tedsteel

12.8 - Make a Move

8.

"There are decades where no

12.7 - Turner Blindeye (Part Two)

7.

From: Ken Carr
To: Grindhog Board
Subject: Chester FC

Max Best just scored from his own half against Newcastle wearing a Grindhog top that NO-ONE CAN BUY. No more prevarication, Wayne. Green light the second run of Chester FC home kits NOW.

From: Wayne Carr
To: Board; Ken Carr
Subject: Chester FC

Ken, can you slow down, please? There is a reason that we haven't gone for the second run which is that we're losing money on the deal y...

12.6 - Turner Blindeye (Part One)

6.

Half an hour after leaving the podcast studio, almost every member of the first team squad was in the Sin Bin. We were only waiting for Henri, who had been getting his knees waxed, and Magnus, who was out geocaching and wouldn't be able to get back in time.

A few WAGs - wives and girlfriends - were in the bar, while others (especially the ones with kids) were in the viewing cabin, watching our youth teams train.

I was in my office sketching out p...

12.5 - Black and White

5.

"What's black and wh

12.4 - You're So Money

12.3 - Let's All Laugh at Chester

[This one's going to break your phone. Soz not

Chapter Tomorrow

Hey hey. Quick note.

I got my Player Manager 4 audiobook preview on Friday and I thought huh let's check out this bad boy and it's good! I listened to 10 hours just enjoying it (while checking if there were any egregious mistakes so it's 'work' too).

That set me back a day and right now I have written half of my original concept for the next chapter. I thought about chucking out what I've done already but nah. The good news is the final version will blaze past 10k words.

It ...

12.2 - Bradford City

2.

British glossary: wonga. Mo

12.1 - Full Spectrum Analysis

Player Manager 12

The story so

11.14 - Mit Einem Fuss im Grabe

14.

Extract from the voluminous first draft sent to the editor of The First Footballer In Space: The Pascal Bochum Story, Volume 6

Chapter 14 - Epilogue

Thursday, August 14

1. Sinfonia

The ceiling of room 156 at the private hospital in Manchester was painted white. There was nothing there except for shadows, and the shadows spelled numbers.

Five. Five months out.

On...

11.13 - Adding Insult to Injury

13.

On average, a footballer s

11.12 - Fleetwood Max

12.

Wednesday, August 6

11.11 - Chesterslovakia

11.

I heard you like numb

11.10 - Unconventional

10.

Thursday, July 3

Chapter Tomorrow

Hi all! I need a bit more time to craft the next chapter. Look for it in the morning, when the wind [something] and the morning dew [I dunno] while the birds [sing? stop singing? I know some people don't like birdsong and I don't want to make assumptions about you].

Thanks for your patience/sorry to disappoint.

11.9 - Brooke's Fizz

9.

British Cultural Victory: I

11.8 - You Completo Me

8.

Sports movie glossary: 'You complete me.' The words spoken by Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire as the titular character interrupts a perfectly pleasant discussion between a group of women to monologue about himself and his needs.

***

[Yellow-shirted Brazilians are running around, arms waving. What looks like fifty coaches, physios, and subs have rushed onto the pitch in the only Relationist blob of the match. Cameramen are rushing around trying to get ...

11.7 - Never Ghana Give You Up

7.

FIFA Under 20 World Cup 20

2024-08-30 15:16:17 +0000 UTC View Post

11.6 - He Do Opposite

6.

Wednesday, May 28

07:30

Chelli texted to ask for a quick chat before breakfast so I went down and met him in the tiny space near the hotel's pint-sized reception.

"Oh, good," he said. "It's good to talk before you do your hard training."

"I've already been for a jog," I said. Chelli gawped at me. I scoffed. "Don't look at me like I'm some sort of super-professional workaholic. It's to clear my head as much as anything. ...

11.5 - Keeping It Real

5.

Geraldo liked money. Geraldo didn't like me. Geraldo liked money more than he disliked me.

After the match (two-all, it's not important, stop fixating on results and also stop asking who won the high jumps), Luisa and I invited ourselves into the dressing room to ask him to put on a special training session in the morning. Geraldo said no, he had to go to church. Luisa said, after church then. He said no, he would never work on the sabbath day. Luisa said how about f...

11.4 - Max Flops

4.

Sports vocabulary: to flop. To fail. To fall flat on your face. To try to achieve something and to NOT.

***

It was Emma's idea for me to stay in the UK for an extra day after the Exit Trials. To have one day where I could chill out, do nothing, and get into fighting shape for the arduous First Class flight to Rio. Her idea was logical but quite misguided - the extra day messed me up big time. Just as I was getting readjusted to Greenwich Mean Tim...

11.3 - Gifts Through The Exit Shop

3.

Tuesday, May 13

11.2 - Speed Dating (Part Two)

2.

Football glossary: top bins

11.1 - Speed Dating (Part One)

--- Player Manager 11 ---

The story so far:

After ten months of toil in England's fifth tier, player-manager Max Best led Chester into the football league by the narrowest of margins. Both men's and women's teams will move to the 4th tiers. The women look well set to continue their rise, especially if the Chesterness documentary is sold to a TV company.

The men will start the season with the weakest team in League Two and a budget one-thir...

10.16 - Off You Play

16.

If you read the Table of Contents and assumed there would be a playoff arc, then ha. You fell into my trap. This is, in fact, the epilogue. Serving suggestion: nice big glass of chilled champagne, two types of ham.

***

Sunday, April 27

I was tucked in behind some randos, halfway along the plain white floating corridor that led to the plane, when my phone pinged. I had set it to allow notifications from Emma and Emma alone, so I checked what she had sent....

10.15 - The Agon and the Agony

15.

Human being glossary: Agon