ACT 2 OF VOLUME 2

Tuesday morning arrived with the same 5:30 am alarm, the same pre-dawn darkness outside my window, the same ritual of pulling on my running gear and heading out into the quiet London streets. But something was different.

The exhaustion from the preseason had faded, replaced by a new kind of nervous energy, a low hum of anxiety that had nothing to do with my own performance and everything to do with the two new players who were now, officially, my responsibility. Two players. Two futures. Both in my hands.

I pushed myself harder on the 6k run, the soles of my trainers slapping against the pavement in a steady rhythm, trying to outrun the thoughts that were chasing me.

The streets were empty at this hour, just me and the occasional early-morning commuter, the city still half-asleep. My breath came out in visible puffs in the cold air, my legs burning with the effort, but I welcomed the physical discomfort.

It was easier to deal with than the mental weight I was carrying. The system flashed in my vision as I finished, my time a respectable 32:55, but I barely saw the numbers. My focus was on two other sets of data that had been burned into my mind since yesterday.

Eberechi Eze: Current Ability 110, Tactical Familiarity 0%. Antoine Semenyo: Current Ability 85, Positioning 6/20. The gap between what they were and what they could be felt like a chasm, and I was the one who had to build the bridge.

Back in my flat, I stood on the balcony with my first coffee of the day, watching the city slowly come to life, the first hints of sunrise painting the sky in shades of grey and orange.

The coffee was too hot, burning my tongue slightly, but I drank it anyway, needing the caffeine and the ritual comfort it provided. I thought about Emma's text from last night: Don't try to save everyone at once. You're one person.

She was right, of course. She was always right. But what if I could? What if I was the one person who could see the potential in a player everyone else had given up on? What if I was the one who could unlock the talent trapped inside a fifteen-year-old kid who didn't understand the game yet?

The responsibility felt immense, a weight on my shoulders that was heavier than any physical exhaustion. Eze had been released by four clubs already. Four times he'd been told he wasn't good enough.

And Semenyo was five weeks into an eight-week trial with the U16s, showing no improvement, with Bristol City circling like vultures. If I failed them, where would they go? What would happen to their careers? I took a long sip of coffee, the bitter taste a familiar comfort. I had to try. I didn't have a choice.

By the time I arrived at Copers Cope at 7:30 am, the training ground was already a hive of activity.

Sarah was in the video analysis room, her laptop open to footage of Eze's matches at Millwall, her expression a mixture of fascination and concern.

Rebecca was in the gym, preparing a baseline fitness assessment for Eze and a modified program for Semenyo. Michael was on the goalkeeping pitch, setting up drills for Ryan, his movements calm and methodical.

We were a team, a proper coaching staff, and seeing them all there, all working towards the same goal, eased some of the anxiety that had been gnawing at me. I wasn't alone in this.

"Morning," I said, walking into the analysis room. Sarah looked up, her eyes tired but focused. "You're here early."

"Couldn't sleep," she admitted.

"I was watching Eze's footage. He's brilliant, Danny. Truly brilliant. But he's also a liability. He doesn't track back, he loses the ball in dangerous areas, and he gets pushed off it far too easily. Look at this."

She clicked on a clip from one of his Millwall matches. Eze received the ball in midfield, tried to turn, and was immediately dispossessed by a physical challenge. "That happens at least five times a match. And when he loses it, he doesn't track back. He just stands there, frustrated."

I watched the clip, seeing what she was seeing. The talent was undeniable, but so were the flaws. "What about Semenyo?" I asked.

Sarah pulled up another file. "I've looked at his data from the U16s. Raw pace, good finishing instincts, but his tactical understanding is almost non-existent. Look at his heat map from last week's training session."

She showed me a visualization of Semenyo's movement patterns. Instead of staying wide on the wing, he was constantly drifting inside, clustering in the center of the pitch. "He's a chaos player. He goes where the ball is, not where he should be."

"Can we fix that?" I asked.

She looked at me for a long moment. "I don't know. That's a lot to take on simultaneously. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure," I said, my voice firmer than I felt. "I know it's a risk. But I can't let either of them slip away. Eze has the potential to be world-class. And Semenyo… there's something there. A spark. I can't explain it, but I can see it."

Sarah sighed, but it wasn't a sigh of frustration. It was a sigh of acceptance. "Okay. Then we do it together. But you need to be careful, Danny. You can't spread yourself too thin. You've got twenty other players to manage."

"I know," I said. "That's why I've got you."

She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Right. Let's get to work."

The players started arriving at 9 am, and I gathered them in the changing room before the session. The atmosphere was different from last week.

The three preseason wins had bred confidence, but the arrival of two new players had also introduced an element of uncertainty. I saw the way Connor was looking at Eze, his arms crossed, his expression a mixture of skepticism and something that looked a lot like insecurity.

***

Thank you to nameyelus and chisum_lane for the gifts.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.