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The new season had been a massive hit for Leeds United, and the fans were absolutely loving it. For more than a month, their hopes and spirits had soared higher than the team's goalposts. They had a reason to smile—actually, several reasons.
The 26th round of the league arrived, and Leeds United made it look easy against Plymouth. Tevez scored twice, like a man on a mission, and Sneijder was practically handing out assists like candy on Halloween. Two assists in one match—talk about generosity. Leeds smashed Plymouth at home, and the fans went wild. The crowd was so loud, Arthur thought they might be trying to break some sound barriers.
The 27th round came next, and Leeds was off to Crewe. It was another good day for the team—Sneijder delivered a free kick that could've made the postman jealous, and Milner sent a long shot that had the precision of a GPS tracker. Another win. Another two-goal victory. Leeds kept their momentum, and Arthur was starting to feel like this was just too easy.
Then came the 28th round. Leeds took on Coventry at home, and it wasn't even close. They won 2-1, and it wasn't just the victory that was exciting. No, it was the fact that Schmeichel Jr. had his first goal conceded at Leeds United. A rite of passage, really. Every goalkeeper needed to experience it at some point, and now Schmeichel Jr. could check that off his list.
In the 29th round, Leeds returned to their home ground to face Cardiff City, and it was nothing short of a spectacle. A 6-1 rout. Adebayor was a scoring machine, banging in five goals like it was just another day at the office. Sneijder wasn't far behind either—five assists and a goal of his own. Leeds fans were practically dancing in the streets. If they weren't careful, they might get used to this kind of domination.
By the 30th round, Leeds had hit the road again, heading to Stoke City. It was a tight one, but they managed to edge out a 1-0 victory. Tevez was the hero, scoring the only goal of the match. Tevez, always reliable when you needed him, had once again come through in the clutch.
Then came the 31st round—Leeds versus Burnley. Another away game, and yet another win, this time by a single goal. Leeds was on fire, and at this point, Arthur was starting to wonder if they'd ever lose again. Six consecutive wins in over a month. Seven, if you count the last victory of the first half of the season. Leeds United was untouchable.
Arthur had barely enough time to catch his breath before the next big thing. Leeds United had kept their spot at the top of the table, sitting pretty with a ridiculous 84 points. Sunderland, who was trailing closely behind, had 79 points—so close, yet so far.
But here's the kicker: The rule in the English Championship was simple. The top two teams at the end of the season were promoted directly to the Premier League. The third to sixth teams would have to battle it out in a playoff for that coveted last spot. Wigan Athletic, sitting in third, had only 59 points, and with Leeds sitting 25 points ahead of them, it was clear that Leeds was practically already packing their bags for the Premier League. There were still 15 rounds left to play, but it almost felt like the rest of the league should just start practicing their goodbyes.
Arthur had just woken up from a well-deserved nap when his mind started calculating his gains for the month. It wasn't just about the points or the wins. Oh no. He was a man of numbers, and there were other calculations to be made. In just six games, the system had given him three tasks, and each one came with a shiny, gold treasure chest. And, of course, inside those chests were more treats. Three Talent Redemption Cards. It was like Christmas had come early for Arthur.
At this point, he had a total of four Talent Redemption Cards in his possession, and he hadn't even used one yet. The possibilities were endless. The best part? Arthur had not even begun to exploit them to their full potential. Leeds was on a roll, and the team's success was making Arthur look like a genius. He had the magic touch. Every time the team won, the media was all over it, and Arthur was becoming more and more of a household name. Geniuses don't always wear lab coats, sometimes they just stand on the sidelines with a whistle, a clipboard, and a slightly maniacal grin.
After each game, the newspapers were practically glowing with praise for Leeds United. And naturally, Arthur was the hero of the hour. The press had officially crowned him "The Genius Coach," and it was starting to get a little ridiculous. Not that Arthur was complaining. He was loving the attention. His ego was getting a nice little workout. But at the same time, he knew the real work had just begun.
Sure, the wins were piling up, but Arthur had plans. Big plans. He wasn't just going to bask in the glory of a successful season. No, no. He had the Talent Redemption Cards, and he knew exactly how he was going to use them. After all, this was football, and in football, things could turn on a dime. The last thing Arthur wanted was to get complacent. The competition was fierce, and if he wasn't careful, someone could come up from behind and spoil the fun.
Arthur leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, and smiled. "It's going well, isn't it?" he muttered to himself. "But this... this is just the beginning."
Leeds was on track to be promoted to the Premier League, and Arthur was looking forward to the next chapter. With a few more Talent Redemption Cards in his back pocket, he was confident that he could take his players' performances to the next level. And who knew? Maybe he could even sell some of them for a tidy profit before all was said and done.
For now, though, Arthur allowed himself a moment to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Leeds United was on top of the world, and so was he.
But of course, Arthur knew better than anyone that in football, nothing lasts forever.
As the head coach of Leeds United, Arthur had spent a lot of time getting to know his team. He knew the players like the back of his hand, and, to be honest, he probably knew them better than they knew themselves. There was a lot of talent on the squad, but also a few glaring issues that Arthur was working to fix.
First, the substitute lineup was... well, let's just say "underwhelming" would be an understatement. According to the system, the overall evaluation of those players ranged from D to D+. It wasn't so much that they were bad—more like they just weren't good enough. They might make decent backups in an emergency, but Arthur wasn't exactly planning to call on them to win any games.
Then there were the starters. The starting lineup, despite Arthur's meticulous training, was full of talent, but there was a catch. Sure, the players were all bursting with potential, but their evaluations only hovered around C+ at best. Sneijder, the shining star of the bunch, had the highest evaluation at a B, but even that was hardly a badge of honor in Arthur's eyes. He had big plans for this team, and the C+ rating just wasn't going to cut it.
And then, of course, there was the pesky issue of the players' progression. As their attribute points increased, Arthur noticed that the growth after training became slower and slower. It was like the team had hit a training plateau. Arthur had planned to hoard some peak templates—like the famous Drogba one—along with talent redemption cards for key moments. He had envisioned using them to boost his players' stats at just the right time, maybe even towards the end of the season to maximize their transfer value. But now, with the progress slowing down, Arthur's plan of hoarding cards for the "perfect" moment seemed to be falling apart faster than a badly made sandwich.
The most pressing issue, though, was the physical toll of the tactics Arthur had implemented. Leeds United had been playing a high-pressing, full-throttle game that had the fans excited, but it was also wearing out the players. Leeds had a young, energetic squad, so at first, the high-pressure tactics seemed to be working perfectly. But Arthur noticed that in the last two games, the scorelines of 1-0 were telling him something. Something wasn't quite right. His players' physical reserves were starting to dip, and it was showing.
The system was confirming what Arthur had suspected. He had opened the system's player panel just now, and aside from Schmeichel (the ever-reliable keeper), the rest of the starting players had shifted from being in "hot" form to "average." It wasn't a disaster, but it was a sign that his players were running on fumes.
So now, Arthur was faced with a decision, and it wasn't an easy one. There were two main options ahead of him:
Option One: Abandon the high-pressing tactics and switch to a more defensive style, like Mourinho's "park the bus" approach. This would likely result in more wins, but at the cost of playing some ugly football. Fans wouldn't be thrilled, and Arthur's star strikers like Adebayor and Tevez—who he had plans to sell in the near future—might not get the opportunities they needed to show off their skills. This could drastically reduce their transfer value, and Arthur wasn't in the mood for that.
Option Two: Use his Talent Redemption Cards to bring the peak periods of players like Adebayor, Tevez, Sneijder, and Milner to the present day. This would give Leeds the necessary boost to power through the remainder of the season while ensuring that these key players would still be in top form and potentially fetch a good price when the summer transfer window opened. This was the option that Arthur was leaning toward. It just made sense.
Arthur didn't waste any time. Without hesitating, he activated the Talent Redemption Cards for Adebayor, Tevez, Sneijder, and Milner. No time to waste. It was go-time.
Why didn't he activate them for players like Kompany or Chiellini? Well, that was simple. Those two were good, but not good enough in Arthur's eyes. Plus, they were cheap. If he was going to use a Talent Redemption Card, he wanted to make sure it was going to have a real impact. Lucio, the most valuable defender this season, was only worth about 12 million euros, and that was far below Arthur's expectations. So, the central four were the focus, and Arthur was confident that this was the right move.
After activating the cards, Arthur immediately opened Milner's attribute panel to take a look at the results.
[James Milner] (Talent Redemption Card in use)
Age: 19
Offensive Threat: 85
Defensive Strength: 95
Body Balance: 91
Long Pass Accuracy: 88
Short Pass Accuracy: 94
Shooting Accuracy: 89
Dribbling Accuracy: 82
Shooting Skills: 90
Speed/Maximum Speed: 89/93
Awareness: 92
Leadership Awareness: 97
Injury Tolerance: A
Talent: A
Current Game Status: Hot
Transfer Value: 20 million Euros
Remaining Peak Period: 7 years
Contract Period Remaining: 6 years
Potential: High
Player Evaluation: Can play multiple positions, has a strong body, excellent footwork, and great leadership. A true evergreen in football with a long peak period ahead.
Comprehensive Assessment: A
Arthur leaned back and let out a satisfied breath. Milner's attributes were off the charts. If anyone had doubts about the wisdom of his decision, this was solid proof that he was on the right track. With a transfer value of 20 million euros and a long peak period ahead of him, Milner was looking like a solid investment.
What pleased Arthur even more was that Milner was one of Leeds United's own, a product of their youth training. When Arthur took over, he had renegotiated Milner's contract, extending it for four years and increasing his release clause to a healthy 25 million euros.
Arthur had done his homework. Milner was still young, still improving, and now, with his peak period brought forward, he was primed for a major move. With this in his pocket, Arthur was confident that Leeds United was in a great position to not only secure promotion but to make some serious cash when the transfer window opened.
As Arthur stared at the glowing stats on his screen, he couldn't help but grin. "Now, this is more like it," he thought. "Let's see how the rest of the season plays out."