Chonky Panda Tactics
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Welcome to Foal From Grace! After four years at Birmingham City, it's time for a change of scenery - but how will I adapt to my new club?
My new home.
St. Andrew’s will always be special, but the sheer scale of everything here is on a different level: nearly twice the size, visually stunning wherever you look, the steep stands wrapping all the way around as though you’re in a modern-day colosseum - I think I’m going to like it here.
I take a few steps forward and, once on the pitch, crouch down to touch the turf with my fingers. It feels the same, but the location is so different that I have to prevent my brain from trying to convince me that the grass is too. I suppose it is in a way, it’s German grass. Actually, I guess it might not be German in origin. Was the pitch back in Birmingham originally British? Probably be a weird question to email to someone still at the club at this point in time. Or at any point, for that matter. Also weird that I’m thinking about this so much.
“Good evening, Nicole!” comes a call from behind me. Glad to be hoicked from my obsessive thoughts, I straighten up and turn around to face the Borussia Mönchengladbach chairman, Tobias Deppe, as he emerges from the tunnel, flanked by a man I recognise and a woman I don’t.
“Good evening, Tobias,” I smile, meeting him at the touchline and shaking his hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise,” he beams back. “So, what do you think? It might not be the one you grew up going to, but I hope you’ll come to love our stadium almost as much.”
“I love it already,” I admit. “Especially the green lighting around the roof that must make the ground look beautiful at night.”
“It does, I can’t wait for you to experience it when it’s full,” Tobias says. “Before that, however, there’s some work to do. I believe you’ve met Roland before?” he adds, gesturing to the man on his left.
“I have indeed,” I answer, shaking Director of Football Roland Virkus’ hand. “He gave me an overview of the squad last week.”
“Well, now that you’ve joined, I can give you a slightly more in-depth view, along with some details on our financial position,” Roland says, handing me a brown folder.
“Interesting,” I say, scanning through the papers. “Definitely a decent budget for the changes I want to make then, though we’ll have a few players to move on too. I’ve been looking forward to working with Noah Okafor for a while, he’s someone I looked at bringing to Birmingham when I was there, as was Adam Hložek.”
“Turn over.”
I flick to the next page.
“They both have release clauses that can be activated by clubs in the Champions League and have solid interest in them, whilst they also don’t want to renew their deals. How delightful,” I grumble.
“It’s not ideal, I’ll admit,” Roland acknowledges.
“That’s one way of putting it,” I laugh. I close the dossier and pass it back. “However, the way I see it, that just means we’ll have the money to afford a lot more of an overhaul than I’d anticipated and really shape the squad the way I want.”
“Glad you’re already thinking positively,” Tobias grins. “Now, I understand that you’ve already signed up to start German classes, which is fantastic, but in the meantime I’d like to introduce you to your translator, Alexis Geiler.” Tobias gestures to the young-looking woman on his other side, her blonde hair in a neat plait over her right shoulder and her brown eyes struggling to keep still, evidencing the anxiety that she’s doing her best to hide under her poised exterior.
“Pleasure to meet you, Alexis,” I say with a warm smile, reaching out a hand to her too. Alexis’ eyes meet mine and settle at last, taking my hand in a firm grip and shaking it excitedly.
“You too, Ms. Andrews,” she replies. “I’ve heard so many good things about you.”
“You must fill me in on what I’ve missed sometime,” I joke, making Alexis laugh, her shoulders lowering and her face softening as she seems to relax a little. “And, please, call me Nicole. Every time I get called ‘Ms. Andrews’, I feel like I’m a doddery pensioner on a cruise around Scandinavia.”
“Noted, Nicole,” Alexis chuckles, clearly more at ease already.
“How long have you been working as a translator for?” I ask.
“About six years now,” Alexis answers. “I studied English and French at university because I knew this was what I wanted to do. I’ve bounced around a few businesses over my career, but the goal has always been to get into the football industry, so I’m delighted to have made it.”
“Glad you have a traceable background, then.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing, don’t worry,” I say, trying to move on from thoughts of Harry promptly. “I’m always impressed by people who know what they want to do early on and manage to achieve it,” I admit.
“Thank you,” Alexis blushes. “Did you always want to be a football manager?”
“I did, but I started to give up hope and thought about following my creative writing interests instead. Coincidentally, that’s when Birmingham gave me the job.”
“Did you ever think about combining the two?”
“As if I’d have time to manage a football club and write a couple of thousand words a week?” I sigh. “Anyway, I presume you’re a Mönchengladbach fan, Alexis?”
“No, I’m from Frankfurt, so Die Adler are my team,” she explains.
“I trust you’ll be impartial when we face them in our fourth league game?” I tease.
“I won’t.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
“No point starting off by lying to you,” she shrugs.
“I must say, this is the most relaxed I’ve seen you all day, Alexis,” Tobias says to her, interjecting himself. “You appear so much more comfortable all of a sudden!”
“Perhaps it could be because she’s no longer alone with a pair of men she doesn’t know very well that have an enormous say in the future of her career in her dream industry?” I suggest.
“I get that,” Roland nods, turning to Tobias. “I’ve heard some real horror stories from my friends and their daughters.”
“Are you accusing me of something?” Tobias frowns.
“Only of being blissfully unaware of how women experience the world. Don’t worry, though it’s a pretty widespread issue.” Alexis stifles a laugh. “Anyway, would you kindly show me to my office?” I continue, shutting down Tobias’ chance to reply.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Roland quickly responds. “Let me take you there.”
* * * * * * * *
“I’m relieved there’s a whiteboard, I’d have been livid if there wasn’t one,” I say as I enter my new office at the training complex, just a short walk across the car park from the stadium. “AND A COFFEE MACHINE!” I rush over to the units under the window with the De’Longhi device sat on top, far more excited than should be expected at the sight of an espresso maker that’s seen its fair share of use. “This is already a step up. Will I find anything mysterious in these, I wonder?” I mumble to myself, tapping the cupboards.
“What was that, Nicole?”
“Just thinking about something, Roland, nothing important,” I say, turning to face my new colleagues in the doorway. “Thank you, this is terrific.”
“Glad you approve,” he smiles. “We’ll leave you here to settle in then, shall we?”
“A fine idea,” Tobias agrees. “We’ll catch up more tomorrow.” He, Roland, and Alexis make to leave.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stay, Alexis,” I say. “Might need your help with a couple of things.” She stops and glances at Tobias who shrugs to suggest he has no objections. Alexis shuts the door behind her and grins as she steps in properly, the executives walking off down the hallway as she does so.
“Thank you, Nicole, there’s only so many more times I could listen to Tobias talk about his collection of watches.”
“No problem, thought you could do with getting away,” I snicker, opening the cupboards and being slightly disappointed by the lack of anything out of the ordinary. “Make yourself comfortable, I doubt there’s any work for you to do. In fact…” I start, discovering the last door hides a fridge, pulling out the bottle of white wine that was left inside. “Why don’t we relax for a bit?”
“Are you sure?” Alexis asks, sitting up in the spare chair, not sure if I’m joking or not.
“Absolutely! We’ve both just started new jobs and it’s getting late, if now’s not the right time, then when is? Besides, after today, there won’t be much more of a chance to chill out.
“We’ve got a busy summer ahead of us.”
* * * * * * * *
Thank you for reading! A link to my socials and my previous story can be found on my Linktree, and please follow the thread to be updated every time there's a new post!
Singing the Blues can be found in the 'FM23 Stories' section of FM Base, or on my Linktree that you'll find at the end of this piece!
With the summer sun dipping just behind the Westtribüne and the photoshoot formalities completed, at last I have a chance to be alone and really process my new surroundings at Borussia-Park.
My new home.
St. Andrew’s will always be special, but the sheer scale of everything here is on a different level: nearly twice the size, visually stunning wherever you look, the steep stands wrapping all the way around as though you’re in a modern-day colosseum - I think I’m going to like it here.
I take a few steps forward and, once on the pitch, crouch down to touch the turf with my fingers. It feels the same, but the location is so different that I have to prevent my brain from trying to convince me that the grass is too. I suppose it is in a way, it’s German grass. Actually, I guess it might not be German in origin. Was the pitch back in Birmingham originally British? Probably be a weird question to email to someone still at the club at this point in time. Or at any point, for that matter. Also weird that I’m thinking about this so much.
“Good evening, Nicole!” comes a call from behind me. Glad to be hoicked from my obsessive thoughts, I straighten up and turn around to face the Borussia Mönchengladbach chairman, Tobias Deppe, as he emerges from the tunnel, flanked by a man I recognise and a woman I don’t.
“Good evening, Tobias,” I smile, meeting him at the touchline and shaking his hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise,” he beams back. “So, what do you think? It might not be the one you grew up going to, but I hope you’ll come to love our stadium almost as much.”
“I love it already,” I admit. “Especially the green lighting around the roof that must make the ground look beautiful at night.”
“It does, I can’t wait for you to experience it when it’s full,” Tobias says. “Before that, however, there’s some work to do. I believe you’ve met Roland before?” he adds, gesturing to the man on his left.
“I have indeed,” I answer, shaking Director of Football Roland Virkus’ hand. “He gave me an overview of the squad last week.”
“Well, now that you’ve joined, I can give you a slightly more in-depth view, along with some details on our financial position,” Roland says, handing me a brown folder.
“Turn over.”
I flick to the next page.
“They both have release clauses that can be activated by clubs in the Champions League and have solid interest in them, whilst they also don’t want to renew their deals. How delightful,” I grumble.
“It’s not ideal, I’ll admit,” Roland acknowledges.
“That’s one way of putting it,” I laugh. I close the dossier and pass it back. “However, the way I see it, that just means we’ll have the money to afford a lot more of an overhaul than I’d anticipated and really shape the squad the way I want.”
“Glad you’re already thinking positively,” Tobias grins. “Now, I understand that you’ve already signed up to start German classes, which is fantastic, but in the meantime I’d like to introduce you to your translator, Alexis Geiler.” Tobias gestures to the young-looking woman on his other side, her blonde hair in a neat plait over her right shoulder and her brown eyes struggling to keep still, evidencing the anxiety that she’s doing her best to hide under her poised exterior.
“Pleasure to meet you, Alexis,” I say with a warm smile, reaching out a hand to her too. Alexis’ eyes meet mine and settle at last, taking my hand in a firm grip and shaking it excitedly.
“You too, Ms. Andrews,” she replies. “I’ve heard so many good things about you.”
“You must fill me in on what I’ve missed sometime,” I joke, making Alexis laugh, her shoulders lowering and her face softening as she seems to relax a little. “And, please, call me Nicole. Every time I get called ‘Ms. Andrews’, I feel like I’m a doddery pensioner on a cruise around Scandinavia.”
“Noted, Nicole,” Alexis chuckles, clearly more at ease already.
“How long have you been working as a translator for?” I ask.
“About six years now,” Alexis answers. “I studied English and French at university because I knew this was what I wanted to do. I’ve bounced around a few businesses over my career, but the goal has always been to get into the football industry, so I’m delighted to have made it.”
“Glad you have a traceable background, then.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing, don’t worry,” I say, trying to move on from thoughts of Harry promptly. “I’m always impressed by people who know what they want to do early on and manage to achieve it,” I admit.
“Thank you,” Alexis blushes. “Did you always want to be a football manager?”
“I did, but I started to give up hope and thought about following my creative writing interests instead. Coincidentally, that’s when Birmingham gave me the job.”
“Did you ever think about combining the two?”
“As if I’d have time to manage a football club and write a couple of thousand words a week?” I sigh. “Anyway, I presume you’re a Mönchengladbach fan, Alexis?”
“No, I’m from Frankfurt, so Die Adler are my team,” she explains.
“I trust you’ll be impartial when we face them in our fourth league game?” I tease.
“I won’t.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
“No point starting off by lying to you,” she shrugs.
“I must say, this is the most relaxed I’ve seen you all day, Alexis,” Tobias says to her, interjecting himself. “You appear so much more comfortable all of a sudden!”
“Perhaps it could be because she’s no longer alone with a pair of men she doesn’t know very well that have an enormous say in the future of her career in her dream industry?” I suggest.
“I get that,” Roland nods, turning to Tobias. “I’ve heard some real horror stories from my friends and their daughters.”
“Are you accusing me of something?” Tobias frowns.
“Only of being blissfully unaware of how women experience the world. Don’t worry, though it’s a pretty widespread issue.” Alexis stifles a laugh. “Anyway, would you kindly show me to my office?” I continue, shutting down Tobias’ chance to reply.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Roland quickly responds. “Let me take you there.”
* * * * * * * *
“I’m relieved there’s a whiteboard, I’d have been livid if there wasn’t one,” I say as I enter my new office at the training complex, just a short walk across the car park from the stadium. “AND A COFFEE MACHINE!” I rush over to the units under the window with the De’Longhi device sat on top, far more excited than should be expected at the sight of an espresso maker that’s seen its fair share of use. “This is already a step up. Will I find anything mysterious in these, I wonder?” I mumble to myself, tapping the cupboards.
“What was that, Nicole?”
“Just thinking about something, Roland, nothing important,” I say, turning to face my new colleagues in the doorway. “Thank you, this is terrific.”
“Glad you approve,” he smiles. “We’ll leave you here to settle in then, shall we?”
“A fine idea,” Tobias agrees. “We’ll catch up more tomorrow.” He, Roland, and Alexis make to leave.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stay, Alexis,” I say. “Might need your help with a couple of things.” She stops and glances at Tobias who shrugs to suggest he has no objections. Alexis shuts the door behind her and grins as she steps in properly, the executives walking off down the hallway as she does so.
“Thank you, Nicole, there’s only so many more times I could listen to Tobias talk about his collection of watches.”
“No problem, thought you could do with getting away,” I snicker, opening the cupboards and being slightly disappointed by the lack of anything out of the ordinary. “Make yourself comfortable, I doubt there’s any work for you to do. In fact…” I start, discovering the last door hides a fridge, pulling out the bottle of white wine that was left inside. “Why don’t we relax for a bit?”
“Are you sure?” Alexis asks, sitting up in the spare chair, not sure if I’m joking or not.
“Absolutely! We’ve both just started new jobs and it’s getting late, if now’s not the right time, then when is? Besides, after today, there won’t be much more of a chance to chill out.
“We’ve got a busy summer ahead of us.”
* * * * * * * *
Thank you for reading! A link to my socials and my previous story can be found on my Linktree, and please follow the thread to be updated every time there's a new post!
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