Spav

A hotel somewhere in Manchester:

Malcolm Glazer eased his aging body down from the bondage frame. He shuffled over to a leather armchair, sat down and placed an oxygen mask over his mouth. After a few deep breaths his heart rate began to slow and he found himself able to speak again. “Goddam, you sure do give the sweetest blöwjobs, Mistress Veronika”, he said to the other person in the hotel room with him.

The tall dark-haired woman, clad entirely in black leather, shot him a piercing look. She reached out for a riding crop that was on the table next to her and walked over to where Glazer was seated in his armchair. She swung the crop viciously down on his shoulder, causing a loud cracking sound to emanate from where she made contact with the American billionaire’s flesh. Glazer cried out in pain at the contact, but the woman showed no concern. “I’ve told you never to talk to me unless I talk to you first”, Mistress Veronika hissed at him.

“I’m sorry, Mistress Veronika”, Glazer quickly responded. “It won’t happen again”, he added. The raven-haired dominatrix stared at Glazer with a disdainful look. “You’ll never learn”, she stated. “I think it’s time we ended our association”. A look of dread spread across Glazer’s face and he fell to his knees in front of the tall beauty. In his most acquiescent manner he dutifully licked the toes of Mistress Veronika’s leather stiletto-heeled boots. “It’ll take more than your pitiful whining to save you this time”, she said.

Glazer looked absolutely shattered. “Anything, I’ll do anything”, he pleaded with her. Mistress Veronika appeared to consider his pitiful begging for a moment and then turned back to the table where her bag was sitting. She reached inside and pulled an A4 envelope from the interior. With her black-gloved fingers she extracted a document of approximately ten pages in total and placed it on the table. “Sign this then”, she demanded of him.

Glazer got to his feet and shuffled over to the table to look at the document. “You are already well paid, Mistress Veronika”, he said in a humble tone. “It’s not money, you fool”, she replied. “It’s your football club”. Malcolm Glazer hesitated for a moment, but then he reached for the hotel pen that was sitting on the table. He scrawled his signature on the dotted line of the last page where she indicated to him. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make – Mistress Veronika meant much more to him than Manchester United.

Spav

Three hours later in another part of Manchester:

The black Mercedes limousine pulled to a stop part way to the end of the dimly-lit alley. The rear passenger door opened and a bulkily-built man stepped from the interior. He turned and reached forward to help the next occupant from the rear of the limousine. This man needed assistance as his hands were tied behind his back and a heavy black hood was covering his head. He nearly fell as stepped from the vehicle, but the burly man roughly jerked him by the arm so that he somehow remained on his feet. He then led the hooded man a few yards from the car and waited for the next occupant to alight.

The third fellow who stepped from the Mercedes was wearing a superbly-tailored Italian suit. The suit needed to be superbly-tailored as it had to fit a body that was clearly obese, especially in terms of the large rounded belly that protruded from the man’s midriff. The fat man stood for a moment taking in the surroundings, then adjusted the folds of his jacket so that it sat more evenly over his huge stomach. “Take the bästard down to the canal”, he calmly said to the first man.

The first man nodded and added “yes, Vic” for good measure. He took the hooded man’s left arm with his own left hand and grabbed the back of his collar with his right hand as he frog-marched the captive man down the alley. The man known as Vic slowly waddled along behind them. After walking twenty yards the alley turned at right angles where it opened up into a small open space on the bank of a murky-looking canal. The first man led the stumbling captive to the edge of the water and made him turn to face the way he had come.

“Get him on his knees” said Vic as he made his way into the open space. The first man shoved the captive down to his knees. “Off with the hood and the gag now”, ordered Vic. The bulkily-built man carried out the commands, removing the hood and the large piece of packing-tape that had gagged the man. The captive was now able to see for the first time in ninety minutes and he fearfully took in the surroundings and the position that he found himself in. He looked up at Vic standing a few feet away in front of him. “Do you know who I am?” he blustered in a Scottish accent. Vic grinned and nodded at the man. I’m Alex Ferguson, for fook’s sake”, he added rather unnecessarily, given that his identity known.

“If this is about the outstanding gambling debts, then I’ve got a deal with Lenny to make the repayments in instalments over the next couple of weeks”, explained Ferguson. “Shut up, you stupid Jock git”, said Vic. “This is nothing to do with the horses”. Ferguson looked nonplussed for a moment, so Vic supplied the answer. “It’s to do with Manchester United, you fool”. Ferguson seemed unsure what that meant at first. “But I’m Alex Ferguson, you cannae do anything to me when it comes to football – I’m bigger than anyone in the game”.

Vic laughed at Ferguson’s apparent belief in his own invulnerability and then pulled a pistol from the inside of his jacket. He walked over to Ferguson and placed the barrel of the gun in the Scotsman’s mouth before he could say anything further. Ferguson tried to scream, but the gun was forced too far down his throat and only a muffled gargling could be heard. Before anything further could be said, Vic pulled the trigger and a loud shot rang out. The bullet blew the back of Ferguson’s head off as it travelled on its way into the water. Ferguson’s body quickly followed it as it tumbled into the canal with a loud splash.

Vic and his henchman looked at the body of Alex Ferguson as it floated facedown in the black water and Vic tossed the pistol into the canal next to the corpse. “I’m a City man myself”, he said before he turned on his heels and slowly waddled from the scene.

Spav

Later that same evening somewhere else in Manchester:

The opulently furnished office of Manchester ‘businessman’ Sean Manc had seen a steady flow of visitors tonight. The latest was his chief ‘facilitator’ Vic who had returned to make a report on most recent mission. “All handled, boss”, Vic confirmed. “I personally put the gun in Fergie’s mouth and blew the back of his head off. Damn, you should have seen the look on his face when he suddenly realised that someone wasn’t gonna take his bullshït anymore. I swear that he pïssed himself at that moment too. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as I shoved…”

Sean waved his hand to interrupt Vic. “Spare me the gory details, Vic”, he said. “As long as the old fool is dead, then that’s all I need to know. You’ve done well, as usual. Take yourself downstairs and help yourself to the girls in the club. There’s a new Thai girl down there that’s particularly adept in the fashion that you like. I’ll call you when I need your services again”. Vic nodded in acknowledgement and turned to leave the office. As he made his way partly through the door he turned and announced, “Sharon is waiting outside – do you want me to send her in?” Sean’s face broke into a smile. This was the second of the reports that he had been waiting for. “Yes, Vic, tell her to come in”.

Sharon entered the office moments after Vic had left. She walked up to Sean’s desk and dropped an A4 envelope on it. “All signed and sealed”, she announced as Sean reached over to retrieve the documents. “So Mistress Veronika had no trouble persuading Mr Glazer to sign away the power over managerial appointments at Manchester United then?” he asked. “No problems at all” she replied. “The blithering old färt was down on his hands and knees licking my boots when he thought that he wasn’t going to get anymore of his special sessions”. Sean laid the papers down on his desk after he confirmed that the last page had been signed correctly. “Another job well done. You can go, Sharon”, he said as his mind started to think ahead.

“Sean, when can we spend some time together again?” asked Sharon. “I miss our little parties – we never seem to have them anymore”, she whined. Sean looked up in annoyance, but then his face softened. It had been a while since he had been to the farm with Sharon. “Okay, let’s do something this weekend”, he said. “I think I’ll feel like celebrating by the time today’s news filters out and the fun and games start at Old Trafford”. Sharon clapped her hands together in glee. “Can we use both the donkey and the Shetland pony this weekend?” she asked in excitement. A smile flickered across Sean Manc’s face. “Yes, why not”, he readily agreed.

Spav

Author's Note: This story has been previously posted on another website, so please accept my apologies if you have seen it before.

The story is based on a CM01/02 game running the Tapani 3.0.4 patch with data correct as of April 2006 and the league season beginning in August 2005.

It is a story that I have particularly looked forward to doing over the past couple of years and I have finally got this effort past the initial opening stages. I hope that you enjoy what follows.

Cheers, Spav

gil

Liking it so far. KUTGW!

Lord Crumb

Ah more reading material.

Is the FMS story over Spav and if so who was the murderer?

Who would have survived?

How would the others have died?

Spav

No, that story is not over. I will get back to it and finish it sometime before Xmas. Thanks for asking, Lord Crumb.

Spav

16.07.2005

The full impact of Sean Manc’s document as signed by Malcolm Glazer, combined with the news of the murder of Alex Ferguson, was fully felt at Old Trafford on Saturday morning when Glazer called a news conference to announce the club’s new manager. To the total surprise of all and sundry it was not the expected figure of either Martin O’Neill or Gordon Strachan, but a total unknown named Fred West.

As Fred West sat at the conference table with the cameras flashing all around him following his introduction, his mind went back twelve hours to his last meeting with Sean Manc. Seated in Manc’s luxurious office the previous night, West listened intently as Sean spelt out his directives. “Fred, this is a big task I’m entrusting you with, so make sure you do things exactly as I ask you. There’ll be no going off gung-ho with the newfound power of being the manager of Manchester United. Remember what happened to Fergie – that can happen to you too if you don’t follow directions”. Fred nodded in understanding. He knew that this was his payback for a favour earned many years ago and his was looking forward to his time in the limelight.

“Right then, the main objective is the total demoralisation of the Manchester United enterprise. That will chiefly be achieved by ensuring that the club is relegated from the Premier League. The Champions League is of a lesser concern, but I certainly don’t expect you to go out and win the bloody thing. I want the careers of the big name players destroyed – some you can sell, but the others I want to rot away in the reserves. I’ll leave the tactics and day-to-day running of the club up to you, but stick to my broad outlines or else”.

As a result of the previous night’s conversation, new manager Fred West had some surprising comments to make during his introductory press conference. Among the more sensational comments were the following remarks:

“There’s too many long faces around this place since the death of Alex Ferguson, so I’ll be rectifying that by putting Ruud van Nistelrooy up for sale. In fact there are too many overrated foreigners at this club who are not justifying their keep, so Ji-Sung Park and Nemanja Vidic will be joining van Nistelrooy on the transfer list and I’ll be prepared to entertain bids for several other foreign players”.

“I also expect all players to meet strict fitness levels when they play under me. Wayne Rooney is one player who clearly is overweight and until he loses at least a stone he won’t be considered for first-team action. This club is more than just one player and I will have no hesitation in enforcing this policy”.

“Finally there will be no pre-season friendlies before the first official match. I’m sick and tired of other clubs trying to leverage gate receipts for their own purposes by cashing in on the fine name of Manchester United. The players here are all top-notch professionals and they will be ready for the season without these games that are merely money-spinning opportunities for the opposing clubs”.

And with that stated the Fred West introductory press conference was over. Things were certainly heading in a strange new direction at Manchester United in the 2005/06 season.

Spav

18.07.2005

Within days of new manager Fred West’s announcement concerning players being available for transfer, Hertha Berlin came in with a bid of £8.5M for the midfielder Ji-Sung Park. Before you could say “roast dog and chips” West had accepted their offer and the Korean was on his way to Germany.

21.07.2005

Bolton manager ‘Fat Sam’ Allardyce soon came sniffing around when he heard that a player from some backward European league was on offer. A £4.4M deal secured him the services of the Serbo-Montenegrin defender Nemanja Vidic to add to his foreign legion at the Reebok Stadium.

28.07.2005

After twelve days in charge of the club West could sense that the supporters were looking for a big signing, so in a press conference he promised them that he was negotiating for the services of a top line striker. In the meantime, to cover the lack of new faces, West paraded the 18yo youngster player Michael Gibson who had just been promoted from the youth academy. Gibson was said to be one of the most promising youngsters in England and he could play anywhere across the midfield.

30.07.2005

With much fanfare Fred West called a press conference to announce that he was going to introduce the newest big name signing for Manchester United. The look of surprise on the faces of the media representatives was priceless when he announced that Ade Akinbiyi had joined the club in a £1.5M deal from Championship side Sheffield United. West was grinning from ear to ear as he shook hands with Akinbiyi and offered him the number 13 shirt. Here was the first part of his transfer strategy that was going to bring United to their knees. His mood was soured somewhat though when a journalist pointed at that although Akinbiyi was an English citizen, he had in fact made one appearance for Nigeria in an international match. “Doesn’t that qualify him as being one of those lazy foreigners you keep ranting about?” he was asked. West stormed out of the press conference in disgust and the reporter mysteriously died in a ‘bungled burglary’ at his home 24 hours later.

07.08.2005

Continuing on with his quest to sign new English talent West announced that he had made a £500K bid for Colchester United’s utility player Greg Halford. However Colchester made it clear that they expected a much larger transfer fee for their rising star and the League One club turned down the bid.

Spav

With the first official match coming up, new Manchester United manager Fred West had been working on a tactic that he hoped would curb the scoring powers of his players. Preaching that “to win a match you must first stop the opposition from scoring”, he had introduced a wingback system with three central defenders, a holding midfielder, two central midfielders and two forwards. Where possible, youth would get its chance and in that respect Giggs and Scholes would only play supporting roles to Richardson and Fletcher in the centre of the park. Howard would get the nod over van der Sar in goal for the same reason. Ferdinand would be pushed up from defence to cover the lack of a true defensive midfielder (with Smith still out injured with his broken ankle) whilst Evra would get the chance to make a better showing following his miserable performances since his arrival. With Rooney benched and van Nistelrooy on the transfer list, Akinbiyi and Saha would be expected to get the goals.

10.08.2005

v. Partizan Belgrade (H) Champions League Q3 L1

(5-3-2 Defensive) Howard; O’Shea, Neville, Heinze, Silvestre, Evra; Fletcher, Ferdinand, Richardson; Akinbiyi, Saha.

subs: Rooney, Solskjaer, Scholes, Giggs, Fortune, Brown, van der Sar.

Despite making his tactical intentions clear before the match, West found that Partizan Belgrade paraded an even more defensive 5-3-2 formation than United intended to deploy. Akinbiyi and Saha were not on the same wavelength at all up front and several good chances went begging. As the first half progressed it was obvious that Fletcher and Richardson were the danger players. Despite West’s direction to hold back, both players went close with long-range shots. Eventually Richardson found his distance and a scorching 30-yarder flew into the net after 32 minutes to put United 1-0 up. Four minutes later and Ferdinand and O’Shea combined to set up Fletcher and it was 2-0. Into the second half and Saha was starting to look menacing, but Akinbiyi was still fumbling. A 64th minute corner saw Heinze fouled and United were awarded a penalty. West had adjudged Evra to be the least competent penalty-taker, so he had told him to take any spot-kicks. However Evra belied that lack of confidence in him by blasting the ball home from the spot for a 3-0 lead. There was no late response from Partizan and a three-goal victory had been achieved in West’s first match in charge. A 14/9 to 2/1 shots/shots on goal ratio quickly showed where the match had been won. West would have to do something about that sort of attacking power if he was to follow Sean Manc’s directives to the letter.

Manchester United 3-0 Partizan Belgrade
Richardson 32, Fletcher 36, Evra 64 (pen)

13.08.2005

An improved £1M bid was enough to persuade Colchester United to part with their utility player Greg Halford. Halford joined West in the Old Trafford boardroom to sign a five-year deal, although the 20yo was out with a groin injury and would not be able to make his debut for Manchester United for at least two months.