Soccer Supremo - A Sports Progression Fantasy

Soccer Supremo 7

The story so far:

In six short years as a football manager, Max Best has taken a ramshackle old rowing boat named Chester FC and transformed it into a speedboat with laser guns and cool grappling hooks and a black flag featuring a grinning skull holding a sharp dagger between its mocking teeth.

But when one sails into deep waters before the crew are ready and before the hull has been fully plated, one is liable to sink. The good ship Chester flew too close to the sun and landed on the mountaintop that is the Premier League - this is great writing - but after a series of setbacks and scandals, with the team leading against Liverpool at Anfield, just as it seemed that they might actually stay afloat, the captain jumped ship. (Some say he jumped a couple of sharks along the way.)

That’s right - Max Best quit as Chester manager, leaving them rudderless and with half the deck underwater.

Max himself is on dry land - the humour in Finland is very dry - but a lifeboat is approaching. Its flag is green and white with a gleaming red dragon. Will he hop on board to continue his voyage?

***

”It’s not the big that eats the small, it’s the fast that eats the slow.” Jason Jennings

***

1. Wales, Golf, Madrid

Red Army is a hard-hitting Wrexham AFC podcast, unique in that club’s media ecosystem for believing that the club’s Hollywood owners should spend less money on new players. The podcast has a Discord chat server open to its Patreon supporters; one of the channels is simply called Wales.

***

Monday, September 18, 2028

BrokenGround

Lads, I’ve been activated!

ButteryCrumpets

Dylan, wrong channel. But just in case anyone has Let’s All Laugh At Chester muted...

Chester 0 Aston Villa 2

Lol.

They’ve got minus 3 points after 6 matches. They are currently averaging minus half a point per match.

Lol!

And their talisman, Max Best, is away without leave, hiding under a rock, tail between his legs, and we’ll never hear from him again.

LOL!!!

BrokenGround

Ah, yeah, not sure about that, Crumpets... But yes, I’m in the right channel. The call came from Gwen at the FAW...

ButteryCrumpets

The Football Association of Wales?

Hol’ up. Our boy Dylan got called up for international duty?

Mate! I’m made up for you!

Stoop

But that means Best will be the Wales manager after all!

BrokenGround

That’s my guess, too. All I know is that I have to get ready and get to the airport. I’m off to Helsinki!

JustOneCornetto

I’m out of the loop. Who’s Dylan and what’s happening?

TopPoppy

Dylan’s in the army and does security on the side. He was in the regiment that got special training from Max Best, if you remember that. They got all the way to their cup final, which was as monumental an achievement as Leicester winning the Prem or a tiny regional Welsh side getting into the Champions League. Dylan wrote out the whole story in LALAC with some updates in the Always Bet on Best channel because we quickly realised we had insider info and could make a bit of cash on the side if we were smart with our bets.

Stoop

Can’t spell bets without Best!

TopPoppy

Basically, all the mad stuff Best did, like centralising the top young players at Saltney Town, building the training centre there, how he’s been working with the FAW, Dylan’s had a ringside seat. If history repeats itself, we’re about to find out what’s going on with the Welsh national team, how Max Best is feeling, whether he’s going back to Chester or not, and all sorts. Should be fun and we might get some tips out of it. Me? I could use an extra fifty quid right about now.

JustOneCornetto

Huh. Okay. I’ve got to say I’m not pleased Best doesn’t want to turn up for his day job but thinks he can do Wales on the side. We should have higher standards than that. And the manager of Wales should be Welsh. Just my opinion. But congrats to Dylan if he’s getting a trip to Finland out of all this. Me and my missus couldn’t afford to get away this summer, what with the prices and everything.

***

Tuesday, September 19

BrokenGround

All right, it’s happening!

Last night, I get to the hotel in time for the kitchen to make me a late supper, then I hit the hay. Up bright and early for breakfast, expecting to see Max there so he can tell me what he needs. The new manager of the Welsh national team is conspicuous by his absence.