Recent content by bigmattb28

The call came early the next morning. The kind of hour that made men nostalgic or reckless, depending on how their week was going. Scott was in his office alone, the murmur of the squad arriving to training drifting faintly through the cracked window. His phone lit up. IVAN VASILEV He stared...

Chapter 57 It was early when Scott arrived, the kind of early where the day still felt undecided. Scott was in the office nursing a lukewarm coffee and staring at a whiteboard that had once felt full of possibility but now just looked like a list of names fading in dry ink. A knock came, two...

Chapter 56 The call came just after dusk, that pale blue hour when the city forgets itself for a while and everything is calm and serene. Scott was still at the office after everyone had left for the day just taking in the silence, mentally preparing himself for the second half of the season...

Chapter 55 The office was quieter than usual. Just the soft hum of the small coffee machine in the hall and the occasional knock of wind against the window panes. Scott leaned back in his chair, the light from the desk lamp slicing a warm, narrow path across the paperwork he wasn’t reading. He...

Chapter 54 It was coming and Scott knew it. On 35 minutes, Piast Gliwice swung in a corner, routine and simple straight into the box where the nine men were outnumbered, and Latka, brave as he was never stood a chance. A clean header, no fuss, no fight. 1-0. Scott just scratched his jaw and...

Chapter 53 The cold had teeth that afternoon. Not the kind that gnawed at your skin but the kind that worked its way straight into the marrow. Scott stood on the touchline, arms folded and the breath of the crowd rising in steady plumes. Fourth place in the league and looking to stay there...

The only other noteworthy transfers in January saw Nabil Bentaleb pack his bags and leave Schalke for Chelsea in a €30 million deal that had some fans scratching their heads and others Googling ‘Is Bentaleb good now?’ Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku’s neverending transfer saga; part football story...

2021 January transfer window The January transfer window was a bit of a snoozefest all things considered unless you’re Manchester United, of course, who apparently think Bayern Munich is their own personal supermarket. Having already splashed €121 million on Christian Pulisic in the summer...

January 2021 football news Joachim Löw was finally shown the door at Arsenal with the club floundering in 13th, yes, 13th! The final nail in the coffin? A chaotic 3-2 loss away at Watford, where even the Hornets seemed surprised to be winning. Arsenal's season has been like a broken...

Chapter 52 The Wroclaw night clung to the city like a damp overcoat, the kind you never quite shake off. The floodlights cut through the drizzle with clinical precision, and down on the pitch Sleza Wroclaw went about their business like seasoned professionals. Scott Lańkowski stood on the...

Chapter 51 Scott sat across from Bartosz Jaroszek and his agent, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. The offer had come in that morning, Videoton wanted a center half and they wanted the player that had been a key part of Scotts team. Their initial offer of €14K was laughable. Scott...

Chapter 50 Scott sat in his office, arms crossed, eyes narrowed at the squad list on his desk. The Polish Cup was important, but promotion was everything. Peter Bastista sat across from him, swirling a pen between his fingers, looked up to Scott and saw the concentration on his face...

Chapter 49 The opening day of the season was always a test. No matter how much preparation, how many tactics discussed, how many drills run, nothing could fully prepare a team for the real thing. Scott Lańkowski knew that. But after 90 dominant minutes in Bielsko-Biała, he also knew...

Part five - Touchline Ambitions Scott Lańkowski stared at the email on his screen, his jaw tightening. Górnik Zabrze had bid €30k for Szymon Sobczak. The offer wasn’t what made his blood boil,it was the fact that it was the exact amount of his release clause. The bare minimum needed to...

The 2020 Champions League Final saw Manchester City vs Real Madrid. A showdown packed with plot twists, drama, and one very awkward transfer decision. Kevin De Bruyne, now a Real Madrid player, was forced to watch from the stands with a face that said 'I’ve made a terrible mistake', having...