The morning after the match against Portsmouth Robert woke up late, feeling fatigued. He opened his eyes and noticed that the golden rays of the morning sun were already streaming into his room through the drawn curtains. They lit upon his well-polished white bedroom wall.
Robert stared at the wall for a moment, his mind replaying some of the scenes from the match against Portsmouth the previous day, including the moments where he was totally in mercy of the Portsmouth defence . Even though hours had passed since the end of the game, his mind remained locked in those moments. He couldn't accept how miserable he was in front of the Portsmouth defence.He realised how complacent he had become just by performing well in a few games.The game yesterday taught him about how he was still miles off compared to strikers playing in the first divisions.
He decided that a lot of work is still needed to achieving his dream of becoming a top class striker. Robert looked at the clock hanging on the opposite wall. When he registered that it was already 8:30 AM, he got out of bed at a leisurely pace. After washing his face, he went through his customary morning exercise routine to quicken his post-match recovery. For the following thirty minutes, he concentrated on stretching his fatigued muscles through until he was sweating all over. He then took a shower before settling into one of the comfy sofas in his living room to rest for a while. Since it was the aftermath of a game, the whole team had been given a day off from training. He could afford to laze around and think about nothing the entire day but he instead made a call to Ryan .
Yesterday's game was still bugging him and he decided to ask the gaffer on his advice.
-Hello Robert,was there anything you need lad .
"Good morning Mr cross I just wanted some suggestions from you on how to improve my game. Yesterday, playing against Portsmouth I felt like my current level isn't at what I want it be currently.I am working hard but still I'm not there yet Why is that,?"
-Robert you must realize that there is quite a big divide between the premier League side and league one side, how many premier League side have you faced? just one right.
you lack experience playing against a premier League side, you don't have to feel miserable about yesterdays game rather take it as a lesson.learn from the mistake you make and try to improve on it . you are already working hard enough what you lack is experience and you will gain it over time but also you must realize that the progress will be over time and won't be overnight. Don't overexert yourself or it will impact you negatively , patience is just as important as with hard work. If there is talent, dedication, hard work, success is just a fingertip away and you have all those qualities Robert .
"Thanks Mr cross I'll Keep what you said in my mind"Robert replied feeling relived after consulting with Ryan.
"No problem , I am happy to help you. If you face any other dilemma you can again call me ."
After consulting with Ryan Robert relaxed a little. since there wasn't anything he had to do today he reckoned that watching an entertaining TV program would be a tolerable way to pass the time.
***
30th August 2007
Leeds meeting room..
Like usual Ryan arrived in the meeting room 4-5 before the appointment time.
"Good morning to you all," Ryan greeted placing his folder on the desk at front of the room while the staffs began to set up the video equipment.
" Good morning Mr cross"the player replied in chorus.they all stopped whatever the conversation they were holding and focused their attention on him.
" Did you all rest well"Ryan asked
" yes " the players replied.
"okay let's get down to business," Ryan said in a solemn tone.
"I welcome you yet again to another post-match meeting where we review our most recent performances, Ryan said in a solumn tone "However, I'm not in a good mood today.you might have all guessed the reason why so I won't dwell there."
"we put up a miserable performance yesterday, If we had adhered to the game plan, we surely would have avoided such miserable display."He paused, letting his gaze roam across the players in the meeting room.
For a few seconds, there was utter silence in the room.The players all waited attentively for Ryan to continue his address.
"Let's first talk about that one goal we conceded in the third minute," he said before turning to look at the staff working on the video recorder. "Tim,can you set the video to the exact moment we conceded," he said to him.
In the video Health and marques were shown both leaving the ball thinking the other one will cover it but their momentary hesitation resulted in them conciding the goal.
"Okay," Ryan looked at Health and marques "can both of you tell me what brought this situation.you guys are professional players and still make such amateurish mistake. Always remember Communication is very important in the game and it helps to prevent these kinds of mistakes "
All the players, Health and marques included remained silent. All players stared at the screen with undivided attention—as if their gazes could pierce through the fabric of reality and get a better view of the goings-on within it.
"The second goal I don't have anything to comment, but again avoid such challenges inside the box as much as possible "
"Now let's look at the third goal,can anyone tell me what you did wrong here "
"Anyone?" Ryan asked once more on seeing his players remaining silent.
Koscielny the new defender raised his hand.
"Yes, Laurent." Ryan pointed at him.
"It's pretty clear that we were not in a proper defensive shape when we conceded the goal. First, we let noe pamarot run with the ball across the wing and cut into the pitch without closing him down. We also allowed him to meet the return pass from David nurgent and score. We didn't even do our best to block his shot. So, we wouldn't have conceded the goal if we had maintained a proper defensive shape."
"Exactly, thank you, Laurent," Ryan said, smiling for the first time since beginning his address. "You took the words out of my mouth. Our defensive shape was a mess before that goal."
"Tim, first rewind a bit," he said, turning back towards the screen. Tim did as instructed, rewinding the video and only pressing the pause button at the moment when noe pamrot received the ball. That was just over a minute before the defender netted the goal.
"Take a good look at this clip,Observe and see how we concede this goal. If you only take a cursory glance at this, you might decide that the goal was Housons fault . He lost track of the run. This guy runs across the wing and penetrates our half, and finally delivers a cross into the box." He added, pointing at the sprinting image of pamarot on the screen.
"But as the cross comes into the box, the center-backs don't jump to challenge the ball. To make matters worse, pamarot somehow manages to make a 30-yard run from the wing and arrives close to our box—before shooting and scoring. None of you tried to track down his run. What the hell?"
"Where were the midfielders?" His voice rose slightly. "Where was the right-back? How could we allow a player to make a run from the wing to our box uncontested? We aren't playing in a amature side to make such mistakes , for God's sake."
Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "This is unacceptable for players playing in a professional club. You've got to read the game. You have to anticipate any changes in the tempo and react accordingly. You have to communicate and stay in a proper defensive shape for the entire duration of the game. That's the only way to avoid conceding such stupid goals in the coming matches."
All the players in the meeting room remained silent, waiting for Ryan to continue.
"once again the fourth goal,where were the midfielders and defense here "Ryan sighed
"I hope you all have learned form these mistakes and will work on it. Don't make such similar mistakes in the future"
like that Ryan talked about other various mistakes the team made and Also pointed out the possible solutions for the problem.The meeting went on for further 2 hours by the end of which Ryan was exhausted from speaking so much.