"Shelton passes to Dembelle, who passes to Livermore. Livermore shoots! But it goes wide. Taylor walks slowly to take the ball from outside the line. He takes his time. He kicks the ball and… the referee has blown the whistle. 1-0 Bakerpool. Paul Peter's team finishes the season in third place with 64 points, 3 points behind Manchester United in first. Another trophy-less season for the boys in red."
When John Watson heard the final whistle, he lifted his arms and let out a breathy "yes". The match was tough but they managed to keep their lead and jump to third place. As in the last five seasons, Bakerpool spent most of the season in the top four, fighting to win the league, but ultimately failed to do so.
It had been 25 years since Bakerpool last won the league and every player in the team felt the pressure, but not many as much as John – Blackpool's captain for the last 10 years. John was a renowned football player and a regular on the English national team. He won every possible thing with Bakerpool, but never the league. He was often referred to as one of the best footballers to never win the Premier League, not a title he enjoyed.
John walked around Bakerpool's home stadium, The Yard, stopping at every side to applaud the supporters. Eventually he reached the tunnel and went down it with a sigh.
The dressing room was quiet; the team had been so close to winning the league this season, more so than in the last few seasons, and the frustration was clear in his teammates' faces.
Paul Johnson, the manager, gathered them around the dressing room and gave them a pep talk. He told them that he was proud of them and that next season would be their season. They applauded him and went on with their business.
Preseason would start in July and no international tournament that year, so John would have a long time to rest and recuperate himself before the next season would start. He was not young anymore, he did not have many more years to play in a top flight club and he wanted to win the league with Bakerpool almost more than anything else in the world.
The summer rolled on slowly and John was aching to play again when the first friendly game arrived. Bakerpool won 1-0, with one of the signing scoring the goal. John was quite happy with the new players, but he thought that the club was missing a killer striker. Tom Hucherfield and Matat Adubu were great, but they needed someone extraordinary, someone who would give the club a push, and so far, there were no words about a new striker from the manager.
And then, at the beginning of August, the manager told them that they had landed Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes was a 25-year-old English striker who signed to Baker Street from Leeds United. He helped Leeds get promoted to the EPL, scoring 28 goals and ending the season as the top scorer of the second league. At his young age, he had already played for six different clubs. While being a brilliant player, he was also a lousy teammate. He got himself a name of a troublemaker and an all-round pain in the arse.
Still, Paul took the chance with him. Sometimes geniuses have a touch of crazy to them.