Panpardus

December

2nd – League game vs Peterborough

It was only 3 days between our last game and this one, training was pretty light and we looked fresh out there all things considered. The fans were appreciative of our 3-1 win, I managed to grab the third of our goals, on my wrong foot to boot, a strike with my right beat the keeper, it didn’t have the normal power but it had enough, I also picked up a yellow for arguing with the ref, Colin isn’t too happy so its an extra sprint sessions for me.

6th – League game vs Notts County

I was a bit shagged for this game, and so were a few of my team mates as a result we were beaten at home 3-2 in a disappointing game, I was gang tackled and crunched at every opportunity they had, it was a long session with the physio afterwards, Colin was a bit disappointed but didn’t say a lot after the loss.

13th – League game vs Mansfield

With a weeks rest we were definitely a lot fresher for this game and we bounced back to the delight of our home fans to record a 1-0 win, my 70th minute cross found Kirby in space and he finally managed to hit the target with one of his 5 shots. Colin was happy with the result and it was training as normal.

There’s a lot of talk around the club at the moment that I'm being targeted Man City, Sunderland and Hearts had all had scouts at the recent games but apparently Celtic, Everton and Man U had all taken an interest aswell.

20th – League game vs Chesterfield

It was a big day for me as I found out a bit later, my game was superb to say the least against Chesterfield and I'm surprised I didn’t get MoTM honours, my runs left defenders confused and bamboozled as to where I was going, several quality crosses should have been put away but were we squandered, maybe next time ill just do it all myself, I received an 8 for the game. But as I found out the next day both Everton and Celtic had made a bid for me. It was pretty exciting.

26th – League game vs Darlington

By the time the Darlington game came around I was being hounded by the press, Manchester United had come to the party and also made a bid, Their scout Jim Lawler and Youth Coach Tony Whelan both came to see me and talk about my goals and future, I was pretty impressed that they chose to talk to me in person it was more than the other clubs had done, but they must of caught on, and in the end I had talked to 4 scouts and coaches from the interested teams, to be honest though the allure of going to the Red Devils had me, Tony Whelan had even said “so you’re the next Giggsy eh, best you do it with Devils then lad” It had me sold.

The game itself was a bit of a blur, once again I was pretty good but the strikers failed to convert my chances and as a result we had another nil all draw, still my mind is on other things.

30th December

There was 5 offers on the table, I had talked to all the interested parties and now I was contemplating where my career was going, Hearts, Celtic, Man City, Man Utd or Everton. The club had not put any pressure on me but Celtic had offered double what anyone else had, their contract offer was the best aswell but I felt my path was in England so it was City, United or Everton. City was easily pushed aside even though I would break into their side a bit easier, so now it left Everton or United. Both offers were similar but I knew which one I would take United it was.

1300 pounds per week in a 1 and half year deal, 1300 per first team appearance with a 65 pound goal bonus and 325 win bonus, it was a great deal, I was also given a 5000 pound signing bonus. There was lots of clauses in there as well, and I had to follow a code of conduct blah blah but overall it was a good deal. I was moved into the under 18’s where I would play the majority of my games, with the occasional reserve berth, I was asked about going on loan and I said I had no objections, I was just interested in bettering my game.

The move was scheduled to go through on the 2nd January a day after my birthday, what a birthday it was going to be. I'm now a Red Devil with the likes of Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, Neville and Ronaldo. I was all up to me now.

TheFish101

Hi Panpardus,

This is my first post ever so...

I love your story and I know its not like others where they write about acctually managing the club. Could I just ask a question though? Are you managing the club or just an unemployed manager? Because I want to do a story like yours.

Panpardus

I have an unemployed manager and I keep Macsen on the shortlist, that way i get some reports about him, but other than that i have no managerial input at all.

The only time i did was to get him out of Wales he went to Lincoln where their manager was sacked i took over for a week signed him then quit again.

I get all my information by just reading the reports and watching highlights, aswell as checking his profile etc and just plain making stuff up.

In truth it does get a bit boring, so I go on holiday for a few months while im doing something else then come back and do some analysing and writing.

Panpardus

January – 2009 Manchester United

A week is a long time in football

1st of January

The start of the year and my birthday, tomorrow I would officially be a Red Devil my life was going well and I couldn’t really ask for more. Colin Lee my soon to be ex manager has arranged a sending off and birthday bash all in one.

The whole of the first team is pretty much there when we go to a local restaurant where the club is picking up the tab for the meal, it’s a nice gesture considering I’d only been at the club a year and a half, but I guess its not everyday someone leaves to go to the Red Devils from a division two side. Afterwards a few of the lads took me out for a beer around a few of the local pubs, the supporters I met there were all great, and had nothing but well wishes for the future. The day got longer and me not being an experienced drinker I started getting drunk pretty quickly, but I was smart enough to drink water every so often, still when I looked at the clock it was only 8 pm, I didn’t remember to much after that, but I woke up in my own bed the next day.

2nd of January

A loud knocking on my door woke me up abruptly, I crawled out of bed with last nights clothes still on and answered the door, Colin was there with a big grin ”Big night eh?” he said, “you best get ready, Tony and Jim will be here in a couple hours to pick you” Luckily I had done all the packing a few days before when I learned I’d be leaving.

We chatted for a bit and went out for breakfast, I couldn’t really stomach to much, just a few Panadol and a cup of coffee or three, we went back to my apartment and awaited Tony and Jim to arrive it didn’t take too long and before long I was on my way westwards towards Manchester. Colin wished me all the best and said if there was anything I needed, don’t be afraid to give him a call. It was a strange feeling to leave, but also exciting after all I was officially a contracted player to the greatest club in the world.

90 miles goes pretty quickly even with idle chit chat, Tony and Jim were both surprised that I didn’t know who the director of the youth academy was, but wouldn’t inform to his identity either, you’ll see is all I got out of them. I learned that Tony was in charge of the under 9 to under 16 players and the director was away at the time of my bid and contract and that’s why he was there instead of him. Apparently Jim had been watching me for a year on and off and finally recommended me about 3 months ago, one of the other scouts came down and agreed so it was then they decided to go after me.

The journey was almost over and you can see the Stadium getting bigger and bigger, but when you get out of the car and see the stadium for the first time, I don’t think your truly prepared to the size and ambience of the place, TV does it no justice really.

Tony nudged me to get me moving and Jim bid us farewell as he walked towards another car, we went in through an employee’s entrance, a quick walk about brought us to the North Stand and we entered a café, The Reds Café to be precise, I can’t believe they have a restaurant in here, as I was turning around to get a good look at my surroundings I ran into a suit.

“*****, sorry bout that mate” I said without looking

“It’s no problem lad” the strangely familiar looking man said

“Oh fark me, Brian McClair, I'm sorry again Sir I can only..” it was all I could get out before he started laughing, and I quickly shut up as I realised I had just sworn twice. It was Tony then who piped up

“Brian, this is Macsen Davies from Lincoln he is the one I was telling you about on the phone, Macsen you know who this is obviously, but what you don’t know is the he is the Director of the Youth Academy”

You could have pushed me over with a feather, what an impression I had just made.

We all sat down and I didn’t realise how hungry I was till some food was brought out, but I just nibbled on the snack food as Brian was outlining the academy and what they expected. I was to be only be there for the rest of this season as I was already 18, They realised I’d been playing in the seniors for Lincoln already so they wanted to fast track me and get me into the reserves for a few games, Loan spells also came up and I was fine with going on one to the Championship Division. The informal meeting ended with Brian giving me a folder which contained everything from my schedules to directions to get around Manchester, aswell as phone numbers for coaches, it was quite thick.

Tony took me out to the players race where I looked out on to the pitch, no one was allowed on the pitch at them moment so I just took in the surroundings, next it was off to Hyde where I was to live in an apartment complex owned by United for the Academy players living away from home, it was a 30 minute walk from the Ewen Fields Ground where we played our reserve games, it was also Hyde FC’s home ground, I think they were Conference North, not to sure though. Tony left me about 3.30 after showing me about, in my apartment there was a laptop which was mine, it had everything on it about schedules aswell as all the fixtures if there was any changes I would be notified by internal mail on this. First things first though I was starving and sought out a local deli to get some food.

3rd of January

I was up early today eager to start it fresh, first things first I went to the laptop and checked out today’s schedule, I had an induction at Old Trafford where I would be properly shown around and then after lunch I had a tactical class followed by an hours skill session, It meant I couldn’t get to the Lincoln - Norwich game which was three hours away on the east coast, I’d have to settle for internet updates.

The tour of the Old Trafford was great, I really didn’t realise it had so much stuff there, a mega store, café, museum, the players lounge and warm up room it was something to behold, There was even a board up with everyone name that had earned an international appearance while at United, my name would be there aswell, soon enough.

The tactical session in the afternoon was something I didn’t expect it was all theory, Mark Dempsey was our teacher and this was the first time I met the rest of the Under 18 squad. Today’s lesson was on the 5-3-2 formation and varaiations of it which we went through in a little detail, the next lesson would focus on the the formation with a Sweeper and a normal back 4 infront, we had to do homework on it and come prepared to the next lesson with tactics against it, what role we would play against it and for it aswell as a few various other things, it totally caught me off guard, Homework ??

Strait after we had a hour long skills session in which was just mainly short passing, control and technique based things, it was my first look at the squad and they all seemed quite adapt, but that’s what I expected, I was nervous to how I would measure up, it was a feeling unknown to me.

Getting back home I followed the Lincoln’s FA cup game at Norwich unfortunately they went down 2-0 and their run was ended, still it was a good effort from all accounts.

4th of January

A light running session in the morning followed by a heavier work out in the afternoon which included lots of running, ball drills etc etc and I started to feel I had a slight edge, a few of the players seem tired after the afternoon session, but with my training in Lincoln in the senior squad I still felt quite good and had no real signs of fatigue.

5th of January

A rock solid day for me early morning meant another run, this time a 2.5 mile time trial, which I finished in the top 5, I could of went quicker but I want to guage myself first off, then I was informed I was to attend a team meeting with the reserve squad. Carlos Queiroz was in charge of the team and it had the likes of Alan Smith, Paul Scholes, John O’Shea and Park Ji-Sung sitting in their listening. It was an informal sort of meeting where I was introduced to the players and got the customary clap but then it was all business as Carlos went through our schedule, he didn’t name a team as things change a lot and the game was over a week away, but he handed out sheets which had facts about our opponents Manchester City. The meeting was ended and then it was time for another meeting, this time the Under 18’s basically the same thing, Brian McClair was in charge of the team and he went over a few of things he expected in the new year, I was formally introduced once again to the customary claps. Our first game was against Hull here at home in 5 days the side would be picked in 3 days ready for our game on the 10th.

I had a spare couple hours before the reserves and under 18’s had a combined session, another thing I learned was most of the other under 18’s were still in school and getting a minimal earnings, but had some sort of expense account, it explained the later training times, as a full professional I wasn’t expected to do go to school although it was an option if I wanted to do it.

The session went well for me, a little more intense than the under 18 sessions but I kept easily and event held my own in the 5 a side games, playing against men had definitely given me a edge.

6th of January

A quite day for me all I had was the Tactical class with Mark Dempsey which was interesting, we went over the 5-3-2 Sweeper formation and the pluses and minuses our home work was handed in and then it was more a group discussion. Next lesson would discuss the same formation with a sweeper but with the fullbacks in the wingback position, there was no real homework but just a question to be thought on.

With heaps of spare time I ventured into the city and my eye came across the new V system, or Playstation 5 as it was also known, it was the latest in gaming technology and at 2200 pounds it had want to be good. I resisted temptation though and just continued around looking about the shops.

7th of January

Today started out a good day, another time trial this time it was a set of 4, 1 mile runs and I'm pleased to say I finished in first place, over 15 seconds overall in the 4 stages ahead of my next placed opponent. The afternoon session was a different story though it was a light session with just some run throughs and light ball work but with our wrong foot, while stretching out in one of the run throughs I heard a loudish pop from my lower calf and a twinging pain, it pulled me up pretty quickly and they guy I was running with heard it aswell. I didn’t know what happened exactly but it was getting increasingly worse as time went on. Fitness Coach Valter Di Salvo and Physio Tony Gill rushed over and after a quick inspection, they said Achilles tendon, when I seen Brian McClair grimace I knew it was bad.

The trip to the hospital was disappointing to put it midly , I was told worse case scenario it was a year, best case probably 3 months due to the pop I heard, Tony Gill said I should hope for a partial tear and not off the muscle if it was torn of the calf muscle then probably a year, this happened to be the same calf I had hurt before. My United career was over before it had really begun and I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind.


A week is a long time in football, I’d gone from a great birthday celebration and the high of joining probably the best club in the World, to doing a serious injury and being ruled out for most likely the rest of the season if not most of the next aswell, was my time over at Man U without even playing a game?

dane0

Great and different story. Definately looking forward to the rest of this! :thup:

Panpardus

Thanks Dane, I've got a bit of spare time lately so ill try to make regular updates

January the 10th

I had surgery yesterday and it went well apparently and it seems I was lucky – ish, the damage wasn’t to bad at the end of the day and I have the great physio and fitness coach to thank, when they immobilized my leg immediately it probably saved it from tearing completely and as such I might make it back in 3 months. Brian McClair came to see me today and was glad for me that is was only a 3 month injury, with a bit of luck I could get a few games under my belt before the end of the season, but it was a long process.

Colin Lee my former manager also came in and commiserated with me, we had a chat and a few of the lads had chipped in to get me a new playstation 5, which he gave to me, it seemed I would be in hospital for 3 weeks so it would take away the boredom. The hospital room was private and had all the sports channels, it even had MUTV, it was obviously one of the spots reserved for Man United players.

Later on in the night was when the doubts crept in, the prognosis was great for this injury but its yet another major injury, the calf last year was a big one aswell and worse than this one. 2 Major injuries and a host of other minors ones I was only 18 for god’s sake and in my second year of professional football, were these going to keep holding me back?

February

1st -Finally I was out of hospital and now I have this stupid bloody cast on that gets removed every week and a bit to move my foot position and then recast, the surgeon is impressed with my recovery and say I should be on the training track in 4 weeks to do light work outs, I must say this really surprised me, from all other reports that I had heard I wouldn’t be running till atleast the end of March, but this was my surgeon so I took his word for it.

20th – A couple casts later and a lot of physio and I can feel the strength returning already, everytime the cast comes off I have about 4 injections into the muscle and tendon, its too promote something or rather, but I don’t care aslong as it gets better.

28th –The cast is completely removed today and the surgeon is impressed with the recovery, an ultrasound shows that the tendon has healed beautifully and I'm allowed to do brisk walks at training.

March

5th – Walking the last couple of days is great I feel no adverse affects and although there is stiffness its apparently to be expected, Tony Gill who is now pretty much my personal physio and I'm not allowed to do anything without his say so.

10th – A lot of pool work the last couple days, swimming, water aerobics, I’m still not allowed to kick a ball though.

14th – 4 days solid of swimming and rehab, I was also able to do a slow jog, so far so good no bad effects. It’s been 2 weeks of intense rehab so far and I’m getting a little confidence back, although I must admit there is doubt in my mind. Tony Gill has moved me into his house in Droylsden, it’s a nice place and his family is great, especially his daughter Marie she’s 18 as well and is at uni doing a pysch degree, and she’s a bit of a hottie to boot. His wife is great and I must admit the home cooked meals are so much better than the crap I cook.

7th – Some more jogging and finally into the occasional run through, I’ve also started some basic ball drills the last couple days, but today is a light day for me, I have an appointment with the surgeon, where I’ll do more tests and he’ll see where I’m at, I also have an appointment with Brian McClair at 4.00 pm.

The surgeon is really surprised at my progress, he goes over my ankle with the ultra scan and is real happy with the healing, but he decides to get a deep tissue scan with some machine, he said the name but its escaped me between there and writing this now. It seems the tendon has fully knitted back together and the attachment is great, when Tony gives him my reports from the last few weeks he’s impressed that all I have is basic soreness and a little bit of swelling. I'm given the all clear to start heavier training over the next too weeks, which means light competitive work.

The meeting with Brian is just a check up where I am or so I thought, but after he goes over the surgeon’s report and then talking to Gilly and me about my progress he’s real happy and he has some news for me aswell, it seems Hartlepool has made an offer to loan me for a month, they want me by the 18th which is tomorrow but they don’t play again till the 5th I think it is which gives me two weeks. Gilly is a bit shocked, apparently he didn’t even know and flat out refuses, I’m not even into competitive work yet and he’d rather keep me here than there. Brian takes it in his stride and voices the same opinion. After a quick phone call he says my loan period will start tomorrow but I don’t have to go to Hartlepool till the first of April it gives me two weeks to see where it’s at. Gilly seems happy with that and its all agreed upon, I don’t even know where Hartlepool is or what division they’re in.

24th – Training is going real good, I'm back in the under 18 squad and doing pretty much all the training except contact drills, luckily the fitness side of things is a fair bit lighter at the moment than it was when I got here in January but I'm still really knackered, it seems ive lost a fair bit of my fitness. Hartlepool are currently in 5th spot in the Championship and theyre located in the North East, by the sea a little south of Sunderland. They look a good unit and I'm not sure if ill get a lot of game time but still it’s a start and I feel it will test me out.

April

The last week has been hectic, I’ve gotten through all of training even completing the competitive 5 and 7 a side sessions, I can twist and turn fine, my acceleration has suffered a bit as I cant get off the mark quite as good it might have something to so with this achilles strap that I have to wear, I also have lifts in my shoes which help, but I feel confident enough.

The 120 mile trip is a bit boring but I'm happy that Gilly is driving me up here himself, his daughter Marie has tagged along aswell but I find it hard to talk with her with Tony in the car, he’s still amazed I don’t have my licence or even attempted to get it, he says he will rectify the situation when I get back to Manchester.

When we get to Hartlepool we go strait to the Victoria Park ground, training is about an hour away, but I get to meet their manager strait away his name is Ronnie Jepson and first impressions is that appears to be a serious no nonsense type of guy, Tony was saying up in the car that he plays a pretty defensive sort of game and is a strict displinarian. Mr Jepson asks me all about my injury and I assure him it shouldn’t be a problem he goes into a bit about the squad and what he wants from me, it all seems pretty strait forward. My loan period finishes on the 17th but I can travel back to Manchester after the Hull game on the 13th, there’s only 3 games to be played while I'm here so he see’s no reason to go into too much detail, but for the two and a bit weeks a guy named Joel Porter will be looking after me, he’s an Aussie International and one of the better players in the team Gilly later tells me.

Training was pretty intense with Mr Jepson taking control and shouting out commands when something was done wrong, luckily nothing at me, it was a a lot more physical than the under 18’s but that was to be expected, Hartlepool were in the fight for Play offs.

As soon as training finished Tony and me had a brief chat, he then headed back to Manchester with Marie, I might be imagining things but I think she wanted to say something, I didn’t have the nerve to go to her though and just waved and said goodbye from a distance, I think Tony had a grin on his face but I can’t be sure.

Joel Porter or Skippy as many call him around the club seems a pretty good bloke, we had a bit of a chat on the way back to his house about my injury, he pulled into the bottle o on the way home and grabbed a six pack which I found suprising. As it turned out he had the house to himself for a while, his wife was away in Australia visiting relatives for a few weeks so I wouldn’t get to meet her and she had their 4 year old daughter with them. We ate a left over casserole type of thing and downed a couple beers and talked about a range of things, it turned out he hadn’t played for Australia for quite some time 2002 apparently, he had a good run in a tournament called the Oceania Cup but was always overlooked for the more high profile players, he didn’t seem to mind though.

I got to know Skippy pretty well in the next few days and he treated me great and his insight into the Hartlepool game plan was very helpful, first rule was to pass to him anytime he called for it, which he said he was only joking, but followed it with a cheeky 'or am I'.

Training over the next few days was good, a lot of things I’d done before more or less, Ronnie Jepson was just a bit of a control freak in how he wanted to do things and he constantly stopped things when we playing 5 a side to point out things here and there but overall it was an interesting experience.

I was named as a starter on the left wing for the game against Sunderland, I was pleasantly surprised, tactics were covered, who on their team I would playing against and what was expected of me in attack and defence, all the usual things before a game. One thing that did spook me a bit was that it was a televised game, I’d never played in a televised game before.

Amaroq

Not only am I enjoying this, Panpardus, but I must say I'm very impressed at how distinctly different your 'voice' is in this story than Bloods, sweat and tears. Really shows your versatility and maturity as a writer! You've so perfectly captured a youth's diction and command of language .. and yet made it a compelling read as well. In other words, KUTGW!

Panpardus

*Thanks Amarog, it is completely different from my other story, this one takes a bit more work, Its been awhile since i was an 18 year old, but i still remember a few of my own personal experiences around that time that help, especially bad injuries which i still feel now, and meeting idols.*


April 5th – Home game, Victoria Park, Hartlepool versus Sunderland

The day had come and here I was standing in the race ready to run out on to the field, it was nothing like standing in the race at United, but this was a game, when I did it at United it was a tour. Were all lined up and run out onto the field to the roar of the home crowd were in our blue and white strip and I have number 25 on my back. I notice the TV Camera’s on the way out.

The whistle is about to start proceedings, Sunderland is ready to kick off, it’s a local derby Sunderland aren’t fierce rivals but they are rivals all the same, you can already feel the tension, and were away.

Nothing much for the 20 minutes, the tackling is fierce and two cards already, but its around the half hour mark when the first incident happens, Marc Wilson brings down Skippy from behind 30 out, its an instant red, Wilson is already walking.

Just before half time I have my first chance, the ball bobbles to me inside the box, I have a chance to drive it with my left, it means my right has to take the load, will the tendon hold crosses my mind, and then I find myself pushing the ball out to the right, I have a crack but it’s a weak shot on the right foot, no power and straight at the keeper, I should of done better. That would look bad on TV crosses my mind for some reason.

The Half time break comes and Ronnie Jepson is angry with our display, they’re reduced to 10 men and were letting them dictate play, he wants more from everyone on the pitch, make them work for it, lets push it around make them chase, the chances will come we just have to take em, is the general gist of his talk. Individually he tells me I’m being timid, He wants more runs, more involvement from me I have 15 minutes to prove myself, if I don’t I'm subbed. I agree whole heartily, but I don’t know if I can do it.

We kick off and have instant success, the first minute produces a goal to Jason Brown and were 1 up, Scotty Phelan credited with the assist after playing a 1-2 with Skippy and then the cross which Browny headed past their keeper.

My turn is about ten minutes later, Scotty Phelan tries to thread the needle with a pass to Browny but its intercepted 10 yards into our attacking half, Skip is there though and his tackle knocks the ball loose, which I gather and start a run. My marker is with me but I manage to shake him easily with a dummy that leaves him behind with no chance to catch, I'm running down left of the middle with their centre back just in front pacing me, waiting for me to make my move. I do a few small dummies so I can keep running forward, that way I won’t get caught from behind and their CB lets me come, not far now from the edge of the box, go right foot again crosses my mind, protect the tendon… I cut inside a bit more which causes the CB to switch his angle, I have the shot lined up, I'm 30 ish out I suppose, I begin to take the shot….’NO’ pops into my head, I pause, it’s amazing what go’s through your head, it’s timid i tell myself, so I stop and quickly push it a metre or so forward and to the left, it wrong foots their back and leaves him no chance to stop the shot, 1 step, 2 …. Crack with my left…I hit it sweet and its off like a rocket,…. outside the post…..curling slightly…..me leaning….curling still…..keeper into the picture….curling…..keeper beat…..It’s smashed against the inside of the left post…..is it in….GOOOOOOOOAL. I'm stunned and the delayed roar of the crowd makes it sink in as a grin envelopes my face, its sheer joy I think and then I'm mobbed by the rest of the Hartlepool players.

I find myself a lot more involved in general play, the confidence is creeping back, at the end of the game we win 2-1 to the delight of the fans, Sunderland scored a late consolation goal but we were never really challenged.

Scotty Phelan the young 22 year old Everton player on loan here as well gets the Man of the Man award but I get a lot of pats on the back as we walk down the race, one from the manager as he tells that was a magnificent goal, I notice the camera’s again as were leaving the pitch, maybe I should of celebrated that goal a bit better, hope I didn’t look like a idiot just standing there.

Ronnie addresses the team and is pleased with our second half display, a great team effort he describes it, and he’s right, on reflection while I was doing my warm down exercises everyone did do their job in the second half, even me. I can do this, I can still play well, I need to get fitter though, cause right now im stuffed.


After a shower I pop up to the bar with the rest of the lads, everyone gets a free pint, which I begin to drink, I hear my name, a girl’s voice, oh crap it’s Marie, I almost choke on my beer.

I feel awkward talking to her, thank god she’s doing most of it, she thought my goal was excellent, she also said her dad went tropo when I scored it, what ever that means, i think it's good. Then she dropped a question and once again I was stunned, she had to repeat it, ‘Sure I’d love to go out with you some time’ was my reply, and I skulled back the rest of my pint. Gilly then come over and gave me a pat on the back, ‘great goal lad, magnificent’ he said, he bought me another pint and we went over my achilles, he filled out some sort of report and he informed I had to ring him the next day with how it felt and a host of other things. I didnt get much more of a chance to talk to Marie which was good i suppose, she said she'd be in touch.

A few hours later I was back at Skip’s apartment talking about this and that, I’d had a few more pints and I was pretty tipsy which meant drinking some water and then going to sleep.

Its good to be back was my last thought before i fell asleep.

Panpardus

Hartlepool – April

I awoke the next day feeling well, but my achilles was noticeably tight, I called Gilly and he said it was normal especially after 90 odd minutes of football, I was to report to Hartlepool’s physio though and get it looked at. James Haycock was the physio at Hartlepool and after a prod and poke and bit of manipulation he was happy to clear me, and so I went and done or recovery session with the test of the squad.

11th April – away vs Crystal Palace

I still had a bit of tightness in my heel but it wasn’t really a problem when I was moving, I noticed it more when I was stopped, so I didn’t feel I’d have to many problems.

The game started and Crystal Palace took the lead in the first minute, I'm not sure what happened but it never even came over my side of the park, straight down the guts, then over to the right, a quick cross and bang…headed in the goal, it was that easy for them.

The game was pretty even after that, I had a few touches here and there, an interception, but the play was mainly going on around me, I didn’t go any big runs, I was more receiving the ball and then releasing it to someone else. We squared it up at the 25 minute mark Crainey with the assist, Egutu Oliseh with the goal. Half time came and went and Ronnie was happy with the performace so far, he wanted us to sit back for the first 10 and then stride it out a bit and see what we could get.

Crystal Palace started strong but we were covered and they had no real chances, we made a few foray’s forward but I think both teams settled for the draw early on in the half, as for me I couldn’t get into the game, I made a few passes, and setup some half chances, but there was no spark for me in that game. A average 6 for me.

Ronnie was pleased with the draw it kept them in the hunt for promotion (4th) and it would take a miracle to drop out of a playoff spot, he told us to relax, a real light recovery session tomorrow ready for the away game against Hull on the 13th which was the day after.

13th April – away vs Hull

I pulled up real well after the last game, the heel was actually a bit better even though it was sore before and I’d only had a day break. The game itself was a decent one for me, nothing special though, a couple of key passes and some good interception late in the game helped hold on to a valuable 1-0 lead. Ronnie once again was pleased with the result but in a reserved sort of way, and I was glad to see Gilly there, today was last day at Hartlepool and I would be heading back to Manchester with Gilly after the match.

I thanked Jonathan Porter (Skippy) for his hospitality and wish him all the best for the playoffs, he wished me all the best for the future and told me to look him up if I was ever back in the area, it was a nice thing to say even though we both know I’d probably never be back here again. Speaking with Gilly on the way back it seemed the reserves and under 18’s had rapped up the title in their respective divisions, and the seniors had an outside chance at winning but need some big results in their favour to catch a high flying Middlesborough. Apparently Marie was at uni and couldn’t come up for the game which I was happy with, I never knew what to say when she was around.

Panpardus

April

The rest of April was spent training and still doing physio on the achilles mainly, as it turned out Marie had some exams coming up so I didn’t see much of her at all, just the passing hello here and there. I was staying at Gilly’s till the end of the season and then I’d move back to my apartment, I’d definitely miss the food here that’s for sure.

May

Brian McClair had informed me that I would be playing in the last two reserves games against Leeds on the 4th , Middlesborough on the 7th and then also in the final under 18’s match against Preston on the 9th, he put the pressure on me as well, a few people will be watching your progress so give it your all he said with a wink.

I trained with the reserve squad, it was pretty light overall as the team had already secured the division, and a few of the squad trained with the senior team in preparation of their last two games. As the days went by it was all pretty easy and I didn’t really get nervous even though it was Club Debut, all be it in the reserves.

4th May -Number 44 was my number, and we were wearing the famous red shirt of United as we ran out onto the ground, it almost felt like I was playing with the seniors as I followed Paul Scholes onto the pitch, Tim Howard and Alan Smith were also in the side to play Leeds

I put in an ok performance for the team as we went on to win 1-0, it was a pretty even encounter with both teams having a few chances, but it was David Galbraith who scored the winner for us. I found it hard to get the ball as a lot of the play went through Scholes and Smith and they didn’t seem to want to pass it my way much, still it was my first game for the club, I managed a couple shots, decent passess so it wasn’t all bad.

A day Later the seniors beat Arsenal 2-1 in a thriller at the theatre of dreams, which I watch on TV with Gilly, it strikes me that I’ve been at the club now for 5 months and I’ve never seen manager Roberto Mancini at all in that time, it seems strange at first.

7th May - I’ve got a game again and once more I'm starting on the left, the team has a much younger feel this time, Scholes, Howard and Smith are all on the bench, but Serbian international Vidic is in the side at Centre Back he’s returning from injury and needs a bit of game time apparently.

I decide I'm going for it this time, I will demand the ball with my voice and runs, I have to try and impress, I have no idea who’s here, supposedly looking at me as I don’t really know anyone that well.

The game is a marked improvement for me, I do get a lot more of the ball my passing is crisp and sharp and I make some nice runs and get involved a lot more in general play. I come close to scoring twice out of my four shots on goal, one hit the crossbar and rebounded to a defender and the another which the crowd and myself though was in as it hit the inside of the left upright and went across the face of goals. At the end of the game it was a 1-1 draw, Assistant Manager Carlos Quieroz even patted my back and said great game, Vidic got man of the match honours just ahead of me, we had the same rating an 8.

9th May -It’s the last game of the season for me and the rest of the under 18’s and were up against Preston, the lads have already won the division here so Brian wants us to have some fun, try new things and go for things a lot more, we might even surprise ourselves. In the change rooms before we file out to the race he chucks me the captain’s armband ‘Lead by example, lad’ Brian tells me.

I don’t know the words to put here really, about me being captain, even if it is only a token gesture in the last game, but I can’t disappoint now, I’ll give it my all, last game for the year, I have a while till preseason starts for next year, so plenty of time to recover.

Nothing really sticks out in my mind about this game, we dominated from start to finish and I'm pleased to say I definitely led by example, I didn’t grab a goal or even get an assist but I like to think I was the playmaker around the field, I was directly involved in all of our goals and we scored 5 of em. I wasn’t the only one though everyone played well and it was a team effort, not one player stood out on our side which is a credit to the performance of the team.

Brian is pleased with the game and me individually, he lets me know ill definitely be involved next year if I train hard and play well maybe a senior birth beckons, if I can stay injury free that is.

We have an end of season party for the under 18’s and I don’t know too many people but we all have a bit of fun, Brian says a few of us won’t be here next year, but even if we aren’t we should always go at everything 100%. I can assure you I will be, I need a good injury free season next year.

End of Season 2008/09