From Woking to...

[bigmac78]

I'm just sat at home wondering what to do with myself now that I have left school.........I had been playing Sunday League football and a bit at school, apparently I'm not a bad player. I see an advert in the local paper inviting players down for trials at Woking Football Club, who ply their trade in the Nationwide Conference.

I go down for the trial and meet manager Glenn Cockerill, who asks his coaches to put me through my paces, passing, shooting, tackling etc. He asks a few questions about me, such as how old I am and what position I play and where I am from, I inform him i'm a 16 year old right footed centre forward and I was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex. He seems to like what he sees and at the end of my trial offers me a contract. I have nothing better to do with my life so I sign the contract and I am now officially a player with Woking Football Club.

The following day I walk out onto the training pitch and meet all of the players, particularly paying attention to my main striking rivals Nede and Rewle, who I know are vastly experienced. The boss gives us a talk about Saturday's season opener away to Morecambe, I don't think I am going to be involved so I didn't really pay much attention to be honest. I do well in training, scoring a few goals and even making a few crunching tackles. The boss is impressed and speaks to me after the session ends. He asks how I feel about starting on Saturday, I told him I was more than happy to.

I walked into the changing room and saw that I was to be handed the number 9 shirt, which was hanging up on the peg. Nerves began to set in. The other players came into the changing room and all wished me the best of luck, well except Nede who seemed a bit put out that I took his place in the team, but oh well.

I ran out onto the pitch and got a warm ovation from the fans. Once the formalities were out of the way I was ready..............unfortunately my feet had other ideas, I was absolutely woeful. I got subbed off towards the end of the game and Mr Cockerill said "better luck next time". I didn't think for the life of me i'd get a second chance.

All was not lost though as we drew 1-1, which wasn't a bad start to the season.

During the next month or so I played a few more games, but didn't really make much of an impact, but the boss had faith in me and put me on a strict training regime to build me up physically, as well as getting to do a bit of ball work here and there.

The boss recognised the hard work I had been putting into training and gave me my fourth start of the season against Gravesend and Northfleet, a tough one as we were playing against two teams :D .

The extra training had definately made a big difference to me, I felt like I could cope playing a man's game now. I had a few nice touches, made a few tackles, and was desperate for the ball. Then in the 69th minute, with the game poised at 0-0 my chance game. I was fouled 25 yards outside the box. Captain Tom Hutchinson told me to have a good from the free kick. I did, and it sailed into the top right hand corner.............i was on cloud 9!!!. We held out for the victory and the fans chanted my name. I had now played 4 games and scored 1 goal, not prolific but at least I was off the mark. I opened the papers the next day to see that they had written a few things about me, saying that my passing was good and I could be one for the future, I was absolutely delighted. It deserved a drink or two, so I went out to celebrate with a few team mates.

I woke up the next day with the worst hangover in the world, and had to get to training. Luckily the boss didn't notice.

[Fabrizio Gatti]

Well, nice material, congrats mate!! :)

[bigmac78]

2006-07 continued.............

From then on things changed for me, I started to get noticed in and around Woking, made a few appearances in the local rags, that sort of thing. The boss wanted me to keep my feet on the ground and continued putting me through the extra training rather than play in matches. Obviously I was disappointed to be missing out but I knew it was for the right reasons, and I would become a better player because of it.

I played the odd game here and there getting a few goals and assists........things were progressing steadily.............I wasn't prepared for what was to come next.

My career record so far stood at 12 games 6 goals, and I was very pleased with that. We had been drawn away in the cup to Championship leaders Norwich City, I didn't think I would be given the nod as I had been in and out of the team. However at the end of Fridays training session the manager pulled me to one side and informed me that I would be starting up front against Norwich, I couldn't believe it. I was delighted. I quickly arranged match tickets for my friends and family, and we made the trip up to Norfolk.

Woking had been getting a lot of media coverage, but generally the media didn't give us a chance in hell of getting a result against a team that were dominating the Championship. I sat in my hotel room watching Sky Sports News run through the build up, some of which focused on me. I was called "an exciting prospect" by former England International Tony Cottee, which made my dad happy as he was a mad Hammer.

The coach drive from the hotel to Carrow Road seemed to take an age, and it was obvious that the Woking fans had turned out in force. I was a nervous 16 year old, with the hopes of unfashionable Conference side Woking's fans on my shoulders..........I was focused and determined to do well for them. And of course for myself.

Our dressing room was buzzing, we were noisy, and everyone was joking about, but I knew deep down they would all be as nervous as I was. The boss gave us his teamtalk and closed with "Enjoy it lads". Standing side by side with the Norwich players in the tunnel didn't phase me, I was ready, and I knew they wouldn’t' know much about me.
I got into the game immediately, heeding Glenn Cockerill's instruction to run at them, I twisted and turned before laying the ball off or having a pop at the goal myself..........I sensed that something was going to happen. Both sides had chances, Earnshaw almost put them in front but fired wide from 8 yards out. In the 83rd minute I received the ball from Scott Canham, just inside the Norwich half. I knew I had to make something happen...............I drove at the Norwich rearguard. Skipping past one then another, before I only had one defender between me and the goal..................just one more man to beat...................I knocked the ball into the penalty box..............the defender threw out a leg.......contact.............I went down...............PENALTY!!!! YES!!!!! 7 minutes to go and we have a penalty. I had carved open the Norwich defence and we now had a chance to put ourselves in front.
The crowd fell silent as Club Captain Tom Hutchinson stepped up...................BANG............GOAL 1-0 YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!! The Woking fans went crazy, the bench went crazy and us players went crazy..........we only had 7 minutes to hold out.
Those were a long 7 minutes, I would run at the defenders every chance I got, trying to run down the clock............the referee blew his whistle.......we had done it. The side 4th in the Conference had beaten Championship leaders Norwich City on their own patch.

After the game the boss gave me a big hug and told me what a star I had been...........Raphael Nede told the press "a star has awoken, he could be the next Wayne Rooney". I was delighted. I hadn't scored but my performance had been top notch, a 9 in the papers the next day. My family were over the moon for me. I began to believe that I was going to be a star.

Glenn bought me back down to earth leaving me out the next few games so that I could undergo some additional training, he promised I would be involved before we played the next round of the cup.......................which was against CHELSEA...........the reigning Champions and current leaders of the Premiership..........this was going to be huge.

Magazines, Local Radio stations and Fanzines had approached me to carry out interviews, which I did and I seemed to come across well enough, but all that was on my mind was the Chelsea game. Before that though Tamworth were to visit. It all clicked into place, I dominated them from start to finish scoring a hat-trick and creating a 4th goal, we ran out 4-0 winners, I had a man of the match award and I had my first career hat-trick............I was on cloud 9.

Woking offered me a new 3 year contract on £2000 per week, which I was more than happy to accept. Next up Chelsea.

[bigmac78]

Well, nice material, congrats mate!! :)

Thanks Fabrizio

[bigmac78]

To say that little Woking were subject to a media frenzy would be an understatement. Sky Sports News were at our training ground at every opportunity, Woking fans had also descended on our training ground. It was a hot bed of activity. We weren't given a chance, but I knew we would give Chelsea a run for their money, and I knew they would know they have been involved in a game. And I told the Daily Mirror that too..............they printed something along the lines of "Woking star claims Chel-Ski are pushovers". I didn't care I just wanted to get into the game.

Standing in that tunnel looking at the likes of Cech, Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko and John Terry was a hell of a daunting prospect. The gaffer told me to go out and play my game and not to be distracted by the occasion. I was welcomed to the game within two minutes of kick off, when Carvalho clattered me from behind. I got up smiled dusted myself off and got into position for the free kick. Hutchinson swung the kick in a sea of bodies parted before me as I rose to meet the ball with my forehead.............its going in..................NO an hand from Cech tips the ball round the post.........Chelsea had their wake up call. For the next hour or so I found it hard as Chelsea dominated possession and peppered our goal......Basso did fantastic to keep the superstars at bay.

I had a look at the scoreboard 73 MINS CHELSEA 0 WOKING 0 we had done fantastically to keep the Champions from scoring. During the break in play Glenn Cockerill called me over to the bench and told me that he had informed the midfield to get the ball down the channels for me to get in behind the centre backs.........I remember thinking "F*** me boss the centre backs are Carvalho and the England captain John Terry". But of course I agreed and 2 minutes later I thanked the boss. The ball was played in the hole by Liam Cockerill, and I just managed to nick it off the toe of John Terry and I was away, one on one with the World's finest keeper..............composure...........Cech comes out..........BANG............ITS THERE!!!!!!!!!!!! We lead 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with 15 minutes to go, I can't believe it................no one can!!. The lead lasted until the 81st when Lampard equalised for Chelsea.........then on 84 he added a second...........before Drogba added a last minute goal to make it 3-1, I was gutted we all were, but we knew we had come so close to knocking out arguably the finest team in world football.

After the game, the fans cried, us players cried and the coaching staff cried. The boss told us how proud of us he was. The Sunday papers were kind to us, me in particular, praising me for my goal and work rate. I was beginning to get a lot of attention, from the press and from female fans, but I just wanted to concentrate on my football. My parents said that even the Chelsea fans clapped us off, and chanted my name. I couldn't get my head round it all.

At training on Monday the boss asked me into his office and told me that he had accepted a bid from League One Bradford City for me, and told me that if I wanted to move then he would understand. I decided that as things stood I was better off at Woking where I was learning my trade and getting to play. So thanks but no thanks Bradford City.

The next few weeks I was in the team every week, average an 8 for most games, scoring goals here and there and racking up the assists, mostly from being fouled in the penalty box. Lotto offered me a hefty sum in I wore their boots for the season, I agreed and bought myself a Bungalow and DB7 out of the money, although I couldn't drive it.

On my birthday I was given a Bayern Munich shirt from 1966, I was very happy about this, I also got wind that Championship strugglers Colchester United were going to make a bid for me, this was confirmed by Glenn later that evening. He said "we have accepted an offer from Colchester for you, obviously we don't want you to go but we have to give you that option". I agreed to talk to Colchester about a move and see what they had outlined for the future. Most of their plans seemed to centre around remaining in the Championship............I turned down the move..........I didn't want to move to a club that were always fighting off relegation. I was more ambitious than that.

So I turned the move down and Glenn was delighted. Then another bid, this time from Preston North End, who were mid-table in the Championship............however by this time I had already made up my mind I wanted to stay at Woking, for this season at least.

The rest of the season was frustrating, I was in and out of the team, which I hadn't expected, but by now the extra training was working wonders. The clubs promotion charge fell away towards the end of the season and they ended up in 8th place.............I had played 26 games and scored 15 goals and was the clubs top scorer. I was very happy with my haul, and my first season in professional football. Unfortunately despite the cup exploits and being the top scorer my sponsors lotto didn't feel I was getting enough media exposure and pulled the plug on my sponsorship deal.

The boss wished us well for the summer and off the players went for their end of season holidays. I went to Spain with the family, had an ok time, but something was really niggling away at me. I loved it at Woking but I didn't feel that I would progress as a player unless I was playing at a higher standard.

I rang the boss, who was holidaying in the Lake District and told him that I am grateful for everything he has done but I feel I needed to move on. He was disappointed, as were the fans when they found out.

The transfer request was in...................

Next...............where will I move???

[Fabrizio Gatti]

NACIONAL!!!!!!!!!!!! We need a striker like you if we are going to face Boca Jrs for the Sudamericana Cup ;)

[bigmac78]

Sorry Fabrizio, after much heart ache I have decided that Nacional just isn't the place for me.........maybe later in my career though. :D

The New Club

I walked out onto the pitch of Roots Hall with my new manager Steve Tilson, a man who I knew little about but had convinced me that my career would be better served in the Championship with Southend United. Just me and Steve were standing in the middle of the pitch looking out at the stands. Steve informed me that the club were to hold a press conference in an hour and that I would be answering some of the questions. He asked me if I minded and I told him that I had a few interviews in the past and I was more than happy to take part.

Now in my heart of hearts I knew that I could have gone to a bigger club than Southend, after all I had turned down Preston North End last season and they are a much bigger club. But I wanted to go somewhere I felt I would get more first team action, and thats how I ended up at Roots Hall.

I walked into the press room with the boss and met the Chairman, who informed me of his delight at signing me. The room was full of people from the local press and maybe one or two nationals aswell, I was sure that I wasn't the biggest football news, after all I was just a scrawny 17 year old who had scored a few goals in Non-League football. I wasn't phased by the press attention at all, in fact I enjoyed it.

The Press Conference

Chairman Ron Martin, Manager Steve Tilson and myself were sat at a 3 seater table decked out in Southend United colours before a press pack of about 10 people. Behind me was a huge screen with the Southend United badge on. I took a sip of water and listened as the Chairman informed the press that they were pleased to sign such an up and coming striker and feel that I could be the next Wayne Rooney. I wasn't sure about that but I thought it was nice that they had so much faith in me.

Next Steve Tilson spoke and stated that he sees me as a big part of the future of Southend United, but he is aware that it's a massive step up from the Conference and that he isn't going to throw me into every game until I am ready.
Now it was my turn to face the press.

Southend Times: Ian, from the Southend Times here. First off welcome to the club. How do you think you will cope with football at this level?.

Me: Well, I am going to work as hard as possible in training and hopefully get my chance to show the boss and the fans what I can do in the league. I realise it's a big step up from the Conference, but if I didn't think I was upto it then I wouldn't have made the move. I am confident that I will do well for the club and given time my game will develop.

Essex Gazette: Some sections of the media are hyping you up as "the next big thing", are you?.

Me: Obviously I hope I am, but I'm not going to be putting any pressure on myself to live upto that. At the end of the day I have faith in my own ability and I am going to takt things as they come.

Steve Tilson: We want him to develop naturally, we want to nurture that talent that he has. What we won't do is burn him out. We want him to enjoy the game and his time at Southend, and we are sure that he will.

Shrimpers.net: How do you see yourself fitting into the Southend team?. I know from your time at Woking that you like to run at the defenders with the ball, and have been accused of being a little greedy at times.

Me: Maybe that is the case but so far its effective, and off the back of my playing style I have earned a move into the Championship. I know I can score goals and running at defenders seemed to cause problems last season, even against the likes of Chelsea. I am sure that I will fit into the side, my playing style is in a similar vein to Freddy Eastwood, who is also here and he had no problems fitting in.

Essex Gazette: At Woking it was rumoured that you liked a bit of a gamble and a drink. What is your response to those claims?.

Me: I went out a few times with the lads from Woking , Christmas party that sort of thing. But nothing excessive, nothing that affected my performances. And as for the gambling, that’s something I do for light entertainment. I don't play golf or anything like that so it passes the time for me, but I am not spending out of control or loosing massive amounts of money, I wouldn't allow that to happen.

Steve Tilson: What you have to remember is that he is a young lad focused on being a success in football, and he isn't going to jeopardise it by going out getting drunk, or gambling his wages away. He is a good lad, with a sensible head on his shoulders, if we thought any different we wouldn't have signed him. Can we have one last question please.

Shrimpers.net: What are your targets this season?.

Me: My immediate target is to buy a house in the area, and then football wise I want to get the season off and running at my peak condition. I want to earn my place in the side and then try and bang in a few goals. I am not setting myself long term targets, I just want to focus on one season at a time. I hope that I bring something to the team and we can have a really good crack at promotion, I know it will be tough, but anything can happen in football.

Ron Martin: That concludes this press conference, I would like to that you all for you attendance and I am sure you would all join me in wishing our new signing the best of luck.

I got up from my seat and left the press conference, it was time to crack on with the season, and first up were Leeds United.

[Bubka]

Fantastic stuff mate :)

[bigmac78]

Thanks Bubka, much appreciated, hopefully get the next update up early next week :-)

[ProfessorFootie]

It's funny isn't it, all the best career threads have had the spark of creativity beyond the on screen stats. It's that sort of thinking that makes your player's career into a more personal experience, something that has to be developed for the next game I think.

Anyway great thread.

[bigmac78]

Thanks ProfessorFootie, much appreciated!! :D

The Debut

A few days before the game I was out on the training ground working on my finishing, which had been coming along nicely. The boss came out and asked me how I was doing, and if I was enjoying the training, which of course I was. He mentioned to me that my squad number for the season would be number 9. I was delighted, a real honour for a 17 year old straight out of non-league. He didn't give me any indication as to what the team would be for the opening game away to Leeds United. But he did mention he was impressed with what he had seen so far and that I should keep up the good work.

In the hotel the night before the game, I had been speaking to Gifton Noel-Williams, a fellow striker and new signing. He said that he thought I would be in with a good chance of starting. Deep down I knew I had been playing well enough in training but my thoughts were there was no chance the boss would risk a 17 year old making his league debut, especially away to Leeds United.

As we pulled upto Elland Road I was in awe at the sheer size of it. This time last season I had been running out at Morecambe, I was excited about my debut then, but this was something different altogether. We got off the coach, some of our fans were there and gave us a nice reception, which I was delighted about. I walked into the away changing room at Elland Road..........absolutely incredible. I looked at the pegs, and my number 9 shirt was hanging up. I took a long good look at it, before one of the lads threw a cold wet sponge at me to knock me out of my daze. The lads all had a good laugh at me as they had soaked my new designer suit. I saw the funny side of it though, I had been expecting something to happen.

The boss walked into the changing room and asked us to get into our warm up kits while he spoke to us about the game. He read the team out as we all listened closely.......no 7 Gower no 8 Kev Maher No 9 Mark Moore..............it took a second for the information to process........I had just been named in the starting line up. Nerves took hold!! I sat there imagining what it was going to be like running out in front of 40000 fans. The boss talked us through the tactics, told us what he expected and gave us the plan to deal with the individual Leeds players. It appeared that I would be marked by the highly rated Matthew Kilgallon.

We went out to warm up, predictably the Leeds United fans booed us as we came out, I heard a few individual shouts about us playing with a kid up front, but it didn't seem to phase me too much. As our warm up went on the boss came over and spoke to me individually. He told me that Kilgallon wouldn't like me running at him with the ball, and to try and get the defenders to back off me, because they hate people running at them. He told me most of all to go out and enjoy it.

We went back into the changing room and the boss and the captain Spencer Prior made rousing speeches and then the bell went. This was it..........SHOWTIME!!.

Standing in the tunnel before the game I looked down the line of Leeds United players........Neil Sullivan.........Gary Kelly................David Healy.............and Steve Stone too name a few. All players who are either current internationals, or have been in the past. Their captain Sean Gregan made a point of shaking my hand and saying "Good luck Junior", with a smirk on his face, he was trying to rattle me. Our big defender Peter Clarke saw what happened and just told me not to worry and let me do my talking on the pitch.

The roar as we walked out onto the pitch was incredible.......the loudest noise I have ever experienced. I walked out proud as to not give away the butterflies in my stomach. The captains and referee went through their pre-match formalities, and before I knew it, the whistle had blown and the match was off and running. I didn't have to wait long for my first touch........Maher played the ball too me just inside the Leeds half..........WHACK!!! Gregan had gone right through me as I laid the ball off, the referee gave a free kick and Gregan got a stern telling off. As Gregan ran past me he said "You little ******* poof, next time I'll break you in half". I didn't respond. I found myself struggling to get into the game, Leeds seemed to be dominating and I was reduced to the odd touch here and there. Nothing fancy just finding a blue shirt and keeping the ball moving. It was 35 minutes into the game before anything of note happened. I picked up the ball on the half way line.........Gregan came flying towards me, I knocked the ball past him and hurdled his wild lunge.......I was away and running at the Leeds defence.........Kilgallon came sliding in........I skipped past him and unleashed a shot from about 20 yards........it flew past the keeper and....................SMASHED AGAINST THE BAR!!!!!! I couldn't believe it.......the fans let out a big cheer as they thought it was heading into the net........The ball bounced to a defender who cleared. The Leeds defenders looked shell shocked, they weren't expecting that from me at all.
I began to get more joy running at the defence, they didn't seem to want to commit to tackling me, and they couldn't live with my pace. Just before half time, Smith slotted the ball through to me, I looked up and saw Gifton in space, and put the ball behind the last defender for him to run onto......he got to the ball and smashed it beyond the keeper 1-0, we ran to the fans and celebrated with them.
The half time whistle went with the score at Leeds United 0 Southend United 1. The boss said I had done well and too keep doing what I had been doing. He told us to expect a backlash from Leeds and that he was sure they would single me out for a bit of rough treatment as Gregan had early on in the game, he told me that under any circumstance I wasn't to react.

The second half started off with a flurry of Leeds chances, they really meant business this half. Off the ball Gregan gave me a little elbow in the ribs, that knocked the wind out of me. I could see the boss doing his nut on the touchline, he had seen it and was blazing at the fourth official and Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell. Once again I didn't react, but inside I was furious. How dare he treat me like that!!. On the hour Leeds striker David Healy sprung the offside trap and netted an equaliser...........1-1 with half an hour to play. During a break in play the boss told me to sort myself out because my performance had dropped since the Gregan incident. Within a minute I picked up the ball, skipped past Steve Stone and was caught late by a lunge from Gregan........the ref finally showed him the yellow card. That last challenge had pushed me over the edge though. I wanted some revenge. When I play with that fire in my belly, I am a different sort of player. I want the ball all the time, I would move heaven and earth to get it..........so when Gregan chested the ball down in the middle of the park, there was only one thing for it. Smash!!!! Have that you git!!! He was on the floor writhing around.........the Leeds players surrounded me calling me all sorts of names, they were demanding that I should be sent off. The referee called me over, he let me know that sort of behaviour was bang out of order. He said one more of those and I am off, and promptly flashed the yellow card at me..........I was lucky!!!. I could see the boss telling Freddy Eastwood to get warmed up............I knew that I would be coming off. I Knew I had a few minutes at the most to get something out of this game. Leeds launched the free kick into our box........Prior rose to head clear and the ball came out to me just inside our own half...........I span on the ball and was faced with Gary Kelly and Sean Gregan, who had recovered from my earlier tackle........with a burst of speed I had gone by Kelly.........then as Gregan closed in, I saw a chance for the ultimate embarrasment........NUTMEG!!!! I had left Gregan and Kelly in my wake...........now I was face to face with Neil Sullivan........I slotted the ball past him and into the back of the net..............I had scored on my debut!!!!!!! The fans went mental..........the rest of the lads came flying into the corner where I had run off to celebrate...........I soon found myself under a bundle of Southend's finest!!!. Leeds 1 Southend 2 with 15 minutes to play.

Eastwood took his seat on the bench, it seemed I had redeemed myself. The rest of the match went by without real incident.........although by now my every touch was greeted by boo's from the Leeds fans by I didn't care. The ref put the whistle to his mouth......the match was over, we had won 2-1 I had scored one and created one, the only blip being a yellow card. The Southend players came upto me at the end of the game and congratulated as we were walking off the pitch, I had made a real impact.........the Southend fans were singing "there's only one Mark Moore". I was in heaven.

Just before I disappeared into the c.hanging room, Sean Gregan came and spoke to me to tell me well done and that there were no hard feelings, its just all part of the game he said. I just smiled and said "thanks".

Inside the changing room the boss congratulated me for my goal and assist but showed his disapproval at my booking. By now I was completely exhausted, I got showered and got on the coach and slept the entire journey back to Leeds. It had been a hell of a day, I had made my league debut at one of the most famous clubs in the world, I had created and scored a goal..........I realised at this moment I really was a professional footballer.

The next day the papers were full of praise for me, comparing me to the next Stan Collymore..........I didn't like that comparison though, I wanted to make something out of my career.

Next: What does the season hold for Southend's newest strike sensation?.

[Fabrizio Gatti]

Great reading mate!!! I felt into the stadium for a minute :D
I'm off to college now ;)

[bigmac78]

The aftermath.............

Wonderkid sinks Leeds!!!

Shrimpers Fans delight with new Colly-Moore!!!

17 year old too much for the ghosts of Revie and Bremner!!!

Those were just some of the comments I read in the Sunday papers, following my performance on the Saturday. It was 9 am and I had been up since 7, excited at the prospect of seeing myself in the national press, I had got dressed and headed straight down to the local news agent to buy the Sundays. It was my day off today so I was going to make the most of it.

As soon as I had the papers on the kitchen table of my recently purchased bungalow I sat down and thumbed through and read all the the match reports for our game. Once I had read all of our match reports I gave Gifton a call and asked if he had been reading them. He had done the same and congratulated me once again on my performance. We didn't get back from Leeds until about 11.30 pm but all the way home friends and family had been calling me too tell me how proud they were of me. I was buzzing.

Days off inevitably fly by and I was soon back in training on Monday morning. The boss sat us down and we watched a DVD of the game, the boss highlighted was he was pleased and not so pleased about. Having watched the match I was aware that I was a little ball greedy during that game, but I was so desperate to make the right impression, and make sure the fans knew that they have signed the real deal. After the DVD we were out onto the training ground for a light session, the boss doesn't seem to like to over do it on a Monday after the game. There were a lot of press hanging around the training ground, I wasn't really sure why though.

It soon became apparent at the end of training when the boss said that I had been asked to do a publicity shot for the match day program. I was fine, then the boss told me that I would be doing the shoot with Stan Collymore..............great, I have to waste my time with a has been who wasted his career I thought. To be fair Stan seemed nice enough, he asked me how I had felt after scoring on my debut, I told him "ok", he just laughed and told me too keep my feet on the ground and not waste my career like he did, and that if I fulfilled my promise I would end up playing for England one day. In the end it turned out he was a really nice bloke.

Our next game was at home to Ipswich Town who had opened their season with a 1-1 draw at Derby. I got the nod again I would start upfront.
Roots Hall on a match day is a compact little stadium, nothing in comparison to Elland Road, but I had a good feeling about the place, the fans were loud and all of us were up for it. We ran out 2-0 winners, I hadn’t scored but had done ok, playing my part if a few nice moves. The next few games were like that, I wasn't scoring but I was playing ok and really finding my feet in the Championship. After 6 games we were top of the league, having won 5 out of our 6 games and drawn once........I had only scored the 1 goal so far but had 3 assists to my name. The boss said he was pleased with my performances and not to worry about the lack of goals he was sure that they would come.

I must have been doing something right because Asics approached me offering me a boot deal for a ridiculous amount of money...........of course I signed, and purchased myself a McLaren F1 and numerous other goodies with the money...........All that I had to do now was learn to drive.

The 7th game of the season was away to lowly QPR. Seeing that as a kid I was a Brentford fan, I absolutely despise QPR. I had doubled my efforts in training and couldn't wait to get out of the field and unleash my goals upon them. And that's exactly what happened. Something clicked and I went goal crazy. My 1st was a thundering header which flew beyond the helpless keeper. The 2nd was from a brilliant Noel-Williams through ball that saw me round the keeper and smash the ball into the net. The 3rd, was an unstoppable drive from 25 yards, and the 4th was a tap in from a rebound. We had won 4-0 at Loftus Road and I had scored all four goals and I had won the man of the match award to boot. I was interview for ITV's the Championship after the game.

The Championship (TC): The first hat-trick of your career as a professional..........how did it feel?.

Me: Obviously fantastic. I really dislike QPR and to get four goals against them was just unbelievable. My performances have been consistent and now I feel like I have arrived as a Championship player.

TC: Already Premiership clubs are after you, would you be prepared to move?.

Me: I think your question is out of order, I've just came off the pitch having scored 4 goals for my new club and your asking me about moving to the premiership. I've played 7 games for f*** sake!! Do you know what, this interview is over!!

The complete ineptitude of journalists in this country astonished me. I was expecting to talk about the game, and they want to talk about me moving to the Premiership. I really do despair. The boss heard about my outburst and told me he understood, but I shouldn’t have behaved like that. My team-mates all had a good laugh and that they were pleased I had the balls to say something.

Eventually the incident blew over and I could carry on with my season.

Something had clicked against QPR and I became a force that other teams just could not cope with, if I wasn't scoring I was creating, if I wasn't creating I was scoring, sometimes I was doing both. At the half way point of the season I had played 23 games and scored 22 goals and 11 assists......I was the leagues leading scorer and top of the assists chart, Southend were sitting second in the league, just a point behind Leicester City. According the the press I had a good chance of being selected for England, which I thought was crazy, I hadn't even had a full season as a pro yet and already I was being touted for the England squad.

I was really enjoying my football, I had signed sponsorship deals for clothing companies and also agreed to endorse pepsi. Southend had given me a huge new contract. Things really could not have got any better. The only thing I was missing was a girlfriend.

Pepsi had asked me to go to Old Trafford to film an advert...........I turn up and they likes of Roberto Carlos, David Beckham and Raul are all there, decked out in a Pepsi footie strip. My new agent Elliott Weinstein told me that they would also be in the advert....there was me, a 17 year old Southend United player, endorsing pepsi with the Real Madrid trio of Carlos, Beckham and Raul...........I was a nervous wreck. I was introduced to each of them, they all seemed nice enough guys. Carlos and Raul went off to get ready for their part in the advert, David Beckham stayed behind to talk to me. He told me that he had heard good things about me, but professed that he had yet to see me play, but he knew that I was building a big reputation in the Championship. He told me that some of his friends from Manchester were hoping that United would sign me. I had a really good chat with David, he is a very down to earth guy and gave me lots of good advice, especially about handling the pressures of the media. A representative from Pepsi spoke to me and told me that the advert was actually centred around me..............unbelievable. It basically involved the four of us knocking the ball around to each other, using different tricks and skills and at the end of the advert I would appear to grow into a giant, holding a can of Pepsi while Beckham, Carlos and Raul looked upto me. At that moment, the words "Pepsi - The Choice of the New Generation" would appear across my chest. I really did think it was a joke, and belittling to legends of the game, but they all understood that they were approaching the twilight of their careers so didn't seem to mind.

After we finished shooting the ad I had a bit of a chat with the 3 of them, and got their autographs...........I was still a kid after all. Now what was about to happen was certainly not expected. As I said my goodbyes and turned away from the Real Madrid stars, I saw that Pepsi were doing some promotional photo's with some models. Of course this was a great interest to me, so I pulled up a chair to watch. One stood out in particular, tall, slim, blonde..........looks that could kill!!!. I asked Elliott who she was, and he said that her name was Hannah and she is a model (obviously), he thought she was from Derby, or somewhere like that.

I just had to meet her........................

[Fabrizio Gatti]

Careful with media boy!! you had an advert, and now are struggling after a model.... you're gonna die for the media!! :D

[bigmac78]

I fear it may be too late for that Fabrizio, things were about to turn upside down

[bigmac78]

A topsy turvy world

Hannah was great, she was funny, intelligent and obviously good looking. My family seemed to like her, in fact I'm sure some of them liked her more than they liked me. Things were going really well. On the pitch I still seemed to be doing the business and gaining the plaudits of the national press and the fans alike. We had some good results and were still a point clear at the top of the table.

Just before our game against Bristol City the manager called me into the office. He told me he wasn't very happy about the media attention I had been getting recently. He said that although I was doing the business on the pitch my head was being turned by fast cars, and even faster women, and he didn't feel that the advice my agent was giving me was really suitable to a 17 year old trying to forge a career for myself. To be honest I wasn't very happy, after all I had scored the goals to get Southend to the top of the table, and why are they paying me a decent wage if they don't want me to spend it. As long as I am performing on the pitch then what difference does it make. I left the meeting really unhappy with the situation. I spoke to my agent who told me to sit tight till the end of the season and then he will find a move for me. I agreed, but still wasn't happy. I spoke to Hannah about the situation and she said I should listen to my agent because he knows what he is talking about.

The next day I trained, it was the day before the game so the boss didn't like to push us too hard. But I was flying around like a mad man. Smashing into tackles, really training with a fire in my belly. I caught Kevin Maher with a late tackle, he unleashed a torrent of four letter words at me. I just responded with a "**** off granddad" He wasn't very happy. The boss told me to go and get changed and that he had seen enough for today. I was fuming, I went into the changing room and kick my locker until the door came off, I was shaking with anger. Why had the boss pulled me from training, I'm the star of this team, I deserve better treatment.

I had my shower and sat around for half an hour until the rest of the lads came in, none of them really said much to me, not even Gifton, who I usually spend ages talking too. The boss came in, and stared at me. "Moore, in my office now" he growled. So off to his office I went, I was ready for whatever he would throw at me. "Your in the team tomorrow, for the City game, but you have got to calm down, I don't know what it is with you at the moment, but your head is elsewhere. Sort it out and don't let me down, I don't give second chances" I replied with a simple "Ok Boss".

I didn't sleep much that night, and arrived at Roots Hall 2 hours before kick off. I was tired and I was still angry from the previous day. I went into the changing room and Maher was sat in the corner, I didn't say a word, and neither did he. F*** him I thought, he ain't no good anyway. One by one the rest of the lads turned up, a few of them tried to speak to me, but I wasn't interested. I just wanted to get on with the game. The boss came in and sent us out for the usual warm up's before we came in and went through the game plan.

Bristol City were bottom of the table and we were top, it should have been a straight forward 3 points in the bag for us. The match got underway and I was steaming around like a mad man again, destroying the City defence, they couldn't live with me. In the first half I did everything except score. At half time, the boss had a right dig at me for being to greedy, Maher chipped him with a "flash little ****" comment, but I soon told him where to go.
Ten minutes into the second half, Maher was dispossessed on the edge of our area, Steve Brooker drove the ball into the back of the net, and we were trailing 1-0. I told Maher what I thought of his play and Smith had to restrain him. In the 67th minute, their full back Bradley Orr won the ball from Gifton, the ball sprang out of the challenge, it was 50-50...........I made for the ball........Orr just nicked it off my time and I smashed into him.............the away fans were incensed........the City players were surrounding the ref, who called me over. RED CARD!!!!!!!!!!.............I was off, I couldn't believe it.............I turned and made towards the touchline..........the boss just looked at me and pointed towards the tunnel. I was livid..........it wasn't that bad a challenge. I sat in the changing room with my head in my hands, close to tears, I was so frustrated. I had a shower and by the time I had got out the lads were back in the changing room. "1 all" Gifton told me. No one else spoke to me, not even the boss.

That night I went home and turned my mobile off. I didn't want to talk to anyone, not even Hannah. At 11pm, I checked my voicemail. Steve Tilson, the boss had left a message for me. "Mark it's Steve here, I want you to come in and train tomorrow, I've got the rest of the lads in, they will be doing there own thing, but I'm putting you with the youth team". He was doing what??!. Balls to that.
I went to bed angry and once again didn't really sleep properly.

The next morning I pulled up at the training ground in my new Aston Martin, the rest of the lads were already there. I went into the changing room and got changed without saying a word. Steve came in and told us we would be playing a game against the youth team.........and that I would be playing for the youth team. "Why do I have to do that? I'm the star player here" I shouted. "I'm the f***ing boss and what I say goes, your playing for the youths today" Steve shouted back. I wasn't happy but what could I do?.

At half time the firsts were 2-1 up, I had scored for the youth team. Most of the game I had been at the throat of Kevin Maher, and he with me. I didn't care though I was twice the player he was. The boss told me to have a rest and go off and do some ball work rather than play the second half. Again I wasn't happy, the boss seemed to be trying to teach me a lesson about something or other. The first team ended up winning 6-1 and I was bored training on my own.

We all went into the changing room had showers and got in our cars. I just happened to be leaving at the same time as Kevin Maher, we didn't so much as exchange a word. I got behind the wheel of my car and reversed out of the space.......CRUNCH!!!.........What the hell!??!?!. My car had been hit. I got out, and discovered that Kevin Maher and reversed into my car. He began shouting "You idiot why didn't you look where you was going?". "F*** off I did!. You crashed into me" As we continued to shout at each other, we were getting closer and closer together. He shoved me so I shoved him back.........and lashed out at him with a fist!!. It developed into a fist fight before the rest of the squad came running over to separate us. Both of us had bloody noses!! The players were telling us to go home before the boss found out. Too late, I spotted him storming over to us.........."What the f*** is going on here?!?!". I tried to explain but he weren't having none of it, "Just f*** off home Moore". So that’s what I did.

A few hours later I got a call from Steve. "I want you to ring Kevin and say your sorry". "I'm not doing that, he crashed into me and HE shoved ME first" I blasted. Steve fired back "If you don't apologise you'll never play for us again". "That’s fine, if I wasn't for me Southend would be nothing more than a mid-table side". I said. Steve put the phone down. Immediately I phoned my agent Elliott Weinstein. He wasn't available. What's he playing at?. I left a voicemail.

I didn't get a reply from Elliott until about Midday the next day. It was too late by then, I had not bothered to go to training and I'd told Elliott that I didn't require his services anymore and that I'd be looking to employ and new agent. I ignored the numerous phone calls from the club and sat around all day watching DVD's and eating pasta. I spoke to Hannah about 6pm and told her everything that had been going on. I told her to come and pick me up and we would go out for dinner. We did so and then spent the night together. The next morning I woke up at 7am to my mobile ring, I had a look at the caller display - The Boss - . I didn't bother answering and just fell back asleep. Hannah must have left because when I woke up at 10.15 she had gone. This was the 2nd day I hadn't bothered going into training. I picked up my mobile and made a few calls, I needed to sort out an agent. And I needed to put in a transfer request. I had a text from Gifton saying that the club have gone public with my absence and have fined me two weeks wages..........I didn't care and didn't bother replying.

Later that day I had found my new agent Fabrizio Gatti ;) , a Uruguayan man who had been about the business for a good few years. He told me he would speak to the club on my behalf and put in a transfer request and then organise me a move. In the meantime he will find out who was interested. He said he would call me in a week when the transfer window opens and that I should stay away from the club. So that’s what I did. For the next few days I sat around, had a look at various Southend website's who were slagging me off, calling me all sorts, I just didn't care. My parents were worried so they called me and asked what was going on. I just told them that I didn't see eye to eye with the boss anymore and I wanted to move. And they just told me that they wanted to see me happy. Hannah said she would be happy and would come with me wherever I moved. On the 27th of December I turned 18, Fabrizio called me to say that Southend had reluctantly excepted my request but had slapped a £6.5 million transfer fee on me. He told me he had clubs contacting him already and he thought that they should be able to do business at that price.

At 7am on the 1st of January the transfer window opened. I was still a bit groggy from my new years eve celebrations but Fabrizio had sent a car to take me the the Holiday Inn in Heathrow where we would spend the day negotiating with several clubs. So there we were, sat in a conference room at the Holiday Inn hotel and 7am tucking into breakfast. At 7.15 the phone rang...........Bayern Munich were interested. Wow!!. The next hour saw several other clubs from Spain, France, England and Germany. By lunch time we had a list of 12 clubs that were interested. I told Fab that I'd only want to move to Bayern and Everton out of that list. Terms were agreed with both clubs, and at 4.10 it looked like I'd be joining one of those clubs. However another team had different ideas.......Benfica. They were top of the Portuguese league and weren't offering the wages that Bayern and Everton were. But the climate appealed to me. I informed Fabrizio that I wanted to join Benfica and I wouldn't entertain advances from any other club. By 10.30 pm that night I was having a tour of Benfica's Stadium of Light, a magnificent stadium. I met some of the staff, apparently the manager was away but I had a chat with him on the phone, but he didn't really speak english, so I gave the phone to Fab who seemed to have better luck. Basically the new boss was delighted that I wanted to sign for his club. At 1126pm I signed the contract that made me a Benfica player. I was delighted. I rang Hannah and my parents, they were delighted. I rang Gifton and told him and he was made up for me.
I'd had a torrid time recently, I just wanted to get back to football, and in 3 days time I could when Benfica travelled to Rio Ave in the league, with the hopes of maintaining a 5 point advantage over our nearest rivals.

[Fabrizio Gatti]

Dear Mark:
I hope you're doing well at your new flat, if you think it's not comfortable, I could arrange something different for you, maybe a penthouse or something :)
I received a call from Steve, saying that he's sorry now for having allowed you to leave the club, and saying that what's done is done, and good luck. Maybe you could call him back, so that you will be getting some good relationships, and would remain supported by English people (that can really help if you're thinking about sub-21 team ;))
Sorry that I wrote, but my phone line is screwed, and didn't have my cell on,
Call me whenever needed,
Fab

[bigmac78]

OOC - I am planning to continue with the story but have been spending rather a lot of time in hospital lately, but rest assured I will be baclk to continue with this ASAP.

[wonder]

Have a quick recovery mate, had a real nice time reading

[bigmac78]

Was planning to continue this story, but seems after my Benfica debut the game crashes. Have tried a few times, so am giving up. But going to start another carear and another story.

[Nando]

Was planning to continue this story, but seems after my Benfica debut the game crashes. Have tried a few times, so am giving up. But going to start another carear and another story.

No wonder... Benfica xD Next time go with Porto ;)

[bigmac78]

OOC _ I've managed to recover the game, so the story continues :D

Fabrizio, Hannah and I had a tour of the magnificent Stadium of Light, it was a wonderful stadium, needed a lick of paint, but the place was steeped in history.

After an hour or so I was taken to the training ground, about a mile or so outside of Lisbon. There the boss introduced me to my team mates, in both Portuguese and English. All of the Benfica players were clamouring about to have a look at this so called sensation. For me it was a nerve racking experience. Players like Nuno Gomes and Rui Costa were players who had been at the top of the world game for years, and although approaching the twilight of their carears, they were still top players.

Next: Will I make my Benfica debut??

A few days passed and I began training with the team in preperation for the trip to Rio Ave for my Benfica debut. Hannah was left to get our flat how we..........well I see we, i mean she wanted. The step up in quality was obvious from the training sessions. I had been used to having things a bit easier at Southend, but here every single player just oozed class from every pore.

The boss had been speaking to me after every session, he English was very good so that helped me no end. He would check how I felt after each session, if i was feeling strong, how Hannah and I were settling in, it was just what I needed. After the Thursday evening training session the team sheet would go up on the board. I hoped that I had done enough in training to at least make the squad. After all I didn't expect that they would spend all that money on me to leave me in the reserves.

I came out of the changing room and walked down towards the managers office, I knew that the team sheet would be up, and some of the lads were already checking it out. Nuno Gomes walked towards me and with a big smile he said "We will see what English wonderkid is all about at Rio Ave, you are in the team. Well done". And casually he walked off............brilliant. Just to make sure I double checked and there on the board was my name in the starting line up next to me prefferred number 9 shirt. I left the training ground and called Hannah to tell her the good news, she was delighted and then started talking to me about curtains.........I managed to lose the signal on my mobile round about the time she mentioned "Floral pattern". I then gave Fabrizio a call and he was so happy he broke down in tears, I didn't really know what to say so again managed to lose my phone signal. :)

Fridays morning training was to be the last before up travelled to Rio Ave, I was full of excitement knowing that I would be making my debut for one of the worlds most historic clubs. To finish off training we had a few 5-a-side games just amongst the first teamers. I more than held my own with the other first teamers, and didn't feel out of place at all. I went in for a 50-50 challenge with Portuguese international Beto.............crunch............his studs straight onto the top of my foot, it was purely an accident but my god it hurt, I was writhing around on the floor in agony, the players had concerned looks on their faces.........not as concerned as the look on the face of the financial director who had spent a sizeable sum on me. The boss called an end to training session and told the rest of the lads to go and get showered and changed and ready to travel. The physio took off my boot and sock and had a look at the sizeable lump on the top of my foot.....he took one look at the boss and shook his head. I knew I was out of the Rio Ave game, i was gutted.

The boss told me to stay at the club and get treatment rather than travel with the rest of the lads. He told me that if i recover in time then he would consider me for next weeks away trip to Maritimo. I had 7 days to get fit.

After a series of tests, and physio's doing what they do, it was determined that I had severe brusing which may take a week to heal before being able to play on it. I knew that if it took that long I wouldn't be able to train and certainly wouldn't be able to play a part against Maritimo.

[JJU]

Great you recovered your game, and that you're sharing your story with us. Can't wait until the next installment :)