⚽ Football Reborn: The Manager from the Future
Chapter 12 – The Red Mist: Back in England, Trouble Brews(~720 words)
Darlington was quiet again.
Not the silence of peace—but the silence before a storm.
Ethan stepped off the train with the fatigue of three continents weighing on his shoulders. Three flights. Four languages. Dozens of promises made to the future.
And yet, as he entered the club's modest training grounds, something felt… wrong.
His assistant, Greg, met him in the hallway, eyes tight with unease.
"Bad timing, mate," he muttered.
"What's going on?"
Greg handed him a folded paper. The Northern Post. Front page headline:
DARLINGTON MANAGER SPENDS CLUB FUNDS ON FOREIGN CHILDREN – "SUSPICIOUS" DEALS RAISE QUESTIONS
Below was a blurry photo of Ethan in Rosario, talking to Jorge Messi.
Ethan's stomach dropped.
"Who leaked this?"
"Don't know. But the board's meeting today. The chairman's furious. Says you've dragged the club's name into the mud with 'fantasy scouting.'"
Ethan folded the paper slowly. "So they want results already."
"They want answers. And the lads want direction. The team's been shaky without you. We drew with Yeovil. Lost to Torquay. The fans are chanting your name—but not in a good way."
Ethan inhaled through his nose. This was exactly what he feared. The present was getting restless.
In the boardroom, the air was thick.
Chairman Michael Dorsett sat at the head of the table like a judge, flanked by three other executives. Their eyes were sharp, unwelcoming.
"You've been globe-trotting while this club bleeds points," Dorsett began.
"I've been building the future," Ethan replied calmly.
"You signed children. From Argentina. Portugal. Brazil. Do you know how this looks?"
"I know how it will look—when those kids become the best players in the world."
"Don't give us fairy tales, Ethan," snapped one director. "We're a League Two side fighting relegation. We need players now."
"I'm not neglecting the present. The AI has dozens of players ready for short-term loans. Stopgap signings. But these three—Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar—they aren't gambles. They're guarantees."
The room fell silent at the mention of those names.
One younger board member leaned forward. "How do you even know about them? These kids aren't in any database."
Ethan paused. He couldn't say "time travel." Not yet. Maybe not ever.
"Let's just say I have insight no one else does. You trusted me when I arrived. Trust me now."
The chairman's jaw clenched.
"You've got until Christmas," he said at last. "Results. On the pitch. If we're still bottom three, I don't care who you're raising in Argentina—you're out."
Ethan left the meeting with the weight of an entire club crashing down on his shoulders. Greg caught up with him near the tunnel.
"What now?" he asked.
"We survive," Ethan said.
He opened the AI on his tablet and activated the Stopgap Stabilization Module.
Suggestion:
– Loan Target: Jamie Vardy (Age 16) – Non-league, Stocksbridge Park Steels
– Loan Target: Joe Hart (Age 15) – Shrewsbury Town Youth
– Loan Target: Leighton Baines (Age 17) – Wigan Athletic Youth
– Loan Target: Aaron Lennon (Age 14) – Leeds Academy
Projected stability boost: +14 league position
Ethan smiled to himself.
"Let's build a backbone," he muttered.
Then he paused. A notification appeared.
⚠️ URGENT: Ronaldo's father hospitalized. Relocation delayed. Emotional stability compromised.
Ethan's smile vanished.
The past was unstable.
The present was in chaos.
And the future was under threat.
That night, he walked alone through the dimly lit corridors of the Darlington training facility.
He passed the lockers where the senior team argued about bonuses.
He passed the empty youth fields, where Messi and Neymar would one day dazzle crowds.
He stopped in the middle of the pitch and looked up at the stars.
"They don't know yet," he whispered to himself.
"But soon… they'll see."
And far away in Madeira, a young Cristiano Ronaldo punched a wall and screamed into his pillow.