Crunchtime - FMFormation.net - Football Manager

**T.H** · 11-03-08, 06:32 AM

Crunchtime

Chapter 1: Success

I pulled my beloved Green and white hooped shirt over my head, and laced up my boots, as I prepared to face the threat of 17th placed Tornby. I followed my teammates as we walked into the tunnel, taking in the breath of fresh grass on my way. This was it; 90 minutes separated us between victory and defeat.

My name is Tom Hooper, I am 15 years old and currently coming to the end of my GCSE year, with my exams in just two months. Talk about pressure eh?
Football keeps me occupied in my spare time. I currently play for the Knaresborough Town Youth Team, Knaresborough Celtic. Knaresborough Town is a pretty small club, who play their home games at Manse Lane in the West Yorkshire Premier, however the youth team play in the national league, and we currently lie 5th in an exciting table.

I live on the outskirts of Knaresborough, in a residential part of a small village, and the place has a footballing background, with Danny Mills and Leeds Reserve Tom Lees both my former neighbours and Yakubu of Everton owns a property just down the road from me. Manse Lane is situated in Knaresborough itself, a 15 minute drive from my house.

I was born, bred and grew up in Stevenage, but moved up North when I was just 20 months old. I hope to push on to play for the first team when I’m a little older, and maybe even push on towards professional level, but I am keeping my options wide open, and I am capable of so much academically at school, predicted 10 A Stars and 1 A for my GCSE’s. However, I need to be working to the best of my ability to achieve these high goals, after screwing up quite a bit, after stupid incident after stupid incident.

Football is my true passion in life, along with my family, my friends and my two cats, Louis and Molly, who are both 5. My sisters, Sophie and Emily are 18 and 12 respectively, meaning that both are currently at my school, with Sophie moving onto university in October.

My football is at a high at the moment though, we lie comfortably towards the top of the league, and I have managed 8 goals in 28 league games with 10 games to go. We are into the Quarter Finals of the cup, and things look good for us to push for promotion this year.

We walked out of the tunnel, with the croaky announcer’s voice ringing in our ears as we approached the muddy turf that awaited us. I took up my usual position on the left flank, following in the footsteps of my idol, and waited anxiously as our captain went up for the toss. We won it, and Andy Cowie opted to play into the wind first half, giving the opposition a tougher challenge in the second half. I looked at my opposite number, a big lad, with dark brown hair, knowing he had all the credentials to beat my physically. Guess I would have to let my feet do the talking!

The game kicked off at a steady pace, with neither side taking an early advantage. Around seven minutes into the game, their right back beat me for pace and I let him get the wrong side of me. I panicked and ran back to cover, but he was away from me in a flash. He took the ball outside and prepared to whip in a cross. Will Merrin slid in and knocked the ball out for a corner, and I got a lecture for losing my concentration. I took up my place on the near post for the corner, and ran forward to head away the threatening ball. Our right back Andy Hewitt jumped to head the loose ball away, but it fell to the feet of a lurking midfielder on the edge of the box. He drove the ball in low and hard, and it bobbled around like a pinball machine. Next thing I knew, our keeper Ed Leigh was lying in the mud, with the ball sweetly nestled in the left hand corner of the net. After a slow start to the game, we had paid the price!

Cowie urged us on, and we fought our way back into the game, creating numerous chances over and over again. Seb Crawford went close on two occasions, and Andy Reid hit the post with a thumping header. We couldn’t break through the resilient Tornby defence. I looked up at the scoreboard, as half time approached. I knew we needed a moment of brilliance to crack this tough defence and taking the bull by the horns, I drove towards the edge of the box. I dodged a couple of tackles, before unleashing a low drive towards the bottom corner of the net. I punched the air as I heard the roar from the crowd, and the half time whistle. I trudged towards the dressing room, head down, relieved, because we had got what we deserved after a frustrating 45 minutes.

Inside the dressing room, we received some reassuring words from manager Dave Cowie, and I headed back out for the second half, knowing I had a huge job on my hands. The half started slowly once again, but we gradually turned possession into chances, and I could see that it wasn’t long before we took the lead. I received a crossfield pass from Andy Hewitt on the left, and took it down precisely on my thigh, I knocked it past a defender, and whipped in a delightful ball, which landed on the head of Greg Archer, who finished off brilliantly, knocking the ball firmly past the Tornby keeper.
We persisted and persisted, eager to add to our lead. A dirty challenge brought us a free kick around the halfway line, and Hewitt played in a fantastic ball, which was brought down well by Merrin. He knocked the ball into the feet of Liam Finnerty, who slotted home from 12 yards.
The chances kept flowing, and substitutions were made to bolster our midfield, and to replace tired legs. With just 12 minutes to go Archer found himself one on one with the keeper, and he sent a delicious chip floating over his head to make it 4-1. This was Greg’s last action, as he was subbed for fellow striker Alex Elsworth.

The closing minutes flew by, and deep into injury time we received a penalty for a handball from a corner. Since our usual taker had been substituted, I took on the daunting responsibility, knowing that if I managed to slot it home, I would score my 9th goal of the season. I steadily took my run up and plotted an angle in the top right corner of the goal. I hit the ball sweetly, and watched it crash towards the corner, beating the keeper’s outstretched arms, and smashing against the crossbar. The ball was cleared and the final whistle went, bringing a fantastic performance to a close, which had moved us up to 4th in the table, 6 points off the top. I took off my shirt and put it over my shoulder, shaking my opponents’ hands, as I celebrated the victory with my mates. Another hard day at the office over, and the prospect of school beckoning in the distance!

Graham FM · 11-03-08, 09:17 AM

very good story th
well done on the win over thorby
and u scored a goal aswell but u missed a peno :( :P
good luck in the rest of ur games and hopefully u can get promoted and win the cup

**WozzaWolves** · 11-03-08, 05:28 PM

lol. Good start, what have you been feeding the cat on the left?

KIU :D

**Hartynips** · 12-03-08, 08:34 AM

Is this like a new autobiography like rooney or beckhams? "TH's My Story" lol!
Seriously though very entertaining stuff mate very impressive when is the book out? KUTGW and practice your penalties!

**T.H** · 21-03-08, 09:58 PM

Chapter 2: Falling Into Place

The week flew by as usual, and then on Wednesday evening, I found myself involved in a particularly long phone call. And it wasn’t just any old phone call, no it was a phone call to the girl that I had liked for some time, Charlotte Ulman. I’d told her how I felt 5 months prior to this call, and we spent an amazing day together, before things just faltered. I had told her that I still felt the same way whilst on the phone with her, and she revealed to me that she had been going out with a 19 year old called Matt for 5 months. I felt devastated, and was unsure what to do, until she explained that she had had previous feelings for me, and they had all come rushing back to her, on hearing my news.

We talked for a couple of hours, and we arranged for me to go to hers on the Thursday night. I put down the phone, filled with great excitement, although worried that my nerves would get the better of me. Thursday trudged past at an incredibly slow rate, and as the evening approached, I got ready for my big night, and started to anticipate what lay ahead.

When I arrived at her house, we went upstairs and talked things through for ages. I was thinking all the time in my head, trying to figure out whether anything was going to happen. My phone rang, and I answered the call from my dad. He was outside ready to pick me up, but as I got up to go, she told me that she had broken up with Matt for me. I hugged her and gave her a quick kiss, and walked down to my dad, over the moon.

I woke up on Friday morning feeling ecstatic! I walked out onto the astro turf for P.E in the best mood of my life. We divided into teams, with me leading the non-bibbed side onto the pitch. We started the game horribly, going down 1-0 instantly. I hit back straight away with a left foot volley from the edge of the six yard box, after beating a couple of defenders. The game drifted on with goals flying in. We soon found ourselves 3-1 up, until we were pegged back to 3-3.

I received the ball from the kick off, and knocked the ball up with my right foot, seeing the keeper, Adam Mawson, off his line slightly. I couldn’t see many other options, and being a kickaround, I decided to go for it. I let fly with a searing left foot volley from the halfway line, that went perfectly straight and seemed to hang in the air for ages. 20 heads hung looking up for what seemed like a century, as the ball dropped perfectly under the bar, and over Adam’s head. I turned around in delight, to a barrage of high 5’s from my teammates. I was speechless! I managed to score another goal a couple of minutes later, a right footed half volley from the edge of the box, after breaking through the defence.

The end of the lesson drew closer, and the opposition got back into the game with another goal, leaving the score at 5-4. One of our defenders made a school boy error and gave away a late penalty, but fortunately it was put wide, and the full time whistle went. After a fantastic night on Thursday, the match further enhanced my fantastic mood.

The weekend flew by, and on a cold, damp Mother’s Day morning, I prepared for a difficult match, home to 9th placed Ashington Rovers of Portsmouth, Ashington had a strong team, and were pushing for promotion along with us, and a host of other clubs. I knew that a win would leave us in a brilliant position towards the dizzying heights of promotion. I made the short trip to Manse Lane, and headed for the dressing room, with my dad’s words of good luck ringing in my ears. I was determined. After possibly the best week of my life, things were destined to go right once more. I pulled my number 11 shirt over my head, and headed for the damp turf that waited.

Making my way to the left flank, I shook hands with the Ashington captain, repeating my dad’s words of good luck in his left ear. The game started evenly, with a lot of the play happening in a congested midfield. Neither team could make the required break, and a frustrating 45 minutes came to a close, on a wet Sunday afternoon. I sprinted into the changing rooms, knowing that we needed an energy boost in the side to lift what had been a dismal performance so far, with opportunities prevented for both sides, by solid defending.

We made an early entrance to the second half, eager to get the ball rolling once more. Dave Cowie’s inspiring words made an instant difference, with Liam Finnerty notching his 11th goal of the season from the edge of the box.

However, Ashington fought back, and we were on the backfoot most of the next 40 minutes, with a heavy onslaught piled on our goal. The ball broke free from a once again crowded midfield in the second half, and Andy Reid found himself through on goal. He slotted the ball past the keeper to round off an unconvincing 2-0 victory, moving us up to 3rd in the table, with the previous holders of 3rd spot, Rochester United, drawing. With a four week break on the horizon for us, it gave me time to concentrate on my schoolwork and exams, as well as Charlotte.

The first part of my epic day was over, and it was now time for part two. After a quick shower, I got ready to go out for a Mother’s Day dinner. We picked up Charlotte, and made a way to the restaurant, with my pulses racing, as this was the first time my parents had met Charlotte, and I was eager for her to make a good impression with them.

Fortunately, everything went fantastically, and after dropping Charlotte off, my parents told me how much they liked her. I was relieved, my weekend had gone perfectly, much like my week, as I got ready to prepare for a hard two weeks of coursework before the Easter holidays.

Graham FM · 21-03-08, 10:08 PM

well its nice to see that life is going well for u th :D
hope u keep winning with ur team and i wish u and charlotte the best of luck ;)

ionutd · 21-03-08, 10:46 PM

nice to get to know you better T.H. :)

**T.H** · 22-03-08, 04:29 AM

Still not sure on this btw, whether its a little pointless I dont know, so please keep all positive and negative feedback coming!

Thanks, TH

**Hartynips** · 22-03-08, 06:21 AM

Its all good so far, at least when your famous we can say we knew ya!!!! :)

**T.H** · 22-03-08, 06:32 AM

Lmfao!

I will be famous one day, don't worry!

I wanna be a sports journalist, and maybe I can make it as a commentator one day, that would be my dream, I mean the Channel 5 guys aint exactly great are they!