it seemed, feared promotion.

“What we do Jacques is we enjoy the challenge, we play our best and the players gain experience from it. Some will go on to bigger and better things as a result, some will just have great memories, something to tell their grandchildren about”

“But can we afford it? What about the squad? We’ll have to turn professional, go full time, you’ll need to buy players, we’ll…”

Ed held up his hand to cut him off. What he was saying was nothing new, the manager couldn’t deny that he’d had similar thoughts in the quieter moments, but he’d decided not to let such things worry him too much, at least not just yet.

“Well firstly I think that with a couple of signings we could have a team that wouldn’t embarrass themselves in the Second Division. Secondly there are players who know that they won’t make it as professionals, if we get promoted then it’ll be down to me and my staff to manage those issues. The main thing is this, we’re still saying ‘if’ – we have two games to play and we could still finish fifth”

The chairman thought about this for a moment and nodded to himself, lost in thought.

-----

Ed was secretly please, the chairman was more worried about promotion than he was, if they managed to play their way into the Second Division (and on the back of the last two games he reckoned the chances were better than even) then there would be even less pressure on him than there had been this season.

retired_tony1956

I'll just have to join the chorus... excellent story, flip! :thup:

Mike..

Cheers 'Nana, as always the feedback is appreciated


Going into the penultimate weekend the managers of Nîmes and Sète were at eachother’s throats in the Press, each claiming imminent victory for their side and an end of promotion hopes for the other.

Thankfully for Ed there were no such mind games being played and he simply worked with the players to ensure that they maintained their focus.

Libourne St-Seurin were bogged down in mid-table, nothing to win and nothing to lose, but they were stubborn opposition for much of the first half and Ed began to wonder if the breakthrough was going to come. It did, eventually, and it came in some style. There was a little over an hour on the clock when Pau won a throw-in deep in enemy territory, Cami received the ball and touched it straight back to Adjamossi before breaking for the box – he threw his arm into the air and gave the call but the defender had other ideas. Kangu was lurking unmarked on the edge of the box, he trapped the ball, turned, and rifled it into the top left corner. The home fans erupted, glory was within touching distance, and they urged their side on. The points were secure, any but the most ardent Libourne fan could see that, and the late penalty that Bédani slotted away wasn’t needed – Ed actually felt a moment of sympathy for the offending defender.

The team quickly made their way to the changing rooms, but the cheers of the fans left them in little doubt of the situation. Ed checked the scores from around the league and confirmed the news – Pau, his Pau, had won promotion to the Second Division. The players raced back out onto the pitch whilst Ed took a moment to sit and think.

For a minute or two there was a feeling of great relief, his first season – though not quite over – was a success and once the final game was out of the way (the title decider, he reminded himself) he could take a couple of weeks of to relax.

That feeling didn’t last long as the reality hit him, although he would like nothing more than to take the entire squad up to the next level, the harsh reality was that not all of them were capable of holding their own – and it was down to him to make the decisions, to make or break their careers, and to break the news himself.

The period of rebuilding had to begin, and that would mean pouring over pages of notes and contracts – so much for the holiday idea.

retired_mellnet

Sorry to spam your story, but I've sent you an email.

mao...

shannon2007

He used to send me e-mails when I was famous

Mike..

Awww PM

...and received it Mao, will take a look

Mike..

OK sorted Mao, and time for an update too....



When he got home the light on his answerphone was flashing insistently, he tapped the button and found that he had half a dozen or so messages waiting for him. All were of congratulations - a couple of former colleagues from Bordeaux, friends from back home, and - most touchingly - from Marc Lévy and his wife, Emily. He didn’t listen to the rest, first he had to ring Marc and talk to him.

The former manager was in fine spirits, delighted for Ed and the team obviously, and pleased to let his successor know that Emily was battling hard. It wasn’t easy, there were days, he said, when she would sit and quietly cry for hours, but for the most part she was a fighter and the specialists were giving her a better-than fifty percent chance of recovery.

That was great news for Ed, it meant more to him than Pau’s promotion – after all this was someone’s life they were talking about. After talking for more than an hour Ed thanked his former boss again, and hung up the phone. He punched the button on the answerphone again, there was one last message, it was his Dad

‘Good work son, well done, I’ll try you again later and see if you’re in. Oh by the way, seen the Premiership yet?’

He hadn’t, he walked into the lounge and turned on his laptop – a couple of minutes later he sat at the screen in disbelief. After 38 games, and with a hard charging Arsenal finishing just a single point behind them, Aston Villa had taken the League title for the first time in 24 years. He dug deeper on the website, extracting the always-enthralling last day stories.

Arsenal, knowing that only a win would give them a chance, had played host to Newcastle and thrashed them by a 5-0 margin – it hadn’t been enough. Spurs had beaten, and relegated, Blackburn Rovers only to be pipped to 5th place on goal difference by Steve Bruce’s United – and Bolton Wanderers had gone to St Andrews and secured Premiership survival in the 86th minute, thanks to Kevin Davies.

Huddersfield were down, he discovered, a bitter blow to the Allen family – but each week he’d found the English game becoming less of an important matter to him, and more a thing of passing interest. What he needed now was a beer, a bath, and bed – it was ‘only’ 10pm and he was – as Dad would say – cream crackered.

Mike..

On paper their last game of the season couldn’t have been easier, Raon-l’Etape were long gone into the basement levels of French football with a points tally of just 14 from a possible 111, and a goal deficit of some fifty or more. Their hosts may have been down, but they were by no means out and they played with pride and determination – sensing the opportunity to crash Pau’s potential title party.

Ed was confident that the breakthrough was coming though, but he would never have predicted the source – Khalifa Ba heading in Di Bartolomeo’s cross on the hour. After that it was easy, Millereau grabbed a poacher’s strike before Raon’s Mickaël Boissenin talked himself into the book – not a good idea when he’d already been cautioned. Millereau signed off the way he’d started the season, with a two goal haul, and Ed watched with pride as his players made a circuit of the pitch and applauded both sets of fans – as well as their opponents.

They’d been tipped for relegation but Ed had seen a tight-knit squad fight every inch of the way and, in defiance of the odds stacked against them, lift the National Division title. He couldn’t have been more proud than he was at that moment.

-----

Ed didn’t want to waste any time, the quicker he got started the less chance he had of missing out on anything vital – it was time to get on with strengthening the squad. He drove home late in the evening, having taken the time to meet with the Board. As he wound his way through the streets of the town he allowed himself a broad smile at the sight of crowds of Pau fans, and residents, celebrating in the streets.

Mike..

MAY 2005 SUMMARY

Pau 3 (Cami 42, 55, Sartolou 71)
Sète 0
Man of the Match: Cami (Pau)

Pau 2 (Kangu 61, Bédani pen 66)
Libourne St-Seurin 0
Man of the Match: Bédani (Pau)
News: Mérabti (Libourne) sent off 76

Raon-l’Etape 0
Pau 3 (Ba 62, Millereau 70, 90+)
Man of the Match: Millereau (Pau)
News: Boissenin (Raon) sent off 90+