retired_charlene

“Come on Nick!” Mick shouted from the coach door. “We’re running behind already without you making us later!”

“Yeah, just a sec...” I said, picking up my bags. Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“Um, excuse me...” they said. I turned around, and saw a guy not much younger than me. “Could I have your autograph, Mr Greenan?”

I was quite chuffed. No-one had really recognised me yet, and having someone recognise you enough to want your autograph was a pleasing experience. "Yeah, sure. You got a pen...?"

“Oh yeah, just a second...” he said, before rummaging through both his trouser pockets in search of one. I looked round to see a few of the other guys smiling at what was happening.

“I’ve got all their autographs already,” he said. “I’ve got autographs of almost every player who’s played here since 1993.” He grinned, looking extremely pleased with himself.

“Yeah?” I said. I guess it was sort of impressive, especially when he handed me a rather thick book full of the said autographs. I had a flick through, trying to see if I recognised any. “Whose is that?” I asked, pointing to a particularly swirly signature.

“Oh, that’s Neil Warnock,” he said, his face beaming. “After Brentford, Sheffield United’s my favourite team. I think he’s great. I’d quite like him to come down and manage Brentford really...” Mick glared at him. “Not that there’s anything wrong with the current management, that is...”

“Right...”

He took the book from me, now that he’d finally located a dirty looking biro.

“OK, could you sign there?”

“Do you want me to write anything in particular?”

He looked a bit confused.

“...What’s your name?”

“Steven.”

“OK, ‘To Steven, all the best in the future, Nick Greenan’.” He looked pleased. I handed the book back to him. “Here you go.” His face lit up.

“Oh, cheers Nick, that’s great!”

I picked up my bag, and gestured towards the coach. “I’ll be off now then...” He looked sort of disappointed.

“Oh, OK then. Good luck with the game today!”

“...Cheers. Bye.”

I turned round and left him staring at his autograph book with an almighty grin on his face. Smithy was laughing at me.

“What?”

“Ah, don’t worry. With time you’ll learn to avoid him.”

“What’s wrong with him? He didn’t seem all that bad for a nerd, I suppose...”

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough...”

“Get on the bloody coach!” Mick screamed.

“Alright, alright,” I muttered to myself, jogging up the stairs. This wasn’t going to be a very fun coach trip, I could tell...

retired_charlene

English Second Division vs Port Vale (a)

After a surprisingly good start to the season, we another away day, this time at Port Vale. They were well fancied to do quite well this season, and although their early season form didn�t paint that picture with just a solitary win to their name, they would surely start to move up the table. Hopefully only after we'd finished with them, of course...

We were still without captain Michael Dobson, whose injury on the opening day was still keeping him out of the team, so we named the same side that faced Wrexham in midweek. We hadn't done that badly without him, I guess.

Unfortunately in the first half we didn�t do that well. Vale didn�t seem interested in attacking, and instead sat back hoping to catch us out on the break. This meant that many of our chances were from distance with their defence proving difficult to break down, something we only managed to do once in the entire first half. Matt Carragher tried to run the ball out of defence down the left side, but instead lost the ball to me. I looked up, swung a right footed ball into Kevin O'Connor, whose header was well saved by Mark Goodlad. O'Connor pounced on the rebound, but Goodlad was again equal to the task and beat it away.

Unsurprisingly we went in with the game scoreless. They managed a solitary shot on goal from about 30 yards out, which Marc Bridge-Wilkinson put well wide. However, with a couple of pot-shots from around the edge of the area from me, Jamie Fullarton and Martin Rowlands, we weren�t a great deal better. We certainly had to up our game in the second period.

And that was exactly what we did. Vale held the ball in defence before Neil Brisco attempted to play the ball past Leon Constantine, and failed. Constantine then ran through unmarked, but Goodlad again pulled out a fine save to deny us the lead. Constantine then went even closer a few minutes later when Fullarton made a good run down the left wing, crossed well only for Constantine to head against the post.

We sensed that we were starting to dominate the game, and continued to push for the opening goal. Brisco again dawdled on the ball with Gary Naysmith dispossessing him this time. He knocked a ball into Constantine's path, who was again denied by Goodlad. However, the rebound fell straight to O�Connor, who somehow managed to send his shot wide. It was a bad miss, and you started to get the feeling it just wasn�t going to be our day, especially when I found myself clean through from a Fullarton pass, and just as I was about to round the keeper Carragher appeared from nowhere to muscle me off the ball. I looked round to the referee who wasn't having any of it.

The breakthrough finally came just four minutes before the end. Eddie Hutchinson and Rowlands passed the ball between themselves 40 yards out, waiting for something to open up in front of them. I obliged, making a run towards the right-hand corner of the penalty area, exactly where Hutchinson sent the ball. Goodlad came to smother the ball, but my first touch took the ball past him, and from a tightish angle I rolled the ball into the empty net, and ensured that our travelling supporters would go home happy, and we'd go home with the three points.

Final Score:- Port Vale 0-1 Brentford
Team:- (3-5-2) P. Smith 7; Roget 8, Christanval 7, Marshall 8; Naysmith 8, Hutchinson 8, Fullarton 8, Rowlands (c) 8 (J. Smith sub 89, 6), Greenan 8(1); Constantine 6 (Peters sub 79, 6), O'Connor 7.

retired_charlene

"...Are you sure she'll be there...? Yeah...? Is he going to be there...? Oh right...No, it doesn't matter, I just need her to be there...She'll definitely be there...OK, cheers Joe. Bye."

With the success I was having on the pitch, I was in an unusually good mood. I don’t think I’d really been this happy since my sister went to France for a week. However, I knew that there was definitely room for improvement. It just needed the last piece of the puzzle to slot nicely into place, and that was where tonight came in...


"You come here often?" she asked.

"Er, yeah, sometimes. Depends on work."

"Oh yeah? What do you do?"

"I'm a footballer."

"Really?" She seemed dead chuffed. "Who do you play for?"

"Brentford."

"Oh...” She seemed quite disappointed by my reply, something that I’d started to get used to when I told them who I played for. Somehow Brentford didn’t quite have the glamour of an Arsenal or a Chelsea. “I didn’t know they even had a team... Still, you off to some proper team soon?"

I smiled wryly. "Erm, not quite yet, but you never know."

And then I saw her.

"So, do you wanna-?"

"Listen..." I paused to think for a moment. "...Sorry, what's you name again?"

"Kate."

"Right, Kate, I've gotta go somewhere. Nice talking to you."

"But you were going to buy me a drink!"

I dug a couple of quid out of my pocket, and put it on the bar.

"Have one on me..."


Thankfully, she wasn't part of the plan. Being one of the better looking girls from Feltham, she of course had the brains of a rubber duck, was half as interesting to talk to and would have had to put clothes on to be arrested for indecent exposure. Thankfully, the most beautiful girl in all of London had just arrived...

"Beth!"

"Nick!" She seemed surprised to see me. "I'm surprised to see you. I’d have thought you had a match or whatever..."

"Nah, not for a few days now." I looked over her shoulder. He was here.

"James mate, good to see you!" I said, pretending I was in any way pleased to see him.

"Er...Nick, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Nick. So, what you two doing here, as if I need to ask..."

"Oh, James isn't staying," replied Beth.

"Yeah?” I could barely contain my excitement. “Where you off to mate?"

"Oh, I've got work tonight."

"And what do you do?"

"I work in this big warehouse. You know, lifting stuff about, doing this and that..."

"Really? Sounds great. What sort of warehouse?"

"Er, I'm not sure...it's big and white. Not really anything special..." He was being particularly thick tonight, and that was saying something...

"Nah mate, I mean what stuff's inside it?"

"Oh right, I get ya now. It's a bit of everything really, depends what they decide to get in stock, don't it?"

"Great..." I looked at my watch, trying to give him a hint. He took it.

"Well, I'd better be off. I'll see you tomorrow babe." He leaned over and gave her a goodbye kiss, and left. And now I knew what I had to do...

retired_train2paris

good stuff as ever Mr. Greenan

retired_charlene

It was the whole point of going out that night - to talk to Beth. I had to tell her how I felt for her, and I had to do it now. Everything else was going so well, so I decided to do this while I was on a roll. But it wasn't going to be easy...

"So what-"

"Beth, I-"

There was a momentary pause while we realised what happened. I smiled, and decided to let her go first.

"Go on, what were you going to say?"

"Oh, I was going to ask what you were doing here tonight. You don't normally come out on your own very often..."

She was right. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy going out for the night, it was more the fact that I didn’t particularly like drinking on my own. Not being the most confident of people seriously hindered my ability to pick up someone to talk to, and the prospect of sitting at the bar alone getting drunk didn’t really appeal to me. Luckily for me that wasn’t often a problem since either Joe or Beth were usually out doing something, and if they weren’t and I fancied doing something it was never particularly difficult to twist their arm...

"I guess... Anyway, Joe said you might be here, so I thought I’d come and say hello. Well, that and I was getting bored at home...”

She smiled. “So I just about beat staying at home and watching telly?”

“Well, I’d rather come and have a drink with you than have Alan Titchmarsh go on at me to plant my petunias as early as possible next spring. I mean, I haven’t even got a sodding garden...” Beth smiled. She always seemed to find my mini-rants amusing. “Anyway, I wanted to have a little chat with you..."

“Oh yeah? Anything important?”

“Well...I guess it is, yeah.”

She started to look quite concerned. "...Is there something wrong Nick?"

I picked up on her nervous expression, and started to shake my head. "Oh no, it’s nothing bad, no. It’s just...well, it's just a bit difficult to say."

And then the moment came. She was staring at me with quite a worried look on her face. I don't think she was going to ignore me this time.

"Beth...I think I love you."

The worried look on her face quickly became a very shocked look.

"...I’m sorry?" Her reaction so far wasn't exactly filling me with confidence.

"Over the last few months, I've come to realise how much you mean to me. I don’t us to be just friends any more...I want us to be more than that."

She still looked stunned, and her lack of any response other than staring at me wide-eyed was now starting to worry me.

“Well...say something.”

“I’m sorry, I don't know what to say... I never expected you to say something as...stupid as that..."

"Stupid?" This didn't seem to be going well.

"Yes, stupid. I thought we were friends..."

"We are..."

"Then why are you trying to ruin things?"

I was really starting to get worried now. "I'm not! I'm just...trying to move things on a level..."

"Well that's not going to happen! I don’t want anything like that from you Nick; things were great the way they were...”

She stood up quickly, and started shaking her head. She then opened her mouth as if to say something, but she didn’t bother, she just turned on her heels and left. I just sat there, and anyone sat nearby was now staring at me.

“What?” I said, picking up my drink. I downed the rest in one go, and slammed the glass down on the table in frustration. That didn't go exactly to plan...

retired_charlene

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steve Dine:
good stuff as ever Mr. Greenan <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you very much Mr. Dine. And yes, real names as usernames are cool.

retired_kellywinkler42

Beth ya wally he plays for Brentford!

Nice one Nick.

retired_charlene

The next day wasn't much better. A solid day of training after a good night's sleep is bad enough, but after what had happened, it was ten times worse. Mick said he wanted a word at the end of the day, which after my sub-Phil Neville standard performance that day I was half expecting.

"Mick?" I said, poking my head round his office door. He was asleep. I went in anyway, and cleared my throat loudly. That did the business.

"Eh...what the...oh, it's you Nick. What do you want?"

"Er, you wanted to see me?" He had a blank look on his face, before he suddenly realised what I was on about.

“Oh yeah, I did. Well, I was going to ask if there was something wrong. I mean, I’ve seen some rubbish efforts in training before, given a few myself to be honest, but today was just...shocking.”

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s just...I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“Let me guess...it’s a woman, right?” I sighed, and nodded my head. “I knew it! Only a woman could get a man in a state like that. I mean, take my Betty for example. She was a right nightmare at first, kept trying to give me the brush-off. But I knew her game, she was just playing hard to get. They love it, they want you to go round chasing after them as if they’re the most important thing in the whole world, and even then they’ll probably want more from you...”

“...So what did you do?”

“I kept at it. Every available opportunity I went to see her, to give her flowers, chocolates. I mean, you name it, I did it...”

Then I remembered something. “...Hang on, I thought your wife’s name was Julie?”

“Oh, it is. Betty had a restraining order put on me, couldn’t go within 50 yards of her in the end...”

“...Thanks Mick, that’s been really helpful.”

“Really? I’ve got some more I can tell you if you want...”

“Oh no, I think that’s...enough for today. I’ll try and pick things up again tomorrow.”

“OK then, you do that.”

And off I went. That had sort of cheered me up in a strange way. But just as I started to get back up, something came along to knock me back down on the way home...

"NICK!"

It was James. He didn't look too pleased. Neither did Beth chasing after him.

"You been trying to chat up my bird?"

"Sorry?"

"James, let’s go, yeah? It's not worth it..." Beth said, grabbing his arm as she tried to pull him back, but he just shrugged her off.

"No, some things have gotta be said. Did you try and chat up Beth?"

"What does it matter? She turned me down anyway..." I turned to walk away.

"OI! I'm not finished with you!"

I turned round to face him again, and soon his fist met my face, before I met the floor.

"JAMES! STOP IT!" screamed Beth, as she tried to hold him back. He was much stronger than her, but he didn't put up much resistance and soon turned to walk away. She looked at me as I tried to sit up. "Are you all...?"

"Leave him!" James bellowed. "Now come on!"

Beth looked at me for a second, and I looked at her, before she turned and walked off with him. She didn't look back...

retired_charlene

English League Cup First Round vs Peterborough United (h)

Just over a month into the new season and the first cup competition rolled into town. To open our League Cup campaign, we were drawn at home to fellow Division Two side Peterborough, who had made an indifferent start to the season, with a couple of good wins, and a couple of heavy defeats. We were hoping for the latter tonight.

At last we could welcome our skipper back into the side, with Michael Dobson taking Eddie Hutchinson's place at right wing-back, and retaking the captain's armband from Martin Rowlands. But as one player came back from injury, another dropped out of the side. Kevin O'Connor, who had missed the opening two matches through injury, was sidelined with a knee injury, and was expected to be out for up to two weeks. Mark Peters deputised for him up front.

Unlike the game at the weekend we got off to a flying start. With only a couple of minutes on the clock, Rowlands played a great through ball into my path but I managed to make a hash of my shot, and in the end effectively just passed it back to Mark Tyler. He was again called into action a few minutes later when Dobson played a ball down the right looking for me. I then played it back to the somehow unmarked Leon Constantine, who went to control the ball and shoot. Unfortunately he got the 'control' part of that hopelessly wrong, and Tyler smothered before Constantine could even try the 'shoot' part.

It wasn't plain sailing at the back either. Fullarton knocked a lazy pass to Rowlands which Mark Arber easily read, and raced through after intercepting the pass. He then barged his way past Philippe Christanval, before shooting over the bar from near the penalty spot. It was a huge let-off, and we were incredibly lucky not to be behind.

And then came a few minutes of complete domination. Paul Smith hit a goal kick long down the middle, which I headed towards Peters. He ran in on goal, shot low and forced a good save from Tyler. It would have been a great save had he not diverted the ball straight to me in the six yard box, and I finished comfortably from a few yards out for my third in three games.

A couple of minutes later my fourth in three games arrived, in a very similar manner to my opener. I gave the ball to Peters inside the area, and Tyler again closed in to smother. This time instead of diverting the ball to me off of Tyler, Peters just played it under him, and I easily made it two from a yard or two further out than before.

Three minutes later the ball was in the back of the net again. Matthew Gill was dispossessed by Leo Roget, who hit the ball long upfield hopefully looking for one of the two strikers. Tyler raced out of his area to clear the danger, but he was stunned to see Arber head the ball out of his path straight to me 35 yards out. It was further out that my other two goals, but I hit the back of the net all the same, and I had myself a hat trick in five minutes.

It could have been four for both me and the team just before the break too. Peters took the ball past Jelleyman down the left and crossed it in towards me. I controlled it on my chest, let it bounce, and tried an extravagant left foot shot on the turn. It would have been brilliant had it gone in, but in all honesty it didn't go anywhere near, and threatened the floodlights more than the goal.

We really didn't want the first half to end. We were going through their defence like a very sharp knife through very soft butter, and Rowlands was picking up everything in the middle of the park, and playing the ball about dangerously.

We continued our spectacular performance early in the second half when Gary Naysmith ran down the left against Gill. His attempted cross hit the defender, but the ball fell kindly for Naysmith, who drilled the ball straight across the box to the other wing back Dobson. He hit it on the volley right footed, and nearly burst the net. But he didn't, since it went inches wide.

As the second half went on we started to relax, and pretty much play for the three-nil win. Only my free kick from 25 yards threatened the goal, and that was pretty easily saved by Tyler.

All in all it was a great night for both me and the club. I'd got a hat trick, and would have gone home with the match ball had the moneymen said we couldn't afford to give precious balls away, and the club was through to the second round where we'd face First Division Gillingham away from home. It would be a difficult match, but if we put in another performance like that, we'd win hands down.

Final Score:- Brentford 3-0 Peterborough
Team:- (3-5-2) Smith 7; Roget 8, Christanval 8, Marshall 8; Naysmith 8, Dobson (c) 8 (Hutchinson sub 65, 7), Fullarton 7, Rowlands 8, Greenan 10(3); Constantine 8, Peters 8.

retired_charlene

“And that’s...another strike!”

Jen punched the air with delight as I looked with dismay at the scorecard. She’d got more points in that go that I had all night...

“Well done...” I said, getting up to have my go.

“Nick, what’s wrong?”

I picked a ball up, and took aim.

“There’s nothing...”

I lobbed the ball down the alley. It bounced about a third of the way down, bounced again, and went straight down the side.

“...wrong.”

Jen smirked. “Nothing wrong, eh? That’s why you’re getting beat by a girl then?”

“I haven’t lost yet. I’m only ten...twenty...thirty... So what? It’s only a game...”

I bowled another ball aimlessly down the right hand side. At one point it looked like it might just clip the outside of the back pin, but it fell away a few metres short.

“Do you want me to ask someone to put the sides up?” I glared at her, not wanting to even give her an answer. “OK, OK, I won’t. It’s just I know seven-year-olds who could do better than you tonight...”

“Then why don’t you go and play with one of them then?”

Shortly after saying that I realised how nasty I was being, without any good reason whatsoever. She hadn’t done anything wrong after all.

“I’m sorry Jen, I didn’t mean...I’m just not in a very good mood, that’s all.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Come on Nick, you know you can tell me anything.”

I exhaled loudly. “...I told Beth, didn’t I?”

“Oh...” She put her ball back in the rack, and sat down opposite me. “By the way you’ve been acting tonight, I’m guessing it didn’t go all that well then.”

“That’s an understatement. I went to go and see her last night and tell her how I felt, but she said I was being stupid and trying to mess everything up.”

“You seen her since?”

“Yeah, just after I finished training today. Of course, James did his best to make sure I couldn’t see her...” I pointed to my eye and the massive bruise right under it.

“So you didn’t accidentally get a ball kicked at you?”

“Nah...”

We just sat there for a few moments, not really sure what to do. I couldn’t really be bothered to carry on with the bowling any more, and I didn’t really want to talk about Beth either. I was just hoping that Jen didn’t want to talk about it either.

“So...what are you going to do now? About Beth I mean?”

“I don’t know... I don’t want to push her away by trying to force things.”

“You want me to talk to her? See what she thinks.”

“Would you?” She nodded. “Thanks Jen, I’d really appreciate that...”

“Well, I can’t have my two best friends falling out just cos you’ve been an idiot, can I? Anyway, do you want to get back to being thrashed or not?”

“Nah, I’ll let you have this one. Just don’t tell anyone, OK? I’ve got a reputation to think about...”