1 Chapter One

Chapter One

Emirates Stadium, 2020

Sitting alone in the stands, a lone figure found tears streaming down his face. Today marked the darkest day in Arsenal's history – they were on the brink of relegation. He couldn't wrap his head around it, didn't even want to. His heart ached. Everyone else had left the stadium, but he remained. This club was his lifeline; he had nothing else – no family, no job, no money. All he had was this club, and now even that was slipping into history. Memories flooded back, a time when he could hold his head high among friends who were Chelsea and Man City fans without facing retorts. Now, his club was the subject of mockery.

Lee Dixon was utterly worn out; his world seemed colorless. He rose from his seat, thinking, "Maybe I should get a job." He reached an exit only to find it locked.

"Damn it, where to now?"

He mused, "What's the plan?" Could he possibly scale the stadium? Standing there, he pondered. At 42, he wasn't exactly young, but with nothing left to lose...

"To hell with it, let's do this."

With a firm grip on the cold steel, he hoisted himself up and began scaling the structure, utilizing the gaps. Finally reaching the top, he wondered, "Should I jump?" Just then, voices approached, and without much thought, he took a leap, his landing far from graceful.

"Damn it," he thought as darkness closed in.

"Lee!"

"Lee!"

Amidst the voices calling his name, his head spun, and darkness took over.

"Where am I?"

He mumbled as he tried to make sense of the situation, but the person calling him was too concerned to listen.

"Lee!"

"Finally, Lee, you scared me! Why in the world did you jump from the bridge? Are you crazy?"

So, I jumped from a bridge...

"What the hell? When did I jump from a bridge? I was clearly going for the gate." As the memory replayed, his face drained of color in fear. "Never again," he vowed to himself. He glanced at his new body, well-maintained and quite attractive. He guessed he was around 26 years old.

Who are you?

He asked the young man, withdrawing cautiously and studying him closely.

"Man, Lee, what are you talking about? Don't you recognize your old buddy, Dan?"

"Don't tell me this is some legendary amnesia."

"Hold up, where are you off to? Do you even know where you're headed?"

Lee halted in his tracks. "Where was I going, anyway? Wasn't there supposed to be some soul-sharing, memory-swapping thing going on?" He muttered, "Damn those authors, they tricked me." He turned his attention back to Dan, realizing he was his only lifeline.

Dan, right? Umm, where am I? What year is it, and what's my name?

Dan gave his best friend a puzzled look. 'Is Lee really dealing with amnesia, or is he messing around again? Well, he did just jump from the bridge, so his state of mind might not be the best.'

"Alright, let's start somewhere. You're in England, specifically Birmingham. You're 28, freshly certified at FA Level 2, and were all set to become a Trainee Coach for U-18 at Aston Villa. But then you got news that your girlfriend cleared your bank account and vanished. Crushed by bankruptcy, you tried to end it all, but I managed to save you. And, oh yeah, it's 2009."

Lee took a deep breath, processing everything. He could handle most of it except for one thing – it was 2009. He was more than a decade back in time. What in the world was he going to do?

Hold on, you mentioned I have an FA Level 2 license?

"Yeah, man. Your dream was to be a manager."

His heart raced. Could he really do it? If there was one thing he knew like the back of his hand, it was football. From playing Football Manager (FM) from 2007 to 2020, he had knowledge of future tactics, potential stars, players – he was confident about every aspect of the game. He could change Arsenal's future. His determination solidified. He knew what he had to do.

Dan.

His voice shifted, now full of excitement and resolve, as he addressed Dan again.

"Yeah?"

Dan responded, intrigued by this change in Lee.

"I might not know much else, but one thing's for certain – I'm going to become a manager."

His eyes glowed with passion as he spoke.

Dan looked at him, smiling. He was sure of one thing: Lee's love for football was unwavering. Even though his friend had changed, that fiery passion remained, and that's all that mattered.

"I've got your back, buddy."

He replied, looking forward to the days ahead.