Mike..

Christmas passed almost unnoticed for Ed, he got the usual call from his mother on the morning, he’d received (and sent) and handful of cards, but there was no sense of occasion – as a kid he’d enjoyed the whole package, waking the folks up at 4am so that he could spend as much of the day as possible playing with his new toys, but now it was different. As far has he was concerned Christmas was all about two things, kids and partners – having no kids around diminished the fun by about eighty percent, and since Sonja had gone…

New Year was approaching - another thing that he didn’t really go in for but, this year, it seemed that he wouldn’t be having a lot of choice on that front. To celebrate their relative success, and the associated financial benefits. Monsieur Le Coadou had decided to throw a ‘party’ for the staff and partners. Ed had tried to cry off, make his excuses, but persistence on the part of Le Coadou, and his secretary – Catherine – had eventually resulted in a concession. He tried to rationalise, telling himself that it would give him a chance to keep an eye on the players, but in the end he had to admit that he’d simply grown tired of saying ‘no’ over and over.

-----

As it turned out he’d quite enjoyed himself at the chairman’s soiree, Le Coadou had kept it quite low key – laying on dinner and a few drinks, but keeping things well within reason. The food had been good, and the company pleasant – particularly as, for the most part, everyone managed to steer clear of talking football. Catherine had been particularly friendly at the party, but then she was a friendly girl anyway and Ed wasn’t going to read anything into it. For starters she was only in her early twenties, and besides she was probably just showing the effects of a couple of red wines too many. Nevertheless, the slightly lingering kiss that she gave him at midnight was a rather pleasant sensation.

He’d left before 12.30, having arranged to stay in a local hotel rather than drive the seventy or so miles home. He made a point, as he was leaving, of reminding the players that training would start again on January 2nd.

Mike..

Ed was disappointed with the news, as a small club they’d shown a professional approach to their training, as they had to everything they did, but the news that Akwasi Asare had skipped training was upsetting. Despite his obvious talent the youngster had expressed his concern at the pressure he felt was being applied to him, Ed had responded by easing up on the fullback’s workload, using Gardan in a rotation program, but Asare still looked troubled. He deliberated over what course of action to take, he didn’t want the rest of the squad getting the impression that indiscretions would go unpunished but he didn’t want to cause a stir – in the end he settled for a warning to be issued.

There was no reaction to the warning, Ed took that as a good thing, and a couple of days later he decided to start the youngster in a strong line-up who played host to non-league Quevilly in the Cup. He’d considered playing some of the second string again but, after the break, he wanted to use the game to get the first-team regulars back up to speed, hopefully knocking in a few goals in the process.

It turned out to be two goals, a fine early shot across the keeper from Bonnel and a rocket of a half-volley from Sartolou in the last minute of normal time. Still it was another mixed match as far as Ed was concerned, in sixty-odd minutes on the pitch Séga had failed to get into a dangerous position once and he was really beginning to wonder if he’d made a mistake with the young striker. For what he could do in training, Ed sometimes found himself wondering if he was watching the same player.

Mike..

Whilst Ed hadn’t gone to great lengths to bring any new players in during the break, he had made a couple of casual enquiries to no avail. He was aware, of course, that his side’s reputation would not be the greatest but the fact that they were looking reasonably well established ought to have counted for something to the young talent he’d approached.

Where it did count for something, or so it seemed, was among the current playing staff. His diary showed him that a couple of contracts were nearing expiry and he made efforts to renew them. The players in question had obviously grown accustomed to the increased attendances and appreciated that the club were significantly better off than they had been twelve months ago.

Whilst he continued to try and be shrewd he was aware that Monsieur Le Coadou had authorised a big increase in the wage budget, and he ended up having to use this when it came to securing the signature of one of his key players – Vincent Di Bartolomeo becoming the clubs first '£2000 man'. He just hoped that the midfielder would have the good sense not to share the details of his deal with the other players.

Meanwhile Ed turned, once again, to the loan markets to try and add a little depth to the squad, particularly he wanted cover in case the dependable Labat should become unavailable again.

Mike..

With his performances having done nothing to impress of late, Séga was reduced to the bench for the resumption of league action – maybe bringing him on late would allow him to benefit from fresh legs. It wasn’t a game Ed was looking forward to either, since his free-transfer move to Sedan there had been a return of six goals in nine appearances for Jérémie Aliadière – frankly Ed didn’t think he had the defence to contain the former Arsenal man.

It just goes to show how strange this game can be, he thought to himself, Aliadière couldn’t have been more anonymous if he’d sat and watched the game from the stands. It was Pau who took their chances the better and delivered a fine victory to lift them back into ninth spot. It started with a headed goal from Kangu, supplied from Cami’s corner and directed into the corner beautifully, and from then on the visitors found it difficult to mount a serious attack. Ed was sure, as the game developed, that there would be no better time for Séga to make his mark and, with an hour on the clock, he gave the striker the signal to warm up. Having been on the pitch for just two minutes the Ed watched as Séga climbed high to meet another Cami corner, and held his head in disbelief as the header clattered off the bar – was there no way this guy was ever going to score?

Cami finished the game in style, whilst Séga again faded into the scenery, a well placed drive doubled Pau’s tally and then the playmaker combined with another sub, Matty Aernoudt, to kill the game off. A free-kick thirty yards out was played into the path of the 23-year-old, and Aernoudt smashed it home from the edge of the area – his first goal during Ed’s tenure, and only his second during his Pau career.

Mike..

The strong performance against Sedan seemed to send a new wave of confidence through the squad, a boost that saw hosts Le Mans edged out of it on a cold, wet, Friday evening. Leyti had given Pau the lead early in the second half, attacking a Cami corner and heading it home. Great vision from Labat sent Bonnel clear for a second before the relegation threatened club found a goal of their own.

The chances kept coming to Pau though, forcing a string of saves Vincent Planté, and when Le Mans were awarded a dubious penalty Ed had feared the worst. The spot-kick was well struck, but Valverde guessed right and held the slippery ball well. With time running out the home team had thrown everything into it, allowing Tchami in to extend Pau’s lead in stoppage time, rendering Le Mans’ second – with the last kick of the game – meaningless.

When fellow promoted side, Nîmes, were sent home on the tails of a solid two-nil win the chairman made his first comments regarding Pau’s position. Speaking to the local press he suggested that Ed might be about to lead the team into a top-half finish, something that he and the rest of the board had considered next to impossible at the start of the campaign.

Ed could only hope that the boss hadn’t jinxed them, with thirteen to play there was still an awful lot of football left in the campaign and, despite continued efforts, he’d completely failed to bring in any new blood during the winter window. If they suffered another flood of injuries, or disciplinary issues, it could see them heading the wrong way pretty fast… but he didn’t want to think about that for now.

Mike..

Whether he wanted to think about potential injury problems or not, the potential was thrust into his face in the worst possible style at Brest. With just 15 minutes on the clock Nicolas Cami, easily the most important name on the roster for Ed’s money, was involved in a sickening collision with Laurent Morestin – both jumping with eyes only for the ball. When they hit the ground it was clear that Cami was in a lot of pain, and Ed immediately ordered the Physio on.

Cami was stretchered off, a precautionary brace on his neck, and Ed did his best to focus on reshuffling the players on the pitch. Whilst his team went on to open a commanding half-time lead, Bonnel nutmegging the keeper and Tchami slamming home a shot from the edge of the box, Ed was up and down the tunnel trying to get updates. It was just before the break before he was given any news, the early signs were muscular damage, Cami had twisted to try and guide the header on, just as the pair had clashed, and something had pulled in his neck.

Relieved that it wasn’t much worse, as he’d convinced himself it would be, Ed settled in to watch the second half and saw what he’d been waiting to see for nearly twenty hours of football. With a little over an hour on the clock Bindi picked the ball up in midfield and lofted a long pass into the path of Séga N’Diaye – the striker ran the ball to the edge of the area before stopping and looking for options, there was no support, the defence were closing in, and with Ed urging him on from the bench Séga lashed the ball into the near corner of the net. It had been a long time coming, but as debut goals go, it was worth the wait.

A late penalty saw Bonnel double his tally, and secure the points, but Ed was still worried for Cami and wasted no time in heading back to the medical room. The news was good, provided he rested for a couple of days, and came in for a massage, Marcel Lassus predicted that Cami would be back in training in a week.

Mike..

“Good morning Ed, Monsieur Le Coadou asked me to send you straight through when you got here, he’s in his office” Catherine looked worried “Erm, is everything okay?”

“Hello Catherine, yes I’m sure it’s fine – I have a feeling I know what it’s about, it’s nothing serious”

“Oh… oh that’s good then.” she replied, her familiar bright smile returning.

He walked down the corridor to the chairman’s office, and knocked on the door. He’d checked the news this morning and, with everything going great guns at Pau, he was pretty sure that this would be about one thing.

-----

”Good morning Edgar, and how are you this morning? Good I hope?”

“Yes I’m fine thank you si…” Le Coadou tutted and looked sternly at the manager ”…Jacques”

“That’s better. Now I assume that you’ve heard the news from England?”

“I have, it’s disappointing but I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did”

“So” Le Coadou left the word hanging for a moment, as if trying to gauge the mood “where do we stand on the matter?”

Ed was confused, did the chairman really think that Santini’s resignation would be anything more than another news story?

“We stand where we stood yesterday Jacques, I have a team to manage, and a top-half league position to consolidate”

There was silence for a moment, Ed thought that the chairman was watching his eyes, looking for any flicker that would hint at a different truth. Just as the silence was reaching an uncomfortable length he spoke up.

“So have you thought about contacting Tottenham?”

“Of course not” that was a lie, although not a big one. Of course a part of him had thought about it, but only for a moment – recognising that it was a pure flight of fancy.

“Why not?” the chairman’s response threw him “you played for the club for some time, no? You know people there, is it so far fetched to consider the idea? Any other club might be different, but this was your team”

“With every respect Jacques, it’s been a long time since I was in London. Yes, I know a couple of the backroom staff but most of them have moved on, the board, the chairman – they’ve all changed. Besides they were never my team, I'm no dyed-in-the-wool Spurs fan”

“And so you feel that it would be pointless to contact them?”

“I’ve been a manager for less than two seasons, I couldn’t…”

“You could if given the chance.” Le Coadou cut in “You’re doing a fine job here, just one league below our Premiership, who is to decide what you could or couldn’t do?”

“Jacques, your comments flatter me, they really do, but it would be of benefit to nobody if I applied, can we just leave it?”

“Very well Edgar but you know, to make ambitions real you have to take chances. Wise men have rightly said that when you’re time comes you should regret only the things you didn’t do... Think about that”

Mike..

For the rest of the day, and the day after that, and throughout the next morning, Ed kept catching sight of Le Coadou – he would ‘accidentally’ step out in front of him in a corridor, or he’d just happen to meet him coming the other way at doorways. Each time they passed the chairman gave Ed an enquiring look, but he showed no reaction – by late morning he’d had enough.

“Catherine, I need to get out of here for an hour or two”

“Okay Ed, where will you be, in case we need to contact you?”

“I’ll have my mobile with me. I think I’ll go to… erm, I mean I’ll… be...” he realised that he had no idea, he just wanted to get away from the club for a while “I’ll tell you what, how would you like to grab some lunch?”

“Well I’ve brought some salad with me, I’ll have that soon…”

“Sorry, I meant that I could use some company. Would you like to join me for lunch? My treat”

For a second she flushed, it made her look younger than she was. Then a little smile crept across her face “that would be very nice, thank you”

-----

He wasn’t sure exactly why he’d asked Catherine along, but he was glad that he did because he needed to get off the subject of football for a while. She turned out to be surprisingly good company, Ed had expected that she wouldn’t have a lot to say for herself – at least not much of interest, being a fair bit younger than him – but she was very articulate. They found a little bistro in the centre of town and, as they ate, she told Ed about her family, about her father’s ski school business and her mother, a nurse. The time passed quickly and, when they’d finished their lunch, and a glass of wine, Ed drove them back to the ground.

“Thank you again Ed, that was very nice – a bit of a surprise”

“The pleasure was all mine, thanks for the company, now I suppose I’d better go and check in on the training”

He set off toward the training pitch. Half way there he heard a voice calling him from behind, he turned to see the chairman striding across the car park.

Oh what now? he thought as he waited for Le Coadou to catch up.

“Edgar, just to let you know I can see that my persistence has bothered you, for that I apologise”

“There’s really no need”

“Yes there is” he insisted “consider the matter dropped, I agree – it would be pointless to pursue the matter at this time”

Ed saw something in his face, he wasn’t sure what but then an idea dawned on him. ”You contacted them, didn’t you?”

“I… erm… I just… well… yes, yes I did, but don’t worry – I merely suggested that you might be interested if approached, I didn’t tell them that I’d spoken to you about the matter”

Ed wasn’t sure whether to be angry or not, in fact he found himself quite touched that the chairman thought that highly of him.

“I’m assuming that they said no?”

“Well not in so many words, but they’ve just announced to the press – in the last half hour – that Kevin Keegan is taking the job” the chairman chuckled and slapped Ed on the shoulder “Maybe not this time eh? But I’ll tell you this – I’ll see you in the dugout at a top-flight club before my days are out, mark my words” with a wink the chairman set off back towards the offices.

Mike..

JANUARY 2006 SUMMARY

Pau 2 (Bonnel 4, Sartolou 89)
Quevilly 0
French Cup
Man of the Match: Bédani (Pau)

Pau 3 (Kangu 24, Cami 80, Aernoudt 88)
Sedan 0
Man of the Match: Cami (Pau)

Le Mans 2 (Peyrelade 65, Lucau 90+)
Pau 3 (Leyti 15, Bonnel 55, Tchami 90+)
Man of the Match: Cami (Pau)
News: Baradji (Le Mans) missed penalty 79 (saved)

Pau 2 (Bonnel 24, Cami 69)
Nîmes 0
Man of the Match: Valverde (Pau)
News: Ferreira (Nîmes) sent off 89

Brest 0
Pau 4 (Bonnel 21, pen 68, Tchami 24, Séga 64)
Man of the Match: Bindi (Pau)

retired_Brenniepooh

Ok, this is my first ever post on the forum boards here and I wanted to congratulate you for a so far brilliant story.
I've just sat here and read it from start all the way up to your latest post and I can't wait for the next update.
Keep it it flipsix3, this is truely a great story.