Part 193: Chapter the Twelfth: All about that trebel.

Chapter the Twelfth: All about that trebel.
May 15, 2026-May 24, 2016

There's two games left on the club schedule. We shall either be proved paper tigers or all conquering titans of the pitch when they end.



Oh, that will not do at all. Plans must be put into motion.



Seven of these players will get cut before the end of the month, and one player will be helping me on a secret mission...



Paredes isn't making the cut, I just want him to get experience and know I think of him as a future star.



I like his youthful enthusiasm. I hope he doesn't sprain anything trying to prove himself-



So much for getting on the field experience.



Padilla has been awful at every turn, but my scouts still think he's one of our best players and I can't afford to throw him overboard unless he really is useless.



I'm writing them each a note telling their national team coaches that they can't come to camp until after the Champions League final.



Hands off, your season might be over but I've still got games to play!



That doesn't keep me from noticing that there's trouble in paradise for Everton's excellent young attacker Neil Darby.



I guess it's good to retire on a high note after finishing top half with a club that everyone figured was relegation bait. Really, he deserved Manager of the Year more than I did.



It's go time.

vs Manchester United, May 16, 2026
FA Cup, Final


I'm sliding Quiboulaz over to fullback in this game as Loseille's hamstring isn't healed. I could play Enrique there, but I trust Johnny Quibz more than a teenager. Likewise, while David Maloney has played well for us I'm not giving him the start as our water-carrier in the midfield. Instead Laux will play that role, while Hammatt and Tounkara act as our back two. Otherwise, things are more or less normal, with Thiago up top and supported by Mujkic, Stringel, and Parr.

Manchester United remain a formidable opponent even absent two of their best defenders. Fabian Duval might be getting old and slow, but he's still got a Marking rating of 20. Meanwhile the loss of Gus Penn leaves them loading up on offense by playing budding star Kurt Mawéné as the defensive midfielder, a role that he's not fully grown into yet but one that makes them even more dangerous on the attack. For some reason they're not playing Kovacevic in goal, and several of their best players such as Steve Collecott, left fullback Ovidiu Vlādoi, and attacking midfielder Zak Tate are all on the bench to start the match. Are they really that confident?

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Tounkara, Hammatt, Quiboulaz, Laux, Shirra, Parr, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Enrique, Maloney, Bailey, Allan, Mercado.

3m: Meteor strikes! Laux fights off several red shirts to get the ball to Shirra just over the midfield line. Shirra picks up his head and sees Mujkic one on one with his defender and six United players clustered in the midfield. His pass to Mujkic is accurate, and then the Meteor streaks down the pitch and fires off a rocket that hits the keepers hands and deflects into the net. Vid Kovacevic would never have let that happen.

Wrexham 1-0 Man United

5m: A chance from a corner goes begging when the ball hits Tounkara's hand.

6m: Reed makes a great interception but after a long run to the byline wastes his effort with a poor cross. We're taking it to United early, and they could easily fall two behind when Parr gets the ball to Stringel with a look at the goal, but the shot goes just wide.

9m: Hammatt roams too far forward with the ball, and is dispossessed at midfield by Mawéné. United's fast break comes to nothing as their right winger waits too long to make the final pass.

12m: We get a free kick in a dangerous area near the corner flag after Boumsong slides in on Mujkic, but we scuff our effort. The same thing happens to United a few minutes later on a free kick Reed conceded.

15m: After fifteen minutes of unimpeded movement, United's defense is stiffening up. They have a shot whistle just over the bar on a counter.

17m: Manchester's Duval makes a horrible clearance under pressure to give us a corner kick, but we can't make anything of it. That's not surprising, we only scored four goals all season from corners.

19m: We're catching United repeatedly with our offside trap, that's now four times in the last five minutes that they've been flagged offside on a counter attempt.

21m: Parr has a moment of daylight after Tounkara plays a brilliant ball 30 yards upfield, but he can't do anything with it before he's smothered.

26m: Mujkic makes a run from midfield, drawing two defenders, and flips the ball between them for an open Stringel. String takes it from there and into the box, drawing another two defenders, then cuts it back expertly to the exquisitely timed following run by Thiago, who has all day and the entire net. Goooooooal!

Wrexham 2-0 Man United

30m: Laux is absolutely bossing the midfield, making tons of interceptions and getting into passing lanes constantly.

32m: We should have a third goal. Steve Reed's stutter step confounds two defenders, allowing him to slides a pass to a wide open Parr in front of the net. The refs must have been confused by Reed as well, rule the goal offside despite Parr clearly being onside as seen below:



35m: Huge save by Minami when three of our defenders can't clear the ball from in front of the net and striker Jeff Wright gets a clean crack at it from 12 yards out.

37m: Thiago can't beat the keeper to a Reed cross, and it's still 2-0. He's not denied seconds later on a free kick, though, lacing a perfectly struck ball that rises over the wall of defenders and dips into the far corner of the goal.

Wrexham 3-0 Man United

39m: Oh look, it's raining now.

42m: Dramane Tounkara has been the man in the air all first half, he's not missed a single header and is regularly cutting out passes that are intended for streaking United attackers.

45m: The final minutes of the half see the first sustained pressure by Manchester United, we've had a remarkably easy time of things and they've had only one good chance to score.

45m+1: Manchester's right back finally picks up a card after what seems like the 10th time that he's knocked Mujkic down. The ref is most definitely “letting the boys play.”

Halftime: McLeod goes to his bench, bringing on Ovidiu Vlādoi after watching the previous left back get torched repeatedly by Reed and Parr.

46m: Thiago has a chance 17 seconds into the half, but hits it right at the keeper.

48m: Reed's denied by the post!

55m: The first 10 minutes of the second half seem much like the first half, with the run of play firmly in our favor.

56m: Stars Zak Tate and Steve Collecott are finally subbed on at 56m, this match isn't over yet despite our three goal advantage.

59m: Parr picks up his usual ding in a collision with Manchester captain Cristobal Marchan, and Marchan earns a card for his trouble.

60m: We have a second goal called back for phantom offside, and I'm at the edge of the technical box screaming latin profanity at the idiot side judge. Mujkic is #11 at the bottom of the screen, and he's the one ruled offside. Thiago is onside.



64m: Tounkara is having a great game, rewarding my trust with key tackle after key tackle.

65m: I sub “Super” Mercado on for Parr, who I want healthy for our Champions League final.

67m: We nearly score again when Johnny Quibz of all people takes a shot in the aftermath of a corner, but his effort is saved.

70m: Tate and Collecott creating some more threatening counters, but time is running out on them and Manchester.

73m: Calm, patient recycling of possession after a corner kick means that Laux is able to find Mercado wide open in the box, and we're up 4-0 with 17 minutes to play.

Wrexham 4-0 Man United

75m: United can't replicate our feat of two minutes earlier, and Duval's effort is skyed harmlessly over the crossbar.

78m: Tate makes a great run but Minami comes off his line to stonewall him, he's earning every penny of his gigantic salary.

79m: The game has opened up a bit as the Red Devils get more and more desperate. Shirra's able to exploit the open space in their defense and his hustle creates a chance that's saved.

80m: United are piling on the pressure with 10 minutes left, but it's too little too late. Right?

83m: Mercado is denied a brace on a counter opportunity, but the Manchester keeper can only bat it out for a corner. Thiago grabs his hat trick on the ensuing set piece!

Wrexham 5-0 Man United

85mL Tounkara carded for what seemed like a bog standard foul. Hammatt also carded for the same reason moments later.

88m: The fight's gone out of Manchester as the game winds down. We look more likely to score at this point.

90m: 1 minute of stoppage time.

90+1: And the fat lady is singing! We've won the FA Cup in astounding fashion!

Man of the Match: Thiago




Wrexham 5-0 Man United




Darn tootin'. Two down, one to go.



Grwn has become a minor media magnate in Wales with the exponential growth of DragonzLair PLC. He's the Bill Simmons of Wales.




It seems we've gotten too big for cup wins to help our finances.



Talk about being a taskmaster. I've given the players three days off so they're fit for the Champions League Final. They can spend one day being happy about winning the FA Cup and sleeping off the champagne.



Grim news on the World Cup front. Ramirez has quickly developed into one of the better young American players, but he can't stay healthy. This is a blow to our chances.



That's some way off the real record of 19, set waaaaay back during the 1887-1888 FA Cup. It's also only as many goals as Ted MacDougall scored for Bornemouth in a single game in 1971.



They've just confirmed that they're getting relegated next season.




Between Reed and Loseille, we're going to be spending a lot more on our fullbacks next season. Both of them are due new contracts, and both of them are due major raises.



Manchester United get their revenge! Of course our youth side was playing theirs. It seems like they're our only competition these days.



When you've got Dribbling 20, Acceleration 18, Pace 18, Agility 17, and Balance 17, you should show the world what a wizard you are with the ball at your feet. Stop passing and style on some fools.



Just in time.

vs Manchester United, May 23, 2026
Champions League, Final


It's hard to beat a team twice in a row. That goes double for when you're throwing the same look at them both games. It's why I'm starting us in the 4-4-2 diamond, I want the tactical edge over McLeod's lads. Once again Matthias Laux will be playing the midfield destroyer role, and once again Dramane Tounkara is getting the start at centerback. James Loseille's return leaves him not fully fit, but I'm willing to sub him out after sixty minutes to add some explosiveness in attack. The one concern I have is leaving Hammatt out of the starting lineup, it could cause us trouble on set pieces as our tallest players will be 6'2” Tounkara and Laux.

Manchester has learned from it's error in the FA Cup, I'm still not sure why they put out such a weakened lineup in an important match, and their offense should be much more potent with 90 minutes of Gregorio, Tate, and Collecott. Ian Lyth replaces Fabian Duval at centerback, he's slightly quicker but much more of a defensive liability.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Tounkara, Quiboulaz, Loseille, Laux, Parr, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Stringel, Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Hammatt, Enrique, Bailey, Allan, Mercado.

1m: After a minute it's clear that United are more comfortable in possession than they were a week ago.

3m: Shirra puts a good chance wide. I hope it doesn't loom large when all is said and done.

8m: Parr is harshly wiped out in the box, but no penalty call. He staggers to his feet, and doesn't look close to 100%.

9m: Loseille gets carded, this ref is much less lenient than the FA Cup one.

15m: Both sides are playing a good old fashioned English game, combined we've been whistled for nine fouls in the opening quarter hour.

16m: Nothing doing on back to back corners, and Stringel puts a shot wide of the net to end our offensive foray.

18m: Slick passing leaves our defenders rooted on the spot and gets Collecott behind our defense, but he puts the chance into the side netting.

20m: United are starving us of possession, and we're losing the ball too quickly when we win it back. This feels like the opposite of all our games.

22m: Laux gets carded, and I'm officially convinced this ref is being a dick. Minutes later Parr draws a card, as the ref is being an equal opportunity dick.

33m: Parr puts a Mujkic cross just wide of the net. Mercado wouldn't have missed that.

35m: More chances, but we only head the ball directly at Kovacevic. When they don't go right at our former keeper it's Thiago clipping the post and sending the ball it goes harmlessly wide.

36m: Collecott makes a slashing run and gets behind our defense for a second time, this time he forces Minami to make a very good save to keep the game scoreless.

40m: This is proving a much more difficult match than the FA Cup final.

41m: Shirra streaks in on a counter after a Mujkic through ball, but is a step too slow as Kovacevic gets to it first and boots the orb somewhere into orbit.

44m: We've been sloppy all first half, and we're very lucky it hasn't bitten us in the ass yet. We're trying far too many long passes, and it's costing us possession.

45m: Parr sends a shot wide after fine work by Shirra to create the chance. Still nothing-nothing.

45m+1: We spend the final minutes of the first half wasting good creative work by taking off balance and rushed shots.

Haltime: We're playing like crap, and I tell the players that. Luckily, Manchester haven't been much better, using one of their subs at the half to replace ineffective left winger Maxym Fenin with Steve Wilmot.

46m: We win a corner in the first minute, and our passing seems more precise than our over-eager first half efforts.

48m: After three minutes I can confirm that our attacking movements are crisper, but we're still not scoring.

50m: Once again Kovacevic picks up the ball with Shirra just a step too far away.

53m: We've had 11 corners and scored on exactly none of them. This is starting to get frustrating.

56m: Our newfound crispness finally pays off when Stringel slips his marker and is able to take it all the way to the house after an on point pass by Parr. It helps that Cyril Boumsong came up lame when he attempted to chase down String, and was unable to attempt a last ditch tackle at the top of the penalty area. 1-0!

Wrexham 1-0 Man United

56m: Of course this came immediately after I chose to substitute Mercado for Parr, Parr comes off immediately after having earned an assist.

63m: Each side trades efforts back and forth, all of which float harmlessly to either side of the goal.

68m: It's time to stop pressing the attack so hard, and focus on not screwing up our lead. We're moving to a more balanced setup, and the players are told to stop pushing the tempo. Laux is happy, he's had to run a million miles today as our water-carrier.

71m: It's also time to pull Loseille, who's gassed, and bring on Hammatt. Johnny Quibz slides to the left back position, and told to mind his defensive duties.

72m: Thiago gets his head on a Mujkic cross, but he can't direct it downward and it zooms over the net.

77m: I switch to the 4-2-3-1 and set out to control possession over the last 15 minutes. This is either very smart or will lead to the equalizer in short order.

78m: An excellent flowing move goes for naught as Mercado can't get his shot on target.

82m: Minami makes a crucial stop on a point blank Cristobal Marchan effort where Reed was wildly out of position.

83m: My heart is still receding from my throat after Minami's save.

84m: Wilmot hacks Quiboulaz down and gets carded. We dilly dally over our free kick.

85m: Thiago whistles another ball over the crossbar on our 14th corner kick of the match.

88m: Zak Tate slips through our defensive line and into the box, but Reed and Tounkara recover in time to prevent a shot and usher him away from the goalmouth.

90m: 3 minutes of stoppage time. It's going to feel like an eternity.

90+1: Mujkic puts it in the six yard box, but Thiago shoots it straight at Kovacevic.

90+3: Thiago lines up a free kick from 35 yards out. It bounces off Kovacevic and the post, rolling right in front of the net as Kovacevic lies sprawled far to far away to reach it. Stringel beats towards it and no one can stop him from tapping it across the line and stabbing a dagger into the heart of United fans around the world!

Wrexham 2-0 Man United

90+4: The whistle blows seconds after the match restarts! We are champions of Europe once more!

Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel




Wrexham 2-0 Man United




Seven clubs have won their top national cup, their league, and the European Cup or Champions League in the same season. Celtic in 1967. Ajax in 1972. PSV in 1988. Manchester United in 1999. Barcelona in 2009. Internazionale in 2010. Bayern Munich in 2013.

PSG is the eighth member of this group, joining in 2018. Now we are the ninth. We have accomplished something the greatest clubs in history have never done. Real Madrid may have their tenth Champions League trophy, La Decima, but they've never won this trebel. We have.



Damn right I'm the one responsible for our success.



Now you're happy. And my job security is back to where it should be... I'm untouchable. My contract ends after next season, I'll be in contact with my opening offer for an extension shortly.




Our wage budget these days is too high for our winnings to offset the squad bonuses. I don't think anyone will be complaining.



I'm only 15th in the world Hall of Fame, for the moment, but the FA Cup victory moves me up above Bill Shankly in the England Hall. I told you I was coming for you, Shankly!



We just won the triple. How much more could you want?



You've been with us for seven years now. Steve Reed may be starting most games these days, but I promise you'll have your time on the pitch, and share in the glory to come.



Yeah, that's a nice note to end on.



We're at the mountaintop. Enjoy it, because it'll never be as good as this again. Now the work of ensuring our legacy truly begins.