[Sidhe]

Making the arrangements to get across the water and get set up: trust me, it’s all boring stuff, and it was probably one of the most headache filled, difficult things I’ve ever done. But at last, on June 30th 2005, I walked into the training room as the manager of the Basingstoke Town Football Club.

I had a couple of problems right away. For starters, the assistant manager was on contract through 2010, and I really couldn’t stand him. I already knew that, having had to deal with him via phone for months by now. Looking around the “offices” I saw that there was little chance I’d be escaping him soon, either. The offices – one room with a lot of desks jammed into it. Mine was the biggest desk, but other than that, no extra perks for the manager. Mr. Peters’, the assistant manager, had a desk right next to mine. Wonderful.

Aside from Mr. Peters, I also had a coach, a physio, and a scout on staff. I thought about the same for all of them. I recognized that there wasn’t much pay for the positions, but that had not mattered to me, and I thought it shouldn’t matter to anyone else. None of these guys really put any passion into their jobs. I saw that straight off. So don’t worry that I didn’t tell you their names.

And the training facilities looked exactly as I had seen them in 1983! I swear it’s the same paint job. A stinking, filthy dive of a room with some freehand weights, an ancient scale, and a closet full of moth-eaten balls. That was about the size of it. Anyone who played here either loved the game beyond reason, I thought, or had lost half their marbles. Now I had to find out which of these I had, and in what numbers.

Within a few weeks I had my answer. I had some good players. In particular, I had a reliable goalie in Rob Bullivant. Right behind him was a young guy who had some talent, Liam Castle. I considered GK one position I didn’t need to look at this season. Working from the back, forward, then, I found that I had a very capable defensive line. The best of these were the team captain, Jason Bristow. He was a fine DC, and as long as he wanted to play here I’d let him. Neville Stamp was a very good WBL. He was the kind of player I was looking for in that he was very versatile. His best position was WB, but he was also proficient as a DL and even at AML.

But he was something of a slacker. This is the kind of player I’ve seen over and over again, but have never understood. All the talent in the world, but very little desire. As often as he could, he’d just skate through with as little effort as was absolutely necessary. This guy never stayed up nights practicing. But he was talented, and I needed him.

Rounding out the line were DC Steve Hemmings and DR Brett Cooper. Good players, though Hemmings was moody.

Midfield – what a disaster the loss of Torres and Levis had been! Torres, a true middle-field general with great talent, and Levis, an explosive winger, had easily been the best players on the team. They had been replaced by Lewis Cook, a left side winger with solid skills, who was also now the best player on the team, and David Ray, an MC still growing into the role. These were capable replacements, but.. DMC Jamie McClurg eased my mind somewhat. He was still raw, but was fast learning the game.

Up front, I was going to have some options. The club had just brought in a very good striker by the name of James Taylor. They also had a young fellow named Mark Peters. His talent was obvious a mile away, but so was his attitude. Then there was the tall and skillful Uwa Ogbodo, and the aging but still useful Martin Whiddet. There were a lot of points here, if we could get the ball to them.

There were also some good guys to sub in – Lloyd Webber on the right flank and Mark Paterson on defensive line, with a young midfielder named Ricci Dolan that everyone thinks is going to bloom into a force to be reckoned with. We’ll see.

The main problem we’ve got as a team is lack of speed. Aside from Cook, there’s nobody “with pace” as they say it here. And the team is thin. We don’t have enough cover, especially on the wings. I’m going to have to do something about this, I think, and I get Mr. Peters’ attention.

“We need a few more players in here, Mr. Pete, what do you say?”

“I believe you are right, Mr. Sidhe; however, the chances of our bringing in lads who will improve us are very slight, unless we bring them in on loan.”

We’d already had this discussion. As an American, I don’t well understand the loaning business. That is, I do understand it, and know why bigger clubs want to “loan” smaller clubs some of their good players – so that these guys can get first team experience. It’s a good system, I grant it. But not for this year. We need to build a team that can play together. Anybody we loaned in would probably be our best player, and we don’t need everyone learning to rely on a guy who won’t be here next year.

“I don’t think we’ll need to loan in anyone this year, Mr. Pete,” I say. “I’ve had a look at the reserve squad and the youth team. I think two of our players are already here.”

“Mr. Sidhe, I can’t think who you could possibly mean..” Said Peters, seemingly at a loss for words.

“You may have to trust me on this one, Mr. Pete,” I said. “There are two young wingers, raw, yes, but FAST – or pacey if you prefer. Our job is to mold them into capable substitutes.”

Peters stared blankly from his desk. He really was at a loss for words.

Here’s the thing. Knowing a guy is great, that’s nothing. Anyone can do that. But knowing a guy can be great, that’s a rare skill. That’s the skill I have. That’s what’s left from my glory days, and it’s all I have. Well, that and my knowledge of how to play the game. And it’s enough, I think, to just get us through.

But Peters has no concept of this, and no hint – not even an inkling – when a guy, who isn’t great yet, will become great if he’s trained up right. I’d spotted a pair of them already, but I knew getting them past Peters was going to be a problem. Of course, I could do anything I wanted – I was the manager. But I only had a years contract, and I knew the board was going to be listening to Peters when it came time to think about renewing. But I also knew the state of my team – we needed these two guys.