The silence in the dressing room was suffocating. Jamie sat in the corner, face buried in his hands, body shaking with silent sobs. Big Dave sat beside him, hand on his shoulder. Baz stared at the floor. Kev nursed his bruised hand from punching the locker. JJ looked at me, eyes asking: What now?

I slumped onto the bench, head in my hands. I was ready to give up. Ready to accept defeat. Ready to let the dream die.

Then the system flickered to life. The holographic interface showed the brutal stats: possession 38%, passing accuracy 67%, shots on target 1. Player ratings were a sea of red 4s and 5s. The system was confirming what I already knew. I had got it spectacularly wrong.

I was about to close the interface when my eyes caught the player personality profiles. The profiles I'd built over the season. Baz: 'Brave. Honest. A leader.' Kev: 'Determined. A fighter. A winner.' Big Dave: 'Resilient. A rock. The heart of the team.'

And Jamie Scott: 'Technically gifted. Intelligent. Creative. Brave. Determined. A fast learner.'

Brave. I had forgotten that. I had been so focused on tactics, on data, on the system, that I'd forgotten the most important thing. The people. The character. The heart of my team. I hadn't just built a team of footballers. I'd built a team of fighters. Men who'd been betrayed, cheated, written off. Men who'd never given up.

And I was their leader. The man they'd trusted, believed in, followed. And I was about to give up on them.

I stood up. The players looked at me, eyes full of despair, expecting me to shout, to blame them, to lose control.

But I didn't shout. I just looked at them, my voice quiet but firm.

"I got it wrong," I said. "I got the tactics wrong. I put too much pressure on Jamie. I tried to be too clever. And I failed. And I'm sorry."

The surprise in their eyes was immediate. They weren't used to a manager who apologized. Who admitted mistakes. Who was human.

Jamie looked up from the corner, his tear-stained face showing a flicker of something new. Not hope, not yet, but maybe the possibility of hope. Big Dave nodded slowly, his captain's instinct recognizing what I was trying to do. Baz unclenched his fists. Kev stopped nursing his bruised hand and leaned forward.

"But we're not beaten," I said, my voice rising. "We're not broken. We're Moss Side Athletic. The team that never gives up. The team that's been to hell and back. And we're not going to let this be the end of our story. We're not going to let Marcus Chen win. We're not going to let the money, the cynicism, the injustice have the final say."

I walked to the tactics board and made one simple adjustment. I didn't abandon the 3-4-3 Diamond. I just tweaked it. "The two wide center-backs, play deeper. Give Jamie more cover. Tommo, Scott, be more disciplined in midfield. Protect the space in front of the defense. Help Jamie out. When Jamie steps forward with the ball, you cover the space behind him. When he's pressed, you give him an outlet. We work as a unit. We protect each other."

I turned to Big Dave. "Dave, you're the last line. But you're also the first line. When you have the ball, take your time. Find Jamie. Let him orchestrate. Trust him."

Big Dave nodded. "Got it, Gaffer."

Then I walked to Jamie. I put my arm around his shoulder. He looked up, eyes red, face streaked with tears.

"Jamie," I said softly.

"You're a brilliant footballer. You're brave. You're determined. And you're going to be a star. But today, I got it wrong. I asked too much of you. I'm sorry. But I'm not giving up on you. I want you to go out there in the second half and forget about the mistake. Forget about the goal. Just be brave. Show them what you can do. Be the player that I know you are."

I looked around the room. The despair was gone. In its place was a fiery, defiant spark. Baz stood up. Then Kev. Then JJ. One by one, the players rose to their feet. Big Dave put his hand on Jamie's shoulder and pulled him up. The kid's legs were shaky, but he was standing.

"Forty-five minutes," I said, my voice now a roar. "Forty-five minutes to save our season. Forty-five minutes to save our dream. Let's go out there and give them hell."

The players stood. They weren't broken men anymore. They were fighters. Believers. Warriors. And as we walked out of the dressing room and back into the cauldron of noise, I felt a surprising calm. I had done everything I could. Now it was up to them. Up to the football gods. Up to the magic of the game.

---

The second half kicked off, and immediately, I could see the difference. The tactical tweak had given us stability. Jamie dropped deeper, receiving the ball with more time and space. Tommo and Scott Miller shielded him, cutting off Hyde's pressing lanes.

Hyde came out aggressive, trying to kill the game early. In the 46th minute, Whitmore had a chance, but Big Dave was alert, coming off his line quickly to smother it. "That's it, Dave!" I shouted. Our captain pumped his fist.

The system flashed an update: [Formation Cohesion: 68%. Team Confidence: Rising]. The adjustment was working. The players were starting to understand their roles, starting to trust the system.

In the 48th minute, Jamie received the ball from Big Dave, took a touch, and looked up. For a moment, I held my breath. This was the test. Would he play it safe, or would he trust himself?

He played a beautiful diagonal pass to JJ on the left wing, splitting two defenders. JJ's pace took him past Hyde's right-back. He cut inside and unleashed a shot. The keeper saved, diving low to his left, but it was a sign. We were in this. We were creating chances.

I glanced at Frankie. He was nodding. "That's better. That's much better."

My phone buzzed. Emma: "Salford still 0-0. One goal and you're level. Two and you're champions."

I glanced at the stands. Mark Crossley was on his feet, urging the team forward. Despite everything, he was still one of us.

In the 52nd minute, Hyde had a chance. Their winger beat Baz on the outside and crossed low into the box. Whitmore peeled off his marker and suddenly he was through, one-on-one with Big Dave. The away end gasped. This was it. 1 goal and the dream was over.

But Big Dave, our magnificent, grizzled, 34-year-old captain, spread himself, made himself big, and somehow blocked the shot with his chest. The ball ricocheted out for a corner. Big Dave roared at the defense, veins bulging in his neck. "Stay with them! We're still in this!"

The corner came in. Bodies everywhere. Big Dave punched it clear. We were still alive.

The corner came to nothing. We cleared, and suddenly we were on the counter. Kev picked up the ball in midfield, drove forward with determination. Hyde's defense was scrambling back, disorganized.

Kev played it wide to JJ on the left. JJ took a touch, looked up, and crossed low into the box. Their keeper came out, fists flying, and punched it clear. But only as far as Jamie, standing 25 yards out.

For a moment, time seemed to slow. Jamie looked up. He had space. He had time. And he had a decision to make. I could see it on his face: the doubt, the fear, the memory of the first half mistake.

The old Jamie, the traumatized Jamie from the first half, would have played it safe, passed it backwards, and avoided responsibility.

But then something changed. His expression hardened. His shoulders squared. This was the new Jamie. The brave Jamie. The Jamie whom I'd told to forget the mistake and just play.

He struck it.

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