Chapter 125: Fault Lines Begin to Show
Chapter 125: Fault Lines Begin to Show
Monday, August 9 2010
A day had passed since the hard-fought draw at Charlton, and there was a tense energy around Broadfield Stadium.
The training pitches baked under the harsh August sun, and the heavy, humid air made everything feel just a bit harder.
Niels pulled into the training ground at dawn, his old pickup rumbling to a stop near the chain-link fence.
The smell of burnt grass and distant coffee hung in the warm morning air.
He felt a knot of determination in his chest, the upcoming match against Sheffield United could either pull the team together or show just how shaky they really were.
The headlines that week pulled no punches. Monday’s papers were brutal. One read, "FA Cup Heroics Won’t Save Crawley, They Look Ordinary Now." Another read, "Is Niels’ Project Already Falling Apart?"
The words hit hard, stirring doubt after the Charlton draw. Niels could feel it in the squad, the sting had sunk in, and their confidence was starting to wobble.
Niels held his worn-out clipboard, its edges frayed and packed with notes on Sheffield’s physical style and on how much they’d need from Pogba and Freeman to hold the midfield together.
He glanced out at the training ground, watching the first few players arrive.
Each one carried something different, Max Simons’s relentless drive, Thiago’s raw pace, Dev Patel’s creativity in tight spaces. They weren’t perfect, but they had fight.